Paper 2 Theme 4 Flashcards
Republican dominance and its opponents 1981-92
1
Q
How did Reagan’s economic policy affect families?
A
context: 1970s, unemployment averaged 6.2% per year compared to 4.1% in the 1960s, inflation reached double figures- Reagan launched the ‘Program for Economic Recovery’ which abandoned the demand management approach of Jimmy Carter, Carter tried to end stagflation by increasing govt spending and manipulating rate of tax, Reagan supported the ‘supply side’ of economics which aimed to create economic growth through improvements in productivity (‘Reaganomics’)
positive effect:
- Reagan proposed major tax cuts and a reduction of $35 billion in public spending, Omnibus Reconciliation Act cut govt spending on almost 300 programmes - caused a reduction in spending of $963 billion between 1981 and 1987, second Economic Recovery Tax Act cut personal income tax by 25%
- GNP grew by 11% between 1981 and 1984, one of the fastest growths since WW2
negative effect:
- Medicare (healthcare aid for the elderly) suffered cuts as did Medicaid (healthcare aid for the poor)
- in 1981 when Reagan took office, roughly 3.7 million people were receiving aid under the ADFC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), about 20 million had food stamps (food given to unemployed workers) and 21.6 million received help under Medicaid- Omnibus Reconciliation Act cut ADFC and food stamp support by around 13% between 1982 and 1985
- child nutrition programs were cut by 28% and the number of people defined as ‘poor’ increased from 11.7% of the population in 1979 to 15% by 1982
- spending on federal departments was slashed- Department of Housing and Urban Development’s budget was cut by 57% between 1981 and 1987- social spending (which increased under presidents from Kennedy to Carter) decreased 1.5% under Reagan
- Omnibus Reconciliation Act introduced ‘workfare’- linked aid from ADFC with community service, 1987 42 out of 50 states followed the federal govt’s lead on this and introduced welfare programmes linked to some sort of work, 1988 Family Support Act ensured this approach became a permanent feature of US society
2
Q
How did Reagan’s economic policy affect workers?
A
positive effect: introduced large scale economic deregulation to try and promote economic growth by cutting funding to federal bodied that regulated industry
- Reagan’s cuts were unpopular but the growth in the US economy that came from it increased spending power of middle class families and explains why Reagan won a landslide victory in 1984
negative effect:
- Reagan appointed pro-business members to the National Labor Relations Board which resulted in anti-trade union decisions
- biggest confrontation with trade unions was when Reagan tried to de-regulate air traffic control- 11,300 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers (PATCO) went on strike against deregulation plans, Reagan demanded they return to work within 48 hours or they would be sacked, when they did not return Reagan sacked them all- union members were replaced by non-union workers and Reagan broke the strike
- Reagan’s success against trade unions encouraged large corporations to resist union demands- 1983 the Greyhound bus company, Eastern Airlines, Continental Airlines and the Chicago Tribune newspaper all refused to give in to union demands for better pay and conditions- failed strikes led to unions becoming a lot less militant and radical
3
Q
How did Reagan’s policies lead to trade and budget deficits?
A
- 1980 Reagan said he was committed to reducing federal govt spending but it rose by $321 billion during his presidency to more than $1 trillion
- main budget cuts were in social spending which only took up 17% of the federal budget, Reagan greatly expanded military spending which was a main cause of the budget deficit
- Reagan dramatically increased defence spending which led to the biggest military build-up in peacetime US history- annual defence spending rose from $171 billion at the end of the Carter administration to $242 billion by 1986, by 1983 federal spending on defence took up 23.5% of GDP, number of federal employees (which were cut in other areas) rose from 2.9 million in 1981 to 3.1 million by 1983- had a large impact on federal budget deficit and rose national debt from $914 billion in 1980 to $2.7 trillion by 1989
- trade deficit with other countries was reduced- 1986, trade deficit amounted to $170 billion, before WW2 the USA lent money to other countries and they were the ones others owed, Reagan changed this to the point where the USA became the world’s biggest debtor nation, owing billions of dollars to other countries
- Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act tried to deal with these deficits by gradually reducing federal budget deficit until it disappeared by 1991- by the time Reagan left office in 1989 it was far from reaching its goal
HOWEVER
- Reagan’s policies did benefit the military and the corporations involved with military technology- helped bring growth to the economy
- 1984 Presidential election, Reagan campaigned on the idea that he was returning the USA to prosperity and its place in the world as the world’s greatest military power- Reagan won a landslide victory over his Democrat opponent Walter Mondale, Reagan won 54.4 million votes over 37.7 million for Mondale, in the electoral college Reagan won 525 votes compared to just 13 for Mondale- meant Reagan won a majority of votes in virtually every state
4
Q
What was the significance of Bush Senior’s decision to raise taxes?
