Reagan: From Humble Beginnings to Global Impact

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois, to parents Jack and Nelle Reagan (Britannica). Reagan’s upbringing was not an optimal one. Reagan’s father was an overly ambitious alcoholic whose actions left his family in poverty. (D’Souza, 37). Reagan himself was only a C-average student at Eureka College (D’Souza, 41). Despite this, Reagan managed to become not only governor of California, but President of the United States. President Ronald Reagan’s administration was one the most influential in history, both internationally and domestically, by immeasurably improving the American economy and reconstructing the world stage with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

A major move towards Reagan’s goal of “Let’s Make

America Great Again” was the revitalization of the American economy.
To understand Reagan’s economic thinking, one must understand the popular economic thinking of the day.
The set of economic principles that were falling out of popularity in Reagan’s time
were Keynesian economics (named after British economist John Maynard Keynes); he essentially believed that “experts can control the ups and downs of the economy by manipulating government spending and the money supply” (D’Souza, 90).
Another economic line of thought was supply-side economics, a main tenet of which was the Laffer curve; the Laffer curve states that once tax rates exceed or fall below certain levels, the government will cease to bring in revenue (D’Souza, 91).
A third economic ideology is monetarism, which states that, to reduce inflation, the nation must reduce the amount of money in circulation (D’Souza, 90).
Reagan’s economic thinking can be stated simply by former Reagan White House intern and author Dinesh D’Souza: “Reagan believed that intellectuals have no right to attempt to plan to manage the economy. He didn’t think intellectuals knew how, and he didn’t think the American people intended them to do it” (D’Souza, 86). Reagan’s foundation for his policies was to permit free enterprise flourish in a nation of minimal government with minimal taxes (D’Souza, 86). To further his plan, President Reagan reduced the budgets of several federal agencies such as the EPA and Department of the Interior, as well as others (Britannica). Furthermore, Reagan also greatly cut welfare programs, therefore reducing reliance on federal assistance (Britannica). Much to the dismay of critics, Reagan also increased military spending by such figures as $1.5 trillion over five years (Britannica). Concerning taxes, Reagan, utilizing the principles of the Laffer curve, cut taxes by 25-30% to encourage American industry (Britannica).
Unfortunately, soon after Reagan’s sweeping economic changes, the United States fell into a deep recession (Reagan, 298-299). Although Reagan’s policies later caused the American economy to slowly grow over the remainder of his presidency, he was forced to raise taxes to bring America out of this recession (Britannica).
Ronald Reagan’s policies were exponentially transformative to the American economy as well as other nations. Reagan himself acknowledged a move towards free-market capitalism sparking a resurgence in American industry: “As I have often said, governments don’t produce economic growth, people do…Reduced government interference also helped” (Reagan, 349). A small percent of the American middle class began to disappear during Reagan’s administration, not because fell into greater poverty, but instead became wealthy (D’Souza, 113). Other nations have even implemented what has been derided as “Reaganomics” and have experienced profound economic development as a result (D’Souza, 128).
However, Reagan’s influence is not merely evident in just the world of economics, but in his transforming the world stage with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In an effort to discredit Reagan, liberals still refuse to acknowledge his foremost participation in crushing what Winston Churchill referred to as the “iron curtain” (D’Souza, 131).

In a blatant manner, Reagan’s simplistic policy towards the Soviet Union was vehemently criticized by such liberal institutions as the New York Times (D’Souza, 137).

Another immense accomplishment for Ronald Reagan was his crucial role in transforming the world stage with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It is undeniable that Ronald Reagan’s approach to the Soviet Union was vital in its defeat. The Encyclopedia Britannica acknowledges that “His policies have been credited with contributing to the demise of Soviet communism.” Reagan had no qualms in confronting the Soviets and communism, as shown when he described the Soviet Union as both an “evil empire” and “the focus of evil in the modern world” (Britannica).

Reagan showed his recognition of the eventual self-destruction of the Soviet Union in his speech to the British Parliament: “The decay of the Soviet experiment should come as no surprise to us…The constant shrinkage of economic growth combined with the growth of military production is putting a heavy strain on the Soviet people. What we see here is a political structure that no longer corresponds to its economic base” (D’Souza,

141).

Unsurprisingly, the Soviets did not receive Reagan’s confrontational rhetoric well (Britannica). Reagan’s military spending was also a form of intimidation to the Soviets (Britannica). In preparation for Soviet attack, Reagan implemented such programs as the broadly disparaged Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as “Star Wars” (D’Souza, 173-177). SDI was also a point of contention later between President Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev (Brands, 515). Reagan also allied himself with anti-communist nations against the Soviets and their allies (Brands, 532).
Moreover, Reagan’s relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev greatly aided in the dissolving of the Soviet Union (D’Souza, 185). Gorbachev was an unusual Soviet leader in that he was an open-minded, reasonable individual, unlike his predecessors (D’Souza, 184). Both Margaret Thatcher’s opinion of Gorbachev and Reagan’s own experience with the Soviet Premier moved Reagan to soften his anti-communist message (D’Souza, 185). Reagan was asked if he still held the belief that the Soviet Union was an “evil empire”; his response—“I was talking about another time, another era” (D’Souza, 185). Indeed, both Reagan and Gorbachev were two pivotal figures in the downfall of the Soviet Union (D’Souza, 197).
Although Reagan was on friendly terms with Gorbachev, he still maintained the policy of doveryai no proveryai, or “trust, but verify” (Reagan, 577). It is because of this foundation that Reagan stood on that he and Gorbachev came into conflict on several occasions (Brands, 514-515). One of the most ardently contested issues was Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and was an “iron curtain” between Reagan and Gorbachev (Brands, 520-521, 592). However, the climax of Reagan’s conflict with Gorbachev finally arrived when Reagan made his infamous speech in front of the Berlin Wall: “General Secretary Gorbachev…if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (Brands, 675). Reagan incontestably played a decisive role in transforming the world stage with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In conclusion, American President Ronald Reagan’s administration, both internationally and domestically, was one the most influential in history, by vastly improving the American economy and transforming the world stage with the collapse of the Soviet Union.