Turning Inward: Society and Politics
from Ford to Reagan
ISSUES TO UNDERSTAND
After reading the chapter, you should be able to discuss the following:
1. The decline of social activism and the rise of "yuppies" and the "Me Generation"
2. Changes in American society in the 19705 and 19805; the changing status of women, blacks, recent immigrants, and Native Americans
3. The decline of the sexual revolution and the rise of evangelical religion
4. The economic problems that beset the United States during the Ford and Carter administrations and the attempts of the two presidents to deal with them
5. The troubles that overwhelmed the Carter administration and prevented his reelection
6. Causes of the conservative Reagan revolution
7. The meaning of Reaganomics and its impact on the economy
8. Causes of the huge federal budget deficits in the 1980s
9. Causes of the foreign-trade deficits
10. Reagan's domestic policies during his first term
11. The 1987 stock market crash
12. Foreign policies of the Ford, Carter, and first Reagan administrations
13. U.S. attempts to deal with conflict in the Middle East
14. The nuclear-freeze movement and how President Reagan responded to it
15. The election of 1984; candidates, issues, voting patterns, and outcome
VOCABULARY
The following terms are used in Chapter 32. To understand the chapter fully, it is important that you know what each of them means.
yuppie- young urban professional
gentrification -the process whereby middle-class people buy run-down housing in poor inner-city neighborhoods and expensively restore it, resulting in the revival of the area ,but usually pushing out former residents who can no longer afford to live there
icon -a picture, image; or other representation
stagflation- a combination of business stagnation and high inflation; the condition that beset the U.S. economy in the late 1970s and early 1980s
discount rate- the interest rate that the Federal Reserve Board charges banks in the Federal Reserve system for giving them Federal Reserve notes in exchange for promissory notes; when the discount rate is raised, banks have to charge borrowers higher interest
ebullient- high-spirited, exuberant, vivacious
dour -severe, gloomy, sullen
euphemistic- the substitution of a pleasant expression for an unpleasant, harsh, or offensive one; for example, He passed away instead of He died
insider trading- profiting on the stock market through knowledge of planned corporate actions
IDENTIFICATIONS
After reading Chapter 32, you should be able to identify and explain the historical significance of each of the following:
junk bonds and corporate raiders
Three Mile Island
Me Generation
Silicon Valley
Roe v. Wade, right-to-life movement, and pro-choice supporters
National Organization for Women (NOW)
Equal Rights Amendment
"ferminization of poverty"
Immigration Reform and Control Act, 1986
American Indian Movement (AIM)
Indian Self-Determination Act, 1974
Moonies
New Right
Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority
Rustbelt, Sun Belt
political action committees (PACs)
Reaganomics
Secretary of the Interior James Watt and the Sagebrush Rebellion
Michael Milkin, Donald Trump, and Ivan Boesky
Helsinki Accords
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Camp David Israeli-Egyptian Accords
Iranian hostage crisis
Sandinistas versus contras
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
nuclear-freeze movement
Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars)
Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro
1. On the map of North Africa and the Middle East, locate and explain the importance
U.S. foreign policy of each of the following:
Afghanistan
Israel
West Bank
Egypt
Port Said
Syria
Jordan
Iran
Tehran
Lebanon