Belechak 1

Joanna Belechak

Mr. Widenhofer

AP U.S. History

May 16, 2017

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan served as the fortieth President of the United States of America. Prior to

his career as a two-term president, he was a radio announcer, actor, television host, union leader,

and governor of California. In his younger years, Reagan had major political influence from his

Democratic parents. Later on in his life he, as the president of the Screen Actors Guild, became

entangled in arguments over the issue of Communism in the film industry, and his views changed

from liberal to conservative. Reagan became a mouthpiece for conservatism as a television host

and into his position as governor. In 1980, he was nominated as the Republican Party candidate,

defeating President Jimmy Carter in the election, and thus took office. As the President of the

United States, Ronald Reagan was above average, with his successes outweighing his failures.

Reagan had major accomplishments including the revitalization of confidence and patriotism in

the country, the restoration of the national economy, and the strengthening of national defense,

but he also had major downfalls including involvement in controversial international affairs,

slashing spending on social programs, and failure to tackle deficits.

Ronald Reagan is known as one of the most transformative and revered presidents of the

twentieth century. In his farewell address, Reagan humbly brought up his legacy, saying:

I won a nickname - "The Great Communicator." But I never thought it was my style

or the words I used that made a difference - it was the content. I wasn't a great
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communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from

my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation - from our experience, our

wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries.

They called it the Reagan Revolution, and I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed

more like the Great Rediscovery: a rediscovery of our values and our common

sense. (nytimes.com)

But it was, in fact, his style and his words that gave Reagan such a stellar reputation. He was not

only charming and affable, but he was also easy to connect with. From U.S. citizens to world

leaders, Ronald Reagan seemed to relate to everyone. His character, along with his economic and

military plans, completely changed American outlook on life. Citizens became more confident in

the government and had a more profound sense of optimism of what was to come for the country

with Reagan as the President of the United States.

On November 13, 1979, Ronald Reagan formally announced his presidential candidacy.

In his speech, he addressed general issues which his administration would conquer if he were to

be elected. He placed a significant emphasis on economic restoration, saying No problem that

we face today can compare with the need to restore the health of the American economy and the

strength of the American dollar (reaganlibrary.archives.gov). As he entered his presidency,

Reagan and his administration focused on cutting taxes, reducing government spending and

regulations, curbing inflation, and balancing the federal budget. This economic policy was

nicknamed Reaganomics. Reagan delivered on three of the four major tenants of Reaganomics.

Reducing taxes over 40% stimulated economic growth and activity leading to a boost in tax

revenue and therefore, leading to a decrease in inflation. The Reagan administration, despite a
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huge increase in defense spending, also managed to lower government spending to almost half of

what it was during the time of the Carter administration. However, Reagan did not accomplish

his goal of balancing the budget. Nonetheless, Reaganomics ultimately led to a seven year period

of prosperity in the United States.

The rise in defense spending had both positive and negative effects. Funds had to be

taken out of other programs in order for this system to work. Reagan chose to cut spending on

social welfare programs such as food stamps, subsidized housing, and others that helped

struggling mothers. His first term as President was plagued with growing unemployment and

poverty. At the time, more money put into the defense build up led to great advantages. Not only

did it strengthen the military, but it also led to the start of the end of the Cold War. The large

build up was used to threaten the Soviet Union. The hope was that they would feel intimidated

by the increased U.S. military strength and come to an agreement. On March 23, 1983, Reagan

gave his Address to the Nation on Defense and National Security, in which he proposed the

Strategic Defense Initiative. He explained:

Since the dawn of the atomic age, weve sought to reduce the risk of war by

maintaining a strong deterrent and by seeking genuine arms control. Deterrence

means simply this: making sure any adversary who thinks about attacking the United

States, or our allies, or our vital interest, concludes that the risks to him outweigh

any potential gains. Once he understands that, he wont attack. We maintain the peace

through our strength; weakness only invites aggression. (presidency.ucsb.edu)

Two years later, Mikhail Gorbachev came into power as the new Soviet leader. He committed

himself to major reforms in the Soviet Union using two major policies: glasnost, or openness,
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and perestroika, or restructuring. A shrinkage of the Soviet military and an end to the Cold War

were required, however, for these policies to work. Reagan was ruthless in negotiation with

Gorbachev. It was not until December 1987 that Reagan and Gorbachev came to an agreement.

The two leaders met in Washington D.C. and signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces

Treaty, which stated that, each Party shall eliminate its intermediate-range and shorter-range

missiles not have such systems thereafter (state.gov). The treaty ultimately began to mend

relations between the countries and began to conclude the Cold War.

