Unit 9 the eighties (ch. 22)

"trickel down"

"Trickle-down economics", also referred to as "trickle-down theory", is a term associated with laissez-faire capitalism in general and more specifically supply-side economics. The term is often used to criticize economic policies which favor the wealthy or privileged, while being framed as good for the average citizen. The phrase has been used by critics of supply-side economic policies, such as "Reaganomics". David Stockman, who was Reagan's budget director agreed with Reagan's tax cuts at first, but then became critical of them. Political opponents of the Reagan administration soon seized tried to brand the administration as caring only about the wealthy.

AIDS

(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). Huge deadly outbreak in the '70s started with gay men and was labeled the "gay plague" but soon began to affect drug users, hemophiliacs, and minorities. Expensive to treat, no cure. The virus appeared in America in the early 1980s. The Reagan administration was slow to respond to the "AIDS Epidemic," because effects of the virus were not fully understood and they deemed the spread of the disease as the result of immoral behavior.C Everett Koop caused government to spend 1.3 billion on AIDS assistance.

Nelson Mandela

African leader who spent 27 years in jail as a result of his efforts to end apartheid; freed in 1990, he was later elected as president of South Africa. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalized racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress. Received Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

apartheid

After the National Party gained power in South Africa in 1948, its all-white government immediately began enforcing existing policies of racial segregation under a system of legislation that it called apartheid. Under apartheid, nonwhite South Africans would be forced to live in separate areas from whites and use separate public facilities, and contact between the two groups would be limited. Despite strong and consistent opposition to apartheid within and outside of South Africa, its laws remained in effect for the better part of 50 years. In 1991, the government of President F.W. de Klerk began to repeal most of the legislation that provided the basis for apartheid.

Ronald Reagan

American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics", advocated tax rate reduction to spur economic growth, control of the money supply to curb inflation, economic deregulation, and reduction in government spending. In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, spurred the War on Drugs, and fought public sector labor. Over his two terms, the economy saw a reduction of inflation and an average annual growth of real GDP of 3.4. While Reagan did enact cuts in domestic discretionary spending, tax cuts and increased military spending contributed to increased federal outlays overall, even after adjustment for inflation.

"new world order"

At the end of the Cold War Pres. H.W. Bush proclaimed a "new world order," where the United States became the sole superpower. Assumes the triumph of capitalism over communism, the US becomes world's only superpower and policing force. Promotion of liberal democracy and of a global economy predicated on transnational corporate growth through institutions like the World Bank and WTO. Both domestic and international opposition to the claimed New World Order came in the form of protests and asymmetrical warfare, or terrorism.

1980 election

Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent Ronald Reagan ran for president. The United States underwent a wrenching period of low economic growth, high inflation and interest rates, and intermittent energy crises Reagan, aided by the Iran hostage crisis and a worsening economy at home, won the election in a landslide. Republicans won control of the United States Senate for the first time in 28 years. This election marked the beginning of what is popularly called the "Reagan Revolution."

what was the real cause of the cold war ending? did america win the cold war,or did the soviets loose the cold war-is there a difference?

During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end. The age of tension was gone between the two countries and communism had been stopped. The soviets lost the war because Gorbachev took over and the government was failing. He slowly disbanded the secret police and tried to fix policies with the U.S. The soviet union lost the war because the country fell apart and had to be helped by the U.S.

Manuel Noriega

He was a Panamanian politician and military officer. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989, when he was removed from power by the United States during the invasion of Panama. From the 1950s until shortly before the U.S. invasion, Noriega worked closely with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Noriega was one of the CIA's most valued intelligence sources, as well as one of the primary conduits for illicit weapons, military equipment and cash destined for U.S.-backed counter-insurgency forces throughout Central and South America. Noriega was also a major cocaine trafficker, something which his U.S. intelligence handlers were aware of for years, but allowed because of his usefulness for their covert military operations in Latin America.

