Ronald Reagan fue el cuadragésimo presidente de los Estados Unidos (1981-1989). Republicano, ex actor y gobernador de California , impulsó el movimiento conservador en los Estados Unidos a partir de 1964. Su política exterior básica era igualar y superar a la Unión Soviética en fuerza militar, y encaminarla hacia lo que él llamó "la montón de cenizas de la historia ". En 1985, comenzó a cooperar estrechamente con el líder soviético Mikhail Gorbachev, incluso se hicieron amigos, y negoció proyectos de desarme a gran escala. La guerra friase estaba desvaneciendo y terminó repentinamente cuando los soviéticos perdieron el control de Europa del Este casi de la noche a la mañana en octubre de 1989, nueve meses después de que Reagan fuera reemplazado en la Casa Blanca por su vicepresidente George HW Bush , quien seguía las políticas de Reagan. La propia Unión Soviética se disolvió en diciembre de 1991. En términos de la doctrina Reagan , promovió el apoyo militar, financiero y diplomático a las insurgencias anticomunistas en Afganistán, Nicaragua y muchos otros países. En su mayor parte, el poder comunista local colapsó cuando colapsó la Unión Soviética.
En asuntos internos, en un momento de estanflación con alto desempleo y alta inflación, tomó medidas dramáticas. Incluyeron una importante reducción de impuestos y una desregulación a gran escala de las actividades comerciales. Tomó medidas para debilitar a los sindicatos y encontró una solución bipartidista a largo plazo para proteger el sistema de seguridad social. Aunque contaba con el apoyo de la derecha religiosa , en general evitaba o minimizaba cuestiones sociales como el aborto, la homosexualidad y la integración racial. Pidió oraciones en las escuelas públicas, pero no promovió una enmienda constitucional para permitirlo. La lucha contra las drogas era una gran prioridad. También nombró a la primera mujer a la Corte Suprema. Se convirtió en una figura icónica que ha sido elogiada por los candidatos presidenciales republicanos posteriores.
Liderazgo
"Ronald Reagan era cordial, optimista, cortés, respetuoso, seguro de sí mismo y humilde. Pero también era opaco, remoto, distante e inescrutable", dice el historiador Melvyn P. Leffler [1] Según James P. Pfiffner, Universidad Profesor de Políticas Públicas en la Universidad George Mason , Reagan fue un personaje más grande que la vida, un político formidable y un presidente importante. Su complejidad produjo una "presidencia de paradojas", en la que éxitos dramáticos se mezclaron con fracasos desafortunados. Sus fortalezas incluían una visión amplia y una dirección clara. Los votantes apreciaron su optimismo, genialidad y naturaleza amable, lo que hizo que sus ideales parecieran mucho más atractivos. Creía que todos los problemas nacionales eran problemas sencillos y tenía fe en soluciones sencillas. Eso fortaleció su determinación, pero también lo llevó a fracasos cuando hubo profundas complicaciones. Paradójicamente, sus victorias dependían de su voluntad de hacer compromisos pragmáticos sin renunciar a sus ideales. [2]
El propio Reagan tomó las decisiones políticas más importantes y, a menudo, anuló a sus principales asesores en casos como la Cumbre de Reykjavík en 1986 y su discurso de 1987 en el que pedía derribar el muro de Berlín. [3] Estaba preocupado por cuestiones muy amplias, así como por pruebas anecdóticas que respaldaran sus creencias. Prestó muy poca atención a los detalles y las elaboradas sesiones informativas. Cuando los altos funcionarios no funcionaron, como el secretario de Estado Alexander Haig , fueron despedidos. Reagan pasó por una serie de seis asesores de seguridad nacional antes de decidirse por personas en las que confiaba. De hecho, se confiaba demasiado en uno de ellos, John Poindexter . [4] Poindexter y su ayudante Oliver North se comprometieron en un acuerdo secreto con Irán llamado el asunto Irán-Contra que dañó seriamente la reputación de Reagan. Reagan rara vez había viajado al extranjero y contaba con un círculo íntimo de asesores que no eran expertos en política exterior, incluida su esposa, James Baker , Edwin Meese y Michael Deaver . Haig tenía las credenciales para ser Secretario de Estado, pero era arrogante e incapaz de llevarse bien con los otros ayudantes principales. Fue reemplazado por George P. Shultz , quien demostró ser mucho más colaborador y, en general, ha sido admirado por los historiadores. Otros actores clave fueron William J. Casey , director de la CIA, William P. Clark , asesor de seguridad nacional y Jeane Kirkpatrick , embajadora ante las Naciones Unidas. Casper W. Weinberger , secretario de Defensa, reconstruyó y expandió con éxito las fuerzas armadas, pero no se coordinó bien con el liderazgo de política exterior. [5] [6]
