How Did Ronald Reagan Influence Society

Ronald Reagan, the fortieth United States president, served two terms marked by landmark changes in both domestic and foreign policies, and was well regarded by the American people. On the homefront, he cut taxes as part of his supply-side “Reaganomics,” a firm believer that the best thing government could do is limit its influence (history.com). He reformed everything from healthcare to immigration, and took a big step towards gender equality in America by appointing Sandra Day O’Conor as the first female Supreme Court Justice (history.com). His actions speaking for him, Reagan was elected to a second term by the largest number of electoral votes in history, a clear sign of his success and popularity (abc clio).
Reagan wasn’t a man who spoke about change, he acted on it. His foreign policies advocated “peace through strength,” and targeted the Soviet Union, christened by him “The Evil Empire”

His first year as president, he held fifty-seven meetings of the National Security Council and enacted a series of top-secret National Security Decision Directives (NSDDs) (hertiage.org). Although no direct fighting occurred between American and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, proxy wars between democratic and communist countries were aided by America and the Soviet Union, respectively. Reagan deployed more American troops to countries fighting communist regimes, and in Grenada in October 1983, they successfully ousted a Marxist regime, marking the first time in almost forty years America restored democracy to a formerly communist nation (heritage.org). Perhaps most notably, in June 1987, Reagan famously challenged Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to “tear down this wall!” (heritage.org). In November 1989, twenty nine months after Reagan’s challenge, the Berlin Wall fell (history.com). The era of communism was nearing its