Ronald Reagan was a Better President than Andrew Jackson

Just a reminder, round 1 was for an introduction, not for the debate. All you had to do was say that you accepted the challenge.My CasePresident: Ronald Wilson ReaganParty:RepublicanIn Office: 1981 to 1989I. Economic PolicyThe first place we should look at in the presidency of Ronald Reagan would be his economic policy. President Reagan was a strong supporter of supply-side economics, the idea that the economic growth could be stimulated through lower taxes, less government regulations, less government intervention, and less government spending. From January 1981 to January 1989, the unemployment rate peaked at 10.8% and then went down to 5.4%. What this means is that the unemployment rate under President Reagan's first four years and two months in office went down by 5.4%. This is quite impressive for a recovery. [1]However that is not just it, federal revenue had been declining at 2.8% per year and after President Reagan's tax cuts it grew at 2.7% per year. In addition, real GDP growth was averaging at 0.9% before the tax cuts and 4.8% after. [2]Finally, Mr. Cain and Mr. Lowrie write that:"During this period, promising technology companies such as Apple Computer and Microsoft launched initial public offerings of stock, while others such as Cisco Systems and Compaq (later acquired by Hewlett-Packard) received expansion capital and later went public." [2]This is because of a capital gains tax cut signed by President Reagan. It allowed the creation of companies like Apples. Think about it, you might have an apple in your house. How would it feel if Ronald Reagan had never become president. His policies that brought the creation of Apple and other companies would have never happened and thus these companies would have trouble growing.Reagan's succesful policies were eventually nicknamed Reaganomics. When the Heritage Foundation looks are Reagan's record, it finds that:"No matter how advocates of big government try to rewrite history, Ronald Reagan's record of fiscal responsibility continues to stand as the most successful economic policy of the 20th century. His tax reforms triggered an economic expansion that continues to this day. His investments in national security ended the Cold War and made possible the subsequent defense spending reductions that are largely responsible for the current federal surpluses. His efforts to restrain the expansion of federal government helped to limit the growth of domestic spending." [3]Mr. Sperry notes that Preisdent Reagan's economic boom lasted for 92 months without a recession. This period was from November 1982 to July 1990, the longest period of sustained growth during peacetime. The growth from the President Reagan's boom lasted more than twice as long as the average period of expansions since World War 2. [3]II. Cold WarNow let's move on to one of the president's greatest achievements: defeating the USSR, the greatest threat to our country ever. There were three factors that brought down the Evil Empire:1. Military Strategy - When President Reagan entered office, military morale was low and so was the pay. President Carter had cut a lot of programs in the military. Under the Reagan Administration, military spending skyrocketed in the crusade against communism. This included the famous SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) programs and several over and covert missions to aid anti-communists guerrilla forces in Central America, South America, Africa, and Afghanistan.2. Economic Strategy - Yes, Reaganomics helped win the Cold War. The recovering economy helped President Reagan's military buildup. The free market capitalist United States was too much for the USSR which had an its inefficient command-directed communist economic system.3. Political Strategy - Politics played a role to in defeating the reds. With a strong ally in British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President Reagan launched a global political form of blitzkrieg on the USSR and other communist political leaders. The reds had seriously underestimated the American president and saw him as a "warmonger".Together, these strategies defeated the USSR and by January 1989 when President Reagan left office the USSR was in great trouble. In 1991, the USSR would collapse. Soviet Head of State Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of perestroika (re-structuring) and glasnost (openness) proved too little, too late. Gorbachev told the History Channel in 2002, "I don't know what would have happened had [Reagan] not been there." [4,5]President: Andrew JacksonParty: DemocraticIn Office: 1829 to 1837I. Economic PolicyWe can look at mainly two areas in Andrew Jackson's economic policy. The first is tariffs. It is well known that Jackson enforced the Tariff of Abominations even when it meant disaster for the south. He threatened sending troops down there while Congress played its hand trying to find the best rate a tariff should be at. It is simple to known what the tariff rate should have been: 0%. Tariffs are not benefical to the nation's economy or the world. It does not promote trade at all, but instead restricts it. The video I posted shows this. Jackson was in fact hurting the nation more than helping it.The second area is the bank war that resulted in the Panic of 1837. In July 1832, President Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the Second Bank of the United States (BUS). As the BUS wound up its operations in the next four years, state-chartered banks in the West and South relaxed their lending standards, maintaining unsafe reserve ratios. Government funds were withdrawed from the banks making the economic policy very unsafe. Loans had to be scaled back with less backing in the east which led to less economic expansion. Unemployment rose to 25%. [6]II. Indian Removal Act and Defying the Supreme CourtWith the Indian removal comes one of the worst quotes of all time:"John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it!" Chief Justice John Marshall and the Supreme Court ruled the removal of Indians as unconstitutional, but the tyrant Jackson didn't care at all. Perhaps one of the saddest moments in American history, thousands of Indians left their homes and were forced to move west.ConclusionAndrew Jackson, the first Democratic president, is nothing compared to the hero Ronald Reagan. Reagan is a better president by a landslide. They both have huge political effects. Ronald Reagan, a strong Republican president, is seen as one of the best leaders in history. Andrew Jackson, pratically a dictator, will forever be the face of the Democratic Party showing Franklin Roosevelt's and Barack Obama's true colors toward racism on Native Americans. My opponent has helped me by stating Jackson's weaknesses. He never attacked Reagan.Sources1. http://portalseven.com...2. Cain, Herman and Rich Lowrie. 9-9-9 An Army of Davids. 2012.3. Sperry, Peter B. "The Real Reagan Economic Record: Responsible and Successful Fiscal Policy." The Heritage Foundation. N.p., 1 June 2004. Web.4. Gaffney, Dennis and Peter Gaffney. The Seven Day-Scholar: The Presidents. 2012.5. Morelock, Jerry D. "Ronald Reagan's Cold War." Armchair General IX.5 (2012): 18-19. 6. Knodell, Jane (September 2006). "Rethinking the Jacksonian Economy: The Impact of the 1832 Bank Veto on Commercial Banking". The Journal of Economic Historyhttp://www.youtube.com...