The+Reagan+Revolution

=by Scott R., Ellie N., Carolin S.=

=__Overview__=

[] • as a conservative, he believed US government was too large • Reaganomics: his program to spur economic growth by cutting taxes, regulations, government • anti-communist; built up military

Reagan was an extremely anticommunist president. He sought out to achieve "peace through strength," which would increase the US's power and defense, forcing enemies not to start a war. He achieved a peace treaty with Soviet leader [|Mikhail Gorbachev], eliminating the threat of intermediate range missiles (Ronald Reagan). This was somewhat unexpected of Reagan because of all of his defense spending, but he was against nuclear war more than communism as shown by this quote "My dream, then, became a world free of nuclear weapons" (Johnson, 86). Later, on June 12, 1987, Reagan gave his famous [|Berlin Wall] speech, telling Gorbachev to "...tear down this wall!" Two years later, Berlin would be reunited by the destruction of the wall (Johnson, 87).

[|Ronald Reagan] served as president from 1981-1989. During the first year of his presidency, he made a tax cut. It abolished 1/4 of the personal income tax and cut corporate taxation. Reagan wanted to establish a system, where no matter how much money you make, everyone must pay the same rate of 10%. Others thought it was a bad idea and that he used his political power to redistribute money away from those who have less, to the wealthier Americans (Dugger.100). The tax cut reduced benefits to low-income Americans and people dependent on things like [|food stamps], Medicare, Public-service jobs, unemployment compensation, [|urban mass transit], and student loans. He increased defense spending against Communist aggression. Reagan's reason for increasing tax cuts was supply-side economics, the theory that a reduction in tax rates will stimulate the economy (Churchill Jr. 218).
 * The "Trickle-down" theory was the idea that by decreasing tax rates of wealthy Americans more money would be put into corporations, creating more jobs and higher wages. It was supposed to help poor people, but many complained that it was unfair to the poor and never "trickled-down" far enough to effect lower-income people (Feinstein.39).

[|Ronald Reagan] was born in 1911 in Tampico IL. In 1952 he married his wife [|Nancy Davis]. He was elected Governor of California in 1976. Reagan received his republican nomination for President in 1980, and then took office in 1981. As soon as he took office he started to establish his Reagan Revolution, the Reagan Revolution had two main goals fighting against high taxes and big Governments which also became known as [|Reaganomics]. The main goal of Reaganomics was to cut down on taxes and big governments, by doing so he hoped to stimulate the economy. The American Public all loved his views at the time and quickly bought in to the idea that lowering taxes would help build an economic growth, helping him become one of the most popular Presidents of all time. In 1984 Reagan wins his second term as President over [|Walter Mondale] (Johnson 9). During his second term in office during 1985, Reagan is involved in a contradictory scandal secretly selling arms to Iran in return to release American prisoners. By the end of his two terms his Reaganomics plan failed leaving the economy even more in debt after he left office then before he became President. Even though Reagan's plan ultimatley failed he still left office a very popular President with the American public.

=__Source Annotation__= //The Reagan Years//.CNN, 2001.Web.05/10/11
 * Summary:** This website explains how Reagan got elected President, and also talks a little bit about his accomplishments as President. It also states what the Reagan Revolution was for and against, the main thing that I got out of this website was that the Reagan Revolution was against big Governments and high taxes.
 * Assess:** This website was a good source of information but didn't go in depth about Reagan's Presidency.
 * Reflect:** I might use this source to explain what the Reagan Revolution was against and what he wanted to do for the people, but I might not use this website to explain what he did for the people.

//Ronald Reagan.// The White House. Web. 5/10/11. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan
 * Summary:** It has very factual information regarding his whole life. Explains the great relationship that he had with the country, and the confidence he had in America. Covers his background and acting accomplishments well.
 * Assess:** Very detailed concerning his background and accomplishments as an actor. Has a very reliable and solid outline of his life and presidency.
 * Reflect:** I could use it for describing his accomplishments throughout his life and the difference that he made. I could also describe how he became president.

