Grand Canyon University HIS-450 Worksheet: Reagan-Bush Years Analysis

This assignment is a worksheet response for a US History course, HIS-450, focusing on the Reagan-Bush years (1981-1993). The student answers prompts about Reaganomics, detailing its goals, impact on the US economy, and its successes and failures, including the rise of GDP, the end of stagflation, and the widening of the income gap. The response also explores the concept of a "Go-Go" economy and assesses whether the US economy in the 1980s fit this description. Further, the assignment examines the "Culture Warriors" and their impact on American society during the 1980s, as well as the Iran-Contra scandal, analyzing its effects on US politics and society. Finally, the student discusses the impact of the Rehnquist Court, evaluating its rulings and their influence on American society. All answers are supported by research and citations.

HIS-450 Topic 7 The Reagan-Bush Years: 1981-1993 Worksheet
Instructions: In 200-300 words, respond to the following prompts. Each prompt should be
supported with research. Each response is worth 7 points.
1. What was “Reaganomics”? Describe the difference in the state of the U.S. economy
from when Reagan took office in January of 1981 until he left in January of 1989. Was
this change a positive change? Explain.
Reaganomics is the conservative economic policy of President Ronald Reagan, which addressed
the recession and stagflation between 1981 and 1982. Stagflation, along with double-digit
inflation, represents an economic contraction. According to the father of Reaganomics,
President Reagan has accomplished each of the four major policy goals, though not as much as
he and his supporters had hoped (Davis,1985). Between 1981 to 1985 Niskanen was a member of
the Economic Advisory Board of Reagan. Inflation has been tamed, but not for fiscal policy, but
due to monetary policies. The recession ended with Reagan's tax cuts. Yet public expenditure
hasn't been reduced. It has only shifted from regional to defense programs.
Reagan's economic policy's four pillars were to cut government cost growth, decrease federal
income tax and capital gains tax, reduce regulations by the government as well as strengthen the
supply of money to prevent inflation. There is always a debate about the outcomes of
Reaganomics (Garavini, 2015). From joining the office in January 1981, there had been stronger
growth of GDP as well as the end of the stagflation. However, after 1989, widening of the
income gap together with the tripling of the national debt are some of the negative changes
towards the future economy.
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2. What is a “Go-Go” economy? Was the U.S. economy in the 1980s a “Go-Go” economy?
Explain.
A Go-Go economy is such an economic situation when fast growth happens. Many businesses
grow fast and capital can easily be obtained. The boom phase can be identified in this economy.
The term is used to explain a period of financial or business development which is especially
rapid and active (Wasserman & Watt, 1981). The U.S economy was not at all a go-go economy
at the 1980s. Though the Reagan initiated in several economic programs for the reduction of the
marginal rate of taxes for encouraging longer work hours, which in turn resulted in production as
well as stimulation of the entire economy, the entire economy endured to a deep recession
through 1982.
In contrast with the previous year, company bankruptcies rose 50%. As exports of farmers
moved, crop prices decreased and interest rates rose, farmers were particularly hitted (Jayadev,
Mason & Schröder, 2018). Nevertheless, the recession, coupled with falling oil prices and the
close control of cash and credit by the Federal Reserve, helped to reduce fluid inflation. The
economy had rebounded by 1983 and the United States had been one of the longest cycles of
sustainable economic growth following World War II. From 1983 to 1987, the annual inflation
rate stayed below 5%.
3. Who were the “Culture Warriors”? Assess their impact on the U.S. during the 1980s.
"Cultural war" in the United States refers to the claim that these Conservative and Liberal values
lie in conflict. It began in the 1920s when rural and urban values of America were in some class.

