The presidency of Ronald Reagan has become a Rorschach Test for politicians and citizens alike. While many conservatives see the Reagan era of the 1980s as the high-water mark for their movement and a time of national recovery from the difficulties of the 1970s, many liberals maintain that the rosy Reagan legacy is based largely on myth, and that in fact his eight years as president caused serious harm to the country. John Ehrman and Michael W. Flamm give due attention to the lasting controversies surrounding the Reagan record and provide a balanced view of the fortieth president's foreign and domestic policies. Students are encouraged to draw their own conclusions by reading key primary documents.

Introduction Part I: Debating the Reagan Presidency: Domestic Politics and Issues Chapter 1: Excerpts from Inaugural Address (January 20, 1981) Chapter 2: Excerpts from Economic Report of the President (1985) Chapter 3: Excerpt from Walter Mondale's Speech Accepting the Democratic nomination (July 19, 1984) Chapter 4: Remarks Announcing the Nomination of Robert H. Bork To Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (July 1, 1987) Chapter 5: Excerpts from Nomination of Robert H. Bork to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate Opening Statement of Robert H. Bork (September 15, 1987) Chapter 6: Excerpts from Farewell Address to the Nation (January 11, 1989) Part II: The Reagan Presidency and Foreign Policy: Controversies and Legacies Chapter 7: Address to the British Parliament (June 8, 1982) Chapter 8: Address to the National Association of Evangelicals (March 8, 1983) Chapter 9: Address to the Nation ... on United States-Soviet Relations (January 16, 1984) Chapter 10: Minutes, National Security Planning Group Meeting (June 25, 1984) Chapter 11: Addresses by New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention (July 16-19, 1984) Chapter 12: Report of the Tower Commission (February 26, 1987) Chapter 13: Address to the Nation on Iran-Contra (March 4, 1987) Chapter 14: Remarks at Moscow State University (May 31, 1988) Chapter 15: Address to the United Nations by Mikhail Gorbachev (December 7, 1988) Bibliography