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{{Infobox administration
| image =
| name = Presidency of Ronald Reagan
| president_link = President of the United States
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| successor = [[Presidency of George H. W. Bush|George H. W. Bush]]
| library_url = https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/
}}
{{Ronald Reagan series}}
[[Ronald Reagan]]'s tenure as the [[List of presidents of the United States|40th]] [[president of the United States]] began with [[First inauguration of Ronald Reagan|his first inauguration]] on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] from [[California]], took office following his landslide victory over [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] incumbent president [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Independent politician#United States|independent]] congressman [[John B. Anderson]] in the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential election]]. Four years later, in the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential election]], he defeated
Domestically, the Reagan administration enacted a [[Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981|major tax cut]], sought to cut non-military spending, and eliminated federal regulations. The administration's economic policies, known as "[[Reaganomics]]", were inspired by [[supply-side economics]]. The combination of tax cuts and an increase in defense spending led to budget deficits, and the [[National debt of the United States|federal debt]] increased significantly during Reagan's tenure. Reagan signed the [[Tax Reform Act of 1986]], simplifying the tax code by reducing rates and removing several tax breaks, and the [[Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986]], which enacted sweeping changes to U.S. immigration law and granted amnesty to three million [[Illegal immigration to the United States|illegal immigrants]]. Reagan also appointed more [[Federal judiciary of the United States|federal judges]] than any other president, including four [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] Justices.
Reagan's [[Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration|foreign policy]] stance was resolutely [[anti-communism|anti-communist]]; its plan of action, known as the [[Reagan Doctrine]], sought to [[rollback|roll back]] the global influence of the [[Soviet Union]] in an attempt to end the Cold War. Under
Historians and political scientists generally [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|rank]] Reagan in the upper tier of American presidents, and consider him to be one of the most important presidents since [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Supporters of Reagan's presidency have pointed to his contributions to the economic recovery of the 1980s, the peaceful end of the Cold War, and a broader restoration of American confidence. However, Reagan's presidency has received criticism from some democrats for rising budget deficits and [[Wealth inequality in the United States|wealth inequality]] during and after his presidency, as well as for his leadership of the executive branch, particularly during the Iran–Contra affair. Due to Reagan's impact on public discourse and advocacy of [[Conservatism in the United States|American conservatism]], some historians have described the period during and after his presidency as the [[Reagan Era]].
==Background==
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Even prior to becoming president, Reagan was the leader of a dramatic conservative shift that undercut many of the domestic and foreign policies that had dominated the national agenda for decades.<ref>Bruce J. Schulman and Julian E. Zelizer, eds. ''Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s'' (Harvard UP, 2008) pp 1–10.</ref><ref>Andrew Busch, ''Reagan's victory: the presidential election of 1980 and the rise of the right'' (UP of Kansas, 2005).</ref> A major factor in the rise of conservatism was the growing distrust of government in the aftermath of the [[Watergate scandal]]. While distrust of high officials had been an American characteristic for two centuries, Watergate engendered heightened levels of suspicion and encouraged the media to engage in a vigorous search for scandals.<ref>J. Lull, and S. Hinerman, "The search for scandal' in J. Lull & S. Hinerman, eds. ''Media scandals: Morality and desire in the popular culture marketplace'' (1997) pp. 1–33.</ref> An unexpected new factor was the emergence of the [[Christian right|religious right]] as a cohesive political force that gave strong support to conservatism.<ref>Paul Boyer, "The Evangelical Resurgence in 1970s American Protestantism" in Schulman and Zelizer, eds. ''Rightward bound'' pp 29–51.:</ref><ref>Stephen D. Johnson and Joseph B. Tamney, "The Christian Right and the 1980 presidential election." ''Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion'' (1982) 21#2: 123–131. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1385498 online]</ref>
