...Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush, all were presidents who had both Good experiences and bad moments during their presidencies. All three lived through crisis during their presidency, and much of what is remember about them is their ability to handle these situations. Although opinions differ on who did a better job, it is possible to evaluate how they handled their situation and see the similarities and differences. For Carter the major crisis was the Iranian Hostage Crisis. According to article on the Iranian Crisis for 444 days americans were held hostage, while Carter and his counterparts attempted to negotiate their release. Unfortunately, no deal was made during his presidency, ending his presidency on a low. Although he was incapable to end the hostage situation, Carter’s presidency was not all a loss. Camp David turned out to be the highlight of Carters term where he did what no other US president has done since. During which, his stubbornness prevailed and allowed a deal to...
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...The “Age of Reagan” comes from how Ronald Reagan’s presidency changed the lens through which Americans viewed politics and politicians. As a whole, Sean Wilentz framed Reagan as a new brand of president because of his previous career, his dealings with the Soviet Union, his popularity, and his legacy. Although Wilentz was vague about the successfulness of the Reagan administration, he emphasized the impact that all of these different aspects of Reaganism had on the country. To Wilentz, Reagan continued to come across as a charismatic star, and that reputation only grew after he left office. Part of this increase in popularity came from conservatives attributing the end of the Cold War to Reagan, as many conservatives were “conveniently glossing over their own records and their criticism of Reagan in 1987 and 1988…celebrating Reagan as a cunning statesman who had purposefully caused the downfall of the Soviet Union” (p 313). While...
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...Previously a radio broadcaster, actor and governor, in 1981 Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th president of the United States. As a teen, Ronald Reagan lifeguarded, a job that his son believes formed his role in the United States government in years to come; he always wanted to save people. As a lifeguard, he protected and saved the lives of swimmers. As president, he took on a different role, saving the vitality of the nation. In 1962, despite the fact that he had been a Democrat his whole life, he became a Republican, believing the Democrat party left him. Some may have argued that he was not cut out to take on such a demanding role within the government, but many people fully supported his campaign, seeking a leader who could get them through tough times, especially because the election was going on simultaneously with the Iran Hostage Crisis. Stressing principles of low taxes and a strong defense, Reagan won the election. In a nation where the political pendulum was stuck to the left for the past 30 years, Reagan was able to shift it right, taking control over his nation with his charisma and political promises. Whether it was negative or positive, Reagan had a tremendous influence in America. The figure of the pendulum is a basic allegory for the American public opinion since the 1930s, and is especially affected by the life and career of Ronald Reagan. The entire pendulum is a representation of the atmosphere of America since the 1930s; this atmosphere includes...
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...States. The most notable people tend to be political figures and activist. The most recognizable of these is Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was not always known as America’s President. The instances in his early life led to his greatness in office and even after death. He had help from his family throughout his life even his presidency. Also, there was a lot of good things Ronald Reagan has done when he was president. “No, democracy is not a fragile flower. Still, it needs cultivating. If the rest of this century is to witness the gradual growth of freedom and democratic ideals, we must take actions to assist the campaign for democracy.” (Introduction....
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...Name Course University Tutor Date Ronald Reagan Mention Ronald Reagan and the next person will say how great he was. Ratings approval ranks him higher than any other former presidents of the United State of America. He has been described as one of the greatest leaders of our times. He displayed many valuable traits that by and large helped him to become the great leader he was. Did his character influence his leadership style? This is the core point as far as this former president of United States was concerned. His character shaped whom he became giving his all and championing his course to make America a better place to live for all the citizens. His election as the president restored the hopes of the Americans who had been disillusioned by the leadership whom majority felt had lost touch with the people. Wallison, P (2004) points out that his unique traits had great influence as far as his success as a president was concerned (23) One of his major accomplishments was restoring the people’s hope with the government. This achievement can be overlooked by many but it was such an important step since it regained the people hope and renewed their commitment for their country. This is the first step for any nation that is interested in forging ahead after years of scandals, wars and many other misgivings that they would like to forget. When Reagan was leaving office after his completion of the two terms he thanked all the American people and mostly those...
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...On February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan was born to parents Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. Reagan had an older brother, Neil Reagan. The Reagan’s did not have money, so they had to move a lot through the Midwest in search of work while Reagan was growing up until they finally settled in Dixon, Illinois, when Reagan was twelve years old. Reagan completed school there and graduated from his high school with athletic and extracurricular honors. After high school, Reagan went to Eureka College, a school run by the Disciples of Christ. Reagan graduated from the college in 1932 with undergraduate degrees in sociology and economics. Work was hard to find in 1932 because of the Depression. Reagan was turned down everywhere he went until he received a temporary sports announcer job at WOC radio station. He was very well liked and had a great personality he was transferred to another bigger station in Des Moines called the...
