...Ronald Reagan Rob Holmes HIS/145 November 14, 2013 Professor Pass Ronald Reagan Ronald W. Reagan was born February 6, 1911, and died June 5, 2004; Severed two terms as the 40th President of the United States of America from 1981 to 1989, succeeding President Jimmy Carter. Know as conservative Republican, hard-line anticommunist and skilled orator that earned him the nickname “the Great Communicator” (Ronald W. Reagan, 2013). Remembered for his foreign policies and is credited with the demise of the Soviet Union and ending the cold war and the Iran-Contra affair. Reagan is often credited with the release the remaining 51 American hostages that had been held captive in Iran for 444 days. During the Jimmy Carter administration on November 4, 1979 Islamic revolutionaries stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and captured 66 American hostages. The hostage crisis the most significant issue facing Americans in the final year of Carters final year as president and played a crucial roll in Carter not winning re-election (Iran hostage crisis. 2013). A political war was taking place in Iran with the left and right wing revolutionaries and their new leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini. The hostages were caught in the middle of the struggle. Iran issued the demand that as a condition of the hostage’s release, the shah who had entered the United States to seek medical treatment be extradited back to Iran. Iran also insisted that the United States stopped interfering in Iranian affairs...
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...The Iran-Contra Affair In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the presidential election, and despite his efforts to keep the Republican majority in Congress, the Democrats swept both houses in the midterm elections. This democratic majority would complicate President Reagan’s agenda, specifically in regard to the Reagan Doctrine, a policy that promoted American support for nations resisting communism. One example of a complication would be the Boland Amendment. The Reagan Doctrine laid the foundation for monetary and military assistance to “freedom fighters” all over the world who were fighting against communism. It was the basis for not only America’s support for the Contras in Nicaragua, but also for Afghanistan against the Soviet Union and for the...
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...Reagan Analysis George W Ivery III HIS 145 June 16, 2014 Shaun Sullivan Reagan Analysis President Ronald Reagan the 40th President of the United States had certain qualities that made people think of him in several different lights. One of the ways people saw him is overrated and taking credit for what he did not do when he resided at the White House as president. On the other hand some said he is much underrated due to him not getting proper credit for some of the things he did and changed while he was in office. He had quite a few items that are in the history of this country, which include the Principles of the New Right, the Iran Contra Affair, and credit for ending the Cold War between the United States (U. S.) and the Soviet Union (USSR). These are just a few items that will be taken into consideration to see if he was or was not the person that is liked or disliked by the people of the U. S. The election of President Reagan in 1980 saw the emergence of what was considered the “conservative cause known as the “New Right” movement, partly in response to counter-cultural protests of the 1960’s-evangelical Christian groups, social issues” (The resurgence of conservatism 1980-2000, 2014). The Reagan Doctrine; “A strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States under the Reagan Administration to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War” (The resurgence of conservatism 1980-2000, 2014). It is also known as...
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...Reagan Analysis Paper Reagan Analysis Paper Introduction Ronald Wilson Reagan was the fortieth president of the United States. A two term president, he served from 1981-1989. President Reagan won a landslide victory over Jimmy Carter running on a political platform consisting of jump starting the economy and bringing inflation down. This was to be accomplished through lowering taxes and cutting government spending. Many people consider Reagan an outstanding president but this paper contends he was an overrated president. This is based on the management of three issues facing his presidency. These are: economic policies, ending the Cold War, and the Iran-Contra affair. Economic Policies Throughout Reagan’s campaign he assaulted the Carter administration’s free-spending (Moss & Thomas, 2013, pp-208-210). He made promises to cut spending, but ultimately spent more. The most common misconception is that Reagan saved our economy with his famous Reaganomics. This of course included the modern trickle-down theory or supply-side economics, which included major tax decreases, specifically on the wealthy. These tax decreases, coupled with high military spending, created a massive debt and led the country into one of the worst depressions since the Great Depression. When Reagan entered the presidency in 1981 the national debt was at $900 billion. By the time he left it had over tripled to $2.8 trillion. To top it off, many of the military projects the money was used...
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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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...On Friday October 16, 1981, President Ronald Reagan wrote in his personal diary, “Central America is really the world’s next hotspot. Nicaragua is an armed camp supplied by Cuba and threatening a communist takeover of all of Central America.” (The Reagan Diaries, 2007) For the next eight years as Commander-in-Chief, this mindset would shape his perspective on the small Third World country about the size of North Carolina. The Administration’s policies, actions, and attitudes toward Nicaragua and other perceived hostile nations became known as “Reagan Doctrine.” The defeat of the Nicaraguan Revolution became the “cornerstone of the Reagan Central American policy and the test case of Reagan Doctrine.” (U.S. Intervention in the Nicaraguan Elections and American Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era, 1992) Reagan Doctrine was not a label coined by President Reagan or his administration. It was a term used later by his critics to define his foreign policy strategy for countries around the world. The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy to aid anti-communist, or more specifically, anti-Soviet insurgencies in the Third World during Reagan’s two terms as president from 1981-1989. The primary goal was to overthrow Marxist regimes and/or prevent Marxist regimes from becoming established. Reagan wasted no time getting started in the implementation of his foreign policy. The Administration’s first comprehensive “U.S. National Security Strategy,” which was a document approved by the President...
