RichieNgo

Wolf16
HonorsEssay#14:Reagan,Bush(Sr.),andClinton(Part1)
The New Right was a rightwing political movement that emerged during the early 1980s.
Thoughmanysocialandcivil rights movementsof60sand70sbroughtaboutnumerous,progressive
social changes, several of these changes didnt resonate with conservatives. In ordertoexpresstheir
opinions and discontent,theconservativesstartedTheNew Right. Ingeneral,TheNew Rightwanted
less governmentinfluencebecause they felt thatthegovernmentwasbecomingtoo large.Peoplewho
supported The NewRightwere generallyverytraditional they believedintraditional values, which
meant that they opposed many liberal ideas. For example, The New Right was highly against
supportingminorities.In addition tothe reaffirmingoftraditionalAmerican values, TheNewRight
wanted more freedom, which meant less market regulations and taxes. The government during The
New Rights timewouldpass severallaws thatdidntagreewiththeNewRightsvalues.Forinstance,
The New Right didnt agree with the Supreme Courtordered busing of students known as
desegregation busing. Though the Supreme Court justified in the 1971 court case of
Swann v.
CharlotteMecklenburg Board of Education the use of busing andexchangingstudents inorder to
accomplish racial balance in Americas school systems, The New Rightcriticizeditforobstructing
American tradition. Conservatives at the time even criticized several Supreme Court judges and
members of Congress for hypocritically having their own children enroll inprivateschools. Another
thing that The New Right strongly opposed was the banning of prayer in public schools. Over the
courseofseveralSupreme Courtcasespriortothe1980s,statesanctionedand/ormandatoryprayerin
public schools was ruled unconstitutional in accordance to the First Amendment. This was not well
received by conservatives, who are generallyaligned withtraditionalChristianvalues.Consequently,
The New Right tried several times over the course of theirmovementto counter theSupremeCourt

(e.g.
Lee v. Weisman
in 1992 and
Sante Fe Independent School District
v. Doe
in 2000). The New
Right also was against Affirmative Action, which is an idea that encourages businesses or
universities to considerany minorityand/or ethnicgroupwhen hiring oraccepting newemployees or
students. Though the point of Affirmative Action was to promote diversity in the workforce and
higher education, The New Right opposed it due to associating its practice withsystematic reverse
racism.1 Another changethat TheNewRight profuselycontestedwasthe SupremeCourtrulingover
abortion rights. Though somewhat categorized under vague terms, the Supreme Court agreed that
womenhadtheright tohave anabortion. Inthe1973
Roe v.WadeSupreme Court case,the Supreme
Courtdecidedin a72votethat womenhavethe rightto privacy,underdueprocess,extendedto
their decision to have an abortion. Since The New Right strongly supported traditional values, they
wereextremelyprolifearguingthat having an abortion waskillinga life thathadntdevelopedyet.
The NewRightalsocontestedinahugedebateregardingcreationandevolution inpubliceducation.In
accordancetotheirfundamentalprinciples,TheNewRightstronglyopposedtheintegrationofteaching
evolution in public schools, since it doesnt agree with the theoryofCreation.Inaddition,The New
Right argued against the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have granted women full equality
underthe law.The New RightcriticizedtheEqualRightsAmendmentforbreakinguptradition(i.e.
moving past traditionally established gender roles). There were two main conservative groups that
surfaced in support of The New Right: The Conservative Coalition, and The Moral Majority. The
Conservative Coalition was an unofficial congressional coalitionthat wasformedbymembersof the
Republican Party, and even some members of the conservative wing of the Democratic Party. The
ConservativeCoalitionsmaingoalwastocontestnewliberalpolicieswithinCongress.Itsinteresting
tonote thatthe WallStreetJournalwasabyproductoftheConservativeCoalition.TheMoralMajority
was made upof agroupof Christian Fundamentalists, foundedbyJerryFalwell. TheMoral Majority

Reverseracismistheconceptofdiscriminationagainstthewhitedominantpatriarchy.Itisoftenjustifiedinfavorof
minorities,basedontheideathatthereisprejudiceagainstwhitepeople.

