Copyright 2023. Reagan also promised to end the double-digit inflation that characterized Jimmy Carter's presidency, and restore both Americans' faith in their country and America's status in the world. Televangelists like Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker saw their virtual congregations grow as they progressed from old-fashioned revival meetings to radio programs and eventually popular television programs like the 700 Clubeach broadcast on several Christian cable networks. Critics of the California movie star claimed that Reagans rhetoric was hollow and clichd, even if it was uplifting. These reforms led to mostly lower prices in air travel, but also led to numerous difficulties for utility consumers in some markets. Why might the political orientation of the nation have become more conservative during the 1980s than other decades? Increasingly visible during the 1990s, Asian-Americans: were hailed by white Americans as a "model minority.". However, during the 1982 congressional election, groups such as the Moral Majority enjoyed the support of millions of donors. The Federalist's David Harsanyi takes a look at the recent Quinnipiac poll, which asked respondents to rate the post-World War Two US presidents. Without the Evangelical revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s, such a coalition might have never occurred. You know economists, he would respond, they see something that works in practice and wonder if it works in theory. Reagan even seemed impervious to an assassins bullet that ricocheted and lodged near his heart in March 1981. Countless corporate scandals and stock frauds stemmed directly from the 1999 repeal of which New measure? Women and the New Right Women had composed both the leadership and the rank-and-file of the New Left. Conservatives cut spending dramatically, only to complain about a lack of public services. While many of these churches avoided direct political affiliations, some televangelists and independent clergy saw political action as part of their mission. However, interest rates were at record highs during the early 1980s, and the Reagan administration agreed to ease these restrictions and permit S&Ls to make riskier loans. The religious fervor of the 1980s featured aspects of protest against the materialism of the decade, as well as a celebration of it. Reagan preached that the cure for Americas ills was to take decision making and power away from Washington and place it in the hands of US businesses and consumers. 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Even if Reagan would have offered a retraction, the populist anger against welfare recipients could not be easily reversed. Nothing did more to undermine a sense of common national purpose than the widening gap between rich and poor. The challenge for the New Right was that modern politics required the mobilization of both wealth and the masses, two groups that had traditionally opposed one another. What setback did the Bush administration suffer in its war on terror in 2008? He opened up a relationship with Communist China and initiated detente with the USSR both of which were opposed by hardline anti-communist conservatives. One of the leading criticisms of these women against the idealized superwoman of the 1980s who balanced career and family was related to the sacrifices such balancing required. What were the student protesters who occupied Tiananmen Square in Beijing in June 1989 demanding? But he came to office with a broad agenda, and there were many important problems to solve. These conservative politicians and voters were part of the New Right of the 1980s, a group that perceived their nation had been derailed by a liberal agenda in recent years. He denounced the Soviet Union as an "evil empire," and authorized the largest military buildup in US history. SD resulted from a split within the Socialist Party over the Vietnam War, which SD supported. In the 2008 election, when Barack Obama "redrew the nation's political map," he: won in states that had been reliably Republican for years as well as in Democratic strongholds. Look up the Equal Rights Amendment, and explain your position on the proposed law in relation to these arguments. As president, Reagan focused time and money on building up the military and expanding the national security state at home and abroad. Interest groups affiliated with the Republican Party also stressed a return to moral standards they identified as family values. These conservative groups increasingly viewed opposition to multiculturalism, gay rights, the feminist movement, abortion, busing, affirmative action, illegal immigration, and welfare as panaceas for the nations ills. The 1995 truck bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City was organized by: charged Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas with sexual harassment in 1991. This case was not meant to be a precedent. His victory was the result of a combination of dissatisfaction with the presidential leadership of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in the 1970s and the growth of the New Right. Primary sources in Meg Jacobs and Julian Zelizer. Signed in August, these enactments were a major reduction in domestic expenditures and the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, were designed to lower federal revenues over a five year period in the amount of $737 billion. 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