96 Facts About Reagan administration

Domestically, the Reagan administration enacted a major tax cut, sought to cut non-military spending, and eliminated federal regulations.

Reagan administration appointed more federal judges than any other president, including four Supreme Court Justices.

Under this doctrine, the Reagan administration initiated a massive buildup of the United States military; promoted new technologies such as missile defense systems; and, in 1983, undertook an invasion of Grenada, the first major overseas action by U S troops since the end of the Vietnam War.

The Reagan administration created controversy by granting aid to paramilitary forces seeking to overthrow leftist governments, particularly in war-torn Central America and Afghanistan.

Specifically, the Reagan administration engaged in covert arms sales to Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua that were fighting to overthrow their nation's socialist government; the resulting scandal led to the conviction or resignation of several administration officials.

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Reagan administration, who had served as Governor of California from 1967 to 1975, narrowly lost the 1976 Republican presidential primaries to incumbent President Gerald Ford.

Reagan administration instead chose Bush, and the Reagan administration-Bush ticket was nominated at the 1980 Republican National Convention.

Reagan administration instead sought to focus the race on Carter's handling of the economy.

Reagan administration tapped James Baker, who had run Bush's 1980 campaign, as his first chief of staff.

Reagan administration chose Alexander Haig, a former general who had served as chief of staff to Richard Nixon, as his first secretary of state.

Reagan administration selected David Stockman, a young congressman from Michigan, as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Reagan administration downgraded the importance of the national security advisor, and six different individuals held that position during Reagan administration's presidency.

Haig left the cabinet in 1982 after clashing with other members of the Reagan administration, and was replaced by another former Nixon administration official, George P Shultz.

Reagan administration made four successful appointments to the Supreme Court during his eight years in office.

In 1986, Reagan administration elevated Associate Justice William Rehnquist to the position of Chief Justice of the United States after Warren Burger chose to retire.

Reagan administration successfully nominated Antonin Scalia to fill Rehnquist's position as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Reagan administration nominated Robert Bork in July 1987, but the nomination was rejected by the Senate in October 1987.

Later that month, Reagan announced the nomination of Douglas H Ginsburg, but Ginsburg withdrew from consideration in November 1987.

Finally, Reagan administration nominated Anthony Kennedy, who won Senate confirmation in February 1988.

Reagan administration appointed a combined total of 368 judges to the United States courts of appeals and the United States district courts, more than any other president.

Partly because Congress passed a law creating new federal judicial positions in 1984, Reagan administration had appointed nearly half of the federal judiciary by the time he left office in 1989.

Reagan administration used his White House staff to shape major domestic policies.

Reagan administration implemented economic policies based on supply-side economics, advocating a laissez-faire philosophy and free-market fiscal policy.

Reagan administration's team was strongly influenced by contemporary economists such as Arthur Laffer, who rejected the then-dominant views of Keynesian economists.

Reagan administration relied on Laffer and other economists to argue that tax cuts would reduce inflation, which went against the prevailing Keynesian view.

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Reagan administration made passage of the Kemp-Roth bill his top domestic priority upon taking office.

Reagan administration benefited from a conservative majority in the House during his first two years as president, with an estimated 230 votes during the 97th Congress, although this changed after the Democratic gains in the 1982 election, with House control switching to liberals within the Democratic caucus.

Many of Reagan's conservative supporters condemned TEFRA, but Reagan argued that his administration would be unable to win further budget cuts without the tax hike.

Reagan administration prioritized tax cuts over spending cuts, arguing that lower revenue would eventually require lower spending.

Nonetheless, Reagan administration was determined to decrease government spending and roll back or dismantle Great Society programs such as Medicaid and the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Reagan administration experienced several legislative successes in his first year in office, but his attempts to cut federal domestic spending after 1981 met increasing congressional resistance.

In 1982, Reagan administration established the bipartisan National Commission on Social Security Reform to make recommendations to secure the long-term integrity of Social Security.

Reagan administration never submitted a balanced budget during his time in office.

Reagan administration took office in the midst of poor economic conditions, as the country experienced stagflation, a phenomenon in which both inflation and unemployment were high.