mainly supported The New Right by organizing televised speeches and rallies, in order to connect
religion to politics while supporting the New Rights opinions. The hype surrounding The New
Right ultimately helped Ronald Reagan win the Presidential Election of 1980. Not only didReagan
have a lot of seemingly innate charisma, his ideas also aligned with The New Rights ideals. Since
conservativessupportedReaganand hisideals,TheNew RightultimatelyhelpedReaganbygarnering
voterstohisside.
Asa president,Ronald Reagan wasfamousfor hiseconomicpolicy, governmentderegulation
ideology, and stance on the military. People remember Reagan for delivering his famous quote:
Government is not the solution to our [nations] problem. Government
is the problem. Reagans
quote aboutthegovernmentreflectedhowhebelievedin a morehandsoff government.Whenitcame
to the economy, Reagans plan for reform was dubbed by Paul Harvey as Reaganomics (a
combination of Reagans name and the word economics). Reaganomics entailed budget cuts on
programs for the working andmiddleclasses,the decreasing/cutting ofincometaxes,and increase of
military spending. Reagan justified cutting income taxesso thatpeoplecouldsavemoremoney,while
increasing military spending inorderto strengthennationalsecurity. TheStrategicDefenseInitiative,
popularlyknownasStarWars,wasReagansmilitarydefenseprogram.ThegoalofStarWarswasto
develop astrategicdefensesystem thatcouldanticipate potentiallynuclearprojectiles.Ultimately,Star
Warswasdesigned sothatmutuallyassureddestructionwouldntaffecttheU.S.intheeventofaCold
Warcrisis. Reaganomicsdidworkfor aperiod oftime. Several employment problemswererelatively
solved,andtheeconomyin Americawas thrivingsincemorepeoplecouldinvestwiththemoneythey
saved from decreased income taxes. However, at the same time, Reagans economic reforms were
actually hurtingthemiddleandworkingclass.Governmentbudgetcutshurtthelowerclassesbytaking
awayfrommanysocialprograms. Themarket wasalsobecomingextremelyderegulated,asaresultof
Reagansreforms. Also, asa resultof budgetcuts,the EnvironmentalProtectionAgencysfundswere

cut.Inaddition, since Reagan literallyspenttrillionsofdollarsonStarWars,hesignificantlyincreased

national debt to the point where the government ran on a huge deficit. The problem that no one
noticed about Reaganomics was how it allowed thegovernment tospendtwice asmuchmoneythan
whattheyactually had.Eventually,theunderlyingproblemsthatnooneaddressedaboutReaganomics
leadtotheCrashof2008.
Reaganhada somewhatuniqueapproachtointernationalaffairs.ReaganwasaboldColdWar
fighter, however, he was very subtle about it. Rather than being idealistic like Carter, or following
detente like Nixon, Reagan was very realistic when it came to foreign diplomatic relations. Reagan
would onlypresent himself asdiplomatictoothercountriesonly ifhethoughttheywerenegotiable.
Ratherthanoutright intimidatinganyone,Reaganspent trillionsof dollars on improvingU.S. military
anddefense by investing inhisStarWars program.The reason why Reaganwasafirmbelieverinhis
StarWarsprogramwasbecauseitwouldhavepreventedmutuallyassureddestruction.Reagancarried
arounda big stick, but veryrarelyeverused it. TheonlytimeReaganevergotAmericainvolvedina
conflict was whenheorderedtheinvasionof Grenada(inorder toget theMarxist leaderthereoutof
power). Despitenot being a fan ofcommunism,Reaganushered inaneweraof U.S.Soviet relations
byworkingwithSovietleaderMikhailGorbachev.ThereasonwhyReaganwasabletonegotiatewith
Gorbachev was because they both shared many common ideals (essentially, Reagan considered
Gorbachev negotiable). Reagan wasableto influenceGorbachevinto establishingthe Glasnostand
Perestroika systemsintheSoviet Union,whichgrantedmorefreedomtothepeopleofRussia.Another
instancethatdemonstratesReaganspractical thinkingwaswhenhewithdrewU.S. troopsfromBeirut,
Lebanon,followingmanyterroristattacks.
During Reagans administration, America became involved in the IranContra Affair. The
IranContra Affair was a period of intense tension that began in 1985, between America and Iran.
Origins of theaffair trace backto Jimmy Carterspresidential administrationwhentheU.S.helped

the Shah assume controlof Iran. Whenthe IraniansoverthrewtheShah,theU.S.subsequentlygranted