A
background: - in his election campaign Bush Sr continually repeated “Read my lips, no new taxes”
- inherited a poor economy with large trade and budget deficits which made it hard to carry out his promises- US national debt was at £2.7 trillion, 3 times higher than in 1980
- 1992 the federal budget deficit had risen to $400 billion, partly due to a recession in the early 1990s- Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control act required Bush to balance the budget- tried to do this but had not achieved his goal by the time he left office
- major crisis in the savings and loan industry meant that Bush Sr had to increase federal spending, 1989 Bush Sr produced a federal rescue plan to save companies form bankruptcy- by 1990 federal bailout bill had gone up to $325 billion
- to deal with the economy Bush Sr had to combine spending cuts with tax rises- he went back on his election promise
- 1990- rate of federal income tax was raised from 28% to 31%
- military and domestic expenditure was cut by $492 billion
- Federal Reserve Board (USA’s central bank) lowered interest rates to 3.5% in an attempt to stimulate economic growth- did little to counter effects of the recession
- Bush Sr lost the presidential election in 1992 after one term, Bush Sr received 38 million votes with Clinton receiving 44.9 million and Ross Perot (independent billionaire) won 19 million, in the electoral college Clinton won 370 votes and Bush Sr won 168- brought an end to 12 years of Republican dominance of federal govt
5
Q
How did the religious right affect politics?
A
- dominance of the Republicans was due to poor performance of the economy in the 1970s, failure of Democrat Carter’s foreign affairs and also due to the rise of the Religious Right
- they supported traditional values and believed that Christianity should play a central role in American society, these messages had a large influence- 1980 USA was the most religious nation in the Western world, in the late 1970s an opinion poll showed that 50% of Americans said they prayed every day and 80% said they believed in an afterlife
- Jerry Falwell was the best-known individual associated with the Religious Right, he believed in the literal truth of the Bible- began his national career with a popular radio show ‘The Old Time Gospel Hour’ broadcast on more than 300 radio stations nationwide with an audience of around 1.5 million people, founded the Moral Majority in 1979 for those with similar views to him
- ‘televangelists’ also played a major role in the rise of the Religious Right, Rev. Pat Robertson ran the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) and even ran for Republican nomination for President, Rev. Jim Bakker founded the Praise the Lord ministry in 1974, even had his own TV network and religious theme park- top televangelists in 1980 made $310 million from their programmes and reached an audience of 20 million
- they influenced the Reagan campaign for presidency in 1980- during the campaign Reagan expressed his support for traditional family values, gender roles and the rights of unborn children, Reagan appointed conservative-minded justices to the Supreme Court including Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981, first woman on the Supreme Court- made the court less activist and more conservative
HOWEVER despite court appointments Reagan failed to deliver on the Moral Majority’s agenda
6
Q
How did the Religious Right affect homosexuality and abortion?
A
- Supreme Court decision to legalise abortion in 1973 with the Roe v Wade case caused backlash from the right
- Phyllis Schlafly, known as the ‘Sweetheart of the Moral Majority’ led a campaign against the Roe v Wade decision with support from the Roman Catholic Church
- National Conference of Catholic Bishops created the National Right to Life Committee which had 11 million supporters by 1980
- conservative Protestants were also anti-abortion- Concerned Women of America was formed in 1979 by Beverley La Haye and they opposed abortion and no-fault divorce laws, Schlafly and the CWA were both against the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) because they saw it as anti-family- CWA had 500,000 members by the mid 1980s which made it larger than the NOW
- religious right groups helped prevent the ERA amending the constitution even though it had support from Congress, failed to gain support of 3/4 of the states
- religious right also went against homosexuality because they believed it went against Bible teaching, their opposition was fuelled by the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s as a higher proportion of gay men died from the condition- religious right believed AIDS was sent by God as a punishment for homosexuality
7
Q
How were anti-drugs campaigns influential?