Hutchinson, Earl Ofari. //The Real Reagan Revolution.// AlterNet, 6/10/04. Web. 5/10/11. http://www.alternet.org/story/18894
 * Summary:** It uses specific examples from Nixon's campaign and presidency to represent his strategies and beliefs. It is very in depth on how he became loved by the nation and succeeded in his election. It also highlights his political beliefs.
 * Assess:** Pretty good resource, has reliable information, and provides both pros and cons of the Reagan Revolution.
 * Reflect:** I will probably use this mostly for his political beliefs and strategies, which were hard to find other places.

//Ronald Reagan//.The White House.Web.5/10/11
 * Summary:** Explains how he met his wife, and some background information about his life before he became President. It also has factual information about his accomplishments while he was President.
 * Assess:** Very detailed, and factual. Decent source of information.
 * Reflect:** I might use this source to explain his life outside the whitehouse and specific accomplishments he made during his career as President.

Mark Karlin. //How the Reagan Revolution Succeeded: Strangling Government in a Bathtube and Destroying Public Services//. The Buzzflash.06/14/2010.Web.05/10/11.
 * Summary:** Comparing the Reagan Revolution to Obama, while the author is giving his point of view on politics. An opinion piece.
 * Assess:** Decent, but only giving the authors point of view, no real facts.
 * Reflect:** To see different peoples opinions on the Reagan Revolution and how it can relate to todays politics.

Churchill Jr., James E. //Milestones of the 20th Century.// Philip Friedman. Danbury, Connecticuit. 1999. Print.
 * Summary:** Explains what the Reagan Revolution was and why Reagan thought it was a good thing.
 * Assess:** It has valuable information, but doesn't provide enough detail.
 * Reflect:** I would use this source to explain why Reagan thought the Revolution would help and things that the Revolution would effect.

Dugger, Ronnie. **//On Reagan- The Man and His Presedency.// Elizabeth Brandfass. New York. 1983. Print.** ﻿ **Summary:** Talks about budget cuts. Explains their effects and that it was redistributing money away from the lower and middle classes, to the wealthier population of America.
 * Asses:** It is thorough and gives good details and numbers. But the information is a litte scattered and hard to find.
 * Reflect:** To show that Reagan was opposed to the progressive income tax because it's based in the ability to pay.

Feinstein, Stephen. **//The 1980s- from Ronald Reagan to MTV.//** Enslow. 2000. Print. **Summary:** The goals and results of "Reaganomics"; why it was good and why it was bad. Covers the "trickle-down" effect that was supposed to help poor people. **Assess:** It's very breif with minimal details, but I like it because it shares other people's veiw points. **Reflect:** This source would be helpful in giving a deffinition of Reaganomics, explaining how people felt about it, and how it actually ended up effecting the US. //The Reagan Revolution.// Emayzine. Web. 5/11/11. http://emayzine.com/lectures/1980S.htm
 * Summary:** Mainly a list of facts, basically in order of having to do with each other. Talks mostly about the country that Reagan was the president of and how people viewed it, rather than what Reagan did or believed in.
 * Assess:** Helpful resource, but isn't very organized and it is hard to find specific information that you need. Really helps with understanding what the actual Reagan Revolution was, and not just who Reagan was.
 * Reflect:** It is good to understand the big picture on what it was like, and could be good for some quotes on certain topics of how the Reagan Revolution changed the country.

Johnson, Darv. //The Reagan Years.// Lucent Books. San Diego, CA. 2000. Print.
 * Summary:** Each chapter talks about different topics regarding his life and policies. They each cover a series of events that happened before him, and then how he fit into the situation he was put in. Talks a lot about the decisions he made and why he made them. Chapters are in no clear order.
 * Assess:** Detailed information, but while it gives the background of everything leading up to his presidency, it doesn't have that much information about him.
 * Reflect:** It covers a lot of his decisions, regarding almost all topics, so I can use it on just about all of his decisions. I can also use it to discuss how he is remembered.