the Shah asylum in America. Though he was technically granted asylum so that he could receive
treatmentforcancer,manyIranianswereoutragedthattheU.S.seemedtocontinuetosupporttheShah
despite hiscrimesagainst theIranian people.WhentheIranians effortsto demandfor the return of
the Shah provedtonoavail, a groupofIranianstudentsresortedtostormingtheAmericanembassyin
Iran, and taking several American hostages. When Carters time as president ran out, Reagan felt
inclined totakestrongermeasurestogetthehostagesbackfromIran (sothathe wouldntappearweak
like Carter). Subsequently, Reagan agreed to sellarmstoa moderategroupinIran,who promised to
help negotiate for the return of the American hostages. The arms trade was kept a secret from the
public. However, at the same time, Reagansadministrationwassecretlydivertedthe fundsfromthe
arms trades to the Contras an antiCommunist rebel group in Nicaragua, This was a problem for
Reagan because his administration supporting the Contras in Nicaragua violated the Boland
Amendment,whichoutlaws American support fortheContras.Inaddition,Reaganhadpromisedprior
totheIranContraAffairthathe wouldnotdealwith terrorists.Reagansadministration,ultimately,
was subjectto anextensive investigation. However, amemberofReagans staff,namedOliverNorth,
tookthefallfor thewhole scandal.NorthclaimedthatReaganknewnothing ofthediversionoffunds
to the Contras. Because of this, Reagan was acquitted of any charges against him. However, many
people suspectthatReaganknowinglyencouragedhis stafftounderminethe law,which resultedin a
inevitableblowtoReagansreputation.
Reaganisoftencreditedforending theColdWar. Regardless,the endof theColdWarisstill
viewed as undecided history manyhistorianscantagree on asinglefactorthat endedthe ColdWar.
There are four main factors contributing to the end of the Cold War that historians have reached a
consensuson.ThefirstfactorattributesRonaldReagantobeinghighly influentialplayerintheendof
the Cold War. Reagan delivered a famous speech Tear Down This Wall!, whichlaterinspiredthe

tearingdownof theBerlinWall.Essentially,peoplealsobelievedthatReaganwas abletooutspendthe

Soviet Union, byexpandingAmericas militaryanddefense program (Star Wars).In addition, people
believed that Reagan was able to influence Russias new leader, Gorbachev. The second factor
recognizesLechWalesa asanothercontributor tothe endof theColdWar.Walesawastheleaderofa
groupknownas Solidarity hewasabletoinspirepeacefulprotestswithintheSovietBlocthatleadto
the weakening ofSovietinfluence.Ultimately,becauseof Walesa,thegovernmentofPolandwasfreed
of SovietInfluence. The thirdfactorin theendoftheColdWarinvolvedPopeJohnPaulthe2nd.Pope
John Paul was the first Polish pope ever toservetheVatican. Inadditiontobeingwidelyinfluential,
PopeJohnPaulwasalsoantiCommunist.SincethePopewasabletogarnersupportagainsttheSoviets
from a religious angle, it drastically tookatollonSovietinfluenceweakeningtheSoviets power.
The lastfactorwas Gorbachev,the leaderof theSovietUnionhimself.UnlikepreviousSovietleaders,
Gorbachevwasrelativelyyounger,whichmeantthathewasalittlemoreopenaboutWesternideals.In
addition, Gorbachev noticed that his people were struggling during this time due to economic
hardships. Gorbachevsignificantlycutsdown on militaryspending,whilepullingtroopsoutofEastern
Europe,inordertofocusonhelpingtheRussianpeople.
After Reagan served two terms in office, his vice President, George H.W. Bush runs for
presidency in the Presidential Election of 1988. Bush ran against Michael Dukakis the former
Governor of Massachusetts. Ultimately, Bush was able to win because he had a betterpublicimage
than Dukakis. In a debate, Dukakis was asked if he would reconsider his position regarding capital
punishment if his wife wasrapedandmurdered.Though thequestionitselfwashighly inappropriate,
Dukakis responded in a very detached, almostpassivemannerwhich didnt resonate wellwiththe
American public. Another controversial point in the election was the airing of the Willie Horton
commercial. The Willie Horton commercial was an ad commissioned by Bushs campaign it was
highly controversialand ultimatelydenouncedbecausethecommercialusedamug shot ofanAfrican