Other factors in the rise of the conservative movement were the emergence of a "[[culture war]]" as a triangular battle among conservatives, traditional liberals, and the [[New Left]], involving such issues as individual freedom, divorce, sexual freedom, abortion, and homosexuality.<ref>James Davison Hunter, ''Culture wars: The struggle to control the family, art, education, law, and politics in America'' (1992).</ref> A mass movement of population from the cities to the suburbs led to the creation of a new group of voters less attached to [[New Deal]] economic policies and [[political machine|machine politics]].{{sfn|Wilentz|2008|pp=23–24}} Meanwhile, it became socially acceptable for conservative Southern whites, especially well
===1980 election===
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[[File:ElectoralCollege1980.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|1980 Electoral College vote results]]
Reagan, who had served as [[Governor of California]] from 1967 to 1975, narrowly lost the [[1976 Republican Party presidential primaries|1976 Republican presidential primaries]] to incumbent President [[Gerald Ford]]. With the defeat of Ford by Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]] in the [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 election]], Reagan immediately became the front-runner for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination.{{sfn|Weisberg|2016|pp=56–57}} A darling of the conservative movement, Reagan faced more moderate Republicans such as [[George H. W. Bush]], [[Howard Baker]], and [[Bob Dole]] in the [[1980 Republican Party presidential primaries|1980 Republican presidential primaries]]. After Bush won the Iowa caucuses, he became Reagan's primary challenger, but Reagan won the New Hampshire primary and most of the following primaries, gaining an insurmountable delegate lead by the end of March 1980. Ford was Reagan's first choice for his running mate, but Reagan backed away from the idea out of the fear of a "
[[File:President Jimmy Carter welcomes President-elect Ronal Reagan and Nancy Reagan to the White House for a tour.jpg|thumb|Outgoing President [[Jimmy Carter]] and President-elect Ronald Reagan with his wife [[Nancy Reagan|Nancy]] in the [[Oval Office]] on November 20, 1980]]
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Baker and Treasury Secretary Regan switched positions at the beginning of Reagan's second term.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=472–474}} Regan centralized power within his office, and he took on the responsibilities that had been held by Baker, Deaver, and Meese, the latter of whom succeeded [[William French Smith]] as attorney general in 1985.{{sfn|Wilentz|2008|pp=178–180}} Regan frequently clashed with First Lady [[Nancy Reagan]], and he left the administration in the wake of the [[Iran–Contra affair]] and Republican losses in the [[1986 United States elections|1986 mid-term elections]]. Regan was replaced by former Senate Majority Leader [[Howard Baker]].{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=645–649}}
==Judicial appointments==
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===Economy===
Reagan took office in the midst of poor economic conditions, as the country experienced [[stagflation]], a phenomenon in which both inflation and unemployment were high.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=221–222}} The economy experienced a brief period of growth early in Reagan's first year in office, but plunged into a recession in July 1981.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=90–91}} As the recession continued in the first two years of Reagan's presidency, many within Reagan's administration blamed the policies of [[Paul Volcker]], the Chair of the [[Federal Reserve System|Federal Reserve]]. But Reagan himself never criticized Volcker.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/shared/minitext/int_paulvolcker.html#6 |title=Commanding Heights, Paul Volcker Interview |date=September 26, 2000 |website=PBS |access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref> Volcker sought to fight inflation by pursuing a policy of "tight money" in which interest rates were set at a high level.<ref name="brands317319"/> High interest rates would restrict lending and investment, which would in turn lower inflation, raise unemployment and, at least in the short term, reduce economic growth.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=88–90}} Unemployment reached a high of nearly 11% in 1982,<ref name="brands317319">Brands, pp. 317–319</ref> [[Poverty in the United States|poverty]] rate rose from 11.7 percent to 15 percent.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=85}} The country emerged from recession in 1983,{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=452–453}} but not all shared equally in the economic recovery, and [[economic inequality]] and the number of [[Homelessness in the United States|homeless]] individuals both increased during the 1980s.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=166–167}}{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=145}} Fearful of damaging confidence in the economic recovery, Reagan nominated Volcker to a second term in 1983, and Volcker remained in office until 1987.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=668–671}} Inflation dropped to approximately 3.5% in 1985, while the unemployment rate fell to about 5% in 1988.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=162–163}} In 1987, Reagan appointed conservative economist [[Alan Greenspan]] to succeed Volcker, and Greenspan would lead the Federal Reserve until 2006. Greenspan raised interest rates in another attempt to curb inflation, setting off a [[stock market crash]] in October 1987 known as "[[Black Monday (1987)|Black Monday]]
