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Author Byrne, David T., author.

Title Ronald Reagan : an intellectual biography / David T. Byrne
Published Lincoln : Potomac Books, 2018
©2018

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Description 1 online resource (xx, 222 pages)
Contents Religious roots -- From liberal to conservative -- Fostering freedom at home -- Understanding Reagan -- A moral view of the Cold War -- Promoting freedom abroad -- Did Reagan's ideas matter? -- The Reagan intellectual legacy
Summary "In this ambitious work, David Byrne analyzes the ideas that informed Ronald Reagan's political philosophy and policies. Rather than appraising his personal and emotional life, Byrne's intellectual biography goes one step further; it establishes a rationale for the former president's motives, discussing how thinkers such as Plato and Adam Smith influenced him. Byrne points to three historical forces that shaped Reagan's political philosophy: Christian values, particularly the concept of a universal kingdom of God; America's firm belief in freedom as the greatest political value and its aversion to strong centralized governments; and the appeasement era of World War II, which stimulated Reagan's aggressive and confrontational foreign policy.<BR /><BR /> Byrne's account of the fortieth president augments previous work on Reagan with a new model for understanding him. Byrne shows how Reagan took conservatism and the Republican Party in a new direction, departing from the traditional conservatism of Edmund Burke and Russell Kirk. His desire to spread a "Kingdom of Freedom" both at home and abroad changed America's political landscape forever and inspired a new conservatism that persists to this day."--Provided by publisher
"An analysis of the ideas that informed Ronald Reagan's political philosophy and policy ideas"-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Reagan, Ronald -- Political and social views
Reagan, Ronald -- Philosophy
Reagan, Ronald -- Religion
SUBJECT Reagan, Ronald -- Religion
Reagan, Ronald -- Philosophy
Reagan, Ronald -- Political and social views
Reagan, Ronald fast
Subject Presidents -- United States -- Biography.
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Presidents & Heads of State.
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- Historical.
HISTORY -- United States -- State & Local -- General.
Philosophy
Political and social views
Presidents
Religion
United States
Genre/Form Biographies
Biographies.
Biographies.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781640121263
1640121269
9781640121287
1640121285