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Political positions of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Previously, he was the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and acted in Hollywood films from 1937 to 1964, the same year he energized the American conservative movement. Reagan's basic foreign policy was to equal and surpass the Soviet Union in military strength, and put it on the road to what he called "the ash heap of history". By 1985, he began to cooperate closely with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom he became friends and negotiated large-scale disarmament projects. The Cold War was fading away and suddenly ended as the Soviets lost control of Eastern Europe almost overnight in October 1989, nine months after Reagan was replaced in the White House by his vice president, George H. W. Bush, who was following Reagan's policies. The dissolution of the Soviet Union took place in December 1991. In terms of the Reagan Doctrine, he promoted military, financial, and diplomatic support for anti-communist insurgencies in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and numerous other countries. For the most part, local communist power collapsed when the Soviet Union collapsed.
In domestic affairs, at a time of stagflation with high unemployment and high inflation, Reagan took dramatic steps. They included a major tax cut and large-scale deregulation of business activities. He took steps to weaken labor unions and found a bipartisan long-term fix to protect the Social Security system. Although Reagan had support from the religious right, he generally avoided or downplayed social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and racial integration. Reagan spoke out for prayers in public schools, but did not promote a constitutional amendment to allow it. Fighting drugs was a high priority. He also appointed the first woman to the Supreme Court. Reagan became an iconic figure who has been praised by later Republican presidential candidates.
"Ronald Reagan was convivial, upbeat, courteous, respectful, self-confident, and humble. But he was also opaque, remote, distant, and inscrutable," says historian Melvyn P. Leffler. According to James P. Pfiffner, University Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, Reagan was a larger-than-life character, a formidable politician, and an important president. His complexity produced a "presidency of paradoxes," in which dramatic successes mingled with unfortunate failures. His strengths included broad vision and clear direction. Voters appreciated his optimism, geniality, and gracious nature, which made his ideals seem all that more attractive. He believed that all national problems were simple problems and had faith in simple solutions. That strengthened his resolve, but also led to failures when there were deep complications. Paradoxically, his victories depended on his willingness to make pragmatic compromises without forsaking his ideals.
Reagan himself made the major policy decisions and often overruled his top advisers in cases such as the Reykjavík Summit in 1986, and his 1987 speech calling for tearing down the Berlin Wall. He was concerned with very broad issues, as well as anecdotal evidence to support his beliefs. He paid very little attention to details and elaborate briefings. When senior officials did not work out, such as Secretary of State Alexander Haig, they were fired. Reagan went through a series of six national security advisers before settling on people he trusted.
Reagan's choice of advisers sometimes backfired, such as when National Security Adviser John Poindexter and his aide Oliver North engaged in a secret deal with Iran called the Iran–Contra affair that seriously damaged Reagan's reputation. Reagan had rarely traveled abroad and relied on an inner circle of advisers who were not foreign policy experts, including his wife Nancy, James Baker, Edwin Meese, and Michael Deaver. After Haig was dismissed, he was replaced by George P. Shultz, who proved much more collaborative and has been generally admired by historians. Other key players included William J. Casey, director of the CIA, William P. Clark, national security advisor, and Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ambassador to the United Nations. Casper W. Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, successfully rebuilt and expanded the military but did not coordinate well with the foreign policy leadership.
Reagan served as President during the last part of the Cold War, an era of escalating ideological disagreements and preparations for war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Reagan in 1982 denounced the enemy as an "evil empire" that would be consigned to the "ash heap of history" and he later predicted that communism would collapse.
Reagan reversed the policy of détente and massively built up the United States military.
Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a defense project that planned to use ground and space-based missile defense systems to protect the United States from attack. Reagan believed that this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible. Reagan was convinced that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply negotiated with.
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Political positions of Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Previously, he was the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and acted in Hollywood films from 1937 to 1964, the same year he energized the American conservative movement. Reagan's basic foreign policy was to equal and surpass the Soviet Union in military strength, and put it on the road to what he called "the ash heap of history". By 1985, he began to cooperate closely with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom he became friends and negotiated large-scale disarmament projects. The Cold War was fading away and suddenly ended as the Soviets lost control of Eastern Europe almost overnight in October 1989, nine months after Reagan was replaced in the White House by his vice president, George H. W. Bush, who was following Reagan's policies. The dissolution of the Soviet Union took place in December 1991. In terms of the Reagan Doctrine, he promoted military, financial, and diplomatic support for anti-communist insurgencies in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and numerous other countries. For the most part, local communist power collapsed when the Soviet Union collapsed.
In domestic affairs, at a time of stagflation with high unemployment and high inflation, Reagan took dramatic steps. They included a major tax cut and large-scale deregulation of business activities. He took steps to weaken labor unions and found a bipartisan long-term fix to protect the Social Security system. Although Reagan had support from the religious right, he generally avoided or downplayed social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and racial integration. Reagan spoke out for prayers in public schools, but did not promote a constitutional amendment to allow it. Fighting drugs was a high priority. He also appointed the first woman to the Supreme Court. Reagan became an iconic figure who has been praised by later Republican presidential candidates.
"Ronald Reagan was convivial, upbeat, courteous, respectful, self-confident, and humble. But he was also opaque, remote, distant, and inscrutable," says historian Melvyn P. Leffler. According to James P. Pfiffner, University Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, Reagan was a larger-than-life character, a formidable politician, and an important president. His complexity produced a "presidency of paradoxes," in which dramatic successes mingled with unfortunate failures. His strengths included broad vision and clear direction. Voters appreciated his optimism, geniality, and gracious nature, which made his ideals seem all that more attractive. He believed that all national problems were simple problems and had faith in simple solutions. That strengthened his resolve, but also led to failures when there were deep complications. Paradoxically, his victories depended on his willingness to make pragmatic compromises without forsaking his ideals.
Reagan himself made the major policy decisions and often overruled his top advisers in cases such as the Reykjavík Summit in 1986, and his 1987 speech calling for tearing down the Berlin Wall. He was concerned with very broad issues, as well as anecdotal evidence to support his beliefs. He paid very little attention to details and elaborate briefings. When senior officials did not work out, such as Secretary of State Alexander Haig, they were fired. Reagan went through a series of six national security advisers before settling on people he trusted.
Reagan's choice of advisers sometimes backfired, such as when National Security Adviser John Poindexter and his aide Oliver North engaged in a secret deal with Iran called the Iran–Contra affair that seriously damaged Reagan's reputation. Reagan had rarely traveled abroad and relied on an inner circle of advisers who were not foreign policy experts, including his wife Nancy, James Baker, Edwin Meese, and Michael Deaver. After Haig was dismissed, he was replaced by George P. Shultz, who proved much more collaborative and has been generally admired by historians. Other key players included William J. Casey, director of the CIA, William P. Clark, national security advisor, and Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ambassador to the United Nations. Casper W. Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, successfully rebuilt and expanded the military but did not coordinate well with the foreign policy leadership.
Reagan served as President during the last part of the Cold War, an era of escalating ideological disagreements and preparations for war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Reagan in 1982 denounced the enemy as an "evil empire" that would be consigned to the "ash heap of history" and he later predicted that communism would collapse.
Reagan reversed the policy of détente and massively built up the United States military.
Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a defense project that planned to use ground and space-based missile defense systems to protect the United States from attack. Reagan believed that this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible. Reagan was convinced that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply negotiated with.