Presidency of Ronald Reagan


 

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President Ronald Reagan during a Meeting with Joint Chiefs of Staff, January 15, 1982


 

 

 

 

 

 

  Link to AP US History Key Concept 9.1:  The Conservative Movement in American Politics

 

 

Focus Question: What were the major impacts of Ronald Reagan's presidency?

 

Overview of the Reagan Presidency

 

1980 Presidential Campaign Button


See also, Reagan from the PBS series, The Presidents.

Link here to visit the Reagan Presidential Library

In 1980 when President Reagan won his first term he did so in a convincing manner.

 

 

 

 

This link provides resources that could be used in a lesson plan about Reagan. This link also includes possible topics that can be discussed as well. 

 

This lesson plan provides a teacher's guide for showing students Reagan's documentary, Reagan. This lesson plan includes guided questions to ensure students are grasping the main points of the documentary. It includes discussion questions for before and after watching the video and activities (11).

 

Click here for a timeline of Ronald Reagan's life.

 

Click here for a timeline of Ronald Reagan's presidency.

 

Check out this 60 Second Presidents video from PBS to get an introduction to Ronald Reagan!

 

This documentary series begins with an episode asking the question: What Kind of President was Ronald Reagan. The next episode in the documentary series can be found here!: The Highs and Low of Reagan's Presidency 

 

Assassination Attempt


Ronald Reagan became president of the United States in 1980 and went on to serve two terms from 1981-1989.

 

 

 

Image result for ronald reagan assassination attempt 

 

 

Here is a link for an interview talking about Ronald Reagan and the Civil Rights Movement.

 

 Important Speeches by Ronald Reagan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tax rate cuts and Reaganomics

Reaganomics (also called "Supply-Side" Economics) was a radical reversal of the American economic policy than had been in place since the New Deal.

Reaganomics: Definition, Did It Work?

 

 

 

 

 

Check out this video from the History Channel YouTube page!  Here's Why Reganomics was so Controversial

 

 Khan Academy Video on Reaganomics and how did Reagan's policies affected the economy.

 

Crash Course Reaganomics 

 

Video About Faults in Reaganomics 

 

Click here for a lesson plan about Reaganomics. The theme of this lesson plan is: "this lesson will cover the social impact of President Reagan’s domestic policies for African Americans."


For more, Historical Biography page: Keynes, von Mises, von Hayek and Friedman

 

 


This video covers all aspects of Reagan's presidency, but largely focuses on his economic policies. While he did utilize supply-side economics, he did keep many policies of the Great Society and the New Deal. He also worked with Democrats during his second term, promoting bipartisanship. By today's standards, he would be considered more of a moderate.

 

Economic Recovery Tax Act (1981)

 

Tax cut requested by Ronald Reagan for the American people. Reagan requested 30% tax cut, instead provided with 25% tax cut, over the course of 3 yrs. This 25% tax cut was the same for all classes, thus those who were in the higher class would receive a greater amount of savings then those individuals of the middle and lower classes.

Click here for a recent article about Reagan's famous tax-cuts and the military tax increases which people tend to forget about

Data from Emmanuel Saez, University of California, Berkeley.
Data from Emmanuel Saez, University of California, Berkeley.

 

Income Inequality since the 1980s

 

external image 200px-Dollar_Sign.svg.pngIt's the Inequality, Stupid from Mother Jones Magazine presents a series of charts detailing income redistribution in American society (May/June 2011).

See Striking It Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States

 

 


The Unequal State of America: Government's Role in Inequality in the United States from Reuters.

President Obama's Speech on Income Inequality, December 4, 2013.

 

Here is a video of one of Ronald Reagan's most famous quotes about taxing.  

 

Domestic Spending

 

- Reduced by the Budget Reconciliation Act (1981)

Budget Reconciliation Act (1981)

- Cut domestic spending by $39 Billion, decreasing spending in such areas such as food stamps, education and public housing.
- In addition while decreasing domestic spending it increased the national defense budget by $12 Billion
 

 

Domestic Policy: 
"The administration also angered civil rights organizations on a number of fronts. Reagan made ill-considered remarks about Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1982 as Congress debated making King's birthday a national holiday. The same year the Reagan administration supported a lawsuit brought by Bob Jones University of South Carolina against the Internal Revenue Service over its long-standing policy of denying tax breaks to segregated schools. The policy originated in 1970 in an effort to combat the development of segregated private schools, which had become popular among whites in the wake of public school desegregation in the South. The IRS policy, though, also affected religious schools such as Bob Jones University, which enrolled a few minority students but forbade interracial dating and marriage."


Anticommunist foreign and defense policies and Iran-Contra Affair

 

President Reagan Meets with Aides during Iran-Contra Affair, November 25, 1986


For an overview, see Reagan's Foreign Policy from the Office of the Historian at the U.S. Department of State.


Click here for a video of Reagan urging Congress to intervene in Nicaragua

Another interesting aspect of Reagan’s foreign policy was his shift to a defensive stance, which was seen by his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) also called “Star Wars.” [6] He hoped to put a missile defense system of lasers on the moon in case of nuclear war with the Soviets.

While many people credit Reagan with the accomplishment of ending the cold war it is important to remember that a lot of the progress made between the United States and the Soviet Union can be credited to the cooperation of Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev who reasoned with the ever so militaristic Reagan. For a biography of Gorbachev, click here. Click here for a video of the signing of the INF treaty between Reagan and Gorbachev.

