Lesson Plan for Ronald Reagan
Essential Question: What kind of leader was Ronald Reagan?.
1. HOT ROC: Hand out “Political Civility” document and accompanying questions. Have
students answer the questions either solo or in pairs. This is used as a HOT ROC to
introduce students to Reagan’s leadership style and the idea of effective leadership.
2. Discuss student answers to questions. Use this as a transition into the idea of Reagan as
an effective leader.
3. After discussing the last question in particular, brain storm ideas for what makes an
effective leader. Things such as “charisma,” “intelligence,” “communicates clearly,” etc.
4. Introduce idea of “Evaluation.” Use powerpoint slide.
5. Introduce ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Was Ronald Reagan an effective leader? Tell
students that they can evaluate him regarding any of the criteria that they came up with
on the board, but that in order to have common ground as a class we should all evaluate
him on the following criteria: DID HE IDENTIFY REAL PROBLEMS AND COME UP
WITH REAL SOLUTIONS TO THOSE PROBLEMS (note: you guys obviously do not
need to go along with this last bit. You can just have the kids evaluate regarding the class
criteria. I personally found this a useful way to frame the activity, and a simple, clear,
and direct criteria to direct the students back to)
6. Hand out Document Packets and accompanying graphic organizers (Docs A-D). Have
students complete the questions and graphic organizer in pairs. Debrief activity after
completion.
a. What evidence do we have for Reagan being effective or ineffective after reading
Docs A-B?
b. What evidence do we have for Reagan being effective or ineffective after reading
Docs C-D?
c. Was there any evidence that stood out as being particularly important in helping
you decide if Reagan was an effective leader?
d. Overall, would you characterize Reagan as an effective leader?
7. OPTIONAL WRITING PROMPT: Do you think Ronald Reagan was an effective leader?
Why or why not (or you can decide he’s a little of both)? Use two quotations from the
documents to support your argument. 1 page expectation.
Political Civility
Source: During the Republican Presidential administration of Reagan, the House
of Representatives was majority Democratic. One primary objective of President
Reagan was to maintain a good relationship with his greatest political rival, the
Democratic Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neil. The following is an
excerpt from a speech Reagan gave honoring Tip O’Neil on March 17, 1986
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to begin tonight by saying how touched I am to
know that Tip wanted me here this evening. But, to be honest, I’ve always known
Tip was behind me, even if it was only to whisper into my ear ‘Forget it, no way,
fat chance,’ as I made each of my legislative proposals (laughter from the crowd).
I think it was inevitable that there would be a standoff between us. But despite all
of this, Tip wanted me here. It’s true Tip and I have had our political
disagreements. Sure, I said some things about Tip and Tip said some things about
me. But that’s all history, anyways.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think you know Tip and I have been kidding each other
for some time now, and I hope this continues for many years to come. A little
kidding is after all, a sign of affection. The sort of things friends do to each other.
And I am grateful you have permitted me in the past, and I hope in the future, that
singular honor of calling you my friend.
I think the fact of our friendship is testimony to the political system we are part of
and the country we live in. I wanted to come here tonight to join you in saluting
Tip O’Neill, to salute him for the years of dedication and devotion to country far
beyond my own. Tip has been a vital. and forceful part of America’s political
tradition, a tradition he has truly enriched.
Name______________
Guiding Questions
Political Civility
1. Source: Who is giving this speech? Who is it addressed to? What is the political
relationship between these two men?
2.
Close Reading: What is Reagan’s attitude towards Tip O’Neil? Provide one piece of
evidence (QUOTATION) to support your claim.
3. Analyze: Does Reagan’s attitude towards O’Neil surprise you, based on their political
relationship? Why or why not?
4. Analyze: Reagan was famous for being the “Great Communicator,” a reputation he
acquired by treating his rivals with “civility” (respect). Do you think this is a trait that
effective leaders must possess? Why or why not?
The Berkeley Morality Gap (Document A)
Source: Ronald Reagan ran for governor of California in 1966. His campaign was
defined by speaking out against student protesters at UC Berkeley. California
voters found Reagan's arguments widely appealing and elected him governor.
This passage is from his 1966 speech at the San Francisco Cow Palace.
“There has been a leadership gap and a morality and decency gap at the University
of California at Berkeley where a small minority of beatniks, radicals and filthy
speech advocates have brought such shame to a great University that applications
for enrollment were down 21% in 1967 and are expected to decline even further.