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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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...CROSSING THE LINE: IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR Writing Assignment 2 Chris Benjamin 4513163 HIST102 B025 Fall 14 Marc Wenner American Psychological Association November 16 2014 American Military University Introduction One of the most famous scandals of American history is the Iran-Contra Affair, which took place in 1985, during the Reagan administration. Shortly after taking office, President Reagan found himself facing difficult decisions, as many presidents have done so before and after him. Foreign policy is at the top of every presidents list during their term in office; Reagan’s foreign policy was to achieve “peace through strength”. This policy was put to the test when U.S. government officials became threatened of national security relations with two seemingly unrelated counties Iran and Nicaragua. Tension rose when radical Islamic movement overthrew U.S. backed Iran government in 1979. The U.S. tried bolstering relation with Iran by selling weapons to them, in turn the administration felt with the backing of Iran they could negotiate the release of seven American hostages being held by Iranian terrorists in Lebanon. On the other side of the world was Nicaragua which the U.S. has shown interest since the 20th century, due to the region’s close proximity to America. Relations with Nicaragua, falter after the Nicaragua government was toppled by a revolutionary government, the Sandinista Liberation Front. Tensions worsen, when Sandinistas sought relationship ties with Cuba...
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...The Iran-Contra Affair was a historical event that occurred as early as 1926 and lasted up to 1986. The majority of the affair occurred primarily during the administrations of United States Presidents James Earl “Jimmy” Carter (1977-1981) and Ronald Wilson Reagan (1981-1989). The participants of the affair range from National Security Advisors Robert McFarlane and John Poindexter, to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Another prominent member of the affair was National Security Council member Oliver North. Together with Iraq and the Contras the affair changed the history of the nation and its foreign policy. SECTION HEA The Contras are the right-wing, anti-communist group of rebels from Nicaragua.The rebels are opposed to the current government of Nicaragua, the Sandinista Junta of the National Reconstruction government, that is left-winged and socialist. The term “contra” is an abbreviation...
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...Assignment 4: Reagan Revolution and President Obama Demetria Davenport HIS 105 Professor Lashunda Calvert December 13, 2012 1. Identify at least two (2) turning points in the period under discussion. 1. Ronald Reagan is President who was also an actor on the movie screen. The Iran-Contra Affair, the United States sold weapons to Iran for use in their war with Iraq. Reagan did this despite an embargo against Iran( imposed after the 1979 hostage crisis) and the fact that Iran was at an avowed enemy; the United States was t the same time offering support to Iran because top official in the Reagan administration hoped that selling arms to Iran would ease relation between the United States and Iran. More damning is that members of Reagan ‘s administration took profits from the sales of arms to Iran and sent the money to a right wing guerrilla group in Nicaragua called the Contras, who were battling the left wing government. It was never proved that Reagan was aware that Iran arms sale finds had been diverted to the contras, but the nationally televised testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North demonstrated that Reagan was probably not aware of the contra affair and that he had not, therefore, sufficiently controlled his administration. At, Reagan behest, Congress investigated the affair, chastised the president, and indicted several of his men. The aftermath included resignations, fines, and imprisonment for a handful of Reagan’s functionaries, and public embarrassment...
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...Doctrine of Reagan Mrs. J. Y. Baker Prof. Thomas Payne Jr. – POL 300 February 4, 2012 Doctrine of Reagan With the threat of The Cold War, U.S. Presidents beginning with Truman had to create doctrines to find remedies for the problem of communism and its expansion. The doctrine of Ronald W. Reagan was especially noteworthy because it initiated a revolutionized foreign policy after World War II. The Cold War brought trepidation of nuclear bombing that sent panic through the U.S. government. This is why previously the U.S. chose not to challenge the Soviet Union head-on. Officials felt American’s weren’t ready to send their loved ones to fight another war on foreign soil after Vietnam listed so many casualties. However with the risk of communism spreading further and possibly encompassing the globe, the U.S. just couldn’t take a backseat and keep quiet. In 1983, Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union an “evil empire” using a speech written by Dolan for the opposite purpose. As Diggins put it “Reagan dubbed the Soviet Union ‘the focus of evil’ of the entire world” (2007, pg. 29). Following the footsteps of his predecessor, President Carter, Reagan developed a way to fight the war on communism and make the people happy by preventing our military from suffering anymore casualties. President Carter got the ball rolling when the Soviet Union tried to invade Afghanistan in 1979. That’s when the U.S. supplied secret military aid to mujahideen fighters to assist in driving out the...
