Research Essay on Reagan Era

When Marty McFly tells Dr. Emmit Brown in 1955 that the President in 1985 will be Ronald Reagan, Doc replies in disbelief “Ronald Reagan, the actor? Then who’s Vice President then, Jerry Lewis?” Now this skepticism wasn’t completely uncalled for; before his political career Ronald Reagan was a famous actor and Doc probably had the same reaction of anyone else in that time period. However, Reagan the politician was much different than Reagan the actor. During the years of his administration the United States made massive gains in both the economy and in foreign affairs. He has been referred to by some as one of the most important and influential political leaders in modern American history and rightfully so. The principle of “Reaganomics” and the results of his effort to end the feud between the Soviet Union and the United States of America, summarized by his famous line of “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”, have helped shape the world into what it is today. When the Reagan Administration took office in 1981 they brought with it one of the most anticommunist policies that the United States had seen to date. However, by the end of his second term in office, Reagan had changed his views and realized that the conflict between the two world super powers could possibly be just a “mutual misperception.” There was three meetings held between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in which there were attempts to better the U.S.-Soviet relationship. The first summit, the Geneva Summit, was held in November of 1985 and it resulted in provided benefits for both sides. First, and most importantly, Reagan and Gorbachev “had come to like and respect each other,” which allowed for a successful endeavor. The second summit was the Reykjavik Summit, held in October of 1986. To many of the participants this meeting is considered a failure even though there was serious discussions about eliminating a major portion of both countries nuclear arsenal.1 The third summit, held in Washington D.C. in December of 1987, ended with great success. It was during this meeting that the two leaders reached a historical agreement to reduce the amount of nuclear weapons; it was called the INF treaty. It was also during this meeting that the General Secretary Gorbachev proposed a mutual suspension of nuclear testing for the duration of the negotiations, another act of enormous importance.2 The dramatic decline in the U.S. economy in the 1970s and early 1980s was another issue that the Reagan administration inherited from the Carter administration. During the time preceding Reagan’s entrance into the White House an economic crisis had begun to develop and consume America. There were major industrial facilities shutting their doors for good, which led to a sharp increase in unemployment and the United States losing their competitive edge in both domestic and foreign markets. “Reaganomics” is a popular term used to describe Ronald Reagan’s economic policies; within these policies Reagan called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, and the deregulation of the domestic of domestic markets, something that leans. The decline in inflation is said to be one of the successes of this economic policy along with a decrease in the unemployment rate and according to many economists, “Reagan’s policies were an important part of bringing about the second longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history.”3

Farnham, Barbara. "Reagan and the Gorbachev Revolution: Perceiving the End of Threat." Reagan and the Gorbachev Revolution: Perceiving the End of Threat. 116.2 (2001): 225-252. Web. 1 Dec. 2012. < http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.flcc.edu/stable/798060 >.
Magazzino, Cosimo. "The Economic Policy Of Ronald Reagan: Between Supply-Side And Keynesianism." European Journal Of Social Science 27.2-4 (2012): 319-334. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Dec. 2012.