USA BY 1980 Flashcards
(4 cards)
Jeffery Williams (2022):
Jeffery Williams (2022):
“The culture wars had flared up during the 1980s, enjoined by a rising movement of conservatives who charged that American society had lost its way. The root of the problem, in their view, was a decline of cultural and moral values, rather than economic or other political issues. In particular, they indicted university faculty, especially those in the humanities, who subscribed to postmodernist theory. The conservatives held that Western civilization had attained the apex of human achievement, and its major works in literature, philosophy, and art expressed exemplary values, which undergirded American society and culture. In contrast, a good number of contemporary scholars and critics held a more relativist view, finding our values not timeless or universal but an expression of the biases of their society and culture.”
Reagan’s Election Victory in 1980
89-49 Electoral College Votes / 55.3% to 44.7% of pop. vote
The Carter’s gains in the South in 1976 were not secure, his capacity to unify Democrats and appeal to Republicans was temporary.
Carter failed to connect with ordinary Americans, his administration failed to avoid corruption and scandal, and his approval rating dropped to around 30% in 1979.
Carter presided over a troubled economy: real income (adjusted for inflation) had risen by only around 1.5% since the late 1960s; inflation at 14% by 1980, government running a budget deficit and the country in recession Jan.-Jul. 1980.
The Iranian Hostage situation combined with the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan to humiliate Carter’s approach to foreign policy.
Reagan’s Victory was Not inevitable…
Carter’s approval ratings substantially improved through the winter of 1979-1980 (although then dropped again); Carter was able to unite the Democratic party after defeating Edward Kennedy (youngest brother of JFK); Reagan became associated with a series of extreme positions – e.g. State’s Rights, creationism, and the Vietnam War as a noble cause.
Reasons for Reagan’s Victory
Regan was able to ruthlessly exploit Carter’s failings showing him as weak and incapable whilst appealing to winning blend of social conservativism, economic neoliberalism, fervent anti-communism, and a more relaxed, confident optimism in a resurgent America both domestically and internationally.
