Period Nine: 1980-present

advance of political conservatism, developments in science and technology, and demographic shifts that had major cultural + political consequences

reagan and conservatism

• campaign promises: reduce taxes, cut government spending, increase military resources, appoint conservative judges

• economics – reaganomics system, trickle down/supply side economics (economic growth will occur with no business restrictions + lower taxes), consumers benefit due to lower prices, more laissez-faire

• spending cuts – cut welfare programs (eg. food stamps), massively increased military spending

• deregulated industry – eg. auto industry, reducing emissions standards

• appointed conservative judges – eg. sandra day o'connor, antonin scalia, anthony kennedy

• restricted scope of affimative action, made abortion less accessible

the end of the cold war

• wanted to end cold war → eg. military intervention

• iran contra affair: iran + iraq had been at war since 1980, us wanted to aid iran + secretly sold weapons to the contras; used this profit to aid nicaraguan contras → illegal diversion of funds (congress has budgetary authority); sketchy

• buildup of nuclear weaponry: increased military spending, strategic defense initiative (“star wars” program) → satellites with space lasers to shoot missles headed from russia to america

• george hw bush: ends cold war, ussr dissolved

• further diplomatic agreements to disband nuclear stockpiles from cold war → start one agreement: both reduced nuclear warheads to 10,000, then to 3,000

shifts in the economy

• bill clinton presided over changing economy → america’s longest peacetime economic boom

• technological advancements, digital communication + increased productivity (further mechanization of industrial + agricultural sectors), digital mobile technology

• rise of social media platforms changes daily lives of americans

• changing economy – outsourcing of manufacturing, increasingly service-based economy

migration + immigration

• immigrants: 28% of pop growth in ‘90s

• 1986 – immigration reform + control act: fairer entry for immigrants into america, drew criticism for granting amnesty to mexican immigrants coming to the us illegally

• increasing numbers of hispanic + asian immigrants

challenges of the 21st century

• 9/11: al quaeda, george w bush leads war on terror → topple taliban government in afghanistan, pursuing osama bin laden stretched longer

• americans willing to accept more drastic anti-terrorist measures

• patriot acts 1+2: increased government surveillance of citizens via calls, emails, etc.

• environmental concerns: renewed debate over fossil fuels (mainly oil)

• iraq’s invasion of kuwait over oil led us into war with iraq

• climate change: brought to attention by al gore, the inconvenient truth that dependence on fossil fuel is going to kill us all