As the conservative resurgence continued into the 1990s, conservative Republicans criticized "big government," claiming the federal government was too big, controlling, and wasteful. Conservative leaders opposed liberal ideas and instead emphasized traditional and patriotic values. Scroll over each of the images below and learn more about the 1990s.

Politically speaking, the 1990s began with the presidency of Republican George H. W. Bush, who had previously served as vice president during the Reagan administration. The conservatives continued to push for public policies that reflected traditional values.

In the 1992 presidential election, Democrat Bill Clinton defeated President Bush, initiating a period of less conservative public policies and lawmakers. The conservatives, however, received an opportunity to flourish once again. The midterm elections of 1994, known as the “Republican Revolution,” resulted in a flood of newly-elected Republican lawmakers who gained control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Newt Gingrich, a Republican member of the House from Georgia, was elected as Speaker of the House.

Newt Gingrich

Source: Newt Gingrich by Gage Skidmore 3, Gage Skidmore, Wikipedia

During the 1994 election campaign, several Republican lawmakers, including Gingrich, drafted the Contract with America, a list of 10 proposed acts that the Republicans would implement if they gained control of the House of Representatives. The contract was signed September 27, 1994, and would be implemented the first hundred days of Congress if the Republicans gained control. The Republican Revolution allowed them that chance.

Read the excerpt from the Contract with America, which details the bills that Republicans submitted to Congress.

1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT
   A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out-of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses
2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT
   An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in-sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools
3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT
   Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility
4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT
   Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society
5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT
   A $500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief
6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT
   No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world
7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT
   Raise the Social Security earnings limit, which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years
8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT
   Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages
9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT
   "Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation
10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT
    A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators

On September 27, 1994, Republican Congressman John Boehner of Ohio outlined the Contract with America in a speech to members of the House of Representatives. Watch the video below.

Click on the link below to see the full text of the Contract with America.

Contract with America

Newt Gingrich first introduced the Contract with America in a speech before Congress made on September 22, 1994. In the activity below, quotes from Gingrich’s speech will appear. Read the quote and click the space that corresponds to the correct bill from the Contract with America.

When the bills listed in the Contract with America were proposed, the House of Representatives passed most of them, but the Senate did not. Only a few of the bills became law. Gingrich went on to become one of the most controversial Speakers of the House. He clashed with Clinton over many issues, including federal budget cuts, which eventually led to the shutdown of the government.

Gingrich’s refusal to compromise with Clinton eventually caused his popularity to wane, and when he pushed for Clinton’s impeachment during the White House intern scandal, the American public turned on him. Also growing tired of his tactics were his fellow Republicans, who also turned against him. In November 1998, Gingrich gave up his role as Speaker of the House. He resigned from his seat in the House of Representatives several months later.

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you examined five crucial values of democracy as described by Alexis de Tocqueville. You also learned about the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, including groups and individuals who worked to restore the traditional values of America.