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{{Short description|President of the United States from 1981 to 1989}}
{{sprotect2}}
{{Redirect|Reagan||Ronald Reagan (disambiguation)|and|Reagan (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox_President | name=Ronald Wilson Reagan
{{Featured article}}
| nationality=American
{{Pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
| image=Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981.jpg
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
| order=40th ]
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
| vicepresident=]
{{Infobox officeholder
| term_start=] ]
| image = <!-- DO NOT CHANGE this, see ], item 9. -->Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981.jpg
| term_end=] ]
| alt = White House portrait of Reagan smiling in front of the U.S. and U.S. president flags, wearing a dark blue suit jacket with a white shirt and burgundy necktie.
| predecessor=]
| caption = Official portrait, 1981
| successor=]
| order = 40th
| order2=33rd ]
| office = President of the United States
| lieutenant2=] <br>(1967 - 1969) <br> ] <br>(1969 - 1974) <br> ] <br>(1974 - 1975)
| term_start2=] ] | term_start = January 20, 1981
| term_end2=] ] | term_end = January 20, 1989
| predecessor = ]
| predecessor2=]
| successor = ]
| successor2=]
| vicepresident = George H. W. Bush
| birth_date=] ]
| order1 = 33rd
| birth_place=], ]
| office1 = Governor of California
| death_date={{death date and age|2004|6|5|1911|2|6}}
| lieutenant1 = {{plainlist|
| death_place=], ], ], ]
* {{longitem|]<br />(1967–1969)<ref>{{cite news |last=Oliver |first=Myrna |date=October 11, 1995 |title=Robert H. Finch, Lt. Gov. Under Reagan, Dies : Politics: Leader in California GOP was 70. He also served in Nixon's Cabinet and as President's special counselor and campaign manager. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-11-mn-55826-story.html |newspaper=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226174756/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-10-11-mn-55826-story.html |archive-date=December 26, 2022 |access-date=April 4, 2020}}</ref>}}
| spouse=(1) ] (married 1940, divorced 1948)<br/>(2) ] (married 1952)
* {{longitem|]<br />(1969–1974)<ref>{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Cindy |date=December 25, 2016 |title=Ed Reinecke, who resigned as California's lieutenant governor after a perjury conviction, dies at 92 |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-reinecke-obit-20161225-story.html |newspaper=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226175029/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-reinecke-obit-20161225-story.html |archive-date=December 26, 2022 |access-date=April 4, 2020}}</ref>}}
| religion=]
* {{longitem|]<br />(1974–1975)<ref>{{cite news |last=South |first=Garry |author-link=Garry South |date=May 21, 2018 |title=California's lieutenant governors rarely move up to the top job |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/California-s-lieutenant-governors-rarely-move-12932482.php |newspaper=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226175111/https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/California-s-lieutenant-governors-rarely-move-12932482.php |archive-date=December 26, 2022 |access-date=April 4, 2020}}</ref>}}
| signature=Ronald Reagan signature.gif
}}
| party=]
| term_start1 = January 2, 1967
}}
| term_end1 = January 6, 1975{{sfn|Holmes|2020|p=210}}

| predecessor1 = ]
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan''' (], ] &ndash; ], ]) was the 40th ] (1981&ndash;1989) and the 33rd ] (1967&ndash;1975). At sixty-nine, he was the ]. Before entering politics, Reagan was a successful Hollywood and television actor, head of the ], and a spokesman for ]. He was a prominent ] in the 1940s, but by 1960 Reagan had become a ] Republican. He strongly opposed ] and ], and as president he fought for free-trade agreements, welfare cutbacks, tax cuts, and sought a reduction to regulation.
| successor1 = ]

| office2 = <!-- DO NOT add any numbers, there is no citation for this. -->President of the ]
He married ] in ], and they divorced in ]. In ], he married ], with whom he remained for the rest of his life, fifty-two years.
| term_start2 = November 16, 1959
| term_end2 = June 7, 1960
| predecessor2 = ]
| successor2 = ]
| term_start3 = March 10, 1947
| term_end3 = November 10, 1952
| predecessor3 = ]
| successor3 = ]
| birth_name = Ronald Wilson Reagan
| birth_date = {{birth date|1911|2|6}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|6|5|1911|2|6}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California,<!-- DO NOT LINK this, see ]. --> U.S.
| resting_place = ]
| party = ] (from 1962)
| otherparty = ] (until 1962)
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|]|January 26, 1940|July 19, 1949|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|]|March 4, 1952}}
}}
| children = 5, including ], ], ], and ]
| parents = {{plainlist|
* ]
* ]
}}
| occupation = Soldier (1937–1945)<br>Actor (1937–1966)<br>Politician (1966–1989)<br>Sports broadcaster<br>Union leader
| relatives = ] (brother)
| awards = ]
| signature = Ronald Reagan Signature2.svg
| signature_alt = Cursive signature in ink
| branch = {{tree list}}
* ]
** ]
** ]
{{tree list/end}}
| branch_label = Service
| serviceyears = {{plainlist|
* 1937–1942 (])
* 1942–1945 (])
}}
| rank = ]
| unit = {{plainlist|
* ]
* ]
* ]
}}
| battles = ]
| battles_label = Wars
| footnotes = {{Collapsible list
|titlestyle=background:lavender;text-align:center;
|title=Other offices
|bullets=on
|1968<ref>{{cite book |title=The Chairman's Report – 1968: To the Members of the Republican National Committee Jan. 16–17, 1969 |date=January 1969 |publisher=] |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MoEcAQAAMAAJ |access-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref>–1969:<ref>{{cite book |title=Synergy, Volumes 13–30 |date=1969 |publisher=] |page=41 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dLYqAQAAIAAJ |access-date=January 16, 2023 |quote=Governor Raymond Shafer of Pennsylvania was elected on December 13 to succeed Governor Ronald Reagan as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.}}</ref> Chair of the ]
}}
| module = {{Listen voice
|filename=Ronald Reagan speaks on the Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster.ogg
|description=Reagan addressing the ]
|recorded=January 28, 1986}}
| education = ] (])
}}


'''Ronald Wilson Reagan'''{{efn|Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|eɪ|ɡ|ən|audio=en-us-Reagan.oga}} {{respell|RAY|gən}}{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=261}}}} (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician<!-- DO NOT CHANGE this, see ], item 1. --> and actor who served as the 40th ] from 1981 to 1989. A member of the ], he became an important figure in the ]. ] is known as the ].
Reagan is credited with restoring America's power and prosperity after a period of ] in the wake of the ] and the withdrawal from ]. He rejected ] and escalated the ] with the ] through a military build-up and a firm foreign policy of "peace through strength", but also negotiated with ] to shrink both countries' nuclear arsenals and help bring a peaceful end to the ].


Born in Illinois, Reagan graduated from ] in 1932 and was hired the next year as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California where he became a well-known film actor. During his acting career, Reagan was president of the ] twice, from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960. In the 1950s, he hosted '']'' and worked as a motivational speaker for ]. Reagan's "]" speech during the ] launched his rise as a leading conservative figure. After being ], he raised state taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus and implemented harsh crackdowns on university protests. Following his loss to ] in the ], Reagan won the Republican Party's nomination and then a landslide victory over President ] in the ].
Reagan's persuasive ] speaking style earned him the ] '''"The Great Communicator"''', while his survival of numerous scandals earned him the nickname '''"The Teflon President"'''. Notable appointments included Supreme Court Justice ], who was the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court, and Federal Reserve Chairman ].


In his first term as president, Reagan began implementing "]", which involved economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during ]. On the world stage, he ], ] away from the policies of '']'' with the ], and ordered the ]. He also ], fought public-sector labor unions, expanded the ], and was ]. In the ], he defeated former vice president ] in another landslide victory. ] dominated Reagan's second term, including the ], the ], and a more conciliatory approach in talks with Soviet leader ] culminating in the ].
After leaving office, Reagan wrote a well-received autobiography titled ''An American Life.'' In several recent ] of American presidents, Ronald Reagan ranked highly.<ref>]</ref> After suffering from ] for at least a decade, he ] in 2004 at the age of 93 in ], California. He is the second longest-lived president in U.S. history, just behind ] by 45 days.


Reagan left the presidency in 1989 with the American economy having seen a significant reduction of inflation, the unemployment rate having fallen, and the U.S. having entered its then-longest peacetime expansion. At the same time, the national debt had nearly tripled since 1981 as a result of his cuts in taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary spending. Reagan's policies also contributed to the end of the Cold War and the end of ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ronald Reagan |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ronald-Reagan |access-date=June 27, 2023 |website=] |date=June 9, 2023}}</ref> ] hindered Reagan post-presidency, and his physical and mental capacities gradually deteriorated, leading to ] in 2004. ] have typically placed Reagan in the upper tier, and ] are usually high.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Retrospective Approval of Presidents |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/508625/retrospective-approval-jfk-rises-trump.aspx |access-date=August 23, 2023 |publisher=] |date=July 17, 2023}}</ref>
Reagan was a devoted ] beleiver, attending ] in his later years. <ref> - ], ], ].</ref>


==Early life== ==Early life==
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in ] in ], as the younger son of ] and ].{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=5}} Nelle was committed to the ],{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=12}} which believed in the ].{{sfn|Spitz|2018|p=36}} She led ]s and ran mid-week prayers at her church when the pastor was out of town.{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=12}} Reagan credited her spiritual influence{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=48}} and he became a ].{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=10}} According to American political figure ], Reagan's values came from his pastor, and the First Christian Church's religious, economic and social positions "coincided with the words, if not the beliefs of the latter-day Reagan".{{sfn|Vaughn|1995|p=109}} Jack focused on making money to take care of the family,{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=5}} but this was complicated by his alcoholism.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=10}} Reagan had an older brother, ].{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=4}} The family lived in Chicago, ], and ] before returning to Tampico. In 1920, they settled in ],{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=5}} living in ] near the ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=4}}
]
Reagan was born in a flat above the local bank building in Tampico, Illinios, on ], ] to John Edward Reagan (]&ndash;]), an ] Catholic, and Nelle Clyde Wilson (]&ndash;]), who was of Scottish, Canadian, and English descent. His mother was a member of the ] Church. Reagan was raised in the ] faith. Reagan's father was a ] and sporadically unemployed.


Reagan attended ], where he developed interests in drama and ].{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=14}} His first job was as a ] at the ].{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=16}} In 1928, Reagan began attending ],{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=10}} which Nelle approved because of its affiliation with the Disciples of Christ.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=17}} He was a mediocre student{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=20}} who participated in sports, drama, and campus politics. He became ] and joined a student strike that resulted in the college president's resignation.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=10–11}} Reagan was initiated as a member of ] Fraternity and served as president of the local chapter.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Redeske |first=Heather |date=Summer 2004 |title=Remembering Reagan |url=https://my.tke.org/theteke/2004-Summer.pdf |magazine=The Teke |publisher=] |pages=8–13 |volume=97 |issue=3 |access-date=November 11, 2023}}</ref> Reagan played at the ] position for the ] and ]s and recalled a time when two Black teammates were refused service at a ] hotel; he invited them to his parents' home nearby in Dixon and his parents welcomed them. At the time, his parents' stance on racial questions was unusually ] in Dixon.{{sfnm|1a1=Cannon|1y=2000|1p=457|2a1=Mayer|2y=2015|2p=73}} Reagan himself had grown up with very few ] and was oblivious to racial discrimination.{{sfn|Primuth|2016|p=42}}
His paternal great-grandfather, Michael Reagan, came to the United States from ], ], in the 1860s, and the rest of his paternal family also immigrated from ] in the 1800s. Prior to his immigration, the family name was spelled ''Regan''. His maternal great-grandfather, John Wilson, immigrated to the United States from ], ], in the 1840s and married Jane Blue, a Canadian from Queens, ]. Reagan's maternal grandmother, Mary Anne Elsey, was born in ], ].


==Entertainment career==
Reagan's family lived in several small Illinois towns and, briefly, ] during Reagan's earliest years. In ], when Reagan was nine years old, the Reagan family settled in the small town of ]. The midwestern "small universe" made a lasting impression on Reagan "where I learned standards and values that would guide me the rest of my life", Reagan recounted in his autobiography. "I learned that hard work is an essential part of life - that by and large, you don't get something for nothing - and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work hard. I learned to admire risk takers and entrepreneurs, be they farmers or small merchants, who went to work and took risks to build something for themselves and their children, pushing at the boundaries of their lives to make them better. I have always wondered at this American marvel."
{{Further|Ronald Reagan filmography}}


===Radio and film===
In Dixon, Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he developed a gift for storytelling and acting. In ], Reagan's first job was that of a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon. He was credited with saving 77 lives during the seven summers he worked there.
{{Multiple image|total_width=400|image1=Ronald Reagan in Dark Victory trailer.jpg|alt1=A frame of Ronald Reagan in the 1939 film Dark Victory|caption1='']'' (1939)|image2=Ronald Reagan in The Bad Man (1941).png|alt2=A frame of Reagan in the 1941 film The Bad Man|caption2='']'' (1941)}}


After obtaining a ] in economics and sociology from Eureka College in 1932,{{sfn|Mullen|1999|p=207}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://reagan.eureka.edu/visit-reagans-campus.html |title=Visit Reagan's Campus |website=The Ronald W. Reagan Society of Eureka College |access-date=February 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418015423/https://reagan.eureka.edu/visit-reagans-campus.html |archive-date=April 18, 2023}}</ref> Reagan took a job in ], as a sports broadcaster for four football games in the ].{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=24–26}} He then worked for ] in ] as a broadcaster for the ]. His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions that the station received by wire as the games were in progress.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=29–30}} Simultaneously, he often expressed his opposition to racism.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=458}} In 1936, while traveling with the Cubs to their spring training in California, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with ]{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=18–19}}
After High School, Reagan attended ], where he majored in ] and ]. He was a member of the ] fraternity, and was very active in sports.


Reagan arrived at ] in 1937, debuting in '']'' (1937).{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=39–40}} Using a simple and direct approach to acting and following his directors' instructions,{{sfn|Freie|2015|pp=43–44}} Reagan made thirty films, mostly ], before beginning ] in April 1942.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=30}} He broke out of these types of films by portraying ] in '']'' (1940), which would be rejuvenated when reporters called Reagan "the Gipper" while he campaigned for president.{{sfn|Cannon|2001|pp=13–15}} Reagan starred in '']'' (1942) as a leg amputee;{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=25–26}} this performance was considered his best by many critics.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=37}} Reagan became a star,{{sfn|Friedrich|1997|p=89}} with ] placing him "in the top 100 stars" from 1941 to 1942.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=37}}
==From radio announcer to Hollywood star==


] interrupted the movie stardom that Reagan would never be able to achieve again{{sfn|Friedrich|1997|p=89}} as Warner Bros. became uncertain about his ability to generate ticket sales. Reagan, who had a limited acting range, was dissatisfied with the roles he received. ] renegotiated his contract with his studio, allowing him to also make films with ], ], and ] as a freelancer. Reagan appeared in multiple ]s, something that had been denied to him while working at Warner Bros.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=59}} In 1952, he ended his relationship with Warner Bros.,{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=236}} but went on to appear in a total of 53 films,{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=30}} his last being '']'' (1964).{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=312}}
]
In ], after graduating from Eureka, Reagan worked at radio stations ] in ], and then ] in ] as an announcer for ] ] games, getting only the bare outlines of the game from a ] and relying on his imagination to flesh out the game. Once, during the ninth inning of a game, the wire went dead but Reagan smoothly improvised a fictional play-by-play (in which hitters on both teams fouled off numerous pitches) until the wire was restored. As a Headline radio announcer, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with the ] studio. Reagan's clear voice, easy-going manner, and athletic physique made him popular with audiences; the majority of his screen roles were as the leading man, beginning with "B" films and carrying on through "A" films. His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie '']''. By the end of ], he had appeared in 19 films. Before '']'' in ], he played the role of ] in the film '']''. From this role he acquired the nickname ''the Gipper'', which he retained the rest of his life. Reagan considered his best acting work to have been in '']'' (]). He played the part of a young man whose legs were amputated. He used a line he spoke in this film, "Where's the rest of me?", as the title for his autobiography. Other notable Reagan films include ''International Squadron'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', ''Hong Kong'', ''The Winning Team'', '']'', ''Cattle Queen of Montana'', ''Storm Warning'', '']'' (1964 remake), and Prisoner of War movie. His many leading ladies included ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. He has a star on the ].


===Military service===
On May 25, 1937, Reagan was appointed a ] in the Officers' Reserve Corps of the ]. He served with Troop B, 322nd Cavalry.<ref></ref> After the ], on April 18, 1942, Lieutenant Reagan was ordered to active duty, but because of his ] was prevented from serving overseas.<ref name="USSRR"></ref> He was first assigned to the ] Port of Embarkation at ], California, as a liaison officer for the Port and Transportation Office.<ref name="USSRR" /> At the request of the ], he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the Army Air Force.<ref name="USSRR" /> In June 1942, was assigned to the ], which made training and education films for the war effort.<ref name="USSRR" /> Reagan recalled in his first autobiography ''Where's the Rest of Me'' that he witnessed inefficiencies in his Army department because bureaucrats wanted to protect their own jobs and budgets. That's when his enthusiasm for government efforts began to wane and his enthusiasm for free markets - and competition - began to rise, he recalled. Reagan remained in Hollywood for the duration of the war.
], between 1943 and 1944]]


In April 1937, Reagan enlisted in the ]. He was assigned as a ] in Des Moines' ] and reassigned to ] in the Officers Reserve Corps.{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|p=148}} He later became a part of the ] in California.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=96}} As relations between the United States and ] worsened, Reagan was ordered for active duty while he was filming '']''. Wasserman and Warner Bros. lawyers successfully sent draft deferments to complete the film in October 1941. However, to avoid accusations of Reagan being a ], the studio let him go in April 1942.{{sfnm|1a1=Woodard|1y=2012|1p=26|2a1=Brands|2y=2015|2pp=54–55}}
]
Reagan's film roles became fewer in the late 1950s; he moved to television as a host and frequent performer for '']''. Reagan appeared in over 50 television dramas. Reagan served as the president of the ] (SAG) from 1947 until 1952, and again from 1959 to 1960. In 1952, a Hollywood dispute raged over his granting of a SAG blanket waiver to ], which allowed it to both represent and employ talent for its burgeoning ]. He went from host and program supervisor of ''General Electric Theater'' to producing and claiming an equity stake in the TV show itself. At one point in the late 1950s, Reagan was earning approximately $125,000 per year ($800,000 in 2006 dollars). His final work as a professional actor was as host and performer from 1964 to 1965 on the popular '']'' television series. Reagan's final big-screen appearance came in the 1964 film '']'', a remake of an earlier version, based on a short story by ]. Reagan portrayed a mob chieftain. This film, the first made-for-TV movie, was originally produced for NBC, but the network's censor found it too violent. Reagan's co-stars were ], ], and Angie Dickinson.


Reagan reported for duty with severe ]. His first assignment was at ] as a ], a role that allowed him to transfer to the ] (AAF). Reagan became an AAF ] and was assigned to the ] in ]{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|pp=148–149}} where he felt that it was "impossible to remove an incompetent or lazy worker" due to what he felt was "the incompetence, the delays, and inefficiencies" of the federal ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=27}} Despite this, Reagan participated in the Provisional Task Force Show Unit in ]{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|p=149}} and continued to make theatrical films.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=57}} He was also ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the ] before being reassigned to ] until his discharge on December 9, 1945, as a ]. Throughout his military service, Reagan produced over 400 ]s.{{sfn|Oliver|Marion|2010|p=149}}
In 1989, after leaving office, Reagan was contacted by the producers of the Back To The Future film trilogy about taking the role of the mayor of the fictional town of Hill Valley, "Mayor Hubert" in the third installment. According to Reagan's agent Lew Wasserman, he contemplated taking the role before eventually turning it down.


===Screen Actors Guild presidency===
==Marriages==
When ] resigned as president of the ] (SAG) on March 10, 1947, Reagan was elected to that position in a special election.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=86}} Reagan's first tenure saw various labor–management disputes,{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=133}} the ],{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=146}} and the ]'s implementation.{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=154}} On April 10, the ] (FBI) interviewed Reagan and he provided the names of actors whom he believed to be ].{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=32}} During a ] hearing, Reagan testified that some guild members were associated with the ]{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=97}} and that he was well-informed about a "jurisdictional strike".{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=98}} When asked if he was aware of communist efforts within the ], he called information about the efforts "hearsay".{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=89}} Reagan resigned as SAG president November 10, 1952, but remained on the board.{{sfn|Eliot|2008|p=266}}
] Blue Room.]]
Reagan married actress ] on ], ]; they had a daughter, ] in 1941; an adopted son, ] in 1945, and a second daughter, Christine, born and died ], ]. They divorced on ], ]. Reagan is the only United States President to date to have been divorced.


The SAG fought with film producers for the right to receive ],{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=35}} and on November 16, 1959, the board elected Reagan SAG president for the second time.<ref>{{cite news |date=November 17, 1959 |title=Reagan Heads Actors Guild |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/celebrity-clipping-nov-17-1959-4623386/ |newspaper=] |agency=] |page=47 |access-date=August 15, 2024}}</ref> Reagan managed to secure payments for actors whose theatrical films had been released between 1948 and 1959 and subsequently televised. The producers were initially required to pay the actors fees, but they ultimately settled instead for providing pensions and paying residuals for films made after 1959. Reagan resigned from the SAG presidency on June 7, 1960, and also left the board.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=111–112}}
Reagan married actress ] on ], ]. His best man was ]. Their daughter ] was born on ] of the same year. In 1958, they had a second child, ].


===Marriages and children===
From the very start of their marriage, Ronald and Nancy Reagan were "soul mates." He often called her "Mommy"; she called him "Ronnie."<ref>Berry, Deborah Barfield (June 6, 2004) Newsday.com.</ref> This deep relationship was with the Reagans throughout all of their married life. While ] and ], the Reagans frequently displayed their affection for each other in public, and in private. Even when the President was debilitated by ], Nancy Reagan reaffirmed their love for each other, stating: "We were very much in love, and still are."
{{Multiple image|total_width=400|image1=Wyman & Reagan.jpg|alt1=Actors Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan at a Los Angeles premiere for the 1942 film Tales of Manhattan|caption1=Reagan and Jane Wyman, 1942|image2=The Reagan's at the Stork Club in New York City.jpg|alt2=The Reagans at The Stork Club in New York City, 1952|caption2=Ronald and Nancy Reagan, 1952}}


In January 1940, Reagan married ], his co-star in the 1938 film '']''.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=43}}{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=23}} Together, they had two biological daughters: ] in 1941,{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=25}} and Christine in 1947 (born prematurely and died the following day).{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=29}} They adopted one son, ], in 1945.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=27}} Wyman filed for divorce in June 1948. She was uninterested in politics, and occasionally recriminated, reconciled and ] with him. Although Reagan was unprepared,{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=29}} the divorce was finalized in July 1949. Reagan would remain close to his children.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=73–74}} Later that year, Reagan met ] after she contacted him in his capacity as the SAG president about her name appearing on a communist ]; she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=109}} They married in March 1952,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=113}} and had two children, ] in October 1952, and ] in May 1958.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=199}} Reagan has three grandchildren.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ronald Reagan's Family |url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/ronald-reagan/ronald-reagans-family |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=Ronald Reagan |language=en}}</ref>
==Early political career==
]]]
Reagan was originally a ], a supporter of ] and his ], and a lifelong admirer of ]'s leadership skills. In the late 1940s, Reagan was still a visible speaker defending President ]. But his political loyalties shifted to the ].


===Television===
His first major political role was as president of the ] (SAG), the labor union that represented most Hollywood actors. In this position, he testified before the ] (HUAC) on suspected communist influence in the motion picture industry. The Screen Actors Guild, he claimed, was being infiltrated by communists. In private he and his first wife, Jane Wyman, met with FBI agents in 1947 to name "suspected subversives". Among those he allegedly fingered were actors ], ], and ], each of whom was later called before HUAC and subsequently blacklisted in Hollywood. (This information was not revealed until a 2002 ] request.)<ref> - ], ], ] and '']''.</ref> FBI files allegedly show that he continually gave the FBI names of people he suspected of communist ties.
Reagan became the host of ] television production '']''{{sfn|Vaughn|1994|p=236}} at Wasserman's recommendation. It featured multiple guest stars,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=120}} and Ronald and Nancy Reagan, continuing to use her stage name Nancy Davis, acted together in three episodes.{{sfn|Metzger|1989|p=26}} When asked how Reagan was able to recruit such stars to appear on the show during television's infancy, he replied, "Good stories, top direction, production quality".{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=122}} However, the viewership declined in the 1960s and the show was canceled in 1962.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=131–132}} In 1965, Reagan became the host{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=145}} of another MCA production, '']''.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=36}}


==Early political activities==
Now a staunch anti-communist, Reagan supported the presidential candidacies of ] (1952;1956) and ] (1960), while remaining a registered Democrat. Through these years, Reagan read about American history, the ], and free market economics. (Reagan had also majored in economics in college.) After reading Nobel Prize-winner ]'s '']'', Reagan came to believe that socialism was a threat to the American way of life. Witnessing what he believed to be inefficient and overreaching government programs firsthand, Reagan believed that liberals were naively leading the country down a road to serfdom.
] with ], 1964]]


Reagan began his political career as a ], viewing ] as "a true hero".{{sfn|Yager|2006|pp=12–13}} He joined the ] and ] (HICCASP), worked with the ] to fight ]s,{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=28}} and continued to speak out against racism when he was in Hollywood.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=139}} In 1945, Reagan planned to lead an HICCASP anti-nuclear rally, but Warner Bros. prevented him from going.{{sfn|Lettow|2006|pp=4–5}} In 1946, he appeared in a radio program called ''Operation Terror'' to speak out against rising ] activity, calling it a "capably organized systematic campaign of fascist violence and intimidation and horror".<ref name="Racism">{{cite journal |last=Vaughn |first=Stephen |year=2002 |title=Ronald Reagan and the Struggle for Black Dignity in Cinema, 1937–1953 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1562493 |journal=The Journal of African American History |volume = The Past Before Us(Winter, 2002) |issue = 87 |pages = 83–97 |doi=10.1086/JAAHv87n1p83 |jstor=1562493 |s2cid=141324540 |access-date=May 1, 2023 |issn = 1548-1867 }}</ref> Reagan supported ] in the ],{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=49}} and ] for the ]. It was Reagan's belief that communism was a powerful backstage influence in Hollywood that led him to rally his friends against them.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=28}}
Following the election of ], he formally ] to become a Republican in 1962 — in time to mount the 1964 bandwagon of conservative Presidential contender ]. Speaking on Goldwater's behalf, Reagan revealed his ideological motivation: "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government set out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing."<ref>Quoted by ] in the Congressional Record, June 9, 2004.</ref>


Reagan began shifting to the right when he supported the presidential campaigns of ] in 1952 and ] in 1960.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=53}} When Reagan was contracted by ] (GE), he gave speeches to their employees. His speeches had a positive take on ]s.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=42–43}} In 1961, Reagan adapted his speeches into ] to criticize ].{{sfn|Skidmore|2008|p=103}} In his view, its legislation would have meant "the end of ] in the United States".{{sfn|Onge|2017|p=240}} In 1962, Reagan was dropped by GE,{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=112}} and he formally registered as a ].{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=53}}
"I didn't leave the Democratic Party", he claimed. "The party left me."<ref></ref> Reagan later explained in his autobiography ''An American Life'' that Franklin D. Roosevelt warned that welfare programs could destroy the work ethic like "a narcotic," and that Roosevelt liquidated the temporary welfare programs designed to aid the country through the Great Depression once the Depression had passed (though the programs would be revived after his death). Reagan implied that Roosevelt would have also disapproved of the change in the ].


