Americans rejoiced, but not for long.
By 1982, America was in the middle of a serious recession: bank failures rose, as did the unemployment rate. Nearly 10 million Americans lost their jobs between 1983 and 1988. Throughout it all, the social message was clear: individuals had to take responsibility for their own welfare and not rely on the government to come to their rescue. One view that was often voiced held that government aid was demeaning to the recipients and hampered them from participating in the American dream of one day becoming rich.
Federal courts in the Reagan years. Three of the main characters in Angels in America-Roy Cohn, Louis Ironson, and Joe Pitt-work in some capacity for the American justice system during the Reagan presidency; Roy Cohn is a famous Republican lawyer, Joe Pitt is the chief clerk for a federal appeals court judge, and Louis Ironson is a word processor for the Second Circuit court of appeals. Throughout the plays, the Republican Party is taken to task for its social programs (or lack thereof) and for its callous judicial record.
Some historians have argued that in fact Reagan- appointed Supreme Court judges "voted together to strike at civil rights laws adopted for minorities, women, and the disabled" (Schwartz, p.
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