La política exterior
Guerra Fría
Reagan fue presidente durante la última parte de la Guerra Fría , una era de crecientes desacuerdos ideológicos y preparativos para la guerra entre Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética. Reagan en 1982 denunció al enemigo como un " imperio del mal " que sería relegado al "montón de cenizas de la historia" y más tarde predijo que el comunismo colapsaría. [7]
Revirtió la política de distensión [8] y construyó masivamente el ejército de los Estados Unidos . [9]
Propuso la Iniciativa de Defensa Estratégica (SDI), un proyecto de defensa [10] que planeaba utilizar sistemas de defensa de misiles terrestres y espaciales para proteger a los Estados Unidos de los ataques. [11] Reagan creía que este escudo de defensa podría hacer imposible la guerra nuclear . [10] [12] Reagan estaba convencido de que se podía derrotar a la Unión Soviética en lugar de simplemente negociar con ella. [13]
Política hacia la URSS
Reagan enfrentó enérgicamente a la Unión Soviética, marcando un brusco cambio de la distensión observada por sus predecesores Nixon, Ford y Carter. Bajo el supuesto de que la Unión Soviética era financieramente incapaz de igualar a los Estados Unidos en una renovada carrera armamentista , aceleró los aumentos en el gasto de defensa iniciados durante la Administración Carter y se esforzó por hacer que la Guerra Fría fuera económica y retóricamente caliente. [14]
Reagan tenía tres motivaciones. Primero estuvo de acuerdo con los neoconservadores que argumentaban que los soviéticos habían avanzado en el poder militar y que Estados Unidos tenía que correr para alcanzarlos. Stansfield Turner , director de la CIA bajo Carter, advirtió en 1981 que, "en los últimos años, todos los mejores estudios han demostrado que el equilibrio de las capacidades nucleares estratégicas se ha inclinado a favor de la Unión Soviética". [15] En segundo lugar, Reagan creía que la decrépita economía soviética no podía manejar una carrera de armas de alta tecnología basada en computadoras; era imperativo impedirles que adquirieran tecnología occidental. [dieciséis]
En tercer lugar, estaba la certeza moral de que el comunismo era malo y estaba condenado al fracaso. Reagan fue el primer líder mundial importante en declarar que el comunismo pronto colapsaría. [17] El 3 de marzo de 1983, fue directo con un grupo religioso: la Unión Soviética es "el foco del mal en el mundo moderno" y no podría durar: "Creo que el comunismo es otro capítulo triste y extraño en la historia de la humanidad". cuyas - últimas páginas incluso ahora se están escribiendo ". [18] Su análisis más detallado llegó el 8 de junio de 1982 al Parlamento británico, asombrando a los soviéticos y aliados por igual. La mayoría de los expertos asumieron que la Unión Soviética seguiría existiendo durante las generaciones venideras, y era fundamental reconocerlo y trabajar con ellos. Pero Reagan ridiculizó a la URSS como un "imperio del mal" y argumentó que estaba sufriendo una profunda crisis económica, que tenía la intención de empeorar al cortar la tecnología occidental. Afirmó que la Unión Soviética "corre contra la corriente de la historia al negar la libertad y la dignidad humanas a sus ciudadanos". [19]
Un año más tarde, en 1983, Reagan asombró al mundo con una idea totalmente nueva: la Iniciativa de Defensa Estratégica (SDI), etiquetada como "guerra de las galaxias" por los medios, después de la película actual. Reagan, siguiendo las ideas de Edward Teller (quien inventó la bomba H en 1950) pidió un paraguas defensivo de misiles sobre los EE. UU. Que interceptaría y destruiría en el espacio cualquier misil hostil. Fue una idea nueva e inesperada, y los partidarios aplaudieron, ya que SDI parecía prometer protección contra la destrucción nuclear. Para los oponentes, SDI significó una nueva carrera armamentista y el fin de la estrategia de Destrucción Mutua Asegurada ("MAD") que creían que hasta ahora había evitado una guerra nuclear. Los soviéticos estaban atónitos: carecían de computadoras básicas y no podían decir si funcionaría o no. Los críticos dijeron que costaría un billón de dólares; Sí, dijo partidarios, y los soviéticos irán a la quiebra si intentan igualarlo. De hecho, la IDE fue financiada pero nunca estuvo operativa. [20] [21] [22]
Gasto de defensa
