What Is Ronald Reagan's Legacy

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Arguably, Ronald Reagan’s greatest legacy was his ability to connect with the people on all levels. Reagan was the 40th American president (Whitehouse.gov). His term extended from 20th Jan. 1981 to 19th Jan 1989. The supporters of Reagan’s policies say that he played a critical part in stimulating the economic growth of the U.S., strengthening the national defense of the country, bringing an end to the cold war, and reviving the Republican Party (Whitehouse.gov). However, his opponents claim that he overstuffed the national defense, significantly reduced the budget for things like social services, and caused significant shortfalls in the American economy (Ronald Reagan). Sound familiar? The same arguments are being said today about President …show more content…
“Reagan’ charm, for example, helped him to connect with both the ordinary citizens and other world leaders” (Ronald Reagan). This quality led to the development of the nickname “The Great Communicator.” The president’s speeches enabled him to regain the trust of his electorate. Even after Reagan left office, many people revered him for his exceptional leadership style (Why was). Nonetheless, Reagan’s detached leadership methods led to the growth of illegitimate undertakings like the “Iran-Contra” scandal. Reagan allowed his Chief of Staff to make most judgements on his behalf; thus, some of the decisions that were made did not favor the American government (Ronald Reagan). As it turns out, his administration gave Iran weapons in return for hostages that Lebanon held (Iron Contra). This contradicted Reagan’s policy on never giving into …show more content…
The president’s “War on Drugs” campaign resulted in a significant decline in casual drugs abuse. Regan’s policies saw a decrease in marijuana and cocaine usage in America over his term (Hawdon 420). He was passionate about fighting drugs; therefore, increased funding for the drug war from $1.5 billion in 1981 to $2.75 billion in 1986 (Ronald Reagan). Reagan also penned many executive orders that were directed to crime and justice; his ultimate plan was to dismantle crime syndicates in America, and thus organized a crime commission to accomplish the task (Putzel). However, his speeches revealed a somewhat different world outlook. Reagan contended that the perpetrators of crime do not engage in illegal activities because they are desperate to earn a livelihood, but because they were brought up in a way that predisposes them to act criminally (Ronald Reagan). This utterance failed to take into consideration the fundamental realities that existed on the ground, for example, the national culture of discrimination and

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