new jersey v T.L.O

In a New Jersey high school, a teacher found two girls smoking in the bathroom and took them to the principal's office. One girl admitted to smoking but the other, known as T.L.O., denied it. The principal demanded to see the girl's purse and found evidence that she was also selling marijuana at school. T.L.O. was taken to the police station where she admitted to selling marijuana. Based on her confession and the evidence in her purse, the state of New Jersey brought charges against her. In a juvenile court, T.L.O. argued that her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures had been violated. The court sided with the school, and T.L.O. took her case to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which later found that the search was unreasonable and the evidence could not be used.

jerry fallwell/moral majority

Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an American evangelical Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative political commentator, known for his stance against homosexuality. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church. He founded Lynchburg Christian Academy (now Liberty Christian Academy) in 1967, Liberty University in 1971, and co-founded the Moral Majority in 1979. The Moral Majority was a prominent American political organization associated with the Christian right and Republican Party. It was founded in 1979 by Baptist minister Jerry Falwell and associates, and dissolved in the late 1980s. It played a key role in the mobilization of conservative Christians as a political force and particularly in Republican presidential victories throughout the 1980s.

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last General Secretary of the Soviet Union. He was installed as chairman of the Soviet Communist Party in March 1985 Gorbachev's domestic reforms and nuclear disarmament deals helped end the Cold War but ultimately led to the dramatic downfall of communism in Europe. He was amicable, energetic, and most of all committed to reforming the Soviet Union. He championed two policies: glasnost and perestroika. These measures would promote "openness" and "restructuring" of the economy. These measures, however, required that the Cold War be put to an end. His cooperation with Ronald Reagan has earned the two leaders great praises.

Oliver north

North is primarily remembered for his term as a National Security Council staff member during the Iran-Contra affair. North formulated the second part of the plan, which was to divert proceeds from the arms sales to support the Contra rebel groups in Nicaragua, which had been specifically prohibited under the Boland Amendment. It was alleged that he was responsible for the establishment of a covert network which subsequently funneled those funds to the Contras. Congress passed the Boland Amendment, which prohibited the appropriation of U.S. funds by intelligence agencies for the support of the Contras. North was summoned to testify before televised hearings of a joint congressional committee that was formed to investigate the Iran-Contra scandal. During the hearings, North admitted that he had lied to Congress previously, for which and other actions he was later charged. He defended his actions by stating that he believed in the goal of aiding the Contras, whom he saw as freedom fighters against the Sandinistas and said that he viewed the Iran-Contra scheme as a "neat idea."[25] North admitted shredding government documents related to these activities, at William Casey's suggestion, when the Iran-Contra scandal became public. He also testified that Robert McFarlane had asked him to alter official records to delete references to direct assistance to the Contras and that he had helped. North was convicted of three felonies. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard Gesell on July 5, 1989 to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation,

solidarity

Polish labor union crushed by the communist-imposed martial-law regime in 1983. The first non-communist trade union in any country since the Warsaw Pact. It was created to protest working conditions and political repression. It began the nationalist opposition to communist rule that led in 1989 to the fall of communism in eastern Europe. Due to the social movement, partially free elections in Poland took place in 1989 and after the fall of the Soviet Union, the union's leadership took power in Poland. This movement was one of the first movements in a Soviet satellite nation to challenge the communist government

operation desert storm

Political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. They hoped, thereby, to fund the Contras in Nicaragua while at the same time negotiating the release of several U.S. hostages. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress. The scandal began as an operation to free seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah, a paramilitary group with Iranian ties connected to the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. It was planned that Israel would ship weapons to Iran, and then the United States would resupply Israel and receive the Israeli payment.

EQ #3 discuss the debates over social issues such as AIDS and sexual behavior,homelessness,and abortion. What impact have these issues had on the traditional political parties? what role did the "religious right" play in these debates?

