American History: The Reagan Years

19 January 2012

President Ronald Reagan, right, and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev on June 1, 1988, before a fourth day of talks in Moscow

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

This week in our series, we continue the story of the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

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Soon after his presidency began, there was an attempt on his life. A gunman shot President Reagan in March nineteen eighty-one. Doctors removed the bullet. He rested, regained his strength and returned to the White House in twelve days.

President Reagan during a news conference at the White House on March 19, 1987

The new president wanted to reduce the size of the federal government. He and other conservative Republicans wanted less government interference in the lives of Americans.

President Reagan won congressional approval for his plan to reduce income tax rates. Many Americans welcomed the plan. Others were concerned about its effects on the national debt. They saw taxes go down while defense spending went up.

To save money, the Reagan administration decided to cut spending for some social programs. This pleased conservatives. Liberals, however, said it limited poor peoples' chances for good housing, health care, and education.

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