美國歷史上的今天

里根的政治遺產(chǎn)

When: Jan 11, 1989

What: President Ronald Reagan gave his farewell address, after serving as the U.S. president for 8 years.

Why significant: In his speech, President Ronald Reagan spoke enthusiastically about his achievements in foreign policy, which he enumerated to include: 

• achieving peace in the Persian Gulf

• forcing the Soviets to leave from Afghanistan

• negotiating for the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Cambodia

• mediating the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola

These efforts were all waged against communism, which Reagan believed was the main threat to freedom.

However, Reagan’s Cold War record was not as straightforwardly successful as he described. The U.S.'s “strength” was renewed at the expense of drastically increased defense expenditure, which resulted in over one trillion dollars national debt. Peace in the Persian Gulf was only temporary, as the Gulf War later erupted during George Bush's administration. Finally, the means he employed to achieve anti-communism ends were often questionable, as revealed by the Iran-Contra scandal, in which the Reagan administration covertly sold weapons to Iran and illegally supplied the Contra forces in Nicaragua. 

Nonetheless, Reagan's administration still gained much favor with the American public with its foreign policies and tax cut. Reagan left office as one of the most popular modern U.S. presidents.

Tags: Cold War, Ronald Reagan