La administración Reagan hizo aumentos dramáticos en el gasto de defensa, una de sus tres prioridades principales para asumir el cargo. Se finalizó la transición a la nueva fuerza profesional totalmente profesional y se olvidó el borrador. Una expansión espectacular de las bases salariales y los beneficios tanto para los alistados como para los oficiales hizo que el servicio de carrera fuera mucho más atractivo. Bajo el liderazgo agresivo del secretario de Defensa, Caspar Weinberger , se restableció el desarrollo del bombardero B-1 y hubo fondos para un nuevo bombardero B-2 , así como misiles de crucero , el misil MX y un barco 600 de la Armada. El nuevo armamento fue diseñado teniendo en cuenta los objetivos soviéticos. En términos de dólares reales después de impuestos, el gasto en defensa aumentó un 34 por ciento entre 1981 y 1985. En los dos mandatos de Reagan, el gasto en defensa totalizó alrededor de 2 billones de dólares, pero aun así fue un porcentaje menor del presupuesto federal o del PIB, entonces antes de 1976. . [23] [24] Hubo venta de armas para construir aliados también. El más notable se produjo en 1981, una venta de 8.500 millones de dólares a Arabia Saudita que involucró aviones, tanques y sistemas de control y alerta aerotransportados (AWACS). Israel protestó, ya que el AWACS socavaría sus capacidades de ataque estratégico. Para apaciguar a Israel y su poderoso lobby en Washington, Estados Unidos prometió proporcionarle un escuadrón F-15 adicional, un préstamo de $ 600 millones y permiso para exportar aviones de combate Kfir de fabricación israelí a los ejércitos latinoamericanos. [25] [26]
En su primer mandato, la administración miró las medidas de control de armas con profunda sospecha. Sin embargo, después de la acumulación masiva, y el segundo mandato, los miró con favor y logró importantes reducciones de armas con Mikhail Gorbachev . [27]
Armas nucleares
Según varios eruditos y biógrafos de Reagan, incluidos John Lewis Gaddis , Richard Reeves , Lou Cannon y el propio Reagan en su autobiografía, Reagan deseaba fervientemente la abolición de todas las armas nucleares. Propuso a Mikhail Gorbachev que si se pudiera construir un escudo antimisiles, se eliminaran todas las armas nucleares y se compartiera la tecnología del escudo antimisiles, el mundo estaría mucho mejor. Paul Lettow ha argumentado que la oposición de Reagan a las armas nucleares comenzó en los albores de la era nuclear y en diciembre de 1945 solo se le impidió liderar un mitin antinuclear en Hollywood por la presión del estudio Warner Brothers. [28]
Reagan creía que la política de destrucción mutuamente asegurada formulada en la década de 1950 era moralmente incorrecta. En su autobiografía, Reagan escribió:
- El Pentágono dijo que al menos 150 millones de vidas estadounidenses se perderían en una guerra nuclear con la Unión Soviética, incluso si "ganáramos". Para los estadounidenses que sobrevivieron a una guerra así, no podía imaginarme cómo sería la vida. El planeta estaría tan envenenado que los "supervivientes" no tendrían un lugar donde vivir. Incluso si una guerra nuclear no significara la extinción de la humanidad, ciertamente significaría el fin de la civilización tal como la conocemos. Nadie podría "ganar" una guerra nuclear. Sin embargo, mientras existan armas nucleares, siempre habrá riesgos de que se utilicen, y una vez que se desate la primera arma nuclear, ¿quién sabe dónde terminaría? Entonces, mi sueño se convirtió en un mundo libre de armas nucleares. ... Durante los ocho años que fui presidente, nunca dejé que mi sueño de un mundo libre de armas nucleares se desvaneciera de mi mente. [29]
Reagan y el líder soviético Gorbachov firmaron el Tratado de Fuerzas Nucleares de Alcance Intermedio en 1987 (y lo ratificaron en 1988), que fue el primero en la historia de la Guerra Fría en ordenar la destrucción de toda una clase de armas nucleares. [30]
Irán-Irak
Originalmente neutral en la guerra Irán-Irak de 1980 a 1988, la administración Reagan comenzó a apoyar a Irak porque una victoria iraní no serviría a los intereses de Estados Unidos. [31] En 1983, Reagan emitió un memorando de Directiva de Decisión de Seguridad Nacional que pedía una mayor cooperación militar regional para defender las instalaciones petroleras, medidas para mejorar las capacidades militares estadounidenses en el Golfo Pérsico, dirigió a los secretarios de estado y defensa y al presidente de la Junta. Jefes de Estado Mayor para tomar las medidas adecuadas para responder a las tensiones en la zona. [31]
Política económica
Planes económicos, impuestos y déficit
Reagan creía en políticas basadas en la economía del lado de la oferta y defendía una filosofía de laissez-faire , [32] que buscaba estimular la economía con grandes recortes de impuestos generales . [33] [34] Reagan señaló mejoras en ciertos indicadores económicos clave como evidencia de éxito. [9] Las políticas propusieron que el crecimiento económico se produciría cuando las tasas impositivas marginales fueran lo suficientemente bajas como para estimular la inversión, [35] que luego conduciría a un mayor crecimiento económico, más empleo y salarios.
