The Reagan Revolution and the Election of 1980
The Failures of Jimmy Carter Led to Republican Victory
Feb 7, 2009
The Reagan “Revolution” of 1980 represented a national disenchantment with the policies of President Jimmy Carter. Winning 51% of the popular vote over Carter’s 41%, the election of 1980 also gave the Republican Party control of the US Senate, 53 to 46, and saw the departure of such liberal Democrat luminaries as Frank Church of Idaho and George McGovern of South Dakota. Ronald Reagan’s victory was the result of several crucial issues that, taken together, galvanized the American electorate, although fewer than half of all eligible voters went to the polls.
Jimmy Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence”
President Carter’s call for Americans to have greater faith in the nation in 1979 failed to address the alarming trends in unemployment and rising inflation, the “misery index” Ronald Reagan referred to in 1980. Americans during the Carter years experienced the first significant energy crisis and watched US prestige in the world tumble.
Having incorporated the notion of human rights into foreign affairs, Carter’s initiatives were viewed by conservatives as disastrous in terms of long range global goals and US security. The Somoza regime in Nicaragua was toppled by the Sandinistas who immediately opened their doors to the USSR. In Iran, the Shah, a long time ally in the troubled region, was allowed to fall, replaced by a fundamentalist Islamic regime that continues to destabilize the region today.
While some Americans hailed Carter’s return of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians, others saw it as yet another example of weakness. Senators like NC Senator Robert Morgan lost reelection because of their support in giving back the canal. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Jimmy Carter was sincerely taken off guard and abruptly boycotted the Moscow Olympics, an action Russians still talk about today. The Camp David Accords were Carter’s only success, achieving a rapprochement between Israel and Egypt.
Reagan’s “Moral Majority” and the Evil Empire
The Reagan victory owed much to the efforts of strong conservative groups that had mastered the art of direct-mail fundraising and bringing to the forefront social issues important to large segments of conservative voters. Conservative voices like televangelist Jerry Falwell and NC Senator Jesse Helms hammered away at pro-choice initiatives and candidates, attacking both the gay community and women’s groups like the National Organization of Women. According to Elaine Tyler May, “”The New Right advocates of militance abroad also called for abolishing the feminist gains of the sixties and seventies, such as affirmative action and legalized abortion…”
Ronald Reagan pledged to upgrade national defense in the face of apparent Soviet successes in the world. At the same time he emphasized smaller government (getting government “off the backs” of people) and addressing the problems associated with rising social welfare. He promised to eliminate the newly conceived Department of Education, but never delivered on that promise while in office.
Reagan’s success in 1980 was based on the return to “family values,” a balanced federal budget, and a strong national defense. Jimmy Carter’s inability to end the Iranian hostage crisis and the disastrous military operation mounted earlier that spring resulting in American deaths exacerbated his public perception as a weak leader and fed into the Reagan rhetoric.
Ultimately, American voters went to the polls to select a candidate that many citizens viewed as the lesser of two evils. Ronald Reagan may have won, according to some analysts, not because of his message, but because people were tired of the Carter years. Americans were not better off in 1980 as they had been in 1976, a question posed by Reagan during his televised debate with Carter. And they showed it by electing Reagan.
Sources:
Paul F. Boller, Jr., Presidential Campaigns From George Wasington to George W. Bush (Oxford University Press, 2004).
William A. DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (New York: Gramercy Books, 2001).
William A. Link, Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism (St. Martin’s Press, 2008).
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