SUMMARY

Rise of Conservatism Ronald Reagan’s charm, coupled with disillusionment over Jimmy Carter’s presidency and the Republicans’ call for a return to traditional values, won Reagan the presidency in 1980. The Republican insurgency, characterized by a cultural backlash against the feminist movement, was dominated by Christian evangelicals and people who wanted lower taxes and a smaller, less intrusive federal government.

Iran-Contra Scandal During an Islamic revolution in Iran, enraged militants stormed the U. S. embassy in Tehran and seized American diplomats and staff members. In retaliation, President Carter froze aU Iranian assets in the United States. Carter at last released several billion dollars in Iranian assets to ransom the hostages. The Iranians released the hostages—but not until Ronald Reagan was in office. Members of Reagan’s administration secretly sold arms to Iran in the hopes of securing the release of American hostages held in Lebanon by extremists sympathetic to Iran. The deal contradicted the president’s public claims that he would never deal with terrorists. Furthermore, profits from the arms sales were used to fund right-wing rebels in Nicaragua, known as Contras, despite Congress’s having voted to ban any aid to the Contras. An independent commission appointed by the president determined that Reagan’s loose management style was responsible for the illegal activities, and Reagan admitted that he had lied to the American people.

End of the Cold War Toward the end of the century, democratic movements exploded in communist China, where they failed, and in Eastern Europe, where they largely succeeded. In the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev’s steps to restructure the economy and promote more open policies led to demands for further reform. Communist party rule collapsed in the Soviet satellite states. In November 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, and a year later Germany was reunified. Russia itself survived a coup by hard-liners, and by 1991 the cold war had ended.

Reaganomics Americans in the eighties experienced unprecedented prosperity, yet beggars and homeless people were visible in most cities. The prevailing mood was conservative, and AIDS was condemned as a “gay” disease. “Reaganomics” failed to reduce public spending, but the president nevertheless championed tax cuts for the rich. The result was massive public debt and the stock market collapse of 1987.

The Gulf War Saddam Hussein of Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The United Nations condemned Hussein’s action and authorized the use of force to dislodge Iraq from Kuwait. Over thirty nations committed themselves to Operation Desert Shield. When Hussein did not withdraw, the allied forces launched Operation Desert Storm, and the Iraqis surrendered within six weeks.