American man who committed rape and murder while on furlough. The point of the ad was to get
peopletosidewith Bushsstanceoncapitalpunishment, however,thecommercialcame offashighly
racist. Regardless,Bushwasabletowintheelectionbypromisingnottoraisenewtaxes.Manypeople
considerBushs famouspledge. Readmylips:nonewtaxes,asthesealtoBushsvictory.However,
Bushs pledge backfired when he had to raise taxes, in order to deal with the national government
deficitthatReaganwasresponsiblefor.Becausemanypeoplefeltbetrayed,Bushwasntreelected.
During the early months of Bushs presidency, the ExxonValdezOilSpill occurred. Theoil
spillwascausedbyaleakintheExxonValdezoiltanker.TheExxonValdezoiltankerheld55million
gallons of oil. Because the spill went unnoticed for a period of time,. 11 million gallons of oil was
spilled into the ocean. The resulting environmental catastrophe went down as the second largest oil
spill in American history, as well as being one the worst humancaused environmental disasters.
Becausethe disasterdidntlookgoodforBush,itpushed himto take amoreprogressiveapproachto
some environmental issues. In response to the oil spill, Bush passes the Clean Air Act of 1990.
However,Bushwasstill perceivedto be ambivalent regardingenvironmentalissues.Since hishand
was technically forced, Bush really didnt deserve the credit he was given. Bush later supports the
Clean Water Act, but vetoes a biodiversity act designed to protectendangeredspecies (whileat The
Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro). Bush later, however, signs the Framework Convention on Climate
Changewhich wasa bit perplexing,sinceBushappearedtobeallovertheplacewhenitcameto the
environment.
During his presidency, Bush made two nominationsto theSupremeCourt: DavidSouterand
Clarence Thomas. Bush deliberately replaces William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall two very
liberal judges inorderto gettheSupreme Courtonhisside.TheintroductionofSouterandThomas
(both Republicans) influenced the SupremeCourttoswing more on theconservative side. However,
the nominationofThomas actuallyprovestobecontroversial.BeforeThomaswasappointedbyBush,

he worked for the Department of Education, where he was accused by his secretary, Anita Hill, of
sexual harassment. Though Thomas wasputontrialbythe Senate, he wasableto dodgeanycharges
byclaiming thatthe reason whyhewasbeingputontrial(inthefirstplace)was becauseofhisrace.In
reality, Thomas claims were very hypocritical, since he didnt believein usingraceas anexcuse in
court neither was he a proponent of Affirmative Action. Thomas reason for not not supporting
AffirmativeActionwasbecause hebelievethat,inatrulycolorblindsociety,therewouldntbeaneed
for Affirmative Action. However, by insinuating that the only reason he was being put on trialwas
because ofhis race,inorder togetawaywithacrime,he is notonlyusingracismto hisadvantage,but
heisalsocontradictinghisownbeliefs.
A number of historic international events happened during George H.W. Bushs presidency.
For example, theTiananmenSquareMassacre wasorderedbythecommunistChinesegovernmentin
1989. In response to peacefulprotestshappening inTiananmen Square(inChina), theChineseArmy
was ordered to clear the scene of the protests, regardlessofthe human toll.The ChineseArmy, asa
result, opens fire against thousands of Chinese citizens. Reporters secretly filmed a scene of all the
Chinese tanks leaving the Square. A brave man captured on video, famously known as TankMan,
stood inthewayofoneofthetanks,in ordertomakeastandagainsttheChinesegovernment.Oncethe
U.S.foundoutaboutTiananmenSquare,the U,S,cut offtradeand armssaleswith China.TheBerlin
Wallalso fellduringBushspresidency,though itwascreditedtoRonaldReagan.Since Russianforces
were being pulled out of Eastern Europe, it allowed for many Germans to physicallytakedownthe
Berlin Wall. Many guards who were presentdidnt evenstoppeoplefromtearingdowntheWall.The
fallof theBerlinWarrwasapivotalsymboloftheendoftheColdWar.Additionally, theU.S. invaded
Panama during Bushs presidency. The U.S. invaded Panama because the U.S. couldnt Panamas
formerleader,Michael Noriega, anymorebecause he became adictator, whilealsogettinginvolvedin
drugtrafficking.TheU.S.invadedPanamainordertogetNoriegatoanswertohiscrimes.

