Agenda for 4/6

1. Review MC from Period 7 Test

2. The end of a dreary decade (1970s)

• The Century: America's Time - 1976-1980 (28:00 - end)

3. Key Concept 9.1:

A newly ascendant conservative movement achieved several political and policy goals during the 1980s and continued to strongly influence public discourse in the following decades.

I.          Conservative beliefs regarding the need for traditional social values and a reduced role for government advanced in U.S. politics after 1980.

A.       Ronald Reagan’s victory in the presidential election of 1980 represented an important milestone, allowing conservatives to enact significant tax cuts and continue the deregulation of many industries.

Examples:  Reaganomics (supply side) tax cuts (1981), air traffic controllers’ strike (1981), deregulation of airline, oil, and other industries, Contract with America (1994), George W. Bush tax cuts (2001)

Key Concept 9.3:

The end of the Cold War and new challenges to U.S. leadership forced the nation to redefine its foreign policy and role in the world.

I.          The Reagan administration promoted an interventionist foreign policy that continued in later administrations, even after the end of the Cold War.  

A.        Reagan asserted U.S. opposition to communism through speeches, diplomatic efforts, limited military interventions, and a buildup of nuclear and conventional weapons.

Examples:  Reagan’s “evil empire” speech (1983), “Star Wars” missile defense system (1983), US-Soviet summit meetings (1985-1988), Iran-Contra scandal (1987),

B.        Increased U.S. military spending, Reagan’s diplomatic initiatives, and political changes and economic problems in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union were all important in ending the Cold War.

3. Ronald Reagan Crash Course US History

4. Read - The Age of Reagan

HW - Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War: The Debate Continues

Read the article and answer the following questions:

1. What three questions does the author identify as important in examining Reagan's role in ending the Cold War?

2. Why did the end of the Cold War seem "a long way off" to many Americans when Reagan was first elected president?

3. What approach did Reagan take to ending the Cold War in his first term?

4. How was his approach to the Soviets and the Cold War different in his second term?

5. In what ways is the end of the Cold War more complex than simply the actions of Reagan? What other factors contributed to the end of Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union?

6. How do people on the left view Reagan's Cold War actions? How do people on the right view them?

7. How did Reagan perceive his role in ending the Cold War?

8. What do you think?