What does Reagan mean when he says, “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem?” What are those problems?

Reagan’s first inaugural address

 

Min word count 200

 

You should not use any outside sources beyond the actual document to complete these assignments. Your submissions are intended to be your own analysis and reflections, not based on what you found on the internet or work you did with another student in the class (either past or present).

 

 

Riding a wave of dissatisfaction with the country’s economic problems and apparently diminished strength in world affairs, Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. An excellent public speaker, Reagan reshaped the nation’s agenda and political language effectively than any other president since Franklin D. Roosevelt. He made conservativism seem progressive, rather than an attempt to turn back the tide of progress. His 1981 inaugural address reflected how he made freedom the watchword of what came to be called the Reagan Revolution – an effort to scale back the scope of government, lower taxes, and rekindle the Cold War. Americans, he insisted, should look to their own efforts, not to the government to solve the country’s problems. Doing so would reinvigorate the American tradition of respect for “freedom and dignity of the individual.” He ended by invoking the time-honored idea that the United States has a mission to serve as a “beacon” of freedom for people throughout the world. In his public appearances and state papers, Reagan used the word “freedom” more often than any other president before or since.

 

 

Read the attached document and answer the following questions:

 

How does Reagan define freedom?

What does Reagan mean when he says, “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem?” What are those problems?

 

Ronald Reagan Inaugural Address.docx