Politics has been the main driver of action as well as inaction and denial regarding AIDS. Positive political action has greatly enhanced the global response to AIDS. Politics has been a negative force at times, blocking important policy developments on AIDS, and prevention of sexual transmission of HIV. Inaction reflects a political denial, an unwillingness to engage in sensitive issues, such as those inextricably linked to HIV transmission. If politicians had acted on the issues such as AIDS and abortion religious groups would have been outraged because they didn't believe in the sexual revolution.

EQ #2 The promise of Keynesian economics was consistent economic growth and persistent economic stability. How successful were Keynesian policies in fulfilling this promise? Why did Ronald Reagan and the Republicans turn to supply-side theory ? How did it work?

Reagan claimed an undue tax burden, excessive government regulation, and massive social spending programs hampered growth. Reagan proposed a 30% tax cut for the first three years of his Presidency. The bulk of the cut would be concentrated at the upper income levels. The economic theory behind the wisdom of such a plan was called supply-side.Tax relief for the rich would enable them to spend and invest more. This new spending would stimulate the economy and create new jobs. Reagan believed that a tax cut of this nature would ultimately generate even more revenue for the federal government.Reagan turned to supply-side because they thought the lower taxes would help the U.S. The Keynesian's were semi successful in fulfilling their promise.

EQ #5 how should history view the presidency of Ronald Reagan? Was he a great, good, fair, or bad president and why?

Reagan was a good president because he took a good stance against the USSR, cut taxes, and cut gov programs except in military programs in order to fight the USSR. Also to reduce the nations deficit. He fought communism, went to Nicaragua, and also fought communism. He got back hostages but at the result of breaking the law because he traded them for weapons. He wanted to have the Iranians fight the USSR. During his presidency unemployment reached 11% and got the U.S more into debt. This caused more economic damage. Overall he helped the U.S more than he hindered it.

great communicator

Reagan was a really good communicator. Reagan knew how to deliver his lines, and he had an innate ability to touch the American soul. "There's no question that President Reagan was among the greatest communicators we've ever seen," says Ken Khachigian, once one of Reagan's chief speechwriters. credited with helping to win the Cold War and for overseeing one of the most robust and expanding economies in U.S. history.

EQ #1 to what extent was the election of Reagan an endorsement of his conservative ideology, and to what extent was it a repudiation of the perceived failures of the federal government policies in the stalemated 1970's?

Ronald Reagan won the U.S. presidency in 1980, at the end of a decade of humiliation and frustration for the American people. using his affable personality as a potent political weapon, Reagan helped to restore confidence in the country's future and went on to convert millions of Americans to his conservative political ideology. during the 1980s, Reagan oversaw a sustained economic recovery, driven primarily by one of the great bull markets of all time on Wall Street. soaring profits in the stock market minted millionaires by the thousands, lending the Reagan era a certain gold-rush aura as more people attained spectacular wealth than ever before in American history. looking beyond America's borders, the 1980s brought first heightened tension and then unexpected victory in the decades-old Cold War with the Soviet Union; the peaceful collapse of the global Communist bloc Reagan once denounced as an "Evil Empire" stood as a monumental triumph in American foreign policy.

Nancy Reagan

She was criticized early in his first term, largely due to her decision to replace the White House china, despite it being paid for by private donations. She aimed to restore a Kennedy-esque glamour to the White House following years of lax formality, and her interest in high-end fashion garnered much attention as well as criticism. She championed recreational drug prevention causes by founding the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign, which was considered her major initiative as First Lady. More discussion of her role ensued when it was revealed in 1988 that she had consulted an astrologer to assist in planning the president's schedule after the attempted assassination of her husband in 1981. She had a strong influence on her husband, and played a role in a few of his personnel and diplomatic decisions.

