RESTART EXPERIENCE
The 1980s brought prosperity, renewed trust in government. Many Americans embraced conservative views on social, economic and political issues – a clear response to the rise in crime, inflation and foreign policy turmoil of the 1970s.
During the 1970s, many Americans lost their faith and trust in the politicians in Washington, D.C. and the public desperately needed leaders to emerge and help usher in an era of prosperity and unite people across the country.
1990s
The 2000s were a time of tremendous technological advances, but were also plagued by financial instability and a recession. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 completely changed America’s foreign policy and was the impetus for the global War on Terror.
1970s
New Text
America’s prosperity continued into the 1990s. Senator Helms and President Clinton rarely agreed on policy, but with Helms being appointed Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1995, they were forced to work together on a number of important issues.
1980s
2000s
learn more
< back
Click to play video
The Panama Canal treaty was an issue Senator Helms faced early in his Senate career. President Jimmy Carter was in favor of giving control of the canal back to Panama by the year 2000. Helms, and many other Senator’s, thought this was a bad decision. The canal was a strategic route from the east coast to the west coast of North America and its operation needed to be protected.
Lorem Ipsum dolor sit met
Helms / Reagan / 1976 primary
During the 1970s, many Americans lost their faith and trust in the politicians in Washington, D.C. and the public desperately needed leaders to emerge and help usher in an era of prosperity and unite people across the country.
Panama Canal
Next: 1980s >
According to Helms, the United States built it, paid for it and fully supported the operation of the Panama Canal from its inception and should maintain control. In the end, however, control over the Panama Canal was given to Panama and the Torrijos-Carter Treaties were passed by the Senate.
click to see more
PANAMA CANAL
REAGAN / 1976 PRIMARY
Senator Helms played an important role in Reagan’s primary campaign and strongly endorsed his candidacy. Without a victory in North Carolina Governor Reagan would have been forced to drop from the race and, perhaps, there would never have been a President Reagan. In his book Reagan’s Revolution, author Craig Shirley writes, “Had Reagan lost in North Carolina, despite his public pronouncements…he would have made a gracious exit speech…and Reagan would have faded into political oblivion.”
The 1976 North Carolina Republican Primary was a watershed moment in Ronald Reagan’s political career. Senator Jesse Helms and the North Carolina Congressional Club contributed to Reagan’s victory. The Reagan campaign came to North Carolina after losing the Iowa caucus and five straight primaries. Many powerful North Carolina Republican’s, including Governor James Holshouser, pleaded with Governor Reagan to drop out and have the nomination to President Ford.
Next: 1990s >
Jesse Helms first met Ronald Reagan in the early 1960s while still working for WRAL-TV in Raleigh. Reagan supported Helms in his 1972 Senate campaign and when Reagan ran for President in 1976. Although Reagan did not win the Republican nomination he made quite an impact and garnered enough support to eventually lead him to victory in 1980 and again in 1984.
Foreign Relations Committee
RONALD REAGAN
The 1980s brought prosperity, renewed trust in government. Many Americans embraced conservative views on social, economic and political issues – a clear response to the rise in crime, inflation and foreign policy turmoil of the 1970s.
Senator Helms and President Reagan often worked together during his two terms but there were also instances when they disagreed. Helms wrote, “I am obliged to make the record clear: While President Reagan and I agreed on most things, there were some topics on which I felt obliged to publicly state my opposition.” In spite of these minor differences of opinion they remained good friends and supported each other long after Reagan left the White House.
Israel
Ronald Reagan
Senator Helms was not known for his generosity when it came to federal spending. His conservative ideology and refusal to compromise his principles often kept him from approving government spending if he thought it would be wasteful or be used for the wrong reasons. Therefore, when it came to providing foreign aid Senator Helms often voted against the extra spending and because of that, during the 1984 reelection, his opponents accused him of being anti-Israel.
During this time, Senator Chic Hecht (R-NV), a friend of Senator Helms, suggested he meet with some Jewish leaders to set the record straight. Senator Hecht also invited Helms and his wife to Israel with him, but not at the taxpayers’ expense. In August 1985, they all took a private trip to Israel and met with members of Israeli government, visited schools and hospitals and met with many private citizens all over the country.
ISRAEL
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Senator Helms first met when she was the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in the early 1990's. When President Clinton nominated Albright to be the first female Secretary of State, Senator Helms had no objections. Senator Helms wrote, "Secretary Albright and I did not agree on very many issues while she held her office. However, we decided early on that we would always treat each other as friends and find those places where we could work together."