Yet the steady growth of military spending led to an unmanageable bubble in the defense

industry that took decades of restructuring. Extreme spending and tax cuts led to an explosion in

national deficits and debt. Federal budget deficits amounted to $250 billion and the Gross

Federal Debt tripled. At the beginning of Reagans presidency, the governmental debt was about

$900 billion. By the end of his presidency, the federal debt was up to $2.7 trillion. Reagan

singlehandedly spent more in deficit spending than all previous president combined, including

that of both World War I and World War II.

Other issues arose during Ronald Reagans time as President. Reagan practiced a more

hands-off leadership, letting his administration make many of the decisions for the country. This,

however, led to many illegal activities occurring under his authority that he never approved. One

example was the infamous and controversial Iran-Contra Affair. Many argue that it was the

largest scandal since Nixons Watergate Scandal. In 1985, Iran made a request to buy weapons

from America, even though there was an embargo against selling them. Robert McFarlane, who

was the National Security Adviser at the time, believed that the sale would improve U.S.

relations with several countries across the Middle East, but he needed Reagans approval in order
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to go through with it. At this time, seven Americans were taken hostage by Iranian terrorists.

While campaigning for office, Reagan had promised to never make a deal with terrorists, yet he

still went through with the sale. He made an arms-for-hostages negotiation, but only three

Americans were released in exchange for over a thousand missiles. When reports came out about

the deal, Reagan denied that it happened which put into question his honesty and integrity as the

President of the United States. Then it was recognized that only $12 million of the supposed $30

million paid by the Iranians had reached the government. Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the

National Security Council had been rerouting money from the arms sale to the Contras in

Nicaragua. Reagan had long supported the insurgent Contras, who were fighting against the

Cuban-backed Sandinistas that came into power. North had the consent of Admiral John

Poindexter, the National Security Adviser, to divert the funds. He assumed that Reagan gave an

unspoken blessing to do so as well. Poindexter resigned, North was fired, and Reagan was put

under investigation. After thorough investigation, no evidence directly linked Reagan to the

situation. In his Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy and

Administration Goals, Reagan himself stated, I was aware the resistance was receiving funds

directly from third countries and from private efforts, and I endorsed those endeavors

wholeheartedly; butlet me put this in capital lettersI did not know about the diversion of

funds (presidency.ucsb.edu). But laws had still been broken and his reputation was affected.

Even so, by the end of his presidency in 1989, Reagans image recuperated and he

had the highest approval rating of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. President

Reagan undeniably had issues over the duration of his two terms in office, but all government

leaders face disapproval on virtually every action they take. On the home front, Reagan changed
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Americas entire outlook on government. For once people were generally happy and content with

what was happening in the country. Reaganomics resulted in a groundbreaking 92-month long

economic boom. The once vulnerable military was left stronger and smarter. Research and

development improved and pay for members of the armed forces increased. His deals with

Gorbachev set in motion the cessation of the nearly five decade long Cold War. Unquestionably,

the positive outcomes of Reagan and his administration prevailed over his shortcomings as the

President of the United States.

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Works Cited

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty). State.gov. U.S. Department of State.
Web. 15 May 2017.

Lopez, Jose R. Transcript of Reagan's Farewell Address to American People. Nytimes.com.

The New York Times, 11 Jan. 1989. Web. 15 May 2017.

Niskanen, William A. Reaganomics. Econlib.org. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics,

1993. Web. 15 May 2017.

Peters, Gerhard, and John T. Woolley. Ronald Reagan: Address to the Nation on Defense and
National Security. Presidency.ucsb.edu. The American Presidency Project, 23
Mar. 1983. Web. 15 May 2017.

Peters, Gerhard, and John T. Woolley. Ronald Reagan: Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms
and Contra Aid Controversy and Administration Goals. Presidency.ucsb.edu. The
American Presidency Project, 12 Aug. 1987. Web. 15 May 2017.

Ronald Reagan. Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017. Web. 15 May 2017.

Ronald Reagan. Whitehouse.gov. The United States Government, 08 Mar. 2017. Web. 15
May 2017.

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Reaganlibrary.gov. The U.S. National Archives and
Records Administration. Web. 15 May 2017.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty at a Glance. Armscontrol.org. Arms

Control Association, 14 Feb. 2017. Web. 15 May 2017.

The Iran-Contra Affair. Pbs.org. WGBH Educational Foundation. Web. 15 May 2017.
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Was Ronald Reagan a Good President? Reagan.procon.org. 08 May 2017. Web. 15 May
2017.