The Reagan Years: A Social History of the 1980’s

About the Book

Ronald Reagan’s legacy as president is nearly unparalleled in American history due to his domestic and foreign policy leadership. Reagan’s contrarian insistence on advocating limited government and supply-side economics drew much bipartisan criticism, causing the Great Communicator to take his argument that lowering taxes would encourage economic growth directly to the people. The result? Congress granted $750 billion in tax cuts in 1981. The Reagan Revolution had begun. By mid-1983, the nation’s economy was booming. On President Reagan’s first day in office, the Iran Hostage Crisis finally came to an end. Fifty-two American embassy personnel held hostage by a defiant Iran during the last four hundred-plus days of the Carter administration were freed—a definite win for all Americans. But Reagan soon was widely criticized for “insulting” Russia’s leaders by calling the Soviet Union “the evil empire.” Later, Reagan was criticized at home and abroad for challenging Soviet premier Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. Reagan’s most criticized proposal of all, however, was his insistence on developing his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)—space weapons to defend America from incoming Soviet nuclear missiles. Domestic critics dismissed his proposal as a Star Wars fantasy (but the Soviets feared SDI). By December 1991, it was clear that Reagan’s Star Wars fantasy helped cause the bankruptcy and total collapse of the Soviet Union, bringing a peaceful end to the decades-long Cold War.

About the Author

Dr. Stanley earned masters’ degrees from Long Beach State and Whittier College and an Ed.D. from Pepperdine University. He taught American History and Government at the high school and adult school levels before becoming a high school administrator. He recently retired after many years as a successful adult school principal. Dr. Stanley has authored ten books on history and politics, and has also taught at the university level. Also by Richard T. Stanley, Ed.D. Lessons of American History A Humorous Account of America’s Past: 986 to 1898 A Humorous Account of America’s Past: 1898 to 1945 A Humorous Account of America’s Past: 1945 to 2001 The Eisenhower Years: A Social History of the 1950’s Freedom, Common Sense, and the “Nanny State” The Psychedelic Sixties: A Social History of the United States, 1960-69 America’s Favorite Holidays Disco Days: A Social History of the 1970’s