Political positions of Ronald Reagan

rdf:langString Political positions of Ronald Reagan

rdf:langString Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989). A Republican and former actor and governor of California, he energized the conservative movement in the United States from 1964. His basic foreign policy was to equal and surpass the Soviet Union in military strength, and put it on the road to what he called "the ash heap of history". By 1985, he began to co-operate closely with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev–they even became friends–and negotiated large-scale disarmament projects. The Cold War was fading away and suddenly ended as Soviets lost control of Eastern Europe almost overnight in October 1989, nine months after Reagan was replaced in the White House by his vice president George H. W. Bush, who was following Reagan's policies. The Soviet Union itself was dissolved in December 1991. In terms of the Reagan doctrine, he promoted military, financial, and diplomatic support for anti-Communist insurgencies in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and numerous other countries. For the most part, local communist power collapsed when the Soviet Union collapsed. In domestic affairs, at a time of stagflation with high unemployment and high inflation, he took dramatic steps. They included a major tax cut, and large-scale deregulation of business activities. He took steps to weaken labor unions and found a bipartisan long-term fix to protect the Social Security system. Although he had the support from the Religious Right, he generally avoided or downplayed social issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and racial integration. He spoke out for prayers in public schools but did not promote a constitutional amendment to allow it. Fighting drugs was a high priority. He also appointed the first woman to the Supreme Court. He became an iconic figure who has been praised by later Republican presidential candidates.