In the ], Reagan gave a speech for presidential contender ]{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=55}} that was eventually referred to as "]".{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=132}} Reagan argued that the ] "knew that governments don't control things. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose"{{sfn|Reagan|1990|p=27}} and that "We've been told increasingly that we must choose between left or right".{{sfn|Reagan|1990|pp=99–100}} Even though the speech was not enough to turn around the faltering ], it increased Reagan's profile among conservatives. ] and ] called it "the most successful national political debut since ] electrified the ] with his famous ]".{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=55}}
==Governor of California==


===1966 California gubernatorial election===
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd ], defeating two-term governor ], after working with UC Regent ] to crack down on anti-war protesters at ]. He was re-elected in 1970, defeating "Big Daddy" ] but chose not to seek a third term. Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California on ], ]. In his first term, he froze government hiring but also approved tax hikes to balance the budget. Reagan quickly squelched protest movements of the era. During the ] in 1969, he sent 2,200 ] troops to the Berkeley campus of the ]. In a speech in April 1970, he stated, "If it's to be a bloodbath, let it be now. Appeasement is not the answer."<ref>''Los Angeles Times,'' April 8, 1970, page 3. Later in April 1970, a young man who was aiding police was accidentally shot during a riot in ]. Reagan then blamed the death of the young man on the rioters; ''Los Angeles Times'', April 22, 1970, page 1.</ref>
{{further|1966 California gubernatorial election}}
] in Sacramento.]]
]


In January 1966, Reagan announced his candidacy for the ],{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=141}} repeating his stances on individual freedom and ].{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=148}} When he met with black Republicans in March,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=149}} he was criticized for opposing the ]. Reagan responded that bigotry was not in his nature{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=142}} and later argued that certain provisions of the act infringed upon the rights of property owners.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=150}} After the ] ruled that the initiative that repealed the ] was unconstitutional in May, he voiced his support for the act's repeal,{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=147}} but later preferred amending it.{{sfn|Putnam|2006|p=27}} In the Republican primary, Reagan defeated ],{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=147–148}} a moderate Republican{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=135}} who ] thought had painted Reagan as extreme.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=148}}
He worked with Democratic Assembly Speaker ] to reform ] in 1971. Reagan also opposed the construction of a large federal dam, the Dos Rios, which would have flooded a valley of ] ranches. Later, Reagan and his family took a summer backpack trip into the high ] to a place where a proposed trans-Sierra highway would be built. Once there, he declared it would not be built. One of Reagan's greatest frustrations in office concerned ]. He had campaigned as a strong supporter; however, his efforts to enforce the state's laws in this area were thwarted when the ] issued its '']'' decision, which invalidated all ]s issued in California prior to 1972, although the decision was quickly overturned by a ]. Despite his support for the death penalty, Reagan granted two clemencies and a temporary reprieve during his governorship. ], no other clemency has been granted to a condemned person in California. The only execution during Reagan's governorship was on ], ], when Aaron Mitchell was executed by the state in ]'s gas chamber. There was not another execution in California until 1992. When the ] kidnapped ] in Berkeley and demanded the distribution of food to the poor, Reagan suggested that it would be a good time for an outbreak of ].<ref>Los Angeles Times, Mar. 7, 1974, p. A25.</ref> After the media reported on the comment, he apologized.


Reagan's general election opponent, incumbent governor ], attempted to label Reagan as an extremist.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=69}} Reagan portrayed himself as a political outsider,{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=149}} and charged Brown as responsible for the ] and lenient on crime.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=69}} In numerous speeches, Reagan "hit the Brown administration about high taxes, uncontrolled spending, the radicals at the ], and the need for ] in government".{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=59}} Meanwhile, many in the press perceived Reagan as "monumentally ignorant of state issues", though ] said that Reagan benefited from an appearance he and Brown made on '']'' in September.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=158–159}} Reagan won the governorship with 57 percent of the vote compared to Brown's 42 percent.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=60}}
Reagan promoted the dismantling of the public ] system, proposing that community-based housing and treatment replace involuntary hospitalization, which he saw as a violation of ] issue. Critics allege that the community replacement facilities have never been adequately funded, either by Reagan or his successors. Reagan was strongly influenced by the ]. When asked in an interview in ] which economists were influential on him, he replied: "] and ], and ] and ]–I’m one for the classical economists."


== California governorship (1967–1975) ==
Reagan was the first governor to use a corporate business jet for official travel. ] received one of the first ] jets manufactured. His pilot, Bill Paynter, changed his Democratic voting registration to Republican within six months of meeting Reagan. Paynter often told listeners the Reagan on TV was the same Reagan in person, a man who walked his talk. Reagan would often ask his flight crew if it would be any inconvenience to change the published flight schedule because he did not want to keep his support staff from being with their families and any family planned events.
{{Main|Governorship of Ronald Reagan}}
]


Brown had spent much of California's funds on new programs, prompting them to use ] to avoid raising taxes. Consequently, it generated a larger deficit,{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=5}} and Reagan called for reduced government spending and tax hikes to ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=64}} He worked with ] on securing tax increases and promising future property tax cuts. This caused some conservatives to accuse Reagan of betraying his principles.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=157–159}} As a result, taxes on sales, banks, corporate profits, inheritances, liquor, and cigarettes jumped. ] states Reagan "gave Californians the biggest tax hike in their history—and got away with it".{{sfn|Putnam|2006|p=26}} In ], Unruh used Reagan's tax policy against him, saying it disproportionally favored the wealthy. Reagan countered that he was still committed to reducing property taxes.{{sfn|Schuparra|2015|pp=47–48}} By 1973, the budget had a surplus, which Reagan preferred "to give back to the people".{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=370}}


In 1967, Reagan reacted to the ]'s strategy of ]ing by signing the ]{{sfn|Hayes|Fortunato|Hibbing|2020|p=819}} to prohibit the public carrying of firearms. The act was California's most restrictive piece of ], with critics saying that it was "overreacting to the political activism of organizations such as the Black Panthers".{{sfn|Carter|2002|p=493}} The act marked the beginning of both modern legislation and ] on gun control.{{sfn|Hayes|Fortunato|Hibbing|2020|p=819}} Reagan also signed the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act that allowed abortions in the cases of rape and incest when a doctor determined the birth would impair the physical or mental health of the mother. He later expressed regret over signing it, saying that he was unaware of the mental health provision. He believed that doctors were interpreting the provision loosely, resulting in more abortions.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=209–214}}
]
===1976 presidential campaign===
Reagan first tested the Presidential waters in 1968 as part of a "Stop Nixon" movement which included those from the party's left led by then-] Governor ]. Reagan managed to win the pledges of some 600 delegates, but ] quickly steamrolled to the nomination; Reagan urged the convention to nominate Nixon unanimously.


After Reagan won the 1966 election, he and his advisors planned a run in the ].{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=76}} He ran as an unofficial candidate to cut into Nixon's southern support and be a compromise candidate if there were to be a ]. He won California's delegates,{{sfn|Gould|2010|pp=92–93}} but Nixon secured enough delegates for ].{{sfn|Gould|2010|pp=96–97}}
In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President ], a moderate. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate; like-minded organizations such as the ] became the key components of his political base. He relied on a strategy crafted by campaign manager ] of winning a few primaries early to seriously damage the liftoff of Ford's campaign, but the strategy quickly disintegrated. Poor management of expectations and an ill-timed speech promising to shift responsibility for federal services to the states without identifying any clear funding mechanism caused Reagan to lose ] and later ]. Reagan found himself cornered, desperately needing a win to stay in the race.


Reagan had previously been critical of former governor Brown and university administrators for tolerating student demonstrations in the city of ], making it a major theme in his campaigning.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=271}}
Reagan's stand in the North Carolina primary was a do-or-die proposition. Hammering Ford on the ], ] with the Soviet Union, busing of school children, and ]'s performance as ], Reagan won 53% to 47%. He used that bit of momentum to add the major states of ] and ], but then fell back from losing efforts in ], ], ], and ]. As the party's convention in Kansas City neared, Ford appeared close to victory, thanks to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania delegates ostensibly under the control of Ford's liberal Vice President Rockefeller. Acknowledging the strength of his party's moderate and liberal wing, Reagan balanced his ticket by choosing as his running mate moderate Republican Senator ] of ]. Nonetheless, Ford squeaked by with 1,187 delegates to Reagan's 1,070. Reagan's concession speech was a stirring exhortation, emphasizing the dangers of nuclear war and the moral threat posed by the Soviet Union. Although Reagan lost the nomination, he received 307 write-in votes in ], 388 votes as an Independent on ]'s ballot, and an electoral delegate from ] voted for him in the November election.
On February 5, 1969, Reagan declared a state of emergency in response to ] and violence at the University of California, Berkeley, and sent in the ]. In May 1969, these officers, along with local officers from Berkeley and Alameda county, ] over a site known as the ].{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=291–292}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Remembering "Bloody Thursday:" 1969 People's Park Riot |url=https://dailycal.org/2017/04/21/remembering-bloody-thursday-1969-peoples-park-riot |website=The Daily Californian |date=April 21, 2017 |access-date=May 25, 2023}}</ref> One student was shot and killed while many police officers and two reporters were injured. Reagan then commanded the ] to occupy Berkeley for seventeen days to subdue the protesters, allowing other students to attend class safely. In February 1970, violent protests broke out near the ], where he once again deployed the National Guard. On April 7, Reagan defended his policies regarding campus protests, saying, "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with. No more appeasement".{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=295}}


] during his visit to Spain, 11 July 1972]]
===1980 presidential campaign===
During his victorious reelection campaign in 1970, Reagan, remaining critical of government, promised to prioritize ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=73, 75}} He was concerned that the programs were disincentivizing work and that the growing welfare rolls would lead to both an unbalanced budget and another big tax hike in 1972.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=75}} At the same time, the ] increased interest rates to combat inflation, putting the American economy in ]. Reagan worked with ] to tighten up the eligibility requirements so that the financially needy could continue receiving payments. This was only accomplished after Reagan softened his criticism of Nixon's ]. Nixon then lifted regulations to shepherd California's experiment.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=179–181}} In 1976, the ] published a report suggesting that the experiment that ran from 1971 to 1974 was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rich |first=Spencer |date=March 30, 1981 |title=Reagan's Workfare Program Failed in California, Report Reveals |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/03/30/reagans-workfare-program-failed-in-california-report-reveals/c18ec063-e9e0-4f85-a1cf-30260b89a9be/ |newspaper=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224225533/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/03/30/reagans-workfare-program-failed-in-california-report-reveals/c18ec063-e9e0-4f85-a1cf-30260b89a9be/ |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=December 24, 2022}}</ref>
{{main|United States presidential election, 1980}}


Reagan declined to run for the governorship ] and it was won by Pat Brown's son, ].{{sfn|Cannon|2000|pp=754–755}} Reagan's governorship, as professor Gary K. Clabaugh writes, saw public schools deteriorate due to his opposition to additional basic education funding.{{sfn|Clabaugh|2004|p=257}} As for higher education, journalist William Trombley believed that the budget cuts Reagan enacted damaged Berkeley's student-faculty ratio and research.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=296}} The homicide rate doubled and armed robbery rates rose by even more during Reagan's eight years, even with the many laws Reagan signed to try toughening criminal sentencing and reforming the criminal justice system.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|p=388}} Reagan strongly supported capital punishment, but his efforts to enforce it were thwarted by '']'' in 1972.{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=223–224}} According to his son, Michael, Reagan said that he regretted signing the Family Law Act that granted ]s.{{sfn|Reagan|2011|p=67}}
In ], Reagan won the Republican nomination for president, handily winning most of the primaries after an early defeat in the ]es. In the general election, he received 50.7% of the popular vote while incumbent President ] received 41% and independent John Anderson received 6.7%. During the convention, Reagan proposed a complex power-sharing arrangement with Gerald Ford as Vice President, but nothing came of it. Instead, Reagan selected his opponent in the primaries, ], who had extensive international experience.


== Seeking the presidency (1975–1981) ==
The presidential campaign, led by ], was conducted in the shadow of the ]; every day during the campaign the networks reported on Carter's unavailing efforts to free the hostages. Most analysts argue this weakened Carter's political base, and gave Reagan the opportunity to attack Carter's ineffectiveness. On the other hand, Carter's inability to deal with double-digit inflation and unemployment, lackluster economic growth, instability in the petroleum market leading to gasoline shortages, and the perceived weakness of the U.S. national defense may have had a greater impact on the electorate. Adding to Carter's woes was his use of the term "misery index" during the 1976 election, which he defined as the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates. This so-called "misery index" had considerably worsened during his term, which Reagan used to his advantage during the campaign. With respect to the economy, Reagan said, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."


===1976 Republican primaries===
Reagan's showing in the ] boosted his campaign. He seemed more at ease, deflecting President Carter's criticisms with remarks like "There you go again." His most influential remark was a closing question to the audience, during a time of skyrocketing prices and high interest rates, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" (a phrase he would successfully reuse in the 1984 campaign).
{{Main|Ronald Reagan 1976 presidential campaign|1976 Republican Party presidential primaries}}
]]]


Insufficiently conservative to Reagan{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=78}} and many other Republicans,{{sfn|Primuth|2016|p=45}} President ] suffered from multiple political and economic woes. Ford, running for president, was disappointed to hear him also run.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=84–87}} Reagan was strongly critical of ''détente'' and Ford's policy of ''détente'' with the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Kengor|2006|p=48}} He repeated "A Time for Choosing" around the country{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=193–194}} before announcing his campaign on November 20, 1975, when he discussed economic and social problems, and to a lesser extent, foreign affairs.{{sfn|Primuth|2016|p=47}} Both candidates were determined to knock each other out early in the primaries,{{sfn|Witcover|1977|p=433}} but Reagan would devastatingly lose the first five primaries beginning with New Hampshire,{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=89–90}} where he popularized the ] narrative about ], exaggerating her misuse of welfare benefits and igniting voter resentment for welfare reform,{{sfn|Boris|2007|pp=612–613}} but never overtly mentioning her name or race.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=457}}
==Presidency==
{{main|Reagan Administration}}
{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="2" style="float: left; margin:1em 1em 1em 0; border:1px solid #000000;font-size:85%;" align="left"
!bgcolor="#dcdcdc" colspan="3"|The Reagan Cabinet
|-
|align="left"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3" |
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left" |'''Ronald Reagan'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1989
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1982
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1982&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1988
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1988&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1988
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1988&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1983
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1983&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1986
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1986&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1983
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1983&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1984
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1988
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1988&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1982
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1983&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1982
|-]]''''''''']]</math></nowiki>]]]]]]]]]|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1982&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1989
|}


In Florida, Reagan referred to a "strapping young buck",{{sfn|Primuth|2016|p=48}} which became an example of ],{{sfn|Haney López|2014|p=4}} and attacked Ford for handing the ] to Panama's government while Ford implied that he would ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=89–90}} Then, in Illinois, he again criticized Ford's policy and his secretary of state, ].{{sfn|Witcover|1977|p=404}} Losing the first five primaries prompted Reagan to desperately win North Carolina's by running a grassroots campaign and uniting with the ] political machine that viciously attacked Ford. Reagan won an upset victory, convincing party delegates that Ford's nomination was no longer guaranteed.{{sfnm|1a1=Woodard|1y=2012|1p=91|2a1=Primuth|2y=2016|2p=48}} Reagan won subsequent victories in Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Indiana with his attacks on social programs, opposition to ], increased support from inclined voters of a declining ] campaign for the ],{{sfn|Primuth|2016|pp=49–50}} and repeated criticisms of Ford and Kissinger's policies, including ''détente''.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=104}}
===First Term===
]
The Reagan Presidency began in a historic manner. The first major event happened just thirty minutes into his presidency on ], ]. As he was delivering his inagural address, ], were set free.


The result was a seesaw battle for the 1,130 delegates required for their party's nomination that neither would reach before the ]{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=92–93}} in August{{sfn|Boller|2004|p=345}} and Ford replacing mentions of ''détente'' with Reagan's preferred phrase, "]".{{sfn|Kengor|2006|p=49}} Reagan took ]' advice of choosing liberal ] as his running mate, hoping to pry loose of delegates from Pennsylvania and other states,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=204}} and distract Ford. Instead, conservatives were left alienated, and Ford picked up the remaining uncommitted delegates, earning 1,187 to Reagan's 1,070. Before giving his acceptance speech, Ford invited Reagan to address the convention; Reagan emphasized individual freedom{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=93–94}} and the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 1977, Ford told Cannon that Reagan's primary challenge contributed to his own narrow loss to Democrat ] in the ].{{sfn|Cannon|2003|pp=432, 434}}
===Assassination attempt===
Main article: ]
On March 30, 1981, only sixty-nine days into the new administartion, Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, and two others were struck by gunfire from a deranged would-be assassin, John Hinckley, Jr.. Missing Reagan’s heart by less than one inch, the bullet instead pierced his left lung, which likely spared his life. In the operating room, Reagan joked to the surgeons, "I hope you're all Republicans" <ref> http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa120197b.htm </ref> (though they were not, Dr. Joseph Giordano replied, "Today, Mr. President, we're all Republicans"). Reagan later famously told his wife, "Honey, I forgot to duck" (borrowing Jack Dempsey's line to his wife). On ], ] escorted the President home from the hospital.


===1980 election===
Only a short time into his administration, Federal Air Traffic Controllers went on strike. reagan held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, where he stated that if "they did not return to work within forty-eight hours, they have forfieted their jobs, and will be terminated." On ], ], Reagan fired 11,359 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work, notwithstanding the fact that the strike was illegal under federal law. This painted a new picture of Reagan for many Americans.
{{Main|Ronald Reagan 1980 presidential campaign}}
{{Further|1980 Republican Party presidential primaries|1980 United States presidential election}}
] ] results, Reagan won 489–49]]
Reagan emerged as a vocal critic of President Carter in 1977. The ]'s signing, the ], and rise in the interest, ] helped set up his 1980 presidential campaign,{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=99–101}} which he announced on November 13, 1979{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=86}} with an indictment of the federal government.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=102}} His announcement stressed his fundamental principles of tax cuts to stimulate the economy and having both a ] and a strong ],{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=86–87}} since he believed the United States was behind the Soviet Union militarily.<ref name="Bowman 2004" /> Heading into 1980, his age became an issue among the press, and the United States was in ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=102–103}}


In the ], Reagan unexpectedly lost the ] to ]. Three days before the ], the Reagan and Bush campaigns agreed to a one-on-one debate sponsored by '']'' at ], but hours before the debate, the Reagan campaign invited other candidates including ], ], ] and ].<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 24, 1980|title=GOP Debate fires tempers|work=]|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SBS19800224.1.1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|access-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522132624/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SBS19800224.1.1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|archive-date=May 22, 2021|via=]}}</ref> Debate moderator Jon Breen denied seats to the other candidates, asserting that ''The Telegraph'' would violate federal campaign contribution laws if it sponsored the debate and changed the ground rules hours before the debate.{{Sfn|Birkner|1987|pp=283–289}} As a result, the Reagan campaign agreed to pay for the debate. Reagan said that as he was funding the debate, he could decide who would debate.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 24, 1980|title=GOP flaps over rules, overshadows debate|work=]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bDBPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lgIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7096%2C3793431|access-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522134110/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bDBPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lgIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7096%2C3793431|archive-date=May 22, 2021}}</ref> During the debate, when Breen was laying out the ground rules and attempting to ask the first question, Reagan interrupted in protest to make an introductory statement and wanted other candidates to be included before the debate began.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Dufresne|first1=Louise|date=February 11, 2016|title=Ronald Reagan's testy moment in the 1980 GOP debate|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reagans-testy-moment-in-the-1980-gop-debate/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522141237/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/reagans-testy-moment-in-the-1980-gop-debate/|archive-date=May 22, 2021|access-date=May 22, 2021|website=]|language=en}}</ref> The moderator asked Bob Malloy, the volume operator, to mute Reagan's microphone. After Breen repeated his demand to Malloy, Reagan furiously replied, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!{{sic}}".{{Efn|Reagan misstated Breen's last name as "Mr. Green"<ref>{{Cite news|last=Marquard|first=Bryan|date=October 2, 2017|title=Jon Breen, 81, editor who moderated famous Reagan-Bush debate|work=]|url=http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2017/10/02/jon-breen-editor-who-moderated-famous-reagan-bush-debate/HAk6qLLqMdBxp01NOnMSuL/story.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171008145920/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2017/10/02/jon-breen-editor-who-moderated-famous-reagan-bush-debate/HAk6qLLqMdBxp01NOnMSuL/story.html|archive-date=October 8, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite web|date=November 11, 2015|title=RealClearSports – Ronald Reagan: "I am paying for this microphone."|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/debatemoments/reagan.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415024602/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/debatemoments/reagan.html|archive-date=April 15, 2021|access-date=May 22, 2021|website=]}}</ref> This turned out to be the turning point of the debate and the primary race.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 25, 1980|title=N.H. Campaign at fever pitch before primary|work=]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r5JKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=820DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6707%2C2996060|access-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522140355/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r5JKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=820DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6707%2C2996060|archive-date=May 22, 2021}}</ref> Ultimately, the four additional candidates left, and the debate continued between Reagan and Bush. Reagan's polling numbers improved, and he won the New Hampshire primary by more than 39,000 votes.<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 27, 1980|title=Reagan scores landslide win in Hew Hampshire|work=]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bzBPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lgIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6171%2C5394771|access-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522140831/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bzBPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lgIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6171%2C5394771|archive-date=May 22, 2021}}</ref> Soon thereafter, Reagan's opponents began dropping out of the primaries, including Anderson, who left the party to become an independent candidate. Reagan easily captured the presidential nomination and chose Bush as his running mate at the ] in July.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=87–89}}
==="Reaganomics" and the Economy===
When Ronald Reagan entered office, the American economy faced the highest rate of inflation since ], and this was considered the nation's principal economic problem. Reagan was considered a small-government conservative and supported income tax cuts, cuts to domestic government programs, and deregulation, but no one knew what concrete steps he meant to take, or whether the House (controlled by ]) would support him.


The general election pitted Reagan against Carter amid the multitude of domestic concerns and ongoing ] that began on November 4, 1979.{{sfnm|1a1=Pemberton|1y=1998|1pp=89–90|2a1=Woodard|2y=2012|2p=101}} Reagan's campaign worried that Carter would be able to secure the release of the American hostages in ] as part of the ],{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=110}} Carter "suggested that Reagan would wreck ]" and portrayed him as a warmonger,{{sfn|Cannon|2001|pp=83–84}} and Anderson carried support ] dissatisfied with Reagan's conservatism.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=110}}{{efn|John B. Anderson questioned how realistic Reagan's budget proposals were, saying: "The only way Reagan is going to cut taxes, increase defense spending, and balance the budget at the same time is to use blue smoke and mirrors."{{sfn|Anderson|1990|p=126}}}} One of Reagan's key strengths was his appeal to the rising conservative movement. Though most conservative leaders espoused cutting taxes and budget deficits, many conservatives focused more closely on social issues like abortion and ].<ref>Patterson, pp. 130–134</ref> Evangelical Protestants became an increasingly important voting bloc, and they generally supported Reagan.<ref>Patterson, pp. 135–141, 150</ref> Reagan also won the backing of ]s.<ref>Patterson, p. 131</ref> Though he advocated socially conservative viewpoints, Reagan focused much of his campaign on attacks against ].<ref>Patterson, pp. 145–146</ref>
].]]
When President Reagan returned from the hospital, he focused on reviving an inherited economy exhibiting stagflation, a high rate of inflation combined with an economic recession. Partially based on supply-side economics (derided by opponents as "trickle down economics"), Reagan's policies sought to stimulate the economy with large across-the-board tax cuts. The tax cuts were to be coupled with commensurate reductions in social welfare spending; it was also anticipated that economic growth would offset projected revenue losses from lower marginal tax rates.
After less than two years in office, Reagan rolled back a large portion of his corporate income tax cuts. Not only did Reagan retreat from proposed cuts in the Social Security budget, but he also appointed the Greenspan Commission, which resolved the solvency crisis through reforms including acceleration of previously-enacted increases in the payroll tax. Although Reagan achieved a marginal reduction in the rate of expansion of government spending, his overall fiscal policy was expansionary. Social programs grew apace at the behest of the Democrat-controlled Congress. Reagan's fiscal policies soon became known as "Reaganomics", a nickname used by both his supporters and detractors.


In August, Reagan gave a ], stating his belief in ]. ] argues that the visit was designed to reach out to Wallace-inclined voters,{{sfn|Crespino|2021|p=1}} and some{{Who|date=November 2024}} also saw these actions as an extension of the ] to garner white support for Republican candidates.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/opinion/impossible-ridiculous-repugnant.html |url-access=subscription |title=Impossible, Ridiculous, Repugnant |last=Herbert |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Herbert |date=October 6, 2005 |website=] |access-date=December 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229211801/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/opinion/impossible-ridiculous-repugnant.html |archive-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref> Reagan's supporters have said that this was his typical anti-big government rhetoric, without racial context or intent.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/11/reagan-no-racist-deroy-murdock/ |title=Reagan, No Racist |last=Murdock |first=Deroy |author-link=Deroy Murdock |date=November 20, 2007 |website=] |access-date=December 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229212213/https://www.nationalreview.com/2007/11/reagan-no-racist-deroy-murdock/ |archive-date=December 29, 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Bennett|Livingston|2021|p=279}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gaillard |first1=Frye |last2=Tucker |first2=Cynthia |title=The Southernization of America: A Story of Democracy in the Balance| year=2022| publisher=NewSouth Books| isbn=9781588384560| page=25,28}}</ref> In the ], Carter chided Reagan for being against national health insurance. Reagan replied, "]", though the audience laughed and viewers found him more appealing.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=228–229}} Reagan later asked the audience if they were better off than they were four years ago, slightly paraphrasing Roosevelt's words in 1934.{{sfn|Cannon|2001|p=83}} In 1983, Reagan's campaign managers were revealed to having ] before the debates.{{sfn|Boller|2004|p=368}} On November 4, 1980, Reagan won in a decisive victory in the ] over Carter, carrying 44 states and receiving 489 electoral votes to Carter's 49 in six states and the District of Columbia. He won the popular vote by a narrower margin, receiving nearly 51 percent to Carter's 41 percent and Anderson's 7 percent. Republicans ] for the first time since 1952{{sfn|Cannon|2001|p=87}} while Democrats ].{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=755}}
President Reagan's tenure marked a time of economic prosperity for the wealthy in the United States. GDP growth recovered strongly after the 1982 recession. Unemployment peaked at over 11 percent in 1982 then dropped steadily, and inflation dropped even more significantly & wages fell. This economic growth generated greater tax revenue, although the new revenue did not cover an increased federal budget that included the military buildup and expansions of social programs, in violation of the doctrine of fiscal conservatism. The result was greater deficit spending and a dramatic increase in the national debt, which tripled in unadjusted dollar terms during Reagan's presidency. The U.S. trade deficit expanded significantly, particularly with buoyant Japan.
There is disagreement over how much Reagan's policies contributed to the severe recession that took place in 1982, the strong economic expansion that began late in his first term and ran throughout his second term, and the inequal distribution of the benefits of economic growth among the rich and the poor.


