Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States, serving two terms from January 1981 to January 1989. A former actor and governor of California, he promoted conservative economic policies and a firm stance against the Soviet Union.
Reagan pursued supply-side economic policies—large tax cuts, deregulation, and shifts in spending—that helped lower inflation and stimulate growth but also coincided with rising federal deficits and greater income inequality.
On foreign policy he combined a military buildup and tough rhetoric toward the USSR with later diplomacy with Mikhail Gorbachev that advanced arms-control agreements; his presidency was also marred by the Iran–Contra affair.
Enacted major tax cuts with the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981; Pursued deregulation and conservative judicial appointments; Increased defense spending and advanced the Strategic Defense Initiative; Negotiated with Mikhail Gorbachev, contributing to U.S.–Soviet arms reductions; Re-elected in a 1984 landslide victory; Administration tarnished by the Iran–Contra affair
Key highlights and dated events associated with this presidency.
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Antonin Scalia took the judicial oath and formally joined the Supreme Court bench.
On September 20, 1986 the Reagan administration, through U.S. Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter, joined other nations at the Punta del Este ministerial to launch the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations under GATT.
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm President Ronald Reagan’s nominee Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court.
President Reagan nominated Judge Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to fill the Associate Justice vacancy created by Rehnquist's elevation.
President Reagan delivered a nationally televised address at Liberty Island marking the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, celebrating American freedom and immigration.
President Reagan nominated Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist to succeed Warren E. Burger as Chief Justice.
On June 30, 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Bowers v. Hardwick that the Constitution does not confer a fundamental right to engage in homosexual sodomy, upholding Georgia’s statute criminalizing same‑sex sexual activity.
On June 17, 1986 Reagan nominated Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist to be Chief Justice, to succeed the retiring Warren E. Burger.
On June 17, 1986 President Ronald Reagan announced his nomination of Judge Antonin Scalia to serve as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Presidential Commission investigating the January 28, 1986 Challenger shuttle explosion issued its final report, detailing technical failures and management problems at NASA.
President Reagan signed the Firearm Owners' Protection Act (FOPA), a major overhaul of federal firearms regulation that included the Hughes Amendment restricting civilian ownership of newly manufactured machine guns.
An explosion and fire at Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat released large amounts of radioactive material across the USSR and Europe.