===Labor===
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[[File:President Ronald Reagan addressing British Parliament in London, England.jpg|thumb|As the first U.S. president invited to speak before the [[British Parliament]] (June 8, 1982), Reagan predicted [[Marxism-Leninism]] would end up on the "[[ash heap of history]]"<ref>{{cite web|author=Reagan, Ronald.|date=June 8, 1982|url=http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-parliament.htm|title=Ronald Reagan Address to British Parliament|publisher=The History Place|access-date=April 19, 2006}}</ref>]]
Reagan escalated the Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy of détente which had begun in 1979 after the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion]] of [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=12594|title=Towards an International History of the War in Afghanistan, 1979–89|access-date=May 16, 2007|year=2002|publisher=The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011144144/http://wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=12594|archive-date=October 11, 2007 }}</ref> Reagan feared that the Soviet Union had gained a military advantage over the United States, and the Reagan administration hoped that heightened military spending would grant the U.S. military superiority and weaken the Soviet economy.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=66–67}} Reagan ordered a massive buildup of the [[United States Armed Forces]], directing funding to the [[B-1 Lancer]] bomber, the [[Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit|B-2 Spirit bomber]], [[cruise missile]]s, the [[LGM-118 Peacekeeper|MX missile]], and the [[600-ship Navy]].{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=200}} In response to Soviet deployment of the [[SS-20]], Reagan oversaw [[NATO]]'s deployment of the [[Pershing missile]] in West Germany.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=205}} The president also strongly denounced the Soviet Union and Communism in moral terms,{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=67}} describing the Soviet Union as an "[[Evil Empire speech|evil empire]]."{{sfn|Cannon|
[[File:Reagan sitting with people from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in February 1983.jpg|thumb|right|Meeting with leaders of the Afghan [[Mujahideen]] in the Oval Office, 1983]]
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===Reagan Doctrine===
{{Main|Reagan Doctrine}}
Under a policy that came to be known as the [[Reagan Doctrine]], the Reagan administration provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist [[Guerrilla warfare|resistance movements]] in an effort to "[[rollback]]" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19860301faessay7785/stephen-s-rosenfeld/the-reagan-doctrine-the-guns-of-july.html|title=The Reagan Doctrine: The Guns of July|author =Stephen S. Rosenfeld|journal =[[Foreign Affairs]]|date =Spring 1986|volume=64|issue=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165407/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19860301faessay7785/stephen-s-rosenfeld/the-reagan-doctrine-the-guns-of-july.html|archive-date=September 30, 2007}}</ref> In Eastern Europe, the CIA provided support to the Polish opposition group, [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]], ensuring that it stayed afloat during a [[Martial law in Poland|period of martial law]].{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=883–884}} Reagan deployed the CIA's [[Special Activities Division]] to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the CIA was instrumental in training, equipping, and leading [[Islamic Unity of Afghanistan Mujahideen|Mujahideen]] forces against the Soviet Army in the [[Soviet–Afghan War]].<ref name="Crile 2003">{{Cite book|first=George|last=Crile|title=Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History|publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press|year=2003|isbn=0-87113-854-9|url=https://archive.org/details/charliewilsonswa00cril}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Pach, Chester|title=The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|year=2006|volume=36 |issue=1|pages=75–88|doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00288.x|jstor=27552748}}</ref> By 1987, the United States was sending over $600 million a year, as well as weapons, intelligence, and combat expertise to Afghanistan. The Soviet Union announced it would withdraw from Afghanistan in 1987, but the U.S. was subjected to [[blowback (intelligence)|blowback]] in the form of the [[Taliban]] and [[al-Qaeda]], two groups that arose out of the Mujahideen and that would oppose the United States in future conflicts.{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=883–884}}
