Ronald Reagan: An Intellectual Biography

245 Pages·2018·2.48 MB·English

by  David Byrne

RO N A L D R E AGA N

R O N A L D
R E A G A N
An Intellectual Biography
.
D A V I D T B Y R N E
Potomac Books
An imprint of the University of Nebraska Press
© 2018 by David T. Byrne
All rights reserved. Potomac Books is an imprint of the
University of Nebraska Press.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-i n- Publication Data
Names: Byrne, David T., author.
Title: Ronald Reagan: an intellectual biography /
David T. Byrne. Description: Lincoln: Potomac
Books, 2018. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: lccn 2018027379
isbn 9781640120037 (hardback: alk. paper)
isbn 9781640121263 (epub)
isbn 9781640121270 (mobi)
isbn 9781640121287 (pdf)
Subjects: lcsh: Reagan, Ronald— Political and social
views. | Reagan, Ronald—P hilosophy. | Reagan,
Ronald— Religion. | Presidents— United States—
Biography. | bisac: biography & autobiography /
Presidents & Heads of State.
Classification: lcc e877.2 .b97 2018 |
ddc 973.927092 [B]— dc23. lc record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2018027379
Set in Janson Text LT Pro by E. Cuddy.
For my family
My country, ’tis of Thee,
Sweet Land of Liberty
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From every mountainside
Let Freedom ring.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . .ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xi
1. Religious Roots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. From Liberal to Conservative . . . . . 20
3. Fostering Freedom at Home. . . . . . 45
4. Understanding Reagan. . . . . . . . . 63
5. A Moral View of the Cold War . . . . 99
6. Promoting Freedom Abroad. . . . . .117
7. Did Reagan’s Ideas Matter? . . . . . .128
8. The Reagan Intellectual Legacy. . . .139
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Appendix: “A Time for Choosing”. . .179
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
All books are collaborative efforts, and this one is no exception.
I would like to thank my agent, Joe Vallely, for finding this work
a home, Tom Swanson for believing in this project, and all of the
editorial staff at the University of Nebraska Press for their invalu-
able help.