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Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative became popularly known as "Star Wars," the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular George Lucas films. This plan was never actually instituted. Although billions of dollars have been spent on development, no space-based missile defense system has ever been tested successfully. While supporters of Reagan claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], most political scientists and historians note that Star Wars played a fairly minor role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount.
Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative became popularly known as "Star Wars," the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular George Lucas films. This plan was never actually instituted. Although billions of dollars have been spent on development, no space-based missile defense system has ever been tested successfully. While supporters of Reagan claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], most political scientists and historians note that Star Wars played a fairly minor role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount.
===Debt===
Reagan was not the first President to increase the national debt -- in fact, the nation's first debts were incurred during the Revolutionary War. Nor did his Presidency see the largest increases -- while the debt increased by 160% during his two terms in office, it increased as a greater rate during World War II. However, the recent history of the national debt is intimately tied to Reagan. Fueled by tax cuts and a large defense build-up, the debt grew to record-setting levels during his tenure, and his administration saw the beginning of the current, relaxed attitude towards large deficits.
By the end of Reagan's second term, the national debt had reached $2.6 trillion. Perhaps the best way to consider the size of the national debt, however, is in terms of national gross national product -- comparing the size of the debt to the size of the economy. Under Reagan, the debt reached 53% of GNP, its highest level since WWII.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Reagan's treatment of the debt was simply the example it created. The Reagan years fostered the idea that deficits don't matter, ensuring that his legacy of debt would continue to grow.<ref>http://www.reagandebt.com/</ref>
==Miscellaneous Facts==
==Miscellaneous Facts==