A Companion to Ronald Reagan (eBook)

Andrew L. Johns (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2015
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-1-118-60782-4 (ISBN)

Infos

A Companion to Ronald Reagan evaluates in unprecedented detail the events, policies, politics, and people of Reagan's administration. It assesses the scope and influence of his various careers within the context of the times, providing wide-ranging coverage of his administration, and his legacy.

• Assesses Reagan and his impact on the development of the United States based on new documentary evidence and engagement with the most recent secondary literature
• Offers a mix of historiographic chapters devoted to foreign and domestic policy, with topics integrated thematically and chronologically
• Includes a section on key figures associated politically and personally with Reagan

Andrew L. Johns is Associate Professor of History at Brigham Young University and the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies. He is the author of Vietnam's Second Front: Domestic Politics, the Republican Party, and the War (2010), and the co-editor of The Eisenhower Administration, the Third World, and the Globalization of the Cold War (with Kathryn C. Statler, 2006) and Diplomatic Games: Sport, Statecraft, and International Relations since 1945 (with Heather L. Dichter, 2014). He is also the editor of Passport: The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations Review.

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A COMPANION TO RONALD REAGAN Ronald Reagan s life (1911 2004) spanned some of the most important domestic and international events of the last century. Moreover, his administration (1981 1989) represents a pivotal point in American history, when the pattern of US domestic and foreign policy was fundamentally and permanently changed. As perhaps the key political figure in the last quarter of the twentieth century, Reagan s legacy continues to exercise significant influence on contemporary politics. Providing a systematic and definitive examination of Reagan s life and legacy in its entirety, A Companion to Ronald Reagan evaluates the events, policies, politics, and people of his administration, and assesses the scope and influence of his various careers sportscaster, actor, political activist, governor, and political icon within the context of the times. Finally, it grapples with Reagan s evolving historical and popular legacy in the twenty-first century. Providing the most comprehensive coverage of Ronald Reagan, his administration, and his legacy currently available, this unique companion is the definitive resource for undergraduate and graduate students as well as scholars.

Inhalt

Notes on Contributors viii

"To Grasp and Hold a Vision": Ronald Reagan in Historical Perspective 1
Andrew L. Johns

Part I Ronald Reagan's Pre-Presidential Life and Career 7

1. Reagan's Early Years: From Dixon to Hollywood 9
John Sbardellati

2. Political Ideology and Activism to 1966 22
Lori Clune

3. Reagan's Gubernatorial Years: From Conservative Spokesperson to National Politician 40
Kurt Schuparra

4. Reagan Runs: His Campaigns for the Presidency, 1976, 1980, and 1984 54
Yanek Mieczkowski

Part II The Reagan Administration, 1981-1989 71

Domestic Policy: Politics and Economics 73

5. The Great Communicator: Rhetoric, Media, and Leadership Style 74
Reed L. Welch

6. Reagan and the Evolution of American Politics, 1981-1989 96
Andrew E. Busch

7. Ronald Reagan and the Supreme Court 117
Andrew E. Hunt

8. "Reaganomics": The Fiscal and Monetary Policies 131
W. Elliot Brownlee

9. Reagan and the Economy: Business and Labor, Deregulation and Regulation 149
Michael R. Adamson

10. Reagan and the Military 167
Jonathan Reed Winkler

Domestic Policy: Social and Cultural Issues 184

11. Ronald Reagan, Race, Civil Rights, and Immigration 185
Lilia Fernandez

12. Reagan, Religion, and the Culture Wars of the 1980s 204
Matthew Avery Sutton

13. Reagan and AIDS 221
Jennifer Brier

14. The Crackdown in America: The Reagan Revolution and the War on Drugs 238
Jeremy Kuzmarov

15. Ronald Reagan's Environmental Legacy 257
Jacob Darwin Hamblin

Foreign Policy: Issues 275

16. Reagan, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War, 1981-1985 276
Michael V. Paulauskas

17. Shaking the Empire, or a Negotiated Settlement: Ronald Reagan and Visions of the Cold War's End 295
Gregory Mitrovich

18. The Iran-Contra Affair 321
James F. Siekmeier

19. The Reagan Doctrine 339
Dustin Walcher

20. Reagan and Terrorism 359
Heather S. Gregg

Foreign Policy: Regions 377

21. Reagan and Africa 378
James H. Meriwether

22. Reagan and Western Europe 393
William Glenn Gray

23. Reagan and Asia 411
Michael Schaller

24. Reagan and Central America 434
Jason M. Colby

25. Reagan and the Middle East 453
Clea Bunch

Key Figures 469

26. Mikhail Gorbachev 470
Elizabeth C. Charles

27. The Vice Presidency of George H. W. Bush 491
Michael F. Cairo

28. Ronald Reagan, Tip O'Neill, and 1980s Congressional History 510
Robert David Johnson

29. The Troika: James Baker III, Edwin Meese III, and Michael Deaver 529
Christopher Maynard

30. A Foreign Policy Divided Against Itself: George Shultz versus Caspar Weinberger 546
Andrew Preston

31. Margaret Thatcher 565
Michael F. Hopkins

Part III The Legacy of Ronald Reagan 583

32. Ronald Reagan and the Conservative Movement 585
Sandra Scanlon

33. Reagan and Globalization 608
Thomas W. Zeiler

34. Reputation and Legacies: An American Symbol 626
Chester J. Pach

Index 644

Rezensionen

"This strapping volume is another fine addition to the Wiley Blackwell Companions to American Historyseries and, at 682 pages, one of the longer ones." (Reference Reviews, 1 October 2015)

"This volume offers the fullest and fairest assessment of Ronald Reagan available today. The chapters cover Reagan's life, his policies, and the key issues of his time with clear focus and rigorous analysis. This volume defines the field, and it charts many future directions for research and debate." (Expofairs, 7 May 2015)



"To understand Ronald Reagan is to understand our recent past,
and A Companion to Ronald Reagan is simply the best source
available for understanding this complex, enigmatic, and profoundly
influential shaper of American politics and of America's
trajectory. Comprehensive, illuminating, and produced by some
of the finest scholars writing today on American history, it is
essential reading for anyone interested in this American political
giant."-Jeffrey A. Engel, Director, Center for
Presidential History, Southern Methodist University

"This volume offers the fullest and fairest assessment of
Ronald Reagan available today. The chapters cover Reagan's
life, his policies, and the key issues of his time with clear focus
and rigorous analysis. This volume defines the field, and it charts
many future directions for research and
debate."-Professor Jeremi Suri, University of
Texas at Austin

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 10.2.2015
• Reihe/Serie: Blackwell Companions to American History
• Reihe/Serie: Blackwell Companions to American History
• Reihe/Serie: Wiley Blackwell Companions to American History
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Neuzeit (bis 1918)
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
• Schlagworte: 20th Century America • Amerika im 20. Jahrhundert • Geschichte • History • Reagan administration, American politics, US politics, Cold War, globalization, Supreme Court, 20th century America, US since 1945, the 1980s, Reagan?s life, Reagan?s gubernatorial service, nuclear weapons, Iran-contra affair, Reagan doctrine, Reagan and terrorism, Reagan and Africa, Reagan and Europe, Reagan and Asia, Reagan and Central America, Reagan and the Middle East, Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, George H. W. Bush, Oliver North, James Baker III, George Shultz, Nancy Reagan, Reagan and the Soviet Unio • Reagan, Ronald
• ISBN-10: 1-118-60782-1 / 1118607821
• ISBN-13: 978-1-118-60782-4 / 9781118607824