...our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” - Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. He was President from 1981 to 1989. He played a major role in ending the Cold war. He strengthened the military. To defeat the Communists he used force where as many former presidents had used appeasement. One of his speeches helped influence the destruction of the Berlin Wall. Through his domestic affairs he stimulated the economy. He enacted many tax and budget cuts. Unemployment also dropped. Both Ronald and Nancy Reagan started an anti-drug campaign. This led Ronald Reagan to pass an act with tight enforcement on drug laws that backfired. The...
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...Who Is Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan is the former governor of California, a former Hollywood actor, but he will most be remembered as the 40th President of the United States of America. Ronald Reagan is the most underrated President in the history of this great country. His contributions to the growth of the United States economy throughout his two terms in office are un-matched. He successfully curbed inflation and reduced government spending, ended the Cold War, fought hard against the war on drugs, and successfully survived several assassination attempts. Ending the Cold War The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western Bloc and powers in the Eastern Bloc. The cold was started in 1947 and lasted until its official ending in 1991. It was referred to as the “Cold War” because instead of using actual weapons the two sides used verbal weapons in the form of information and threats. Enter Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States. Reagan was determined to end the Cold War and therefore introduced what would become known as the Reagan Doctrine. The Reagan Doctrine took the United States cold war plan into Third World Countries and provided military and economic support to various dictatorships in these countries to help aid the resistance of any revolutionary movement. He also armed oppositional armies so that they may rise up against any pro-Soviet government. The outcome of all of Reagan’s efforts...
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...The most noteworthy component of Ronald Reagan’s two terms as leader of the free world are the laws, regulations, and policies passed under his two terms as President of the United States. These regulations soon became known as “Reaganomics”, a term that is still used today to describe these policies. Hidden underneath the manufactured depiction of Reaganomics policies by mass media lies a controversial observation: these policies may have created a permanent shift in American society which, as a result, disenfranchised minorities since they went into effect over thirty years ago. This particular idea or theory is exceptionally contradictory and has been distorted by not only various media outlets but by subsequent pro-Reaganomics politicians over the years. A closer look at the actions taken place under Reagan’s administration will explicate Reagan’s administration detrimental effect on members of minority groups which, in some cases, still affects these groups today. These policies include but are not limited to the reduction of social programming, the impoverishment of black people, the “War on Drugs”, the administration’s response to crises such as AIDS, and its approach to Civil Rights and LGBT rights (or lack thereof). When former President Ronald Wilson Reagan was first elected into office in 1980, the country’s inflation rate was the highest it had been since 1947. After his election, President Reagan wasted no time in implementing his domestic policies for the economy...
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...Ronald Reagan: America's Savior In a time when America was at an all time low, a retired actor from a small town in Illinois would rally Americans to stand together and overcome a crumbling economy, communism, growing foreign tensions with the middle east, and to wage war on the home front against the use and spread of drugs. To many all around the world , this man would become the savior of America. Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 to Jack and Nelle Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. The Reagan family moved to Dixon in 1920, where Ronald excelled in high school, earning an athletic scholarship to Eureka College. Ronald majored in economics and sociology without knowing how useful this decision would be in 1981. After graduating from Eureka in 1932 he got a job commentating football games and later became a Chicago Cubs play by play announcer. In 1937, on a trip with the Cubs to California he took a shot at acting and was hired by Warner Brothers. He was cast in a string of "B" rated movies. In fact by the end of his career Ronald had starred in over 70 films. During one of these films, Brother Rat, Ronald met actress Jane Wyman and on January 6, 1940 the two were married. They had a wonderful Hollywood marriage and had two biological children, Maureen in 1941 and Christine in 1947, they also adopted a son, Michael shortly after his birth in 1945. Sadly Christine only lived one day. In 1942, during WWII Ronald was ordered to active duty with the United...