Reagan no creía en aumentar los impuestos sobre la renta . Durante su mandato presidencial, las tasas impositivas sobre la renta federales máximas se redujeron del 70% al 28%. [36] Sin embargo, también se ha reconocido que Reagan aumentó los impuestos en once ocasiones durante su presidencia en un esfuerzo por preservar su agenda de defensa y combatir la creciente deuda nacional y el déficit presupuestario. [37]
Con el fin de cubrir los crecientes déficits presupuestarios federales y la disminución de los ingresos que resultaron de los recortes, Estados Unidos pidió préstamos en gran medida tanto a nivel nacional como en el extranjero, lo que elevó la deuda nacional de 1,1 billones de dólares a 2,7 billones de dólares. [38] Reagan describió la nueva deuda como la "mayor decepción" de su presidencia. [38]
Libre comercio
Reagan era partidario del libre comercio . [39] Cuando se postuló para la presidencia en 1979, Reagan propuso un "acuerdo norteamericano", en el que las mercancías podían circular libremente por los Estados Unidos, Canadá y México . [40] Desestimado en gran parte entonces, Reagan fue serio en su propuesta y una vez en el cargo firmó un acuerdo con Canadá a tal efecto. [39] Su "acuerdo de América del Norte" se convirtió más tarde en el Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN) oficial , firmado por el presidente George HW Bush y ratificado por el presidente Bill Clinton . [40]
Reagan understood free trade as including the use of tariffs to protect American jobs and industry against foreign competition. He imposed a temporary 100% tariff on Japanese electronics as well as other tariffs on a variety of industrial products, which resulted in some free market advocates criticizing his policies as protectionist in practice.[41]
Healthcare
Reagan was opposed to socialized healthcare, universal health care, or publicly funded health care. In 1961, while still a member of the Democratic Party, Reagan voiced his opposition to single-payer healthcare in an 11-minute recording.[42] The idea was beginning to be advocated by the Democratic Party. In it, Reagan stated:
One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It is very easy to describe a medical program as a humanitarian project ... Under the Truman administration, it was proposed that we have a compulsory health insurance program for all people in the United States, and of course, the American people unhesitatingly rejected this ... In the last decade, 127 million of our citizens, in just ten years, have come under the protection of some privately-owned medical or hospital insurance. The advocates of [socialized healthcare], when you try to oppose it, challenge you on an emotional basis ... What can we do about this? Well you and I can do a great deal. We can write to our [ Congressmen, to our Senators. We can say right now that we want no further encroachment on these individual liberties and freedoms. And at the moment, the key issue is we do not want socialized medicine ... If you don't, this program I promise you will pass just as surely as the sun will come up tomorrow. And behind it will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as well have known it in this country, until one day, as Norman Thomas said, we will awake to find that we have socialism. If you don't do this and if I don't do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free.[42][43]
Social Security
Reagan was in favor of making Social Security benefits voluntary.[44] According to Reagan biographer Lou Cannon: "I have no doubt that he shared the view that Social Security was a Ponzi scheme. He was intrigued with the idea of a voluntary plan that would have allowed workers to make their own investments. This idea would have undermined the system by depriving Social Security of the contributions of millions of the nation's highest-paid workers".[44]
Although Reagan was for a limited government and against the idea of a welfare state, Reagan continued to fully fund Social Security and Medicare because the elderly were dependent on those programs.
Mounting concerns that rising Social Security benefits were causing a long-term deficit and were growing too fast resulted in a bipartisan compromise in 1983. Brokered by conservative Alan Greenspan and liberal Congressman Claude Pepper, the agreement lowered benefits over the next 75 years and brought the system into balance. Key provisions included a gradual increase over 25 years in the retirement age from 65 to 67, to take account of longer life expectancy. (People could retire younger, but at a reduced rate of benefits.) Millions of people were added to the system, especially employees of state governments and of nonprofit organizations.[45][46]
New Deal
Reagan wrote that he was never trying to undo the New Deal as he admired President Franklin D. Roosevelt and voted for him all four times.[47]
Politica social
Environment
Reagan dismissed acid rain and proposals to halt it as burdensome to industry.[48] In the early 1980s, pollution had become an issue in Canada and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau objected to the pollution originating in U.S. factory smokestacks in the midwest.[49] The Environmental Protection Agency implored Reagan to make a major budget commitment to reduce acid rain, but Reagan rejected the proposal and deemed it as wasteful government spending.[49] He questioned scientific evidence on the causes of acid rain.[49]
Abortion
Reagan was opposed to abortion, except in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother.[50] He was quoted as saying: "If there is a question as to whether there is life or death, the doubt should be resolved in favor of life". In 1982, he stated: "Simple morality dictates that unless and until someone can prove the unborn human is not alive, we must give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it is (alive). And, thus, it should be entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".[50]
As Governor of California, Reagan signed into law the Therapeutic Abortion Act in May 1967 in an effort to reduce the number of "back room abortions" performed in California.[51] As a result, approximately one million abortions would be performed and Reagan blamed this on doctors, arguing that they had deliberately misinterpreted the law.[50] Just when the law was signed, Reagan stated that had he been more experienced as Governor, he would not have signed it.[52] Reagan then declared himself to be pro-life.[50] During his presidency, though, Reagan never introduced legislation to congress regarding abortion.