== Presidency (1981–1989) ==
==="War on Drugs"===
{{Main|Presidency of Ronald Reagan}}
Reagan's policies in the "War on Drugs" emphasized imprisonment for drug offenders while cutting funding for addiction treatment. This resulted in a dramatic increase in the U.S. prison population. Critics charged that the policies did little to actually reduce the availability of drugs or crime on the street while resulting in a great financial and human cost for American society. Due to this policy, and various cuts in spending for social programs during his Presidency, some critics regarded Reagan as indifferent to the needs of poor and minority citizens. Nevertheless, some surveys showed that illegal drug use among Americans declined significantly during Reagan's presidency, leading supporters to argue that the policies were successful. Reagan's ], ], even took on the War on Drugs as her main cause, by founding the "]" anti-drug association. Even today, there are thousands of "Just Say No" clinics around the country, aimed a helping and rehabilitating kids and teens with drug problems.
{{for timeline|Timeline of the Ronald Reagan presidency}}
{{Further|Domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration|Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration}}


===The Judiciary=== ===First inauguration===
{{Main|First inauguration of Ronald Reagan}}{{Multiple image
During his 1980 campaign, Reagan pledged that if given the opportunity, he would appoint the first female Supreme Court justice. That opportunity came in his first year in office when he nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of ]. In his second term, Reagan elevated William Rehnquist to succeed Warren Burger as chief justice and named Antonin Scalia to fill the vacant seat. All of these appointments were confirmed by the Senate with relative ease. However in 1987 Reagan lost a significant political battle when the Senate rejected the nomination of Robert Bork. Anthony Kennedy was eventually confirmed in his place.
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Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the United States on January 20, 1981.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=xiv}} ] ] administered the ].<ref name="JCCIC">{{cite web |title=49TH INAUGURAL CEREMONIES |url=https://www.inaugural.senate.gov/49th-inaugural-ceremonies/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=June 15, 2021 |publisher=United States Senate}}</ref> In his {{ws2|Ronald Reagan's First Inaugural Address|inaugural address}}, Reagan commented on the country's economic malaise, arguing, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem".{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=116–117}} As a final insult to President Carter, Iran waited until Reagan had been sworn in before announcing the release of their American hostages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Moody |first=Sidney C. |url=https://archive.org/details/444daysamericanh0000mood |title=444 days : the American hostage story |publisher=Rutledge Press |year=1981 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=126}}


==="Reaganomics" and the economy===
Reagan also nominated a large number of judges to the United States district court and United States court of appeals benches: most of these nominations were not controversial, although a handful of candidates were singled out for criticism by civil rights advocates and other liberal critics, resulting in occasional confirmation fights.
{{Main|Reaganomics}}
Both his Supreme Court nominations and his lower court appointments were in line with Reagan's express philosophy that judges should interpret law as enacted and not "legislate from the bench". By the end of the 1980s, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court had put an end to the perceived "activist" trend begun under the leadership of Earl Warren. Critics pointed out that the conservatives justices were equally activist, but showed sympathy to corporate America. However, general adherence to the principle of stare decisis along with minority support, left most of the major landmark case decisions (such as Brown, Miranda, and Roe v. Wade) of the previous three decades still standing as binding precedent.


Reagan advocated a '']'' philosophy,{{sfn|Karaagac|2002|p=113}} and promoted a set of ] reforms dubbed "Reaganomics", which included ] and ].{{sfnm|1a1=Li|1y=2013|1p=221|2a1=Gerstle|2y=2022|2p=150|3a1=Roy|3y=2012|3p=155}}
===Invasion of Grenada, 1983===
United States Forces invaded the island of ] in 1983, to free kidnapped American hostages. The operation was a success.


====Taxation====
===1984 presidential campaign===
{{Missing information|section|analysis|date=November 2023}}
{{main|United States presidential election, 1984}}
]
]
In the ], Reagan was re-elected over former Vice President ], winning 49 of 50 states. Mondale carried only his home state of ] (by 3800 votes) and the ]. Reagan received nearly 60% of the popular vote. His chances of winning were not harmed when, at the ], Mondale accepted the party nomination with a speech that was regarded as a self-inflicted mortal wound to his presidential aspirations. In it, Mondale remarked "Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."<ref> - transcript, ]</ref>


Reagan worked with the ] to pass tax and budget legislation in a Congress led by ], a liberal who strongly criticized Reaganomics.{{sfnm|1a1=Cannon|1y=2001|1p=100|2a1=Pemberton|2y=1998|2pp=99–102}}{{efn|Despite their various disagreements, Reagan and O'Neill developed a friendship across party lines. O'Neill told Reagan that Republican opponents were friends "after six o'clock". Reagan would sometimes call O'Neill at any time and ask if it was after six o'clock to which O'Neill would invariably respond, "Absolutely, Mr. President".{{sfn|Cannon|2001|pp=100, 102}}}} He lifted federal oil and gasoline price controls on January 28, 1981,{{sfn|Graetz|2012|p=34}} and in August, he signed the ]{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=103}} to dramatically lower federal ] and require exemptions and brackets to be indexed for inflation starting in 1985.{{sfn|Steuerle|1992|p=42}} Amid growing concerns about ], Reagan signed the ],{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=127–128}} one of the eleven times Reagan raised taxes.{{sfn|Bartlett|2012|p=44}} The bill doubled ], rescinded a portion of the corporate tax cuts from the 1981 tax bill,{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=62}} and according to ], "a third of the 1981 cut" overall.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/opinion/the-great-taxer.html |url-access=subscription |title=The Great Taxer |last=Krugman |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Krugman |date=June 8, 2004 |website=] |access-date=August 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220114428/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/08/opinion/the-great-taxer.html |archive-date=December 20, 2022}}</ref> Many of his supporters condemned the bill, but Reagan defended his preservation of cuts on individual income tax rates.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=128}} By 1983, the amount of federal tax had fallen for all or most taxpayers, with taxes for higher-income people decreasing the most.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=63}}
Reagan accepted the Republican nomination in ], on a wave of good feeling bolstered by the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the ] that summer. He became the first American President to open a summer Olympic Games held in the U.S.


The ] reduced the number of tax brackets and top tax rate, and almost doubled ]s.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998||p=145}}
Despite a weak performance in the first debate,{{or}} Reagan recovered in the second and was considerably ahead of Mondale in polls taken throughout much of the race. Reagan's landslide win in the 1984 presidential election is often attributed by political commentators to be a result of his conversion of the "]s", the traditionally Democratic voters who voted for Reagan in that election.<!--He was also considering Republican party but decided not to.-->


To Reagan, ] would not have increased the deficit as long as there was enough economic growth and spending cuts. His policies proposed that economic growth would occur when the tax cuts spurred investments. This theoretical relationship has been illustrated by some with the controversial ].{{sfnm|1a1=Pemberton|1y=1998|1p=96|2a1=Woodard|2y=2012|2p=119}} Critics labeled this "]", the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will spread to the poor.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=222}} ] and ] argued that these policies invigorated America's economy and contributed to the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2004-06-20/reagans-economic-legacy |url-access=subscription |title=Reagan's Economic Legacy |date=June 21, 2004 |website=] |access-date=December 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626061110/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_25/b3888032_mz011.htm |archive-date=June 26, 2012}}</ref>
===Second Term===
]
Reagan was sworn in as President for the second time on ], ], in the ] of the ]. The 20th of January fell on a Sunday, so no public celbration was held until the next day, which was the coldest day on record in ]. Because of that, inagural celbrations were held inside the Capitol.
Reagan's Second Term consisted mostly of Foreign Affairs.


====Inflation and unemployment====
On ], ], Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon, causing the first-ever invocation of the Acting President clause of the 25th Amendment. On January 5, 1987, Reagan underwent surgery for prostate cancer which caused further worries about his health, but which significantly raised the public awareness of this "silent killer."
]]]


Reagan took office in the midst of ].{{sfn|Li|2013|p=221}} The economy briefly experienced growth before plunging into a recession in July 1981.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=90}} As Federal Reserve chairman, ] fought inflation by pursuing ],{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=318}} which restricted lending and investment, raised unemployment, and temporarily reduced economic growth.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=89–90}} In December 1982, the ] (BLS) measured the unemployment rate at 10.8 percent.{{sfn|DeGrasse|1983|p=14}} Around the same time, economic activity ], setting the record for the longest peacetime expansion.{{sfn|Sinai|1992|p=1}} In 1983, the recession ended{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=452}} and Reagan nominated Volcker to a second term in fear of damaging confidence in the economic recovery.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=668}}
In 1986, the U.S. sold arms to Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua, leading to the Iran-Contra scandal. Reagan professed ignorance of the plot's existence and quickly called for an Independent Counsel to investigate. Ten officials in the Reagan Administration were convicted, and others were forced to resign. Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger was indicted for perjury and later received a presidential pardon from George H.W. Bush, days before the trial was to begin. In 2006, historians ranked the Iran-Contra affair as the ninth-worst mistake by a U.S. president.


Reagan appointed ] to succeed Volcker in 1987. Greenspan raised interest rates in another attempt to curb inflation, setting off the ] stock market crash, although the markets eventually recovered.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=669–671}} By 1989, the BLS measured unemployment at 5.3 percent.{{sfn|Li|2013|p=219}} The inflation rate dropped from 12 percent during the 1980 election to under 5 percent in 1989. Likewise, the interest rate dropped from 15 percent to under 10 percent.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=206}} Yet, not all shared equally in the economic recovery, and both ]{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=166–167}} and the number of ] increased during the 1980s.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=144–145}} Critics have contended that a majority of the jobs created during this decade paid the minimum wage.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=207}}
===The Cold War===
Reagan escalated the Cold War with the Soviet Union, marking a sharp leaving behind the policy of détente by his predecessors Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. The Reagan Administration implemented a new policy towards the Soviet Union through NSDD-32 (National Security Decisions Directive) to confront the USSR on three fronts: decrease Soviet access to high technology and diminish their resources, including depressing the value of Soviet commodities on the world market; increase American defense expenditures to strengthen the U.S. negotiating position; and force the Soviets to devote more of their economic resources to defense. Most visible was the massive American military build-up.


====Government spending====
The administration revived the B-1 bomber program that had been canceled by the Carter administration and began production of the MX "Peacekeeper" missile. In response to Soviet deployment of the SS-20, Reagan oversaw NATO's deployment of the Pershing II missile in West Germany to gain a stronger bargaining position to eventually eliminate that entire class of nuclear weapons. Reagan's position was that if the Soviets did not remove the SS-20 missiles (without a concession from the US), America would simply introduce the Pershing II missiles for a stronger bargaining position, and both missiles would be eliminated.
In 1981, in an effort to keep it solvent, Reagan approved a plan for cuts to Social Security. He later backed off due to public backlash.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=300–303}} He then created the ] to keep Social Security financially secure, and in 1983 he signed amendments to raise both the program's payroll taxes and retirement age for benefits.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=163–164}} He had signed the ] to cut funding for ] such as food stamps, ], ] and the ],{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=141}} and would discontinue the ].{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=157}} On the other side, defense spending doubled between 1981 and 1985.<ref name="Bowman 2004">{{cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.pentagon08jun08-story.html |title=Reagan guided huge buildup in arms race |last=Bowman |first=Tom |date=June 8, 2004 |website=] |access-date=January 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101051322/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.pentagon08jun08-story.html |archive-date=January 1, 2023}}</ref> During Reagan's presidency, ] operated within the ] to discover why the United States was unable to maintain its economic competitiveness. According to program director Michael Sekora, their findings helped the country surpass the Soviets in terms of missile defense technology.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/30/trump-wrong-china-tech-former-reagan-star-wars-beat-soviets.html |title=Trump taking wrong approach to China, says Reagan official who helped 'Star Wars' beat the Soviets |last=Shinal |first=John |date=July 1, 2017 |publisher=] |access-date=January 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117212646/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/30/trump-wrong-china-tech-former-reagan-star-wars-beat-soviets.html |archive-date=January 17, 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Fialka|1999|p=8}}


====Deregulation====
One of Reagan's more controversial proposals was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a program of state-subsidies for private industry, under the cover of a defense project. Reagan believed this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible, but the unlikelihood that the technology could ever work led opponents to dub SDI "Star Wars." Critics of SDI argued that the technological objective was unattainable, that the attempt would likely accelerate the arms race, and that the extraordinary expenditures amounted to a military-industrial boondoggle. Supporters responded that SDI gave Reagan a stronger bargaining position. Indeed, Soviet leaders became genuinely concerned, and SDI ended up playing a major role in ending the Cold War.
Reagan sought to loosen federal regulation of economic activities, and he appointed key officials who shared this agenda. ] writes that by 1986, the Reagan administration eliminated almost half of the federal regulations that had existed in 1981.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg|2015|pp=602–604}} The 1982 ] deregulated ]s by letting them make a variety of loans and investments outside of real estate.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=130}} After the bill's passage, savings and loans associations engaged in riskier activities, and the leaders of some institutions embezzled funds. The administration's inattentiveness toward the industry contributed to the ] and costly bailouts.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=175}}


====Deficits====
Reagan supported anti-communist groups around the world. In a policy which became known as the ], his administration funded "freedom fighters" such as the Contras in Nicaragua, the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, RENAMO in Mozambique, and UNITA in Angola. When the Polish government suppressed the Solidarity movement in late 1981, Reagan imposed economic sanctions on the People's Republic of Poland.
The deficits were exacerbated by the early 1980s recession, which cut into federal revenue.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg|2015|pp=605–606}} The national debt tripled between the fiscal years of 1980 and 1989, and the national debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 53 percent by 1989. During his time in office, Reagan never fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise of submitting a ]. The United States borrowed heavily to cover newly spawned federal budget deficits.{{sfnm|1a1=Patterson|1y=2005|1pp=158–159|2a1=Woodard|2y=2012|2p=132}} Reagan described the tripled debt the "greatest disappointment of his presidency".{{sfn|Cannon|2001|p=128}} ] opined that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor, Bush, reneged on ] by raising taxes through the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/11/george-hw-bush-donald-trump-budget-deficit-taxes |title=George HW Bush was fiscally responsible – unlike Donald Trump |last=Frankel |first=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Frankel |date=December 11, 2018 |website=] |access-date=December 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231035650/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/11/george-hw-bush-donald-trump-budget-deficit-taxes |archive-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref>


===Assassination attempt===
Reagan argued that the American economy was on the move again while the Soviet economy had become stagnant. For a while the Soviet decline was masked by high prices for Soviet oil exports, but that crutch collapsed in the early 1980s. In November 1985, the oil price was $30/barrel for crude, in March 1986 it had fallen to $12. <ref> Glenn E. Schweitzer, ''1989 Techno-Diplomacy: U.S.-Soviet Confrontations in Science and Technology '' (1989) 63ff, 81. </ref>
{{Main|Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan}}
]


On March 30, 1981, Reagan was shot by ] outside the ]. Although "right on the margin of death" upon arrival at ], Reagan underwent surgery and recovered quickly from a broken rib, punctured lung, and internal bleeding. Professor J. David Woodard says that the assassination attempt "created a bond between him and the American people that was never really broken".{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=120–123}} Later, Reagan came to believe that God had spared his life "for a chosen mission".{{sfn|Kengor|2004|p=210}}
Reagan's militant rhetoric inspired dissidents in the Soviet Empire, but also startled allies and alarmed critics. In a famous address on ], ], he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" that would be consigned to the "ash heap of history." After Soviet fighters downed Korean Airlines Flight 007 on ], ], he labeled the act an "act of barbarism... inhuman brutality."


===Supreme Court appointments===
On March 3 of 1983, Reagan predicted that Communism would collapse: "I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose — last pages even now are being written."<ref> http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-reagan,1,4780792.story?page=6&coll=la-news-obituaries&ctrack=1&cset=true </ref> He elaborated on June 8 of 1982 to the British Parliament. Reagan argued that the Soviet Union was in deep economic crisis, and stated that the Soviet Union "runs against the tide of history by denying human freedom and human dignity to its citizens."
{{Main|Ronald Reagan Supreme Court candidates}}


Reagan appointed three Associate Justices to the ]: ] in 1981, which fulfilled a campaign promise to name the first female justice to the Court, ] in 1986, and ] in 1988. He also elevated ] from Associate Justice to Chief Justice in 1986.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=147–148}} The direction of the Supreme Court's reshaping has been described as conservative.{{sfn|Shull|1993|p=44}}{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=148}}
All This was before a reformer, ] rose to power in 1985. Reagan later wrote in his autobiography "An American Life" that he did not see the profound changes that would occur in the Soviet Union after Gorbachev rose to power. To confront the Soviet Union's serious economic problems, Gorbachev implemented bold new policies for freedom and openness called ''glasnost'' and ''perestroika''.


===End of the Cold War=== ===Public sector labor union fights===
]
By the late years of the Cold War, Moscow had built up a military that consumed as much as twenty-five percent of the Soviet Union's gross national product at the expense of consumer goods and investment in civilian sectors. (LaFeber 2002, 332) But the size of the Soviet armed forces was not necessarily the result of a simple action-reaction arms race with the United States. (Odom) Instead, Soviet spending on the arms race and other Cold War commitments can be understood as both a cause and effect of the deep-seated structural problems in the Soviet system, which accumulated at least a decade of economic stagnation during the Brezhnev years. (see Economy of the Soviet Union) Soviet investment in the defense sector was not necessarily driven by military necessity, but in large part by the interests of massive party and state bureaucracies dependent on the sector for their own power and privileges. (LaFeber 2002, 335)
]


Early in August 1981, the ] (PATCO) ], violating a federal law prohibiting government unions from striking.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=85–86}} On August 3, Reagan said that he would fire air traffic controllers if they did not return to work within 48 hours; according to him, 38 percent did not return. On August 13, Reagan fired roughly 12,000 striking air traffic controllers who ignored his order.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=107}} He used military controllers{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=158}} and supervisors to handle the nation's commercial air traffic until new controllers could be hired and trained.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=86}} The breaking of the PATCO strike demoralized organized labor, and the number of strikes fell greatly in the 1980s.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=158}} With the assent of Reagan's sympathetic ] appointees, many companies also won wage and benefit cutbacks from unions, especially in the manufacturing sector.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=88}} During Reagan's presidency, the share of employees who were part of a labor union dropped from approximately one-fourth of the total workforce to approximately one-sixth of the total workforce.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=170}}
As a result, of the USSR's horrible economy, Gorbachev offered major concessions to the United States on the levels of conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and policy in Eastern Europe.
Many US Soviet experts and administration officials doubted that Gorbachev was serious about winding down the arms race (LaFeber, 2002), but Ronald Reagan recognized the real change in the direction of the Soviet leadership, and Reagan shifted to skillful diplomacy, using his sincerity and charm to personally push Gorbachev further with his reforms. <ref>''Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended'', Jack Matlock (2004).</ref>


===Civil rights===
Gorbachev agreed to meet Reagan in four summit conferences around the world. The first, in ], was very productive. The second, in Rekjavik, Iceland, didn't go very well. The third, held in ], went very well, along with the fourth summit, in ].
]


Despite Reagan having opposed the ],{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=458}} the bill was extended for 25 years in 1982.{{sfn|Keyssar|2009|p=213}} He initially opposed the establishment of ],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/02/reagan-establishes-national-holiday-for-mlk-nov-2-1983-244328 |title=Reagan establishes national holiday for MLK, Nov. 2, 1983 |last=Glass |first=Andrew |date=November 2, 2017 |website=] |access-date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105034714/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/02/reagan-establishes-national-holiday-for-mlk-nov-2-1983-244328 |archive-date=January 5, 2023}}</ref> and alluded to ] during his career, but signed ] after it passed both houses of Congress with veto-proof margins.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=461}} In 1984, he signed legislation intended to impose fines for ] discrimination offenses.{{sfn|Shull|1993|pp=56–57}} In March 1988, Reagan vetoed the ], but Congress overrode his veto. He had argued that the bill unreasonably increased the federal government's power and undermined the rights of churches and business owners.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|pp=462–463}} Later in September, legislation was passed to correct loopholes in the ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/09/13/Reagan-signs-Fair-Housing-extension-into-law/8310590126400/ |title=Reagan signs Fair Housing extension into law|last=Thomas |first=Helen |date=September 13, 1988 |work=] |access-date=March 13, 2023}}</ref>{{sfn|Shull|1993|p=14}}
Reagan sincerely believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to simply look at the prosperous American economy, they too would embrace free markets and a free society. Gorbachev, facing severe economic problems at home, was swayed. <ref>''President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime'', Lou Cannon (1991).</ref>


Early in his presidency, Reagan appointed ], known for his opposition to affirmative action and equal pay for men and women, as chair of the ]. Pendleton and Reagan's subsequent appointees greatly eroded the enforcement of civil rights law, arousing the ire of civil rights advocates.{{sfn|Shull|1993|pp=114–116}} In 1987, Reagan unsuccessfully ] to the Supreme Court as a way to achieve his civil rights policy that could not be fulfilled during his presidency; his administration had opposed ], particularly in education, federal assistance programs, housing and employment,{{sfn|Amaker|1988|pp=157–159}} but Reagan reluctantly continued these policies.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=171}} In housing, Reagan's administration saw considerably fewer fair housing cases filed than the three previous administrations.{{sfn|Amaker|1988|pp=92–95}}
Speaking at the ], on ], ], Reagan pushed Gorbachev even further: "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
], and challenges ] to "Tear Down This Wall!"]]


===War on drugs===
The East-West tensions that had reached intense new heights earlier in the decade rapidly subsided through the mid-to-late 1980s. In 1988, the Soviets officially declared that they would no longer intervene in the affairs of allied states in Eastern Europe. In 1989, Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan.
{{Main|War on drugs}}
]


In response to concerns about the increasing ], Reagan intensified the war on drugs in 1982.{{sfn|Alexander|2010|p=5}} While the American public did not see drugs as an important issue then, the FBI, ] and the ] all increased their ] funding immensely.{{sfn|Alexander|2010|p=49}} Reagan's administration publicized the campaign to gain support after crack became widespread in 1985.{{sfn|Alexander|2010|p=52}} Reagan signed the ] and ] to specify penalties for drug offenses.{{sfn|Alexander|2010|p=53}} Both bills have been criticized in the years since for promoting ].{{sfn|Sirin|2011|pp=91–96}} Nancy Reagan founded the "]" campaign to discourage others from engaging in ] and raise awareness about the dangers of drugs.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=163–164}} A 1988 study showed 39 percent of high school seniors using illegal drugs compared to 53 percent in 1980,{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=10}} but ] and Hal Arkowitz say that the success of these types of campaigns has not been affirmatively proven.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-just-say-no-doesnt-work/ |title=Why 'Just Say No' Doesn't Work |last1=Lilienfeld |first1=Scott |author-link=Scott Lilienfeld |last2=Arkowitz |first2=Hal |date=January 1, 2014 |website=] |access-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104150629/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-just-say-no-doesnt-work/ |archive-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref>
Reagan and Gorbachev built a close relationship. Gorbachev was awarded the first ], The ], and Time Magazine’s Man of the Decade. Reagan and Gorbachev signed the INF (International Nuclear Forces) Treaty in 1988, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.


===Escalation of the Cold War===
Reagan's Secretary of State, ], a former economics professor at Stanford, privately instructed Gorbachev on free market economics. At Gorbachev’s request, Reagan gave a speech on free markets at Moscow University. <ref>''The Cold War: A New History'', John Lewis Gaddis (2005).</ref>
{{further|Cold War (1979–1985)|Reagan Doctrine}}
] leaders, 1983]]
Reagan ordered a massive defense buildup;{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=4}} he revived the ] program that had been rejected by the ],{{sfn|Herring|2008|p=868}} and deployed the ].{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=37}} In response to Soviet deployment of the ], he oversaw ]'s deployment of the ] in Western Europe.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=260}} In 1982, Reagan tried to cut off the Soviet Union's access to ] by impeding its proposed gas line to Western Europe. It hurt the Soviet economy, but it also caused ill will among American allies in Europe who counted on that revenue; he later retreated on this issue.{{sfn|Graebner|Burns|Siracusa|2008|pp=29–31}} In March 1983, Reagan introduced the ] (SDI) to protect the United States from space intercontinental ballistic missiles. He believed that this defense shield could protect the country from nuclear destruction in a hypothetical nuclear war with the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=131}} There was much disbelief among the scientific community surrounding the program's scientific feasibility, leading opponents to dub the SDI "Star Wars",{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=418}} although Soviet leader ] said it would lead to "an extremely dangerous path".{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=132}}


], 1982]]
When Reagan visited Moscow, he was viewed as a celebrity by Russians. A journalist asked the president if he still considered the Soviet Union the evil empire. "No," he replied, "I was talking about another time, another era." <ref> - ], ], ]</ref>
In a 1982 address to the ], Reagan said, "the march of freedom and democracy... will leave ] on the ]". Dismissed by the American press as "wishful thinking", ] called the address a "triumph".{{sfn|Cannon|2000|pp=271–272}} ] says of Thatcher that "Reagan had been grateful for her interest in him at a time when the British establishment refused to take him seriously", with the two agreeing on "building up stronger defenses against Soviet Russia" and both believing in outfacing "what Reagan would later call ']{{'"}},{{sfn|Cannadine|2017|p=38}} in reference to the Soviet Union, during a speech to the ] in March 1983.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=130}} After Soviet fighters downed ] in September, which included Congressman ] and 61 other Americans, Reagan expressed outrage towards the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=420–421}} The next day, reports suggested that the Soviets had fired on the plane by mistake.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=133}} In spite of the harsh, discordant rhetoric,<ref>G. Thomas Goodnight, "Ronald Reagan's re‐formulation of the rhetoric of war: Analysis of the 'zero option,' 'evil empire,' and 'star wars' addresses." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 72.4 (1986): 390–414.</ref> Reagan's administration continued discussions with the Soviet Union on ].{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=868–869}}


] in the ], September 1983]]
In his autobiography "An American Life," Reagan expressed his optimism about the new direction they charted, his warm feelings for Gorbachev, and his concern for Gorbachev's safety because Gorbachev pushed reforms so hard. "I was concerned for his safety," Reagan wrote. "I've still worried about him. How hard and fast can he push reforms without risking his life?" Events would unravel far beyond what Gorbachev originally intended.
Although the Reagan administration agreed with the communist government in China to ] in 1982,{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=270}} Reagan himself was the first president to reject ] and ''détente'', and to put into practice the concept that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply negotiated with.<ref name="Knopf" /> His ] to ] forces through Pakistan against the Soviets has been given credit for assisting in ending the ];{{Sfn|Bergen|2001|p=68}} however, the United States was subjected ] in the form of the ] that opposed them in ].{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=883–884}} In his ], Reagan proclaimed, "Support for ]s is self-defense."{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=320}} Through the ], his administration supported ] movements that fought against groups backed by the Soviet Union in an effort to ] Soviet-backed communist governments and reduce Soviet influence across the world.{{sfnm|1a1=Kanet|1y=2006|1p=340|2a1=Pach|2y=2006|2p=78}} The Reagan administration ignored ] in the countries they backed and held a narrow definition of ].{{sfnm|1a1=Wawro|1y=2010|1p=381|2a1=Søndergaard|2y=2020|2p=4}} Other human rights concerns include the ],<ref>{{cite news |last=Gunson |first=Phil |date=April 2, 2018 |title=Gen Efraín Ríos Montt obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/02/gen-efrain-rios-montt-obituary |work=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104150256/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/02/gen-efrain-rios-montt-obituary |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref> as well as ]s in ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maclean |first1=Ruth |last2=Camara |first2=Mady |date=August 24, 2021 |title=Hissène Habré, Ex-President of Chad Jailed for War Crimes, Dies at 79 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/world/africa/hissene-habre-dead.html |url-access=subscription |work=] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104145936/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/world/africa/hissene-habre-dead.html |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref>


===The Close of the Reagan Era=== ===Invasion of Grenada===
{{main|United States invasion of Grenada}}
In ], Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, was elected President of the United States.On ], ], Reagan addressed the nation for the last time on television from the ] in the White House, nine days before handing over the presidency to ]. On the morning of ], ], Ronald and Nancy Reagan escorted the Bushes to the Capitol Building, where Bush took the Oath of Office. The Reagan's then boarded a Presidential helicopter, and flew to ] in ]. There, they boarded the Presidential Jet (no longer called Air Force One), where they flew home to California - to their new home in the wealthy suburb of ] in ].
]
]


On October 19, 1983, ] was overthrown and murdered by one of his colleagues. Several days later, Reagan ordered American forces to invade Grenada. Reagan cited a regional threat posed by a Soviet-Cuban military build-up and concern for the safety of hundreds of American medical students at ]. Two days of fighting commenced, resulting in an American victory.{{sfn|Cannon|2001|pp=187–188}} While the invasion enjoyed public support in the United States, it was criticized internationally, with the ] voting to censure the American government.{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=403}} Cannon later noted that throughout Reagan's 1984 presidential campaign, the invasion overshadowed the ],{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=393}} which killed 241 Americans taking part in ] during the ].{{sfn|Lawrence|2021|p=176}}
===Positions===
As a politician and as President, he portrayed himself as being:
*conservative
*anti-communist
*in favor of tax cuts
*in favor of smaller government (with the exclusion of the military)
*in favor of removing regulations on corporations
*in favor of the use of force to protect U.S. interests
*tried to abolish the Small Business Administration
*zero tolerance on crime


===Policies and decisions=== ===1984 election===
{{Main|Ronald Reagan 1984 presidential campaign|1984 United States presidential election}}
He is credited with:
] ] results, Reagan won 525–13]]
*increasing spending on national defense and diplomacy which contributed to the end of the Cold War
*deploying U.S. Pershing II missiles in West Germany in response to the Soviet stationing of SS-20 missiles near Europe
*negotiating the INF Treaty to substantially reduce nuclear arms and initiating negotiations with the Soviet Union for the treaty that would later be known as START I
*proposing the Strategic Defense Initiative, a controversial plan to develop a missile defense system
*Embracing the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev and peacefully ending the Cold War
*re-appointing monetarists Paul Volcker and (later) Alan Greenspan to be chairmen of the Federal Reserve, ending the high inflation that damaged the economy under his predecessors Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford
*lowering tax rates significantly (under Reagan, the top personal tax bracket dropped from 70% to 28% in 7 years ) and leading a major reform of the tax system
*providing arms and other support to anti-communist groups such as the Contras and the mujahideen
*selling arms to foreign allies such as Taiwan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq (see Iran-Iraq War)
*greatly escalating the "war on drugs"
*ordering the April 14, 1986 bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi in retaliation for an April 5 bombing of a West Berlin nightclub frequented by U.S. servicemen, in which the Libyan government was deemed complicit
*signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 which compensated victims of the Japanese American Internment during World War II
*firing air traffic controllers when they illegally went on strike


Reagan announced his reelection campaign on January 29, 1984, declaring, "America is back and standing tall".{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=141}} In February, his administration reversed the unpopular decision to send the ] to Lebanon, thus eliminating a political liability for him. Reagan faced minimal opposition in the Republican primaries,{{sfn|Cannon|2001|pp=188–191}} and he and Bush accepted the nomination at ] in August.{{sfn|Boller|2004|p=369}} In the general election, his campaign ran the commercial, "]".{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=452}} At a time when the American economy was already recovering,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=452}} former vice president ]{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=186}} was attacked by Reagan's campaign as a "tax-and-spend Democrat", while Mondale criticized the deficit, the SDI, and Reagan's civil rights policy. However, Reagan's age induced his campaign managers to minimize his public appearances. Mondale's campaign believed that Reagan's age and mental health were issues before ].{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=141–142}}
===Major legislation approved===
*Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981
*Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982
*Social Security Amendments of 1983
*Tax Reform Act of 1986
*Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986
*Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986


Following Reagan's performance in the first debate where he struggled to recall statistics, his age was brought up by the media in negative fashion. Reagan's campaign changed his tactics for the second debate where he quipped, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience". This remark generated applause and laughter,{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|pp=142–143}} even from Mondale. At that point, Broder suggested that age was no longer a liability for Reagan,{{sfn|Cannon|2001|p=196}} and Mondale's campaign felt that "the election was over".{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=144}} In November, Reagan won a landslide reelection victory with 59 percent of the popular vote and 525 electoral votes from 49 states. Mondale won 41 percent of the popular vote and 13 electoral votes from the District of Columbia and his home state of Minnesota.{{sfnm|1a1=Boller|1y=2004|1p=373|2a1=Cannon|2y=2003|2p=434}}
===Criticism===
A frequent objection by his critics was that his personal charm also permitted him to say nearly anything and yet prevail, a quality that earned him the nickname "]" (nothing sticks to him). His denial of awareness of the ] belied his signing a secret presidential "finding" describing the deal as "arms-for-hostages". Critics objected to his comparison of the contras to the Founding Fathers and to the French Resistance, which suggests that he viewed the Sandinistas as Communists who were akin to an occupying power.<ref>Cannon (2000) 313</ref> The ], in its ruling on '']'', found that the US had been involved in the "unlawful use of force" in Nicaragua due to its treaty obligations and the customary obligations of international law not to intervene in the affairs of other states. The US had not accepted the court's jurisdiction and did not argue the merits of its case, nor did the court accept and intervention on the US's behalf by ], to whose defense the US claimed it was coming by its actions in Nicaragua. Despite a ] resolution<ref> - ], ], ]</ref> demanding compliance, the U.S. never paid the required fine and since 1991, relations with Nicaragua were friendly.


