How far do you agree with the statement "The Regan Administration was effective at confronting issues concerning racial and social minorities?"

Question

This is for my US history assignment. It needs to be 5 paragraphs. I have no idea how the Regan administration dealt with racial issues. Please Help!

Answer 1

Hi Jo,

To put it quite honestly: Ronald Reagan handled racial issues very poorly. In fact, audio footage broadcasting California Governor Reagan delivering racist remarks about Blacks and African people unto President Richard Nixon in 1970 was recently uncovered, and is available for listening and viewing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OypaYN-CBw.

Also, as President of the United States then, Reagan did nothing whatsoever to financially aid the African continent and people as a whole during the whole AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. AIDS was most apparent in Africa at the time.

As for social and economic minorities in America: during his presidency, Regan's economic plan "Reaganomics" from 1982 cut millions of dollars in federal funding for mental healthcare services, education (causing college tuition costs to skyrocket as a result), causing homelessness to rise considerably from that point forward.

I hope this information helps. Definitely expand upon it in your essay, as the material above is mostly in the form of bulletpoints. Good luck with writing your essay!

Answer 2

The Reagan administration tended to delegate such concerns to the states and local governments. Yes, you might say that they ignored these issues - but they didn't. They felt that federal agencies were not the most competent and effective orgs to deal with these delicate issues. It's better left to the states and local officials who have their hands on the "pulse" of local society. Who better than they would know how to solve these complex issues.