This information was provided by the Ronald Reagan Foundation.

Truth to tell, President Reagan was not exactly a fan of traveling – especially if it meant to far away places without Nancy. Once when talking to an aide about some upcoming foreign travel and the number of flights required, the President said “the highest I want to go is on the saddle of a horse.” But he understood the importance of representing America abroad and of forming relationships with his counterparts, and climbed the steps of Air Force One many times over the eight years, visiting more than two dozen countries. When he stood in a foreign capital and heard “The Star Spangled Banner” played by the host country’s band, President Reagan seemed to stand just a little taller and his chest swelled ever so slightly. You could almost feel his pride in representing the USA.

He believed fervently in the greatness and goodness of America, and knew that American strength was central to world peace. One of his first priorities as President was taking a demoralized and underfunded U.S. military and giving it the support and resources it needed to keep America safe and to be a force for peace around the globe. Nothing made him prouder than to be Commander in Chief. You could see in his face how much it meant to receive – and return – a salute. He felt a special bond with the men and women in uniform, especially the young people from the small towns across America. That they were willing to risk their lives for their country never ceased to amaze and humble President Reagan. He took no responsibility more seriously than to keep them out of harm’s way. But he made a commitment to them that if it ever became necessary to send them into battle, he would make sure they had what they needed to get the job done. By the time President Reagan left office, the U.S. military budget had increased 43% over the total expenditure during the height of the Vietnam War. Troop levels increased, there were significantly more weapons and equipment and the country’s intelligence program was vastly improved.

Ronald Reagan strengthened the military because he was a realist. He understood the world, and had a clear sense of what America’s role should be – the champion of freedom for peoples everywhere.

Perhaps his most steadfast ally in that pursuit was British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. From the day they met, the two just “clicked.” They saw the world in similar ways, and found themselves in agreement on most global issues. The U.S. and British were said to have a “special relationship,” perhaps best evidenced by the fact that the Reagans’ first State Dinner in 1981 and last State Dinner in 1988 were both in honor of Mrs. Thatcher.

The “special relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K. was not limited to the Prime Minister. Indeed, the Reagans and the British Royal family came to like each other quite a bit, so much so that Queen Elizabeth II invited President Reagan to go horseback riding with her at Windsor Castle, and Mrs. Reagan was an honored guest at two Royal weddings.

Pope John Paul II was another leader with whom President Reagan had a special rapport. Their relationship went well beyond the usual ceremonial events between a President and a Pope. As they came to know each other, they found they had similar views about Communist domination of Eastern Europe, and quietly worked together to support the Solidarity movement which eventually led to Poland becoming a free nation.

Poland was not the only nation which benefitted from President Reagan’s steadfast advocacy of democracy. While President Reagan was in the White House, Free, democratic elections were held for the first time in many years in the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and the Philippines. By the time President Reagan left office, the number of people in Latin America living under freely elected governments tripled from what it had been ten years earlier.

The President did more than just talk. In 1983, when he was asked by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, President Reagan sent U.S. troops to Grenada to lead a multi-national force in liberating that country from an oppressive Marxist dictatorship. Not only were the communists ousted, the troops rescued nearly 1,000 American medical students whose safety was in jeopardy under the brutal regime.

Maybe because growing up in the heartland of America Ronald Reagan learned the importance of being a good neighbor, he paid special attention to our neighbors to the north and south – Canada and Mexico. Wasting no time in reaching out, he took the unprecedented step of visiting Mexico as President-elect, and visited six more times while in the White House. He made Canada the first foreign country he visited as President, travelling there less than two months after assuming office, the first of five trips. While President Reagan enjoyed strong relationships with all of the Mexican and Canadian leaders during his Presidency, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney became a particularly staunch ally and valued friend.

Over the eight years, there were some frustrations in foreign policy, chief among which was the elusiveness of lasting peace in the Middle East. Progress was made, such as the finalization of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, but the region remained unstable – as it had been for centuries. The 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon was particularly disappointing and sad for President and Mrs. Reagan.

Overall, the impact of the Reagan Presidency on the world was undeniably positive. America’s foreign policy objectives were clear and consistent. We stood by our friends and did not back down when adversaries tried to spread their oppressive systems. Friend and foe alike knew that in the Oval Office was a President who kept his word. America was once again the beacon of freedom in the world.

 

This information was provided by the Ronald Reagan Foundation.