===Response to the AIDS epidemic===
Critics of the left charged that Reagan was unconcerned with income inequality and its effects, abandoning the egalitarian ideals that had come to be standard stated policy goals since the New Deal era.<ref> S.H. Danziger, D.H. Weinberg, "The Historical Record: Trends in Family Income, Inequality, and Poverty" in ''Confronting Poverty: Prescriptions for Change'' (1994)</ref> Reagan's efforts to cut ] and income taxes became common flashpoints for critics who charged that this primarily benefited the wealthy in America, deriding these policies as "]", and a few in the business community that said it penalized all American job seekers.
{{main|Ronald Reagan and AIDS}}
] quotes Reagan on AIDS with a blank slate, representing total silence.]]


The ] began to unfold in 1981,{{sfn|Gellin|1992|p=24}} and AIDS was initially difficult to understand for physicians and the public.{{sfn|Kazanjian|2014|p=353}} As the epidemic advanced, according to White House physician and later physician to the president, brigadier general John Hutton, Reagan thought of AIDS as though "it was the measles and would go away". The October 1985 death of the President's friend ] affected Reagan's view; Reagan approached Hutton for more information on the disease. Still, between September 18, 1985, and February 4, 1986, Reagan did not mention AIDS in public.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=731}}
In order to cover Reagan' federal budget deficits, the ] borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, and by the end of Reagan's second term the ] held by the public rose from 26 percent of ] in ] to 41 percent in 1989, the highest level since 1963. By 1988, the debt totaled $2.6 trillion. The country owed more to foreigners than it was owed, and the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation. <Ref> Weisman, Jonathan (9 June 2004) "Reagan Policies Gave Green Light to Red Ink." Washington Post; A11.</Ref>


In 1986, Reagan asked ] to develop a report on AIDS. Koop angered many evangelical conservatives, both in and out of the Reagan administration, by stressing the importance of sex education including condom usage in schools.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|pp=731–733}} A year later, Reagan, who reportedly had not read the report,{{sfn|Koop|1991|p=224}} gave his first speech on the epidemic when 36,058 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS, and 20,849 had died of it.{{sfn|Shilts|2000|p=596}} Reagan called for increased testing (including routine testing for marriage applicants) and mandatory testing of select groups (including federal prisoners).<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=]|title=Reagan Urges Wide AIDS Testing But Does Not Call for Compulsion|first=Phillip M.|last=Boffey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/01/us/reagan-urges-wide-aids-testing-but-does-not-call-for-compulsion.html|date=June 1, 1987}}</ref> Even after this speech, however, Reagan remained reluctant to publicly address AIDS.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|loc=chapter 22}}
The ] of the banking industry before Reagan took office meant savings and loan associations were given the flexibility to invest their depositors' funds in commercial real estate. Many savings and loan associations began making risky investments. As a result, the ], the federal agency that regulates the industry, tried to clamp down on the trend. In so doing, however, the Board clashed with the policy of permitting the deregulation of many industries, including the thrift industry. The resulting savings and loan scandal bailout ultimately cost the government $150 billion. {{seealso|Savings and Loan crisis}}


Scholars and AIDS activists have argued that the Reagan administration largely ignored the ].{{sfn|Lucas|2009|pp=478–479}}{{sfn|Francis|2012|p=290}}{{sfn|Kim|Shin|2017|pp=518–519}} ] and ] said that AIDS research was chronically underfunded during Reagan's administration, and Bronski added that requests for more funding by doctors at the ] were routinely denied.{{sfn|Shilts|2000|p=xxii}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://forward.com/news/7046/rewriting-the-script-on-reagan-why-the-president |title=Rewriting the Script on Reagan: Why the President Ignored AIDS |last=Bronski |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Bronski |date=November 14, 2003 |website=] |access-date=March 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116112651/https://forward.com/news/7046/rewriting-the-script-on-reagan-why-the-president/ |archive-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref> In a September 1985 press conference (soon after Hollywood celebrity Rock Hudson had announced his AIDS diagnosis) Reagan called a government AIDS research program a "top priority", but also cited budgetary constraints.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=654, 656}} Between the fiscal years of 1984 and 1989, federal spending on AIDS totaled $5.6&nbsp;billion. The Reagan administration proposed $2.8&nbsp;billion during this time period, but pressure from congressional Democrats resulted in the larger amount.<ref>{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Robert |year=2007 |title=Transforming America: Politics and Culture During the Reagan Years |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-231-12400-3|page=138}}</ref>
Reagan was criticized for the slow response of his Administration to the ]-] epidemic, until after the illness of movie star and national icon ] became public news in late July ], by which time 12,067 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS, and 6,079 had died.<ref>Shilts, Randy: And The Band Played On, 1987 p580</ref> The White House was accused of ignoring an epidemic that had primarily affected gay men; many believing that it took Hudson's death to legitimize the need for action.


===Addressing apartheid===
Some Jewish leaders criticized Reagan for deciding to visit a cemetery in ], after they discovered that 49 ] men are buried, and for stating that the German soldiers buried there, who were drafted into services in the later years of the war, were victims, just as were the Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps.<ref>Cannon</ref> In ] and again in ], Reagan told prominent Israelis and American Jews -- notably Prime Minister ] of Israel, ], and Rabbi ] of ] -- of his personal experience vis-a-vis the ], saying "I was there"; he was in a film unit in Hollywood that processed raw footage they received from Europe for newsreels, but he was not in Europe itself during the war. This incident has often inaccurately been used to describe Reagan as either confused or lying about his role in WWII.<ref>Morris, Edumund. Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan (2000) p.465. Cannon, Lou. ''President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime'' (2000) p. 428-30.</ref>
], who described Reagan's administration as "an unmitigated disaster for us blacks",<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gish |first=Steven |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55208501 |title=Desmond Tutu : a biography |date=2004 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=0-313-32860-9 |location=Westport, Conn. |oclc=55208501}}</ref> and Reagan himself as "a racist pure and simple".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=John |title=Rabble-rouser for peace : the authorized biography of Desmond Tutu |publisher=Rider |date=2006 |isbn=1-84413-571-3 |location=London |oclc=70672522 |page=255}}</ref>]]


Popular opposition to ] increased during Reagan's first term in office and the ] movement achieved critical mass after decades of growing momentum. Criticism of apartheid was particularly strong on college campuses and among ] denominations.<ref>{{cite news| title=Divestment Was Just One Weapon in Battle Against Apartheid| last=Counte| first=Cecelie| date=January 27, 2013| url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/01/27/is-divestment-an-effective-means-of-protest/divestment-was-just-one-weapon-in-battle-against-apartheid| website=The New York Times| access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Berger| first=Joseph| title=Protestants Seek More Divestment| date=June 10, 1986| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/10/us/protestants-seek-more-divestment.html| work=The New York Times| location=New York City|access-date=August 13, 2019| via=The Times's print archive}}</ref> President Reagan was opposed to divestiture because he personally thought, as he wrote in a letter to ], it "would hurt the very people we are trying to help and would leave us no contact within South Africa to try and bring influence to bear on the government". He also noted the fact that the "American-owned industries there employ more than 80,000 blacks" and that their employment practices were "very different from the normal South African customs".<ref>{{cite book| editor1-last=Skinner| editor1-first=Kiron K.| editor2-last=Anderson| editor2-first=Annelise| editor3-last=Anderson| editor3-first= Martin| title=Reagan: A Life In Letters| year=2004| publisher=Free Press| location=New York City| isbn=978-0743219679| pages=520–521}}</ref>
Reagan's foreign policies were criticized variously as aggressive, imperialist, putting the world at risk of nuclear war, and (towards the end of his administration) as too conciliatory to the Soviet Union. In Britain, though Reagan had the strong support of ], he was routinely attacked for his foreign policies. Left-wing critics denounced his opposition to ]'s dictatorship in ] and complained that he was ignoring ] in ], ] and ]. Although Reagan sought an end to ] and liberalization of South Africa, he opposed ] "on grounds that it would diminish influence on the South African government and create economic hardship for the very people in South Africa that the sanctions were ostensibly designed to help."<ref>Donald T. Regan, "For the Record"</ref>


The Reagan administration developed ]{{sfn|Thomson|2008|p=113}} with the South African government as a means of encouraging it to gradually move away from apartheid and to give up its nuclear weapons ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Van Wyk |first1=Martha |date=August 7, 2009 |title=Sunset over Atomic Apartheid: United States–South African nuclear relations, 1981–93 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14682740902764569 |journal=] |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=51–79 |doi=10.1080/14682740902764569 |s2cid=218575117 |access-date=February 19, 2024}}</ref> It was part of a larger initiative designed to foster peaceful economic development and political change throughout southern Africa.<ref name=AT2008SApolicy>Thomson, pp. 106–123</ref> This policy, however, engendered much public criticism, and renewed calls for the imposition of stringent sanctions.<ref name=UngerVale>{{cite journal| last1=Ungar| first1=Sanford J.| last2=Vale| first2=Peter| title=South Africa: Why Constructive Engagement Failed | journal=Foreign Affairs| date=Winter 1985–86| volume=64| issue=2| url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/south-africa/1985-12-01/south-africa-why-constructive-engagement-failed| pages=234–258| doi=10.2307/20042571| jstor=20042571}}</ref> In response, Reagan announced the imposition of new sanctions on the South African government, including an ] in late 1985.<ref>{{cite magazine| last=Smith| first=William E.| title=South Africa Reagan's Abrupt Reversal| url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,959843,00.html| date=September 16, 1985| magazine=Time | volume=126| issue=11 |access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref> These sanctions were seen as weak by anti-apartheid activists and as insufficient by the president's opponents in Congress.<ref name=UngerVale/> In 1986, Congress approved the ], which included tougher sanctions; Reagan's veto was overridden by Congress. Afterward, he remained opposed to apartheid and unsure of "how best to oppose it". Several European countries, as well as Japan, also imposed their sanctions on South Africa soon after.<ref>{{cite web| last=Glass| first=Andrew| title=House overrides Reagan apartheid veto, Sept. 29, 1986| date=September 27, 2017| url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/29/house-overrides-reagan-apartheid-veto-sept-29-1986-243169| work=Politico| access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref>
===Supreme Court nominations===
Ronald Reagan nominated the following Justices to the ]:
*] ] to ] (1986-2005)
*Associate Justice ] (1981-2006)
*Associate Justice ] (1986-present)
*Associate Justice ] (1988-present)


===Scandals and controversies=== ===Libya bombing===
{{Main|1986 United States bombing of Libya}}
{{main|Reagan administration scandals}}
]


Contentious relations between Libya and the United States under President Reagan were revived in the ] that killed an American soldier and injured dozens of others on April 5, 1986. Stating that there was irrefutable evidence that Libya had a direct role in the bombing, Reagan authorized the use of force against the country. On April 14, the United States launched a series of ]s on ground targets in Libya.{{sfnm|1a1=Brands|1y=2015|1pp=530–531|2a1=Woodard|2y=2012|2p=161}} Thatcher allowed the ] to use Britain's air bases to launch the attack, on the justification that the United Kingdom was supporting America's right to self-defense under Article 51 of the ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/15/newsid_3975000/3975455.stm|title=1986:US Launches air-strike on Libya|access-date=April 19, 2008|date=April 15, 2008|work=BBC News }}</ref> The attack was, according to Reagan, designed to halt ]'s "ability to export terrorism", offering him "incentives and reasons to alter his criminal behavior".<ref>{{citation|first=Dennis|last=Piszkiewicz|series=Praeger Security International|title=Terrorism's War with America: A History|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97952-2|page=66}}</ref> The attack was condemned by many countries; by an overwhelming vote, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to condemn the attack and deem it a violation of the Charter and international law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r038.htm |title=A/RES/41/38 November 20, 1986 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref>
The '''Reagan administration''' saw several controversies unfold in their ranks which resulted in a number of administration staffers being convicted. The most well known, the ], involved a plan whereby weapons were sold to Iran and the profits diverted to fund the ]n ].


===Iran–Contra affair===
==Post presidential years==
{{Main|Iran–Contra affair}}
], ], ], Ronald Reagan, and ] at the dedication of the Reagan Presidential Library.]]
] on the ], 1987]]
] and ] attended the funeral of Richard Nixon on ], ], in Nixon's hometown of ]. From left: Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Barbara Bush, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Gerald Ford, Betty Ford.]]
Ronald and Nancy Reagan would enjoy the private life for the next five years, traveling from their Bel Air, California home, to the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara every few months.


Reagan authorized ] to arm the ], fearing that Communists would take over Nicaragua if it remained under the leadership of the ]. Congress passed the 1982 ], prohibiting the CIA and Department of Defense from using their budgets to provide aid to the Contras. Still, the Reagan administration raised funds for the Contras from private donors and foreign governments.<ref>Weisberg, pp. 128–129</ref> When Congress learned that the CIA had secretly placed ]s in Nicaraguan harbors, Congress passed a second Boland Amendment that barred granting any assistance to the Contras.<ref>Patterson, pp. 208–209</ref> By mid-1985, ] began to ], holding seven of them in reaction to the United States' support of Israel.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=488–491}}
In the fall of 1989, ] of ] hired him to make two speeches and attend a few corporate functions. Reagan's fee during his nine-day visit was about $2 million, more than he had earned during eight years as President. Reagan made occasional appearances on behalf of the Republican Party, including a well-received speech at the ]. He publicly spoke in favor of a ], a ] requiring a ], and repealing the ], which prohibits a President from serving more than two terms. Reagan's final public speech was on ], ], during a tribute in ]. His last public appearance was at the funeral of fellow Republican President ] on ], ].


Reagan procured the release of seven American hostages held by Hezbollah by selling American arms to Iran, then engaged in the Iran–Iraq War, in hopes that Iran would pressure Hezbollah to release the hostages.<ref name="weisberg129134"/> The Reagan administration sold over 2,000 missiles to Iran without informing Congress; Hezbollah released four hostages but captured an additional six Americans. On ]'s initiative, the administration redirected the proceeds from the missile sales to the Contras.<ref name="weisberg129134">Weisberg, pp. 129–134</ref> The transactions were exposed by '']'' in early November 1986. Reagan initially denied any wrongdoing, but on November 25, he announced that ] and North had left the administration and that he would form the ] to investigate the transactions. A few weeks later, Reagan asked a panel of federal judges to appoint ] who would conduct a separate investigation.<ref>Patterson, pp. 210–211</ref>
===The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum===
{{main|Ronald Reagan Presidential Library}}
On November 4, 1991, ] was opened to the public. At the opening ceremonies, four former presidents, ], ], ], and Reagan, and the current president, ], were all in attendance, as well as five former first ladies, ], ], ], ], and ], plus the current First Lady, ]. Currently, the library is the largest of all of the Presidential Libraries. Notable exhibits include ones on the Reagan's Ranch, a full scale replica of the Oval Office, and the actual Boeing 707, ], that served President Reagan during his eight years in office. President Reagan is buried on the property.


The Tower Commission released a report in February 1987 confirming that the administration had traded arms for hostages and sent the proceeds of the weapons sales to the Contras. The report laid most of the blame on North, Poindexter, and ], but it was also critical of ] and other White House staffers.<ref>Brands, pp. 646–649</ref> Investigators did not find conclusive proof that Reagan had known about the aid provided to the Contras, but the report noted that Reagan had "created the conditions which made possible the crimes committed by others" and had "knowingly participated or acquiesced in covering up the scandal".<ref>Patterson, pp. 211–212</ref> The affair damaged the administration and raised questions about Reagan's competency and the wisdom of conservative policies.<ref>Rossinow, pp. 202–204</ref> The administration's credibility was also badly damaged on the international stage as it had violated its own arms embargo on Iran.<ref>Brands, pp. 653, 674</ref>
===Alzheimer's disease===
On ], ], Reagan announced that he had been diagnosed with ]. Signs of his illness had become apparent in the years following his presidency. At the ], Reagan, a man known for his rhetorical talents, had difficulty reading and remembering a speech he was to deliver. He informed the nation of his condition via a hand-written letter shortly after his diagnosis. With his trademark optimism, he stated in conclusion: "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you."<ref></ref>


===The USS ''Stark'' incident===
As the years went on, the disease slowly destroyed his mental capacity, forcing him to live in quiet isolation. On ], ], Reagan reached the age of 90 and was, at the time, only the third former U.S. president to reach that age - the other two being ] and ] (] later becoming the fourth). Since the former president had a hip operation just three weeks earlier and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for seven years, his 90th birthday was a low-key celebration with his family at his home in ]. Nancy Reagan told CNN's Larry King that very few visitors were allowed access to her husband because she felt that "Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was."
In the context of the ] on May 17, 1987, an Iraqi fighter jet hit the {{USS|Stark}} with two ], killing 37 sailors.<ref name="usni3">{{cite news |last=LaGrone |first=Sam |date=May 17, 2017 |title=The Attack on USS Stark at 30 |url=https://news.usni.org/2017/05/17/the-attack-uss-stark-at-30 |work=USNI News}}</ref><ref name="nhhc1">{{cite news |title=Stark (FFG-31) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/stark--ffg-31-.html |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |date=16 March 2017}}</ref> Three days later, ] declared a "policy of self-defense" would now be ordered, as he accepted Iraq's official apology:<ref name="ct2">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/05/20/reagan-accepts-iraq-apology/ |title=Reagan Accepts Iraq Apology |date=May 20, 1987 }}</ref> "Our ships are deployed in the Persian Gulf in order to protect U.S. interests and maintain free access and maintain ] and access to the area's oil supplies. It is a vital mission, but our ships need to protect themselves and they will. if aircraft approach any of our ships in a way that appears hostile, there is one order of battle. Defend yourselves. Defend American lives.. We're going to do what has to be done to keep the Persian Gulf open. It's international waters. No country there has a right to try and close it off and take it for itself. And the villain in the piece really is Iran. And so they're delighted with what has just happened."<ref name="crim1">{{cite news |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1987/5/20/reagan-declares-policy-of-self-defense-pwashington-president/ |title=Reagan Declares Policy of Self-Defense &#124; News &#124; the Harvard Crimson }}</ref>


===Soviet decline and thaw in relations===
==Death==
{{Further|Cold War (1985–1991)}}
{{main|Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan}}
], 1987]]
] in ].]]


Although the Soviets did not accelerate military spending in response to Reagan's military buildup,{{sfn|Fischer|2019|p=8}} their enormous military expenses, in combination with ] and inefficient ], were a heavy burden for the ]. At the same time, the prices of oil, the primary source of Soviet export revenues, fell to one third of the previous level in 1985. These factors contributed to a stagnant economy during the tenure of ] as Soviet leader.<ref name="Gaidar">{{Cite book|last=Gaidar|first=Yegor|title=Collapse of an Empire: Lessons for Modern Russia|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|year=2007|pages=190–205}}</ref>
On ], ] Reagan, at age 93 and 120 days, died of ], at 1:09 PM PDT at his home in ], California. The morning of Reagan's death, news reports were released that stated the Former President's health was deteriorating. Reagan had been battling ] for a decade, so his death was not completely unexpected.
] in the ], 1988]]
When the President died, his wife of fifty two years, ], was at his side, along with two of the three surviving Reagan children, ] and ].
Reagan's foreign policy towards the Soviets wavered between ] and cooperation.<ref>{{Citation|last=Miles|first=Simon|title=Peace Through Strength and Quiet Diplomacy|year=2021|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/before-and-after-the-fall/peace-through-strength-and-quiet-diplomacy/1F3C268659B85F9A905828845EB582A0|work=Before and After the Fall: World Politics and the End of the Cold War|pages=62–77|editor-last=Bartel|editor-first=Fritz|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781108910194.005|isbn=978-1-108-90677-7|s2cid=244861159|editor2-last=Monteiro|editor2-first=Nuno P.}}</ref> Reagan appreciated Gorbachev's revolutionary change in the direction of the Soviet policy and shifted to diplomacy, intending to encourage him to pursue substantial arms agreements.<ref name="Knopf">{{Cite journal |last=Knopf |first=Jeffery W. |year=2004 |title=Did Reagan Win the Cold War? |url=https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=444565 |journal=Strategic Insights |volume=III |issue=8 |access-date=August 10, 2019}}</ref> They held ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lawrence|first=Mark Atwood|year=2008|title=The Era of Epic Summitry|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/255737|journal=Reviews in American History|volume=36|issue=4|pages=616–623|doi=10.1353/rah.0.0047|s2cid=144382902|issn=1080-6628}}</ref> Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to allow for more democracy and free speech, this would lead to reform and the end of communism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1982reagan1.html|title=Modern History Sourcebook: Ronald Reagan: Evil Empire Speech, June 8, 1982|access-date=November 15, 2007|publisher=Fordham University|date=May 1998}}</ref> The critical summit was in ], where they agreed to abolish all nuclear weapons. However, Gorbachev added the condition that SDI research must be confined to laboratories during the ten-year period when disarmament would take place. Reagan refused, stating that it was defensive only and that he would share the secrets with the Soviets, thus failing to reach a deal.<ref>{{cite book|author=John Lewis Gaddis|title=The Cold War: A New History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=62VjS6A6-q0C&pg=PA31|year=2006|page=31|publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781440684500}}</ref>


In June 1987, Reagan addressed Gorbachev during a speech at the ], demanding that he "]". The remark was ignored at the time, but after the wall ], it was retroactively recast as a soaring achievement.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fisher |first=Marc |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/12/tear-down-this-wall-how-reagans-forgotten-line-became-a-defining-presidential-moment/ |title='Tear down this wall': How Reagan's forgotten line became a defining moment |newspaper=] |date=June 2017 |access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref><ref>], ''Kennedy in Berlin'' (2008), pp. 207‒13.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-myths-berlin-wall-fall-reagan-east-west-perspec-1102-20141031-story.html |title= Untangling 5 myths about the Berlin Wall |work= ] |date= October 31, 2014 |access-date= January 2, 2022}}</ref> In December, Reagan and Gorbachev met again at ]<ref>Rossinow, pp. 234–235</ref> to sign the ], committing to the total abolition of their respective short-range and medium-range missile stockpiles.<ref>Patterson, p. 215</ref> The treaty established an inspections regime designed to ensure that both parties honored the agreement.<ref>Rossinow, p. 236</ref> In May 1988, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of ratifying the treaty,<ref>Patterson, p. 216</ref> providing a major boost to Reagan's popularity in the aftermath of the Iran–Contra affair. A new era of trade and openness between the two powers commenced, and the United States and Soviet Union cooperated on international issues such as the Iran–Iraq War.<ref>Herring, pp. 897–898</ref>
A few hours after Reagan died, Mrs. Reagan released a statement saying: "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of ] at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." The President's body was taken to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in ] where well-wishers paid tribute by laying flowers and American Flags in the grass. On ], Reagan's body was removed and taken to the ], where a brief family funeral service was held. His body laid in repose, in the library lobby, for the next twenty-four hours. In that amount of time, 108,000 people came to pay their respects to President Reagan.
] to the Capitol Building.]]


== Post-presidency (1989–2004) ==
The next day, Reagan's casket was removed, and flown to ], where he became the 10th ] to lie in state in the ] of the ]. In the twenty four hours it lied there, 105,000 people filed past the coffin, paying their respects.
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| total_width = 400
| image1 = Reagan and Gorbachev in western hats 1992.jpg
| alt1 = Reagan and Gorbachev relaxing at Rancho del Cielo in May 1992. Reagan gave Gorbachev a white cowboy hat, which he wore backwards.
| caption1 = Reagan and Gorbachev at Rancho del Cielo, 1992
| image2 = Reagans with USS Ronald Reagan model 1996.jpg
| alt2 = The Reagans and Newport News Shipbuilding chairman and CEO William Frick standing behind a model of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, 1996
| caption2 = Nancy and Ronald Reagan with a model of {{USS|Ronald Reagan}}, 1996
}}


Upon ] on January 20, 1989, at the age of 77, Reagan became the oldest president at the end of his tenure. This distinction will eventually pass to incumbent president ] who is currently {{Age in years|1942|11|20}} years old.<ref name="NYT01202021">{{cite news |last=Diaz |first=Johnny |date=January 18, 2021 |title=Biden Is the Oldest President to Take the Oath |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/us/politics/joe-biden-age-oldest-presidents.html |url-access=limited |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/18/us/politics/joe-biden-age-oldest-presidents.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |orig-year=Updated January 20, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg01192021">{{cite news |last1=Merrill |first1=Dave |last2=Caronello |first2=Sophie |date=January 19, 2021 |title=Biden to Become Oldest President Ever at Inauguration |agency=] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-19/biden-to-become-oldest-president-ever-at-inauguration-graphic |url-status=live |access-date=January 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128211849/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-19/biden-to-become-oldest-president-ever-at-inauguration-graphic |archive-date=January 28, 2021}}</ref>
On ], a ] was conducted in the ], and presided over by President ]. Eulogies included those from ], ], and both Presidents Bush. The service drew leaders and dignitaries from around the world, including ]. After the funeral service, the Reagan entourage was flown back to ] - the ] - where another service was held, and President Ronald Reagan was interred.