NAFTA
Together, Helms and Albright helped reform the State Department and on June 13, 1997, Helms introduced the Foreign Affairs and Restructuring Act of 1997 which was signed into law by President Clinton on October 21, 1998. In his memoirs he wrote, “At long last the United States Information Agency and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency were brought under the control of the State Department and the President of the United States.” Helms considered this a major victory.
WORKING WITH ALBRIGHT
Weld Nomination
America’s prosperity continued into the 1990s. Senator Helms and President Clinton rarely agreed on policy, but with Helms being appointed Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1995, they were forced to work together on a number of important issues.
Next: 2000s >
Working with Albright
Also, Helms worried that the creation of a multinational bureaucracy, tasked with investigating NAFTA members and to ensure they are enforcing laws, would allow foreign bureaucrats to dictate rules to American companies and relinquish U.S. sovereignty rights. Helms wrote, “No trade agreement is worth permitting other countries to dictate how enforce U.S. domestic laws.”.
From its inception, Senator Helms opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) because he feared it would take jobs away from people in North Carolina. Senator Helms often said that “in order for there to be free trade there must be fair trade.” If he thought any trade agreement was going to be harmful to the United States he opposed it.
WELD NOMINATION
While Senator Helms was Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President Bill Clinton nominated former Governor William Weld to be the United States Ambassador to Mexico. On September 12, 1997, Senator Helms held a special meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He wanted to address accusations that he was making history by not voting on the William Weld nomination as Ambassador to Mexico.
In an example of Helms’ willingness to work with President Clinton, Helms sent Clinton a letter suggesting he nominate Weld as Ambassador to any other country…just not Mexico. Helms thought Mr. Weld’s views on drugs were a bad fit for an Ambassador to Mexico. Former Governor Weld did not take kindly to Helms blocking his nomination. However, on September 15, 1997, Weld withdrew his nomination and ended a five month battle.
BONO / AIDS
The 2000s were a time of tremendous technological advances, but were also plagued by financial instability and a recession. The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 completely changed America’s foreign policy and was the impetus for the global War on Terror.
Senator Helms first met with Bono, the lead singer for U2, in 2001. Bono came to Helms’ office in Washington, D.C. to discuss the AIDS pandemic in Africa and to ask the Senator to help fight it. Not long after that meeting, in March 2002, Helms, along with Senator Bill Frist, offered an amendment to the Senate to add $500 million to the U.S. Agency for International Development’s programs to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
9/11
Retirement
Their goal was to use that funding to find a way to get the proper treatment and medicine to every HIV positive pregnant woman and prevent them from passing the disease to their children. Meeting with Bono helped change Senator Helms’ mind about how to approach government funding for HIV/AIDS. If February 2002 at a conference organized by Samaritan’s Purse, Helms publicly admitted that he was ashamed he waited so long to do something “significant” about AIDS.
Bono / AIDS
Helms Center / Thatcher
RETIREMENT
HELMS CENTER / THATCHER
In 2001, Lady Thatcher came to Wingate, NC to attend the grand opening of the Jesse Helms Center Building. She cut the ribbon and spoke at Wingate University. The Prime Minster wrote in 2001 that “A conservative foreign policy can defined in a variety of ways….it is essentially one which places the national interest first…nobody ever said that international statesmanship was easy. Nor has it been easy for Jesse Helms to speak out so clearly and consistently for American and wider Western interests. I admire him for it.”
Senator Helms met Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s when she was leader of the Conservative Party in England. He offered to let her use his office whenever she visited Washington, D.C. That was the beginning of a relationship that lasted until Senator Helms’ death in 2008. When Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Helms was proud to support her and was glad she was able to help President Reagan fight communism and spread democracy around the world.
Much like everyone around the country, Senator Helms was devastated by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He visited the Pentagon on September 12 to give his support and encouragement to the volunteers working at the scene. Also on September 12, Senator Helms spoke on the Senate floor about the tragic event. He compared with Pearl Harbor and hoped the United States would be able to find those responsible for ruining so many lives that day.
FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE
In his memoirs, Senator Helms wrote, “It often surprises people that a Senator from North Carolina would have an avid interest in foreign policy…I believe when I arrived in the Senate in 1973 that there was no committee whose work has more impact on the welfare of North Carolina than the Foreign Relations Committee.” Senator Helms asked for a seat on the committee early in his career and was thrilled to be a part of such important work.
In 1985, Helms was entitled to become Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but chose to fulfill a campaign promise and chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee instead. In 1987, when Democrats took control of the Congress, Senator Helms was chosen to be the ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee and was happy to be the conservative voice in such an important committee.