Presidency of Ronald Reagan: Difference between revisions

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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox administration
| image = OfficialRonald PortraitReagan of1985 Presidentpresidential Reaganportrait (cropped) 1981(2).jpg
| 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/
}}
|caption=Official portrait, 1981}}
{{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 Democrat former Democratic vice president [[Walter Mondale]], to win re-election in a larger landslide. Due to U.S. Constitutional law, Reagan was limited to two terms and was succeeded by his vice president, [[George H. W. Bush]], who won the [[1988 United States presidential election|1988 presidential election]]. Reagan's 1980 landslide election resulted from a dramatic [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative shift to the right]] in American politics, including a loss of confidence in [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]], [[New Deal]], and [[Great Society]] programs and priorities that had dominated the national agenda since the 1930s.
 
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.
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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 his doctrine, the Reagan administration initiated a massive buildup of the United States military; promoted new technologies such as missile defense systems; and, in 1983, undertook an [[invasion of Grenada]], the first major overseas action by U.S. troops since the end of the [[Vietnam War]]. The administration also created controversy by granting [[United States and state-sponsored terrorism|aid to paramilitary forces]] seeking to overthrow leftist governments, particularly in war-torn Central America and [[Afghanistan]]. Specifically, the Reagan administration engaged in covert arms sales to [[Iran]] to fund [[Contras|Contra]] rebels in Nicaragua that were fighting to overthrow their nation's socialist government; the resulting [[Iran–Contra affair]] led to the conviction or resignation of several administration officials. During Reagan's second term, he sought closer relations with Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and the two leaders signed a major [[arms control]] agreement known as the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|INF Treaty]].
 
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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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}}
 
{{clear}}
 
==Judicial appointments==
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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|19912000|pp=314–317}} Despite this heavy rhetoric,<ref>G. Thomas Goodnight, "Ronald Reagan's re‐formulation of the rhetoric of war: Analysis of the 'zero option,' 'evil empire,' and 'star wars' addresses." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 72.4 (1986): 390–414.</ref> the Reagan administration continued arms control talks with the Soviet Union in the form of "[[START I|START]]". Unlike the "[[Strategic Arms Limitation Talks|SALT]]" treaties of the 1970s, which set upper limits on the size of nuclear arsenals, the proposed START treaty would require both sides to reduce their existing nuclear arsenals.{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=868–869}}
 
[[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&nbsp;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|authorfirst=Steven F. |last= Hayward|year=2009|author-link=Steven F. Hayward}}</ref> it was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada and the [[United Nations General Assembly]] as "a flagrant violation of [[international law]]".<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/r38.htm |title=United Nations General Assembly resolution 38/7, page 19 |publisher=United Nations |date=November 2, 1983}}</ref>
 
===Iran–Contra affair===
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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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! [[97th United States Congress|97th]]{{efn|name="Congress"|17 days of the 97th Congress (January 3, 1981 – January 19, 1981) took place under President Carter, and 17 days of the 101st Congress (January 3, 1989 – January 19, 1989) took place during Reagan's second term.}}
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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 [[19281930 United States elections|19281930 elections]] that the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] successfully defended a majority in either chamber of Congress.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Busch|first1=Andrew|title=Horses in Midstream|url=https://archive.org/details/horsesinmidstrea0000busc|url-access=registration|date=1999|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/horsesinmidstrea0000busc/page/126 126]–135}}</ref>
 
===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 percent% approval rating. However, Senate Republicans faced a difficult map that year, as they had to defend 22 of the 34 seats up for election. Republican losses in the Senate were concentrated in the South and in the farm states.<ref name="1986midterms">{{cite news|last1=Dionne|first1=E.J. Jr.|title=ELECTIONS; DEMOCRATS GAIN CONTROL OF SENATE, DRAWING VOTES OF REAGAN'S BACKERS; CUOMO AND D'AMATO ARE EASY VICTORS; WHAT AWAITS CONGRESS; BROAD G.O.P. LOSSES|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/05/us/elections-democrats-gain-control-senate-drawing-votes-reagan-s-backers-cuomo-d.html|access-date=May 13, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=1986}}</ref> The Republican loss of the Senate precluded the possibility of further major conservative legislation during the Reagan administration.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Busch|first1=Andrew|title=Horses in Midstream|date=1999|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|pages=126–135}}</ref>
 
===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|20102009|pp=635–638}} foreign policy triumphs including a peaceful end to the Cold War,{{sfn|Beschloss|2007|p=324}} and a restoration of American pride and morale.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=746}} Proponents also argue Reagan restored faith in the American Dream<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/02/02/rollins.reagan/|title=Ronald Reagan restored faith in America|access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref> after a decline in American confidence and self-respect under Jimmy Carter's perceived weak leadership, particularly during the [[Iran hostage crisis]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lipset|first1=Seymour Martin|last2=Schneider|first2=William|title=The Decline of Confidence in American Institutions|url=http://www.planethan.com/drupal/sites/default/files/The%20Decline%20of%20Confidence%20in%20American%20Institutions%20%20By%20Lipset%20Seymour%20Martin%20and%20Schneider%20William%20Political%20Science%20Quarterly%20Fall83%20Vol%2098%20Issue%203%20p379.pdf|work=Political Science Quarterly|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822132334/http://www.planethan.com/drupal/sites/default/files/The%20Decline%20of%20Confidence%20in%20American%20Institutions%20%20By%20Lipset%20Seymour%20Martin%20and%20Schneider%20William%20Political%20Science%20Quarterly%20Fall83%20Vol%2098%20Issue%203%20p379.pdf|archive-date=August 22, 2016}}</ref> Reagan remains an important symbol of American conservatism, much in the same way that Franklin Roosevelt continued to serve as a symbol of liberalism long after his own death.{{sfn|Rossinow|2015|p=293}}
 
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|20172007|p=349}} Another NSC member, [[Colin Powell]], criticized Reagan's "passive management style [that] placed a tremendous burden on us."{{sfn|Pemberton|1997|p=151}}
 
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 | author2first2 = Michael |last2=Beschloss | publisher = PublicAffairs | isbn = 1-891620-84-3 | year = 2001 | url = https://archive.org/details/ronaldreaganpres00cann }}
* {{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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* Ehrman, John. ''The Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan.'' (2005)
* Graff, Henry F., ed. ''The presidents: A Reference History'' (3rd ed. 2002)
* Hayward, Steven F. ''The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution, 1980–1989'' (2010), highly favorable
* 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
 
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