During Bushs presidency, Iraqs invasion of Kuwait triggered conflict which would lead to
GulfWarI.SinceSaudi ArabiawasveryclosetoKuwait,thepeopleof SaudiArabia reachedouttothe
U.S. and funded the U.S. Army because they feared that Iraq would invade Saudi Arabia as well.
Underneatheverything,Iraqinvaded Kuwaitto securetheiroil.However,theU.S.alsowantedthatoil
as well one of the reasons why the U.S. readily intervened in the conflict. In addition, the U.S.
antagonization ofSaddamHusseinmadeAmericanslessguiltyofinvadingIraq andgettinginvolvedin
the War.Bushdecided not to go into Baghdad,in ordertoavoidcasualties.Americaninvolvementin
Gulf War I reinforced the belief thatthe U.S.are the policemenofthe warsuccessonly boosted
Americasego.
There were many social issues during the 1980s. Forexample,theAIDSepidemicoccurred
duringthe 80s.Unfortunately,sinceitwas anewdisease thatwasntfullyunderstoodatthetime,the
gaycommunitywas targeted/blamedfor theAIDSepidemic.Therewasahighcorrelationbetweenthe
queer community and AIDS,but onlybecause safesex practiceswerentfullyunderstoodduringthis
time. Because it was assumed that queer people could engage in sexual activities without any
preventativebarriers(e.g.condoms), itwaseasierforqueerpeople(back then)tocontractAIDS.The
AIDSoutbreak solidifiedthe stereotypethatgay people were promiscuous,andthatthereforeitwas
Godswayofpunishingthemitisalsooneof theunjustreasonswhyqueerpeoplearentallowed
to donate blood, today. In reality, the drugproblemduringthe 80s wasthemaincause oftheAIDS
epidemic. During the 80s, there was a huge drug culture that emerged from the HippieMovement.
Heroinwasapopular drugduringthistime.Peoplewhobecameaddictedtoheroinoftenunknowingly
used unsterileneedles,or evensharedneedles.Because ofthis,AIDS(ablooddisease)spreadrapidly.
Cocaine was another drug that became popular during the 80s. To counter the drug culture,Nancy
Reagan begantheJustSayNocampaign,which helped reduce theuseofrecreationaldrugs among
youth.The NationalCommissiononExcellence inEducationwould releaseareporttitled,ANation

At Risk, which detailed studies that pointed to academic underachievement across America. In
response to this, new educational standards were setacrossschoolsystems,nationwide. Urbancrises
also occurred, as a result of Reaganomics. Reagans tax cuts dramatically widened the gapbetween
social classes, resulting in an alarming poverty rate. However, many conservatives argued that the
homelessarelazyundeservingoffederalaid.
In theElectionof1992,GeorgeH.W.Bush losthisreelectiontoBillClinton.Themainreason
whyBushlost toClintonwas becausepeopleweretired ofhavinga Republicanpresidentforover16
years. Inadditiontothat,Bushlost popularityoverbreakinghispromiseregardednonew taxes.There
were originally three main candidates in this election: Bush, Clinton, and Ross Perot. Perot was an
independent candidate he later withdraws from the election, which displaced approximately19% of
votesover toClinton,which wasone ofthe thingsthat helped Clintonwintheelection.WhenClinton
won the election, he promised tobeanew democratmeaningthathe wouldsupportmoresocial
equity, welfare, tax cuts (in favor of the middle class), while taking a more conservative financial
position(whichappealedtoRepublicans).
During Clintons presidency, he pledged to guaranteeaffordable healthcare.Clintonendsup
delegating this task to his wife, Hillary Clinton. Hillary attempted to address the way healthcare
companies treated people with preexisting conditions by presenting several proposals. One of the
proposals was the Clinton Healthcare Plan (or Health Security Actof 1993).Thisplanappliedto all
employers who were mandated to provide healthinsurance toallof theiremployees.Unfortunately,
the planfailed becauseshedidntaccountforthefact thatprivateinsurancecompaniestypicallycharge
alargeservicefee fromemployees. Thereformappliedtoallemployees,whichmeantthatmostofthe
working class couldnt even afford insurance resulting in government spending. The Clinton
HealthcarePlanultimatelydidntresonatewitheitherRepublicansorDemocrats.

Clinton,duringhis presidency,hadto dealwithaverystrictbalancedbudget.NewtGingrichs

Contract With America a vow Gingrich made with the American public helped ensure thatthe
government wouldnt spend their money unnecessarily. Gingrich basically promised that if the
American public allowed Congresstocontinue tobedominated by Republicans, he wouldmake sure
the governmentwould spend theirmoneyefficiently.Thoughitmayhave beendifficultforClintonat
times,itultimatelyhelpedhimreduceReagansdebt.
The Tech Boom, or dot com would later bring about the Information Age. During
Clintons presidency, America experienced a rapid exponential growth in technology. Personal
computers, laptops, cell phones, and the Internet were all innovations during this period of
technologicaladvancement.Technologywasultimatelyabletocreatemorejobs,stabilizetheeconomy,
andpromoteinvestment.Technologyalsomade communicationmoreefficient.Peoplecould nowstore
informationonacomputer,ratherthanrisklosinginformationprintedonpaper.Therewas evenapoint
during this time where various companies were worth more on the stock market than major oil
companies. Since the tech boom happened relatively within Clintons presidency, this early
technologicalperiodisoftenreferredtoastheClintonEra.