Crime and capital punishment
Reagan was a supporter of capital punishment. As California's Governor, Reagan was beseeched to grant executive clemency to Aaron Mitchell, who had been sentenced to death for the murder of a Sacramento police officer, but he refused.[53] Mitchell was executed the following morning.[53] It was the only execution during his eight years as Governor—he had previously granted executive clemency to one man on death row who had a history of brain damage.[53]
He approved the construction of three new prisons as President in 1982 as recommended by Attorney General William French Smith.[53]
Drugs
Reagan firmly sought opposition to illegal drugs.[54] He and his wife sought to reduce the use of illegal drugs through the Just Say No Drug Awareness campaign, an organization Nancy Reagan founded as first lady.[54] In a 1986 address to the nation by Ronald and Nancy Reagan, the President said: "[W]hile drug and alcohol abuse cuts across all generations, it's especially damaging to the young people on whom our future depends ... Drugs are menacing our society. They're threatening our values and undercutting our institutions. They're killing our children."[55]
Reagan also reacted to illegal drugs outside of Just Say No as the Federal Bureau Investigation added five hundred drug enforcement agents, began record drug crackdowns nationwide and established thirteen regional anti-drug task forces under Reagan.[54] In the address with the first lady, President Reagan reported on the progress of his administration, saying:
Thirty-seven Federal agencies are working together in a vigorous national effort, and by next year our spending for drug law enforcement will have more than tripled from its 1981 levels. We have increased seizures of illegal drugs. Shortages of marijuana are now being reported. Last year alone over 10,000 drug criminals were convicted and nearly $250 million of their assets were seized by the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Administration. And in the most important area, individual use, we see progress. In 4 years the number of high school seniors using marijuana on a daily basis has dropped from 1 in 14 to 1 in 20. The U.S. military has cut the use of illegal drugs among its personnel by 67 percent since 1980. These are a measure of our commitment and emerging signs that we can defeat this enemy.[55]
Civil rights
Women
While running for President, Reagan pledged that if given the chance, he would appoint a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court.[56] In 1981, he appointed Sandra Day O'Connor as the first female justice of the Supreme Court. As President, Reagan opposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) because he thought that women were already protected by the 14th Amendment, although he had supported the amendment and offered to help women's groups achieve its ratification while serving as Governor of California.[57] Reagan pulled his support for the ERA shortly before announcing his 1976 candidacy for President. The 1976 Republican National Convention renewed the party's support for the amendment, but in 1980 the party qualified its 40-year support for ERA. Despite opposing the ERA, Reagan did not actively work against the amendment, which his daughter Maureen (who advised her father on various issues including women's rights) and most prominent Republicans supported.
Reagan established a "Fifty States Project" and councils and commissions on women designed to find existing statutes at the federal and state levels and eradicate them, the latter through a liaison with the various state governors. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican feminist and former Federal Trade Commissioner and advisor to Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford (who would go on to become Reagan's Transportation Secretary) headed up his women's rights project.
