Ronald Reagan's Accomplishments

Ronald Reagan NameHIS/145February 20, 2014Professor Lucht Ronald Reagan President Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest presidents to have led this country. Though he is highly underrated, his actions and accomplishments as president show Americans that no president can compare nor surpass him. He survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line against labor unions, announced a new War on Drugs, and did many more outstanding things for this country which just goes to show his great leadership as president and courage to carry on despite all odds.
The Cold War was a potential nuclear war fought between the Soviet Union and the United States. The president, when asked about the Soviet Union in interviews would refer to them as the “evil
empire” which would strike fear into the eyes of many Americans. America had not been so afraid of a nuclear war since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 (Gale, 2006). Reagan responded quickly to the possible spread of communism in Latin America. In the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, Reagan stopped a potential attack of domestic conflict between two procommunist sides by launching an invasion by U.S. troops in late October 1983 to “supposedly” protect U.S. medical students and restore order. After U.S. forces gained control of the country, a new democratic pro-U.S. government was established. Reagan came under much international criticism for becoming involved in an internal political struggle without United Nations (UN) support. The Grenada invasion, however, was the first successful military operation since before the Vietnam War and helped reestablish confidence in U.S. military capability (Gale, 2006). Reagan therefore was able to protect Americans from a potential nuclear war against the soviets by invading Grenada. On March 30, 1981 President Ronald Reagan had a scare when an attempt was made at his life. Reagan had just finished giving a speech to a group of trade unionists at the National Conference of Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO held in the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C when John Hinckley Jr. opened fire on the President just outside the hotel. President Reagan was hit by one bullet, which punctured his lung. Hinckley was soon apprehended by police and secret service agents where later hey would be ruled not guilty due to an insanity plea. Hinckley had shot the president due to his obsession with the movie actress Jodie Foster based on Hinckley 's warped view of the movie Taxi Driver, Hinckley hoped to rescue Foster by killing the President. This, Hinckley believed, would guarantee Foster 's affection (Journal, pg.1). The attempt on Ronald Reagan 's life in 1981 failed to cut short his presidency but led to lasting changes in the way the Secret Service protects presidents, prompted changes in laws on insanity as a criminal defense and advanced the national debate over gun control (Journal pg.1). After the assassination attempt Reagan made many public appearances to show citizens that the president was making a fast recovery, although the president was still very weakened physically by the shooting.
Ronald Reagan was the first conservative U.S.
president in more than 50 years. Reagan’s philosophy was "Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." (pg.1). When Raegan became president he inherited a double-digit inflation. In order to combat recession, Reagan aggressively cut income taxes from 70% to 28% for the top income tax rate, and from 48% to 34% for the corporate tax rate (pg.1). Reaganomics was introduced in which Reagan based his policies on the theory of supply side economics, which states that tax cuts encourage economic expansion enough to eventually broaden the tax base. In time, the increased revenue from a stronger economy offsets the initial revenue loss from the tax cuts. Reagan 's tax cuts worked because tax rates were so high in the early '80s that they were in the "Prohibitive Range," according to the Laffer Curve (Journal pg.1). Reagan was able to eliminate most of the Nixon-era price controls. Reagan removed controls on oil and gas, cable television and long-distance phone service, as well as interstate bus service and ocean shipping (pg.1). Raegan also expanded Medicare, and increased the payroll tax to insure the financial condition of Social
Security.
Reagan encouraged the development of "private sector initiatives" as well as federalism, with the objective of handing over from the federal government some of the obligations believed to be better served by private business or state and local government.
At the heart of Reagan 's foreign policy was the prevention of communist expansion. When Ronald Reagan became president, he had a clear vision of what the nation should be and spelled out the direction he hoped it would take during his time as President. Reagan had a clear social, economic, and foreign policy agenda, and with political guile and personal persuasiveness he was able to achieve many of his goals. Ronald Reagan was a very good President. He believed in America and its citizens. Reagan stood his ground with Russia and demanded the end of the Berlin Wall. He did not cave in to the complaints by citizens that wanted more government assistance to take care of them, and think for them. He had values and lived by them. He loved his wife very much and was a good role model for all. America was strong and stood tall when he was President. In conclusion, President Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest presidents to have led this country. Though he is highly underrated, his actions and accomplishments as president show Americans that no president can compare nor surpass him. He survived an assassination attempt, took a hard line against labor unions, announced a new War on Drugs, and did many more outstanding things for
this country which just goes to show his great leadership as president and courage to carry on despite all odds.
References
Amadeo, K. (n.d.). President Ronald Reagan 's Economic Policies. About.com US Economy. Retrieved February 17, 2014, from http://useconomy.about.com/od/Politics/p/President-Ronald-Reagan-Economic-Policies.htmReagan, Ronald. (2014, February 18). Gale Global Issues In Context . Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&idigest=fb720fd31d9036c1ed2d1f3a0500fcc2&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GIC&docId=CX3410800099&source=gale&userGroupName=itsbtrial&version=1.0
Rosenberg, J. (n.d.). Reagan Assassination Attempt. About.com 20th Century History. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://history1900s.about.com/od/1980s/qt/Reagan-Assassination-Attempt.htmWelch, W. M. (2011, January 24). Effects of assassination attempt on Reagan echo today - USATODAY.com. Effects of assassination attempt on Reagan echo today - USATODAY.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-23-ronald-reagan-assassination-attempt-effect_N.htm?csp=34