MYP Unit Question: How can the contributions of one person affect the direction of an entire nation?

 

Guiding Question: How did Culture and the Role of the President Shape Post-WWII America?

 

The 1980s

Featuring President Ronald Reagan

 

Shanna Murphy, Tanvi Gangal, Allison Wagner, Ashish Kondoju

 

Shanna

Allison

Tanvi

Ashish

 

Business & the Economy- T

 

The economy was the main issue during the presidential election of 1980 of Reagan vs. Carter. The economy was central issue and Reagan asked voters, "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" Reagan plan to bring economic recovery was to have the federal government take no decisive action. Reagan wanrted to reduce the size of the federal government, reducing taxes, and letting market forces correct economic problems. Even though the problems did not go away, public confidence increased when Reagan was elected. Although the public thought that the economy was improving, the unemployment rate

 

Education- T

 

The 1980s was a time of great growth and change in education. Now that opportunities were more equal, the nation strived for excellence. The percentage of Americans graduating from high school rose from 50 percent in 1950 to 75 percent in 1980. In the early 1980s access to higher educatation was readily available. A College Board study found in 1982 that one-third of all colleges were "open door" (meaning any high-school graduate could attend).

 

 

Now that more and more people were attending school and seeking educations, many people were now adressing the problem of poor quality education. When colleges lowered their entrance requirements in the late 1970s, most high schools abolished strict course requirements, and the quality of education suffered. The once rigorous curriculum was now being affected by the introduction of electives, which replaced more-academic courses in Science, Math, and English.

 

The main problem at this time was funding. The government had the drive to change the educational system, the monetary problem was however, unavoidable. Although the Reagan administration claimed to support educational reform, the was little financial support.

 

 

Fashion

The 1980's was a decade marked by traditionalism, luxury, and consumerism. Reagan's lavish inaugural celebration gave Americans security and an excuse to indulge themselves. Yuppies (young urban professionals) displayed their wealth through their clothing. Everyone wanted to show off how wealthy and successful they were by wearing expensive clothing, especially clothes with labels such as Ralph Lauren and Lacoste. Other signs of wealth trickled down to the middle classes in the form of scarves, pearls, and gold chains thanks to shopping malls. Street fashion took suggestions from the British antiestablishment punk movement of the 1970s, which included secondhand or torn clothing, black leather, and multiple earrings. This fashion collided with the yuppie fashion to produce a strange mixture of preppy and punk. There were also styles derived from the style of urban rappers and break dancers, which included baggy pants, heavy gold chains, and name-brand sneakers. The 1980's revived many previous fashions such as those from the 1950's and 1970's. Also, the gap between what normal people wore and what was modeled on the runway widened.

 

T

 

Film &  Theatre

 

 

 

With the 1980’s action flicks, “dumb comedies”, horror films, and patriotic films grew in popularity. At the time Reagan had instituted the fight against communism, with this fight came the love for patriotic films such as Red Dawn (1984). Films like Caddyshack (1980) became popular. These “dumb-comedies” relied little on that of dialogue and heavily on physical humor. Probably the most popular of these films were the sequels to 1977’s Start Wars.

Theatre got a huge boom during the 1980’s some of the  most popular Broadway plays of all time such as Cats (1982), Les Miserables (1987), and The Phantom of the Opera (1988). It is then that they started merchandising and actually profiting off of their franchise.

 

Food &  Drink 

       In the years of jazzercise the 80’s were surprisingly unhealthy. During that time things like New! Coke failed while Starbucks though founded in 1971 grew vastly in popularity. The 1980’s were also when the “ketchup is a vegetable” outrage grew across the nation. This was shortly after Reagan came into office and millions were cut from student lunch programs. It was then that the U.S.D.A declared that ketchup counted as a vegetable on school lunches. 

 

If you get the chance check out this awesomely 80's coke commercial!

Print Culture

 

     In the 1980’s big publishing houses were driven by profit, so they tended to publish books by known writers and offered fewer chances to new talent. They also tended to be engaged in publishing magazines, music, and videos, so they often looked for ideas that could be cross-promoted. The biggest sellers were called "blockbusters" because they were written by big-name authors like Stephen King, Danielle Steel and lots more. Magazines and newspapers were also a big part of the 1980's. The big news among newspapers was the introduction of USA Today in 1982. Magazines, on the other hand, continued to grow more and more specialized. Fashion magazines were started for hip teens, middle-aged women, older women, and even plus-sized women. Other specific markets were targeted by magazines, including young black males, Hispanics, college students, food enthusiasts, and sports fans of all sorts.

