HIST 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 35: Urban Decay, Stagflation, Government Spending
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Economic Trouble
Flagging faith om Keynsian economics
Government spending will promote growth and then this will happen
throughout society and make people richer
○
The Vietnam war threw in the fact that this kind of spending had a
limit
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Faltering of the economy
Aging industrial economy, globalization, inflation, increasing
unemployment
○
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Stagflation
Unemployment and inflation
○
Carter: tax cuts, increased public works spending, Fed increases
money in circulation and keeps spending rate low
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Worsening urban blight, loss of manufacturing jobs
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Economy is stagnant and there is rising inflation
○
-
Carter White House waffled on welfare policy
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Energy issues
OPEC price raises in 1973, 1976 (1971 - $1.80/barrel - 1980 -
$30/barrel)
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Carter conflict with congress on energy policy
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Three mile island (1979)
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Oil and petroleum exporting countries decide to not sell oil to the
US, Canada and nations because of their policy support for Israel
after the Yom Kippour War
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(in)famous speech - "Crisis of Confidence" in 1979
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Americans have high unemployment rates that are returning to those of
the Great Depression
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Sense of inflation of unemployment went hand in hand
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Carter Foreign Policy
Taking positive directions to improve foreign policy and improve relations
in the world that were affected by the Vietnam war
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Amnesty of draft resisters, relaxing of anti-communist rhetoric
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Renegotiates with Panama - Panama Canal Treaty
Returns the canal to Panama in a few years
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Camp David Accords (1978)
Creates peace between Israel and Egypt, Egypt recognizes Israel's
legitimacy as a state
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Marks pivot in US foreign policy towards the middle east (important
strategic value)
○
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Focus on "human rights"
Argued that US support of repressive dictatorship tarnished US
power and influence (like places in Latin America)
Foreign regimes that were very oppressive should not be
getting anymore guns and training if they have committed
mass atrocities
§
○
Conservatives and neo-cons argued that communism was the biggest
human rights violation
Becomes very important to Republican foreign policy
§
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Different people define what human rights are differently, people
value certain rights more than others
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Iran Hostage Crisis
American-supported shah overthrown in 1979
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The shah enters the US for medical treatment in November 1979
Iranians think that they should not let the shah into the US and that
he needs to be punished
○
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Iranian militants and students seized US embassy and 66 American
hostages
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52 hostages, 444 days where there is constant news coverage
Become a symbol of Carter policy in Iran
○
Carter was not able to be effective in his domestic policy about the
US economy
○
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Carter: economic sanctions, failed rescue mission
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Decides he is going to send in an attempt to free the hostages, but the
plane crashed and the pilots died and it was a huge disaster
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Carter gives a speech and tries to grapple with what he sees as a huge
crisis
Seen as one of the most depressing and unpopular speech in
American history
○
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Election of 1980
Ronald Reagan: "Hollywood" charisma, governor of CA
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His platform: opposition to welfare state, federal tax cuts, defense build
up, improving the "misery index" - name Reagan administration gave to
the Stagflation crisis
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Republicans won presidency, control of the Senate (ascendancy and shift
towards the republican administration)
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Republican Coalition - "New Right"
Post-war right-win Republicans
Free-market economic principles, cultural conservatism
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Ex: Milton Friedman ("Chicago School"), YAF
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Neoconservatives
Previous democrats, anti-communism, Israel, antipathy to
counterculture
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Ex: Irving Kristol
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Silent Majority
Suburbs
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Ex: Phyllis Schlafly
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Connected to one another through their political connection under
Nixon
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Religious Right
Evangelical Christians and some Catholics
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Faith in traditional modes of organization
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Business Leaders
Emphasis on free enterprise, deregulation of the economy, funding
grassroots organizations
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Ex: Joseph Coors
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Important of think tanks: Ex - American Enterprise Institute, Heritage
Foundation
Support conservative research, principles and clubs become popular
and part of the Republican coalition
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Monetary Importance of Political Action Committees
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Minutes after Reagan is sworn in, the Hostages are released
This is a new dawn for American politics (revolution)
○
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Reagan Revolution
Policies: cutting federal taxes and government regulatory structure,
boosting national-security and military capabilities
Supply-side/reaganonomics/trickle-down/voodoo economics
At first there was a downturn, then upturn (17 million new
jobs (low paying), huge drop in inflation)
§
Debates over causes and effects
Annual deficits actually triples, foreign debt skyrocketed □
Prosperity for many, including middle class African
Americans, but widening gap between rich and poor
□
§
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Election of 1984
Democrat: Mondale - expanded social welfare programs, anti-
discrimination
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Lecture 35 - Morning in America
Monday, April 9, 2018
9:35 AM
