The Age of Reagan: A History, 1974-2008 (American History)

One of the nation's leading historians offers a groundbreaking and provocative chronicle of America's political history since the fall of Nixon. The past thirty-five years have marked an era of conservatism. Although briefly interrupted in the late 1970s and temporarily reversed in the 1990s, a powerful surge from the right has dominated American politics and government. In The Age of Reagan, Sean Wilentz accounts for how a conservative movement once deemed marginal managed to seize power and hold it, and the momentous consequences that followed. Ronald Reagan has been the single most important political figure of this age. Without Reagan, the conservative movement would have never been as successful as it was. In his political persona as well as his policies, Reagan embodied a new fusion of deeply right-leaning politics with some of the rhetoric and even a bit of the spirit of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and John F. Kennedy's New Frontier. In American political history there have been a few leading figures who, for better or worse, have placed their political stamp indelibly on their times. They include Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt—and Ronald Reagan. A conservative hero in a conservative age, Reagan has been so admired by a minority of historians and so disliked by the others that it has been difficult to evaluate his administration with detachment. Drawing on numerous primary documents that have been neglected or only recently released to the public, as well as on emerging historical work, Wilentz offers invaluable revelations about conservatism's ascendancy and the era in which Reagan was the preeminent political figure. Vivid, authoritative, and illuminating from start to finish, The Age of Reagan raises profound questions and opens passionate debate about our nation's recent past. History Cover 1 Title page 7 Copyright page 8 Contents 11 Illustrations -1 Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, in the Oval Office to discuss welfare reform with President Richard M. Nixon, May 14, 1974, as the Watergate scandal raged 15 A Marine changes the official presidential portraits hung at the American embassy in Bonn, West Germany, after Nixon announced his resignation on August 8, 1974 15 President Gerald R. Ford meets with Deputy Chief of Staff Dick Cheney and Chief of Staff Don Rumsfeld in the Oval Office, April 23, 1975 16 The counterculture pays a call: former Beatle George Harrison and rock and roll organist Billy Preston visit President Ford at the White House, December 13, 1974 16 President Ford addresses delegates during the plenary session of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Finlandia Hall, Helsinki, August 1, 1975 16 A demonstration by women in South Boston, led by antibusing advocate Louise Day Hicks, protest federal school busing orders, September 12, 1975, as helmeted riot police line the street 17 Phyllis Schlafly, national leader of the "Stop the Equal Rights Amendment" movement, speaks with reporters at a rally in the Illinois state capitol, Springfield, March 4,1975 17 President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter walking down Pennsylvania Avenue following his swearing in at the U.S. Capitol, January 20, 1977 18 Pat Caddell, polling expert and guru of the new politics, and President Carter at the White House, November 7, 1977 18 Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, November 26, 1978 18 President Carter and the shah of Iran toast each other at a state dinner in Carter's honor, Tehran, December 31, 1977 19 Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel playing chess with National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski during a break in the Camp David summit, September 9, 1978 19 President Carter with Senator Edward M. Kennedy in the Oval Office, June 26,1978 19 Ronald Reagan's fourth-grade class photograph, Tampico, Illinois, May 12, 1920 20 Reagan, president of the Screen Actors Guild, testifying before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, November 25, 1947 20 Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan celebrating his victory in the California gubernatorial election, Los Angeles, November 8, 1966 20 President Ronald Reagan eating lunch at his desk in the Oval Office less than a week after his inauguration, January 26, 1981 21 President Reagan passes a jar of his favorite candy, jelly beans, to Budget Director David Stockman before a meeting at the White House with cabinet secretaries and budget advisers about reducing federal spending, February 11, 1981 21 One month after a nearly fatal attempt on his life, President Reagan delivers a nationally televised address to a joint session of the Congress on what he calls his program for economic recovery, April 28, 1981 21 President Reagan working at his desk in the Oval Office, May 6, 1982 22 President and Nancy Reagan attend a memorial service for those killed in action in Lebanon and Grenada, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, November 4, 1983 22 A Marine in full combat gear stands guard outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut after a bomb destroyed part of the building, killing sixty-three and wounding more than 100, April 18, 1983 22 President Reagan with Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of State George Shultz, Attorney-General Ed Meese, and Chief of Staff Don Regan, discussing the president's remarks to the press on the Iran-contra affair in the Oval Office, November 25, 1986 23 President Reagan meeting with his nominee to the Supreme Court, Robert Bork, at the White House residence, November 9, 1987 23 Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North testifying before the joint congressional committee on Iran-contra, seated beside his lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, July 