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...Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. Ronald Reagan lost the republican nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976. Reagan won the 1980 nomination and chose George H. W. Bush. Reagan and Bush ran against Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. He was so great people began to ask if there was enough room for another face on Mount Rushmore. In 1985, the Iran-Contra Affair supplied weapons to a sworn enemy. The transactions that took place in the Iran-Contra Scandal were contrary to the legislation of the Democratic-dominated Congress and contrary to official Reagan administration policy. In 1985 Iran and Iraq were at war, Iran made a secret request to buy weapons from the United States. The scandal was almost the undoing of the Teflon President. Despite the damage to Reagan’s image, the president got off very easily. President Reagan came to the White House promising a major shift to conservative economic policies. His program included a supply-side revolution, a scaling down of wasteful government activity, lower taxes and less interference with the market economy. As a result, it was expected, the US economy would become more efficient, with faster growth and minimal inflation. Tax reductions would pay for themselves so that the budget would soon return to balance. Financial expansion did help bring down unemployment, but the administration soon learned that tax cuts led to trade and budget deficits. Though early dreams remain unfulfilled, the Reagan period...
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... PAGE: 1 Outline: A) Introduction: U.S. Foreign Policy and Nicaragua. B) General Discussion: 1) Nicaraguan history, 2) The Sandinistas, 3) The Brezhnev Doctrine, 4) The Reagan Doctrine, 5) The Contras and the CIA, 6) Other Political Strategies, 7) Political Ramifications Internationally, 8) Political Ramifications Domestically. C) Conclusion. Foreword: Many times throughout its history, the United States government has been embroiled in disputes over its foreign policy. These conflicts arise sometimes domestically, sometimes internationally and sometimes in both areas. One of the most significant foreign policy problems the U.S. government has ever had, involved its dealings with Nicaragua during the 1980’s. By dissecting the sequence of events which lead upon to the U.S. government using the CIA to train the Contra rebels and the foreign doctrine issued which propagated this unprecedented action on the part of the Reagan Administration, I shall provide evidence to support the conclusion: that despite the out come and any international “blowback”, this was the only course of action available to the U.S. government in order to stop the spread of socialism in the Western Hemisphere. DATED: NOV. 21, 04 “U.S. FOREIGN...
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...The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy The Reagan Doctrine In the political history of the United States, the Presidential Doctrines hold an important position. Presidential Doctrine can be defined as a set of principles or practices applied by a President to a particular situation, region, or government, and a President may formulate a doctrine alone or with the help of advisers within the entire administration (Jones, 2013). According to the Monroe Doctrine to the Reagan Doctrine, in the realm of the U.S. politics and foreign affairs, presidential doctrines have played a pivotal role, and if studied from the perspective of the Cold War, the importance of the Reagan Doctrine can be ascertained. The presidential doctrine of Reagan which is popularly known as the Reagan Doctrine played a significant role in decreasing the global influence of the Soviet Union. In the course of the Cold War but it also played a crucial role in shaping the long term foreign policies of the United States in a tumultuous manner primarily because of its role in supporting the anti-Sandinista rebels (called “Contras”) and for eventually instigating the U.S. – Iran conflict, and it is due to such a roles that even today the Reagan Doctrine is considered strategically an important political approach. The Soviet regime provided a chance for Reagan to formulate a doctrine which will be able to strengthen the motivation of these rebels and eventually bring an end to the Soviet ...
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...the off-year elections of November 1986. o Hope rose among Democrats that the “Reagan Revolution” might be showing signs of political vulnerability. • Democrats also relished the prospect of making political hay out of both the Iran-Contra affair and disquieting signs of economic trouble. • The “double mountains” of deficits-the federal budget deficit and the international trade deficit-continued to grow ominously. • Falling oil prices blighted the economy of the Southwest, slashing real estate values and undermining hundreds of savings and loans institutions. o The damage to the S&Ls was so massive that a federal rescue operation was eventually estimated to carry a price tag of well over $500 billion. • Meanwhile, many American banks found themselves holding near worthless loans they had unwisely foisted upon Third World Countries, especially in Latin America. o More Banks and savings institutions were folding than at any time since the Great Depression. o A wave of mergers, acquisitions, and leveraged buyouts washed over Wall Street, leaving many brokers and traders mega-rich and many companies saddled with mega-debt. Failures Tarnishing Reagan’s Presidential Legacy Ronald Reagan's successes in economics, politics and foreign affairs are not the most important. Just as important was how he responded to his failures, such as his response to his greatest failure—the Iran-Contra disaster. For the first six years of Reagan's presidency the foreign policymaking...
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