Black people
Reagan did not support many civil rights bills throughout the years.[58] He opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964[59] on the grounds that specific provisions of the law infringed upon the individual's right to private property and to do business with whomever they chose, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.[58] In 1982, he 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.[60] In 1988, he vetoed the Civil Rights Restoration Act, but his veto was overridden by Congress. This was especially notable as it was the first Civil Rights bill to be both vetoed and to be overridden since President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 followed by Congress overriding the veto and making it law. Reagan had argued that the legislation infringed on states' rights and the rights of churches and small business owners.[61] Reagan's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, as well as his Justice Department prosecuted less civil rights cases per year than they had under his predecessor.[62]
Reagan did not consider himself a racist and dismissed any attacks aimed at him relating to racism as attacks on his personal character and integrity.[58] In July 2019, newly unearthed tapes were released of a 1971 phone call between Reagan, then Governor of California, and President Richard Nixon. Angered by African delegates at the UN siding against the U.S. in the vote to expel Taiwan from the UN and admit Communist China, Reagan stated, “To see those... monkeys from those African countries - damn them, they're still uncomfortable wearing shoes!"[63]
Critics claim that Reagan gave his 1980 presidential campaign speech about states' rights in Philadelphia, Mississippi in a calculated attempt to appeal to racist inclined southern voters.[64] This location is near the place where three civil rights workers were killed in 1964.[65] Others however point out that Reagan had given it at the Neshoba County Fair some distance away from where the murders took place. They also say that the vast majority of his speech had nothing to do with "states' rights" and that the fair was a popular campaigning spot. Presidential candidates John Glenn and Michael Dukakis both campaigned there as well years later.[66][67]
He also said (while campaigning in Georgia) that Confederate President Jefferson Davis was "a hero of mine".[68] However, Reagan was offended that some accused him of racism.[68] In 1980, Reagan said the Voting Rights Act was "humiliating to the South",[69] although he later extending the Act after overwhelming public pressure from grass-roots lobbying and legislative campaign.[70] He opposed Fair Housing legislation in California (the Rumford Fair Housing Act),[71] but in 1988 signed a law expanding the Fair Housing Act of 1968. While signing the expanding Fair Housing Act of 1968 bill he said, among other things, that "[the bill was a] step closer to realizing Martin Luther King's dream", "[the bill was the] most important civil rights legislation in 20 years", and "[the passage of the Civil Rights of 1968 bill] was a major achievement, one that many members of Congress, including a young Congressman named George Bush, had to show enormous courage to vote for". Congressman John Lewis stated, Reagan "dramatized in a very open fashion that he is supportive of efforts to end discrimination in housing" and stated that Reagan's statements were blatantly meant for political gain as it was an election year.[72] Reagan previously stated in 1966 that, "If an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, he has a right to do so."[73] Reagan signed the Mulford Act into law which banned the carrying of loaded weapons in public in the state of California. While California was an open carry state, when the Black Panther Party began lawfully open carrying and monitoring law enforcement for police brutality, bipartisan calls for increased gun control came from the California State Legislature. The law was controversial, as it was clearly retaliatory against the Black Panthers, but Reagan defended the law saying saw "no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons".[74] Reagan engaged in a policy of Constructive engagement with South Africa in spite of apartheid due to the nation being a valuable anti-communist ally, He opposed pressure from Congress and his own party for tougher sanctions until his veto was overridden.[75]
Reagan opposed the Martin Luther King holiday at first and signed it only after an overwhelming veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House of Representatives and 78 to 22 in the Senate) voted in favor of it.[76]
Education
School prayer
Reagan was a supporter of prayer in U.S. schools.[77] On February 25, 1984 in his weekly radio address, he said: "Sometimes I can't help but feel the first amendment is being turned on its head. Because ask yourselves: Can it really be true that the first amendment can permit Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen to march on public property, advocate the extermination of people of the Jewish faith and the subjugation of blacks, while the same amendment forbids our children from saying a prayer in school?".[77] However, Reagan did not pursue a constitutional amendment requiring school prayer in public schools.[78] Reagan mischaracterized the Supreme Court decisions on school prayer, as no decision of the Court has ever held that children are prohibited from praying on their own. The effect of the school prayer decisions is to prohibit public school authorities from requiring children to participate in prayer.
Department of Education
Reagan was particularly opposed to the establishment of the Department of Education, which had occurred under his predecessor, President Jimmy Carter. This view stemmed from his less-government intervention views.[79] He had pledged to abolish the department, but did not pursue that goal as President.[79]
Energy and oil
As President, Reagan removed controls on oil prices, resulting in lower prices and an oil glut.[80] He did not reduce U.S. dependency on oil by imposing an oil-importing fee because of his opposition to taxation.[80] He trusted the free marketplace.[80] Lower global oil prices had the effect of reducing the income that the Soviet Union could earn from its oil exports.
Notas al pie
- ^ Leffler, Melvyn P. (2018). "Ronald Reagan and the Cold War: What Mattered Most". Texas National Security Review. Austin, Texas: University of Texas. 1 (3): 78. doi:10.15781/T2FJ29W93.
- ^ Pfiffner, James P. (February 18, 2013). "The Paradox of President Reagan's Leadership". Presidential Studies Quarterly. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell. 43 (1): 81–100. doi:10.1111/psq.12004.
- ^ Garthoff, Raymond L. (1994). The Great Transition: American-Soviet Relations and the End of the Cold War. Washington DC: Brookings Institution. pp. 285–91, 315. ISBN 978-0815791447.
- ^ "In Poindexter's case, Reagan trusted a subordinate who... lacked the more elusive quality of sound political judgment." Robert M. Collins, Transforming America: Politics and Culture During the Reagan Years (2009) p. 231.
- ^ H.W. Brands, Reagan: The Life (2015) 240-54, 378-81.
- ^ Levy, Peter B. (1996). Encyclopedia of the Reagan-Bush Years. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. passim. ISBN 978-0313290183.