Although leading conservatives argued that Reagan's foreign policy strategy was essential to protecting their security interests, critics labeled the initiatives as aggressive and imperialistic, and chided them as "warmongering".<ref name="PBS">{{Cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/reagan_foreign.html|title=Foreign Affairs: Ronald Reagan|publisher=PBS|access-date=June 6, 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070616130526/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/reagan_foreign.html|archive-date=June 16, 2007}}</ref> Reagan was also heavily criticized for backing [[anti-communist]] leaders accused of severe [[human rights violations]], such as [[Hissène Habré]]<ref>{{cite web|title=From U.S. Ally to Convicted War Criminal: Inside Chad's Hissène Habré's Close Ties to Reagan Admin|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/31/from_us_ally_to_convicted_war|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=Democracy Now!|language=en}}</ref> and [[Efraín Ríos Montt]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 9, 2004|title=Critics question Reagan legacy|language=en-GB|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3788229.stm|access-date=January 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=What Guilt Does the U.S. Bear in Guatemala?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/05/19/what-guilt-does-the-us-bear-in-guatemala|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=The New York Times|language=en}}</ref> Montt was the [[president of Guatemala]] and the [[Guatemalan military]] was accused [[Guatemalan genocide|of genocide]] for massacres of members of the [[Ixil people]] and other indigenous groups.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=April 2, 2018 |title=Gen Efraín Ríos Montt obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/02/gen-efrain-rios-montt-obituary|work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=January 3, 2023}}</ref> Reagan had said that Montt was getting a "bum rap",<ref name="ABC News on Guatemala, May 14, 2013"/> and described him as "a man of great personal integrity".<ref>{{cite web|title=Allan Nairn: After Ríos Montt Verdict, Time for U.S. to Account for Its Role in Guatemalan Genocide|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/15/allan_nairn_after_ros_montt_verdict|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=Democracy Now!|language=en}}</ref> Previous human rights violations had prompted the United States to cut off aid to the Guatemalan government, but the Reagan administration unsuccessfully appealed to Congress to restart military aid. However, the administration successfully provided nonmilitary assistance such as the [[United States Agency for International Development]].<ref name="ABC News on Guatemala, May 14, 2013">{{cite web|title=Did Reagan Finance Genocide in Guatemala?|url=https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/ronald-reagan-finance-genocide-guatemala/story?id=19179627|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=ABC News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/03/24/ronald_reagans_genocidal_secret_a_true_story_of_right_wing_impunity_in_guatemala/ |title=Ronald Reagan's genocidal secret: A true story of right-wing impunity in Guatemala |work=Salon |first=Miles |last=Culpepper |date=March 24, 2015 }}</ref>
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The Reagan administration placed a high priority on the Central America and the [[Caribbean Sea]], which it saw as a key front in the Cold War. Reagan and his foreign policy team were particularly concerned about the potential influence of [[Cuba]] on countries such as [[Grenada]], [[Nicaragua]], and [[El Salvador]]. To counter the influence of Cuba and the Soviet Union, Reagan launched the [[Caribbean Basin Initiative]], an economic program designed to aid countries opposed to Communism. He also authorized covert measures, such as the arming of Nicaragua's [[Contras]], to minimize Cuban and Soviet influence in the region.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=350–357}} The administration provided support to right-wing governments throughout Latin America, disregarding humans rights abuses in countries like [[Argentina]] and El Salvador.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|pp=73, 77–79}}
Tensions rose between the left-wing [[Grenada]]n government of [[Maurice Bishop]] and the U.S. because Cuban construction workers were building an airfield on the island. On October 16, 1983, pro-Communist forces of [[Hudson Austin]] led a coup against Bishop, who was subsequently arrested and executed. Reagan dispatched approximately 5,000 U.S. soldiers to [[United States invasion of Grenada|invade Grenada]] nine days after. After two days of fighting that resulted in the deaths of nineteen Americans, forty-five Grenadans, and twenty-four Cubans, Austin's government was overthrown.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=205–206}} Reagan then declared, "Our days of weakness are over. Our military forces are back on their feet and standing tall."<ref>{{cite news |last=Clines |first=Francis X. |date=December 13, 1983 |title=Military of U.S. 'Standing Tall,' Reagan Asserts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/13/nyregion/military-of-us-standing-tall-reagan-asserts.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 31, 2023}}</ref> While the invasion enjoyed public support in the United States and Grenada,<ref name=Magnuson>{{Cite news| last =Magnuson |first =Ed |title =Getting Back to Normal |newspaper=Time |date =November 21, 1983 |url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926318-1,00.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080214134050/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926318-1,00.html|archive-date = February 14, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution: 1980–1989|publisher=Crown Forum|isbn=978-1-4000-5357-5|
===Iran–Contra affair===
