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UT Arlington HIST 1312 - Reagan, Post-Cold War, and teh War on Terroism

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HIST 1312 1st Edition Lecture 7Outline of Last Lecture I. The Anticommunist Crusadea. Loyalty and Disloyaltyb. The Spy Trialsc. McCarthy and McCarthyism d. An Atmosphere of Feare. The Uses of Anticommunismf. Anticommunist Politicsg. Cold War Civil RightsII. The Eisenhower Eraa. Origins of the Vietnam WarIII. Vietnam and the New Lefa. Lyndon Johnson’s Warb. The Antiwar Movementc. The CountercultureOutline of Current Lecture IV. The Regan Revolutiona. Conservatives and Reaganb. Reagan and the Cold WarThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used asa supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.c. Iran-Contra Affaird. Reagan and Gorbacheve. Reagan’s LegacyV. The Post-Cold War Worlda. The Crisis of Communismb. A New World Order?c. The Gulf Ward. Visions of America’s RoleVI. A New Century and New CrisesVII. The War on Terrorisma. Bush before September 11b. “They Hate Freedom”c. The Bush Doctrined. The “Axis of Evil”Current LectureThe Regan RevolutionRegan became president in 1980.- Conservatives and Reagano Reagan in some ways disappointed ardent conservatives, even though he implemented some of their policieso The administration lef intact core elements of the welfare state, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which many conservatives wished to curtail significantly or repealo Abortion remained legal, women continued to enter the labor force in unprecedented numbers, and Regan appointed the first female of the Supreme Courto Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) – rare victory for cultural conservatives; Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of state laws outlawing homosexual acts (2003– decision was reversed due to unconstitutionality)- Reagan and the Cold Waro In foreign policy, Reagan resumed vigorous denunciation of the Soviet Union (“evil empire”) and sponsored the largest military buildup in American history New long-range bombers and missileso In 1983, he proposed an entirely new strategy, the Strategic Defense Initiative, which would develop a space-based system to intercept and destroy enemy missiles Idea was not feasible technologically and also would violate the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972o Reagan came to office with a desire to overturn the “Vietnam syndrome” – as widespread public reluctance to commit American forces overseas was calledo He sent American troops to the Caribbean island of Grenada to oust a pro-Cuban government o In 1982, Reagan dispatched marines as a peacekeeping force to Lebanon, where civil war raged between the Christian government, supported by Israeli forces, and Muslim insurgents Quickly, they were removed afer a bomb exploded at their barracks – killing 241 Americanso Reagan realized that the public would support minor operations like Grenada butremained unwilling to sustain heavy casualties abroado Abandoning the Carter administration’s emphasis on human rights, Reagan embraced the idea that the US should oppose “totalitarian” communists but to assist “authoritarian” noncommunist regimeso UN and US stepped up alliances with Third World anticommunist dictatorshipso Administration poured in funds to combat insurgencies against the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala, whose armies and associated death squads committed flagrant abuses against their own citizens When El Salvador’s army massacred hundreds of civilians in the town of ElMozote in 1981, the State Department denied that the event, widely reported in the press, had taken place- Iran-Contra Affairo American involvement in Central America produced the greatest scandal of Reagan’s presidency, the Iran-Contra Affairo 1984 – Congress banned military aid to the Contras (derived from the Spanish word for “against”) fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua, which had ousted the American-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979o 1985 – Reagan secretly authorized the sale of arms to Iran – now involved in a war with its neighbor, Iraq – in order to secure the release of a number of American hostages held by Islamic groups in the Middle Easto CIA director William Casey and Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council set up a system that diverted some of the proceeds to buy military supplies for the Contras in defiance of the congressional ban Scheme continued for nearly two yearso 1987 – afer Middle Eastern newspaper leaked the story, Congress held televise hearings that revealed a pattern of official duplicity and violation of the law reminiscent of the Nixon erao Reagan denied knowledge of the illegal proceedings, but the Iran-Contra affair undermined confidence that he controlled his own administration- Reagan and Gorbachevo In his second term, Reagan sofened his anticommunist rhetoric and established good relations with Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev.o Gorbachev had come to power in 1985, bent on reforming the Soviet Union’s repressive political system and reinvigorating its economy Inaugurated policies:- Glasnost (political openness)- Perestroika (economic reform)o Gorbachev realized that the significant change would be impossible without reducing the country’s military budgeto A series of talks between 1985-1987 between Reagan and Gorbachev, yielded more progress on arms control than in the entire postwar period to that point, including an agreement to eliminate intermediate- and short-range nuclear missiles in Europeo In 1988, Gorbachev began to pull troops out of Afghanistano Reagan lef office with hostilities between the superpowers much diminished He repudiated his earlier comment that Soviet Union was an “evil empire,” saying that it referred to “another era”- Reagan’s Legacyo In some ways, the Reagan Revolution undermined the very values and institutions conservatives held dearo Intended to discourage reliance on government handouts by rewarding honest work and business initiative, Reagan’s policies inspired a speculative frenzy that enriched architects of corporate takeovers and investors in the stock market while leaving in their wake plant closings, job losses, and devastated communities o Nothing proved more threatening to local traditions or family stability than deindustrialization, insecurity about employment, and the relentless downward pressure on wagesThe Post-Cold War World- The Crisis of Communismo April 1989 – tens of thousands of students occupied


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UT Arlington HIST 1312 - Reagan, Post-Cold War, and teh War on Terroism

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