In retirement, Ronald and Nancy Reagan lived at ] in ], in addition to ] in ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=180}} He received ]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/08/u-s-responds-to-the-death-of-queen-elizabeth-whose-reign-spanned-14-american-presidents-00055589 |title=Bidens offer condolences after death of Queen Elizabeth, whose reign spanned 14 American presidents |last=Ward |first=Myah |date=September 8, 2022 |website=] |access-date=January 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121035400/https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/08/u-s-responds-to-the-death-of-queen-elizabeth-whose-reign-spanned-14-american-presidents-00055589 |archive-date=January 21, 2023}}; {{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom-president-ronald-reagan |title=Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to President Ronald Reagan |date=January 23, 2023 |website=The American Presidency Project |access-date=January 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123133832/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom-president-ronald-reagan |archive-date=January 23, 2023}}</ref> in addition to generous payments for speaking engagements. In 1989 he supported repealing the ]'s presidential term limits. In 1991, the ] opened. Reagan also addressed the ] "to inspire allegiance to the party regulars",{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=181–182}} and favored a ] requiring a balanced budget.
==Legacy==
The noted presidential biographer Richard Reeves (Kennedy, Nixon) summarized in ''President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination'' that Reagan understood "how to be President, who knows that the job is not to manage the government but to lead a nation. In many ways, a quarter century later, he is still leading. As his vice president, George H.W. Bush, said after Reagan was shot and hospitalized in 1981: 'We will act as if he were here.' He is a heroic figure if not always a hero. He did not destroy communism, as his champions claim, but he knew it would self-destruct and hastened the collapse. No small thing. He believed the Soviet Union was evil and he had contempt for the established American policies of ] and ]. Asked about his own ] strategy, he answered: 'We win. They lose!' Like one of his heroes, Franklin D. Roosevelt, he has become larger than life."<ref>''President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination'', Richard Reeves (2005).</ref>


===Support for Brady Bill===
Today, Ronald Reagan is one of America's most popular presidents. In several recent ] of American presidents, Ronald Reagan ranked high.<ref>]</ref>
Reagan publicly favored the ], drawing criticism from gun control opponents.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=717–718}} In 1989, in his first public appearance after leaving office and shortly after the ], he stated: "I do not believe in taking away the right of the citizen to own guns for sporting, for hunting, and so forth, or for home defense. But I do believe that an ], a machine gun, is not a sporting weapon or needed for the defense of the home".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Villoro |first=Elías |date=April 23, 2023 |title=Ronald Reagan on Gun Control circa 1989 |url=https://boingboing.net/2023/04/22/ronald-reagan-on-gun-control-circa-1989.html |access-date=October 27, 2023 |website=Boing Boing |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://qz.com/1217254/video-ronald-reagan-on-the-difference-between-military-rifles-and-self-defense | title=Video: Ronald Reagan on the difference between military rifles and self-defense | date=February 27, 2018 }}</ref>
===Public opinion ratings===
The ] took a poll in 2005 and asking respondents to name the greatest president in U.S. history. Ronald Reagan took the top spot with 18% of Americans polled. He ranked fifth in an ABC poll of the public in 2000. He was named the greatest president since ] by a Quinnipiac poll of the public in 2006, and he ranked six in a ] poll of viewers in 1999. On the Discovery Channel's show, ], Reagan was named The Greatest American.<ref>]</ref>


In March 1991, Reagan wrote an op-ed in the ''New York Times'', titled "Why I'm for the Brady Bill".<ref>Shapira, Ian (March 2, 2018). '']''. Retrieved January 9, 2023.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Janel |date=February 5, 2013 |title=Did Reagan support an assault-weapons ban? |url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/feb/05/barack-obama/did-reagan-support-assault-weapons-ban/ |access-date=November 13, 2023}}</ref> In May 1994, Reagan, ], and ] sent a letter to House members, urging them to support the controversial ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eaton |first=William J |date=May 5, 1994 |title=Ford, Carter, Reagan push for gun ban |website=] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-05-mn-54185-story.html |access-date=November 13, 2023}}</ref>
According to ABC News,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/poll_reagan010806.html|title=Improving With Age: Reagan Approval Grows Better in Retrospect|accessdate=2006-09-12|author=Dalia Sussman|last=Sussman|first=Dalia|date=2001-08-06|publisher=ABCNEWS.com|language=English}}</ref> by date:
{| class="prettytable"
|-
! | Date
! | Event
! | Approval (%)
! | Disapproval (%)
|-
| | ] ]
| | Shot by Hinckley
| style="text-align: center" | 73
| style="text-align: center" | 19
|-
| | ] ]
| | High unemployment
| style="text-align: center" | 42
| style="text-align: center" | 54
|-
| | ] ]
| | Libya bombing
| style="text-align: center" | 70
| style="text-align: center" | 26
|-
| | ] ]
| | Iran-Contra affair
| style="text-align: center" | 44
| style="text-align: center" | 51
|-
| | ] ]
| | End of presidency
| style="text-align: center" | &ndash;
|-
! n/a
! '''Career Average'''
! '''57'''
! '''39'''
|-
| | ] ]
| | (Retrospective)
| style="text-align: center" | 64
| style="text-align: center" | 27
|}


===Nicknames=== ===Alzheimer's disease===
His final public speech occurred on February 3, 1994, during a tribute to him in Washington, D.C.; his last major public appearance was at the ] on April 27, 1994.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|pp=181–182}} In August 1994, Reagan was diagnosed with ], which he announced through a handwritten letter in November.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=xiv}} There was speculation over how long he had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/president-ronald-reagans-alzheimers-disease/3419232 |title=President Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's Disease |date=June 7, 2004 |access-date=January 7, 2008 |publisher=Radio National }}</ref> but lay observations that he suffered from Alzheimer's while still in office have been disputed by medical experts;<ref>{{cite web|date=October 5, 1997|title=Reagan's doctors deny covering up Alzheimer's His mental status in office never in doubt, they say|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-10-05-1997278112-story.html|access-date=April 20, 2021|website=The New York Times|via=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Altman|first=Lawrence K.|date=February 21, 2011|title=When Alzheimer's Waited Outside the Oval Office|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/health/views/22reagan.html|url-status=live|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501061551/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/health/views/22reagan.html|archive-date=May 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="sr"/> his doctors said that he first began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992<ref name="NYT_2004/06/15">{{Cite news|last=Altman|first=Lawrence K.|date=June 15, 2004|title=The Doctors World; A Recollection of Early Questions About Reagan's Health|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/15/health/the-doctor-s-world-a-recollection-of-early-questions-about-reagan-s-health.html|url-status=live|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501060002/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/15/health/the-doctor-s-world-a-recollection-of-early-questions-about-reagan-s-health.html|archive-date=May 1, 2021}}</ref> or 1993.<ref name="sr"/> Over time, the disease destroyed Reagan's mental capacity. By 1997, he was reported to recognize few people other than his wife, though he continued to walk through parks and on beaches, play golf, and visit his office in nearby ].<ref name="sr">{{Cite news|last=Altman|first=Lawrence K|date=October 5, 1997|title=Reagan's Twilight&nbsp;– A special report; A President Fades Into a World Apart|work=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/05/us/reagan-s-twilight-a-special-report-a-president-fades-into-a-world-apart.html|url-status=live|access-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501062254/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/05/us/reagan-s-twilight-a-special-report-a-president-fades-into-a-world-apart.html|archive-date=May 1, 2021}}</ref> Eventually, his family decided that he would live in quiet semi-isolation with his wife.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/04/lklw.00.html|title=Nancy Reagan Reflects on Ronald|publisher=CNN|date=March 4, 2001|access-date=April 6, 2007|archive-date=October 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023204041/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0103/04/lklw.00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> By the end of 2003, Reagan had lost his ability to speak and was mostly confined to his bed, no longer able to recognize family members.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://people.com/premium/the-long-goodbye/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230604160258/https://people.com/premium/the-long-goodbye/|archive-date = June 4, 2023|title = The Long Goodbye|magazine = ]|date = December 4, 2003|accessdate = June 4, 2023}}</ref>
Reagan is often referred to as the Gipper, referring to his performance as ] in the film '']'', often along with his popular line "Win one for the Gipper." As a youth he was called "Dutch", a nickname given him by his father. As President, he became known as "The Great Communicator" and "The Teflon President". His Secret Service codename was "Rawhide". Detractors sometimes referred to Reagan as "Ronald Ray-Gun", a term coined in the introduction to the song ''Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man'' sung by ] and Jeffrey Shurtleff at the 1969 ].


=== Honors === ===Death and funeral===
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan}}
Reagan died of ], complicated by Alzheimer's,<ref name = Neuman>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-ronald-reagan-dies-20040604-story.html|title=Former President Reagan Dies at 93|last=Neuman|first=Johanna|website=]|date=June 5, 2004|access-date=December 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214085037/https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/archives/la-me-ronald-reagan-dies-20040604-story.html|archive-date=December 14, 2022}}</ref> at his home in Los Angeles, on June 5, 2004.<ref name=DrehleReaganDies>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2004/06/06/AR2005040207455_pf.html|title=Ronald Reagan Dies: 40th President Reshaped American Politics|author=Von Drehle, David|newspaper=]|date=June 6, 2004|access-date=December 21, 2007}}</ref> President ] called Reagan's death "a sad hour in the life of America".<ref name = Neuman/> His public funeral was held in the ],{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=731}} where ] were given by Margaret Thatcher, ], George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=184}} Other world leaders attended including ] and ].{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=732}} Reagan was interred at his presidential library.{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=184}}


==Legacy==
] in 2005, and again in 2006.]]
{{see|List of things named after Ronald Reagan}} {{See also|List of things named after Ronald Reagan|Cultural depictions of Ronald Reagan}}
In a 1995 poll of 2,307 coin collectors by the Littleton Coin Company, Reagan was ranked as the figure most likely to appear on a future U.S. coin (Reagan appeared on a non-circulating dime in 2006).


===Approval ratings===
On ], ], Washington National Airport was renamed ] by a bill signed into law by President Clinton. Three years later, the ] was christened by the ]. It is one of few ships christened in honor of a living person and the first to be named in honor of a living former President. Many other highways, schools and institutions were also named after Reagan during his post-presidential years.
Similar to previous presidents, Reagan began his presidency with ]s greater than 50 percent,<ref>Nyhan, David (February 15, 1981). . '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref><ref>. '']''. March 20, 1981. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> peaking above 70 percent shortly after ],<ref>. ]. '']''. April 3, 1981. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref><ref>Gallup, George (April 27, 1981). . ]. '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> before declining by the end of his first year.<ref name="g5ugg5">. ]. '']''. March 18, 1983. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> Afterwards, his ratings fluctuated in the mid-30s and mid-40s in his second and third years,<ref name="g5ugg5"/><ref>Gallup, George (October 10, 1982). . ]. '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> which has been attributed to the ].<ref name="g5ugg5"/> His approval ratings rebounded after the ]<ref>Gallup, George (November 20, 1983). . '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref><ref>Butters, Brian (November 10, 1983). . '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref><ref>Gallup, George (November 21, 1983). . ]. '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> and by mid-1984 his approval rating neared 60 percent.<ref>Friedman, Saul (June 10, 1984). . '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> In the first two years of his second term, his approval ratings were consistently above 60 percent<ref>. '']''. September 4, 1986. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> but declined during the Iran–Contra scandal,<ref>Campbell, Don (December 14, 1986). . '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref> before beginning to recover in mid-1987.<ref>Gallup, George Jr. (June 25, 1987). . '']''. Retireved November 25, 2024.</ref> In the ], Reagan finished his presidency with an approval rating of 63 percent, the third highest for a departing president in history, behind only ] and ], both of whom finished at 66 percent.<ref>Gallup, George; Gallup, Alec (January 12, 1989). . '']''. Retrieved November 25, 2024.</ref><ref>Brandus, Paul (January 18, 2017). . '']''. Retrieved November 30, 2024.</ref>
In 2005, Reagan was given two posthumous honors:
*On ], ], along with the editors of '']'', named him the "most fascinating person" of the network's first 25 years.<ref> - ], ], ] ; also - transcript, ], ], ] </ref> '']'' also named Reagan one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/time100/index_2000_time100.html</ref>


In 1990, a year after he left office, a Gallup survey found that 54 percent of Americans said they approved of the overall job Reagan did as president.<ref>. '']''. December 5, 1990. Retrieved December 2, 2024.</ref> The number of Americans who approved of the Reagan administration declined to 48 percent in 1992<ref>Hugick, Larry (August 18, 1992). . '']''. Retrieved December 2, 2024.</ref> but rebounded two years later to 52 percent.<ref>Mercer, Marsha (May 1, 1994). . '']''. Retrieved December 4, 2024.</ref> In recent years, favorability of Reagan's presidency reached its highest ever: 71 percent approval in 2006;<ref name="vr33v55">. ]. '']''. December 30, 2006. Retrieved December 2, 2024.</ref> 74 percent in 2010;<ref>Saad, Lydia (December 6, 2010). . ]. Retrieved December 4, 2024.</ref> 72 percent in 2018;<ref>{{cite news |date =February 15, 2018 |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/226994/obama-first-retrospective-job-approval-rating.aspx |title = Obama's First Retrospective Job Approval Rating Is 63% |work = ] |last = Jones |first = Jeffrey M.| access-date = July 31, 2023 }}</ref> and 69 percent in 2023.<ref name="uiwv3">Jones, Jeffrey M. (July 17, 2023). . '']''. Retrieved December 2, 2024.</ref> He is often found to be second-most popular president since ], with only ] having higher ratings.<ref name="vr33v55"/><ref name="uiwv3"/>
*On ], participating voters selected Reagan as the "]" during a live television special sponsored by ] and broadcast live on the ].


===Historical reputation===
These and other honors were, as one reporter noted, "a final win for the Gipper."
] in ]]]
{{conservatism US|politicians}}


In 2008, British historian M. J. Heale summarized that scholars had reached a broad consensus in which "Reagan rehabilitated conservatism, turned the country to the right, practiced a ']' that balanced ideology with the constraints of government, revived faith in the presidency and American self-respect, and contributed to critically ending the Cold War",{{sfn|Henry|2009|pp=933–934}} which ended with the ] in 1991.{{sfnm|1a1=Cannon|1y=2000|1p=759|2a1=Brands|2y=2015|2p=720}} Many conservative and liberal scholars have agreed that Reagan has been the most influential president since Roosevelt, leaving his imprint on American politics, diplomacy, culture, and economics through his effective communication of his conservative agenda and pragmatic compromising.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://millercenter.org/president/reagan/essays/biography/8|title=American President|access-date=October 7, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011080053/http://millercenter.org/president/reagan/essays/biography/8|archive-date=October 11, 2014}}</ref> During the initial years of Reagan's post-presidency, historical rankings ] in the twenties.{{sfnm|1a1=Patterson|1y=2003|1p=360|2a1=Nichols|2y=2012|2p=282}} Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, his presidency was often placed in the top ten.{{sfnm|1a1=Nichols|1y=2012|1p=284|2a1=Johns|2y=2015|2pp=1–2}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/all-time-best-president-united-states-rankings-235149 |title=Survey: Historians rank Obama 12th best president |last=Lima |first=Cristiano |date=February 17, 2017 |website=] |access-date=February 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210232039/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/all-time-best-president-united-states-rankings-235149 |archive-date=February 10, 2023}}</ref>
In 2002, Congress authorized the creation of ] in ], pending federal purchase of the property.


Many proponents, including his Cold War contemporaries,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/nation-world/2004/06/07/gorbachev-reflects-warmly-on-sincere/50443240007/ |title=Gorbachev reflects warmly on 'sincere' man |date=June 7, 2004 |access-date=December 14, 2022 |work=] |last=Heintz |first=Jim |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214102025/https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/nation-world/2004/06/07/gorbachev-reflects-warmly-on-sincere/50443240007/ |archive-date=December 14, 2022 }}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Kupelian|1y=2010|1p=70|2a1=Fallon|2y=2017|2p=182|3a1=Hampson|3y=2018|3p=230}} believe that his defense policies, economic policies, military policies, and hard-line rhetoric against the Soviet Union and communism, together with his summits with Gorbachev, played a significant part in ending the Cold War.<ref name="American Dreamer">{{Cite news |last1=Meacham |first1=John |last2=Murr |first2=Andrew |last3=Clift |first3=Eleanor |last4=Lipper |first4=Tamara |last5=Breslau |first5=Karen |last6=Ordonez |first6=Jennifer |date=June 14, 2004 |title=American Dreamer |work=Newsweek |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/54017?tid=relatedcl |access-date=June 3, 2008}}</ref><ref name="Knopf" /> Professor Jeffrey Knopf argues that while Reagan's practice of referring to the Soviet Union as "evil" probably made no difference to the Soviet leaders, it possibly gave encouragement to Eastern European citizens who opposed their communist regimes.<ref name="Knopf" /> ] is also regarded as a force behind the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan undermined the Soviet system itself.<ref name="Reagan's role exaggerated">{{cite web|url=http://hnn.us/articles/5569.html|title=Reagan's Role in Ending the Cold War Is Being Exaggerated|date=June 14, 2004|access-date=January 6, 2008|last=Chapman|first=Roger|publisher=George Mason University}}</ref> Nevertheless, ] called Reagan "Gorbachev's minor, yet indispensable partner, setting the framework for the dramatic changes that neither anticipated happening anytime soon".{{sfn|Leffler|2021|p=37}}
In 2004, the ] voted to rename ], which was formerly called the East-West Tollway, in his memory.


Critics, for example Paul Krugman, note Reagan's tenure as having begun a period of increased income inequality, sometimes called the "]". Krugman also views Reagan as having initiated the ideology of the current-day Republican Party, which he feels is led by "radicals" who seek to "undo the twentieth century" gains in income equality and unionization.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Krugman, Paul|title=The Conscience of a Liberal|date=2007|publisher=W.W. Norton & Co.|isbn=978-0-393-33313-8|pages=7–8, 160–163, 264}}</ref> Others, such as Nixon's ] ], also criticize what they feel was not just Reagan's fiscal irresponsibility, but also the ushering in of an era where tax cutting "became the GOP's core platform", with resulting deficits and GOP leaders (speciously in Peterson's opinion) arguing supply-side gains would enable the country to "grow" its way out of deficits.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Peterson, Peter G.|title=Running on Empty|date=2004|publisher=Picador|isbn=0-312-42462-0|pages=6–7, 130–146}}</ref>
In 1999, in San Antonio, Texas, a new high school was named after him, Ronald Reagan High School.


Reagan was known for storytelling and humor,{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=734}} which involved puns{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=97}} and self-deprecation.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=204}} Reagan also often emphasized ], despite being the first president to have been divorced.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Hendrix, Anastasia |date=June 6, 2004 |title=Trouble at home for family values advocate |work=] |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/06/MNG7771M4A1.DTL |access-date=March 4, 2008}}</ref> He showed the ability to comfort Americans during the aftermath of the ].{{sfn|Woodard|2012|p=166}} Reagan's ability to talk about substantive issues with understandable terms and to focus on mainstream American concerns earned him the laudatory moniker the "Great Communicator".{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=751}}{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=734}} He also earned the nickname "Teflon President" in that public perceptions of him were not substantially tarnished by the ].{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=112}}{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=182}}
In 2006, in Doral, Florida, a new high school was named after him. Its full name is Ronald W. Reagan High.


===Political influence===
=== Awards and achievements ===
Reagan led ], altering the political dynamic of the United States.<ref name="legacy-cnn">{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/06/legacy.politics/index.html|title=Reagan cast a wide shadow in politics|author=Loughlin, Sean|date=July 6, 2004|access-date=June 19, 2008|publisher=CNN}}</ref> Conservatism became the dominant ideology for Republicans, displacing the party's faction of liberals and moderates.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Robert C. |date=March 1, 2021 |title=Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, and the Future of the Republican Party and Conservatism in America |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/713662 |journal=American Political Thought |language=en |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=283–289 |doi=10.1086/713662 |s2cid=233401184 |issn=2161-1580}}</ref> Men began voting more Republican, and women began voting more Democrat – a gender distinction that has persisted.<ref name="legacy-cnn"/> He was supported by young voters, an allegiance that shifted many of them to the party.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Dionne, E.J. |date=October 31, 1988 |title=Political Memo; G.O.P. Makes Reagan Lure Of Young a Long-Term Asset |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/31/us/political-memo-gop-makes-reagan-lure-of-young-a-long-term-asset.html |access-date=July 2, 2008}}</ref> He attempted to appeal to Black voters in 1980,<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 6, 1980|title=Reagan talks to 'lukewarm' Urban League in New York|work=]|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Od1JAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yx0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2150%2C4238700|access-date=May 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525135744/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Od1JAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yx0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2150%2C4238700|archive-date=May 25, 2021}}</ref> but would receive the lowest Black vote for a Republican presidential candidate at the time.{{sfn|Shull|1993|p=40}} Throughout Reagan's presidency, Republicans were unable to gain complete control of Congress.{{sfn|Heclo|2008|p=570}}


The period of American history most dominated by Reagan and his policies (particularly on taxes, welfare, defense, the federal judiciary, and the Cold War) is known as the ], which suggests that the "Reagan Revolution" had a lasting impact on the United States in domestic and foreign policy. The ] and ] are often treated as an extension of the era, as is the ].<ref>Jack Godwin, ''Clintonomics: How Bill Clinton Reengineered the Reagan Revolution'' (2009).</ref> Since 1988, ] have invoked ].<ref name="agpi">{{Cite news|newspaper=]|title=Actor, Governor, President, Icon|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18329-2004Jun5.html|date=June 6, 2004|access-date=January 26, 2008|author=Cannon, Lou|page=A01|author-link=Lou Cannon}}</ref>
] awarded to Ronald and Nancy Reagan]]
* Lifetime "Gold" membership in the ]
* ] ].
* In 1989, Reagan received a ] British knighthood, ]. This entitled him to the use of the post-nominal letters GCB but did not entitle him to be known as "Sir Ronald Reagan". He, ], and ] are the only American Presidents to have received the honor.
* ], ] 1989
* Honorary Fellow of ] England
* ], 1993
* On ], ] Nancy Reagan accepted the ], the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, on behalf of the President and herself.


===Coinage=== ==Notes==
{{notelist}}
Reagan is scheduled to be featured on the $1 coin in 2016 during the ]. Congress considered placing Reagan's likeness on a currency; the ] became the most likely proposal, but the ] and ] were also considered. Congressional Republicans also proposed the ], which has the likeness of ], but Nancy Reagan rejected the idea.


==References==
==Reagan documentaries==
===Citations===
* "True Grit", Ronald Reagan (CMT), 2005.
{{reflist|22em}}
* ''Ronald Reagan - An American President'' (The Official Reagan Library Tribute), ] ].
* ''Great Speeches'', ] ].
* ''Stand Up Reagan'', ] ].
* ''NBC News Presents - Ronald Reagan'', ] ].
* ''ABC News Presents Ronald Reagan - An American Legend'', ] ].
* ''Ronald Reagan - His Life and Legacy'', ] ].
* ''Ronald Reagan - His Life and Times'', ] ].
* ''Ronald Reagan - A Legacy Remembered (History Channel)'', 2002.
* ''Ronald Reagan - The Great Communicator'', 2002.
* ''Salute to Reagan - A President's Greatest Moments'', 2001.
* ''American Experience - Reagan'', 1998.
* ''Tribute to Ronald Reagan'', 1996.
* ''The Reagan Legacy'', (Discovery Channel) 1996.
* ''In the Face of Evil: Reagan’s War in Word and Deed'', 2004.