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Reagan came under much criticism in 1985 when he was accused of honoring Nazi war criminals at a cemetery in West Germany.<ref>Richard J. Jensen, ''Reagan at Bergen-Belsen and Bitburg'' (Texas A&M University Press, 2007).</ref> In February 1985, the administration accepted an invitation for Reagan to visit a German military cemetery in [[Bitburg]] and to place a wreath alongside West German Chancellor [[Helmut Kohl]]. Deaver was given assurances by a German head of protocol that no war criminals were buried there. It was later determined that the cemetery held the graves of 49 members of the [[Waffen-SS]]. What neither Deaver nor other administration officials initially realized was that many Germans distinguished the regular SS, who typically were composed of Nazi true believers, and the Waffen-SS which were attached to military units and composed of conscripted soldiers.<ref>{{harvnb|Cannon|2000|pp=[https://archive.org/details/presidentreagan000cann/page/508 507–08]}}<!--: "Neither Reagan nor Deaver nor anyone else in the White House involved with the president's participation in the Bitburg ceremony realized that many Germans distinguished"--></ref>
As the controversy brewed in April 1985, Reagan issued a statement that called the Nazi soldiers buried in that cemetery as themselves "victims
===Middle East===
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====Lebanon====
A [[Lebanese Civil War|civil war]] had broken out in [[Lebanon]] in 1975, and both [[Israel]] and [[Syria]] undertook military action within Lebanon in 1982.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=366–367}} After Israel [[1982 Lebanon War|invaded]] [[Southern Lebanon]], Reagan faced domestic and international pressure to oppose the Israeli invasion, but Reagan was reluctant to openly break Israel. Reagan sympathized with Israeli's desire to defeat [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]] forces that had struck Israel from Lebanon, but he pressured Israel to end its invasion as casualties mounted and Israeli forces approached the Lebanese capital of [[Beirut]].{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=382–385}} American diplomat [[Philip Habib]] arranged a cease-fire in which Israel, Syria, and the PLO, all agreed to evacuate their forces from Lebanon. As Israel delayed a full withdrawal and violence continued in Lebanon, Reagan arranged for a [[Multinational Force in Lebanon|multinational force]], including [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]], to serve as peacekeepers in Lebanon.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=386–389}} In October 1983, [[1983 Beirut barracks bombings|two nearly-simultaneous bombings]] in Beirut killed 241 American Marines and 58 French soldiers.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=394–395}} The international peacekeeping force was withdrawn from Lebanon in 1984. In reaction to the role Israel and the United States played in the Lebanese Civil War, a [[Shia Islam|Shia]] militant group known as [[Hezbollah]] began to take American hostages, holding eight Americans by the middle of 1985.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=488–491}} The Reagan administration's attempts to release these hostages would be a major component of the Iran-Contra Scandal. In response to the U.S. intervention in Lebanon, the Defense Department developed the "[[Powell Doctrine]]," which stated that the U.S. should intervene militarily as a last resort and should set clear and limited goals in such interventions.{{sfn|Herring|2008|p=875}} Though termed the Powell doctrine, the policy was originally developed by Secretary of Defense Weinberger, who was influenced not only by Lebanon but also by the experience of the Vietnam War.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=200–201}}
====Libya bombing====
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[[File:President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Camp David 1986.jpg|thumb|British Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] (here walking with President Reagan at [[Camp David]] in 1986) granted the U.S. use of British airbases to launch the Libya attack]]
Relations between Libya and the United States under President Reagan were continually contentious, beginning with the [[Gulf of Sidra incident (1981)|Gulf of Sidra incident]] in 1981; by 1982, Libyan leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]] was considered by the CIA to be, along with USSR leader [[Leonid Brezhnev]] and Cuban leader [[Fidel Castro]], part of a group known as the "unholy trinity" and was also labeled as "our international public enemy number one" by a CIA official.<ref name=iokp;>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925697,00.htm |first1=Strobe |last1=Talbott | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107131613/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925697,00.htm | archive-date=November 7, 2012 | title= Libya: Fury in the Isolation Ward|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=August 23, 1982|access-date=August 12, 2011}}</ref> These tensions were later revived in early April 1986, when [[1986 Berlin discotheque bombing|a bomb exploded in a West Berlin discothèque]], resulting in the injury of 63 American military personnel and death of one serviceman. Stating that there was "irrefutable proof" that Libya had directed the "terrorist bombing," Reagan authorized the use of force against the country. In the late evening of April 15, 1986, the United States launched a series of [[airstrike]]s on ground targets in Libya.{{sfn|Tucker|2012|page=2102}}<ref name="4-15">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/15/newsid_3975000/3975455.stm|title=1986:US Launches air-strike on Libya|access-date=April 19, 2008|date=April 15, 2008|work=BBC News }}</ref>
