What Are Ronald Reagan's Accomplishments
Julian Nepola
A.P. United States History
Mr. Tarangelo
11/30/14
“Reagan’s Presidential Accomplishments” Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. He was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He went to Eureka College on an athletic scholarship for swim, track and football. He was also involved in student council and the school productions. Reagan studied sociology and economics. After college he became a radio show host then movie actor. He was married twice. He was first married to Jane Wyman with whom he had two children, Maureen and Michael. They divorced during World War II while Reagan made training films. He met Nancy Davis, while he was president of the Screen Actors’ Guild. He married Nancy Davis in 1952 and had two children, Patricia and Ronald. He began hosting General Electric Theater, which allowed him travel the country. During this time views changed from liberal Democrat to conservative Republican. In 1966 Reagan’s political career began. He ran for Governor of California and won by a landside, and was re-elected in 1970. Running for president was the next step to his political career. When he did not receive the nominations for presidency in 1968 or 1976 he did not stop trying and in doing so he received a nomination from the Republican Party in 1980. Reagan defeated …show more content…
Jimmy Carter by winning the electoral vote, 489 to 49, and almost 51% of the popular vote. The day Reagan was sworn into office Iran released 52 hostages. An attempt was taken on Reagan’s life in March of 1981; luckily he was able to recover and was back to work within a couple of weeks. One of Reagan’s main goals was to stimulate the economy. He reduced taxes and restrictions on businesses. He passed a bill to reduce taxes by 30%, but settles for 25%. Another goal achieved was decreasing government expenses, at increasing military budget by 35%. He sought to stop inflation, decrease unemployment rates, and strengthen national defense. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first women appointed to the Supreme Court, and she was appointed by Reagan. In the fall of 1982, the nation went into recession and as many as 9 million people were unemployed. Among the recession, tax reductions, and increase in defense there was a 189 billion dollar gap, but Reagan refused to raise taxes or cut the defense budget. In his proposal of Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars”, Reagan asked the scientific community to find a way to make nuclear warfare obsolete.
Reagan believed the key to good foreign affairs was to be strong. During the Cold War, Reagan took office. He was a strong opponent to communism. As president he issued the “Reagan Doctrine,” which allowed U.S support too anti-communist movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Reagan had also taken a stand against terrorism. He sent 800 Marines to the Middle East to keep peace and allow oil to be transported unharmed during the Iran-Iraq war.
Reagan was re-elected in a landslide victory; he had won 535 electoral votes out of 538.
His second term was tarnished by the Iran-Contra scandal. U.S officials sold arms to Iran to free hostages and fund Nicaraguan anti-communist movements. Reagan initially denied having any involvement, but later apologized for the mistake. In his second term in office, Reagan smoothed over diplomatic relation with the Soviet Union with their newly elected president Gorbachev. In 1987, they signed an agreement to get rid of intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan spoke at the Berlin Wall saying that it was a symbol of communism; a few years later it was torn
down.
Under Reagan the country prospered longer than under any other president. It was the longest time to that point without a recession or depression. In Reagan’s office the economy hit a high and foreign affairs were relatively good. Reagan was the most popular president since FDR; he was nationally loved. A blemish on his career in the presidency though, was the Iran-Contra affair. He gave arms to terrorist organizations to fund rebels. Among the good there were the lowered taxes, which put the country into a recession, which was one of the policies he ran on. Under the Reagan administration the U.S’s relationship with the Soviet Union was repaired and we were no longer at war. Reagan also got them to tear down the Berlin Wall.
A.P. United States History
Mr. Tarangelo
11/30/14
“Reagan’s Presidential Accomplishments” Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. He was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He went to Eureka College on an athletic scholarship for swim, track and football. He was also involved in student council and the school productions. Reagan studied sociology and economics. After college he became a radio show host then movie actor. He was married twice. He was first married to Jane Wyman with whom he had two children, Maureen and Michael. They divorced during World War II while Reagan made training films. He met Nancy Davis, while he was president of the Screen Actors’ Guild. He married Nancy Davis in 1952 and had two children, Patricia and Ronald. He began hosting General Electric Theater, which allowed him travel the country. During this time views changed from liberal Democrat to conservative Republican. In 1966 Reagan’s political career began. He ran for Governor of California and won by a landside, and was re-elected in 1970. Running for president was the next step to his political career. When he did not receive the nominations for presidency in 1968 or 1976 he did not stop trying and in doing so he received a nomination from the Republican Party in 1980. Reagan defeated …show more content…
Jimmy Carter by winning the electoral vote, 489 to 49, and almost 51% of the popular vote. The day Reagan was sworn into office Iran released 52 hostages. An attempt was taken on Reagan’s life in March of 1981; luckily he was able to recover and was back to work within a couple of weeks. One of Reagan’s main goals was to stimulate the economy. He reduced taxes and restrictions on businesses. He passed a bill to reduce taxes by 30%, but settles for 25%. Another goal achieved was decreasing government expenses, at increasing military budget by 35%. He sought to stop inflation, decrease unemployment rates, and strengthen national defense. Sandra Day O’Connor was the first women appointed to the Supreme Court, and she was appointed by Reagan. In the fall of 1982, the nation went into recession and as many as 9 million people were unemployed. Among the recession, tax reductions, and increase in defense there was a 189 billion dollar gap, but Reagan refused to raise taxes or cut the defense budget. In his proposal of Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars”, Reagan asked the scientific community to find a way to make nuclear warfare obsolete.
Reagan believed the key to good foreign affairs was to be strong. During the Cold War, Reagan took office. He was a strong opponent to communism. As president he issued the “Reagan Doctrine,” which allowed U.S support too anti-communist movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Reagan had also taken a stand against terrorism. He sent 800 Marines to the Middle East to keep peace and allow oil to be transported unharmed during the Iran-Iraq war.
Reagan was re-elected in a landslide victory; he had won 535 electoral votes out of 538.
His second term was tarnished by the Iran-Contra scandal. U.S officials sold arms to Iran to free hostages and fund Nicaraguan anti-communist movements. Reagan initially denied having any involvement, but later apologized for the mistake. In his second term in office, Reagan smoothed over diplomatic relation with the Soviet Union with their newly elected president Gorbachev. In 1987, they signed an agreement to get rid of intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan spoke at the Berlin Wall saying that it was a symbol of communism; a few years later it was torn
down.
Under Reagan the country prospered longer than under any other president. It was the longest time to that point without a recession or depression. In Reagan’s office the economy hit a high and foreign affairs were relatively good. Reagan was the most popular president since FDR; he was nationally loved. A blemish on his career in the presidency though, was the Iran-Contra affair. He gave arms to terrorist organizations to fund rebels. Among the good there were the lowered taxes, which put the country into a recession, which was one of the policies he ran on. Under the Reagan administration the U.S’s relationship with the Soviet Union was repaired and we were no longer at war. Reagan also got them to tear down the Berlin Wall.