Friday, May 4, 2012

The Resurgence of Conservativism (1980-92)

Chose any 1 of the questions below to discuss.


  1. To what extent was the election of Reagan an endorsement of his conservative ideology and to what extent was it a repudiation of the perceived failures of federal government policies in the stalemated 1970's?
  2. In what ways might the 1980s and 1990s be compared to the 1920s in economic, social and foreign policies? Did the economic boom of each period represent a genuine revival of American innovation or was it fundamentally marred by the growing gap between the rich and the poor?
  3. What were the successes and failures of American foreign policy in the post-Cold War era? Was the use of American military power in the Persian Gulf War and the Balkans a model for how American power could be effectively brought to bear or did it demonstrate the limits of even the sole superpower's ability to resolve regional politics?
  4. What was the real cause of the end of the Cold War? Did America win the Cold War, or did the Soviets loose the Cold War? Is there a difference? 
  5. Compare and contrast the rise of the "Moral Majority" in the 1980s with that of the "Beats" of the 1950s and the "Hippies" of the 1960s and 1970s. What commonalities do they have with each other?
  6. How should history view the presidency of Ronald Regan? Was he a great, good, fair, bad president and why?

5 comments:

Tina Miles said...

Reagan tried to organize an economic blockade of the Soviet Union. He would be remembered as the first president presiding through eight years of peace and the first to reach an arms reduction accord with the Soviets. He was a great president keeping the peace.

Emanae Smith said...

How should history view the presidency of Regan? Was he a great, good, fair, bad president and why?

Regan was a fair president because althoughhe did things during his presidency that people of America were not to fond of, he also helped out alot. For instance him raising taxes, although the people that have to them have to pay such a big price it helps things that go on in the government like the care for old people, people who get unemployment and/or welfare and much more. So that is why I say He's fair because he helped many people while also creating policies and changes that people did not like.

Dani Waite said...

1)Failures of the government in the 70s: debt, lack of American pride, distrust in public, need to restore safety and security, and reevaluation of freedom

6) How to remember Regan:

Good: Enjoyed popularity, strongly held conservative ideals, forged a strong relationship with Britain, “Great Communicator”, ended the cold war, survivor of an attempted assassination, and smiles

Bad: Short term profits- wages remain the same but productivity increases, health care increases, household debt increases, bankruptcies increase all as a result of lowering taxes early in presidency and then causing a financial crisis so that the rest of his time he was hiking it back up. Iran-contra where Regan sold weapons to Iran used that money to fund an illegal war in Nicaragua. Moderations of weapons take attention from domestic issues.

Okay so I don’t see Regan as a God, savior, or anything near that. I actually see him as “typical American president”. I am not fooled by his deeply engaging eyes and acting appeal. His strict conservative ideals did not aid minorities and caused debt. He hurt the middle class individuals and their sustainability. And while he might have ended the Cold war, that should not be justification for his praise. LBJ aided education and health care but played a vital role in America’s presence in Vietnam. JFK aided the unity of a nation and set up tax cuts but too played a vital role in America’s over in Vietnam. Nixon, well he shot himself in the foot with that Watergate scandal, but that’s another story. Regan you get a C from me. You might have ended the Cold Ware but you also caused a lot of debt. 1 step forward, 2 steps back.

Nikera said...

President reagan was a good president as he lowered taxes and attempt to stop/hault communism. But what seperates him from being the best is he's cuts in eduacation and the debt he created for america rying to improve military tatic and status. What seperates reagan from achieve exellence along with this was he idea especially the one about trees causing more pollution the automoblies.

Nikera said...

Along with his adviodance of the AIDS epidemic.