[[File:President_Ronald_Reagan_with_President_Hissène_Habré_of_Chad.jpg|thumb|256x256px|Chadian president [[Hissène Habré]] at the [[White House]]. Habré was supported by the Reagan administration as an ally against Gaddafi's Libya<ref>{{cite web |date=June 28, 2016 |title=Enabling a Dictator: The United States and Chad's Hissène Habré 1982–1990 |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/28/enabling-dictator/united-states-and-chads-hissene-habre-1982-1990 |access-date=December 24, 2022 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref>]]
Britain's prime minister, [[Margaret Thatcher]], allowed the U.S. Air Force to use Britain's air bases to launch the attack, on the justification that the UK was supporting America's right to self-defense under Article 51 of the [[United Nations Charter]].<ref name="4-15" /> The attack was designed to halt Gaddafi's "ability to export terrorism," offering him "incentives and reasons to alter his criminal behavior."{{sfn|Joint Chiefs of Staff|2017|page=VII-5}} The president addressed the nation from the [[Oval Office]] after the attacks had commenced, stating, "When our citizens are attacked or abused anywhere in the world on the direct orders of hostile regimes, we will respond so long as I'm in this office."<ref name="4-15" /> The attack was condemned by many countries. By a vote of 79 in favor to 28 against with 33 abstentions, the [[United Nations General Assembly]] adopted resolution 41/38 which "condemns the military attack perpetrated against the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on April 15, 1986, which constitutes a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r038.htm |title=A/RES/41/38 November 20, 1986 |publisher=United Nations |access-date=April 14, 2014}}</ref>
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{{Main|1982 United States elections}}
In the 1982 mid-term elections, Democrats retained a majority of the House while Republicans retained control of the Senate. Democratic gains in the House put a check on Reagan's policies, as the incoming Congress was significantly less open to Reagan's conservative policies. Despite the Democratic electoral gains, the election represented the first time since the [[
===1984 re-election campaign===
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|}
In the 1986 mid-term elections, Democrats retained a majority of the House and won control of the Senate for the first time since the 1980 elections. Reagan campaigned hard for congressional Republicans, and an October 1986 New York Times/CBS News Poll had found that Reagan had a 67
===1988 presidential election===
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[[File:Gallup Poll-Approval Rating-Ronald Reagan.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Graph of Reagan's approval ratings in [[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] polls]]
Since Reagan left office in 1989, substantial debate has occurred among scholars, historians, and the general public surrounding his legacy.<ref>Andrew L. Johns, ed., ''A Companion to Ronald Reagan'' (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015).</ref> Supporters have pointed to a more efficient and prosperous economy as a result of Reagan's economic policies,{{sfn|Hayward|
Critics contend that Reagan's economic policies resulted in rising budget deficits,{{sfn|Cannon|Beschloss|2001|p=128}} a wider [[Wealth inequality in the United States|gap in wealth]], and an increase in [[homelessness]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/reagans-real-legacy/ |title=Reagan's Real Legacy |last=Dreier |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Dreier |date=February 4, 2011 |website=[[The Nation]] |language=en-US |access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref> Liberals especially disapproved of Reagan's simultaneous tax cuts for the wealthy and benefit cuts for the poor.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=158}} Some critics assert that the Iran–Contra affair lowered American credibility.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gilman|first=Larry|url=http://www.espionageinfo.com/Int-Ke/Iran-Contra-Affair.html|title=Iran-Contra Affair|publisher=Advameg|access-date=August 23, 2007}}</ref> In his popular book, ''The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers'', historian [[Paul Kennedy]] argued that Reagan's high level of defense would eventually lead to the decline of the United States as a [[great power]].{{sfn|Patterson|2005|p=202}} Reagan's leadership and understanding of issues has also been questioned, and even some members of the administration criticized Reagan's passive demeanor during meetings with staff and cabinet members.{{sfn|Patterson|2005|pp=160–161}} [[Richard Pipes]], a member of the National Security Council, criticized Reagan as "really lost, out of his depth, uncomfortable" at NSC meetings.{{sfn|Leffler|
