What you’ll learn to do: explain Ronald Reagan’s presidency and the rise of conservatism

Figure 1. President Ronald Reagan.

The Reagan Revolution marked the culmination of a long process of political mobilization on the American right. In the election of 1980, Ronald Reagan soundly defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter. Reagan’s superior rhetorical skills enabled him to gain widespread support for his plans for the nation. Implementing a series of economic policies dubbed “Reaganomics,” the president sought to stimulate the economy while shrinking the size of the federal government and providing relief for the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers. During his two terms in office, he cut spending on social programs, while increasing spending on defense.

In this section, you’ll learn about the political and social conservatism of the 1980s. Conservative politicians like Reagan wished to limit the size and curb the power of the federal government, but they also had social and cultural concerns. In the so-called Culture Wars of this time, the progressives and conservatives clashed over issues like Gay Rights, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and adding warning labels to music containing explicit lyrics. Meanwhile, an epidemic of HIV/AIDS grew to crisis proportions, as the federal government failed to act, and the so-called war on drugs began a get-tough trend in law enforcement that mandated lengthy sentences for drug-related offenses.