- ^ "Former President Reagan Dies at 93". The Los Angeles Times. June 6, 2004. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
- ^ "Towards an International History of the War in Afghanistan, 1979–89". The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 2002. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
- ^ a b Bartels, Larry M. (1991). "Constituency Opinion and Congressional Policy Making: The Reagan Defense Build Up". The American Political Science Review. 85 (2): 457–74. doi:10.2307/1963169. JSTOR 1963169. S2CID 28751110.
- ^ a b "Deploy or Perish: SDI and Domestic Politics". Scholarship Editions. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
- ^ Adelman, Ken. (July 8, 2003). "SDI:The Next Generation". Fox News. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
- ^ Beschloss, Michael (2007), p. 293
- ^ Knopf, Jeffery W., Ph.D. (August 2004). "Did Reagan Win the Cold War?". Strategic Insights. Center for Contemporary Conflict. III (8). Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
- ^ Andrew E. Busch, "Ronald Reagan and the Defeat of the Soviet Empire" Presidential Studies Quarterly (1997) 27#3 1997. pp 451-66. online
- ^ Lou Cannon, President Reagan:The Role of a Lifetime (2000) p. 132.
- ^ Garthoff, The great transition: American-Soviet relations and the end of the Cold War (1994) pp 38, 155
- ^ John Arquilla, The Reagan Imprint: Ideas in American Foreign Policy from the Collapse of Communism to the War on Terror (2006) p 38.
- ^ Pemberton, Exit with Honor (1998) p. 130
- ^ Full speech at
- ^ Pemberton, Exit with Honor (1998) p. 131
- ^ Weinberger, Fighting for Peace, 291–97.
- ^ Garthoff, The great transition: American-Soviet relations and the end of the Cold War (1994) pp 99ff
- ^ James T. Patterson, Restless Giant pp 200-203.
- ^ Stephen J. Cimbala, The Reagan Defense Program: An Interim Assessment (1986) table of contents
- ^ Mitchell Bard, "Interest Groups, the President, and Foreign Policy: How Reagan Snatched Victory from the Jaws of Defeat on AWACS." Presidential Studies Quarterly (1988): 583-600. online
- ^ Arnon Gutfeld, "The 1981 AWACS Deal: AIPAC and Israel Challenge Reagan" (The Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, 2018) online
- ^ James K. Oliver, "An Early Assessment of Reagan Defense Policy and Programs." Perspectives on Political Science 19.1 (1990): 51-56.
- ^ "President Reagan's Legacy and U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy."
- ^ Ronald Reagan (1990). An American Life. Simon and Schuster. pp. 550. ISBN 9780671691981.
- ^ "The INF Treaty and the Washington Summit: 20 Years Later". George Washington University. November 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ a b Battle, Joyce (February 25, 2003). "Shaking Hands with Saddam Hussein: The U.S. Tilts toward Iraq, 1980–1984". George Washington University. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ Karaagac, John (2000), p. 113
- ^ Cannon, Lou (2001) p. 99
- ^ Appleby, Joyce (2003), pp. 923–24
- ^ Gwartney, James D. "Supply-Side Economics". The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ Mitchell, Daniel J. Ph.D. (July 19, 1996). "The Historical Lessons of Lower Tax Rates". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2007-05-22.
- ^ Scott Horseley (February 4, 2011). "Ronald Reagan's Legacy Clouds Tax Record". National Public Radio. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ^ a b Cannon, Lou (2001) p. 128
- ^ a b "The Reagan Presidency". Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ^ a b "Ronald Reagan on free trade". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa107.html
- ^ a b See Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine
- ^ Operation Coffee Cup Campaign against Socialized Medicine (1961). Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine (streaming) (political advertisement). Youtube. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^ a b "Ronald Reagan on Social Security". OnTheIssues.org. March 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
- ^ 1983 Greenspan Commission on Social Security Reform (1983) online version
- ^ Paul Charles Light, Artful Work: The Politics of Social Security Reform (1985)
- ^ Alan Snyder, K. (20 August 2008). "Ronald Reagan on Franklin Roosevelt: The Significance of Style". First Principles Journal. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
- ^ "Ronald Reagan: On the Issues". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ a b c "Ronald Reagan on Environment". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ a b c d "Ronald Reagan on Abortion". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ Cannon, Lou (2001), p. 50
- ^ Cannon, Lou (2001), p. 51
- ^ a b c d "Ronald Reagan on Crime". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ^ a b c "Ronald Reagan on Drugs". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ a b "Address to the Nation on the Campaign Against Drug Abuse". Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. September 14, 1986. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ Reagan, Ronald (1990), p. 280
- ^ Murphy, Jean (1972-01-18). "Male VIPs Under Equal Rights Banner".
