Ronald Reagan Research Paper David Gutierrez U.S. History Honors Ms. Seco 3/6/2015 Ronald Reagan Research Paper By the time Ronald Reagan was elected into office in 1981, the economy of the United States was at its lowest point since the Great Depression. (pbs.org, 2013) The day he won the elections, he knew he had a big task to accomplish. This task would be one of the most important things needed for the nation. He had to create a plan to improve the economy of the United States. In time, Reagan was able to implement several programs and was able to improve economic conditions and help many Americans, but not without also affecting several others. This led to many citizens call him either a hero or a villain. Between 1980 and 1982, …show more content…
The idea behind supply-side economics is that if goods and services barriers are lowered, customers will be able to purchase a greater supply at a lower price, which will, in theory, help economic growth. This theory became known as Reaganomics because Reagan himself was the one to develop it. Reaganomics reduced taxes significantly and cut back on government spending. (pbs.org, 2013) Without heavy taxes or government spending, the American people would have more money to spend, which would help economic growth. The main goal of Reaganomics was to allow the citizens to keep more of their money. The economic boost would be caused by the citizens who now have more tax money and are willing to spend more. Another way the economy was boosted was by people investing more in local businesses. If more businesses were maintained, this would allow for more jobs to be created, which would also aid the economic …show more content…
Several times, he received letters from the American people about their tough economic situations. He would occasionally write back with a handwritten letter telling them to fight on and to stay encouraged. Other times, he would also include a personal check. (pbs.org, 2013) Reagan enjoyed hearing about success stories after hard, honest work. Halfway through his first term, the economy was finally starting to bounce back. Reagan’s plan was finally starting to see results by this time. Inflation began to decrease as employment rates began to increase. Wall Street was also affected by this economic upturn. (pbs.org, 2013) The stock market began to boom, with the Dow Jones rising nearly 33 percent. Due to the reparation of the economy, the stock market was also able to increase. The reason was because investors began to invest in businesses once again. Because unemployment rates and inflation rates were going down, many Americans had money to spend once again. (presidentprofiles.org, 2015) Investors began to realize that investing in business that were risky was a way to make money. This was not legal before, but the regulations were now gone due to Reagan’s
Tax relief for the rich would allow them to spend and invest their money. This spending would fuel the economy and create new jobs. Reagan believed that these tax cuts would ultimately generate more revenue for the federal government. Congress was not as confident as Reagan, but they did approved a 25 percent
He acted on his conservative beliefs during office. Ultimately, I believe that Ronald Reagan mostly achieved the economic and foreign policy goals of New Right Conservatives by lowering taxes for a free market, developing a stronger military
Inflation remained high, and imports dramatically outnumbered exports. However, the economy stabilized in 1983 and continued to grow through the remainder of Reagan’s presidency. Unfortunately, Reagan’s plan cost the federal government trillions as increased military spending hugely outweighed tax revenue. The President had hoped to balance military expenses by cutting social programs, but ran into trouble as he was reluctant to cut such programs and Medicare and Social Security. Under Reagan, the national debt ballooned from one to three trillion dollars (although Republicans blamed Congress’s failure to pass a balanced budget, not Reaganomics, for the increased debt) and the deficit skyrocketed.
At the time were he was elected president the country was in a deep recession and facing a lot of economic and military problems that affected their nation in every sense. He made policies and was a good leader which shifted the country back to strength after the failure of the previous Presidents. What Reagan achieved was a big success and a critical change in the Western civilization. Not every President is a leader and anyone can say words and speeches but few can change a nation’s future and have a large impact on a global level. America will never be the same as it was and with the following Presidents after this man America is and will be great
Some people think that President Reagan did more damage to this country than he did help it and other people think that he was one of the best presidents we have ever had. However, I think that he was successful in completing his economic goals and not only pleased the American people but did it in a way that he thought was best for this country. Reagan drastically reduced inflation from that of the Carter administration (Reagan Economy and Society Slide 7). Reagan was also successful in his goal of Raising the Gross Domestic Product. Over the course of his administration he raised the GDP thirty-four percent which is an incredible growth when compared to that of other presidents.
