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What is 'Reaganomics'?
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All Flashcards in Topic 19.18
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19.18.112 cards
What is 'Reaganomics'?
Reagan's economic package of tax cuts, deregulation and cuts to social spending, based on supply-side theory.
How much did the top US income tax rate fall under Reagan?
From 70% down to 28% by 1986.
What broken campaign promise damaged GHW Bush?
'No new taxes' — he raised taxes in 1990 to control the deficit, hurting his 1992 re-election chances.
What turned the US budget deficit into a surplus under Clinton?
Tax rises on higher earners combined with spending discipline and a booming economy, producing a surplus by 1998–2000.
What was the 1996 welfare reform act and its effect?
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act replaced open-ended welfare with time-limited, work-tied support; popular but criticised for hurting the poorest.
What treaty resulted from the Reagan–Gorbachev thaw?
The INF Treaty (1987), eliminating a whole class of nuclear missiles.
Compare Reagan's and Clinton's approach to US foreign policy.
Reagan confronted the USSR directly (arms build-up) then negotiated after Gorbachev; Clinton, with no Soviet rival left, acted more unilaterally (NATO expansion, Balkans intervention) without needing superpower approval.
What was the Canada–US Free Trade Agreement (1988) later expanded into?
NAFTA (1992), adding Mexico to the free trade zone.
Why did the Meech Lake Accord (1987) collapse?
It needed unanimous provincial ratification by 1990; Manitoba and Newfoundland failed to ratify it in time.
What happened in the 1993 Canadian federal election to Mulroney's party?
The Progressive Conservatives collapsed from 156 seats to just 2, one of the most dramatic collapses of a governing party in any democracy.
What was the result of the 1995 Quebec referendum?
The vote to separate was rejected by an extremely narrow margin, about 50.6% No to 49.4% Yes.
What did the Clarity Act (2000) do?
Set strict rules for any future Quebec secession referendum, requiring a clear majority on a clear question, making unilateral separation much harder.
19.18.212 cards
What triggered the Latin American debt crisis in 1982?
Mexico's default on its foreign debt, which spread to other heavily indebted Latin American economies.
Who led Argentina's investigation into Dirty War disappearances, and what was its report called?
CONADEP, under President Alfonsín; its report was called *Nunca Más* ('Never Again'), documenting around 9,000 cases.
What did the Full Stop Law (1986) and Due Obedience Law (1987) do in Argentina?
They limited prosecutions of lower-ranking military officers for Dirty War crimes, to avoid provoking the armed forces.
How long did Pinochet remain army commander after leaving the presidency in 1990?
Until 1998, protected by a self-written amnesty law, delaying full accountability for his regime's crimes.
Who founded Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and what ideology drove it?
Abimael Guzmán, a philosophy professor; it followed Maoist ideology calling for peasant-led armed revolution in Peru.
Roughly how many people died in the Sendero Luminoso conflict in Peru?
Around 69,000, according to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Compare Sendero Luminoso and the Zapatistas as movements.
Sendero Luminoso was violent and total-revolution focused, causing mass death, crushed by Guzmán's 1992 capture. The Zapatistas began with a brief 1994 uprising but shifted to negotiation and media campaigns, achieving the 1996 San Andrés Accords.
What is liberation theology?
A movement within the Catholic Church teaching that the church should actively side with the poor against injustice, inspiring both peaceful organising and, in some cases, armed struggle.
What was NAFTA and when did it take effect?
The North American Free Trade Agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico, removing trade barriers; it came into force on 1 January 1994.
What is Mercosur?
A free-trade bloc formed in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to gain more bargaining power through a larger combined market.
What happened on 11 September 2001, and who was US president at the time?
Al-Qaeda hijackers attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people; George W. Bush was president and declared a 'War on Terror'.
What was one regional economic effect of the 9/11 attacks?
Tighter US border and airport security slowed cross-border trade with Canada and Mexico, disrupting economies reliant on fast trade flows.
Topic 19.18 study notes
Full notes & explanations for The Americas (1980–2005)
History exam skills
Paper structures, command terms & tips
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