The Reagan Revolution

President Reagan led a conservative revolution to roll back the New Deal/Great Society legacy, having both positive and negative effects on the country.

Reagan grew up poor in Illinois, became an actor, and was governor of California from 1966 - 1974.

Elected president in 1980: “Government is not the solution; Government is the problem.”

His goals were to weaken big government, increase defense spending, and to

reassert American dominance in the world.

Reagan was called the Great Communicator and was an excellent speaker.

An assassination attempt in 1981 increased his popularity.

Reaganomics included budget cuts in education, consumer protection, environmental programs, anti-poverty programs, and transportation.

The economic policy of the 80s was the “trickle down” theory:

Tax cuts for the rich and corporations would lead to

advantages for workers; did not work and $1.8 billion dollars was

added to the federal debt.

Still, inflation decreased from 12% to 4% during the first term of Reagan, and he won a landslide re-election

victory in 1984.

Impact of the revolution: Top 1% controlled 39% of wealth by 1989. 24% increase in homelessness.

20 million new jobs were created, but mostly minimum wage jobs.

Reagan appointed three conservatives to the U.S. Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor (the first female justice and a campaign promise), Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy. These appointees helped shift the court to the right.

In 1983, Reagan sent U.S. Marines to Lebanon as part of a peacekeeping force. The Marines were recalled in 1984, after 240 had been killed in a terrorist attack. Reagan also sent U.S. troops to Grenada in 1983, to prevent what the administration saw as a communist attempt to take over the Caribbean island nation.

 Reagan ordered the bombing of military targets in Libya in 1986 in retaliation for its role in international terrorism. The president's greatest diplomatic achievement was the 1987 treaty with the Soviet Union banning intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF), approved by the Senate in 1988.

The Iran-Contra Affair proved embarrassing to the administration. Congressional hearings in 1987 revealed that presidential aides had acted illegally by selling weapons to Iran and diverting the money to Nicaraguan rebels.

Reagan's popularity survived concerns over economic and other policy matters, because he possessed a leadership style that stressed inspiration over management.

When Reagan left office, his approval ratings were above 80%, and he has been credited with helping to end the Cold War. Reagan died in 2004 of Alzheimer's disease.