Reagan 1980

Black and white photograph of Ronald Reagan in center with white background. Upper semi-circle in red with white text. Lower semi-circle in blue with two images of elephants and white text.

Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States who won his first term in 1980 with George Bush as his Vice President. He won 489 electoral votes against his opponent, Jimmy Carter. Before he was president, Reagan was governor of California and a well-known Hollywood actor with his most famous roll in Kings Row (1942). A few months into office there was an assassination attempt.

Reagan’s goal in office was to make the American people less reliant on the government. He cut funding and social services. He tried to stimulate the economy and lower the unemployment rate. He supported and expanded Medicare and social security. The term “Reaganomics” was coined during this time as he proposed the idea of trickle down economics. 

Reagan believed that negotiating with the Soviet Union was important to restore International relations and aid in peaceful negotiations. Reagan is known for the line, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall,” in 1987 referring to the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. He wanted to stop the expansion of communism, so he pushed for more military spending and American influence. Reagan and Gorbachev would sign the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty in 1987 which eliminated intermediate-range nuclear missiles from both sides. The Iran Hostage Crisis continued into the beginning of Reagan's presidency. After a long series of televised talks, weapons were exchanged for the hostages.