The Purpose of Reagan’s Inaugural Speech

Ronald Reagan was a president that was for the power of the people. This helped America become more patriotic again. He wanted to help the people that needed the most help and realize what the country did wrong in the past. This is something that the people of American appreciated. He needed their help to fix the main issues of the economy, inflation, and the government. This made the people more passionate to help fix the country. People became hopeful that Reagan’s presidency could fix America’s issues.

The purpose of Reagan’s Inaugural Speech was to make people trust the government again. He wanted to return the power of the government to the people of the United States. He also wanted to tell America that he wanted to improve the economy and the inflation issue. In his speech he says “It is time to reawaken this industrial giant, to get government back within its means, and to lighten our punitive tax burden. And these will be our first priorities, and on these principles there will be no compromise.” This means that his main goal was to improve the economy and the government.

Reagan’s argument was to create a better future for the United States by putting the government in the citizen’s hands rather than the federal government. He goes on to say “You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter, and they're on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity.” This quote is saying that Reagan believes that the people are the ones that are creating the economy; therefore, he wants to fix it and keep it alive in a healthy manner. He is also arguing that there should be patriotism again. The people of this nation are the ones that influence it the most so if they are passionate about changing it there will be a change.

I believe that Reagan’s Inaugural Speech was effective. This is because he stated his reasons for taking this oath and wanted to raise the country from the low point that it was at. It gives the reader or person hearing this speech hope for the country. It also relates to every person reading it whether it is due to their job, children, or people of the military. He touches upon every group of people that could be in the country. He also talks about the lives lost during the wars, which makes people more patriotic. Near the end of his speech he says “Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.” This makes people aware that he acknowledges the bad things that have happened in American history and doesn’t want them to repeat. He only wants to improve the country and wants everyone’s help to fit their needs. This makes the audience see Reagan in a good light and trust him to improve the country.

Reagan had great goals for his 4 year presidency. He acknowledged all the things he wanted to improve on and knew how long it would take. Putting matters into the hands of the people made the country more passionate about improving it. They now had a say about the country and were more powerful than the federal government. I believe the fact that Reagan wanted to run his presidency different than previous presidents made him popular with the people.