The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

806 Chapter 30 Running on Empty, 1975–1991

defeat of communist rebels in El Salvador. He even
used American troops to overthrow a Cuban-backed
regime on the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada.
When criticized for opposing leftist regimes while
backing rightist dictators, Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, explained that
“rightist authoritarian regimes can be transformed
peacefully into democracies, but totalitarian Marxist
ones cannot.”
In 1982 the continuing turmoil in the Middle
East thrust the Reagan administration into a new cri-
sis. Israel had invaded Lebanon to destroy Palestine
Liberation Organization units that were staging raids
on northern Israeli settlements. Israeli troops easily
overran much of the country, but in the process the
Lebanese government disintegrated. Reagan agreed
to commit American troops to an international peace-
keeping force.
Tragedy resulted in October 1983 when a fanati-
cal Muslim crashed a truck loaded with explosives
into a building housing American marines in Beirut.
The building collapsed, killing 239 marines. Early the
next year, Reagan removed the entire American
peacekeeping force from Lebanon.

Four More Years

A sitting president with an extraordinarily high
standing in public opinion polls, Reagan was nomi-
nated for a second term at the 1984 Republican

convention without opposition. The Democratic

nomination went to Walter Mondale of Minnesota,

who had been vice president under Carter. Mondale

electrified the country by choosing Representative

Geraldine Ferraro of New York as his running mate.

An Italian American and a Catholic, Ferraro was

expected to appeal to conservative Democrats who

had supported Reagan in 1980 and to win the votes

of many Republican women.

Reagan began the campaign with several impor-

tant advantages. He was especially popular among

religious fundamentalists and other social conserva-

tives, and these groups were increasingly vocal.

President Nixon had spoken of a “silent majority.” By

1980 the kind of people he was referring to were no

longer silent. Fundamentalist television preachers

were almost all fervent Reaganites and the most suc-

cessful of them were collecting tens of millions of dol-

lars annually in contributions from viewers. One of

these, the Reverend Jerry Falwell, founded the Moral

Majorityand set out to create a new political move-

ment. “Americans are sick and tired of the way the

amoral liberals are trying to corrupt our nation,”

Falwell announced in 1979.

During the first Reagan administration, the Moral

Majority had become a powerful political force.

Falwell denounced drugs, the “coddling” of criminals,

homosexuality, communism, and abortion, all things

that Reagan also disliked. Falwell also disapproved

of forced busing to integrate schools. In addition,

ARKANSAS

KANSAS

NEBRASKA

MISSOURI

IOWA

WISCONSIN

MINNESOTA

TEXAS

SOUTH

DAKOTA

NORTH

DAKOTA

NEW

MEXICO

OKLAHOMA

MONTANA

WYOMING

COLORADO

ARIZONA

UTAH

NEVADA

OREGON

WASHINGTON

CALIFORNIA

IDAHO

LOUISIANA

MICHIGAN

INDIANA

ILLINOIS

OHIO

ALABAMA

MISS. GEORGIA

SOUTH

CAROLINA

NORTH

CAROLINA

VIRGINIA

WEST

VIRGINIA

KENTUCKY

TENNESSEE

NEW

YORK

PENNSYLVANIAN.J.

CONN.

MASS.

VT.

N.H.

MAINE

R.I.

MD.DEL.

FLORIDA

CANADA

MEXICO Gulf ofMexico

ATLANTIC

OCEAN

States carried by Republicans in

presidential elections, 1968-88

Held in every election

Held in 5 out of 6 years

Held in 4 out of 6 years

Held in 3 out of 6 years

Held in 2 out of 6 years

Held only once in 6 years

Success of the Republican “Southern Strategy”In 1968, Kevin M. Phillips, a key Nixon strategist, proposed

a “southern strategy” to create an “emerging Republican majority.” Many doubted that the South, which had

long been opposed to the party of Lincoln, could be won over. But in presidential elections from 1968 to 1988,

far more southern counties voted Republican than Democratic.