Continued...... Johson, Darv. //The Reagan Years.// Lucent Books. San Diega, CA. 2000. Print.
 * Summary:** This book has a great timeline near the beginning that talks about major events in Reagans life all the way from his birth to his death. It also has great infromation on his political career.
 * Assess:** Great information on timeline, but dosn't go into detail.
 * Reflect:** It has great information on events, but dosn't go into detail about them.

=__Reflections and Conclusions__= I think that the Revolution was a bad thing that only made things worse. Reagan was a great president but I don't know why he was so popular because of the Revolution. Reaganomics was a bad idea and it didn't help the economy. It took away from the poor and helped the wealthy. His ultimate reason for tax cuts was supply-side economics, but had that ever worked before? Had it even been tried before? If not, then he shouldn't have done the risky experiment.

The Reagan Revolution's main goal to cut down on taxes and big governments was a good idea, but I think ultimatley it was a bad idea. Cutting down on taxes did not help the economy in fact it made things worse and by leaving the nation even more in dept. I could understand the appeal of Reaganomics at first and how it would theoreticly help stimulate the economy but after a while Reagan had to see that it was going down hill, and when it started going down hill why didn't he try to stop it? Why didn't he try a different method and safe the economy from going into furhter debt? I think that Reagan should have realised his plan was going down hill sooner and done something else to try and help the economy.

Many people hold the opinion that the Reagan Revolution's main idea was Reaganomics, and that this economic strategy was a complete failure. It is highlighted that it only supported the wealthy and left the poor without a chance, and this was due to background as a wealthy actor. This idea is always considered a bad thing at first thought. But in reality, Reaganomics contained the same values that Reagan did, and that was to become successful and have the opportunity to thrive in one's country. It supported businesses, and helped people to move up in society so that they could take advantage of the nature of the economy. This idea supported the philosophy of the Reagan Revolution, of a country that was better than any other, and that people could take pride in. =__Multimedia__=

media type="youtube" key="OCGdwL6xJ08" height="349" width="425" media type="youtube" key="vdOVF2cZ5Fg" height="349" width="425" Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, however conflicting for a long time, enjoy a nice laugh together at one of their meetings. ==
 * Welfare queens and the Reagan revolution:** Has David Clay Johnston talking about some current political debates, but also features a look back at how Reagan handled the country, and how his policies are still influencing America today.
 * The Reagan Revolution:** This video features Senator Tom Daschle expressing his view and opinions about the Reagan Revolution both when he was younger at the time that Reagan was President and now looking back at it. Uploaded on March 7, 2011. [[image:http://learningsmart.org/blogs/greatestindividual/files/2009/06/reagan_and_gorbachev_hold_discussions.jpg height="454"]]



=__Works Cited__= =The Buzzflash.06/14/2010.Web.05/10/11. = =Churchill Jr., James E. //Milestones of the 20th Century.// Philip Friedman. Danbury, Connecticuit. 1999. Print. =

Dugger, Ronnie. //On Reagan- The Man and His Presedency.// Elizabeth Brandfass. New York. 1983. Print.

Feinstein, Stephen. //The 1980s- from Ronald Reagan to MTV.// Enslow. 2000. Print.

Hutchinson, Earl Ofari. //The Real Reagan Revolution.// AlterNet, 6/10/04. Web. 5/10/11.

Johnson, Darv. //The Reagan Years.// Lucent Books. San Diego. 2000. Print.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Karlin, Mark. //How the Reagan Revolution Succeeded: Strangling Government in a Bathtube and Destroying Public Services//.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//The Reagan Revolution.// Emayzine. Web. 5/11/11.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//The Reagan Years//.CNN, 2001.Web.05/10/11

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//Ronald Reagan//.The White House.Web.5/10/11