- ^ a b c "Ronald Reagan on Civil Rights". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ^ Reagan, the South and Civil Rights: NPR
- ^ Raines, Howell (June 30, 1982). "Voting Rights Act Signed by Reagan". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ Shull, Steven A. (1999). American Civil Rights Policy from Truman to Clinton: The Role of Presidential Leadership. M.E. Sharpe. p. 94. ISBN 9780765603944.
- ^ Rossinow, pp. 42–43
- ^ “Ronald Reagan called Africans at UN 'monkeys', tapes reveal“. BBC. Retrieved July 31, 2019
- ^ Herbert, Bob (November 13, 2007). "Righting Reagan's Wrongs". The New York Times.
- ^ "Reagan's Race Legacy". The Washington Post. June 14, 2004. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ The Volokh Conspiracy, David Kopel, Reagan's Infamous Speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi, August 16, 2011
- ^ Perry, Brian (August 8, 2012). "Reagan's "wink to the Klan"". The Neshoba Democrat.
- ^ a b "Historians reflect on former President Ronald Reagan's legacy". News Hour With Jim Lehrer. June 7, 2004. PBS.
Roger Wilkins commented on Reagan's Jefferson Davis remark. Wilkins also said the following: "I had one extraordinary conversation with him in which he called me to tell me he wasn't a racist because I had attacked his South Africa policy in a newspaper column and he was very disturbed by the implication that this had any ... he spent 30 minutes on the telephone trying to convince me about it, and talked about how he had played football with black guys in high school and college in order to try to make that point.
- ^ "Why Republicans rip the Voting Rights Act", Hutchinson, Earl Ofari, The Chicago Defender, June 28, 2006
- ^ The Voting Rights Act of 1965, Garrine P. Laney, p. 34
- ^ Pillar of Fire, Taylor Branch, p. 242
- ^ The New York Times, Julie Johnson, "Reagan Signs Bill to Fight Housing Discrimination", September 14, 1988
- ^ "Madera Tribune, Volume 75, Number 133, 21 November 1966".
- ^ Simonson, Jocelyn (August 2015). "Copwatching". California Law Review. 104 (2): 408. doi:10.15779/Z38SK27. SSRN 2571470.
Organized copwatching groups emerged as early as the 1960s in urban areas in the United States when the Black Panthers famously patrolled city streets with firearms and cameras, and other civil rights organizations conducted unarmed patrols in groups
- ^ Davies, J. E. (2008). Constructive Engagement? Chester Crocker and American Policy in South Africa, Namibia and Angola 1981-1988. Melton, Woodbridge, Suffolk: James Currey. ISBN 978-1847013040.
- ^ HR 3706, "A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday", Library of Congress. Martin Luther King Jr. once vowed to "hate all white people", making him a racist himself.
- ^ a b "Ronald Reagan: Radio Address to the Nation on Prayer in Schools". The American Presidency Project. February 25, 1984. Retrieved May 10, 2008.
- ^ Roberts, Steven V. (September 11, 1988). "The Nation; Reagan's Social Issues: Gone but Not Forgotten". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2008.
- ^ a b "Ronald Reagan on Education". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ a b c "Ronald Reagan on Energy & Oil". OnTheIssues.org. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
Referencias y lecturas adicionales
- Appleby, Joyce; Alan Brinkley; James M. McPherson (2003). The American Journey. Woodland Hills, California: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-824129-1.
- Bell, Coral. The Reagan Paradox: U.S. Foreign Policy in the 1980s (1989) short overview by Australian scholar excerpt
- Beschloss, Michael (2007). Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How they Changed America 1789–1989. Simon & Schuster.
- Brands, H.W. Reagan: The Life (2015), scholarly biography; 810pp
- Busch, Andrew E.; "Ronald Reagan and the Defeat of the Soviet Empire" in Presidential Studies Quarterly. 27#3 (1997). pp. 451+
- Cannon, Lou (2000). President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime. New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-891620-91-1.; scholarly biography, 953pp
- Gaddis, John Lewis (2005). The Cold War: A New History. The Penguin Press.
- Hayward, Steven F. The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution: 1980–1989 (2009), strongly pro-Reagan
- Johns, Andrew L., ed. A Companion to Ronald Reagan (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015). xiv, 682 pp.; topical essays by scholars emphasizing historiography; contents free at many libraries
- Kyvig, David. ed. Reagan and the World (1990), scholarly essays on foreign policy.
- Pemberton, William E. (1998). Exit With Honor: The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-0096-7.
- Reagan, Ronald (1990). An American Life. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7434-0025-1., autobiography; primary source
- Reeves, Richard (2005). President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-3022-3.
- Schmertz, Eric J. et al. eds. Ronald Reagan and the World (1997) articles by scholars and officeholders online edition
- Troy, Gil (2009). The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.