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...of bloodshed and violence of the “Mexican Drug War” that never ceased to appall and bewilder the public-- in and outside Mexico-- has intensified in the beginning of 2006. The attribution of this intensity to the newly deployed military is neither gullible nor unfactual. “2010 was the year with the most violent deaths in the country,” acknowledged Felipe Calderón-- who augmented and expanded the military’s role in the war against drugs. Nevertheless, prior to Calderón’s administration, demands-- especially in the international level, and in particular from the U.S.-- have been strongly and repeatedly made to urge Mexico involve its military prowess and resources(Militarization of). As David R.Mares contends, the U.S. promotion-- incrementally for decades since the 1980s-- of the fallacy that the military has a unique ability for fighting the drug production and trafficking has proven futile and costly(David Maries). Due to the apparent ineffectiveness of the military in ameliorating the drug dilemma in Mexico, a multitude of military factions have expressed dissatisfaction.“I think there is frustration on the part of Mexican military personnel about being engaged in eternal conflict,” said Mexican Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos....
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...President Ronald Reagan turned the country around and made it a superior nation once again. President Reagan strengthened the United States economically, its military standpoint, and domestically. Ronald Reagan benefited the United States of America by helping putting an end to the Cold War, lowering taxes, and fighting against drug shipments into the country. President Ronald Reagan helped end the Cold War. When Reagan entered office in 1981, he pledged to rebuild the American military and confront Soviet Union and allies. Reagan tried to meet with many Soviet leaders, but none of the leaders agreed to meet with Reagan. In 1983, President Reagan called the Soviet Union “the evil empire”. When Gorbachev took position as the leader of the Soviet Union, the United States and Soviet Union began to negotiate terms. In 1987 President Ronald and leader Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty to reduce nuclears. The INF Treaty opened a gate to many more treaties between the United States and Soviet Union. These treaties and agreements later helped to end the Cold War. President Reagan also helped with collapse of...
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...my strong suit. It was mostly dead people's and dates, so I would be lying if I say I tried bringing it up since I was not particularly fond of it. Although my initial plan of going to the Ronald Reagan Library with friends, see the Vatican exhibit and take pictures at the replica of the Oval Office and of the Air Force One, I decided to go and see the Ronald Reagan Museum instead. I'm actually glad my friends and I couldn't find the right time to go together, since I had learned some history that I would not if they were with me. Let me start with a little history of the library and the museum itself. The Ronald Reagan Library and Museum has first opened in 1991. It contains 24 stunning galleries. When I entered the museum, friendly attendants were there to greet me. They offered me to watch a 3 minute introduction movie about Ronald Reagan and who he inspired and how he changed America. I watched and listened as the movie played information about Ronald Reagan's family and ancestors. It said he has ancestors from England, Scotland, and Ireland. His father, Jack, was the one who believed that all men are created equally. During his eighteen months in Hollywood, he played in small roles in 13 films. His first role was to play as a radio announcer in the movie "Love is on the Air". When Ronald Reagan went to the army, he was promoted Captain during his three and a half years in the U.S Army. It was a rough time or the people in California around 1996. Issues with ballooning budget...
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...Ronald Reagan: Underrated, Overrated or Both Erica Boozer HIS/145 April 10, 2014 Tee Swan Ronald Reagan: Underrated, Overrated or Both Was President Reagan overrated or underrated? This is such a controversial question. Some believe he was overrated while others believe the latter. Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911. In 1920, after living in a series of towns as a child, Reagan family settled in Dixon, Illinois. Here his father opened a shoe store (biography, 2014). Reagan graduated high school in 1928 and continued his adult education at Eureka College in Illinois. Here, he was an athlete and scholar. He played football, ran track, and was captain of the swim team. He also acted in school plays and was president of the student council (biography, 2014). Reagan graduated in 1932 and in the latter part of the thirties he signed a seven year contract with Warner Brothers studio. He starred in over 50 movies during his time as a Hollywood actor (biography, 2014). Political Career Reagan started his political ventures in 1964. He gave a televised speech for Barry Goldwater who was a Republican presidential candidate at the time. Two years later he became the governor of California and was re-elected for a second term in 1970 (biography, 2014). After two failed bids for the Republican presidential nomination, Reagan finally made it in 1980 when he beat Democratic incumbent and current...
