The difficult problems faced by both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, including a controversial pardon, a sluggish economy, an energy crunch, and a Middle Eastern crisis
Religious revivalism, the tax revolt, and the challenge of the New Right to the liberal-moderate consensus that had dominated American politics since the New Deal
The personal magnetism, hybrid conservatism, supply-side economic policies, and foreign policy challenges of Ronald Reagan
The end of the Cold War under Mikhail Gorbachev, and the foreign policy problems facing George H.W. Bush
A thorough study of Chapter Thirty-one should enable the student to understand the following:
The contentious domestic issues affecting the "custodianship" of President Gerald Ford
The rapid emergence of Jimmy Carter as a national figure and the reasons for his victory in 1976
Carter's emphasis on human rights and its effects on international relations
Carter's role in bringing about the Camp David agreement, and his failure to extricate the hostages from Iran
The nature of the "Reagan revolution" and the meaning of "supply-side" economics
The rise of the New Right in American politics and the effect on fiscal and foreign policy
The staunchly anticommunist Reagan foreign policy and its part in fostering the Iran-Contra scandals
The increasingly conservative mood of the American electorate, as exemplified in the Sagebrush rebellion and the Tax revolt
The crucial role of Mikhail Gorbachev in bringing an end to the forty-year long Cold War
The emergence of a new era in foreign policy with the collapse of the Soviet Union
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