Ronald Reagan Legacy Essay

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Throughout American history presidents leave a legacy that either very positive or especially negative. Ronald Reagan was a president that left an undeniable positive legacy. Following the footsteps of what the country deemed poor leadership Reagan became an almost folk hero as he used his infamous campaign slogan ; Let’s make America great again to win the presidency after Jimmy Carter. Prior to his great landslide victory the United State had become embroiled in a Cold War under the leadership of President Harry Truman. It would take many years later for this Cold War to end and Ronald Reagan would get credit for bringing about that end. This paper will attempt to address how the Cold War revived during the Eighties and how Ronald Reagan …show more content…

His stance was that “ détente's been a one-way street that the Soviet Union has used to pursue its own aims. Their goal must be the promotion of world revolution and a one world communist or socialist state." According to President Reagan, the Soviets considered détente a sign of American weakness and vulnerability ( WeThe People.org). Reagan believe that the United States needed to improve and secure its economic and military power. He felt that by doing so the United States would send the message that it would not sit idly by and accept the oppression of the Soviet Union on other nations. The Soviet Union was attempting to spread Communism as far as possible and Reagan felt that if America stood up to the Soviet Union than Communism could be halted. One of the major points of Reagan’s theory was that the Soviet Union was not as strong as it appeared to be and if America challenged it economically then it could cause the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reagan surmised that the government controlled economy of the Soviet Union would not be able to stand against the free market economy of the U.S. Another tactic that Reagan used was that of the “arms race”. The U.S. began to build up its military and it challenged the Soviet Union to do the same. Reagan’s belief was that the economy of the Soviet Union would not be able to compete with the

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