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The '''Reagan Era''' or '''Age of Reagan''' is the name historians apply to the last 30 years. Scholars left and right are reaching a consensus on the issue, with conservatives pleased and liberals grudgingly conceding.  

The '''Reagan Era''' or '''Age of Reagan''' is the name historians apply to the last 30 years. Scholars left and right are reaching a consensus on the issue, with conservatives pleased and liberals grudgingly conceding.  

Five factors were at work. First the failure of liberalism in the 1970s stunned and silenced liberals, who were already under heavy pressure from the far left. Second, that failure energized a new conservative coalition involving the [[Religious Right]], the business community, and Americans alarmed by the decline in America's global position. Third, [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] appeared at the right time with the right skills to mobilize conservatives, and lead the nation --and Congress--to support for his wide-ranging policies.  Fourth, the policies worked, as the nation's great enemy the Soviet Union collapsed and vanished, and the economy at home surged forward.  And finally the policies reflected the new national mode and thus became a permanent fixture that was largely accepted by moderate Democrats, especially President [[[Bill Clinton]] in the 1990s.

Five factors were at work. First the failure of liberalism in the 1970s stunned and silenced liberals, who were already under heavy pressure from the far left. Second, that failure energized a new conservative coalition involving the [[Religious Right]], the business community, and Americans alarmed by the decline in America's global position. Third, [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] appeared at the right time with the right skills to mobilize conservatives, and lead the nation—and Congress—to support for his wide-ranging policies.  Fourth, the policies worked, as the nation's great enemy the Soviet Union collapsed and vanished, and the economy at home surged forward.  And finally the policies reflected the new national mode and thus became a permanent fixture that was largely accepted by moderate Democrats, especially President [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1990s.

[[File:Rightward-bound.jpg|thumb|280px]]

[[File:Rightward-bound.jpg|thumb|280px]]

* Pach, Chester. "The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''(1): 75-88. Fulltext in SwetsWise and Ingenta; Reagan declared in 1985 that the U.S. should not "break faith" with anti-Communist resistance groups. However, his policies varied as differences in local conditions and US security interests produced divergent policies toward "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Angola, and Cambodia.  [http://www.questia.com/read/5015817882?title=The%20Reagan%20Doctrine%3a%20Principle%2c%20Pragmatism%2c%20and%20Policy online edition]

* Pach, Chester. "The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''(1): 75-88. Fulltext in SwetsWise and Ingenta; Reagan declared in 1985 that the U.S. should not "break faith" with anti-Communist resistance groups. However, his policies varied as differences in local conditions and US security interests produced divergent policies toward "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Angola, and Cambodia.  [http://www.questia.com/read/5015817882?title=The%20Reagan%20Doctrine%3a%20Principle%2c%20Pragmatism%2c%20and%20Policy online edition]

* Salla, Michael E. and Ralph Summy, eds. ''Why the Cold War Ended: A Range of Interpretations'' (1995). [http://www.questia.com/read/22889072 online edition]

* Salla, Michael E. and Ralph Summy, eds. ''Why the Cold War Ended: A Range of Interpretations'' (1995). [http://www.questia.com/read/22889072 online edition]

* Suri, Jeremi. "Explaining the End of the Cold War: A New Historical Consensus?" ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' - Volume 4, Number 4, Fall 2002, pp. 60-92 in [[Project Muse]]

* Suri, Jeremi. "Explaining the End of the Cold War: A New Historical Consensus?" ''Journal of Cold War Studies'' - Volume 4, Number 4, Fall 2002, pp. 60–92 in [[Project Muse]]

* Wills, David C. ''The First War on Terrorism: Counter-Terrorism Policy during the Reagan Administration.'' (2004)  

* Wills, David C. ''The First War on Terrorism: Counter-Terrorism Policy during the Reagan Administration.'' (2004)  

===Historiography===

===Historiography===

* Ponce de Leon, Charles L. "The New Historiography of the 1980s" in ''Reviews in American History,'' Volume 36, Number 2, June 2008, pp. 303-314

* Ponce de Leon, Charles L. "The New Historiography of the 1980s" in ''Reviews in American History,'' Volume 36, Number 2, June 2008, pp. 303–314

* Strub, ; Whitney. "Further into the Right: The Ever-Expanding Historiography of the U.S. New Right," ''Journal of Social History,'' Volume 42, Number 1, Fall 2008, pp. 183-194

* Strub, ; Whitney. "Further into the Right: The Ever-Expanding Historiography of the U.S. New Right," ''Journal of Social History,'' Volume 42, Number 1, Fall 2008, pp. 183–194

* Phillips-Fein, Kim. "Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and Making of History," ''Enterprise & Society,'' Volume 8, Number 4, December 2007, pp. 986-988.  

* Phillips-Fein, Kim. "Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and Making of History," ''Enterprise & Society,'' Volume 8, Number 4, December 2007, pp. 986–988.  

==References==

==References==

[[Category:Cold War]]

[[Category:Cold War]]

[[Category:United States History]]

[[Category:United States History]]

[[category:New Deal]]

[[Category:New Deal]]

[[category:Conservatives]]

[[Category:Conservatives]]

[[Category:Fiscal Conservatives]]

[[Category:Fiscal Conservatives]]

[[Category:Tax Revolts]]

[[Category:Tax Revolts]]

[[category:Welfare State]]

[[Category:Welfare State]]