Presidency of Ronald Reagan

Historical Context Essay

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Domains

Changes of government, elections and reigns

Dates

Date of occurrence 1981-03-04-1989-03-04

Places

United States (Location)

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In a sweeping victory, Ronald Reagan (R) defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter (D). Reagan, the 40th president, also demonstrated long coat-tails, as the Republican Party took over the Senate for the first time since 1954. Amid a climate of high inflation, low inflation, and waning patriotism, President Reagan pledged to restore the nation's economic and military greatness. Reagan was a proponent of small government. And he championed local sovereignty, minimal federal regulation, and low taxation. Reagan also possessed an unwavering faith in the rejuvenating power of an unfettered free-market system. Reagan was also a staunch anti-communist. On 30 March 1981, Reagan was wounded in a botched assassination attempt. His good humour and undeniable bravery in the immediate aftermath of the event and during his subsequent recovery provided Reagan with enough political capital to move forward on...

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515 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "Presidency of Ronald Reagan". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=972, accessed 10 June 2026.]

Presidency of Ronald Reagan

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