During Reagan's presidency, the CIA was appointed to intervene in the Soviet-Afghan war. During this intervention, the CIA funded, armed and trained a growing Islamic militia in Afghanistan which was then known as the "Mujahideen." Today they are referred to as Al-Qaeda. Click here for an interesting article which shows the transformation of this group from one of America's allies to one of the US's most sworn enemies.

 

Here is a brief video explaining the Iran-Contra Affair. 

 

A lesson plan for the Iran-Contra Affair is located here.

 

  Reagan and AIDS

 


Cross-section of the Human Immunodeficiency VirusCross-section of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus


Despite the fact that a lot of Americans remember Reagan's presidency fondly, many remember his actions, or lack thereof, in response to the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic.

 

 


external image 200px-Hebrew_timeline.svg.pngA Timeline of AIDS

For more, see How It Began: HIV Before the Age of AIDS from Frontline.

C. Everett Koop: Pioneering Surgeon General Spurred Reagan Response to AIDS

This article explains how Reagan was not active in gaining rights for women. Reagan did not promote the Equal Rights Amendment and supported a Human Life Amendment that would ban abortion and certain birth controls. He also downsized the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (12).

This article portrays Reagan as someone very against the Civil Rights Movement. Reagan did not approve of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was also against affirmative action but did not try to enact policies to stifle it (13).

Supreme Court appointments

 

Sandra Day O'Connor and Husband with President George W. Bush, 2005
Sandra Day O'Connor and Husband with President George W. Bush, 2005



Reagan brought many changes in the Supreme Court during his presidency.

He appointed three Justices (Sandra Day O’ConnorAntonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy), and also made William Rehnquist Chief Justice.

The court therefore took a marked conservative turn. O’Connor became the First Woman to serve as a Justice on the Supreme Court, which was something Reagan had said he wanted to do.

Justices O’Connor and Kennedy were sometimes swing votes, especially on questions of keeping abortion legal, but for the most part these were all conservative appointments.

 

Click here for more information and a lesson plan about the appointment of Sandra Day O'Connor- the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States!


external image 200px-Quill_and_ink.svg.pngClick here for more information on Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

The First Lady- An online link to a Biography on Nancy Reagan from Biography.com

The Conservative Movement

 

The conservative movement was put in full force while Reagan was president. Reagan found support with people who agreed with his economic policy, also known as "Reaganomics" and with people who were also against communism. During the time of Reagan's presidency, the cold war was a big fear for many people and the strengthening of the military was supported by many who feared nuclear war. The administration of Reagan is when the modern conservative movement first came into ascension.

 

See Rick Perlstein's series of books on the rise of American conservatism in the second half of the 20th century

 

For a recent perspective, see a 2009 Bill Moyers Journal segment, Conservative Movement Woes.

Click here for an interesting discussion from historian Will Bunch who explains the use of mythology in creating Reagan's legacy which is remembered today.

Regan on Immigration

 

 

For more on the legacy of this act click below for an npr article on the impacts of amnesty:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128303672

 

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 – aphgcaroline

 

The Air Traffic Controllers Strike of 1981

 

Replacement of striking air traffic controllers with non-union personnel

 

Reagan fired 11,359 striking air traffic controllers.


Reagan hosting a Q&A on the Air Traffic Controller Strike

Labor History: The Air Traffic Controllers Strike from State Vocational Federation of Teachers

The Strike That Busted Unions, The New York Times, August 2, 2011

Introduction to the PATCO Curriculum, Georgia State University

 

 

Lesson Plans

 

 

The Presidency of Ronald Reagan lesson plan:https://www.c-span.org/classroom/document/?10317                

 

 

Reaganomics lesson plan:https://www.reaganfoundation.org/education/curriculum-and-resources/curriculum/reaganomics-101/         


Ronald Reagan curriculum and lesson plans:https://www.reaganfoundation.org/education/curriculum-and-resources/curriculum/

 

 

Links

[1] Retrieved April 29, 2007, from Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library Web site: http://www.reaganlibrary.com/
[2] (2000). Iran-Contra Affair. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from PBS Web site: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande08.html
[3] Niskanen, W. A. Reaganomics. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from The Library of Economics and Liberty Web site: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Reaganomics.html
[4] (April 25, 2007). Detente . Retrieved April 29, 2007, from Wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A9tente
[5] (April 21, 2007). Contras. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from Wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contras
[6] Succeed by Studying the History of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from School for Champions Web site: http://www.school-for-champions.com/sdi.htm#Development
[7] Bucher, N. The Air Traffic Controllers' Strike of 1981. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from University of St. Francis Web site: http://www.stfrancis.edu/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/btopics/works/atcstrike.htm
[8] Map of Nicaragua
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/camerica/ni.htm
[9] ACT UP and similar groups were started in the 1980s in response to Regan-instigated conservatism http://www.actupny.org/
[10] photos of Supreme Court justices found at: http://www.michaelariens.com/ConLaw/justices/list.htm
(11) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/teachers-resources/reagan-guide/
(12) http://womensenews.org/2004/06/time-bury-reagans-legacy-women/
(13) http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/158887
(14) http://www.shmoop.com/reagan-era/
(15) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h4DkpFP_aw

(16) https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-reagan-shot