Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush: Two Term Presidents with Major Impacts
Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush: Two Term Presidents with Major Impacts
Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush were all two term Presidents in the last 30 years and although their policies and the time periods in which they presided were different, each man had a significant impact as President of the United States. It will be argued that Reagan was a reconstructive President and “savior”, helping to restore faith to the Presidency as an institution after the shortcomings of his predecessors. Clinton will be remembered as the Democrat who shifted his party’s politics more toward the center of the political spectrum and was able to ascend to the Presidency as a Democrat in an era dominated by Republicans. Bush will be remembered as a controversial President due to the 2000 Election, the War in Iraq, and his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Ronald Reagan took office in 1980 during a time of great uncertainty in America. Paul Kennedy, a highly regarded historian from Yale, proclaimed in his book The Rise and Fall of Great Empires, that Britain was the last empire to expire from imperial overstretch and America would be the next in line to suffer that fate. One of the largest problems facing the United States during this era was the issue of stagflation: simultaneously rising inflation and unemployment. Politicians and economists alike were perplexed by this situation; the conventional wisdom at the time was that there could either be stagnation or inflation in an economy, but never both at the same time. Such a scenario was started when an oil embargo engineered by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1973-1974 caused huge increase in energy prices in the United States. This rapid rise in energy prices sent ripples through the U.S. economy and helped to trigger a recession in 1974-1975—“skyrocketing energy costs combined with stubbornly entrenched inflationary expectations initially generated
Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush were all two term Presidents in the last 30 years and although their policies and the time periods in which they presided were different, each man had a significant impact as President of the United States. It will be argued that Reagan was a reconstructive President and “savior”, helping to restore faith to the Presidency as an institution after the shortcomings of his predecessors. Clinton will be remembered as the Democrat who shifted his party’s politics more toward the center of the political spectrum and was able to ascend to the Presidency as a Democrat in an era dominated by Republicans. Bush will be remembered as a controversial President due to the 2000 Election, the War in Iraq, and his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Ronald Reagan took office in 1980 during a time of great uncertainty in America. Paul Kennedy, a highly regarded historian from Yale, proclaimed in his book The Rise and Fall of Great Empires, that Britain was the last empire to expire from imperial overstretch and America would be the next in line to suffer that fate. One of the largest problems facing the United States during this era was the issue of stagflation: simultaneously rising inflation and unemployment. Politicians and economists alike were perplexed by this situation; the conventional wisdom at the time was that there could either be stagnation or inflation in an economy, but never both at the same time. Such a scenario was started when an oil embargo engineered by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1973-1974 caused huge increase in energy prices in the United States. This rapid rise in energy prices sent ripples through the U.S. economy and helped to trigger a recession in 1974-1975—“skyrocketing energy costs combined with stubbornly entrenched inflationary expectations initially generated
References: Collins, Robert M. Transforming America. New York: Columbia Univ Pr, 2006. Print. Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun First Edition, First Printing edition. New York: Mcsweeney 's; First Edition, First Printing Edition, 2009. Print. [ 2 ]. Collins, Robert M. "Malaise."Transforming America. New York: Columbia Univ Pr, 2006. 8. Print. [ 3 ]. Collins, Robert M.. "Eighties Legacy." Transforming America. New York: Columbia Univ Pr, 2006. 237-238. Print. [ 4 ]. Collins, Robert M.. "Eighties Legacy." Transforming America. New York: Columbia Univ Pr, 2006. 237. Print. [ 5 ]. Collins, Robert M.. "Eighties Legacy." Transforming America. New York: Columbia Univ Pr, 2006. 242. Print.