Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980's: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980's

447 Pages·2005·8.91 MB·English

by  Gil Troy

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Morning in America
POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICA
Series Editors: William Chafe, Gary Gerstle, Linda Gordon, and Julian Zelizer
A list of titles in this series appears at the back of the book.
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Morning in America
How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s
GIL TROY
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
p r i n c e t o n a n d o x f o r d
Copyright ©2005 by Gil Troy
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
3 Market Place, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, OX20 1SY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Troy, Gil.
Morning in America:how Ronald Reagan invented
the 1980s/Gil Troy.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-691-09645-7 (cloth:alk. paper)
1. United States—Civilization—1970– 2. United States—
Social conditions—1980– 3. Nineteen eighties. 4. Reagan,
Ronald—Influence. 5. Politics and culture—United States—
History—20th century. 6. United States—Politics and
government—1981–1989. I. Title.
E169.12.T765 2004
973.927'092–dc22 2004055295
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Dante
Printed on acid-free paper.
pup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
To our four children
Golden doves, harbingers of spring and righteousness,
with the hope that you will grow:
“To learn knowledge and ethics,
to master subtleties.
To embrace the moral discipline of wisdom,
justice and right and goodness.”
proverbs i:2–3

Contents
Introduction
Ronald Reagan’s Defining Vision for the 1980s—and America
1
1980
Cleveland
“There You Go Again!” Defeating Defeatism—
and Jimmy Carter
24
1981
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
The Ronald Reagan Show, the New Dynasty, and
David Stockman’s Reaganomics
50
1982
Hill Street
The Other America’s Blues
84
1983
Beaufort, South Carolina
The Big Chill and the Great Reconciliation:
Where the Sixties Meet the Eighties
115
1984
Los Angeles
The Wizard of America’s Id Chooses Patriotism over Politics
147
1985
Brooklyn, New York
Bill Cosby’s Multicultural America
Meets Ronald Reagan’s Celebrity Presidency
175
1986
Wall Street
The Wild, Wild East and the Reagan Money Culture
204
1987
Mourning in America
Fiascos at Home and Abroad
235
1988
Stanford
The Culture Wars: Closing and Opening the American Mind
265
1989
Kennebunkport, Maine
The Bush Restoration: Kinder, Gentler, but Still Reaganite
297
1990
Boston
First Night, New Decade: Why So Blue?
325
A Note on Method and Sources 349
A Guide to Abbreviations in Notes 357
Notes 359
Acknowledgments 393
Index 397
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Morning in America