Unit 9 Vocab

Thirty-ninth President. The former governor of Georgia, he ran as an outsider in the 1976 Presidential election. Served one term. He pardoned Vietnam War draft dodgers, established the Departments of Energy and Education, and returned the Panama Canal to Panama. Internationally, he oversaw the Camp David Accords, ended détente in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and was dogged by the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

• Carter

• Reagan

• Ford

• Nixon

Fortieth President. Served 1981–1989. Former two-term governor of California, he heralded a shift within the Republican Party toward an ideological conservatism. Domestically, he oversaw massive tax cuts, economic deregulation, and increased defense spending. Internationally, he took a hawkish line with the Soviet Union while also negotiating arms limitations. His final years in office were dogged by the Iran-Contra scandal.

• Carter

• Reagan

• Ford

• Nixon

A significant pivot point in U.S. political history, where the New Deal ideology of the 1930s was replaced by a socially conservative, free market ideology. The “New Democrats” of the 1990s were a response to this, as leftwing policies were perceived to be unpopular with modern voters.

• Reagan Revolution

• Carter Malaise

• Johnson Great Society

• Bush Tax Revolution

The first female Justice of the Supreme Court. Appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, she was a moderate Republican regarded as a swing vote, favoring narrow rulings. Retired in 2006 and replaced by Samuel Alito.

• Sandra Day O'Connor

• Hillary Clinton

• Your mom

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg

A scandal where the Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran in exchange for the release of Americans held hostage, and then used the profits from that sale to illegally support right-wing insurgents in Nicaragua. Led to calls for Reagan’s impeachment. In late 1992, President George H. W. Bush pardoned those under trial for their part in Iran-Contra.

• Iran Contra Scandal

• Iran Hostage Crisis

• 1st Gulf War

• CIA coup detat in Iran

A proposal by Ronald Reagan to intercept incoming nuclear missiles using lasers fired from orbital platforms. Popularly known as _____ it was considered technologically infeasible by scientists.

• Star Wars

• Star Trek (in all ways superior to Star Wars)

• Battle Star Galactica

• Space Balls

Eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union (1985–1991). He sought reform with his glasnost and perestroika policies. Oversaw the democratisation of Eastern Europe. However, the revival of nationalism throughout the Warsaw Pact proved problematic for him. The failed August Coup of 1991 by hardline communists fatally wounded his power base. Resigned on December 25, 1991. Transferred power over Russia to another leader.

• Brezhnev

• Khrushchev

• Gorbachev

• Yeltsin

(“openness”) A policy instituted by Gorbachev, it allowed Soviet citizens to publicly criticize the government and discuss social problems in the hope of finding solutions.

• glasnost

• perestroika

• yeltsin

• gorbachev

(“restructuring”) A policy instituted by Gorbachev, it introduced limited free market reforms to the Soviet Union’s socialist planned economy. A key aspect of the Soviet Union’s fall.

• glasnost

• perestroika

• yeltsin

• gorbachev

Forty-first President. Served 1989–1993. Considered a moderate Republican, his presidency was defined by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. He pushed for international cooperation in a “New World Order,” such as in Operation Desert Storm. Signed but did not ratify the NAFTA treaty. Breaking his “Read my lips: no new taxes” promise alienated conservatives ahead of the 1992 election.

• Carter

• Reagan

• Ford

• Bush