Ronald Reagan
Religion
Moral Majority went to the supreme court
to oppose the Engel V. Vital and Roe Vs. Wade cases
The Moral Majority was a political
organization working to fulfill religious
goals and was created by Jerry Falwell in 1979
Condemned the Equal Rights
Amendment as well as
homosexuality
Religious groups began to become more
active with politics
a
Reagan
On television he appeared to be
friendly and even tempered and
calmed the fear of people who
did not know if he was qualified enough
to be our president
During his campaign he asked America
"are yo better off than you were four
years ago"
Then worked for General Electric
and gave speeches criticizing big
government and high taxes
warning of the dangers of communism
Got an acting job in Hollywood
appearing in low budget movies
his most famous being Knute Rockne
Suffered the effects of the Great
Depression
Population Trend
Migration from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt
White deep southerners who were liberal
switched their views after the Civil War
due to the enactment of the civil rights legislation
By the 1980's Republicans had become the
dominant party in the Southern States
During this financial struggle, conservatives
were able to persuade their views to change
Conservatives talked about school buses
as a threat to neighborhood schools
As more northern liberals moved to the suburbs
their financial struggles changed their political views
Political Parties
Conservatives
Sagebrush Rebels- believed that the government controlled too much land in the western states
New Right- New movement sparked and grew
quickly and was a coalition of several different
groups with different ideas and objectives
The Great Society made poverty worse
Complained about unfunded mandates- programs
that were required but not paid for by the federal
government
Believed that liberals policies were the source
of stagflation and the government taxed
citizens too highly and businesses spent
to much on the wrong programs
Neoconservatives, worried that we were heading
down a bad path with our abandonment of traditional
values, this mixed with the degeneration of modern youth
dovetailed many of their religious beliefs
Milton Friedman wrote about the U.S.
economic miracle beliveing our government
was not the source of it all
Believed that liberal polices in the 70's and 60's
created inflation and a waste, believing they
threw away money at social problems
Private orginazations
Favored in allowing the free market
Liberals
Favored in cooperating with
international organizations
Social Programs to help
unemployed, elderly, women,
and minorities
Federal government should
play a huge role in improving
the lives of all Americans
Believed in the government
stepping in to help the needy
