Ronald Reagan is a president of the United States. He rises a wave of the New Right.
- Comes out of Hollywood and was CA governor
- Reagan was a democrat, but McCarthyism lead him
- Reagan was an FBI informer for McCarthyism investigations
- Reagan was the first two-term president since 1961, was able to maintain more power compared to others
- “The Great Communicator”
Reagan politics
“Government isn’t the solution to the problem, its the problem.”
- wished for limited politics
- states rights
- condemned welfare and “welfare cheats” (the undertone of racist appeal)
- Evangelical undertones, family values, moral majority
- Against affirmative action
- Supply-side economics: “getting rid of taxes will allow more people to spend”
- Anti-Soviet rhetoric
Creates the largest increase in welfare spending, gutting about $1.5Bn.
Reagan policy changes
- Lowering taxes: 70% of tax to 28% of taxes
- Increase defense budget: 1 trillion to 3 trillion
- Rising inequality, 1% controlled 40% of wealth (double from the 1970s)
Reagan Foreign Policy
Ronald Reagan creates the largest military build-up in history (larger than Korea and Vietnam.)
- Reasserted Command-in-Chief abilities
- Creates the National Security Council (for whom the )
- Comitted the US to supporting the anti-Marxist insurrections around the world
- Credited with falling the USSR
Supreme Court Interview Process
A new interview process for the supreme court designed by Ronald Reagan, creating an extensive process to vet conservative. Reagan swapped out 50% of the Federal judicial process.
Reagan’s Legacy
Inflation dropped
USSR Collapse
Military complex expanded
Incomes rose
Inequality widened
Welfare slashed
Debt
Concentrated power in the white house
Centralized conservative agenda