Sandra Day O'Connor

She was the first woman to serve as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Pro-life and religious groups opposed O'Connor's nomination because they suspected, correctly, she would not be willing to overturn Roe v Wade. she was known for her dispassionate and meticulously researched opinions. For 24 years, Sandra Day O'Connor was a pioneering force on the Supreme Court and will always be remembered as acting as a sturdy guiding hand in the court's decisions during those years—and serving a swing vote in many important cases.

steve jobs

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were entrepreneurs credited to leading the computer revolution. They founded Apple computers in 1976 in the San Francisco Bay Area which produced small, individual computers. Apple was the first commercial success for computers. Under Jobs' guidance, the company pioneered a series of revolutionary technologies, including the iPhone and iPad.

tiananmen square massacre

Student-led demonstrations in Beijing in 1989. It refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period. The protests were forcibly suppressed after the government declared martial law. Troops with assault rifles and tanks killed at least several hundred demonstrators trying to block the military's advance towards Tiananmen Square. The reforms of the 1980s had led to a market economy which benefited some people but seriously affected others. the effects included inflation, limited preparedness of graduates for the new economy, and restrictions on political participation. The students called for democracy, greater accountability, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech, though they were loosely organized and their goals varied. At the height of the protests, about a million people assembled in the Square.

Lebanon bombing

The 1983 Beirut barracks bombings were terrorist attacks that occurred on October 23, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Lebanese Civil War when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing Multinational Force in Lebanon. Peacekeepers, specifically against United States and French service members, killed 241 U.S. and 58 French peacekeepers, six civilians, and the two suicide attackers. An obscure group calling itself 'Islamic Jihad' claimed responsibility for the bombings and that the bombings were aimed to get the MNF out of Lebanon. Two suicide bombers detonated each of the truck bombs. In the attack on the building serving as a barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines. This incident was the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since World War II's Battle of Iwo Jima, the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Armed Forces since the first day of the Vietnam War's Tet Offensive, the deadliest single terrorist attack on American citizens in general prior to the September 11 attacks.

fall of berlin wall

The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989, when the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border whenever they pleased. the spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party announced a change in his city's relations with the West. Starting at midnight that day, he said, citizens of the GDR were free to cross the country's borders. At midnight, they flooded through the checkpoints. The reunification of East and West Germany was made official on October 3, 1990, almost one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. To this day, the Berlin Wall remains one of the most powerful and enduring symbols of the Cold War.

INF treaty

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) is the abbreviated name of the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed in Washington, D.C. by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The INF Treaty eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their launchers, short-range and intermediate-range. The treaty did not cover sea-launched missiles. By May 1991, 2,692 missiles were eliminated, followed by 10 years of on-site verification inspections.

grenada

The Invasion of Grenada took place on October 25th, 1983. The U.S. military was trying to stop a military coup that had overthrown the democratic government. This was the first time since the conflict in Vietnam, that American soldiers went into combat. Bernard Coard led this coup with the help of the native Grenada troops along with a handful of Cuban troops. The troops that remained loyal to the democratic Grenada were defeated and on the run. President Reagan saw this as a great opportunity to crush the Cuban army and cripple Fidel Castro's army. While the coup was going on, a group of 1000 American students were studying there, giving Reagan the perfect excuse to launch a military campaign. Also an American Marine base in Beirut was attacked by a suicide Muslim bomber killing 240 American soldiers on Oct. 23, 1983. These two reasons made the American public completely support the invasion, because something had to be done to stop these chain of events from getting worse. Reagan assigned Joseph Metcalf to design an operation to overtake the island. Metcalf came up with Operation: Urgent Fury. It would consist of aerial attacks and bombings along with a ground-force invasion.

new right

The New Right also called Reagan Conservatism refers to a conservative movement which brought key elements of the American Right under the banner of anti-communism. The movement was so named because it set itself apart from the isolationist and laissez-faire "Old" Right. The New Right had its roots in the post-WWII era, beginning with the red scare of the early 50s and the death of Ohio Senator Robert Taft. The term "New" Right was coined in 1962 in an article for "Young Americans for Freedom," and became a popular descriptor for them in '75.

