Description
Book SynopsisA 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.
Trade Review“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)
Table of ContentsNotes 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