===Works cited===
==Ronald Reagan as played by other actors==
{{further|Bibliography of Ronald Reagan}}
Among the actors who have portrayed him are:
* ] in the ] '']'' (2003) with ] as Nancy
* ] in The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001) with ] as Nancy
* ] has appeared several times as Reagan including ]'s ''Without Warning: The James Brady Story'' with ] as ]; and also in ''Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North''.
* ] on ''The Tonight Show''
* Both ] and ] on '']''
* ] on numerous television appearances
* John Roarke on the sketch comedy series ''Fridays'' and on a Christmas episode of ] as one of the Banks' neighbors.
* ] on ]


====Books====
==Facts and Trivia==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Though there was an attempt made on his life (in March 1981), Reagan became the first President since 1840 to "break" the so-called ].
* {{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Michelle |author-link=Michelle Alexander |year=2010 |title=The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness |title-link=The New Jim Crow |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-59558-103-7}}
* Reagan was the oldest man ever elected president at 69 years of age in 1980 and again at 73 years of age in 1984. He broke the record set in 1840 by ] who was elected at 67 years of age and inaugurated at 68 years of age.
* {{cite book |last=Amaker |first=Norman C. |year=1988 |title=Civil Rights and the Reagan Administration |url=https://archive.org/details/civilrightsreag00amak |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-87766-452-9}}
* Reagan also was the oldest president to serve at 77, surpassing ], who was 70 when he left office in 1961.
* {{cite book |last=Anderson |first=Martin |author-link=Martin Anderson (economist) |year=1990 |title=Revolution: The Reagan Legacy |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8179-8992-7}}
* Reagan also had lived the longest of any former president until ] ], when he was surpassed by Gerald Ford. In 2001, Reagan had broken the previous record held by ] the second president who died on ] ].
* {{cite book |last=Bartlett |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Bartlett |year=2012 |title=The Benefit and The Burden: Tax Reform-Why We Need It and What It Will Take |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMco5vGOaiIC |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4516-4619-1}}
* Reagan was the first film or television actor to become U.S. president. As a card-carrying member of the ], Reagan also has the distinction of being the only ] member ever elected president.
* {{Cite book |last=Bergen |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pqjBaKpgSEQC |title=Holy War Inc |publisher=Free Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780743234955 |author-link=Peter Bergen}}
* Reagan was the first president to be divorced.
* {{cite book |last=Boller |first=Paul |year=2004 |title=Presidential Campaigns: From George Washington to George W. Bush |url=https://archive.org/details/presidentialcamp0000boll_a3l8 |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-516716-0}}
* Reagan was the 40th president to serve, but in birth order was the 35th, born in 1911. ], born in 1908, was the 34th in birth order. Richard Nixon, born in 1913, was the 36th president in birth order, the 37th to serve and the 36th to die.
* {{cite book |last=Brands |first=H. W. |author-link=H. W. Brands |year=2015 |title=Reagan: The Life |url=https://archive.org/details/reaganlife0000bran |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-385-53639-4}}
* Reagan was also older than the previous three former presidents (Nixon, Ford, and Carter) and one additional late president, ].
* {{cite book |last=Cannadine |first=David |author-link=David Cannadine |title=Margaret Thatcher: A Life and Legacy |year=2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_u4DQAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-879500-1}}
* Reagan was ], although he was usually shown writing with his right hand. When throwing out the ceremonial first ball before baseball games, he threw with his right arm, like he did in the baseball film The Winning Team.
* {{cite book |last=Cannon |first=Lou |author-link=Lou Cannon |orig-year=1991 |year=2000 |title=President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime |url=https://archive.org/details/presidentreagan000cann |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-891620-91-1}}
* For a 1964 film, '']'', Reagan was rejected for a part due to "not having the presidential look."
* {{cite book |last=Cannon |first=Lou |author-link=Lou Cannon |author-mask=2 |year=2001 |title=Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio: A History Illustrated from the Collection of the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum |url=https://archive.org/details/ronaldreaganpres00cann |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-891620-84-3}}
* Reagan was 6 feet 1 inch (185.5 cm) tall.
* {{cite book |last=Cannon |first=Lou |author-link=Lou Cannon |author-mask=2 |year=2003 |title=Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power |url=https://archive.org/details/governorreaganhi0000cann |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-58648-030-1}}
* Ronald Reagan was twice chosen by '']'' as the ]: in 1980 (after first winning the Presidency) and in 1983 (together with then ] leader ]).
* {{cite book |last=Carter |first=Gregg |author-link=Gregg Lee Carter |year=2002 |title=Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law, Volume 1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H_RrLyV9rDUC |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-57607-268-4}}
* In ], Reagan was ranked the 15th most admired person in the ].
* {{cite book |last=Crespino |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Crespino |year=2021 |title=In Search of Another Country: Mississippi and the Conservative Counterrevolution |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kB8sEAAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-691-14094-0}}
* He had a well-known love of ]; the Jelly Belly blueberry flavor was launched in his honor, and a mosaic portrait made of the candies hangs in the Reagan Presidential library
* {{cite book |last=Dick |first=Bernard F. |year=2014 |title=The President's Ladies: Jane Wyman and Nancy Davis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R_gaBwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-61703-980-5}}
* Reagan was the first United States president to die in the ].
* {{cite book |last=Eliot |first=Marc |year=2008 |title=Reagan: The Hollywood Years |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qa_G6kF39_MC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-307-40512-8}}
* Ronald Reagan has a star on the ], located at 6374 Hollywood Boulevard.
* {{cite book |last=Evans |first=Thomas W. |year=2006 |title=The Education of Ronald Reagan: The General Electric Years and the Untold Story of His Conversion to Conservatism |url=https://archive.org/details/educationofronal00evan |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-231-13860-4}}
* Reagan once broke his hip-bone sliding into first base during a charity baseball game.
* {{cite book |last=Fallon |first=Janet L. |year=2017 |title=A Communication Perspective on Margaret Thatcher: Stateswoman of the Twentieth Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pFM3DwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4985-4738-3}}
* Reagan had a jelly bean jar holder installed on ].
* {{cite book |last=Fialka |first=John J. |year=1999 |title=War by Other Means: Economic Espionage in America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9-mBa7gclr8C |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-393-04014-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Fischer |first=Beth A. |year=2019 |title=The Myth of Triumphalism: Rethinking President Reagan's Cold War Legacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q5K3DwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8131-7819-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Freie |first=John F. |year=2015 |title=Making of the Postmodern Presidency: From Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama |url=https://archive.org/details/makingofpostmode0000frei |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-59451-782-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Friedrich |first=Otto |author-link=Otto Friedrich |orig-year=1986 |year=1997 |title=City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0x8AFchW4JsC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-520-20949-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Gerstle |first=Gary |author-link=Gary Gerstle |year=2022 |title=The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3PJbEAAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-751964-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Gould |first=Lewis L. |author-link=Lewis L. Gould |year=2010 |title=1968: The Election That Changed America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yPdDZsjjJ4C |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-56663-862-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Graebner |first1=Norman |last2=Burns |first2=Richard |last3=Siracusa |first3=Joseph |year=2008 |title=Reagan, Bush, Gorbachev: Revisiting the End of the Cold War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r71u_AgE7iYC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-313-35241-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Hampson |first=Fen Osler |author-link=Fen Osler Hampson |year=2018 |title=Master of Persuasion: Brian Mulroney's Global Legacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HIFXDwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7710-3907-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Haney López |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Haney López |year=2014 |title=Dog Whistle Politics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20QSDAAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-996427-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Herring |first=George C. |author-link=George C. Herring |year=2008 |title=From Colony to Superpower; U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-507822-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Holmes |first=Alison R. |year=2020 |title=Multi-Layered Diplomacy in a Global State: The International Relations of California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nx8MEAAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-3-030-54131-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Karaagac |first=John |year=2002 |title=Between Promise and Policy: Ronald Reagan and Conservative Reformism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZFhGnjKqjgAC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7391-0094-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Kengor |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Kengor |year=2004 |title=God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060571412 |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-06-057141-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Kengor |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Kengor |author-mask=2 |year=2006 |title=The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism |url=https://archive.org/details/crusaderronaldre00keng |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-06-113690-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Keyssar |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Keyssar |year=2009 |title=The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UijIgQP0xF8C |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-465-00502-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Kupelian |first=David |year=2010 |title=How Evil Works: Understanding and Overcoming the Destructive Forces That Are Transforming America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPeogcSyymsC |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4391-6819-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Koop |first=C. Everett |author-link=C. Everett Koop |year=1991 |title=Koop: The Memoirs of America's Family Doctor |url=https://archive.org/details/koopmemoirsofame00koop |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-394-57626-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Landesman |first=Fred |year=2015 |title=The John Wayne Filmography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yw9eCgAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7864-3252-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Lettow |first=Paul |year=2006 |title=Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=36pYekyje-kC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8129-7326-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Leuchtenburg |first=William |author-link=William Leuchtenburg |year=2015 |title=The American President: From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton |url=https://archive.org/details/americanpresiden0000leuc |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-517616-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Metzger |first=Robert |year=1989 |title=Reagan: American Icon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xt-2i31DRvEC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8122-1302-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Oliver |first1=Willard |last2=Marion |first2=Nancy |year=2010 |title=Killing the President: Assassinations, Attempts, and Rumored Attempts on U.S. Commanders-in-chief |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FNbn8PLx5qAC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-313-36474-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Patterson |first=James T. |author-link=James T. Patterson (historian) |year=2005 |title=Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush V. Gore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=03s7DwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-19-512216-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Pemberton |first=William |year=1998 |orig-year=1997 |title=Exit With Honor: The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan |url=https://archive.org/details/exitwithhonorlif00pemb |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7656-0096-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Reagan |first=Ronald |year=1990 |orig-year=1989 |title=Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches |url=https://archive.org/details/speakingmymindse0000reag |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-09-174426-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Reagan |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Reagan |editor-last=Denney |editor-first=Jim |year=2011 |title=The New Reagan Revolution: How Ronald Reagan's Principles Can Restore America's Greatness |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kHnEMC2_KoIC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-312-64454-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Rossinow |first=Doug |year=2015 |title=The Reagan Era: A History of the 1980s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=57NqDQAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-231-16989-9 |id={{EBSCOhost|944993}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Shilts |first=Randy |author-link=Randy Shilts |orig-year=1987 |year=2000 |title=And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic |title-link=And the Band Played On |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-312-24135-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Shull |first=Steven |year=1993 |title=A Kinder, Gentler Racism?: The Reagan-Bush Civil Rights Legacy |url=https://archive.org/details/kindergentlerrac0000shul |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-56324-240-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Skidmore |first=Max |year=2008 |title=Securing America's Future: A Bold Plan to Preserve and Expand Social Security |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWcrdduPXCAC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7425-6243-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Søndergaard |first=Rasmus |year=2020 |title=Reagan, Congress, and Human Rights: Contesting Morality in US Foreign Policy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XzUDwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-108-49563-9}}
* {{cite book |last=Spitz |first=Bob |author-link=Bob Spitz |year=2018 |title=Reagan: An American Journey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7hMDwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-59420-531-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Steuerle |first=C. Eugene |year=1992 |title=The Tax Decade: How Taxes Came to Dominate the Public Agenda |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxMl-rQNkosC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-87766-523-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Thomson |first=Alex |year=2008 |title=U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Apartheid South Africa, 1948–1994: Conflict of Interests |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9780230617285 |publisher=] |doi=10.1057/9780230617285 |isbn=978-0-230-61728-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Vaughn |first=Stephen |year=1994 |title=Ronald Reagan in Hollywood: Movies and Politics |url=https://archive.org/details/ronaldreaganinho0000vaug |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-521-44080-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Wawro |first=Geoffrey |author-link=Geoffrey Wawro |year=2010 |title=Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiS9UVotQfUC |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-101-19768-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Weisberg |first=Jacob |author-link=Jacob Weisberg |year=2016 |title=Ronald Reagan: The American Presidents Series: The 40th President, 1981–1989 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S33lCQAAQBAJ |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8050-9727-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Witcover |first=Jules |author-link=Jules Witcover |year=1977 |title=Marathon: The Pursuit of the Presidency, 1972-1976 |url=https://archive.org/details/marathonpursuit000witc |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-670-45461-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Woodard |first=J. David |year=2012 |title=Ronald Reagan: A Biography |url=https://archive.org/details/ronaldreaganbiog0000wood |url-access=registration |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-313-39638-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Yager |first=Edward |year=2006 |title=Ronald Reagan's Journey: Democrat to Republican |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U2cs7IHERBwC |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7425-4421-5}}
{{refend}}


==See also== ====Chapters====
{{Ronald Reagan}} {{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=W. Lance |last2=Livingston |first2=Steven |editor-last1=Bennett |editor-first1=W. Lance |editor-last2=Livingston |editor-first2=Steven |year=2021 |chapter=Defending Democracy in the Disinformation Age |title=The Disinformation Age: Politics, Technology, and Disruptive Communication in the United States |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/disinformation-age/1F4751119C7C4693E514C249E0F0F997 |publisher=] |pages=261–294 |isbn=978-1-108-91462-8}}
* ]
* {{cite book |last=Mayer |first=Jeremy D. |editor-last1=Longley |editor-first1=Kyle |editor-last2=Mayer |editor-first2=Jeremy |editor-last3=Schaller |editor-first3=Michael |editor-last4=Sloan |editor-first4=John |year=2015 |chapter=Reagan and Race: Prophet of Color Blindness, Baiter of the Backlash |title=Deconstructing Reagan: Conservative Mythology And America's Fortieth President |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHJsBgAAQBAJ |publisher=] |pages=70–89 |isbn=978-0-7656-1590-9}}
* ]
* {{cite book |last=Johns |first=Andrew L. |editor-last=Johns |editor-first=Andrew L. |year=2015 |chapter=Ronald Reagan in Historical Perspective |title=A Companion to Ronald Reagan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aaueBgAAQBAJ |publisher=] |pages=1–6 |isbn=978-0-470-65504-7}}
* ]
* {{cite book |last=Lawrence |first=Mark Atwood |editor-last1=Hunt |editor-first1=Jonathan R. |editor-last2=Miles |editor-first2=Simon |year=2021 |chapter=Rhetoric and Restraint: Ronald Reagan and the Vietnam Syndrome |title=The Reagan Moment: America and the World in the 1980s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9xkaEAAAQBAJ |publisher=] |pages=165–187 |isbn=978-1-5017-6071-6}}
* ]
* {{cite book |last=Leffler |first=Melvyn P. |author-link=Melvyn P. Leffler |editor-last1=Hunt |editor-first1=Jonathan R. |editor-last2=Miles |editor-first2=Simon |year=2021 |chapter=Ronald Reagan and the Cold War |title=The Reagan Moment: America and the World in the 1980s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9xkaEAAAQBAJ |publisher=] |pages=25–42 |isbn=978-1-5017-6071-6}}
*
* {{cite book |last=Mullen |first=Lawrence J. |editor-last=Murray |editor-first=Michael D. |year=1999 |chapter=Ronald Reagan |title=Encyclopedia of Television News |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J3fhcUnCC1AC |publisher=Oryx Press |isbn=978-1-57356-108-2}}
* ]
* {{cite book |last=Patterson |first=James T. |author-link=James T. Patterson (historian) |editor-last1=Brownlee |editor-first1=W. Elliot |editor-last2=Graham |editor-first2=Hugh |editor-link2=Hugh Davis Graham |chapter=Afterword: Legacies of the Reagan Years |title=The Reagan Presidency: Pragmatic Conservatism and Its Legacies |year=2003 |url=https://archive.org/details/reaganpresidency0000unse |url-access=registration |publisher=] |pages=355–375 |isbn=978-0-7006-1268-0}}
* ]
* {{cite book |last=Roy |first=Ravi K. |editor-last1=Anheier |editor-first1=Helmut |editor-link1=Helmut Anheier |editor-last2=Juergensmeyer |editor-link2=Mark Juergensmeyer |editor-first2=Mark |year=2012 |chapter=Capitalism |title=Encyclopedia of Global Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJB2AwAAQBAJ |publisher=] |pages=153–158 |isbn=978-1-4129-9422-4}}
* ]
* {{cite book |last=Schuparra |first=Kurt |editor-last=Johns |editor-first=Andrew L. |year=2015 |chapter=Reagan's Gubernatorial Years |title=A Companion to Ronald Reagan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aaueBgAAQBAJ |publisher=] |pages=40–53 |isbn=978-0-470-65504-7}}
* ]
{{refend}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] The Briggs Initiative and Ronald Reagan's Legacy


====Journal articles====
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin|30em}}
<div class="references-small">
* {{Cite journal|last=Birkner|first=Michael J.|date=1987|title=The Defining Moment: The 1980 Nashua Debate|url=https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1013&context=histfac|journal=]|access-date=May 22, 2021|archive-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522134605/https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&httpsredir=1&article=1013&context=histfac|url-status=live}}
===Biographies===
* {{cite journal |last=Boris |first=Eileen |year=2007 |title=On Cowboys and Welfare Queens: Independence, Dependence, and Interdependence at Home and Abroad |journal=Journal of American Studies |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=599–621 |doi=10.1017/S002187580700401X |jstor=27558050 |s2cid=145653386}}
* Cannon, Lou. ''President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime '' Public Affairs. ISBN (2nd ed 2000) detailed biography
* {{cite journal |last=Clabaugh |first=Gary |year=2004 |title=The Educational Legacy of Ronald Reagan |journal=Educational Horizons |volume=82 |issue=4 |pages=256–259 |jstor=42926508}}
* Cannon, Lou. ''Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power'' Public Affairs. ISBN, detailed biography
* {{cite journal |last=DeGrasse |first=Robert W. Jr. |title=Military Spending and Jobs |year=1983 |journal=Challenge |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=4–15 |doi=10.1080/05775132.1983.11470849 |jstor=40720151}}
*Evans, Thomas W. ''The Education of Ronald Reagan: The General Electric Years'' (2006)
* {{cite journal |last=Francis |first=Donald |author-link=Don Francis |year=2012 |title=Commentary: Deadly AIDS policy failure by the highest levels of the US government: A personal look back 30 years later for lessons to respond better to future epidemics |journal=] |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=290–300 |doi=10.1057/jphp.2012.14 |issn=1745-655X |jstor=23253449 |pmid=22895498 |s2cid=205127920|doi-access=free }}
* Pemberton, William E. ''Exit with Honor: The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan'' (1998) biography by historian
* {{cite journal |last=Garrow |first=David |author-link=David Garrow |year=2007 |title=Review: Picking up the Books: The New Historiography of the Black Panther Party |journal=] |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=650–670 |doi=10.1353/rah.2007.0068 |jstor=30031608 |s2cid=145069539}}
* Reeves, Richard. ''President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination'' (2005) detailed analysis by historian
* {{cite journal |last=Gellin |first=Bruce |year=1992 |title=The Stalled Response to AIDS |journal=] |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=24–28 |jstor=43311244 |pmid=10122433}}
*Thomas, Tony. ''The Films of Ronald Reagan'' (1980)
* {{cite journal |last=Graetz |first=Michael |year=2012 |title=Energy Policy: Past or Prologue? |journal=] |volume=141 |issue=2 |pages=31–44 |doi=10.1162/DAED_a_00144 |jstor=23240277 |s2cid=57569482|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hayes |first1=Matthew |last2=Fortunato |first2=David |last3=Hibbing |first3=Matthew |year=2020 |title=Race–gender bias in white Americans' preferences for gun availability |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-public-policy/article/racegender-bias-in-white-americans-preferences-forgun-availability/910B9B7DB07E538D588B956619C9F2DE |journal=] |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=818–834 |doi=10.1017/S0143814X20000288 |s2cid=234615039}}
* {{cite journal |last=Heclo |first=Hugh |author-link=Hugh Heclo |year=2008 |title=The Mixed Legacies of Ronald Reagan |journal=] |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=555–574 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2008.02664.x |jstor=41219701}}
* {{cite journal |last=Henry |first=David |year=2009 |title=Ronald Reagan and the 1980s: Perceptions, Policies, Legacies by Cheryl Hudson, Gareth Davies |journal=] |volume=96 |issue=3 |pages=933–934 |doi=10.1093/jahist/96.3.933 |jstor=25622627}}
* {{cite journal |last=Kanet |first=Roger E. |author-link=Roger Kanet |year=2006 |title=The Superpower Quest for Empire: The Cold War and Soviet Support for 'Wars of National Liberation' |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14682740600795469 |journal=] |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=331–352 |doi=10.1080/14682740600795469 |s2cid=154531753}}
* {{cite journal |last=Kazanjian |first=Powel |year=2014 |title=The AIDS Pandemic in Historic Perspective |journal=] |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=351–382 |doi=10.1093/jhmas/jrs061 |jstor=24631705 |pmid=23090980}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Young Soo |last2=Shin |first2=Joongbum |year=2017 |title=Variance in Global Response to HIV/AIDS between the United States and Japan: Perception, Media, and Civil Society |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/japanese-journal-of-political-science/article/abs/variance-in-global-response-to-hivaids-between-the-united-states-and-japan-perception-media-and-civil-society/D76F94F2AA901F3F66FEEE6E0A0BCB5D |journal=Japanese Journal of Political Science |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=514–535 |doi=10.1017/S1468109917000159 |s2cid=158468369}}
* {{cite journal |last=Li |first=Jinhua |year=2013 |title=Analysis of the High Unemployment Rate in the USA |journal=World Review of Political Economy |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=218–229 |doi=10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.4.2.0218 |jstor=10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.4.2.0218|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite journal |last=Lucas |first=Richert |year=2009 |title=Reagan, Regulation, and the FDA: The US Food and Drug Administration's Response to HIV/AIDS, 1980-90 |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/194343072 |journal=] |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=467–487|doi=10.3138/cjh.44.3.467 |id={{ProQuest|194343072}}}}
* {{cite journal |last=Nichols |first=Curt |year=2012 |title=The Presidential Ranking Game: Critical Review and Some New Discoveries |journal=] |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=275–299 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2012.03966.x |jstor=41427390}}
* {{cite journal |last=Onge |first=Jeffrey |year=2017 |title=Operation Coffeecup: Ronald Reagan, Rugged Individualism, and the Debate over "Socialized Medicine" |journal=Rhetoric and Public Affairs |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=223–252 |doi=10.14321/rhetpublaffa.20.2.0223 |jstor=10.14321/rhetpublaffa.20.2.0223 |s2cid=149379808}}
* {{cite journal |last=Pach |first=Chester |year=2006 |title=The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy |journal=] |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=75–88 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00288.x |jstor=27552748}}
* {{cite journal |last=Primuth |first=Richard |year=2016 |title=Ronald Reagan's Use of Race in the 1976 and 1980 Presidential Elections |journal=] |volume=100 |issue=1 |pages=36–66 |jstor=43855884}}
* {{cite journal |last=Putnam |first=Jackson |year=2006 |title=Governor Reagan: A Reappraisal |journal=California History |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=24–45 |doi=10.2307/25161839 |jstor=25161839}}
* {{cite journal |last=Reimler |first=John |year=1999 |title=The Rebirth of Racism in Education: The Real Legacy of the Reagan Revolution |journal=Journal of Thought |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=31–40 |jstor=42589574}}
* {{cite journal |last=Sinai |first=Allen |author-link=Allen Sinai |year=1992 |title=Financial and Real Business Cycles |journal=] |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=1–54 |jstor=40325363}}
* {{cite journal |last=Sirin |first=Cigdem |year=2011 |title=From Nixon's War on Drugs to Obama's Drug Policies Today: Presidential Progress in Addressing Racial Injustices and Disparities |journal=Race, Gender & Class |volume=18 |issue=3/4 |pages=82–99 |jstor=43496834}}
* {{cite journal |last=Vaughn |first=Stephen |year=1995 |title=The Moral Inheritance of a President: Reagan and the Dixon Disciples of Christ |journal=] |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=109–127 |jstor=27551378}}
{{refend}}


===Domestic issues === ==External links==
{{Sister project links |wikt=Reagan |b=yes |n=yes |s=Author:Ronald Reagan |v=no}}
* Berman, Larry, ed. ''Looking Back on the Reagan Presidency'' (1990), essays by academics
* Brownlee, W. Elliot and Hugh Davis Graham, eds. ''The Reagan Presidency: Pragmatic Conservatism and Its Legacies'' (2003)
* Campagna; Anthony S. ''The Economy in the Reagan Years: The Economic Consequences of the Reagan Administrations'' Greenwood Press. 1994
* Cannon, Lou. ''Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio''. Public Affairs. ISBN
* Collins, Chuck, Felice Yeskel, and United for a Fair Economy. "Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity." (2000). on tax policies.
* Cook, Daniel M. and Polsky, Andrew J. "Political Time Reconsidered: Unbuilding and Rebuilding the State under the Reagan Administration." ''American Politics Research''(4): 577-605. ISSN 1532-673X Fulltext in SwetsWise. Argues Reagan slowed enforcement of pollution laws and transformed the national education agenda.
* Dallek, Matthew. ''The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics.'' (2004). Study of 1966 election as governor.
* Denton Jr., Robert E. ''Primetime Presidency of Ronald eagan: The Era of the Television Presidency'' (1988)
* Ehrman, John. ''The Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan.'' (2005)
* Ferguson Thomas, and Joel Rogers, ''Right Turn: The Decline of the Democrats and the Future of American Politics'' 1986.
* Germond, Jack W. and Jules Witcover. ''Blue Smoke & Mirrors: How Reagan Won & Why Carter Lost the Election of 1980''. 1981. Detailed journalism.
* Greenstein Fred I. ed. ''The Reagan Presidency: An Early Assessment'' 1983 by political scientists
* Greffenius, Steven. ''The Last Jeffersonian: Ronald Reagan's Dreams of America''. June, July, & August Books. 2002.
* Hertsgaard Mark. ''On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency'' 1988. criticizes the press
* Haynes Johnson. ''Sleepwalking through History: America in the Reagan Years'' (1991)
* Houck, Davis, and Amos Kiewe, eds. ''Actor, Ideologue, Politician: The Public Speeches of Ronald Reagan'' (Greenwood Press, 1993)
* Lewis, William F. "Telling America's Story: Narrative Form and the Reagan Presidency", ''Quarterly Journal of Speech''): 280–302
* Jones, Charles O. ed. ''The Reagan Legacy: Promise and Performance'' (1988) essays by political scientists
* Jones, John M. "'Until Next Week': The Saturday Radio Addresses of Ronald Reagan" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly.'' Volume: 32. Issue: 1. 2002. pp 84+.
* Kengor, Paul. ''God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life'' Regan Books, 2004. ISBN.
* Levy, Peter B. ''Encyclopedia of the Reagan-Bush Years'' (1996), short articles
* Meyer, John C. "Ronald Reagan and Humor: A Politician's Velvet Weapon", ''Communication Studies''): 76–88.
* Muir, William Ker. ''The Bully Pulpit: The Presidential Leadership of Ronald Reagan'' (1992), examines his speeches
* Patterson, James T. ''Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore.'' (2005), standard scholarly synthesis.
* Salamon Lester M., and Michael S. Lund. eds. ''The Reagan Presidency and the Governing of America'' 1985. articles by political scientists
* Salla; Michael E. and Ralph Summy, eds. ''Why the Cold War Ended: A Range of Interpretations'' Greenwood Press. 1995.
* Schmertz, Eric J. et al eds. ''Ronald Reagan's America'' 2 Volumes (1997) articles by scholars and officeholders
* Schmertz, Eric J. et al eds. ''Ronald Reagan and the World'' (1997) articles by scholars and officeholders
* ]. ''Reagan's War: The Epic Story of His Forty Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism'' (2002)
* Shogan, Colleen J. "Coolidge and Reagan: The Rhetorical Influence of Silent Cal on the Great Communicator", ''Rhetoric & Public Affairs'' 9.2 online at Project Muse; argues that Coolidge and Reagan shared a common ideological message, which served as the basis for modern conservatism. Even without engaging in explicitly partisan rhetoric, Reagan's principled speech served an important party-building function.
*Strock, James M. ''Reagan on Leadership: Executive Lessons from the Great Communicator'' (2001) Study of Reagan's Leadership Approach.
* Troy, Gill. ''Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s'' (2004). Study of Reagan's image.
* Wills, Garry. ''Reagan's America: Innocents at Home''. (1987)
* Weatherford, M. Stephen and Mcdonnell, Lorraine M. "Ronald Reagan as Legislative Advocate: Passing the Reagan Revolution's Budgets in 1981 and 1982." ''Congress & the Presidency''(1): 1-29. Fulltext in Ebsco; Argues RR ignored the details but played a guiding role in setting major policies and adjudicating significant trade-offs, and in securing Congressional approval.


===Foreign affairs=== ===Official sites===
*
* Arnson, Cynthia J. ''Crossroads: Congress, the Reagan Administration, and Central America'' Pantheon, 1989.
* on ]
* Busch, Andrew E.; "Ronald Reagan and the Defeat of the Soviet Empire" in ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''. Vol: 27. Issue: 3. 1997. pp 451+.
* in the Governors' Gallery of the ]
* Dobson, Alan P. "The Reagan Administration, Economic Warfare, and Starting to Close down the Cold War." ''Diplomatic History''(3): 531-556. Fulltext in SwetsWise, Ingenta and Ebsco. Argues Reagan's public rhetoric against the USSR was harsh and uncompromising, giving rise to the idea that his administration sought to employ a US defense buildup and NATO economic sanctions to bring about the collapse of the USSR. Yet many statemnents by Reagan and Shultz suggest they desired negotiation with the Soviets from a position of American strength, not the eventual demise of the USSR.
*
* Fitzgerald, Frances. ''Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold War''. political history of S.D.I. (2000). ISBN.
* Ford, Christopher A. and Rosenberg, David A. "The Naval Intelligence Underpinnings of Reagan's Maritime Strategy." ''Journal of Strategic Studies''(2): 379-409. Fulltext in Ingenta and Ebsco; Reagan's maritime strategy sought to apply US naval might against Soviet vulnerabilities on its maritime flanks. It was supported by a major buildup of US naval forces and aggressive exercising in seas proximate to the USSR; it explicitly targeted Moscow's strategic missile submarines with the aim of pressuring the Kremlin during crises or the early phases of global war. The maritime strategy represents one of the rare instances in history when intelligence helped lead a nation to completely revise its concept of military operations.
* Haftendorn, Helga and Jakob Schissler, eds. ''The Reagan Administration: A Reconstruction of American Strength?'' Berlin: Walter de Guyer, 1988. by European scholars
* ''Strategic Insights'', Volume III, Issue 8 (August 2004)
* Kyvig, David. ed. ''Reagan and the World'' (1990), scholarly essays on foreign policy
* Pach, Chester. "The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''(1): 75-88. Fulltext in SwetsWise and Ingenta; Reagan declared in 1985 that the U.S. should not "break faith" with anti-Communist resistance groups. However, his policies varied as differences in local conditions and US security interests produced divergent policies toward "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Angola, and Cambodia.
* ]. ''Victory: The Reagan Administration's Secret Strategy That Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union'', 1994
* Wills, David C. ''The First War on Terrorism: Counter-Terrorism Policy during the Reagan Administration.'' 2004.
</div>


===Primary sources=== ===Media===
* {{C-SPAN|337}}
<div class="references-small">
** , from '']'', December 6, 1999
* FitzWater, Marlin . ''Call the Briefing! Bush and Reagan, Sam and Helen, a Decade with Presidents and the Press''. 1995. Memoir by press spokesman.
* at ]
* ]. '']'' 2000. Reagan's authorized biographer.
* at ]
* ] and Mickey Herskowitz. ''Behind the Scenes''. 1987. Memoir by a top aide.
* {{YouTube|c=UCMP5_7v48WfDKfoirLCcNgQ|title=Reagan Library}}
* Reagan, Ronald. ''An American Life: The Autobiography'' (1990)
* Reagan, Ronald. ''Reagan, In His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan That Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America'' (2001)
* Stahl, Lesley. "Reporting Live" (1999) memoir by TV news reporter
* Noonan, Peggy. ''When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan'' (2001) Biography by former Reagan speech writer
</div>


=== References === ===News coverage===
* {{New York Times topic|new_id=person/ronald-reagan}}
{{reflist}}
* from '']''
<div class="references-small">
* at ]
* 1980s Media Policies and PR:http://wethemedia.edublogs.org/1980s-wars-white-house-and-media-mergers/
* {{Guardian topic|world/ronald-reagan|Ronald Reagan}}
</div>


==External links== ===Other===
* {{IMDb name}}
{{sisterlinks|Ronald Reagan}}
* {{Tcmdb name|158794%7C134853|Ronald Reagan}}
*
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Ronald Wilson Reagan}}
* at ]


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Latest revision as of 00:48, 23 December 2024

President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 "Reagan" redirects here. For other uses, see Ronald Reagan (disambiguation) and Reagan (disambiguation).

