The High Tide of Conservatism: The Election of 1980 and the Reagan Revolution

The presidency of Jimmy Carter had greatly disappointed many Americans who had voted for Carter to end the era of corrupt government in Washington. While Carter's administration did bring back a sense of honesty to the federal government, the economy weakened and Carter's popularity dropped. In 1979, an oil shortage struck the country, driving gas prices high and creating a shortage, which lead many Americans to blame Carter. Also, some Americans were taken hostage in Iran, and Carter's inability to properly handle the crisis and bring the hostages home further drove the poll numbers down. As the election season of 1980 rolled around, Americans were ready for a change, and Republicans eventually nominated former California governor Ronald Reagan. After Reagan's strong showing the the 1976 primary, there was little doubt he would run again in 1980. One of Reagan's strongest contestants was former CIA director George H.W. Bush, who would eventually be chosen to run with Reagan on the ticket. As for the Democrats, it was no guarantee that Carter would win the nomination, as the more liberal base of the party decided to give Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy a shot at the nomination, and Kennedy had an active campaign against Carter, but as history has proven, it is very hard to upset the incumbent president for the nomination, and Carter was given the nomination again for 1980. As election day approached, many members of the media thought Carter still had a chance, but Reagan's approach and attacks of Carter's bad policies worked, and coupled with a weak economy, Reagan won easily. The new era in government began with Reagan's inaugural address, when he famously said, "In the present crisis, government is not the solution to the problem, government is the problem." However, before Reagan even had time to hardly begin his administration, gun shots went off after giving a speech one day in March of 1981, wounding the president and killing some others around him. While Reagan was recovering, he connected even more with the American people, famously asking the doctors if they were all Republicans and telling his wife Nancy he forgot to duck. After Reagan recovered, he set about to change the way government operated, and he wanted to cut taxes and get the economy growing again. By 1983, signs of positive change and employment started to show, and by the late 1980's unemployment had been drastically reduced. Reagan was also known for telling jokes to get his points across, and he is remembered for many of those stories and one liners. One of Reagan's other goals was dealing with the Soviet Union and bringing an end to the Cold War. At first, he did not succeed, but by the end of his first term, enormous gains had been made. Campaign items from the 1980 election are fairly easy to find, especially Reagan-Bush word pins and even many buttons with the candidates pictured can be found and bought for less than $5. Carter items are also very affordable and easy to find. I specialize in collection Ronald Reagan items, so a majority of my collection focuses on Reagan. I have included some of my Reagan items here, including a plate from the 1981 inaugural, 6 riker cases of buttons, and a couple Reagan buttons I really like, the Peanut Stomper and the Reagan eclipse Carter pin. I have included a North Carolina for Carter button from 1980 as well. I also have many interesting Reagan items that I will include in a later blog on non-button items.