U.S. HISTORY/PIDDINGTON NAME ______________________
"The Reagan Legacy" WEBQUEST
Introduction
In the 1980 presidential election, it seemed that the United States was ready for Ronald Reagan.
The two previous decades had seen turmoil, war, economic troubles, and weakening political
influence abroad. Ronald Reagan's homespun values and promises to restore Americans' faith in
the government appealed to many voters, and they gave him a decided victory. During his two
terms in office, he proposed increased military spending, decreased taxes, and reduced
government control.
BIG QUESTION: Did Reagan’s presidency deliver on his campaign
promises?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/
1. When was Ronald Reagan president?
2. What was his political party?
3. Who was his vice president?
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan
4. What was Reagan’s career before he became a politician?
5. Reagan was governor of which state?
6. What event happened shortly after President Reagan becomes President? What did this
do for his image?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/reagan_domestic.html
7. Read about Reaganomics. What is it? List the pros and cons of this program.
http://www.mrliotta.com/Political%20Cartoons/Reaganomics%20PC.pdf
8. How does the cartoonist portray Reagan’s economic plan?
http://countrystudies.us/united-states/history-136.htm
9. What did conservatives want in America?
10. What were some of the people and groups associated with the rise of conservatism?
11. What big emotional issue was the center of the conservative movement?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_policy_of_the_Reagan_administration#Response_to_AIDS
12. What was the criticism of Reagan’s handling of the AIDS crisis?
13. Why didn’t Reagan address the issue of AIDS?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/aids/docs/taylor.html Elizabeth Taylor’s letter to
Reagan about AIDS
14. Who is Elizabeth Taylor?
15. What was Elizabeth Taylor asking the President to do?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/reagan_foreign.html
16. How did Reagan feel about the Soviet Union and communism?
17. How did Reagan feel about the use of nuclear weapons?
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0825447.html
18. What was the Iran-Contra Affair?
19. What legislation did Congress pass about contras? Did Reagan obey this law?
20. Did President Reagan know about the Iran-Contra affair? Was he ever found guilty of
anything?
http://chagataikhan.blogspot.com/2010/03/ayatullah-khomeini-ronald-reagn-iran.html
21. Who was the leader of Iran during the Iran-contra affair? (be sure to look at photo of him)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/herblock/gallery/25.htm
22. Who is the man on TV?
23. Who is the man next to the TV?
24. What is the man on the TV handing the other man?
25. What is the cartoonist saying about Ronald Reagan?
http://www.notesfromtheleft.com/tag/reaganomics/
26. What is the cartoonist saying about Reagan’s personality?
Now answer the big question by writing a nice long paragraph. You may type it on a Microsoft
word document.
BIG QUESTION: Did Reagan’s presidency deliver on his campaign promises? (Did he
do what he said he would do? OR Was he a good president?)
Consider the following in your answer:
Reaganomics and its outcome
Rise of Conservatism
AIDS and Reagan’s handling of this crisis
Iran Contra Affair
Fall of the Soviet Union
SOME SITES THAT WILL HELP ANSWER THE BIG QUESTION:
http://reagan.procon.org/#pro_con pros/cons on whether President Reagan was a good president
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/40_reagan/index.html to help answer the big question