Historical Interpretations: Depth study
What impact did the Reagan presidency (1981-89) have on the USA in the years 1981-96?
RONALD REAGAN BECOMES PRESIDENT, 1980-81
Who was Reagan?
● Reagan was a controversial and polarising figure in politics,and therefore his impact and legacy
has been remembered differently by those on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
● Liberals are mostly very critical of Reagan, whilst conservatives revere him as some sort of hero.
● Most historians do mostly agree however on one particular aspect of Reagan’s presidency - it
was significant and influential.
● He had careers in three forms of media - radio, movies and television
● He appealed to voters who resented high taxes, affirmative action programmes, rising crime and
challenges to traditional values
The Religious Right
Date Event
1967-75 California’s 33rd Governor.
1968 Lost the Republican presidential candidacy to Nixon.
1976 Lost the Republican presidential candidacy to Ford.
Nov 1980 Elected to be the 40th president of the USA.
Jan 1981 Inaugurated as President.
March 1981 Survived assassination attempt.
Aug 1981 Major economic reform bills passed and signed into law.
Jan 1982 Social Security Reform Act signed.
Dec 1985 Congress mandated cuts to balance the budget by 1991.
Nov 1986 Iran Contra controversy uncovered.
Feb 1987 Tower Commission criticises Reagan’s management.
Oct 1987 Bork rejected for Supreme Court
Nov 1988 Bush was elected to be the 4st President.
THE EFFECT OF REAGAN’S ECONOMIC POLICIES
1
, Reaganomics
● Tax cuts
● Deregulation
● Limited government spending
● Increased defence spending
● Reagan blamed keynesian economics for the state of the US and wanted a more conservative
approach
● He wanted incentives for people to work harder.
● Under Reagan, the federal reserve managed to control inflation by controlling the money supply.
● The mid decade boom in 1938-84 helped to re-elect Reagan in 1984.
● Huge trade deficit with cheap imports and expensive exports.
● Collapse of industry in America and a move towards financial services (movement from
secondary to tertiary and quaternary industries with higher incomes.)
Supply-side economics
● Argues that if taxes are cut, then people would have more money to invest in the economy
● Called supply-side economics because the government cared less about the demand of the
public and instead focused on caring about businesses.
● Believes that - if tax for corporations are reduced, they would have more money left from their
profits to invest in their businesses, meaning that companies can expand and employ people =
higher wages
● With more employment and higher wages, people can use money to spend in the economy by
buying property and products.
● This then helps companies have more money
● Criticism:
○ Corporations and shareholders tend to keep more profits than its worth, they can
reinvest into their business and wider economy.
○ Creates a wealth divide between the rich and poor.
○ Less taxes = less government spending on welfare programs for the poorest
Laffer curve
● At the sweet point in this curve, the cutting of taxes and
getting rid of regulations/bureaucracy led to companies
using extra income to invest, innovate and expand
● This would lead to more money and less taxes = increased
sales and profits.
● Neo-liberals believe taxes and cutting regulations on
businesses and slashing corporate taxes, companies would
be more competitive and therefore able to make more
profits.
2
What impact did the Reagan presidency (1981-89) have on the USA in the years 1981-96?
RONALD REAGAN BECOMES PRESIDENT, 1980-81
Who was Reagan?
● Reagan was a controversial and polarising figure in politics,and therefore his impact and legacy
has been remembered differently by those on opposite sides of the political spectrum.
● Liberals are mostly very critical of Reagan, whilst conservatives revere him as some sort of hero.
● Most historians do mostly agree however on one particular aspect of Reagan’s presidency - it
was significant and influential.
● He had careers in three forms of media - radio, movies and television
● He appealed to voters who resented high taxes, affirmative action programmes, rising crime and
challenges to traditional values
The Religious Right
Date Event
1967-75 California’s 33rd Governor.
1968 Lost the Republican presidential candidacy to Nixon.
1976 Lost the Republican presidential candidacy to Ford.
Nov 1980 Elected to be the 40th president of the USA.
Jan 1981 Inaugurated as President.
March 1981 Survived assassination attempt.
Aug 1981 Major economic reform bills passed and signed into law.
Jan 1982 Social Security Reform Act signed.
Dec 1985 Congress mandated cuts to balance the budget by 1991.
Nov 1986 Iran Contra controversy uncovered.
Feb 1987 Tower Commission criticises Reagan’s management.
Oct 1987 Bork rejected for Supreme Court
Nov 1988 Bush was elected to be the 4st President.
THE EFFECT OF REAGAN’S ECONOMIC POLICIES
1
, Reaganomics
● Tax cuts
● Deregulation
● Limited government spending
● Increased defence spending
● Reagan blamed keynesian economics for the state of the US and wanted a more conservative
approach
● He wanted incentives for people to work harder.
● Under Reagan, the federal reserve managed to control inflation by controlling the money supply.
● The mid decade boom in 1938-84 helped to re-elect Reagan in 1984.
● Huge trade deficit with cheap imports and expensive exports.
● Collapse of industry in America and a move towards financial services (movement from
secondary to tertiary and quaternary industries with higher incomes.)
Supply-side economics
● Argues that if taxes are cut, then people would have more money to invest in the economy
● Called supply-side economics because the government cared less about the demand of the
public and instead focused on caring about businesses.
● Believes that - if tax for corporations are reduced, they would have more money left from their
profits to invest in their businesses, meaning that companies can expand and employ people =
higher wages
● With more employment and higher wages, people can use money to spend in the economy by
buying property and products.
● This then helps companies have more money
● Criticism:
○ Corporations and shareholders tend to keep more profits than its worth, they can
reinvest into their business and wider economy.
○ Creates a wealth divide between the rich and poor.
○ Less taxes = less government spending on welfare programs for the poorest
Laffer curve
● At the sweet point in this curve, the cutting of taxes and
getting rid of regulations/bureaucracy led to companies
using extra income to invest, innovate and expand
● This would lead to more money and less taxes = increased
sales and profits.
● Neo-liberals believe taxes and cutting regulations on
businesses and slashing corporate taxes, companies would
be more competitive and therefore able to make more
profits.
2