A
- Nancy Reagan gained a prominent public position and platform with ‘Just Say No’ in 1982, a nationwide campaign which discouraged children and young people from being involved with drugs- one area where the Reagan presidency did engage with a major social issue facing the USA
- Nancy Reagan claimed she was impressed with the work substance abuse treatment centre Daytop Village did in New York, she visited several centres across the USA and met with the Board of Directors for the National Federation of Parents for a Drug Free Youth
- she travelled 250,000 miles and visited 65 cities in 35 states, in 1985 she invited the wives of world leaders to attend the First Ladies Conference on Drug Abuse, was joined by 18 wives
- 1983 President Reagan signed the National Crusade for a Drug Free America bill into law, 1983 also saw the first Just Say No to Drugs week, by 1988 12,000 Just Say No clubs had been founded across the USA
- her campaign led to reduction in illegal drug use by the USA’s youth- cocaine used by high school students dropped by 1/3 from 6.2% in 1986 to 4.3% in 1987, more than 10% of high school leavers said they used marijuana daily in 1979, dropped to 3% by 1987- Nancy Reagan played a full and active role in creating a national campaign since Eleanor Roosevelt and her aims were in line with the Religious Right
8
Q
To what extent was there ‘bitter political divisions’ 1981-92?
A
were divisions: in the Reagan years the gap between the rich and poor increased, between 1980 and 1984 the top 20% of wage earners saw their share of national income go up from 41.6% to 44%, while the bottom 60% saw their share drop, top 1% saw their share go up from 9% to 11%
- deepened political divisions- Democrats controlled the House of Representatives for the whole of Reagan’s presidency and although Republicans controlled the Senate from 1980 to 1984, they lost control after the 1986 midterms- Congress and President had different views which caused further divisions
- many democrats were against Reagan’s policies and managed to thwart some of his proposals- 1987 Reagan tried to get Robert Bork nominated as a Supreme Court judge, he was an outspoken conservative who opposed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and affirmative action, his nomination caused great division between the President and Democrats in the Senate which required a 2/3 vote for Bork to be appointed- after intense questioning at a hearing, Bork’s nomination was rejected 58 votes to 42
- further confrontation when Reagan tried to limit power of federal regulatory bodies- attempted to reduce funding to federal agencies he regarded as guided by liberal policies e.g the Housing and Urban Development Department and the Human Services Department
- Reagan’s attempt to redefine relationship between the federal govt and the states caused large divisions, 1981- Reagan set up the Presidential Advisory Committee on Federalism and the Coordinating Task Force on Federalism, Reagan wanted to reduce federal spending and instead bring govt closer to the people by giving money directly to the states to use how they see fit- failed to pass in Congress because Democrats controlled the House
- Bush Sr’s decision to raise income tax and cut federal spending in order to eradicate large budget deficit- cutting spending alienated Democrats and raising taxes alienated Republicans so he caused more divisions, Bush Sr was not re-elected and Clinton won the presidency
weren’t divisions: Bush Sr attempted to bring greater consensus, saw himself as a moderate Republican and even denounced Reaganomics as ‘voodoo economics’
- 1990- Bush Sr got Congress to pass a Clean Air Act and in 1992 he signed the Energy Policy Act which aimed at greater energy conservation and support for renewable energy
9
Q
How did technology impact youth culture?
