Phew, Coming up with this installment took me alot longer to research than I had expected...Hopefully I don't dissapoint, and remember that all comments are welcome. The next installment will be over the 1972 Primaries and General Election...So without further adue...
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A Rendezvous with Destiny:
The First term of President Ronald Wilson Reagan
On January, 20th 1969, the actor from Illinois, Ronald W. Reagan was sworn in as the 37th President of the United States of America. Surrounded by his wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan, along with Chief Justice Earl Warren, President Johnson, his new Vice President John A. Volpe and finally his Democratic opponent in the fall campaign former Vice President Hubert Humphrey stood with a sense of Optimism and Leadership as he took the oath of office. In his Inaugural Address, meticulously crafted by former Nixon speechwriter, Pat Buchanan, spoke to heal all the nations wounds, in which the best part of the speech was when he alluded back to his “
A time for choosing” speech from ’64 when he said…”
I have faith that you have the ability and the dignity and the right to make your own decisions and to determine your own destiny…Thank you, may god bless you and god bless America.” His cabinet would reflect this new sense of Independence as it featured a team of rivals not seen since the last President who came from Illinois.
Secretary of State: Richard M. Nixon
Secretary of Treasury: Milton Friedman
Secretary of Defense: Henry Kissinger
Attorney General: James A. Rhodes
Postmaster General: Winton M. Blout
Secretary of Interior: John Tower
Secretary of Labor: Arthur Fletcher
Secretary of Agriculture: Robert Dole
Secretary of Commerce: George W. Romney
Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare: William Scranton
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Secretary of Transportation: Margaret Chase Smith
The first obstacle that President Reagan faced was on not only to end the War in Vietnam but under what circumstances could the United States “win” the War. In the early months of his term, President Regan went against the suggested strategy of Vietnamization supported by both Sec. Nixon and Sec. Kissinger and sided with General Creighton Abrams and the continuation of his total reconstruction of the war from the Search and Destroy tactics of Westmoreland. However as protesters still clamored for an immediate withdrawal from Southeast Asia, Reagan made a nationally televised address on November 3rd, 1969 calling on the “Silent Majority” of Americans to keep their faith in the abilities of their government and to support his policy of Winning the Vietnam War. He and UN ambassador Barry Goldwater unveiled the policy known as “The Village”, which entailed that current American troop levels would remain the same (around 600,000) in order to regain control of the villages. President Reagan was able through his skills of communication and with a little help from Pat Buchanan’s speeches, to make the majority of Americans understand that eventual victory required civilian support for the South Vietnamese Government and this support required the United States to provide villagers with physical security from the Vietcong. The operation proved largely to be a success and by late 1970 to early 1971, The United States had essentially won the Vietnam War, where basically the Vietcong were defeated on the field, effective control was returned to most of the South Vietnamese population, the South Vietnamese armed forces could continue the war on their own, so long as we provided them with adequate supplies and intelligence, and carried through on our promise to bomb the North if they violated peace agreements.
Reagan would also approve the secret bombing campaign of North Vietnamese positions in Cambodia in March of 1969(Operation Seek) to obliterate what was believed to be the headquarters of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam. Although the operation was considered by the Air Force to be largely a success, the gipper received starch criticism for his bombing of Laos and Cambodia. This criticism soon erupted into full blown protests that caused the closure of 536 Universities, Colleges and High Schools, with the biggest being that of the so called Massacre at Kent State. In March of 1970, President Reagan and Attorney General Rhodes, who actually went down to the site of the riot to support his former lieutenant Governor John William Brown and the Ohio National Guard in squashing the rebellion. Although, the riot resulted in deaths of four students, President Reagan never made a public apology, and in private conversation simply said “
They got what they deserved”. President Reagan formed the Gates Commission to look into ending the military service draft implemented under the preceding President. The Gates Commission issued its report in February 1970, describing how adequate military strength could be maintained without having conscription. The draft was extended to January 1973, though it was not continued after that. Military pay was increased as an incentive to attract volunteers, and television advertising for the United States Army began.
In other aspects of foreign policy, President Reagan made up for their virtual shut out of in Vietnam by allowing Secretary of State Nixon and Secretary of Defense Kissinger to have a relatively free hand in everything else. Nixon under the banner of the Reagan Administration guided the foreign policy by forging new links with rivals in order to reduce international tensions. In February 1972, President Reagan and Sec. Nixon traveled to Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shanghai in China for talks with Chinese leaders Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. Reagan's trip was the first high-level contact between the United States and the People's Republic of China in more than twenty years, and it ushered in a new era of relations between Washington and Beijing. Several weeks later, in May 1972, Reagan as advised by his Secretary of State, visited Moscow for a summit meeting with Leonid Brezhnev, general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and other Soviet leaders. Their talks led to the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, the first comprehensive and detailed nuclear weapons limitation pact between the two superpowers.
