Movement Conservatism
Name the coalition of organizations, intellectuals, activists, and voters that promoted limited government, free markets, traditional social values, and a strong national defense.
Movement Conservatism
What economic theory argues that lowering marginal tax rates and reducing regulation will incentivize investment and production?
Supply-side economics
What organization led by evangelical Christians became a political force in the 1970s-1980s, focusing on abortion, school prayer, and family values?
The Moral Majority
What term describes a more assertive foreign policy emphasizing U.S. global leadership, often associated with formal liberals turned hawks?
Neoconservative (or neoconservatism)
What scandal involved secret arms sales to Iran and diversion of funds to Contra rebels in Nicaragua?
Iran-Contra Affair
Identify one well known think tank associated with movement conservatism that produced policy research and proposals.
Examples: Heritage foundation, American Enterprise Institute (either acceptable)
Give the common name for the economic program of the Reagan administration built on supply-side economics.
Reaganomics
Explain how social conservatism shaped Republican political strategy in the 1980s.
Social conservatism supplied a mobilized voter base on cultural issues, helping Republicans win elections and shape platforms (e.g., emphasizing family values, opposition to abortion)
Name the 1983 missile-defense proposal intended to protect the U.S. from nuclear attack and showcase technological strength.
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Define deregulation and give one industry that experienced major deregulation in the 1970-1980s.
Deregulation; example industries: airlines (Airline Deregulation Act earlier), banking, telecommunications
Explain how the Moral Majority influenced movement conservatism and give one social issue it mobilized voters around.
The Moral Majority mobilized Christian voters; issue example; opposition to abortion
Define stagflation and explain why it posed a challenge to 1970s economic policy.
Stagflation is the combination of slow growth (stagnation), high unemployment, and high inflation; it undermined traditional Keynesian policy that treated inflation and unemployment separately
Describe one cultural or demographic factor that helped conservatives gain political influence in late 20th century America.
Examples: suburbanization, religious mobilization (evangelical and Catholic turnout), reaction against 1960s cultural changes
Explain how glasnost and perestroika affected the trajectory of the Cold War.
Glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) loosened Soviet political control and attempted economic reform, accelerating pressures contributing to the Cold War's end
Explain the role of think tanks in the conservative movement and how they affected public policy.
Think tanks produced policy research, shaped legislation proposals, provided experts to administration, and influenced media and congressional debates
Describe two ways movement conservatism helped reorganize American party politics between the 1960s and 1980s.
Possible answers: realignment of white Southern voters to the Republican Party; coalition building across business interests, religious conservatives, and anti-communist foreign policy hawks
Summarize monetarism's main policy prescription for controlling inflation and name the economist most closely associated with it.
Monetarism emphasizes controlling the money supply to control inflation; Milton Friedman
Analyze how debates over "traditional values" influenced policy or electoral outcomes at the national level during the Reagan era.
Example: Reagan-era appeals to "family values" and cultural conservatism helped secure votes among social conservatives and influenced appointments and policy priorities
Define unipolarity in the context of the post-Cold War international system and explain why they U.S. was described this way.
Unipolarity: a system dominated by one superpower (the U.S.). After the Soviet collapse, the U.S. had unmatched military, economic and diplomatic influence.
Describe one political consequence of the Iran-Contra Affair for the Reagan administration.
Consequences include damaged credibility, investigations and congressional hearings, and questions about executive accountability. Politically, Reagan's approval dipped but he completed his term
Analyze the role of intellectuals and grassroots activists in movement conservatism: how did each contribute to creating a durable conservative coalition?
Intellectuals provided policy ideas and research (think tanks, scholars); grassroots activists built local organizations and voter mobilization; together they legitimized ideas and produced electoral strength.
Evaluate the main criticisms of Reaganomics from its opponents, citing at least two distinct economic or social concerns.
Criticisms include increasing income inequality, larger budget deficits despite tax cuts, benefits skewed toward the wealthy, and insufficient automatic stimulus to spur broad-based growth
Assess the tensions between libertarian economic conservatism and social conservatism within the conservative coalition. Provide an example where these strands conflicted.
Tension example: libertarian opposition to government regulation of personal behavior vs. social conservatives' support for laws reflecting moral values (e.g., debates over drug policy or censorship)
Discuss how neoconservative ideas influenced U.S. interventions or foreign policy debates in the late 20th century. Use one specific policy or event as an example.
Example: Neoconservative advocacy for assertive U.S. leadership and democracy promotion informed debates over interventions; could cite support for strong anti-Soviet policies, proxy conflicts, or later influence on post-Cold War interventions.
Trace the institutional and political steps that allowed supply-side economics to be implemented at the federal level during the Reagan years (mention legislation, leadership, and institutional support).
Steps: election of Reagan with pro-supply-side platform; passage of large tax cuts (e.g., Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981); mobilization of supportive think tanks and advisors; use of presidential appointments and policy advocacy to enact deregulation and tax policy