 

Sports &  Games 

 

 

Some sports during this period included basketball, football, golf, hockey, The Olympics: 1980, the Olympics: 1984, the Olympics: 1988, racing, tennis and a lots more. Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Michael Jordan were some of the legendary players in the NBA and are still known for their skill. Some of the famous awards during this period included Super Bowl XIV, 1984 MLB World Series won by the Detroit tigers, NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons loosing to the LA Lakers, Magic Johnson led the Lakers to eight championship series in the decade, and the 1989 NCAA won by Michigan. Athletes no longer stuck with a team for years; instead, they jumped from team to team as they received offers for more money. The fact that many pro and college athletes were involved in drug-use scandals in the decade also ruined the image of the athlete as a role model.

  

Music

 

In the early eighties, first the Walkman and then compact disks became popular, which made “portable” music a big hit. On August 1^st, 1981, MTV began broadcasting. Michael Jackson’s hit song Thriller came out in 1982. Rap music began to be taken seriously because of Run-D.M.C. Madonna’s album Like A Virgin became the first album by a female artist to sell more than five million copies. On July 13^th, 1985, The Live Aid concert was held in London and Philadelphia in order to raise money for African Famine relief. It was broadcasted to 1.6 billion people around the world and raised $70 million.

 

 

 

 

"They Way We Lived" 

 

The 80’s were the time of “yuppies.” Young successful people who took to wearing Ralph Lauren clothes as well as Rolex watches, they resided in both cities as well as suburbs. Many thought they were above the law and took to doing illegal activities. Jealousy began to rise as yuppies became more and more popular. Those in lower classes felt like yuppies were reaping all the benefits the government had to offer with tax breaks. Reagan however promised that these tax breaks would eventually trickle down to help them as well.

Yuppies were not the only well publicized group at the time. Jerry Falwell formed the Moral Majority that went on to televise preachers, in order to spread the Christian ideals. Of course, there was a response to this. A group of so called “skin-heads” went on to publicly go against Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority. That is why the 1980’s are known to be a “decade of social extremes.”

 

 

Government & Politics

 

After Nixon resigned from Watergate, the nation's trust in their government was broken. Ronald Reagan was optimistic and promised to return America to glory through hard work, self-reliance, and faith in God. He promised to improve the economy by reducing taxes, and reducing the budget. Although many critics said his economic plan stole from the poor to give to the rich, Reagan argued his plan would stimulate the wealth of the economy and it would trickle down to the middle class in the form of jobs and raises. His plan of tax breaks did not work as planned. Less taxes means less revenue for the government, and the economy did not grow fast enough to offset this loss of revenue.

 

Foreign policy was very basic in the beginning: any enemy of Communism was a friend to the United States. Reagan provided money and weapons to any country or group who fought Communism, even if they were not reliable or honorable. Reagan ordered more than $1 trillion in new defense spending. He even proposed some kind of shield around the country that would protect it from nuclear attack. How exactly this would be carried out was never made clear, and many experts believe the science behind the plan was impossible.

 

 Law &  Justice

 

 

     The country was entering a decade of change that was soon to become known as the Reagan revolution. Even though the Reagan revolution promised many things, Reagan was being criticized by civil rights leaders for his lack of motivation in ensuring that the rights of minorities continued to be diligently protected. It was during the 1980s that the public came to realize just how dangerous and unpredictable crime was. The 1980s were also called the "me" decade. Presidents Reagan and Bush declared a war on drugs that helped educate the public and cut down on certain types of drug abuse, but did little to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the country.

 

Religion- T

 

          The 1980s was a time of reevaluating and refocusing for many religions. After the 1970’s uncertain and chaotic times, religions wanted to define their definitions and as a result, many controversies appeared. Protestantism was adopted by 55 percent of the US population and remained the most popular religion. Churches were beginning to merge as the Presbyterian Church USA was formed as a combination of the Northern and Southern Presbyterian branches that split during the Civil War. The Lutheran Church also merged three leading Lutheran bodies—the Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The biggest change during the 1980s in Protestantism was the growth of conservative or evangelical sects. Evangelicals were growing in popularity with their conservative and fundamentalist views on the Bible and questions of morality. When Pope John Paul II came in power in 1978, a more conservative message came to the US from the Vatican especially with stringent moral doctrines—no ordinations of female priests, no use of contraceptives or abortion, and no remarriage in the church after having been divorced. This caused tense relations between American Catholics and the Vatican church.

 

 

           In the 1980s, as American society became more modern and people moved away from the traditional way of life, it became more difficult for people to stay true to their strict religious rules. Americans tended to listen less more to their own opinions and consciences. Religion, became more personalized in the 1980s. The mystical New Age Movement grew just as its antipodal evangelical movement gained support. The decade was one of new ideas clashing with traditional values. 

Key Religious Events:

 

3 May 1988

The United Methodist Church revises its hymnal and book of worship to represent a less sexist tone

11 Nov. 1984

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops releases the first draft of its pastoral letter on the state of the United States' economy.