By the 1980s,' social history' had evolved into' cultural history,' taking its approach to symbolism
and language more than social structures from many Anthropologists of the middle of the
twentieth century. But cultural history then fought hard to lay the foundation for the historic
trade as cultural anthropology was legionary at the beginning of the 1990s (O'reilly,2007).
Progressively, cultural history had already lost traction as many self-styled "culturalists" have
begun to publish works that reflect their dissertation advisors ' intellectual histories which had
been displaced centuries ago. Cultural wars in the United States ' economy have inspired many
farcical, millenarian rhetoric and led to a period of public discussion between the right and the
left which deserves to be remembered and probably imitated. Some of the impact of the cultural
was in 1980s in the U.S economy were as follows. New media outlets have altered the way
people have experienced popular culture (Wiener, 2004). In many ways, these new media have
helped privatize life, as people have moved the emphasis from public spaces to home. The film
theatres, which enabled the visitors to watch films in their living room's privacy, faced
competition from a video cassette recording device.
4. What was the Iran Contra scandal? What effect did it have on politics and society in
the U.S.? Explain.
The Iran-Contrá affair had been a controversial US arms deal which exchanged missiles and
other weapons in favor of armed conflict in Nicaragua, to free some Americans held hostage by
Lebanese terrorists, but also used weapons funds for arms dealings. This was the controversial
contract and subsequent political scandal, which challenged Ronald Reagan's presidency
(Gibson, 2010). The Iran / Contra affair dominated headlines for several months as one of the
most complex and interesting scandals in decades. It consisted of three interconnected parts:
Iran, a country desperate for material in its lengthy war with Iraq, was sold by the Reagan
administration for arms; Iran, in exchange for weapons, used its influence to help free Americans
hostage in Lebanon; and arms were purchased at high prices, with excess gains diversified to
support the "contra" fighting of Reagan (Marshall, Scott & Hunter, 1987). Towards the effect
over the society and the politics, the Iran Contra scandal resulted in serious sufferings of the
society through the temporary loss of the credibility as the major opponent of the terrorism.

Furthermore the scandal raised questions regrading the power related to executive branch as well
as the extent and effectiveness of the oversight of the congress and its foreign affairs.
5. Describe the impact of the Rehnquist court. How did their rulings affect American
society? Explain.
William Rehnquist, who served in the position since 1969, became the Chief Justice in 1986.
Antonin Scalia joined the Court in conjunction with Rehnquist's nomination as Chief from his
previous role as Associate Justice. The Court of Rehnquist applies to the US Supreme Court
from 1986 to 2005 when the Chief Justice of the United States was William Rehnquist. The
major implication of the Rehnquist court was that the court stopped some of the Earl Warren
excesses while maintaining pace with feelings of a majority of the population (Williams, 2006).
The Court of Rehnquist was a cooperative Court because it was split. Often at the detriment of
the federal government, the Rehnquist Court supported a program of New Federalism in which
the States were given more power. The Rehnquist Court also showed its stability, since between
1994 and 2005, the same nine judges served together the longest period in the history of the
Supreme Court (L'Heureux-Dube, 1998). Towards understanding the ruling effects over the
American society, it can be stated that the agreement of all Republicans on regulatory issues led
to the Court’s treating of some degree of deregulation as required by the Constitution, but the
overall acceptance of the post-New Deal regulatory State by traditional Republicans limited the
extent of deregulation.

References
Davis, M. (1985). Reaganomics Magical Mystery Tour. New Left Review, 149, 45-65.
Garavini, G. (2015). From Boumedienomics to Reaganomics: Algeria, OPEC, and the
international struggle for economic equality. Humanity: An International Journal of
Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development, 6(1), 79-92.
Gibson, B. R. (2010). Covert relationship: American foreign policy, intelligence, and the Iran-
Iraq war, 1980-1988. ABC-CLIO.
Jayadev, A., Mason, J. W., & Schröder, E. (2018). The political economy of financialization in
the United States, Europe and India. Development and change, 49(2), 353-374.
L'Heureux-Dube, C. (1998). The importance of dialogue: globalization and the international
impact of the rehnquist court. Tulsa LJ, 34, 15.
Marshall, J., Scott, P. D., & Hunter, J. (1987). The Iran-Contra connection: secret teams and
covert operations in the Reagan era (Vol. 120). Black Rose Books Ltd..
O'reilly, B. (2007). Culture warrior. Three Rivers Press.
Wasserman, M. A., & Watt, S. N. (1981). The economy in 1980. Fed. Res. Bull., 67, 1.
Wiener, M. J. (2004). English culture and the decline of the industrial spirit, 1850-1980.
Cambridge University Press.
Williams, D. C. (2006). Like a loaded weapon: The Rehnquist court, Indian rights, and the legal
history of racism in America. Perspectives on Politics, 4(3), 604-605.