Ronald Reagan's Farwell Speech Analysis

Ronald Reagan was the American dream. He came from humble beginnings in Dixon, Illinois and after graduating college began a career in radio which presented an opportunity while broadcasting Chicago Cubs baseball games to take a screen test which resulted in his becoming an actor whose career spanned 50 films. Most would consider this to be the peak of success and the satisfaction and achievement for a lifetime, but not Ronald Reagan. His move into politics came as a result of trouble in the Screen Actors Guild in which he was president. He continued to be politically active during the fifties as a spokesman for General Electric until he came to national prominence in 1964 delivering a speech named, “A Time For Choosing,” during the Presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater. Goldwater lost
the election but Reagan’s popularity grew and three years later he was elected Governor of California. During his election it was Reagan’s charm and happy face that sparked a sense of patriotism in many Americans and is what lead him to beat out Carters nervous manner. In 1980 Reagan won the election with 51% of the vote.
Reagan’s presidency came at the end of a decade of humiliation and frustration for the nation. A time when the wages stopped climbing, corporate profits and stocks plumited, and unemployment and inflation both soared. With his charm and strong political views Reagan was determeined to help restore confidence within the United States. "We are a nation that has a government–not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. It is my intention to curb the size and influence of the Federal establishment... Now, so there will be no misunderstanding, it's not my intention to do away with the government. It is rather to make it work–work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it." This was the speech that sparked the fire that was rebuilding the United States back to its prior glory.
President Reagan was determined to fix the economy. During his two terms as president, he proposed policies to cut taxes and help businesses. In 1981 he signed a law to reduce income taxes and help people save and invest their money. In 1986, he worked with Congress to cut taxes on corporations and individuals. President Reagan also reduced regulations on businesses and he believed that this would help the economy and create jobs. The economy began to recover and there were sixty straight months of economic growth. More people were able to find work. There were nearly fifteen million more jobs in 1987 than in 1982. People paid less in taxes, but the federal government received more money from taxes. In 1982, for example, the federal government received $618 billion in tax revenue. Five years later, the amount of federal tax revenue had increased by $398 billion. This economic recovery produced new wealth for both the government and the people.
As the economy began to recover Reagan moved on to another issue that he felt quit strongly about, Communism. From a secure position of military and economic power, President Reagan intended not merely to contain Soviet communism, but to reverse its gains and subdue it. He suspected the Soviet Union was not as strong as it appeared to be. He predicted its collapse if challenged competitively by America. The president believed the Soviet Union's government-controlled economy could not compete successfully against America's free-market system. He began a rapid, large increase in the quantity and quality of America's military technology and weapons and dared the Soviets to match it, this is what became known as the “Arms race”. The president expected that the Soviet Union's command economy would run out of money and fail by trying to keep up with America's free enterprise system. As America's military buildup proceeded, President Reagan put forward another policy to complement it. From a formidable foundation of military and economic power, the United States would promote freedom and democracy throughout the world. Reagan predicted that given a choice, people everywhere would reject totalitarian government and adopt a democratic point of view. President Reagan's Cold War policies were designed to spread freedom and democracy around the world and block the advancement of Soviet communism. As Reagan had predicted the Soviets were not able to keep up with American advancement in military and technological advancements thus leading to their Communistic demise. The United States supported anti-Soviet uprisings around the world an example of this would be in Poland, when the U.S. provided materials and moral support which ultimately brought down the soviet regiem. The final outcome of Americas support against the Soviet Union was the collapse of communism throughout Eastern and Central Europe, which brought freedom, democracy, and the end of Soviet control of this region. With American help, the people of Afghanistan forced Soviet military forces from their country in 1988. One year later, in November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down, which is one of the biggest triumphs of American History to this day. There is a piece of the Berlin Wall at the Reagan Library. This led to the peaceful reunification of Germany in 1990 and the end of communism in Eastern and Central Europe.
In December of 1991, two years after President Reagan left office, the Cold War ended when the Soviet Union was dissolved.
President Reagan's prediction of the collapse of Soviet communism had come true. America and its allies had prevailed in the Cold War. President Reagan's policies of preserving peace through strength and promoting the advancement of democracy around the world significantly contributed to this victory. President Reagan’s Farwell Speech summed up his achievements well, he says "The way I see it, there were two great triumphs, two things that I'm proudest of. One is the economic recovery...The other is the recovery of our morale. America is respected again in the world and looked to for leadership...They called it the Reagan Revolution. Well, I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense...The lesson of all this was...as long as we always remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will be ours. And something else we learned. Once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a
world."
On November 5, 1994 upon learning that he was afflicted by Alzheimer’ Disease, he penned some personal thoughts to the American people. Sharing First Lady, Nancy Reagan, and his personal struggles, he hoped to promote greater awareness of this condition. Once again he demonstrated his humility, courage, and a compassionate spirit. He thanked the American people “for giving him the great honor of allowing him to serve as their President. “ He further wrote, “When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future and bright dawn ahead.”