How Has Ronald Reagan Impacted Society

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Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for the to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was like in the United States where we were free” (Ronald Reagan). Ronald Reagan did his best as an American leader to fight for our freedom and he encouraged his fellow Americans to do the same in hopes that America would live forever. He truly affected America in a positive way. Ronald Reagan has greatly impacted modern society by tearing down the Berlin Wall, starting the Presidential trend of slowly ending welfare, and by …show more content…

During Reagan’s Presidency, he reduced many welfare programs that he believed were taken advantage of, such as job training and unemployment insurance benefits (Chidester and Knott). Reagan benefitted modern society through his change in the welfare system by reducing programs that related to careers so that people who were capable of helping themselves but chose not to do so, stopped receiving assistance from the government. This began a trend with following presidents to better the welfare system in order to benefit society. Ronald Reagan pushes the idea to adjust welfare when he says, “The irony is that misguided welfare programs instituted in the name of compassion have actually helped turn a shrinking problem into a national tragedy” (“Welfare Reform”). During Reagan’s radio address on February 15, 1986, he extended his thoughts on how welfare has caused poverty, a problem that was once shrinking, to explode across the United States. His plan for Presidency was to end this problem through the process of reforming welfare. On February 15, 1986, President Ronald Reagan gave a radio address where he spoke about his ideas pertaining to welfare reform (“Welfare Reform”). During Reagan’s address on welfare reform, he discussed the “crisis of family breakdowns” where he revealed the issues within families of recent generations including teenage mothers. He shows how this was leading America into a high level of poverty which could be helped through changes in welfare programs and policies. Ronald Reagan greatly impacted modern America by changing welfare and inspiring others to find additional solutions to welfare issues such as