Unit 6, Lesson 4

Scandal

Rocked Reagan White House in 1986 & 1987 American government sold weapons to Iran, a country in need of resources during a lengthy conflict with Iraq; part of the agreement was that Iran would help to influence Lebanon to release American hostages held in that country; profits from sale of weapons were secretly diverted to "contras" (anti-communist military force fighting communist government of Nicaragua) All of this was an illegal scheme; arms sales to Iran were against American law, as was any sort of ransom paid to free hostages; US has history of aiding local revolutions to influence victory favorable to US interests, but funds to contras were above limits set by Democratic-controlled Congress Once scandal was exposed to public, special federal prosecutor successfully convicted key Reagan administration officials, including his National Security Adviser Admiral John Poindexter & his deputy, Lt. Col. Oliver North; President Reagan wasn't charged, but his knowledge of & involvement in the affair is still debated today

Uniform of US Marine

American forces were sent to Middle East as part of multinational peacekeeping force; US Marines were stationed in capital city of Lebanon, Beirut On October 22, 1983, suicide bomber drove truck through gates of Marines' barracks, killing 241 American servicemen; 6 months later, American forces were withdrawn from Lebanon, & other countries shortly followed suit

Reaganomics

Became hallmark of his presidency Features trickle-down economic philosophy, in which tax cuts for wealthy are supposed to translate into more jobs, more investment, & healthier economy; it didn't quite work out that way, & economy continued to sputter; 1 issue was that Reagan was staunch Cold Warrior, & authorized many new & expensive defense programs; without money in budget, national deficit ballooned to then-historic proportions

Paper Shredder

During Reagan's second term, complicated scandal referred to as "Iran-Contra affair" became public knowledge Although Reagan administration repeatedly affirmed that US would never bargain with terrorists, this was heart of Iran-Contra; aide in National Security Council, Lt. Colonel Oliver North, ran scheme to secretly sell arms to Iran; money would be used to finance rebels (contras) fighting against government in Nicaragua; this violated specific act of Congress that banned any aid to contras Congressional investigation eventually resulted in 6 indictments against various individuals; it became sad national joke when those testifying "couldn't remember" or claimed to have shredded any evidence about the scandal; President Reagan's popularity suffered, & his image became one of a pilot who had lost control of the wheel

1970s

Economy was mired in deep recession, with little hope in sight for recovery; 52 hostages were still being held in Iran, & US seemed powerless to do anything about it; although President Carter was re-nominated by Democratic Party for second term, there was little chance he could win

Ronald Reagan

Hollywood couldn't have created better leading man than Ronald Reagan for America in 1980s; in fact, Hollywood did help mold him, first as a film actor, then as president of Screen Actors Guild (SAG), & then as governor of California; he was unabashed conservative & fervent patriot; even if people didn't like his politics, it was hard not to like him; he was upbeat, optimistic, & tough; he easily won election in 1980, after he asked Americans in his debate with Carter, "Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?" During his inauguration ceremony, Americans held hostage in Iran were released; he immediately st out to slash size of government, instituting >$30 billion in program cuts; his agenda was temporarily set back when he was shot & seriously wounded 2 months after taking office; reports of his upbeat attitude & hospital banter further endeared him to American public When air traffic controllers employed by government went on strike, Reagan fired more than 11k of them; his reputation as "get tough" president easily won him a second term in 1984, when he faced Democratic Party nominee Walter Mondale Ironically, the same man who eagerly testified for McCarthy committee about evils of communism became the president who made great progress in American-Soviet relations; Reagan developed friendship with & respect for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who was determined to bring policy of glasnost (openness) to his country; the 2 negotiated far-reaching treaty limiting nuclear missiles; in 1989, pressure mounted in Eastern Europe, & gradually nations threw off communist rule

Chunk of Berlin Wall

In 1961, communists in eastern Europe barricaded people of East Berlin into their city; angered by many defections to west, East Germany built wall between east & west Berlin; it was manned by snipers, & over the years a number of people were shot trying to cross border to freedom; it became stark, cold symbol of "iron curtain" separating east & west President Reagan, speaking at Berlin Wall in 1987, called upon his new friend, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear down the wall; although he didn't personally take a sledgehammer to the wall, many east Berliners eventually did; Wall was torn down in 1990

AIDS Ribbon

In early 1980s, new disease appeared: first in Africa, & then worldwide AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, & it's spread through virus identified as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus); deadly disease cripples its victims with fatigue, skin, & other types of cancers, & respiratory problems; reported deaths & infections began to soar It was first identified in US, primarily among gay men who were spreading disease through sexual contact; American government seemed slow to respond to growing health crisis, & many blamed attitudes & prejudices against homosexuals; the disease, which was nonexistent in US prior to 1980, had killed nearly 19k people by end of decade

Republican Party

Key individuals & organizations led its resurgence in 1980s & 1990s In early 1970s, conservative political & social activist Phyllis Schlafly organized National Organization for Women (NOW), which advocated anti-feminist views to defeat Equal Rights Amendment Republican Christians also became prominent in political elections because of Moral Majority (an organization founded by Jerry Falwell in 1979); other organizations, like National Rifle Association (NRA), endorsed political republican candidates because of their pro-gun policy beliefs; campaign donations from Moral Majority & National Rifle Association helped financially support Ronald Reagan's run for president During same time period, Heritage Foundation was founded as conservative think tank in Washington, DC; organization's conservative research became foundation for many of Ronald Reagan's economic policies

Financial Newspaper

On October 19, 1987, stock market suffered its 2nd-largest 1-day drop in history; economists have never settled on exact causes of crash; contributing factors included large amount of speculation in market, which is traditionally volatile Many aspects of trading had become computerized, with automatic sales orders kicking in when stocks reached a certain low price; some believed that many companies were overvalued (their assets weren't worth as much as their outstanding stock) Regardless of reason, the crash was evidence that, after 6 years, the economy had sufficiently recovered from recession of 1970s

Flag of Grenada

One of the last actions against communism during Cold War took place in tiny island of Grenada in Caribbean; few Americans, outside of those who attended medical school there, could even locate Grenada on a map Leftist government with ties to communist nations took control in 1983; seeing this as threat to stability in western hemisphere, President Reagan took action 2k military troops were sent to Grenada; although pretext of involvement was to protect American students there, troops helped topple new government; UN condemned American action, & it did little to foster goodwill among Latin American nations

Judicial Gavel

Ronald Reagan was never known as advocate for women's rights; he vehemently opposed proposed Equal Rights Amendment to Constitution & other laws that would've legislated equal treatment; however, he did nominate 1st woman to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor served from 1981 to 2006; she had to build a career the hard way; after graduating near the top of her law school class at Stanford University, she was unable to find law firm who would hire a woman for any work other than secretarial duty; she struck out on her own, carving a career in public service until her nomination to Supreme Court

Crew Patch of Space Shuttle Challenger

Space shuttle Challenger was star of American space shuttle program; it flew on large number of successful missions after its 1st flight in 1983 On January 28, 1986, all eyes were on Cape Canaveral for the launch; mission received special attention after nationwide search was conducted to find teacher to travel on the mission; New Hampshire science teacher Christa McAuliffe was selected, & she was the 1st civilian to occupy a seat to space; just 73 seconds after liftoff, Challenger exploded in flight, killing all 7 aboard; faulty O-ring seal, damaged by cold spell, was blamed for catastrophe; NASA suffered severe setback to its mission schedule, & didn't resume shuttle flights until 6 years later