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...Shakib Hossain Causal Argument English 191 February 2015 Why the War on Drugs Failed “For every prohibition you create, you also create an underground”. These words by famous musician Jello Biafra may sound prejudiced, but it is the truth we all live and have lived by since the prohibition era. The war on drugs has become a significant issue in today’s society, but people are not completely sure why the war on drugs has failed. In reference to Jello Biafra, the war on drugs is a type of a prohibition, but the real question is how big of an underground has this war created that it has ultimately failed. The start of the war on drugs can officially be dated as far back as 1971 when Richard Nixon declared drug abuse as “public enemy number one”, and he increased the size and presence of federal drug control agencies (Drug Policy Alliance, 2014). Later, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the number of people incarcerated for drug abuse shot up sky high due to his zero tolerance policy, and the unpredicted rise of illicit drug use. When we say the war on drugs has failed, we usually consider that the use of illicit drugs could not be reduced and is on the rise. However, it is also because it is costing more and more lives every day in addition to all the resources used coming out of the taxpayers’ pockets. In short, the war on drugs has failed because the government enforced punishment instead of prevention, which led to creating a black market that increased crime and corruption...
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...The Reagan Doctrine In his eight years serving as president of The United States from 1981 to 1989, Ronald Reagan accomplished numerous monumental tasks for the country. He brought America back from a horrendous economy by implementing across-the-board tax cut, deregulation, and restraining domestic spending. He brought the U.S. military back to life after it was diminished by his predecessor. However, President Reagan’s greatest accomplishment as president was his tireless effort in ending The Cold War with The Soviet Unions. In order to achieve his objective of stopping the spread of communism, President Reagan orchestrated and implemented the Reagan Doctrine to provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist guerrillas and resistance movements in an effort to "roll back" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. After the Sandinista Revolution of 1979, Nicaraguans went from being ruled by a strict right-wing dictatorship to being controlled by left wing, idealistic revolutionaries. Tensions developed between the Sandinistas and the U.S. government. When the U.S. Congress delayed aids which was promised to Nicaragua, the Sandinistas turned to other nations, such as the communist influenced Cuba, for help. The United States was fearful that this new revolutionary government will eventually turn to the Soviet Union for assistant, thus give the communist party the opportunity to strengthen its power. Since 1980, Moscow has provided the Sandinistas...
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...took place during the second term of Ronald Reagan. The involved government officials facilitated the sale of arms to Iran with the hope of releasing the American hostages held in Lebanon by a group of Hezbollah terrorists. Ronal Reagan was in support of the cause though what initially began as a strategic opening to Iran was reduced to a trade of arms for hostages. The hostages was eventually reduced and it was not until 1986 that the word had gotten out about the secret transactions. The foreign policy of the Reagan administration resulted to The Soviet Union being brought down. Reagan depressed the value of Soviet commodities, hence intensifying economic pressure, he decreased soviet access to high technology and also diminished their resources. When Mikhail Gorbechev became leader, he reformed both political and economic factors, therefore easing the tension between the Soviet Union and the US. He agreed to withdraw most of the nuclear arsenals and troops to withdraw from Afghanistan and Reagan abandoned hi Strategic Defense Initiative plans. This reforms led to Soviet Union collapsing and disintegrated into individual states. This effectively ended the world war. Advantages that US draws for Reagan’s policies, is that the Soviet Union went down and the cold war also ended. The US military was also reformed and there was a massive build up. During this time, Americans feared that the Strategic Defense Initiative would only lead to war and hence they rallied against it. Due...
