Why was Reagan's presidency so significant? | US Government and Civics | Khan Academy

Why was Ronald Reagan's presidency so significant? Ronald Reagan plays an important role in the modern presidency for two big things that he did.

One, on the domestic front, he broke considerably with the kind of way of doing things in Washington. He, uh, basically in response to the New Deal from Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Great Society from Lyndon Johnson, President Reagan came in and said, "No longer is government your friend in American life; the government is actually the problem." This was the message of his inaugural address.

He broke with the idea that the federal government, through the application of its resources, could help American life, which was a very stark ideological break with the way the American government had been going since the mid-40s.

Then, on foreign policy, his, uh, increased defense spending and his very strong position against the Soviet Union, coupled with a willingness to actually negotiate with the Soviet Union, got him a lot of grief from the conservatives in his party. That both hardline and ability to negotiate helped usher in the end of the Cold War.