Ronald Reagan's Performance In The Election Of 1980

Ronald Regan was famously known for his republicanism and intense anticommunist views. Serving two terms as the 40th President of the United States he used his ideals to cut taxes, increase defense spending and untimely bring down the Soviet Union. This is important, not only because it ended the Cold War, but it also brought a prosperous economy to the United States making Reagan’s slogan, “It’s Morning in America”, come true. This paper will examine the achievements President Reagan accomplished during his presidency in order to understand how the United States progressed into a better future.
The Election of 1980
On November 13, 1979, Ronald Reagan announced that he would be running as a republican candidate for President of the United States
Reagan announced his acceptance to the Republican nomination in Dallas, Texas and went against former Vice President Walter Mondale, whom ran for the Democratic Party. This time Reagan ran on the slogan, “It’s Morning in America”, which he regarded to the recovery of the United States economy. The nation began to question whether if Reagan’s age would affect his performance in the election. During the first presidential debate, Regan gave a weak performance as he seemed more confused and forgetful, very different to the clever and witty candidate that supporters knew. At the time rumors began to publicize that he could possibly have had Alzheimer’s disease. By the second debate, Reagan personally confronted the questions about his age and health by stating, “I will not make my age an issue of this campaign.” The democrats know knowing that age to Reagan was no longer an issue, they began to worry that in no way they would be able to bring down the Presidents forces. Reagan’s campaign stood for a new era that brought forth national pride. His supporters appreciated his patriotism and
During Reagan’s eight years of presidency he worked on various policies within the nation that, in a sense, were not as large as his Reaganomics and work in the Cold War. In 1982, Reagan responded to the increasing crack epidemic with a War on Drugs. Reagan advocated for more vigorous polices in order to fight for drug-free schools and businesses. He believed that drugs were menacing to the American society. In 1986, Reagan funded his War on Drugs with a bill that budgeted $1.7 billion and enforced a minimum penalty for drug offense. In order to help children and teenagers from the drug epidemic, First Lady Nancy Reagan began funding the “Just Say No” campaign. She travelled across 33 states in order to discourage America’s youth from engaging in recreational drug use. In 1986, Reagan granted amnesty to approximately three million illegal immigrants who had entered the United States before January 1, 1982 by signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act. This act also made it illegal to knowingly hire illegal immigrants and required employers to attest to their employees’ immigration status. Without a doubt these two policies improved the lives of Americans