A
- 1950s- US popular culture was based on limited technology e.g film, radio and TV
- revolution in technology in the 1980s- the personal computer was the most revolutionary development- IBM released the IBM 5150 PC in 1981 which was slow, very basic and only had a 16kb memory, the basic system including the VDU monitor cost $1600
- later IBM produced an updated model with a double diskette drive (for two floppy disks) and a printer, cost around $4000- while IBM was the first company that produced a PC, companies like Apple entered the market by 1992- PCs allowed people to write and store text and data, it also meant they could play early computer games such as ‘Ship of Doom’ and ‘Arcadia’
- games could be played on consoles like the Atari 2600, released in 1977- breakthrough came with the arrival of Space Invaders in 1980 which became hugely popular, it was shortly followed by Pac Man, Atari and Mattel dominated the market but Nintendo appeared in 1985- 1992 there was a new dimension of home entertainment
- change in CDs- first CD player was the Philips CD 100, launched in August 1982, followed by Sony’s in October, retailed initially at $1000 and competed with audio cassette tapes and vinyls, CDs had a much better sound quality than cassettes and vinyls- when the cost of CDs dropped their use grew massively, in 1984 US music industry saw CD sales of $103.4 million, first album on CD was Billy Joel’s ‘52nd Street’ and the first single on CD was ‘The Visitors’ by ABBA
- development of the Walkman portable audio cassette player revolutionised when and where people could listen to music, initially launched by Sony Corporation in Japan in 1979 and became an instant hit, gave young people a completely new way to listen to music- 1989 50 million Walkmans had been sold and ‘Walkman’ appeared in the English Dictionary in 1986
- development of video cassette and video cassette player enabled people to watch recently released films, sporting events and music concerts in their own home- took off in terms if sales in the 1980s when the VHS systems began to dominate the market, by 1987 a VHS cassette recorder cost $250 with a blank VHS tape selling for just $5- development also led to pirated videos
- camcorders made an appearance in 1983 which replaced 8mm film home movie cameras, enabled individuals to make their own cassettes to be watched at home- spawned a massive boom in amateur home-movie making, which TV shows like ‘You’ve Been Framed’ have exploited ever since
10
Q
How did growth of cable TV impact youth culture and US society?
A
- cable TV began in 1972 when Sterling Manhattan Cable launched the first pay-TV network, Home Box Office (HBO) - wasn’t until 1980s that cable TV became a major part of the US TV industry, by 1980s it was possible to sign up for satellite television- provided viewers with a choice of dozens of channels while the UK only had four
- Ted Turner established a nationwide network called WTBS which provided up-to-the-minute sports news and classical movies, set up the Cable News Network (CNN) in 1980, which became a major rival to terrestrial networks ABC, CBS and NBC from 1983
- 1980s, terrestrial networks’ share of the TV market fell while viewing figures for cable TV rose from 9% to 26%, Reagan helped this by appointing Mark Fowler as Head of the Federal Communications Commission from 1981 to 1987, Fowler was looking for a more competitive TV market which was also boosted by the Communications Policy Act of 1984 which provided a favourable regulatory framework for the expansion of cable TV
- 1984 to 1992, cable TV industry spent $15 billion on laying cables across the USA and billions on programme development, by 1990 nearly 53 million households had subscribed to cable TV and the number of cable TV networks had grown from 28 in 1980 to 79 by 1989, most important networks were CNN, ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Network) and MTV
- MTV had a profound impact on popular culture, began broadcasting 24/7 music video entertainment in 1981, MTV played a major part in making stars of Madonna and groups like Duran Duran- impact was immense, music artists now had to produce a music video as a promotional tool for their records
- in 1983, MTV broadcast Michael Jackson’s 14-minute music video ‘Thriller’, the album was released in 1982 but when the video for the ‘Thriller’ single was shown on MTV in 1983, it became a global phenomenon, recognising the growing importance of music videos, Jackson had commissioned Hollywood director John Landis to shoot the video with a budget of $500,000, MTV bought the rights for the music video for $200,000
- 1984 MTV Music Video Awards were launched, followed by the MTV Movie Awards in 1992, by the late 1980s MTV started showing programmes geared towards the teenage and young adult market, one was a popular reality series ‘The Real World’ launched in 1992, MTV launched its own cartoons such as ‘Beavis and Butthead’, eventually MTV produced documentaries, game shows and public service campaigns on issues like voting rights and safe sex
11
Q
What was the impact of the AIDS crisis on US society?
