ShmoopTube

00:03

One of the big things to know about Reagan is that he was down with

00:08

JC. Jiminy Cricket, Johnny Cash, James Cameron, definitely not James Cameron we [Pictures of the celebrities]

00:13

have a feeling Reagan just wouldn't get avatar. Nope Reagan was all about the og [Reagan sat eating popcorn]

00:18

JC, Jesus Christ by that we mean that ronnie was a proud Christian who

00:23

promised to bring God back to America for example he was a big time supporter [Reagan unveils US flag next to a cross]

00:28

of getting prayer in schools and even proposed a constitutional amendment to

00:32

get the little ones praying again Oh Reagan also felt about the Roe v Wade in

00:36

very much the same way a vampire feels about the Sun well during his campaign [Vampire runs away from the sunlight]

00:41

he proposed a constitutional amendment that would outlaw abortion

00:44

except in cases where the mother's life was in danger he didn't push his [List of Reagan's views]

00:48

anti-abortion agenda with much force after his election still just talking

00:52

about it was enough to win support from conservative anti-abortion groups during

00:56

his election it was just the right time for a religious president to rise [Man in the back row of the crowd falls over]

01:00

to the top at the tail end of the 1970s the nation underwent a religious

01:05

revival on par with the Great Awakening it was the heyday of big-time

01:09

evangelists like Billy Graham evangelical Christianity was preached on

01:14

a national scale in primetime no less television shows radio programs and [Someone tuning a radio]

01:19

religious schools and universities began popping up all over the nation the

01:24

religious right that came to be called was born and they thought Ronald Reagan [Picture of Jesus above lit candles]

01:28

was the cat's pajamas never understood why cats needed pajamas but

01:33

anyway... the religious right was a large cross-section of Republican voters their

01:38

conservative religious ideals bled over into their ideas about political action [Religous portion of the pie chart expands]

01:42

and government responsibility the rise of the religious right stemmed largely

01:46

from a backlash to those hippy dippy social change movements of the 1960s and 70s it [Old woman hits protestor with her walking stick]

01:52

was the silent majority yep them again and they weren't keeping quiet anymore

01:57

they were screaming about the shifting values and standards of society [People protesting and shouting]

02:00

particularly regarding sex, family and the separation of church and state their

02:05

rise in political activity was a direct reaction to legislation and Supreme

02:09

Court rulings that threatened their belief system for [Folder of Supreme Court rulings]

02:12

instance the court's ruling in Engel V Vitale that banned official prayer and

02:17

Bible reading in school and of course the infinite Roe v Wade's legalization of

02:23

abortion well the Religious Right had Reagan's

02:25

back on every front they agreed that free enterprise should be maintained [Religious right supporters stood behind Reagan]

02:29

without the meddling hand of the government that big government should be

02:33

a scaled-back and they also believed that abortion should be outlawed and prayer

02:37

should be returned to the classroom well further evolution should not be taught [Students praying in the classroom]

02:41

in schools that should be replaced with creationism and also like Ronnie they [Book about evolution is cast away and replaced with creationism]

02:46

were rabid commie haters was there anywhere they didn't agree. With Ronnie [US flag hits USSR flag away]

02:50

and the religious right it was a match made in heaven, pun sadly intended...

Full Transcript