Ronald Reagan And Liberalism Essay

Prior to Reagan’s presidency, Liberalism controlled America as the ideology of politics. It was emphasized that government was needed in order to solve the nation’s problems. That all changed once Reagan entered office. Politically, America saw a major shift of power from liberalism to conservatism as Reagan served as a champion of deregulation. He even imposed conservatism into the courts as he appointed three conservative-minded justices to the Supreme Court. Among these justices was Sandra Day O'Connor who was the first female Supreme Court justice in history. Reagan’s precedent of appointing a female justice would go on to allow more women to be appointed in the future. Reagan and his fellow conservatives blamed “Big Government” for the …show more content…
He believed that promoting freedom as the key to economic growth was one of the greatest contributions the U.S. could make to the world. As recorded in his State of the Union message of 1988 Reagan stated, “ America's jobs, America's growth, America's future depend on trade--trade that is free, open, and fair”. In 1986 under Reagan, the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations of were launched which in turn lowered global tariffs and created the World Trade Organization. In 1988, Reagan was able to win the approval of the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement which would later expand to include New Mexico and become the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The NAFTA now provides 3 million Americans with jobs and supports Made-In-America exports. Canada and Mexico are America’s two largest export markets buying more Made-in-America services and goods than any other nation in the world. By signing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, Reagan expressed his thoughts on immigration. Though border enforcement and sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal workers were increased by this legislation, it also legalized 2.8 million undocumented workers. The bill gave illegal immigrants the chance to acquire legal status if they met set requirements. Among the requirements necessary was proof of a clean criminal record and the passing of a test on minimal knowledge in the subjects of U.S.

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