TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Chapter 25 Section 2Chapter 25 Section 2

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Reagan and George H.W. BushReagan and George H.W. Bush

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

• Analyze Reagan’s economic policies as President.

• Summarize how Reagan strengthened the conservative movement.

• Evaluate the steps taken to address various problems in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Objectives

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Terms and People

• supply-side economics – an economic theory that says the government should increase the supply of labor and goods, rather than spend, to achieve economic goals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rolrQ4eDMmM

• deregulation – the reduction or removal of government control over industry https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=e7A9DzJiUrc

• budget deficit – the shortfall between the amount of money spent and the amount of money taken in by the government https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTfBNJcbqJQ

• national debt − the amount of money the federal government owes to owners of government bonds https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfIQFH4Y8c

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Terms and People (continued)

• Savings and Loan crisis – the failure of 1,000 savings and loan banks in 1989 due to risky business practices

• voucher − a government check that could be used by parents to pay tuition at private schools

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) − a disease with no known cure that attacks the immune system; began spreading in the early 1980s

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Conservatives celebrated the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency, referring to it as the “Reagan Revolution.”

The Reagan Revolution brought a significant shift in the political direction of the nation.

What were the major characteristics of the conservative Reagan Revolution?

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Reagan based his economic policy on the theory of supply-side economics. He believed that lower taxes would increase spending.

Some people referred to his economic policies as Reaganomics.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

• Reagan’s Economic Recovery Act of 1981 cut taxes by 25 percent.

• He convinced Congress to cut $40 billion from the federal budget, largely from social programs.

• He brought deregulation to industries including the banking, telecommunications, and airline industries.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

In spite of Reagan’s policies, the economy experienced a severe recession lasting from 1980 to 1982.

• More than 10 percent of workers were unemployed.

• Blue-collar workers were hit especially hard.

• The number of poor people grew, while the richest percentage of Americans became richer.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

The recession ended in 1983. The economy began to rebound, but other economic problems persisted.

Reagan increased defense spending, but he did not persuade Congress to make huge budget cuts in other areas.

The national debt rose to $2.5 trillion.

In 1985, Congress passed the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, requiring automatic cuts in federal spending.

Nevertheless, the federal budget deficit grew from $79 billion in 1981 to $221 billion in 1986.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

About 1,000 banks failed due to fraudulent behavior and risky loans.

The federal government spent more than $200 billion to bail them out.

Many blamed Reagan’s deregulation policies for allowing banks to make such risky investments.

In 1989, the Savings and Loan crisis occurred.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

He appointed conservative justices to the Supreme Court, including Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female justice.

He promoted legislation allowing religious groups access to public school facilities.

Despite the deficit, the growing economy made Reagan a very popular president who strengthened the conservative cause.

Reagan easily won reelection in 1984, but the Democrats retained control of the House of Representatives.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

He won by calling for a “kinder, gentler nation” and promising not to raise taxes.

Reagan’s Vice President George H.W. Bush won the presidency in 1988.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

• the rising costs of Social Security

• the budget deficit

• the failure of public education

Challenging issues from the 1980s would continue to confront Bush.

Bush called for community volunteers to provide services for the needy. He supported the use of vouchers in public schools.

TEKS 8C: Calculate percent composition and empirical and molecular formulas.

Another challenge faced the nation, in the form of a new disease called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Nevertheless, by 1994, AIDS had killed more than 250,000 Americans.

President Reagan responded slowly to the AIDS crisis. Funding for research on the disease rose during George H.W. Bush’s term.