Sandinistas

The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a democratic socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas. The FSLN overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending the Somoza dynasty, and established a revolutionary government in its place. Following their seizure of power, the Sandinistas ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990. They came under international criticism for human rights abuses, mass execution and oppression of indigenous peoples. A militia, known as the Contras, was formed in 1981 to overthrow the Sandinista government and was funded and trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency. In 1984 elections were held but were boycotted by some opposition parties. The FSLN won the majority of the votes,[15] and those who opposed the Sandinistas won approximately a third of the seats. The civil war between the Contras and the government continued until 1989. After revising the constitution in 1987, and after years of fighting the Contras, the FSLN lost the first truly democratic election in 1990 to Violeta Barrios de Chamorro but retained a plurality of seats in the legislature.

strategic defense initiative

The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars, was a program first initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. The intent of this program was to develop a sophisticated anti-ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries, specifically the Soviet Union. SDI was an important part of his defense policy intended to end MAD as a nuclear deterrence strategy, as well as a strategic initiative to neutralize the military component of the Soviet Union's nuclear defenses.

regents of university of CA v Bakke

The Supreme Court ruled that a university's use of racial quotas in its admissions process was unconstitutional, but a school's use of affirmative action to accept more minority applicants was constitutional in some circumstances. The case involved the admissions office at UC Davis in the med school. The medical school reserved 16 out of 100 seats in its entering class for minorities. The rigid admissions quota was administered by a special committee. Allan Bakke, a white applicant, was twice denied admission to the medical school even though his MCAT scores, GPA, and benchmark scores were much higher than those of some minority applicants. Bakke sued the University in a state court, alleging that the medical school's admission policy violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The California Supreme Court agreed, finding that the quota system explicitly discriminated against racial groups.

budget deficit

The amount by which a government, company, or individual's spending exceeds its income over a particular period of time. Reagan came into office proposing to cut personal income and business taxes. The Economic Recovery Act was supposed to reduce revenues by $749 billion over five years. But this was quickly reversed with the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. In 1982 Reagan supported a five-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax and higher taxes on the trucking industry. In 1983, on the recommendation of his Spcial Security Commission, Reagan called for a Social Security tax increases of $165 billion over seven years. A year later came Reagan's Deficit Reduction Act to raise $50 billion.

contras

The contras was a label given to the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing militant groups. They were in opposition to the left-wing, democratic socialist Sandinista Junta in Nicaragua. Among the separate contra groups, the Nicaraguan Democratic Force emerged as the largest by far. In 1987, virtually all contra organizations were united into the Nicaraguan Resistance. From an early stage, the rebels received financial and military support from the United States government, and their military significance decisively depended on it. After US support was banned by Congress, the Reagan administration covertly continued it. These covert activities culminated in the Iran-Contra affair.

"evil empire"

The phrase evil empire was first applied to the Soviet Union in 1983 by Reagan, who took an aggressive, hard-line stance that favored matching and exceeding the Soviet Union's strategic and global military capabilities. He called for a rollback strategy that would finish the soviet union. Reagan depicted nuclear warfare as an extension of the "age old struggle between good and evil", while arguing that an increased nuclear inventory as well as progress in science and technology were necessary to prevent global conflict. Through the star wars, evil empire, and zero option speeches, the Reagan administration used rhetoric to reshape public knowledge about and attitudes toward nuclear warfare.

savings and loan crisis

The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was the failure of thousands of savings and loan associations in the United States from 1986 to 1995. In 1979, the Federal Reserve System of the United States raised the Discount Rate that it charged its member banks in an effort to reduce inflation. The savings and loans associations had issued long-term loans at fixed interest rates that were lower than the interest rate at which they could borrow. In addition, the S&Ls had the liability of the deposits which paid higher interest rates than the rate at which they could borrow. When interest rates at which they could borrow increased, the S&Ls could not attract adequate capital from deposits to savings accounts of members. Rather than admit to insolvency, lax regulatory oversight allowed some S&Ls to invest in highly speculative investment strategies. This had the effect of extending the period where S&Ls were technically insolvent. These adverse actions also increased the economic losses for the S&Ls than would otherwise have been realized had their insolvency been discovered earlier.

