were largely unacknowledged during the decade. As
a result, Vice President George H. W. Bush was able
to win election to the presidency in 1988. Whether as
a result of conservative anti-tax policy or not, the
American economy had rebounded during the mid-
1980’s and was still experiencing rapid growth: Bush
was able to capitalize upon this advantage during his
campaign and, more important, to cast himself as a
Reagan populist. In fact, Bush was a centrist and did
little to advance the conservative agenda. Neverthe-
less, the Reaganite coalition had brought new pres-
tige to conservative ideas and was responsible for a
decidedly conservative shift in the American elector-
ate. As a result, Bill Clinton, Bush’s Democratic suc-
cessor, was able to get elected largely because he
adopted much of the conservative agenda, in both
domestic and foreign policy. As a result of the influ-
ence of 1980’s conservatism, welfare liberalism and
extensive federal regulation of the economy were
largely discredited.
Further Reading
Ehrman, John.The Rise of Neoconservatism. New Ha-
ven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1995. A useful
and generally unbiased discussion of the rise of
the neoconservative movement from its origins in
the 1970’s to its rise to power in the 1980’s.
Gottfried, Paul, and Thomas Fleming.The Conserva-
tive Movement. Boston: Twayne, 1988. Discusses
the emergence of post-World War II American
conservatism from a paleoconservative perspec-
tive.
Wooldridge, Adrian, and John Micklethwait.The
Right Nation: Conservative Power in America. Lon-
don: Penguin Press, 2004. Examines American
conservatism from a British perspective; espe-
cially good on the 1980’s era.
Jack Trotter
See also Bush, George H. W.; Cold War; Elections
in the United States, midterm; Elections in the
United States, 1980; Elections in the United States,
1984; Elections in the United States, 1988; Foreign
policy of the United States; Liberalism in U.S. poli-
tics; Reagan, Ronald; Reagan Democrats; Reagan
Doctrine; Reagan Revolution; Reaganomics; Tax Re-
form Act of 1986; Welfare.
Consumerism
Definition A preoccupation with the purchase of
consumer goods and the ideologies that
support or endorse that preoccupationAfter the social unrest of the 1960’s and the energy short-
ages of the 1970’s, adult Americans longed for more settled
and more affluent times. When the economy improved in
the 1980’s, those lucky enough to benefit launched on a pro-
gram of conspicuous consumption that came for many to
define the decade.The extravagant inaugural festivities accompanying
Ronald Reagan’s 1981 assumption of the U.S. presi-
dency were in retrospect a hallmark of the decade
ahead. The 1980’s heralded the return of formality
and ostentation in American society, as well as in
dress, in keeping with Reagan’s social customs. High
school proms, elaborate weddings in formal set-
tings, coming-out parties, charity balls, and private
black-tie dinners proliferated, with women dressing
for these events to appear extravagant and lavish.
Nancy Reagan’s elegance and Princess Diana’s love
of fine fashion were important influences. The pre-
dilection for things “natural,” which prevailed in the
previous decade, expanded to include the most ex-
pensive natural materials: cashmere was preferred
to wool, linen was chosen over cotton, and silk cloth-
ing was worn everywhere. Ornamentation was the
rule of the day, with cabbage roses, animal prints,
polka dots, tassels, beads, chains, ribbons, scarves,
shawls, and patterned stockings all being consumed
and displayed prominently. Binge buying and credit
became a way of life, and high-end labels were
snapped up. The novelist Tom Wolfe coined the
term “the splurge generation” to describe the baby
boomers, who, with their children, were avid con-
sumers.A Culture of Consumption Since more women en-
tered the workforce in the 1980’s than in any other
decade, there was more money available to double-
earning families to spend, as well as a greater de-
mand for professional clothes. A group of American
designers—Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Liz
Claiborne—offered women padded shoulders and
broad lapels to express their new commercial power.
Although television was available for home con-
sumption by the 1950’s, in the 1980’s the clothes
worn on programs greatly influenced fashion. A newThe Eighties in America Consumerism 249