Given the dire state of the economy facing Ronald Reagan when he assumed the Presidency, it would have been understandable had he focused exclusively on those challenges. But he came to office with a broad agenda, and there were many important problems to solve. One that was of particular importance to the President was the how well the government served the people. He firmly believed that the government should work for the people, not the other way around. Governor and then President Reagan thought of the people as his boss, who, by electing him, had hired him to do the job. Throughout his career, Ronald Reagan was fond of telling true stories about the illogical and often mind-boggling – not to mention exasperating – inefficiency of the Federal bureaucracy. Although he did so with a smile, underlying the story-telling was a deep frustration. He vowed that if he ever had an opportunity to do something about it, he would. And he did. Not only did his Administration reduce the burden of excessive, redundant and unnecessary paperwork on businesses working with the government, it made changes that affected real people on a daily basis. When President Reagan took office, it took seven weeks to get a Social Security card and 43 days to get a passport. By the time he left, either one – or both – could be had in just 10 days.

As much as he used his own passport over the years, and as exotic and exciting as some of his foreign trips were, Ronald Reagan always looked forward to coming home. He genuinely loved America. From his beloved California to the New York Island, he was in awe of our country’s sheer beauty. Spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountains’ majesties, oceans white with foam were not just words to him. It was how he saw America. He believed he had a special responsibility to protect the country’s environment and to preserve its natural beauty. President Reagan did more than just talk about it. The Reagan Administration was the first to establish a special unit at the Department of Justice to prosecute criminal polluters.

Polluters were not the only criminals who President Reagan intended to put out of business. Keeping people safe was always a top-of-agenda item for the Reagan Administration. It took a while, but in 1984, Congress passed the President’s Comprehensive Crime Control Act, which kept dangerous people behind bars, restricted the use of the insanity defense, reviewed Federal sentencing guidelines and toughened penalties for drug dealers and others. That same year, the President signed another very significant piece of legislation which made child pornography a separate criminal offense. The effect of the President’s work to prevent crime and put criminals where they belonged was dramatic. Nearly 2 million fewer households were hit by crime in 1987 than in 1980.

Preventing crime and locking up bad guys was only part of what President Reagan did to ensure justice for all. Another key component of his program was the appointment of judges who would faithfully interpret the Constitution rather than legislate from the bench. Of all the judicial appointments made by the President, none was more historically significant than Sandra Day O’Connor in 1981. When Ronald Reagan became the first President to nominate a woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, he shattered a glass ceiling that had been in place since the founding of the country, forever changing not only the judiciary, but the role of women in our society. Little girls everywhere could now aspire to heights previously unavailable to them.

In many ways, President Reagan’s nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor was emblematic of how he viewed people – without an iota of prejudice. Gender, race ethnicity and religion just did not matter to him in the slightest. They were never factors in his decision making, other than when people were being discriminated against. When that happened, President Reagan was a tenacious fighter for equal rights. Under his leadership, the Federal government equaled or surpassed the number of civil rights cases filed by any previous Administration in virtually every enforcement category. Principal civil rights organizations received almost 18% more in funding.

President Reagan never forgot what it was like to grow up in a household with very limited financial means. He knew its impact on quality of life and helping the poor escape poverty was something he cared about deeply. Under his leadership, Federal spending for basic low-income assistance programs rose by 40%. The President also knew that a good education was the ticket out of poverty, and when his National Commission on Excellence in Education termed the U.S “A Nation at Risk” because of declining educational quality, he called for a variety of remedies including overall higher standards and accountability, parental choice and merit pay for teachers and principals.

Ronald Reagan was the first President to address the issue of HIV and AIDS. He established a Presidential Commission and consulted with Government agencies and private groups, after which a broad plan to fight the disease was implemented. Billions of dollars were committed for research, regulations making it difficult to get drugs to patients were eliminated and educational programs were developed, all of which were underpinned by a message of empathy for those infected. In a speech to the American Foundation for AIDS Research in May, 1987 he said:

“What our citizens must know is this: America faces a disease that is fatal and spreading. And this calls for urgency, not panic. It calls for compassion, not blame. And it calls for understanding, not ignorance. It’s also important that America not reject those who have the disease, but care for them with dignity and kindness.”

There was not a day during his eight years in the White House that Ronald Reagan did not work to ensure the domestic tranquility written about in the very first sentence of the Constitution. Forming a more perfect union was why he sought the Presidency in the first place, and was his “north star.”