14, 1987 23 President Reagan meets with General Secretary Gorbachev of the Soviet Union at Hofdi House during the Reykjavik summit, November 11, 1986 24 President Reagan speaking at Moscow State University, May 31, 1988 24 Nancy Reagan, President Reagan, Vice President George H. W. Bush, and Barbara Bush, after Reagan endorsed Bush's run for the presidency in Washington, D.C., May 11,1988 25 President Bush holds up a bag of crack cocaine during an address to the nation on his drug control strategy from the Oval Office, September 5, 1989 25 President Bush receives salutes from General Norman Schwarzkopf and troops during the Operation Desert Storm homecoming parade, July 8, 1991 25 Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, President Bill Clinton, and House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich conferring in the White House in 1993 26 Bodies of Tutsi peasants murdered at Nyanza Hill in Rwanda, April 21–23, 1994 26 Hillary Clinton campaigning on behalf of the administration's health care proposal, University of Colorado at Boulder, March 14, 1994 26 Yitzhak Rabin, President Clinton, and Yasir Arafat mark the signing of the Oslo accords on the South Lawn of the White House, September 13, 1993 27 Hillary and Bill Clinton, and families of the victims, at the Time for Healing Prayer Service following the right-wing terrorist attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Oklahoma City, April 23, 1995 27 Monica Lewinsky surrounded by photographers as she gets into a car headed for an appointment with investigators from the F.B.I., Los Angeles, May 27, 1998 28 Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr testifying before the House Judiciary Committee in favor of the impeachment of President Clinton, November 19, 1998 28 Noisy and violent protestors shutting down the recounting of votes by hand at the Miami- Dade County election office, November 22, 1998 29 Vice President Al Gore speaking with reporters outside the White House, December 5, 2000 29 President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and outgoing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld arrive outside the Pentagon for an armed forces full honor review to mark the end of Rumsfeld's tenure, Arlington, Virginia, December 15, 2006 30 Introduction [1] 31 Prologue July 4, 1976 [14] 44 1 Memories of the Ford Administration [26] 56 2 Détente and Its Discontents [48] 78 3 Jimmy Carter and the Agonies of Anti-Politics [73] 103 4 Human Rights and Democratic Collapse [99] 129 5 New Morning [127] 157 6 Confronting the Evil Empire [151] 181 7 "Call It Mysticism If You Will" [176] 206 8 "We Have an Undercover Thing": The Iran-Contra Affair [209] 239 9 "Another Time, Another Era" [245] 275 10 Reaganism and Realism [288] 318 11 The Politics of Clintonism [323] 353 12 Clinton's Comeback [355] 385 13 Animosities and Interest: The Impeachment of Clinton [382] 412 14 Irreparable Harm: The Election of 2000 [408] 438 Epilogue: October 13, 2001 [432] 462 Acknowledgments [459] 489 Notes [461] 491 Introduction 491 Prologue July 4, 1976 492 1 Memories of the Ford Administration 493 2 Détente and Its Discontents 495 3 Jimmy Carter and the Agonies of Anti-Politics 500 4 Human Rights and Democratic Collapse 502 5 New Morning 504 6 Confronting the Evil Empire 506 7 "Call It Mysticism If You Will" 510 8 "We Have an Undercover Thing": The Iran-Contra Affair 513 9 "Another Time, Another Era" 519 10 Reaganism and Realism 525 11 The Politics of Clintonism 530 12 Clinton's Comeback 533 13 Animosities and Interest: The Impeachment of Clinton 536 14 Irreparable Harm: The Election of 2000 538 Epilogue: October 13, 2001 542 Selected Sources and Readings [515] 545 Primary Sources 545 General Works 546 Prologue 547 Ford (Chapters 1 And 2) 548 Carter (Chapters 3 and 4) 551 Reagan (Chapters 5–9) 555 George H. W. Bush (Chapter 10) 562 Clinton (Chapters 11–14 ) 564 George W. Bush (Epilogue) 569 Index [545] 575 A 575 B 576 C 577 D 580 E 581 F 582 G 583 H 583 I 584 J 585 K 585 L 585 M 586 N 587 O 587 P 588 Q 588 R 588 S 590 T 592 U 593 V 593 W 593 Y 594 Z 594 history;,US,history;,conservatism;,politics;,government;,political,culture;,Ronald,Reagan history,US history,conservatism,politics,government,political culture,Ronald Reagan Introduction -- Prologue: July 4, 1976 -- Memories Of The Ford Administration -- Détente And Its Discontents -- Jimmy Carter And The Agonies Of Anti-politics -- Human Rights And Democratic Collapse -- New Morning -- Confronting The Evil Empire -- Call It Mysticism If You Will -- We Have An Undercover Thing : The Iran-contra Affair -- Another Time, Another Era -- Reaganism And Realism -- The Politics Of Clintonism -- Clinton's Comeback -- Animosities And Interest : The Impeachment Of Clinton -- Irreparable Harm : The Election Of 2000 -- Epilogue: October 13, 2001. Sean Wilentz. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [515]-543) And Index. Introduction Prologue: July 4, 1976 Memories of the Ford administration Detente and its discontents Jimmy Carter and the agonies of anti-politics Human rights and democratic collapse New morning Confronting the Evil Empire "Call it mysticism if you will" "We have an undercover thing" : the Iran-Contra Affair "Another time, another era" Realism and Reaganism The politics of Clintonism Clinton's comeback Animosities and interest : the Clinton impeachment Epilogue: October 13, 2001. Wilentz, the eminent Princeton historian, argues that for the past thirty-five years U.S. political history has been defined by the new politics of conservatism brokered by its major powerhorse, Ronald Reagan. Following an analysis of Reagan's presidency, Wilentz concludes that Reagan not only transformed the stage of geopolitics, but also the American judiciary and government bureaucracy, while lifting the hearts of Americans who lived through Vietnam and Carter years.