3 Nov. 1983

Rev. Jesse Jackson declares his candidacy for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

23 Mar. 1983

President Ronald Reagan is given a humanitarian award by the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

6 May 1983

President Reagan endorses a constitutional amendment authorizing voluntary group prayer in public schools.

4 Nov. 1980

Ronald Reagan is elected president after being greatly supported by the New Christian Right.

 

Ronald Reagan

 

 

 

 

 

Where I Live(ed):

 Raised in Tampico, Illinois

 

 

Date of Birth:

 February 6th, 1911 

 

 

Date of Death:

 June 5, 2004 

  

Political Views:

 

     Born to a Democratic family but became a Republican. Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of his heroes, even after becoming a Republican. As Governor of California he promised tax breaks but could not deliver. During his presidential campaign he called for reassertion of American power, which included an increase in the defense budget.

 

Religious Views:

     Reagan's mother was very religious and he was raised to be sympathetic to charities, but his religious background did not significantly influence his adult life. 

 

 Years Served as President:

1981-1989

 

Occupations: 

Actor, Governnor of California

 

 Interests/Hobbies:

 Previously an actor but became interested in politics

 

Education:

Educated at Eureka College

• got his first taste of political leadership and public speaking when he helped defeat a plan to lay off teachers and cancel classes

Sports:

• In college he played football and swam

• After college he got a job announcing for a sports radio station, which helped him with public speaking

 

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (at home) included: 

 

Political

 

• The October surprise hurt Reagan’s image including his administration. Individuals associated with the Reagan-Bush campaign of 1980 met secretly with Iranian officials to delay the release of the American hostages until after the Presidential election. For this favor, Iran was rewarded with a substantial supply of arms from Israel.

 

•  The Economy shifted in the mid 1980’s from relying primarily on manufacturing to relying on service jobs such as computer programming, law and medicine.

   

•  Increased debt held by the public from $789 billion in 1981 to $3.0 trillion (48.1% of GDP) in 1992.

 

Social

• drastic shrinking of nondefense, social-welfare expenditures

• conservative social agenda at all levels of the federal judiciary by nominating only “the ideologically faithful.”

• Reagan had a major influence on media power in the 1980, especially with his background in Hollywood. Reagan had more media influence than JFK in the 20th century. Because of his background and presense he became known as the Great Communicator.  In music, down-home heroes like Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp climbed the charts on the strengths of their blue-collar, heartland lyrics (Springsteen's biggest album of the period was Born in the U.S.A.), yet the birth of rap and its vocal dissatisfaction with unfair treatment of minorities and the poor in the lyrics of groups such as Public Enemy, KRS-One, and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five also occurred under Reagan's terms. Films moved toward hard-bodied, masculine heroes such as Sylvester Stallone (whose mythic Rambo was the de facto Reagan icon; in one political speech, Reagan actually compared himself to the character), Chuck Norris, the wildly popular Arnold Schwarzenegger, and, of course, Clint Eastwood (whose character's challenge, "Go ahead, make my day," Reagan appropriated as a motto during a foreign policy speech).

  Television became fascinated with the Reagan 1980s, especially the world of glitz and glamour.

 

Economic

•  Reagan cut taxes and helped end the growing inflation.

•  He thought that high taxes and excessive federal regulations discouraged private investment and business innovation.

• When entering office, Reagan had a pretty good economic plan, that seemed to work, in actuality it did not do anything to improve the economy.

• Taxreform bills passed by the U.S. Congress substantially reduced income tax rates for individuals and corporations, but the economy did not grow quickly enough to offset that loss of revenue. Primarily because of major increases in military spending, the federal deficit grew enormously by the end of the decade. Reagan could take credit for strengthening the economy, but the huge deficit marred his economic accomplishments.

 

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (abroad) included:

 

Political

 

Reagan's was strictly against foreign policy. He thought communism was the all evil and any enemy of communism was a friend of the US. This belief was overpowering and greatly supported by the communism scare at this time. He placed great emphasis and resources (troops and money) towards this cause. Reagan spent excessive amounts of money on the military because " it is vital to increase our margin of safety in an increasingly hostile world."

 

He thought international Communism was the greatest threat to U.S. security.

 

During his presidency, Reagan made huge improvements in Soviet-American relations.

• Reagan authorized an intervention on the Caribbean island of Grenada in October 1983 that overthrew a revolutionary government allegedly headed by totalitarian Marxists.