A
- AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was first identified in 1981 and is transmitted through sexual contact or through use of needles- groups who had a variety of sexual partners and those who injected drugs were the most vulnerable, when it was first identified there was no known way of treating the condition successfully, AIDS was a virtual death sentence
- beginning of 1985 AIDS had been responsible for 5,600 deaths in the USA, January 1989 there were 82,764 confirmed cases of AIDS, 46,344 of whom had died- biggest medical scare in the USA since the Spanish influenza pandemic in 1918
- govt reaction to AIDS was criticised- Reagan did not order a study of AIDS in his first term, nor did he make its prevention a high priority, it was only after the death of Rock Hudson, a film star friend, that Reagan began paying attention to the problem, during his 2nd term Reagan’s govt began devoting substantial resources to AIDS, Surgeon General of the USA Everett Koop said that by 1991 approximately 79,000 Americans would have died from AIDS and he called for widespread sex education in schools
- high proportion of AIDS sufferers were drug users or gay men, many of Reagan’s supporters from the Moral Majority opposed the idea of helping these groups and the idea of sex education in schools, Catholic conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly were opposed to the use of condoms as a way of preventing the spread of AIDS, others called AIDS ‘a gay plague, and reinforced conservative views against homosexuality held by individuals like Jerry Falwell, in 1986 US Supreme Court ruled to uphold a Georgia state law that outlawed gay sex, 24 other states upheld similar laws- limited ability of federal govt to deal with AIDS
- 1987 Reagan declared AIDS as ‘public enemy number 1’, made a speech to the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1987 but refused to mention the case of Ryan White, a haemophiliac who had contracted AIDS from an infected blood transfusion, as a result of his infection White had been ostracised in his hometown in Indiana, also in 1987 gay organisations staged a parade of 500,000 people in New York City demanding for better funding for AIDS research
- debate on AIDS and how to deal with it caused great divisions within US society and highlighted different social views of Moral Majority conservatives and liberal groups- even the Reagans were divided, with Nancy advocating use of condoms to combat the condition the President refused to endorse this
12
Q
How did controversial social issues in film and TV impact US soicety?
A
- number of socially controversial topics appeared on US television and created considerable debate, 1983 made-for-television movie ‘The Day After’ dealt with the highly controversial topic of a nuclear holocaust in the USA and included very graphic scenes depicting the USA after a nuclear attack, appeared at the height of the Second Cold War (began with USSR invasion of Afghanistan in 1979) and struck a chord with the American public- encouraged Reagan to support SDI and plan for nuclear war
- ‘The Day After’ appeared in the same month as Operation Able Archer, a major NATO exercise which the USSR perceived as a possible pre-emptive nuclear attack- tensions between the USA and USSR heightened
- ‘The Cosby Show’ (1984-92) was one of the most popular shows on TV, starred black American actor Bill Cosby and described the life of a middle-class black American doctor and his family, the show mirrored shows about family life from the 1950s and 60s such as ‘Father Knows Best’
- ‘Murphy Brown’ (1988-98) attracted political criticism, starred Candice Bergen as an ambitious single mother who worked at a news magazine- US Vice President from 1989 to 1993, Dan Quayle, claimed the programme undermined family values and gave the impression that being a single mother was an acceptable goal for young women
- escapist films also addressed important social issues e.g ‘Silkwood’, where Meryl Streep played a worker in a nuclear power plant who gets radiation sickness, 1988 film ‘Rain Man’ dealt with autism, Dustin Hoffman won Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of an autistic man, ‘Cry Freedom’ was a film about the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, ‘Mississippi Burning’ dealt with the murder of black and white Civil Rights activists during the Freedom Summer of 1964, 1991 film ‘Boyz n the Hood’ was set in the gangland of Los Angeles formally called as Watts, showed the race riots of 1965, 1992 American director Spike Lee made a film of the life of Malcolm X with actor Denzel Washington
- ‘My Left foot’ was released in 1989 and portrayed disability as the main focus, told the story of a severely disabled Dublin slum-dweller who went on to be a successful novelist- portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis who won Best Actor that year
- ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ was released at the height of the AIDS crisis in 1985, portrayed a gay man incarcerated in a Latin-American jail- starred actor William Hurt who also won Best Actor for his role
13
Q
To what extent did position of black Americans improve in politics and business?