On the Domestic Front, President Reagan during his first term largely kept true to his rather libertarian dogma. On the economy, Reagan worked hard with his widely renowned and respected Treasury Secretary Milton Friedman on what would be the most efficient way of freeing America from “
The Burden of a Welfare Society”. In August, of 1969, the gipper revealed the Total Economic Reconstruction of Family Assistance (or TERFA) and was sent to Congress for the vote. On an incredibly slim margin, the enhanced TERFA called for implementation a single system which accomplished both the funding of government and the social goal of ensuring a minimum level of income. In the presence of the TERFA, inasmuch as that the social goal is reached, it potentially removed the need for minimum wage, food stamps, welfare, social security programs and so on, while requiring a fraction of the administrative effort, and avoiding the pitfalls and perverse incentives which exist in systems with overlapping aid programs. A worker under TERFA always gets the same portion of each marginal dollar earned, so there is always an equal incentive to work. Finally the TERFA System would reduce administrative overhead, since the large bureaucracies responsible for administering taxation and welfare systems could be eliminated. Yet, it was an addition put into the bill which guaranteed an Annual Income to sweeten the deal for liberals in order to kill Social Security and Welfare. The resources saved by eliminating these bureaucracies can then be spent on more productive activities. Upon signing of the Bill, President Reagan stated that
“Although this is a crowning achievement, in which that the founders of this great nation would be proud…We know that it is not perfect, and I look forward to in the future working with Congress to making sure that this system remains a success.”
Another crowning achievement of President Reagan on the economy would be appointment of Democrat economist Paul Volcker to become Chairman of the Federal Reserve. With rising Inflation as a result from years of pursing “Obsolete” New Deal and “Cumbersome” Johnsonian Programs as well as a faltering gold standard, Reagan needed someone who was willing to make new bold decisions on the economy. After a long list of candidates, the economist from New Jersey was chosen to replace the retiring Fed Chair William McChesney Martin, Jr., in early 1970 and it was soon realized how bold this new chair would be. Two of Volcker crowning achievements in the first term, One would be his decision to suspend the gold convertibility in 1971, thus resulted the crash of the Breton Woods system. Volcker and Secretary of Treasury Friedman would often have words on some aspects on policy, but he generally advocated an international solution to monetary problems. His other achievement would be staving off an future Inflation problem, which Reagan saw as
“Impending crisis which if it would have been allowed to continue unchecked would have slowed the American Economy to a crawl within ten years.” By instead of the widely popular idea of targeting interesting rates, Volcker went against the consensus and focused on limiting the growth of the money supply. This decision would ensure Volcker’s tenure as Federal Reserve Chairman for many years to come.
On Civil Rights, President Reagan during his first term had more of a mixed message as opposed to his strong achievements in the foreign policy and economic arenas. Initially, the 37th President received rave reviews when he nominated the Black conservative Arthur Fletcher to Secretary of Labor and the well respected Moderate Republican Senator from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith, to the position of Transportation Secretary. However any hopes that President Reagan would be some type of freedom rider for Justice soon became dashed. Reagan showed a relative libertarian approach when it came to desegregation in the South. Strategically, the gipper knew he had to count on the votes of conservative White Democrats to win the 1972 election, and that if he took any hard-line to enforce desegregation, he might very well loose the South to either the Democrats or even more likely another third party run by George Wallace. If it was one thing Reagan was adamantly opposed to school busing, and the President made sure to tell voters on his position especially when he was on the stump during the 1970 congressional elections. President Reagan and his policy of Benign Neglect suggested to him by his HUD Secretary Daniel Patrick Moynihan via memo that “
the issue of race could benefit from a period of 'benign neglect'. The subject has been too much talked about....We may need a period in which Negro progress continues and racial rhetoric fades." This policy soon proved to be wrong as the summers in Northern Cities remained Hot during Reagan’s 1st term as the influence and power of Black Nationalist groups continued to strengthen. President Reagan and his Attorney General Rhodes would use every means necessary as given to them by the federal arsenal in order to hush the voices of dissonance in the minority populace. On the ERA, Reagan became the target of many women’s groups for not coming out openly of supporting it after its passage through Congress in 1971 and for keeping his “Leave it up to the States” policy.
Finally, On the Final Frontier, President Reagan made it very clear during the ’68 campaign that he would be enthusiastic about NASA and promised an expansion for the Space Program. On July 19, 1969, astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to walk on the Earth's moon, while fellow astronaut Michael Collins orbited in the Apollo 11 command module. Reagan made what has been termed the longest-distance telephone call ever made to speak with the astronauts from the Oval Office. With his approval rating floating around 70%, a possible Republican take over of Congress in the ’72 election due to gains made in ’70, Vietnam technically won, and a string of successful Apollo missions to the Moon…The 60 year old President declared that he would seek reelection on July 4th, 1971. Also within the speech, Ronald Reagan announced that he would be sending to Congress a bill which would allow for an expansion of NASA’s budget in order to pay for NASA Administrator Thomas Paine’s ambitious plan that called for the establishment of a lunar base and a massive space station in Earth orbit before the end of the 1970s, culminating in a manned mission to Mars as early as 1981. With a rejuvenated NASA, tolled into the costs of continual aid to the South Vietnamese, and the creation of the TERFA system, the American People experienced on of the largest tax hike in history…but President Reagan was able to reassure voters that if reelected that “
Relief will soon be on the way, because America’s future rests in a thousand dreams inside your hearts.”