• Reagan's greatest success was in helping to end the Cold War. U.S.-Soviet relations at first worsened after Reagan came to the White House. The president bluntly condemned the Soviet Union, calling it an "evil empire" in a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, an organization that was part of the religious Right, which strongly supported Reagan. Some Soviet officials feared that Reagan might launch a preventive war, especially after his announcement in March 1983 of a strategic defense initiative (SDI). This plan, popularly known as Star Wars, would use new technologies to build a shield against nuclear attack. However, at the same time Reagan quietly sought to improve Soviet-American relations, accelerating these efforts after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in March 1985. The two developed a strong personal relationship, and they signed an Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty in 1987 requiring both sides to destroy an entire category of nuclear missiles. When he visited Moscow in May 1988, Reagan told reporters that the "evil empire" was part of "another time, another era." In a speech in Berlin in June 1987, Reagan had demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Two years later, in November 1989, the Berlin Wall, which separated East from West Berlin and which was the most visible symbol of the Cold War, came down.

 

 

Social

• He directly confronted the Soviet Union through a policy of "peace through strength," including increased military spending.

   

• He was against the spread of communism and wanted belief in democracy.

• The period of the Cold War was coming to an end thanks to Mikhail Gorbachev becoming the Soviet premier, or leader. This came after many changes in Soviet leaders in a short period of time, so the way people commonly felt about Communism was becoming shaky and confused. But Reagan's relationship with Gorbachev helped ease people's fear of Communism somewhat. Part of Gorbachev's plan was to reduce military spending to save money for the people. This meant that two common fears or misconceptions about Communism (the fear of being attacked and the thought that they were poor from having their money taken away) had been irradicated. Although people did not instantly become sympathetic to Communists, the divide between the systems of government was altered.

 

 

 

Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats."  Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:

 

Commander-in-Chief

 

Job Description: "The use of force as an instrument of diplomacy, or of war and other extended hostilities,, has presented significant constitutional conflicts both between Congress and the President, and between individuals and the state. The President's power as commander-in-chief under such circumstances goes far beyond the conduct of military operations (Rostow 3).

 

Reagan made full use of his "commander-in-chief hat". He placed great emphasis on matters of domestic and international security, especially with regard to communism and communit countries. He was afraid that communism would spread throughout the world and instead spread ideas of democracy. Reagan used the military force to check on several countries including Grenada, Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe. His emphasis on stopping the Cold War was probably the most noble achievement due to his leading capabilites as commander-in-chief.

 

Chief Executive

Job description: "The President is the head of the executive branch of the government, whose responsibility is to take care that the laws are faithfully executed"

 

Reagan, like all presidents had to help maintain the governement and the system of checks and balances. He was the oldest man to serve as Chief Executive. While in office he used the power of federal agencies to influence activities of the U.S. government. His major successes were in his tax-reform package and economic policies. He however spent too much on the military to make any significant improvement in the overall economy. Reagan however had the most executive impact and created a his economic policies had a great influence in the 1980s. 

 

Chief Diplomat

 

Reagan represented what American stands for and its beliefs abroad. During his presidency, Reagan stressed the importance of democracy and anti-communism. He created a certain image of America wherever he went and helped build strong ties and relations with other countries.

 

Manager of the Economy

Reagan focused more heavily on the defense of the country than most presidents have in the past. This used up many American tax dollars and not everyone thought it was worth it.

 

Party Leader

 

Job description: The party leader is the most powerful member of a political party.

 

Reagan had a great control over the nation especially with his Republican views. He conducted government and his policies according to the beliefs of this party. He kept close ties with religion and took into account many social/political factors when making decisions.

 

National Leader

 

As national leader, Reagan was able to help the nation get through hard times and keep the nation united. He pushed for specific goals such as anti-communism and economic reforms, and helped recover.

 

 

Favorite Quotes made by Me :

 

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table. "

"How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin. "

"I don't believe in a government that protects us from ourselves." 

 

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' "

 

 

 

 

 

Ronald Reagan's signature:

 

 

 

 Positive Political Cartoon

 

 

A positive look on Reagan’s presidency, stating that Reagan was such a great president and was so well liked he left with the current Republican candidates with very large shoes to fill.  

 

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 

 

          This cartoon blatantly states all the negative things Reagan did while in office. However, it not only bashes him and the things he did as president, but it also bashes current Republican Party leaders. Saying the goal of the party is to do widely frowned upon things. 

 

 

Works Cited:

 

"The 1980s: Education: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 10 vols. 6 June 2009. 

 

"The 1980s: Business and the Economy: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 10 vols. 6 June 2009.

 

"The 1980s: Religion: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Vincent Tompkins. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 10 vols. 6 June 2009.

Pach, Chester, Jr. "Reagan, Ronald." Americans at War. Ed. John Resch. Vol. 4: 1946-Present. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 172-174. 4 vols. 12 June 2009.

 

 

Guiding Question

     It is very difficult to be just one person and influence and entire nation, especially one that is as large as the United States of America. However, if you are one of the rare few that is President of the U.S.A. your ability to take charge and influence many is quite large.

     For Example, President Ronald Reagan influenced everything from the foods kids were eating in schools to the films being produced. Though somethings he changed were minimal he was still able to command and influence an entire nation.