A
- beginning of 1980s, Black Americans made up 11.7% of the population but were 43% of those receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADFC_ and 35.1% of people receiving food stamps
- 1983 Reagan signed a law designating the third Monday in January Martin Luther King Jr Day, a national holiday, first MLK day was celebrated in 1986
- Black Congressional Caucus was formed in the 1980s, made up of 20-25 Congressmen and women, working for black American rights
- Harold Washington: became mayor of Chicago in 1983- major achievement in a city dominated by Irish-American politics, black Americans made up only 40% of the vote so Washington had to appeal to white voters, did this by offering moderate social policies that crossed the racial divide- black American groups also essential to his success, he put together a coalition of the NAACP, the National Urban League and PUSH (People United to Save Humanity)- helped add 100,000 new voters to the electoral roll in 1982-83, mayoral elections saw high turnout of inner-city black people (80%) which equaled turnout from white middle-class people, Washington was also aided by split in the Irish-American city leadership between Jane Byrne, who had been mayor since 1979, and Richard M. Daley- Washington’s success showed Black Americans could have major influence on local politics
- Jesse Jackson: he was based in Chicago and was a close associate of MLK, ran for Democratic nomination for the Presidency, used the Rainbow coalition which grew out of PUSH but failed to get support of some prominent Black leaders such as Andrew Young who had been Jackson’s rival in the MLK Civil Rights campaign, Jackson received 21% of the vote in the primary election but only 8% of the delegate votes at the Democratic Party Convention- Democrats chose a white politician Walter Mondale as their candidate, in 1988 Jackson;s campaign was a lot stronger and he won several primary elections- showed black Americans could be serious contenders in politics
- Clarence Thomas: was a black man appointed to the Supreme Court by George Bush Sr in 1991, controversial because Thomas was a conservative and was opposed to affirmative action, Thomas had also been accused of sexual harassment by a former colleague, black American academic Anita Hill- his nomination was opposed by Civil Rights and women’s groups but was approved by the Republican-controlled Senate
- Business: 1992 the number of black-owned businesses in the USA had risen to 621,000 from only a few hundred thousand in the 1960s- included black businesses in professional areas e.g insurance and finance, Oprah Winfrey had high-profile success in TV , in 1986 her chat show became nationally popular and became distributed to 140 countries, Winfrey created her own TV production company and became one of the partners of Oxygen Media Inc. a cable channel and network showing programmes mainly for women, 1988 she appeared in the front page of Time magazine showing she had become a national institution in TV and business, in 2003 she was listed by Forbes magazine as the first female black billionaire
14
Q
To what extent did position of black Americans improve in sport and popular culture?
A
Sport:
- the NFL was an area where black sportsmen excelled- in the 1980s a black American Randell Cunningham became the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles which had previously been the preserve of whites
- in basketball Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson of the LA Lakers was the star player of the NBA- by 1988 Black Americans made up 80% of players in the NFL, 60% of the NBA and 25% of Major League Baseball (MLB)
- achievement in athletics- 1984 LA Olympics, Carl Lewis won four gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres, long jump and 4x100 metres, in 1988 Seoul Olympics he was again awarded the gold medal in the 100m when Canadian Ben Johnson was disqualified for drug-taking- overall in the 1984 Olympics black track and field athletes won 40 out of 49 medals awarded to US athletes, in boxing black Americans won 10 out of the 11 medals- comprising only 11.7% of the US population, this was a major achievement
Popular culture:
- 1989 Denzel Washington won Best Supporting Actor for his role in ‘Glory’ about the USA’s first blag regiment in the US Civil War
- 1992 Spike Lee directed and starred in ‘Malcolm X’ alongside Washington who played the title role
- on TV Bill Cosby with ‘the Cosby Show’ and Oprah Winfrey with her chat show, were national celebrities
- black Americans excelled in music with Michael Jackson, in 1983 at the 25th anniversary of the Motown record label, Jackson performed Billie Jean and did his famous moonwalk for the first time on national TV, his 1982 single ‘Thriller’ was in the charts for 80 weeks, 37 as number 1, the video for Thriller won 12 Grammy Awards making it one of the most significant music videos of all time
- other significant black musicians included Prince, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner
15
Q
What was the extent of racial tolerance in 1981-1992?
A
- racial tensions were still a feature of US society in the 1980s- 1982 Chinese-American Vincent Chin was clubbed to death by two white car-workers in Detroit because they thought he was Japanese and therefore responsible for the lay-offs in the car industry
- 1984 a white man, Bernhard Goetz was riding the New York subway when he was confronted by four aggressive black youths asking for money, he shot them with a revolver and one youth was brain-damaged- 1987 the jury accepted Goetz’s plea of self-defence and he received only 8 months in prison, in a local poll 90% of white people supported the verdict
- 1991 Rodney King, a black American, was stopped in his car by white police in the Watts area of LA, he was brutally beaten by them and it was caught on video, 1992 the police were acquitted in court of wrongdoing- sparked major race riots in which 54 were killed, 2400 injured and 17,000 arrested, half of those arrested were Hispanic-Americans protesting against police actions, 10,000 businesses were destroyed several owned by Korean-Americans, 50,000 jobs were lost- Rodney King case reinforced the belief that some police forces were racist and that inner-city areas like South Central LA were still areas of poverty, high unemployment and crime