challenger

The second orbiter of NASA's space shuttle program to be put into service following Columbia. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California. It broke apart 73 seconds into its tenth mission resulting in the death of all seven crew members, including a civilian school teacher. It was the first of two shuttles to be destroyed in flight. The accident led to a two-and-a-half year grounding of the shuttle fleet. Flights resumed in 1988. Challenger itself was replaced by Endeavour which was built using structural spares ordered by NASA as part of the construction contracts for Discovery and Atlantis.

bill gates

United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States and founder of microsoft. 1975, Gates and Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft, which became the world's largest PC software company.

glasnost

When Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, he launched his nation on a dramatic new course. His dual program of "perestroika" ("restructuring") and "glasnost" ("openness") introduced profound changes in economic practice, internal affairs and international relations. Within five years, Gorbachev's revolutionary program swept communist governments throughout Eastern Europe from power and brought an end to the Cold War. The largely political and economic rivalry between the Soviets and the United States and their respective allies that emerged following World War II. Gorbachev's actions also inadvertently set the stage for the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, which dissolved into 15 individual republics.

perestroika

a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the 1980s until 1991. It was widely associated with Soviet leader Gorbachev and his glasnost policy reform. The literal meaning of perestroika is "restructuring", referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system. Perestroika is sometimes argued to be a cause of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe, and the end of the Cold War

Iran Contra affair

a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. Senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. They hoped to fund the Contras in Nicaragua while at the same time negotiating the release of several U.S. hostages. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress. The scandal began as an operation to free seven American hostages being held in Lebanon by Hezbollah. It was planned that Israel would ship weapons to Iran, and then the United States would resupply Israel and receive the Israeli payment.

supply-side economics

argues economic growth can be most effectively created by investing in capital and by lowering barriers on the production of goods and services. The economic theory of "Reaganomics" emphasized cutting taxes and government spending in order to stimulate investment, productivity, and economic growth by private enterprise.

Pope John Paul 2

brought the world's attention to the solidarity movement of the Polish, calling for human rights. He became a hero of the Polish nation. He ruled against wider role for women in church and stiffened policy against birth control. American Catholics opposed him against abortion and Evangelicals agreed with him.

Reaganomics

refers to the economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. These policies are commonly associated with supply-side economics, referred to as trickle-down economics or voodoo economics by political opponents, and free-market economics by political advocates. The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to reduce the growth of government spending, reduce the federal income tax and capital gains tax, reduce government regulation, and tighten the money supply in order to reduce inflation.

George H.W Bush

the 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and the 43rd Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he was previously a congressman, ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence. He is the oldest living former President and Vice President. n 1988, Bush ran a successful campaign to succeed Reagan as President, defeating Democratic opponent Michael Dukakis. Foreign policy drove the Bush presidency: military operations were conducted in Panama and the Persian Gulf; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and the Soviet Union dissolved two years later. Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office, Bush also signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise and, after a struggle with Congress, signed an increase in taxes that Congress had passed. In the wake of a weak recovery from an economic recession, along with continuing budget deficits and the diminution of foreign politics as a major issue in a post-Cold War political climate, he lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton.

Saddam Hussein

was the leader of Iraq during the middle of the Cold War. Although initially supported by the U.S. to fight Iran, he ordered an invasion of Kuwait but was defeated by United States and its allies in the Gulf War. Kuwait made him a prime enemy of America. Waged war on Iran in 1980-1988. During these conflicts, Saddam repressed movements he deemed threatening to the stability of Iraq, particularly Shi'a and Kurdish movements seeking to overthrow the government or gain independence, respectively. While he remained a popular hero among many disaffected Arabs everywhere for standing up to the West and for his support for the Palestinians, U.S. leaders continued to view Saddam with deep suspicion following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Saddam was deposed by the U.S. and its allies during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.