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...situation in which people’s understanding can be changed through messages.” (Zarefsky, 12). The rhetorical situation analysis consists of four elements: audience, occasion, speaker and speech, each assessing the quality of speech. In this essay, I will analyze the rhetorical situation of the historical speech “The Challenger Address” delivered by the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Americans had high expectations of the space programs which intended to provide the United States a great sense of achievement. The significance of the space program lies in essence in which symbolized American glory in science and technology. (Lambright) Therefore, the audience of Reagan’s speech was American public; those who had experienced the tragic national loss of seven American astronauts resulted from the failure of space regime. Evidence of Reagan constantly involving American citizens prevail throughout the speech. He specifically engaged the audience by employing words such as “we,” “us,” “schoolchildren of America,” giving the audience a sense of involvement in the national matter. Reagan also acknowledged pain of the families of the seven astronauts. He showed his understanding of pain of families by saying “we feel the loss, and we are thinking about you so very much,” “your loved ones,” which was an attempt to console them by implicitly suggesting that the families are the primary audience of this speech. Moreover, he created a feeling that he and his wife Nancy are too...
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...are known to lead the country with the best interest of citizens and hold the responsibility of many things, such as ensuring that laws are abided by, and that the government fulfills its purpose efficiently. Presidents perform these obligations differently, in which their political views and time periods served as president play a direct role in the choices they make. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan were not only two of the most important presidents of the 20th Century, but were also very much needed as they instilled great amounts of optimism within the country. They both dealt with a wide range of issues, some of which they handled differently due to their perspectives. Ronald Reagan and Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered the office at a time when the nation was in turmoil and dealt with economic issues. Both presidents brought courage, civility, and morals, which are necessary characteristics especially when one is a president. President Roosevelt came into office promising to help America recover from the Great Depression, and President Reagan, who won by a landslide margin of came into office at the age of sixty-nine during a period of economic hardships combined with the fear of the Soviet Union taking over our nation. Both men presented innovative plans for ending the crises and stabilizing the country as soon as possible, as well as boosting the confidence of many Americans. Roosevelt proposed the New Deal, in response to the 1929 Wall Street Crash...
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...socio-religious issues, to economics, and to America’s position in the world made possible the emergence of conservatism as the dominant ideological force in American politics in the late 20th century. This decline was accompanied by a growing political mood that first and foremost expressed a distrust of government. Proponents of conservatism were able to effectively direct this mood and coalesce for electoral ends through a process of ideologically based group formation and mobilisation. These relatively stable and interlinked groups heightened the salience of themes identified as conservative in political discourse. The political climate was pointed in the direction of a conservative...
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...Ronald Wilson Reagan, born February 6, 1911, served the United States as the 40th president from 1981 to 1989. Reagan was the first and only movie actor elected to office. During his two-terms in office, Reagan had many accomplishments; cutting taxes, strengthened and increased national defense spending, and through foreign policy pursued “peace through strength.” (Freidel & Sidey, 2006). The primary strength Reagan possessed in office was his oratory skills, in which he was dubbed “The Great Communicator”. The presidency of Ronald Reagan corresponded with a “long period of dramatic economic growth and the beginning of a momentous change in international relations.” (Brinkley, 2002). Through legislation, Reagan stimulated the economic growth, curbed inflation, and increased U.S. employment. By cutting taxes and Government expenditures Reagan overhauled the income tax code. By which, he removed many deductions and made exempt millions of low-income people. As the end of his term neared, our nation enjoyed “its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.” (Freidel & Sidey, 2006). Another achievement of Reagan was his plan, Supply Side Economics. In a plan, he felt in order to improve the economy, the industries needed to be built up through “entrepreneurial skills” and the corporate wealth would “trickle down to the people.” (The 40th US President - Ronald Reagan). Raised in the small town of Dixon, Illinois, his parents Jack...
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...Ronald Wilson Reagan was the President of the United State from 1981 to 1989. During his presidency, the Cold War was still occurring. Beginning in 1947, the Cold War was a states of political and military tension, primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union, a communist country. The war lasted for forty-four years, ending in 1991. President Ronald Reagan was instrumental in ending the Cold war because of his build-up of the United States military, implementation of the Reagan Doctrine and his strong diplomatic position with Mikhail Gorbachev. Early in Reagan’s Presidency, he gave a speech deeming the Soviet Union an “evil empire” and told the U.S. citizens that he would keep an aggressive campaign against communism (Cold War...