Despite the continuing debate surrounding his legacy, many conservative and liberal scholars agree that Reagan has been one of the most influential presidents since Franklin Roosevelt, leaving his imprint on American politics, diplomacy, culture, and economics through his effective communication, dedicated patriotism and pragmatic compromising.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://millercenter.org/president/reagan/essays/biography/8|title=American President|access-date=October 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141011080053/http://millercenter.org/president/reagan/essays/biography/8|archive-date=October 11, 2014}}</ref> Since he left office, historians have reached a consensus,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Henry|first1=David|title=Ronald Reagan and the 1980s: Perceptions, Policies, Legacies. Ed. by Cheryl Hudson and Gareth Davies. (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. xiv, 268 pp. $84.95, ISBN 978-0-230-60302-8.)|journal=[[The Journal of American History]]|date=December 2009|volume=96|issue=3|pages=933–934|doi=10.1093/jahist/96.3.933|jstor=25622627}}</ref> as summarized by British historian M. J. Heale, who finds that scholars now concur that Reagan rehabilitated conservatism, turned the nation to the right, practiced a considerably pragmatic conservatism that balanced ideology and the constraints of politics, revived faith in the presidency and in [[American exceptionalism]], and contributed to victory in the Cold War.<ref>Heale, M.J. in Cheryl Hudson and Gareth Davies, eds. ''Ronald Reagan and the 1980s: Perceptions, Policies, Legacies'' (2008) Palgrave Macmillan {{ISBN|0-230-60302-5}} p. 250</ref> [[Hugh Heclo]] argues that Reagan himself failed to roll back the [[welfare state]], but that he contributed to a shift in attitudes that led to the defeat of efforts to further expand the welfare state.{{sfn|Heclo|2008|pp=558–560}} Heclo further argues that Reagan's presidency made American voters and political leaders more tolerant of deficits and more opposed to taxation.{{sfn|Heclo|2008|pp=562–563}}
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* {{cite book|last = Beschloss|first=Michael|title=Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America 1789–1989|url = https://archive.org/details/presidentialcour00besc|url-access = registration|year =2007|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=9780684857053}}
* {{cite book|last=Cannon|first=Lou|author-link=Lou Cannon|title=President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime|orig-year=1991|year=2000|publisher=Public Affairs|location=New York|isbn=1-891620-91-6|url=https://archive.org/details/presidentreagan000cann}}
* {{cite book | title = Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio: A History Illustrated from the Collection of the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum | first = Lou | last = Cannon | author-link = Lou Cannon |
* {{cite journal|last1=Heclo|first1=Hugh|title=The Mixed Legacies of Ronald Reagan|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|date=2008|volume=38|issue=4|pages=555–574|doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2008.02664.x|jstor=41219701}}
* {{cite book|last1=Herring|first1=George C.|title=From Colony to Superpower; U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776|date=2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-507822-0|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcolonytosupe00herr}}
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* {{cite book|last1=Weisberg|first1=Jacob|title=Ronald Reagan|date=2016|publisher=Times Books|isbn=978-0-8050-9728-3}}
* {{cite book|last1=Wilentz|first1=Sean|title=The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008|date=2008|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-074480-9|url=https://archive.org/details/ageofreaganhisto00wile}}
* {{cite report |last1=Joint Chiefs of Staff |title="JP 3-0, Joint Operations" |date=17 January 2017 |publisher=Homeland Security Digital Library |url=https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=798700 |access-date=27 September 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308191339/https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=798700 |archive-date= Mar 8, 2022 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Tucker |first1=Spencer C. |title=Almanac of American Military History [4 volumes]: [4 volumes] |date=21 November 2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-59884-531-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-uPNEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
{{Refend}}
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* Ehrman, John. ''The Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan.'' (2005)
* Graff, Henry F., ed. ''The presidents: A Reference History'' (3rd ed. 2002)
* Hertsgaard, Mark. (1988) ''On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency''. New York, New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux.
* Hill, Dilys M. and Raymond A. Moore, eds. ''The Reagan Presidency'' (Palgrave Macmillan, 1990) essays by scholars; 252pp.
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* [http://www.shmoop.com/reagan-era/ Reagan Era] study guide, timeline, quotes, trivia, teacher resources
{{Presidency of Ronald Reagan}}
{{Ronald Reagan}}
{{US Presidential Administrations}}
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