In 1987, Reagan administration appointed conservative economist Alan Greenspan to succeed Volcker, and Greenspan would lead the Federal Reserve until 2006.

Reagan administration's handling of the strike was strongly criticized by union leaders, but it won the approval of his conservative base of voters and others in the public.

Reagan administration sought to loosen federal regulation of economic activities, and he appointed key officials who shared this agenda.

Not long after being sworn into office, Reagan administration declared more militant policies in the "War on Drugs".

Reagan administration promised a "planned, concerted campaign" against all drugs, in hopes of decreasing drug use, particularly among adolescents.

Reagan administration signed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, which further increased criminal penalties for drug use and established the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Critics charged that Reagan administration's policies promoted significant racial disparities in the prison population, were ineffective in reducing the availability of drugs or crime on the street, and came at a great financial and human cost for American society.

Reagan administration was largely unable to enact his ambitious social policy agenda, which included a federal ban on abortions and an end to desegregation busing.

In 1982, Reagan administration signed a bill extending the Voting Rights Act for 25 years after a grass-roots lobbying and legislative campaign forced him to abandon his plan to ease that law's restrictions.

Reagan administration reluctantly accepted the continuation of affirmative action programs and the establishment of Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1988, Reagan administration vetoed the Civil Rights Restoration Act, but his veto was overridden by Congress.

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Reagan administration had argued that the legislation infringed on states' rights and the rights of churches and business owners.

Many in the Reagan administration, including Communications Director Pat Buchanan, were hostile to the gay community, as were many religious leaders who were important allies to the administration.

Reagan administration lessened existing regulations on pollution, cut funding to government environmental agencies, and appointed known anti-environmentalist individuals to key positions presiding over these organizations.

When Reagan administration took office in 1981, he "attempted to reduce" money that was directed towards studying the burgeoning field of global warming and human-driven climate change.

In 1987, the Reagan administration signed the Montreal Protocol in an effort to reduce emissions that damage the ozone layer.

Reagan administration escalated the Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy of detente which had begun in 1979 after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Reagan feared that the Soviet Union had gained a military advantage over the United States, and the Reagan administration hoped that heightened military spending would grant the U S military superiority and weaken the Soviet economy.

Reagan administration ordered a massive buildup of the United States Armed Forces, directing funding to the B-1 Lancer bomber, the B-2 Spirit bomber, cruise missiles, the MX missile, and the 600-ship Navy.

In March 1983, Reagan administration introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative, a defense project that would have used ground- and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles.

Reagan administration believed that this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible.

Under a policy that came to be known as the Reagan Doctrine, the Reagan administration provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Reagan administration deployed the CIA's Special Activities Division to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the CIA was instrumental in training, equipping, and leading Mujahideen forces against the Soviet Army in the Soviet–Afghan War.

Reagan administration placed a high priority on the Central America and the Caribbean Sea, which it saw as a key front in the Cold War.

Reagan administration authorized covert measures, such as the arming of Nicaragua's Contras, to minimize Cuban and Soviet influence in the region.

The Reagan administration provided support to right-wing governments throughout Latin America, disregarding humans rights abuses in countries like Argentina and El Salvador.

Still intent on supporting the Contras, the Reagan administration raised funds for the Contras from private donors and foreign governments.

The Reagan administration decided to sell American arms to Iran, then engaged in the Iran–Iraq War, in hopes that Iran would pressure Hezbollah to release the hostages.

The Reagan administration sold over 2000 missiles to Iran without informing Congress; Hezbollah released four hostages but captured an additional six Americans.

Tower Commission, chaired by former Republican Senator John Tower, released a report in February 1987 that confirmed that the Reagan administration had traded arms for hostages and sent the proceeds of the weapons sales to the Contras.

The Reagan administration's credibility was badly damaged on the international stage, as it had violated its own arms embargo on Iran.

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Reagan administration recognized the change in the direction of the Soviet leadership under Gorbachev, and shifted to diplomacy, with a view to encourage the Soviet leader to pursue substantial arms agreements.

Nonetheless, both Gorbachev and Reagan administration agreed to continue arms control negotiations at the October 1986 Reykjavik Summit.