Ronald Reagan
White House portrait of Reagan smiling in front of the U.S. and U.S. president flags, wearing a dark blue suit jacket with a white shirt and burgundy necktie.Official portrait, 1981
40th President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byJimmy Carter
Succeeded byGeorge H. W. Bush
33rd Governor of California
In office
January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975
Lieutenant
Preceded byPat Brown
Succeeded byJerry Brown
President of the Screen Actors Guild
In office
November 16, 1959 – June 7, 1960
Preceded byHoward Keel
Succeeded byGeorge Chandler
In office
March 10, 1947 – November 10, 1952
Preceded byRobert Montgomery
Succeeded byWalter Pidgeon
Personal details
BornRonald Wilson Reagan
(1911-02-06)February 6, 1911
Tampico, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 5, 2004(2004-06-05) (aged 93)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeRonald Reagan Presidential Library
Political partyRepublican (from 1962)
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (until 1962)
Spouses
Jane Wyman ​ ​(m. 1940; div. 1949)
Nancy Davis ​(m. 1952)
Children5, including Maureen, Michael, Patti, and Ron
Parents
RelativesNeil Reagan (brother)
EducationEureka College (BA)
OccupationSoldier (1937–1945)
Actor (1937–1966)
Politician (1966–1989)
Sports broadcaster
Union leader
AwardsFull list
SignatureCursive signature in ink
Military service
Service
Years of service
RankCaptain
Unit
WarsWorld War II
Ronald Reagan's voice Reagan addressing the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Recorded January 28, 1986
Other offices

Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. A member of the Republican Party, he became an important figure in the American conservative movement. His presidency is known as the Reagan era.

Born in Illinois, Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and was hired the next year as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California where he became a well-known film actor. During his acting career, Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild twice, from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 to 1960. In the 1950s, he hosted General Electric Theater and worked as a motivational speaker for General Electric. Reagan's "A Time for Choosing" speech during the 1964 presidential election launched his rise as a leading conservative figure. After being elected governor of California in 1966, he raised state taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus and implemented harsh crackdowns on university protests. Following his loss to Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican Party's nomination and then a landslide victory over President Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election.

In his first term as president, Reagan began implementing "Reaganomics", which involved economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of stagflation. On the world stage, he escalated the arms race, transitioned Cold War policy away from the policies of détente with the Soviet Union, and ordered the 1983 invasion of Grenada. He also survived an assassination attempt, fought public-sector labor unions, expanded the war on drugs, and was slow to respond to the AIDS epidemic. In the 1984 presidential election, he defeated former vice president Walter Mondale in another landslide victory. Foreign affairs dominated Reagan's second term, including the 1986 bombing of Libya, the secret and illegal sale of arms to Iran to fund the Contras, and a more conciliatory approach in talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev culminating in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Reagan left the presidency in 1989 with the American economy having seen a significant reduction of inflation, the unemployment rate having fallen, and the U.S. having entered its then-longest peacetime expansion. At the same time, the national debt had nearly tripled since 1981 as a result of his cuts in taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary spending. Reagan's policies also contributed to the end of the Cold War and the end of Soviet communism. Alzheimer's disease hindered Reagan post-presidency, and his physical and mental capacities gradually deteriorated, leading to his death in 2004. Historical rankings of U.S. presidents have typically placed Reagan in the upper tier, and his post-presidential approval ratings by the general public are usually high.

Early life

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in an apartment in Tampico, Illinois, as the younger son of Nelle Clyde Wilson and Jack Reagan. Nelle was committed to the Disciples of Christ, which believed in the Social Gospel. She led prayer meetings and ran mid-week prayers at her church when the pastor was out of town. Reagan credited her spiritual influence and he became a Christian. According to American political figure Stephen Vaughn, Reagan's values came from his pastor, and the First Christian Church's religious, economic and social positions "coincided with the words, if not the beliefs of the latter-day Reagan". Jack focused on making money to take care of the family, but this was complicated by his alcoholism. Reagan had an older brother, Neil. The family lived in Chicago, Galesburg, and Monmouth before returning to Tampico. In 1920, they settled in Dixon, Illinois, living in a house near the H. C. Pitney Variety Store Building.

Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he developed interests in drama and football. His first job was as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park. In 1928, Reagan began attending Eureka College, which Nelle approved because of its affiliation with the Disciples of Christ. He was a mediocre student who participated in sports, drama, and campus politics. He became student body president and joined a student strike that resulted in the college president's resignation. Reagan was initiated as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and served as president of the local chapter. Reagan played at the guard position for the 1930 and 1931 Eureka Red Devils football teams and recalled a time when two Black teammates were refused service at a segregated hotel; he invited them to his parents' home nearby in Dixon and his parents welcomed them. At the time, his parents' stance on racial questions was unusually progressive in Dixon. Reagan himself had grown up with very few Black Americans and was oblivious to racial discrimination.

Entertainment career

Further information: Ronald Reagan filmography

Radio and film

A frame of Ronald Reagan in the 1939 film Dark VictoryDark Victory (1939)A frame of Reagan in the 1941 film The Bad ManThe Bad Man (1941)

After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in economics and sociology from Eureka College in 1932, Reagan took a job in Davenport, Iowa, as a sports broadcaster for four football games in the Big Ten Conference. He then worked for WHO radio in Des Moines as a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions that the station received by wire as the games were in progress. Simultaneously, he often expressed his opposition to racism. In 1936, while traveling with the Cubs to their spring training in California, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Bros.

Reagan arrived at Hollywood in 1937, debuting in Love Is on the Air (1937). Using a simple and direct approach to acting and following his directors' instructions, Reagan made thirty films, mostly B films, before beginning military service in April 1942. He broke out of these types of films by portraying George Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), which would be rejuvenated when reporters called Reagan "the Gipper" while he campaigned for president. Reagan starred in Kings Row (1942) as a leg amputee; this performance was considered his best by many critics. Reagan became a star, with Gallup polls placing him "in the top 100 stars" from 1941 to 1942.

World War II interrupted the movie stardom that Reagan would never be able to achieve again as Warner Bros. became uncertain about his ability to generate ticket sales. Reagan, who had a limited acting range, was dissatisfied with the roles he received. Lew Wasserman renegotiated his contract with his studio, allowing him to also make films with Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and RKO Pictures as a freelancer. Reagan appeared in multiple western films, something that had been denied to him while working at Warner Bros. In 1952, he ended his relationship with Warner Bros., but went on to appear in a total of 53 films, his last being The Killers (1964).

Military service

Captain Reagan in the Army Air Force working for the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California, between 1943 and 1944
Reagan at Fort Roach, between 1943 and 1944

In April 1937, Reagan enlisted in the United States Army Reserve. He was assigned as a private in Des Moines' 322nd Cavalry Regiment and reassigned to second lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps. He later became a part of the 323rd Cavalry Regiment in California. As relations between the United States and Japan worsened, Reagan was ordered for active duty while he was filming Kings Row. Wasserman and Warner Bros. lawyers successfully sent draft deferments to complete the film in October 1941. However, to avoid accusations of Reagan being a draft dodger, the studio let him go in April 1942.

Reagan reported for duty with severe near-sightedness. His first assignment was at Fort Mason as a liaison officer, a role that allowed him to transfer to the United States Army Air Forces (AAF). Reagan became an AAF public relations officer and was assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit in Culver City where he felt that it was "impossible to remove an incompetent or lazy worker" due to what he felt was "the incompetence, the delays, and inefficiencies" of the federal bureaucracy. Despite this, Reagan participated in the Provisional Task Force Show Unit in Burbank and continued to make theatrical films. He was also ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the sixth War Loan Drive before being reassigned to Fort MacArthur until his discharge on December 9, 1945, as a captain. Throughout his military service, Reagan produced over 400 training films.

Screen Actors Guild presidency

When Robert Montgomery resigned as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) on March 10, 1947, Reagan was elected to that position in a special election. Reagan's first tenure saw various labor–management disputes, the Hollywood blacklist, and the Taft–Hartley Act's implementation. On April 10, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed Reagan and he provided the names of actors whom he believed to be communist sympathizers. During a House Un-American Activities Committee hearing, Reagan testified that some guild members were associated with the Communist Party and that he was well-informed about a "jurisdictional strike". When asked if he was aware of communist efforts within the Screen Writers Guild, he called information about the efforts "hearsay". Reagan resigned as SAG president November 10, 1952, but remained on the board.

The SAG fought with film producers for the right to receive residual payments, and on November 16, 1959, the board elected Reagan SAG president for the second time. Reagan managed to secure payments for actors whose theatrical films had been released between 1948 and 1959 and subsequently televised. The producers were initially required to pay the actors fees, but they ultimately settled instead for providing pensions and paying residuals for films made after 1959. Reagan resigned from the SAG presidency on June 7, 1960, and also left the board.

Marriages and children

Actors Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan at a Los Angeles premiere for the 1942 film Tales of ManhattanReagan and Jane Wyman, 1942The Reagans at The Stork Club in New York City, 1952Ronald and Nancy Reagan, 1952

In January 1940, Reagan married Jane Wyman, his co-star in the 1938 film Brother Rat. Together, they had two biological daughters: Maureen in 1941, and Christine in 1947 (born prematurely and died the following day). They adopted one son, Michael, in 1945. Wyman filed for divorce in June 1948. She was uninterested in politics, and occasionally recriminated, reconciled and separated with him. Although Reagan was unprepared, the divorce was finalized in July 1949. Reagan would remain close to his children. Later that year, Reagan met Nancy Davis after she contacted him in his capacity as the SAG president about her name appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood; she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis. They married in March 1952, and had two children, Patti in October 1952, and Ron in May 1958. Reagan has three grandchildren.

Television

Reagan became the host of MCA Inc. television production General Electric Theater at Wasserman's recommendation. It featured multiple guest stars, and Ronald and Nancy Reagan, continuing to use her stage name Nancy Davis, acted together in three episodes. When asked how Reagan was able to recruit such stars to appear on the show during television's infancy, he replied, "Good stories, top direction, production quality". However, the viewership declined in the 1960s and the show was canceled in 1962. In 1965, Reagan became the host of another MCA production, Death Valley Days.

Early political activities

Reagan speaking for presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in Los Angeles, 1964
Reagan campaigning with Barry Goldwater, 1964

Reagan began his political career as a Democrat, viewing Franklin D. Roosevelt as "a true hero". He joined the American Veterans Committee and Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions (HICCASP), worked with the AFL–CIO to fight right-to-work laws, and continued to speak out against racism when he was in Hollywood. In 1945, Reagan planned to lead an HICCASP anti-nuclear rally, but Warner Bros. prevented him from going. In 1946, he appeared in a radio program called Operation Terror to speak out against rising Ku Klux Klan activity, calling it a "capably organized systematic campaign of fascist violence and intimidation and horror". Reagan supported Harry S. Truman in the 1948 presidential election, and Helen Gahagan Douglas for the U.S. Senate in 1950. It was Reagan's belief that communism was a powerful backstage influence in Hollywood that led him to rally his friends against them.

Reagan began shifting to the right when he supported the presidential campaigns of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and Richard Nixon in 1960. When Reagan was contracted by General Electric (GE), he gave speeches to their employees. His speeches had a positive take on free markets. In 1961, Reagan adapted his speeches into another speech to criticize Medicare. In his view, its legislation would have meant "the end of individual freedom in the United States". In 1962, Reagan was dropped by GE, and he formally registered as a Republican.

In the 1964 U.S. presidential election, Reagan gave a speech for presidential contender Barry Goldwater that was eventually referred to as "A Time for Choosing". Reagan argued that the Founding Fathers "knew that governments don't control things. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose" and that "We've been told increasingly that we must choose between left or right". Even though the speech was not enough to turn around the faltering Goldwater campaign, it increased Reagan's profile among conservatives. David S. Broder and Stephen H. Hess called it "the most successful national political debut since William Jennings Bryan electrified the 1896 Democratic convention with his famous 'Cross of Gold' address".

1966 California gubernatorial election

Further information: 1966 California gubernatorial election
The Reagans celebrating Ronald's victory in the 1966 California gubernatorial election at The Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles
Ronald and Nancy Reagan celebrating his gubernatorial election victory, November 1966

In January 1966, Reagan announced his candidacy for the California governorship, repeating his stances on individual freedom and big government. When he met with black Republicans in March, he was criticized for opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Reagan responded that bigotry was not in his nature and later argued that certain provisions of the act infringed upon the rights of property owners. After the Supreme Court of California ruled that the initiative that repealed the Rumford Act was unconstitutional in May, he voiced his support for the act's repeal, but later preferred amending it. In the Republican primary, Reagan defeated George Christopher, a moderate Republican who William F. Buckley Jr. thought had painted Reagan as extreme.

Reagan's general election opponent, incumbent governor Pat Brown, attempted to label Reagan as an extremist. Reagan portrayed himself as a political outsider, and charged Brown as responsible for the Watts riots and lenient on crime. In numerous speeches, Reagan "hit the Brown administration about high taxes, uncontrolled spending, the radicals at the University of California, Berkeley, and the need for accountability in government". Meanwhile, many in the press perceived Reagan as "monumentally ignorant of state issues", though Lou Cannon said that Reagan benefited from an appearance he and Brown made on Meet the Press in September. Reagan won the governorship with 57 percent of the vote compared to Brown's 42 percent.

California governorship (1967–1975)

Main article: Governorship of Ronald Reagan
The Reagans at an airport, 1972
The Reagans in 1972

Brown had spent much of California's funds on new programs, prompting them to use accrual accounting to avoid raising taxes. Consequently, it generated a larger deficit, and Reagan called for reduced government spending and tax hikes to balance the budget. He worked with Jesse M. Unruh on securing tax increases and promising future property tax cuts. This caused some conservatives to accuse Reagan of betraying his principles. As a result, taxes on sales, banks, corporate profits, inheritances, liquor, and cigarettes jumped. Kevin Starr states Reagan "gave Californians the biggest tax hike in their history—and got away with it". In the 1970 gubernatorial election, Unruh used Reagan's tax policy against him, saying it disproportionally favored the wealthy. Reagan countered that he was still committed to reducing property taxes. By 1973, the budget had a surplus, which Reagan preferred "to give back to the people".

In 1967, Reagan reacted to the Black Panther Party's strategy of copwatching by signing the Mulford Act to prohibit the public carrying of firearms. The act was California's most restrictive piece of gun control legislation, with critics saying that it was "overreacting to the political activism of organizations such as the Black Panthers". The act marked the beginning of both modern legislation and public attitude studies on gun control. Reagan also signed the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act that allowed abortions in the cases of rape and incest when a doctor determined the birth would impair the physical or mental health of the mother. He later expressed regret over signing it, saying that he was unaware of the mental health provision. He believed that doctors were interpreting the provision loosely, resulting in more abortions.

After Reagan won the 1966 election, he and his advisors planned a run in the 1968 Republican presidential primaries. He ran as an unofficial candidate to cut into Nixon's southern support and be a compromise candidate if there were to be a brokered convention. He won California's delegates, but Nixon secured enough delegates for the nomination.

Reagan had previously been critical of former governor Brown and university administrators for tolerating student demonstrations in the city of Berkeley, making it a major theme in his campaigning. On February 5, 1969, Reagan declared a state of emergency in response to ongoing protests and violence at the University of California, Berkeley, and sent in the California Highway Patrol. In May 1969, these officers, along with local officers from Berkeley and Alameda county, clashed with protestors over a site known as the People's Park. One student was shot and killed while many police officers and two reporters were injured. Reagan then commanded the state National Guard troops to occupy Berkeley for seventeen days to subdue the protesters, allowing other students to attend class safely. In February 1970, violent protests broke out near the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he once again deployed the National Guard. On April 7, Reagan defended his policies regarding campus protests, saying, "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with. No more appeasement".

Governor Reagan meets Generalísimo Francisco Franco during his visit to Spain, 11 July 1972

During his victorious reelection campaign in 1970, Reagan, remaining critical of government, promised to prioritize welfare reform. He was concerned that the programs were disincentivizing work and that the growing welfare rolls would lead to both an unbalanced budget and another big tax hike in 1972. At the same time, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to combat inflation, putting the American economy in a mild recession. Reagan worked with Bob Moretti to tighten up the eligibility requirements so that the financially needy could continue receiving payments. This was only accomplished after Reagan softened his criticism of Nixon's Family Assistance Plan. Nixon then lifted regulations to shepherd California's experiment. In 1976, the Employment Development Department published a report suggesting that the experiment that ran from 1971 to 1974 was unsuccessful.

Reagan declined to run for the governorship in 1974 and it was won by Pat Brown's son, Jerry. Reagan's governorship, as professor Gary K. Clabaugh writes, saw public schools deteriorate due to his opposition to additional basic education funding. As for higher education, journalist William Trombley believed that the budget cuts Reagan enacted damaged Berkeley's student-faculty ratio and research. The homicide rate doubled and armed robbery rates rose by even more during Reagan's eight years, even with the many laws Reagan signed to try toughening criminal sentencing and reforming the criminal justice system. Reagan strongly supported capital punishment, but his efforts to enforce it were thwarted by People v. Anderson in 1972. According to his son, Michael, Reagan said that he regretted signing the Family Law Act that granted no-fault divorces.

Seeking the presidency (1975–1981)

1976 Republican primaries

Main articles: Ronald Reagan 1976 presidential campaign and 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries
Reagan and Gerald Ford shaking hands on the podium after Reagan narrowly lost the nomination at the 1976 Republican National Convention
Reagan and Gerald Ford shaking hands on the podium after Reagan narrowly lost the nomination at the 1976 Republican National Convention

Insufficiently conservative to Reagan and many other Republicans, President Gerald Ford suffered from multiple political and economic woes. Ford, running for president, was disappointed to hear him also run. Reagan was strongly critical of détente and Ford's policy of détente with the Soviet Union. He repeated "A Time for Choosing" around the country before announcing his campaign on November 20, 1975, when he discussed economic and social problems, and to a lesser extent, foreign affairs. Both candidates were determined to knock each other out early in the primaries, but Reagan would devastatingly lose the first five primaries beginning with New Hampshire, where he popularized the welfare queen narrative about Linda Taylor, exaggerating her misuse of welfare benefits and igniting voter resentment for welfare reform, but never overtly mentioning her name or race.

In Florida, Reagan referred to a "strapping young buck", which became an example of dog whistle politics, and attacked Ford for handing the Panama Canal to Panama's government while Ford implied that he would end Social Security. Then, in Illinois, he again criticized Ford's policy and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger. Losing the first five primaries prompted Reagan to desperately win North Carolina's by running a grassroots campaign and uniting with the Jesse Helms political machine that viciously attacked Ford. Reagan won an upset victory, convincing party delegates that Ford's nomination was no longer guaranteed. Reagan won subsequent victories in Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Indiana with his attacks on social programs, opposition to forced busing, increased support from inclined voters of a declining George Wallace campaign for the Democratic nomination, and repeated criticisms of Ford and Kissinger's policies, including détente.

The result was a seesaw battle for the 1,130 delegates required for their party's nomination that neither would reach before the Kansas City convention in August and Ford replacing mentions of détente with Reagan's preferred phrase, "peace through strength". Reagan took John Sears' advice of choosing liberal Richard Schweiker as his running mate, hoping to pry loose of delegates from Pennsylvania and other states, and distract Ford. Instead, conservatives were left alienated, and Ford picked up the remaining uncommitted delegates, earning 1,187 to Reagan's 1,070. Before giving his acceptance speech, Ford invited Reagan to address the convention; Reagan emphasized individual freedom and the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 1977, Ford told Cannon that Reagan's primary challenge contributed to his own narrow loss to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election.

1980 election

Main article: Ronald Reagan 1980 presidential campaign Further information: 1980 Republican Party presidential primaries and 1980 United States presidential election
Results for the 1980 United States presidential election
1980 presidential election Electoral College results, Reagan won 489–49

Reagan emerged as a vocal critic of President Carter in 1977. The Panama Canal Treaty's signing, the 1979 oil crisis, and rise in the interest, inflation and unemployment rates helped set up his 1980 presidential campaign, which he announced on November 13, 1979 with an indictment of the federal government. His announcement stressed his fundamental principles of tax cuts to stimulate the economy and having both a small government and a strong national defense, since he believed the United States was behind the Soviet Union militarily. Heading into 1980, his age became an issue among the press, and the United States was in a severe recession.

In the primaries, Reagan unexpectedly lost the Iowa caucus to George H. W. Bush. Three days before the New Hampshire primary, the Reagan and Bush campaigns agreed to a one-on-one debate sponsored by The Telegraph at Nashua, New Hampshire, but hours before the debate, the Reagan campaign invited other candidates including Bob Dole, John B. Anderson, Howard Baker and Phil Crane. Debate moderator Jon Breen denied seats to the other candidates, asserting that The Telegraph would violate federal campaign contribution laws if it sponsored the debate and changed the ground rules hours before the debate. As a result, the Reagan campaign agreed to pay for the debate. Reagan said that as he was funding the debate, he could decide who would debate. During the debate, when Breen was laying out the ground rules and attempting to ask the first question, Reagan interrupted in protest to make an introductory statement and wanted other candidates to be included before the debate began. The moderator asked Bob Malloy, the volume operator, to mute Reagan's microphone. After Breen repeated his demand to Malloy, Reagan furiously replied, "I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green! [sic]". This turned out to be the turning point of the debate and the primary race. Ultimately, the four additional candidates left, and the debate continued between Reagan and Bush. Reagan's polling numbers improved, and he won the New Hampshire primary by more than 39,000 votes. Soon thereafter, Reagan's opponents began dropping out of the primaries, including Anderson, who left the party to become an independent candidate. Reagan easily captured the presidential nomination and chose Bush as his running mate at the Detroit convention in July.

The general election pitted Reagan against Carter amid the multitude of domestic concerns and ongoing Iran hostage crisis that began on November 4, 1979. Reagan's campaign worried that Carter would be able to secure the release of the American hostages in Iran as part of the October surprise, Carter "suggested that Reagan would wreck Social Security" and portrayed him as a warmonger, and Anderson carried support from liberal Republicans dissatisfied with Reagan's conservatism. One of Reagan's key strengths was his appeal to the rising conservative movement. Though most conservative leaders espoused cutting taxes and budget deficits, many conservatives focused more closely on social issues like abortion and gay rights. Evangelical Protestants became an increasingly important voting bloc, and they generally supported Reagan. Reagan also won the backing of Reagan Democrats. Though he advocated socially conservative viewpoints, Reagan focused much of his campaign on attacks against Carter's foreign policy.

In August, Reagan gave a speech at the Neshoba County Fair, stating his belief in states' rights. Joseph Crespino argues that the visit was designed to reach out to Wallace-inclined voters, and some also saw these actions as an extension of the Southern strategy to garner white support for Republican candidates. Reagan's supporters have said that this was his typical anti-big government rhetoric, without racial context or intent. In the October 28 debate, Carter chided Reagan for being against national health insurance. Reagan replied, "There you go again", though the audience laughed and viewers found him more appealing. Reagan later asked the audience if they were better off than they were four years ago, slightly paraphrasing Roosevelt's words in 1934. In 1983, Reagan's campaign managers were revealed to having obtained Carter's debate briefing book before the debates. On November 4, 1980, Reagan won in a decisive victory in the Electoral College over Carter, carrying 44 states and receiving 489 electoral votes to Carter's 49 in six states and the District of Columbia. He won the popular vote by a narrower margin, receiving nearly 51 percent to Carter's 41 percent and Anderson's 7 percent. Republicans won a majority of seats in the Senate for the first time since 1952 while Democrats retained the House of Representatives.

Presidency (1981–1989)

Main article: Presidency of Ronald Reagan For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the Ronald Reagan presidency. Further information: Domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration and Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration

First inauguration

Main article: First inauguration of Ronald ReaganReagan speaking at the podium with dignartaries behindReagan delivers his inaugural address from the U.S. Capitol (audio only)

Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the United States on January 20, 1981. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the presidential oath of office. In his inaugural address, Reagan commented on the country's economic malaise, arguing, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem". As a final insult to President Carter, Iran waited until Reagan had been sworn in before announcing the release of their American hostages.

"Reaganomics" and the economy

Main article: Reaganomics

Reagan advocated a laissez-faire philosophy, and promoted a set of neoliberal reforms dubbed "Reaganomics", which included monetarism and supply-side economics.

Taxation

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Reagan addressing the nation from the Oval Office on tax reduction legislation, 1981
Reagan outlining his plan for tax cuts, 1981

Reagan worked with the boll weevil Democrats to pass tax and budget legislation in a Congress led by Tip O'Neill, a liberal who strongly criticized Reaganomics. He lifted federal oil and gasoline price controls on January 28, 1981, and in August, he signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 to dramatically lower federal income tax rates and require exemptions and brackets to be indexed for inflation starting in 1985. Amid growing concerns about the mounting federal debt, Reagan signed the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, one of the eleven times Reagan raised taxes. The bill doubled the federal cigarette tax, rescinded a portion of the corporate tax cuts from the 1981 tax bill, and according to Paul Krugman, "a third of the 1981 cut" overall. Many of his supporters condemned the bill, but Reagan defended his preservation of cuts on individual income tax rates. By 1983, the amount of federal tax had fallen for all or most taxpayers, with taxes for higher-income people decreasing the most.

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 reduced the number of tax brackets and top tax rate, and almost doubled personal exemptions.

To Reagan, the tax cuts would not have increased the deficit as long as there was enough economic growth and spending cuts. His policies proposed that economic growth would occur when the tax cuts spurred investments. This theoretical relationship has been illustrated by some with the controversial Laffer curve. Critics labeled this "trickle-down economics", the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will spread to the poor. Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell argued that these policies invigorated America's economy and contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s.

Inflation and unemployment

Line charts showing Bureau of Labor Statistics and Federal Reserve Economic Data information on the monthly unemployment, inflation, and interest rates from January 1981 to January 1989
Monthly unemployment, inflation, and interest rates from January 1981 to January 1989 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Federal Reserve Economic Data

Reagan took office in the midst of stagflation. The economy briefly experienced growth before plunging into a recession in July 1981. As Federal Reserve chairman, Paul Volcker fought inflation by pursuing a tight money policy of high interest rates, which restricted lending and investment, raised unemployment, and temporarily reduced economic growth. In December 1982, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measured the unemployment rate at 10.8 percent. Around the same time, economic activity began to rise until its end in 1990, setting the record for the longest peacetime expansion. In 1983, the recession ended and Reagan nominated Volcker to a second term in fear of damaging confidence in the economic recovery.

Reagan appointed Alan Greenspan to succeed Volcker in 1987. Greenspan raised interest rates in another attempt to curb inflation, setting off the Black Monday stock market crash, although the markets eventually recovered. By 1989, the BLS measured unemployment at 5.3 percent. The inflation rate dropped from 12 percent during the 1980 election to under 5 percent in 1989. Likewise, the interest rate dropped from 15 percent to under 10 percent. Yet, not all shared equally in the economic recovery, and both economic inequality and the number of homeless individuals increased during the 1980s. Critics have contended that a majority of the jobs created during this decade paid the minimum wage.