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...Ronald Reagan started his long career in politics as a long standing Hollywood actor turned Governor of the state of California, with his first term as Governor beginning in 1967, and was re-elected in 1971. Reagan declined to run for a third term as Governor of California in 1975 and began to focus his political career towards the presidency, where in 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected the 40th President of the United States of America, with his presidential term running from 1981 to 1989. Ronald Reagan left behind various legacies throughout his tenure as President, which included drastic reductions of taxes, and stricter control of government spending, allowing him to succeed in managing inflation and stimulate the growth of the American economy. Reagan was known as the president who implemented the modern war on drugs, pioneering the “just say no” campaign and enacting the greatest expansion of zero tolerance legislation in history. Reagan was also known for being harsh against labor unions, with the most significant act being in 1981 with the blanket termination of professional air traffic controller organization (PATCO) members, who despite federal law, walked off the job and refused to end their strike and return to work. But Reagan may be most notably remembered for being the president who ended the cold war. President Reagan adopted an economic strategy known as “stagflation” in which he implemented drastic cuts of income taxes from approximately 70% to 28%, which effected...
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...It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back: The War on Drugs, Mass Incarceration, and a Call to Action for America's Black Youth By Carl L. Young An Alternative Plan Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Sociology: Corrections Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota Spring 2013 Final Draft 4/20/2013 1 This Alternative Plan Paper has been examined and approved by the following members of the Examining Committee. _____________________ Dr. Leah Rogne, Advisor _____________________ Dr. William Wagner _____________________ Dr. Penny Jo Rosenthal _____________________ Dr. Nadarajan Sethuraju ________________ Date 2 Abstract This alternative plan paper examines the circumstances that have evolved as a result of the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs and the increase of mass incarceration of the Black community. In the last thirty years, the federal government of the United States of America has engaged in campaign known as the “War on Drugs,” which has involved a variety of policies to stop the production, distribution and sale of illegal narcotics. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent in a war that has targeted the most vulnerable in our society, impacting its youth for generations to come. This alternative plan paper addresses the impact of the War on Drugs and the criminal justice policies that have impacted the life chances of Black youth nationwide and calls for a new social movement...
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...the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, the attitudes of the people evolved from privilege being reserved for whites only to a quest for the survival of humankind. There was a marked growth in the black middle class with the inception of the Harlem Renaissance which brought about the perception that African Americans had value in that they could entertain and were skilled at it. Another factor that was conducive to the outcome was the fact that racism began to decline and younger generations were much less racist than their parents and grandparents were. This evolution of attitudes towards African Americans brought about an awareness and testament to the world to what African Americans had to offer largely in part to the post civil war era whereby African Americans were progressive and they were interested in educating themselves after the end of slavery. Another event that moved us closer to the election of an African American President was the initiatives of Reverend Jesse Jackson who saw that opportunity to galvanize African American voters with the election of Harold Washington who was Chicago’s’ first African American mayor. Jesse Jackson was highly successful in pulling the African...
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...Anthony Soares Professor Minnis English 1A November 9, 2013 The Decriminalization of Drugs It goes without saying that America faces a drug addiction that is beyond anything we could have ever anticipated. It is reported that an estimated 22.5 million Americans suffer from a dependency from a drug of some sort, whether it may be stimulants, depressants or hallucinogens (NIDA 2). However these victims of addiction are often demonized for their condition and are treated as criminals by the infallible U.S. Government. As a result there is a trend of 1 in every 100 adults will end up incarcerated for a drug related offense such as possession (Drug Policy Alliance 1). So instead of treating addiction itself, many politicians decide that it is necessary to place these undesirables into prison in an effort to reform their ways. This trend of mass incarceration gained momentum in the early 70’s during the Nixon Administration with his “War on Drugs”, but in reality over the past 4 decades we have only seen the increase of drug addiction, overdose and any hardly any progress as a result. So where do we go from here? Well many liberals would whole-heartedly suggest that we legalize all controlled substances for recreational use, but that is a pipe dream reserved for a utopian society in a novel. Therefore I suggest a similar yet more conservative approach to this problem: the decriminalization of drugs. Instead of legalizing, which involves taxation and regulation of controlled substances;...
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