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...rates, Reagan's approach to handling the economy marked a significant departure from that of many of his predecessor's Keynesian policies. 3 Before the tax cut, the economy was battling high inflation, high Interest rates, and high unemployment. These three issues dropped sharply after the tax cuts. The unemployment rate, which was at 9.7 percent in 1982, began a steady decline, reaching 7.0 percent by 1986 and 5.3 percent when President Reagan left office in January 1989. Inflation-adjusted revenue growth dramatically improved. Over the four years period before 1983, federal income tax revenue reduced at an average rate of 2.8 percent per year, and total government income tax revenue decreased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent. 4 In accordance with Reagan's less-government intervention views, many domestic government programs were cut or experienced periods of reduced funding during his presidency. Tax breaks and increased military spending resulted in an increase of the national budget deficit and led Reagan and Congress to approve two tax increases, aiming to preserve funding for Social Security, though not as high as the 1981 tax cuts. 5 The American economy went from a GDP growth of -0.3% in 1980 to 4.1% in 1988 (in constant 2005 dollars), averaging 7.91% annual growth in current dollars. 6 The proportion of total income taxes paid by the top 1 percent rose...
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...Reagan/Bush Era Reagan/Bush Era To take a look at the past and see how it has guided the present era; look back at the Reagan-Busch era and see what they were involved in, initiated or finished while in the Oval Office. These two were President and Vice President for two terms and George Bush succeeded Reagan as the 41st President of the United States and carried on where Reagan left off. His presidency was limited to one term as most Americans felt that he was not strong enough or not able to function without President Reagan. The Iran-Contra war was an embarrassing scandal that almost caused Reagan his presidency. The involvement of the United States in the business of supplying weapons to the enemy of the United States basically a black market operation that was not approved by the Congress and ran by a Military Officer. The whole matter was a negotiation tactic we sell you weapons and you release hostages. Monies profited from this illegal black market scandal was funneled to the contras of Nicaragua to support their internal democracy issue and eventually allowed them to overthrow Anastasio Somoza Debayle. This whole scandal reflected poorly on the United States and President Reagan as it was a defining point in his presidency and almost cost him his office. This scandal first began in 1985 and continued until 1986 and was actually effective until the Hezbollah terrorist group got greedy and started taking more hostages in demand for more weapons. The article was...
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...Each president of the United States that comes into office has a different agenda and a different way of running things. All of the decisions they make in office impact everyone. After the president leaves office, they leave a legacy behind. This legacy could either be satisfactory or unsatisfactory, depending on what they did while in office. Three presidents that left a big legacy on America are Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt and each of them impacted, either good or bad, the country in some way. While each left a legacy, one president's legacy was more impactful, in a helpful way, to America’s development and growth. Before Ronald Reagan came into office in 1980, there was a major recession in the late 1970’s. This means that there was a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity were reduced. Reagan’s promise to the people was that he was going to restore the economy, but everyone's question was how he planned to do that. His plan was to provide tax breaks to the very wealthy people. The idea was that if the wealthy class had more money, they could provide more jobs and the money would make its way down to the other classes, this was called trickle down economics (Corvo, Lecture). Reagan’s...
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...After Ronald Reagan was finished lassoing up criminals in Hollywood and announcing Cubs games in Iowa, he became one of the greatest presidents of all time according to C-SPAN. One of his greatest attributes was his skillful communication with the audience. Whenever he spoke, he connected with the audience and his words inspired people. His speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany was no different. In the 1960s, Germany became separated into East Germany and West Germany. On the east was Communism and the west had Democracy. Ronald Reagan – and presidents before him – went to Germany in attempt to unite the two and spread freedom. Chaim Perelman, from nearby Belgium, literally wrote the book on argumentation. It is clear from his speech that Ronald Reagan read this book – or at least knew some of Perelman’s ideas. Throughout his speech, Ronald Reagan appeals to the value of something these Germans didn’t have: freedom. He also emphasizes the importance of communities through liaison and presence. While the speech was televised throughout Europe and North America, it is clear Reagan had a particular audience he was speaking to. He was trying to influence the citizens of Germany and Berlin. They are the ones who were in the position to make change. He knew that if they could come together they could take down the wall. In the end, that is exactly what happened. East Germans protested and the Communist government had to open the gate and tear down the wall. Any German who was...
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