At the summit, Gorbachev and Reagan closed in on an agreement to greatly reduce or eliminate the nuclear stockpiles of both the U S and the Soviet Union over a ten-year period, but the deal collapsed due to disagreements regarding SDI development.

Reagan administration attacked Gorbachev in a 1987 speech delivered in West Berlin, but negotiations continued.

Gorbachev and Reagan administration broke the impasse by agreeing to negotiate separate treaties on intermediate nuclear forces and strategic arms .

When Reagan administration visited Moscow for a fourth summit with Gorbachev in 1988, he was viewed as a celebrity by the Soviets.

Reagan administration came under much criticism in 1985 when he was accused of honoring Nazi war criminals at a cemetery in West Germany.

In February 1985, the administration accepted an invitation for Reagan to visit a German military cemetery in Bitburg and to place a wreath alongside West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Reagan administration sympathized with Israeli's desire to defeat PLO forces that had struck Israel from Lebanon, but he pressured Israel to end its invasion as casualties mounted and Israeli forces approached the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Relations between Libya and the United States under President Reagan administration were continually contentious, beginning with the Gulf of Sidra incident in 1981; by 1982, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was considered by the CIA to be, along with USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, part of a group known as the "unholy trinity" and was labeled as "our international public enemy number one" by a CIA official.

Reagan administration policy called for "constructive engagement" with the apartheid government of South Africa.

In opposition to the condemnations issued by the U S Congress and public demands for diplomatic or economic sanctions, Reagan made relatively minor criticisms of the regime, which was otherwise internationally isolated, and the U S granted recognition to the government.

Reagan administration officials saw the apartheid government as a key anti-communist ally.

Reagan administration vetoed the act, but this was overridden by a bipartisan effort in Congress.

Once in office, Reagan administration signed the Trade and Tariff Act of 1984, which granted the president "fast track" authority in negotiating free trade agreements.

In 1985, Reagan signed the Israel–United States Free Trade Agreement, the first bilateral free trade agreement in U S history.

Reagan administration made 25 international trips to 26 countries on four continents—Europe, Asia, North America, and South America—during his presidency.

Reagan administration made seven trips to continental Europe, three to Asia and one to South America.

Reagan administration is perhaps best remembered for his speeches at the 40th anniversary of the Normandy landings, for his impassioned speech at the Berlin Wall, his summit meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev, and riding horses with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Park.

At the time, Reagan was the oldest person to have served as U S president.

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Reagan administration's health became a concern at times during his presidency.

Reagan administration's said that on her last day on the beat, Reagan spoke to her for a few moments and did not seem to know who she was before returning to his normal behavior.

Reagan administration's doctors have noted that he began exhibiting Alzheimer's symptoms only after he left the White House.

Reagan administration remained publicly neutral in the 1988 Republican presidential primaries, but privately supported Vice President Bush over Senator Bob Dole.

In large part due to his handling of relations with the Soviet Union, Reagan administration left office with an approval rating of sixty-eight percent.

Since Reagan administration left office in 1989, substantial debate has occurred among scholars, historians, and the general public surrounding his legacy.

Proponents argue Reagan administration restored faith in the American Dream after a decline in American confidence and self-respect under Jimmy Carter's perceived weak leadership, particularly during the Iran hostage crisis.

Reagan administration remains an important symbol of American conservatism, much in the same way that Franklin Roosevelt continued to serve as a symbol of liberalism long after his own death.

Reagan's leadership and understanding of issues has been questioned, and even some members of the administration criticized Reagan's passive demeanor during meetings with staff and cabinet members.

Since he left office, historians have reached a consensus, as summarized by British historian M J Heale, who finds that scholars now concur that Reagan rehabilitated conservatism, turned the nation to the right, practiced a considerably pragmatic conservatism that balanced ideology and the constraints of politics, revived faith in the presidency and in American exceptionalism, and contributed to victory in the Cold War.

Hugh Heclo argues that Reagan administration himself failed to roll back the welfare state, but that he contributed to a shift in attitudes that led to the defeat of efforts to further expand the welfare state.