Discussion Post

In a paragraph answer the following question:

1. What is your assessment of Ronald Reagan's presidency?

Answer Example: To many conservatives Ronald Reagan is considered one of the greatest President's of our time. His bravado at such an age and his bluntness to the media and the country made him a polarizing figure as president. Even with his popularity there were several black eyes during his presidency that cannot be ignored such as the harm that was caused by scaling back funds for the National Climate Program, cutting back OSHA and finally foreign slip ups in Central American and trading firearms for hostages(Something Reagan swore he would not do) Also his failure in the Middle East along with us eventually helping Afghanistan with Russia in the coming years developed the type of tensions we still deal with today in the "War on Terrorism" as it's been coined. The "Irangate" issue of trading guns for hostages, which basically showed that President Reagans hands off approach had hurt his presidency, finally went away because Congress did not want to impeach him. "Reagan's popularity returned, in part because of substantial improvement in Soviet-American relations." (Davidson et al p. 673) His highlights were just that, considered to help with the end of the Cold War, Reaganomics as it was called, basically appealing the liberal government that had such a grasp on politics for such a long period of time. I believe his personality and American pride made him a perfect fit as far as what people wanted to see, making him one of the most popular Presidents in history. I believe he had good intentions and a lot of his policies looked great on paper but burden the poor and lower class. His hands off approach almost ruined his legacy and his foreign policies were at best questionable. My overall assessment is he did a very average job but many of his mistakes are often overlooked due to how popular he was.

2. United States from 1989 to the present, what continuities with previous periods of American history do you see in the present era?

Answer example: It's amusing that almost thirty years later the political battles are all almost the same. Illegal immigration, trade and job market and health care have dominated our political sphere since 1989 till now. Ethnic and racial tension is just as high, if not more, than it was in previous decades, leading to marches, riots and political debates on civil rights. The "War on Terror" and in the Middle East in general still rages on almost two decades later and it shows no signs of slowing at this point. One thing I have noticed while taking history courses is that history really does repeat itself. Political battles, health care, reforms whether liberal or conservative, and war have marked our nation since the beginning. It's a revolving door that I think will continue long after this generation is dead and gone as well. "Yet as John Kennedy warned almost 50 years ago, Americans alone cannot "right every wrong or reverse every adversity" (Davidson et al p. 703)

3. In the 1960s and '70s what should the United States have done in Vietnam?

Answer Example: In my opinion after the Tonkin Gulf Resolution the United States should have started deescalating attacks against the north and in time withdrawn from Vietnam all together. The idea was brought up in 1965 but was ultimately decided against. "The United States should either increase it's attack-escalate was the term coined in 1965-or simply withdraw." (Davidson et al p. 634) Not only would this have helped the baby boomer generation that was being drafted into the service on the civil rights front, it would have saved countless military service members lives in a war that was not only unpopular on the home front but unpopular by those fighting it as well. Even as Nixon took office, his mistakes in Cambodia and Vietnam caused clashes back home while the unpopularity of the war was lowering morale through out units and causing soldiers to not want to fight any longer, especially with no victory in sight. Pulling out earlier or not getting involved at all would have benefited the United States in the long run in my opinion.

Start a New Thread