Today in history: The death of a great president
In 2004, the Republican Party lost one of its most revered figures
June 5, 1933: To combat the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt took the U.S. off the gold standard. Bank failures had scared Americans into hoarding gold. FDR declared a bank holiday shortly after taking office, which helped stabilize and restore confidence in the banks. The president followed up with the new policy on gold, which forbid banks from paying customers in gold or exporting it. FDR was an advocate of Keynesian economic theory, which recommended fighting an economic downturn by inflating the money supply. Taking gold out of circulation would help do this, FDR believed.
June 5, 2004: Ronald Reagan died. He was the 40th president, serving between 1981 and 1989. Many credit Reagan — who was known as "The Great Communicator" — for helping to win the Cold War and for preserving Social Security by taxing benefits and raising the retirement age. Reagan's $165 billion bailout of Social Security increased payroll taxes on businesses and their employees and added new federal employees to the system.
Reagan also presided over a robust expansion of the U.S. economy. On a Jan. 20 to Jan. 20 basis, 5.3 million jobs were created during his first term and 10.7 million in his second term. But Reagan also presided over a tripling of the federal debt, an expanded government workforce, and taxes that were raised on gasoline (twice) and on businesses to the tune of $420 billion ($750 billion in today's dollars) by raising corporate taxes and closing loopholes. After the biggest stock market crash in U.S. history — the 22 percent drop on October 19, 1987 — Reagan acknowledged that soaring federal deficits was one reason for the crash and said taxes might have to be raised further.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
President Reagan was also the first president to support cap-and-trade legislation — in an effort to protect the ozone layer.
A 2010 Vanity Fair poll said Ronald Reagan would be the choice of Republicans for a fifth face on Mt. Rushmore. Democrats opted for John F. Kennedy.
Quote of the day
"America is too great for small dreams." -Ronald Reagan
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
More from West Wing Reports...
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Antony Gormley's Time Horizon – a 'judgmental army' of 100 cast-iron men
The Week Recommends Sculptures are 'everymen questioning the privilege of their surroundings' at the Norfolk stately home
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?
Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published