The report of the Senate Subcommittee on Un-American Activities charges that the
campus has become a rallying point for Communists and a center of sexual
misbehavior. Some incidents in this report are so bad, so contrary (against) to our
standards of decent human behavior that I cannot recite them to you in detail.
How could this happen on the campus of a great University? It happened because
those responsible abdicated (abandoned) their responsibilities.
It began when so-called "free-speech advocates," who in truth have no appreciation
of freedom, were allowed to assault and humiliate an officer of the law. This was
the moment when the ringleaders should have been taken by the back of the neck
and thrown off of the campus permanently. It continued through the filthy speech
movement, through activities of the Vietnam Day Committee (anti-Vietnam
protests) and all this has been allowed to go on in the name of academic freedom.
What in Heaven's name does academic freedom have to do with rioting, with
anarchy, with attempts to destroy the primary purpose of the University which is to
educate our young people?
These charges must neither be swept away under the rug by a timid (weak)
administration or by public apologists for the University. The citizens who pay the
taxes that support the University have a right to know that the University will be
cleaned up and restored to its position as a major institution of learning and
research, that those responsible will be fired.”
Confronting Berkeley Protesters (Document B)
Source: The following is an excerpt from a UC Berkeley NewsCenter article
written on June 8, 2004 by Jeffrey Kahn. NewsCenter is UC Berkeley’s official
online publication.
“Ronald Reagan launched his political career in 1966 by targeting UC Berkeley's
student peace activists, professors, and, to a great extent, the University of
California itself, cementing what would remain a turbulent (rough) relationship
between Reagan and California's leading institution for public higher education.
Reagan had two themes in his first run for office. The man who later became
known as ‘The Great Communicator’ promised to send "the welfare bums back to
work," and "to clean up the mess at Berkeley." The latter became a Reagan mantra
(catch-phrase).
Exaggerated reports of incidents and campus disruption (trouble) became a
standard part of Reagan’s campaign speeches. Reagan also argued that the faculty
was too supportive of the students. He tapped into the discontent (anger) people
felt about what was happening on the campus. This was a big factor in his election
as governor.
May 1969 was the low point in the relationship between Reagan and UC Berkeley.
Students and activists had begun an attempt to transform a empty plot of university
property into ‘People's Park.’ In the early morning hours of May 15, 1969, Reagan
was asked in an interview by the San Francisco Chronicle how he intended to
quell (stop) the immerging student protests. Famously, he responded “If there has
to be a bloodbath, then let’s get it over with.”
Five hours later, a rally was called on Sproul Plaza to protest the erection of a
chain-link fence by police around the land of ‘People’s Park.’ The rally soon
turned into a riot. Reagan responded by sending in police officers armed with rifles
and shotguns. On that day, known as Bloody Thursday, three students suffered
punctured lungs, another a shattered leg, 13 people were hospitalized with shotgun
wounds, and one police officer was stabbed.
From the standpoint of campus administrators attempting to manage the situation,
Reagan's actions were counterproductive. Recalled Earl Cheit, Dean of the Haas
School of Business at the time, ‘To the outside observer, it (Reagan’s actions)
might have appeared justifiable. To those of us who were trying to control the
situation, it seemed to make it worse.’"
Name________________
Guiding Questions
Document A (The Berkeley Morality Gap)
1. Close Reading: What problems does Reagan see happening at UC Berkeley? What
solutions to the situation does Reagan suggest?
2. Contextualize: Based on your prior understanding of the 1960s and 1970s, why might
many people in America have been worried about issues of morality at UC Berkeley? Do
you think their fears were justified?
Document B (Confronting Berkeley Protesters)
1. Close Reading: According to the author, how does Reagan use the unrest at UC
Berkeley during his 1966 campaign for governor of California? What impact does this
have on the election?
2. Close Reading: How does Reagan respond to the May 15th People’s Park Protests?
How do university officials view his response?
Record your hypothesis: Based on Ronald Reagan’s handling of the “mess at Berkeley,”
what kind of leader was he?
Farewell Address (Document C)
Source: In 1988, after two terms in office, Ronald Reagan delivered this farewell
speech to Congress and the American people. In it, Reagan explains what he sees
as his legacy.