4- During the Reagan presidency he faced a number of significant issues both domestically and abroad. One major domestic issue Reagan faced was the economy. At the beginning of Reagan's presidency the US was facing high inflation and high unemployment rates. Reagan's economic policies known as “reaganomics' ' included tax cuts, deregulation and increased military finds. While these policies were controversial they did lead to a period of economic growth and low inflation in the mid 1980’s.
The Reagan Revolution called for more "individual liberty, less government, and more national defense." As a result of these policies, the "greatest economic expansion in history" occurred.
He transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.” The economy was struggling during Reagan's time of presidency. In 1989, the U.S. economy was the worst it had been for 3 ½ years with an annual growth rate of 0.5% for the fourth quarter. Reagan immediately acted on this when he was placed in office by slowing down government spending, reducing the federal income tax, and many more other actions that would give the economy a boost in the right direction. Thatcher brought this up in order to show Reagan's powerful initiative during times of drought whether it be economic, or any other form of dry spell that may affect his
Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and a union leader. He also served as the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975. Ronald during his time in the white house as president did three great things to help us and that affects us today.
Many citizens did not favor his promises, especially his tax reform cut. During this time many Americans were forced to receive less money than what they were guaranteed, in an attempt to increase defense spending for the government. However, poverty-stricken civilians benefited from this act. Dealing with diplomatic and bureaucratic solutions, President Reagan was an intelligent leader, but often a risk-taker as well, which led to foolish decision making. Even though his accomplishments, such as, contributing to end of the Cold War are often glorified, his decisions such as sending arms to terrorists questions his true motives and intentions.
The recession of 1982 when his first term began was a time when a large portion of Americans were unemployed, creating the need for Reagan to do something. Although high taxes and a great deal of government intervention from FDR was a solid way to get the United States out of the Great Depression, Reagan wanted to try the exact opposite. Reagan’s philosophy was simple: cut taxes to allow small businesses in particular to create more jobs, decrease the unemployment rate, and allow citizens to improve the economy by spending money (history.com). Fortunately for the United States, the unemployment rate slowly decreased, and was nearly cut in half before Reagan left office (bls.gov). Despite the recession during 1981, the economy turned around within a couple of years.
During his service the economy improved and ended the cold war. This is a such great thing that he did, in ending the cold war. I think that he did improve the economy by everything he was changing and fixing. Reagan’s main importance was for us to win the cold war because he thought all people deserved to be free. I think that he worked really hard to win the cold war, because he cared about everyone.
Ronald Reagan was an American politician who had become the 40th President of the United States of America. He had served eight years from 1981 till 1989. He was the President that would restore prosperity to United States and achieve “peace through strength” as they say. One of the top achievements that Reagan had accomplished
As a result of the period of time he lived in and his upbringing in a small town, he knew the severity of which money could affect one's quality of life. Assisting the less fortunate escape poverty was important to him. Under his leadership, spending for basic low-income assistance program rose 40%. Reagan also worked to have Congress pass a legislation which worked on helping recover the economy as a whole. He introduced the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which in result decreased an individual’s income tax rates and the cost of private property.
With the new tax codes taking effect, the downside was starting to be felt. “Reaganomics, as critics dubbed the administration’s policies, initially produced the most severe recession since the 1930’s” (Foner). A double-edged sword of Reagan investing in technology is the fact that companies were taking advantage of satellite technology and shifting jobs to other countries. Also, the tax breaks that were set in motion in 1981 fell short of breaking even with taxable spending by 20 billion dollars. In 1982 the federal deficit rose to 110.7 billion dollars and as a result many more cut to government and short-term tax hikes caused a recession and highest unemployment rate since 1941.