Government spending

In 1981, in an effort to keep it solvent, Reagan approved a plan for cuts to Social Security. He later backed off due to public backlash. He then created the Greenspan Commission to keep Social Security financially secure, and in 1983 he signed amendments to raise both the program's payroll taxes and retirement age for benefits. He had signed the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 to cut funding for federal assistance such as food stamps, unemployment benefits, subsidized housing and the Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and would discontinue the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. On the other side, defense spending doubled between 1981 and 1985. During Reagan's presidency, Project Socrates operated within the Defense Intelligence Agency to discover why the United States was unable to maintain its economic competitiveness. According to program director Michael Sekora, their findings helped the country surpass the Soviets in terms of missile defense technology.

Deregulation

Reagan sought to loosen federal regulation of economic activities, and he appointed key officials who shared this agenda. William Leuchtenburg writes that by 1986, the Reagan administration eliminated almost half of the federal regulations that had existed in 1981. The 1982 Garn–St. Germain Depository Institutions Act deregulated savings and loan associations by letting them make a variety of loans and investments outside of real estate. After the bill's passage, savings and loans associations engaged in riskier activities, and the leaders of some institutions embezzled funds. The administration's inattentiveness toward the industry contributed to the savings and loan crisis and costly bailouts.

Deficits

The deficits were exacerbated by the early 1980s recession, which cut into federal revenue. The national debt tripled between the fiscal years of 1980 and 1989, and the national debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 53 percent by 1989. During his time in office, Reagan never fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise of submitting a balanced budget. The United States borrowed heavily to cover newly spawned federal budget deficits. Reagan described the tripled debt the "greatest disappointment of his presidency". Jeffrey Frankel opined that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor, Bush, reneged on his campaign promise by raising taxes through the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990.

Assassination attempt

Main article: Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan waves his hand as he walks out of the Washington Hilton. Surrounding him are secret service agents, policemen, press secretary James Brady, and aide Michael Deaver.
Reagan (center) waves just before he is shot on March 30, 1981

On March 30, 1981, Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton. Although "right on the margin of death" upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, Reagan underwent surgery and recovered quickly from a broken rib, punctured lung, and internal bleeding. Professor J. David Woodard says that the assassination attempt "created a bond between him and the American people that was never really broken". Later, Reagan came to believe that God had spared his life "for a chosen mission".

Supreme Court appointments

Main article: Ronald Reagan Supreme Court candidates

Reagan appointed three Associate Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981, which fulfilled a campaign promise to name the first female justice to the Court, Antonin Scalia in 1986, and Anthony Kennedy in 1988. He also elevated William Rehnquist from Associate Justice to Chief Justice in 1986. The direction of the Supreme Court's reshaping has been described as conservative.

Public sector labor union fights

Ronald Reagan speaks to the press in the Rose Garden about the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization strike.
Reagan making a statement to the press regarding the air traffic controllers strike, 1981

Early in August 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) went on strike, violating a federal law prohibiting government unions from striking. On August 3, Reagan said that he would fire air traffic controllers if they did not return to work within 48 hours; according to him, 38 percent did not return. On August 13, Reagan fired roughly 12,000 striking air traffic controllers who ignored his order. He used military controllers and supervisors to handle the nation's commercial air traffic until new controllers could be hired and trained. The breaking of the PATCO strike demoralized organized labor, and the number of strikes fell greatly in the 1980s. With the assent of Reagan's sympathetic National Labor Relations Board appointees, many companies also won wage and benefit cutbacks from unions, especially in the manufacturing sector. During Reagan's presidency, the share of employees who were part of a labor union dropped from approximately one-fourth of the total workforce to approximately one-sixth of the total workforce.

Civil rights

Ronald Reagan at the signing ceremony for Martin Luther King Jr. Day legislation in the Rose Garden. Coretta Scott King, George H. W. Bush, Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, Samuel Pierce, and Katie Hall looking on.
Reagan signing the Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 1983

Despite Reagan having opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the bill was extended for 25 years in 1982. He initially opposed the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and alluded to claims that King was associated with communists during his career, but signed a bill to create the holiday in 1983 after it passed both houses of Congress with veto-proof margins. In 1984, he signed legislation intended to impose fines for fair housing discrimination offenses. In March 1988, Reagan vetoed the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, but Congress overrode his veto. He had argued that the bill unreasonably increased the federal government's power and undermined the rights of churches and business owners. Later in September, legislation was passed to correct loopholes in the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Early in his presidency, Reagan appointed Clarence M. Pendleton Jr., known for his opposition to affirmative action and equal pay for men and women, as chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Pendleton and Reagan's subsequent appointees greatly eroded the enforcement of civil rights law, arousing the ire of civil rights advocates. In 1987, Reagan unsuccessfully nominated Robert Bork to the Supreme Court as a way to achieve his civil rights policy that could not be fulfilled during his presidency; his administration had opposed affirmative action, particularly in education, federal assistance programs, housing and employment, but Reagan reluctantly continued these policies. In housing, Reagan's administration saw considerably fewer fair housing cases filed than the three previous administrations.

War on drugs

Main article: War on drugs
Ronald Reagan with Nancy Reagan, Paula Hawkins, Charles Rangel and Benjamin Gilman for the signing ceremony for the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 in the East Room, 1986
Reagan signing the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986

In response to concerns about the increasing crack epidemic, Reagan intensified the war on drugs in 1982. While the American public did not see drugs as an important issue then, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Department of Defense all increased their anti-drug funding immensely. Reagan's administration publicized the campaign to gain support after crack became widespread in 1985. Reagan signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and 1988 to specify penalties for drug offenses. Both bills have been criticized in the years since for promoting racial disparities. Nancy Reagan founded the "Just Say No" campaign to discourage others from engaging in recreational drug use and raise awareness about the dangers of drugs. A 1988 study showed 39 percent of high school seniors using illegal drugs compared to 53 percent in 1980, but Scott Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz say that the success of these types of campaigns has not been affirmatively proven.

Escalation of the Cold War

Further information: Cold War (1979–1985) and Reagan Doctrine
Reagan in the Oval Office, sitting with people from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, February 1983
Reagan meeting with Afghan mujahideen leaders, 1983

Reagan ordered a massive defense buildup; he revived the B-1 Lancer program that had been rejected by the Carter administration, and deployed the MX missile. In response to Soviet deployment of the SS-20, he oversaw NATO's deployment of the Pershing missile in Western Europe. In 1982, Reagan tried to cut off the Soviet Union's access to hard currency by impeding its proposed gas line to Western Europe. It hurt the Soviet economy, but it also caused ill will among American allies in Europe who counted on that revenue; he later retreated on this issue. In March 1983, Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) to protect the United States from space intercontinental ballistic missiles. He believed that this defense shield could protect the country from nuclear destruction in a hypothetical nuclear war with the Soviet Union. There was much disbelief among the scientific community surrounding the program's scientific feasibility, leading opponents to dub the SDI "Star Wars", although Soviet leader Yuri Andropov said it would lead to "an extremely dangerous path".

Reagan listening to Pakistani president Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, 1982

In a 1982 address to the British Parliament, Reagan said, "the march of freedom and democracy... will leave Marxism–Leninism on the ash heap of history". Dismissed by the American press as "wishful thinking", Margaret Thatcher called the address a "triumph". David Cannadine says of Thatcher that "Reagan had been grateful for her interest in him at a time when the British establishment refused to take him seriously", with the two agreeing on "building up stronger defenses against Soviet Russia" and both believing in outfacing "what Reagan would later call 'the evil empire'", in reference to the Soviet Union, during a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals in March 1983. After Soviet fighters downed Korean Air Lines Flight 007 in September, which included Congressman Larry McDonald and 61 other Americans, Reagan expressed outrage towards the Soviet Union. The next day, reports suggested that the Soviets had fired on the plane by mistake. In spite of the harsh, discordant rhetoric, Reagan's administration continued discussions with the Soviet Union on START I.

President Ronald Reagan Meeting with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in The Oval Office
Reagan meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Oval Office, September 1983

Although the Reagan administration agreed with the communist government in China to reduce the sale of arms to Taiwan in 1982, Reagan himself was the first president to reject containment and détente, and to put into practice the concept that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply negotiated with. His covert aid to Afghan mujahideen forces through Pakistan against the Soviets has been given credit for assisting in ending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan; however, the United States was subjected to blowback in the form of the Taliban that opposed them in the war in Afghanistan. In his 1985 State of the Union Address, Reagan proclaimed, "Support for freedom fighters is self-defense." Through the Reagan Doctrine, his administration supported anti-communist movements that fought against groups backed by the Soviet Union in an effort to rollback Soviet-backed communist governments and reduce Soviet influence across the world. The Reagan administration ignored human rights violations in the countries they backed and held a narrow definition of human rights. Other human rights concerns include the genocide in Guatemala, as well as mass killings in Chad.

Invasion of Grenada

Main article: United States invasion of Grenada
Reagan in the White House to discuss the Grenada situation with a bipartisan group of members of Congress, October 1983
Reagan discussing the Grenada situation with a bipartisan group of members of Congress, 1983

On October 19, 1983, Maurice Bishop was overthrown and murdered by one of his colleagues. Several days later, Reagan ordered American forces to invade Grenada. Reagan cited a regional threat posed by a Soviet-Cuban military build-up and concern for the safety of hundreds of American medical students at St. George's University. Two days of fighting commenced, resulting in an American victory. While the invasion enjoyed public support in the United States, it was criticized internationally, with the United Nations General Assembly voting to censure the American government. Cannon later noted that throughout Reagan's 1984 presidential campaign, the invasion overshadowed the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, which killed 241 Americans taking part in an international peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War.

1984 election

Main articles: Ronald Reagan 1984 presidential campaign and 1984 United States presidential election
Results for the 1984 United States presidential election
1984 presidential election Electoral College results, Reagan won 525–13

Reagan announced his reelection campaign on January 29, 1984, declaring, "America is back and standing tall". In February, his administration reversed the unpopular decision to send the United States Marine Corps to Lebanon, thus eliminating a political liability for him. Reagan faced minimal opposition in the Republican primaries, and he and Bush accepted the nomination at the Dallas convention in August. In the general election, his campaign ran the commercial, "Morning in America". At a time when the American economy was already recovering, former vice president Walter Mondale was attacked by Reagan's campaign as a "tax-and-spend Democrat", while Mondale criticized the deficit, the SDI, and Reagan's civil rights policy. However, Reagan's age induced his campaign managers to minimize his public appearances. Mondale's campaign believed that Reagan's age and mental health were issues before the October presidential debates.

Following Reagan's performance in the first debate where he struggled to recall statistics, his age was brought up by the media in negative fashion. Reagan's campaign changed his tactics for the second debate where he quipped, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience". This remark generated applause and laughter, even from Mondale. At that point, Broder suggested that age was no longer a liability for Reagan, and Mondale's campaign felt that "the election was over". In November, Reagan won a landslide reelection victory with 59 percent of the popular vote and 525 electoral votes from 49 states. Mondale won 41 percent of the popular vote and 13 electoral votes from the District of Columbia and his home state of Minnesota.

Response to the AIDS epidemic

Main article: Ronald Reagan and AIDS
A 1987 ACT UP art installation quoting Reagan on AIDS with a blank slate to represent silence
Reagan has been criticized for his delayed and muted response to the AIDS epidemic. This 1987 art installation by ACT UP quotes Reagan on AIDS with a blank slate, representing total silence.

The AIDS epidemic began to unfold in 1981, and AIDS was initially difficult to understand for physicians and the public. As the epidemic advanced, according to White House physician and later physician to the president, brigadier general John Hutton, Reagan thought of AIDS as though "it was the measles and would go away". The October 1985 death of the President's friend Rock Hudson affected Reagan's view; Reagan approached Hutton for more information on the disease. Still, between September 18, 1985, and February 4, 1986, Reagan did not mention AIDS in public.

In 1986, Reagan asked C. Everett Koop to develop a report on AIDS. Koop angered many evangelical conservatives, both in and out of the Reagan administration, by stressing the importance of sex education including condom usage in schools. A year later, Reagan, who reportedly had not read the report, gave his first speech on the epidemic when 36,058 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS, and 20,849 had died of it. Reagan called for increased testing (including routine testing for marriage applicants) and mandatory testing of select groups (including federal prisoners). Even after this speech, however, Reagan remained reluctant to publicly address AIDS.

Scholars and AIDS activists have argued that the Reagan administration largely ignored the AIDS crisis. Randy Shilts and Michael Bronski said that AIDS research was chronically underfunded during Reagan's administration, and Bronski added that requests for more funding by doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were routinely denied. In a September 1985 press conference (soon after Hollywood celebrity Rock Hudson had announced his AIDS diagnosis) Reagan called a government AIDS research program a "top priority", but also cited budgetary constraints. Between the fiscal years of 1984 and 1989, federal spending on AIDS totaled $5.6 billion. The Reagan administration proposed $2.8 billion during this time period, but pressure from congressional Democrats resulted in the larger amount.

Addressing apartheid

Reagan and Desmond Tutu shaking hands in the Oval Office, 1984
Shortly after the 1984 election, Reagan met Desmond Tutu, who described Reagan's administration as "an unmitigated disaster for us blacks", and Reagan himself as "a racist pure and simple".

Popular opposition to apartheid increased during Reagan's first term in office and the disinvestment from South Africa movement achieved critical mass after decades of growing momentum. Criticism of apartheid was particularly strong on college campuses and among mainline Protestant denominations. President Reagan was opposed to divestiture because he personally thought, as he wrote in a letter to Sammy Davis Jr., it "would hurt the very people we are trying to help and would leave us no contact within South Africa to try and bring influence to bear on the government". He also noted the fact that the "American-owned industries there employ more than 80,000 blacks" and that their employment practices were "very different from the normal South African customs".

The Reagan administration developed constructive engagement with the South African government as a means of encouraging it to gradually move away from apartheid and to give up its nuclear weapons program. It was part of a larger initiative designed to foster peaceful economic development and political change throughout southern Africa. This policy, however, engendered much public criticism, and renewed calls for the imposition of stringent sanctions. In response, Reagan announced the imposition of new sanctions on the South African government, including an arms embargo in late 1985. These sanctions were seen as weak by anti-apartheid activists and as insufficient by the president's opponents in Congress. In 1986, Congress approved the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, which included tougher sanctions; Reagan's veto was overridden by Congress. Afterward, he remained opposed to apartheid and unsure of "how best to oppose it". Several European countries, as well as Japan, also imposed their sanctions on South Africa soon after.

Libya bombing

Main article: 1986 United States bombing of Libya
Reagan being briefed by the National Security Council Staff on the 1986 Libya air strike in the White House Situation Room. Seated with Reagan is George Shultz, William Casey, Don Regan, and Charles Gabriel.
Reagan receiving a briefing on the Libya bombing, 1986

Contentious relations between Libya and the United States under President Reagan were revived in the West Berlin discotheque bombing that killed an American soldier and injured dozens of others on April 5, 1986. Stating that there was irrefutable evidence that Libya had a direct role in the bombing, Reagan authorized the use of force against the country. On April 14, the United States launched a series of airstrikes on ground targets in Libya. Thatcher allowed the United States Air Force to use Britain's air bases to launch the attack, on the justification that the United Kingdom was supporting America's right to self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. The attack was, according to Reagan, designed to halt Muammar Gaddafi's "ability to export terrorism", offering him "incentives and reasons to alter his criminal behavior". The attack was condemned by many countries; by an overwhelming vote, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to condemn the attack and deem it a violation of the Charter and international law.

Iran–Contra affair

Main article: Iran–Contra affair
Reagan in the Cabinet Room to receive the Tower Commission Report on the Iran–Contra affair, February 1987
Reagan receiving the Tower Commission on the Iran–Contra affair, 1987

Reagan authorized William J. Casey to arm the Contras, fearing that Communists would take over Nicaragua if it remained under the leadership of the Sandinistas. Congress passed the 1982 Boland Amendment, prohibiting the CIA and Department of Defense from using their budgets to provide aid to the Contras. Still, the Reagan administration raised funds for the Contras from private donors and foreign governments. When Congress learned that the CIA had secretly placed naval mines in Nicaraguan harbors, Congress passed a second Boland Amendment that barred granting any assistance to the Contras. By mid-1985, Hezbollah began to take American hostages in Lebanon, holding seven of them in reaction to the United States' support of Israel.

Reagan procured the release of seven American hostages held by Hezbollah by selling American arms to Iran, then engaged in the Iran–Iraq War, in hopes that Iran would pressure Hezbollah to release the hostages. The Reagan administration sold over 2,000 missiles to Iran without informing Congress; Hezbollah released four hostages but captured an additional six Americans. On Oliver North's initiative, the administration redirected the proceeds from the missile sales to the Contras. The transactions were exposed by Ash-Shiraa in early November 1986. Reagan initially denied any wrongdoing, but on November 25, he announced that John Poindexter and North had left the administration and that he would form the Tower Commission to investigate the transactions. A few weeks later, Reagan asked a panel of federal judges to appoint a special prosecutor who would conduct a separate investigation.

The Tower Commission released a report in February 1987 confirming that the administration had traded arms for hostages and sent the proceeds of the weapons sales to the Contras. The report laid most of the blame on North, Poindexter, and Robert McFarlane, but it was also critical of Donald Regan and other White House staffers. Investigators did not find conclusive proof that Reagan had known about the aid provided to the Contras, but the report noted that Reagan had "created the conditions which made possible the crimes committed by others" and had "knowingly participated or acquiesced in covering up the scandal". The affair damaged the administration and raised questions about Reagan's competency and the wisdom of conservative policies. The administration's credibility was also badly damaged on the international stage as it had violated its own arms embargo on Iran.

The USS Stark incident

In the context of the Tanker War on May 17, 1987, an Iraqi fighter jet hit the USS Stark with two Exocet missiles, killing 37 sailors. Three days later, President Reagan declared a "policy of self-defense" would now be ordered, as he accepted Iraq's official apology: "Our ships are deployed in the Persian Gulf in order to protect U.S. interests and maintain free access and maintain freedom of navigation and access to the area's oil supplies. It is a vital mission, but our ships need to protect themselves and they will. if aircraft approach any of our ships in a way that appears hostile, there is one order of battle. Defend yourselves. Defend American lives.. We're going to do what has to be done to keep the Persian Gulf open. It's international waters. No country there has a right to try and close it off and take it for itself. And the villain in the piece really is Iran. And so they're delighted with what has just happened."

Soviet decline and thaw in relations

Further information: Cold War (1985–1991)
Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan signing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in the East Room, December 1987
Mikhail Gorbachev and Reagan signing the INF Treaty, 1987

Although the Soviets did not accelerate military spending in response to Reagan's military buildup, their enormous military expenses, in combination with collectivized agriculture and inefficient planned manufacturing, were a heavy burden for the Soviet economy. At the same time, the prices of oil, the primary source of Soviet export revenues, fell to one third of the previous level in 1985. These factors contributed to a stagnant economy during the tenure of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet leader.

President Ronald Reagan giving a speech at Moscow State University in the USSR, 1988

Reagan's foreign policy towards the Soviets wavered between brinkmanship and cooperation. Reagan appreciated Gorbachev's revolutionary change in the direction of the Soviet policy and shifted to diplomacy, intending to encourage him to pursue substantial arms agreements. They held four summit conferences between 1985 and 1988. Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to allow for more democracy and free speech, this would lead to reform and the end of communism. The critical summit was in Reykjavík in 1986, where they agreed to abolish all nuclear weapons. However, Gorbachev added the condition that SDI research must be confined to laboratories during the ten-year period when disarmament would take place. Reagan refused, stating that it was defensive only and that he would share the secrets with the Soviets, thus failing to reach a deal.

In June 1987, Reagan addressed Gorbachev during a speech at the Berlin Wall, demanding that he "tear down this wall". The remark was ignored at the time, but after the wall fell in November 1989, it was retroactively recast as a soaring achievement. In December, Reagan and Gorbachev met again at the Washington Summit to sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, committing to the total abolition of their respective short-range and medium-range missile stockpiles. The treaty established an inspections regime designed to ensure that both parties honored the agreement. In May 1988, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted in favor of ratifying the treaty, providing a major boost to Reagan's popularity in the aftermath of the Iran–Contra affair. A new era of trade and openness between the two powers commenced, and the United States and Soviet Union cooperated on international issues such as the Iran–Iraq War.

Post-presidency (1989–2004)

Reagan and Gorbachev relaxing at Rancho del Cielo in May 1992. Reagan gave Gorbachev a white cowboy hat, which he wore backwards.Reagan and Gorbachev at Rancho del Cielo, 1992The Reagans and Newport News Shipbuilding chairman and CEO William Frick standing behind a model of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, 1996Nancy and Ronald Reagan with a model of USS Ronald Reagan, 1996

Upon leaving the presidency on January 20, 1989, at the age of 77, Reagan became the oldest president at the end of his tenure. This distinction will eventually pass to incumbent president Joe Biden who is currently 82 years old.

In retirement, Ronald and Nancy Reagan lived at 668 St. Cloud Road in Bel Air, in addition to Rancho del Cielo in Santa Barbara. He received multiple awards and honors in addition to generous payments for speaking engagements. In 1989 he supported repealing the Twenty-second Amendment's presidential term limits. In 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library opened. Reagan also addressed the 1992 Republican National Convention "to inspire allegiance to the party regulars", and favored a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.

Support for Brady Bill

Reagan publicly favored the Brady Bill, drawing criticism from gun control opponents. In 1989, in his first public appearance after leaving office and shortly after the Stockton schoolyard shooting, he stated: "I do not believe in taking away the right of the citizen to own guns for sporting, for hunting, and so forth, or for home defense. But I do believe that an AK-47, a machine gun, is not a sporting weapon or needed for the defense of the home".

In March 1991, Reagan wrote an op-ed in the New York Times, titled "Why I'm for the Brady Bill". In May 1994, Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter sent a letter to House members, urging them to support the controversial Federal Assault Weapons Ban.

Alzheimer's disease

His final public speech occurred on February 3, 1994, during a tribute to him in Washington, D.C.; his last major public appearance was at the funeral of Richard Nixon on April 27, 1994. In August 1994, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, which he announced through a handwritten letter in November. There was speculation over how long he had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration, but lay observations that he suffered from Alzheimer's while still in office have been disputed by medical experts; his doctors said that he first began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992 or 1993. Over time, the disease destroyed Reagan's mental capacity. By 1997, he was reported to recognize few people other than his wife, though he continued to walk through parks and on beaches, play golf, and visit his office in nearby Century City. Eventually, his family decided that he would live in quiet semi-isolation with his wife. By the end of 2003, Reagan had lost his ability to speak and was mostly confined to his bed, no longer able to recognize family members.

Death and funeral

Main article: Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan

Reagan died of pneumonia, complicated by Alzheimer's, at his home in Los Angeles, on June 5, 2004. President George W. Bush called Reagan's death "a sad hour in the life of America". His public funeral was held in the Washington National Cathedral, where eulogies were given by Margaret Thatcher, Brian Mulroney, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. Other world leaders attended including Mikhail Gorbachev and Lech Wałęsa. Reagan was interred at his presidential library.

Legacy

See also: List of things named after Ronald Reagan and Cultural depictions of Ronald Reagan

Approval ratings

Similar to previous presidents, Reagan began his presidency with approval ratings greater than 50 percent, peaking above 70 percent shortly after his attempted assassination, before declining by the end of his first year. Afterwards, his ratings fluctuated in the mid-30s and mid-40s in his second and third years, which has been attributed to the 1981–1982 recession. His approval ratings rebounded after the invasion of Grenada and by mid-1984 his approval rating neared 60 percent. In the first two years of his second term, his approval ratings were consistently above 60 percent but declined during the Iran–Contra scandal, before beginning to recover in mid-1987. In the Gallup poll, Reagan finished his presidency with an approval rating of 63 percent, the third highest for a departing president in history, behind only Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bill Clinton, both of whom finished at 66 percent.

In 1990, a year after he left office, a Gallup survey found that 54 percent of Americans said they approved of the overall job Reagan did as president. The number of Americans who approved of the Reagan administration declined to 48 percent in 1992 but rebounded two years later to 52 percent. In recent years, favorability of Reagan's presidency reached its highest ever: 71 percent approval in 2006; 74 percent in 2010; 72 percent in 2018; and 69 percent in 2023. He is often found to be second-most popular president since World War II, with only John F. Kennedy having higher ratings.

Historical reputation

A view of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library from the south
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California
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In 2008, British historian M. J. Heale summarized that scholars had reached a broad consensus in which "Reagan rehabilitated conservatism, turned the country to the right, practiced a 'pragmatic conservatism' that balanced ideology with the constraints of government, revived faith in the presidency and American self-respect, and contributed to critically ending the Cold War", which ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Many conservative and liberal scholars have agreed that Reagan has been the most influential president since Roosevelt, leaving his imprint on American politics, diplomacy, culture, and economics through his effective communication of his conservative agenda and pragmatic compromising. During the initial years of Reagan's post-presidency, historical rankings placed his presidency in the twenties. Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, his presidency was often placed in the top ten.

Many proponents, including his Cold War contemporaries, believe that his defense policies, economic policies, military policies, and hard-line rhetoric against the Soviet Union and communism, together with his summits with Gorbachev, played a significant part in ending the Cold War. Professor Jeffrey Knopf argues that while Reagan's practice of referring to the Soviet Union as "evil" probably made no difference to the Soviet leaders, it possibly gave encouragement to Eastern European citizens who opposed their communist regimes. President Truman's policy of containment is also regarded as a force behind the fall of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan undermined the Soviet system itself. Nevertheless, Melvyn P. Leffler called Reagan "Gorbachev's minor, yet indispensable partner, setting the framework for the dramatic changes that neither anticipated happening anytime soon".

Critics, for example Paul Krugman, note Reagan's tenure as having begun a period of increased income inequality, sometimes called the "Great Divergence". Krugman also views Reagan as having initiated the ideology of the current-day Republican Party, which he feels is led by "radicals" who seek to "undo the twentieth century" gains in income equality and unionization. Others, such as Nixon's Secretary of Commerce Peter G. Peterson, also criticize what they feel was not just Reagan's fiscal irresponsibility, but also the ushering in of an era where tax cutting "became the GOP's core platform", with resulting deficits and GOP leaders (speciously in Peterson's opinion) arguing supply-side gains would enable the country to "grow" its way out of deficits.

Reagan was known for storytelling and humor, which involved puns and self-deprecation. Reagan also often emphasized family values, despite being the first president to have been divorced. He showed the ability to comfort Americans during the aftermath of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Reagan's ability to talk about substantive issues with understandable terms and to focus on mainstream American concerns earned him the laudatory moniker the "Great Communicator". He also earned the nickname "Teflon President" in that public perceptions of him were not substantially tarnished by the controversies that arose during his administration.

Political influence

Reagan led a new conservative movement, altering the political dynamic of the United States. Conservatism became the dominant ideology for Republicans, displacing the party's faction of liberals and moderates. Men began voting more Republican, and women began voting more Democrat – a gender distinction that has persisted. He was supported by young voters, an allegiance that shifted many of them to the party. He attempted to appeal to Black voters in 1980, but would receive the lowest Black vote for a Republican presidential candidate at the time. Throughout Reagan's presidency, Republicans were unable to gain complete control of Congress.

The period of American history most dominated by Reagan and his policies (particularly on taxes, welfare, defense, the federal judiciary, and the Cold War) is known as the Reagan era, which suggests that the "Reagan Revolution" had a lasting impact on the United States in domestic and foreign policy. The George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations are often treated as an extension of the era, as is the George W. Bush administration. Since 1988, Republican presidential candidates have invoked Reagan's policies and beliefs.

Notes

  1. Pronounced /ˈreɪɡən/ RAY-gən
  2. Reagan misstated Breen's last name as "Mr. Green"
  3. John B. Anderson questioned how realistic Reagan's budget proposals were, saying: "The only way Reagan is going to cut taxes, increase defense spending, and balance the budget at the same time is to use blue smoke and mirrors."
  4. Despite their various disagreements, Reagan and O'Neill developed a friendship across party lines. O'Neill told Reagan that Republican opponents were friends "after six o'clock". Reagan would sometimes call O'Neill at any time and ask if it was after six o'clock to which O'Neill would invariably respond, "Absolutely, Mr. President".

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