“It's been quite a journey this decade, and we held together through some stormy
seas. And at the end, we are reaching our destination together.
Back in 1980, when I was running for President, it was all so different. Some
people said our programs would result in economic disaster. The fact is what they
call 'radical' (extreme) was really 'right.' What they called 'dangerous' was just
'desperately needed.' They now call what we did the Reagan Revolution. I'll accept
that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of
our values and our common sense.
Common sense told us that when you put a big tax on something, the people will
produce less of it. So, we cut the people's tax rates, and the people produced more
than ever before. The economy bloomed like a plant that had been cut back and
could now grow quicker and stronger. Our economic program brought about the
longest peacetime expansion in our history: real family income went up, the
poverty rate went down, new businesses are booming, and there was an explosion
in research and new technology.
Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the
course of government, and with three little words: 'We the People.' 'We the People'
tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us. 'We the People' are the driver; the
government is the car. This belief has been the foundation for everything I've tried
to do these past 8 years. Together, after 50 years of taking power away from the
hands of the people in their states and local communities, we have started returning
power and resources to them.
I think we have stopped a lot of what needed stopping. We controlled the growth
of the spending programs, ensuring that the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars go only
to the truly needy and not the faceless masses waiting for handouts. Together, we
have cut the growth of new federal regulations nearly in half. By deregulating oil,
we have come closer to achieving energy independence and helped bring down the
costs of gasoline and heating fuel.
And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless
government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat (clean)
and predictable as a law of physics: as government expands, liberty shrinks.”
Downside of the Reagan Legacy (Document D)
Source: The following is an excerpt from a San Francisco Chronicle article titled
“The Downside of the Reagan Legacy” written by David Lazarus on June 9, 2004.
Reagan died on June 4, 2004 and the article was written in response to the
immense post-mortem (after death) support Reagan was receiving.
“Ronald Reagan may have been a good and decent man. As president, though,
Reagan pursued policies that were short-sighted, reckless, and hurtful. I'll focus
here on just three issues: soaring budget deficits, homelessness and AIDS.
On the matter of deficits (government debt), Reagan nearly tripled the gap between
the amount of money the federal government took in and the amount it spent. He
did this by cutting tax rates by an average 25 percent, while aggressively
increasing defense spending. The result: the deficit ballooned more than 100
percent.
When homelessness first became a national issue, the Reagan administration all
but turned a blind eye to the problem. Federal spending for low-cost housing
plunged (dropped sharply) during Reagan's presidency from $32 billion in 1981 to
just $7 billion in 1987. At the same time, funding was slashed for a variety of
social services, including public health, drug rehab and food stamps -- programs
that were relied upon by the thousands of mentally ill people.
Reagan was asked in a 1988 interview, shortly before Christmas, what he thought
of the homeless people sleeping just across the street from the White House in
Lafayette Park. "There are always going to be people," he replied. "They make it
their own choice for staying out there." Many continue to find this remark highly
insulting.
Last but not least, AIDS. Reagan is not to blame for this horrific epidemic, or for
the high cost to the nation in terms of lost lives and lost productivity. What he is
responsible for is the government's coldhearted failure to respond to this crisis in a
timely manner. Reagan famously did not speak the word AIDS in public until
1987. He did very little to stop the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in
the early 1980s, and limited the amount of official resources dedicated to what was
seen by his administration as an disease exclusively of the gay community.
Ronald Reagan is justifiably being praised this week for having restored a sense of
pride to Americans. This was a considerable achievement. But his legacy didn't
end there. Reagan needs to be remembered as well for his other deeds (or lack
thereof). And he needs to be held accountable.”
Name________________
Guiding Questions
Document C (Farewell Address)
1. Close Reading: According to Reagan, how did people first react to his proposed
policies? What does this say about his leadership?
2. Close Reading: List three things Reagan claims to have accomplished during his
Presidency. How does Reagan claim to have accomplished these things?
Document D (Downside of the Reagan Legacy)
1. Source: Compare the source information of Document D to that of Document C. How are
these sources different? How might that influence the message being sent?
2. Close Reading: What are the three issues the author has with Ronald Reagan’s legacy?
How was Reagan unsuccessful with regards to these things?
Record your hypothesis: Based on Ronald Reagan’s domestic legacy, what kind of
leader was he?