--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since 1981, when President Ronald Reagan…" description: "\"Since 1981, when President Ronald Reagan took office promising to scale back the federal government, Republican leaders have promised to cut regulation..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/heather-cox-richardson-6324_federal-government_since-1981-when-president-ronald-reagan_1618690.jpg" --- # Since 1981, when President Ronald Reagan took office… ![“Since 1981, when President Ronald Reagan took office promising to scale back the federal government, Republican leaders have promised to cut regulation and taxes, and to return power to individuals to arrange their lives as they see fit. But they have never entirely managed to eradicate the New…” quote by Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/heather-cox-richardson-6324_federal-government_since-1981-when-president-ronald-reagan_1618690.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/heather-cox-richardson-6324_federal-government_since-1981-when-president-ronald-reagan_1618690.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/heather-cox-richardson-6324_federal-government_since-1981-when-president-ronald-reagan_1618690.jpg) > “Since 1981, when President Ronald Reagan took office promising to scale back the federal government, Republican leaders have promised to cut regulation and taxes, and to return power to individuals to arrange their lives as they see fit. But they have never entirely managed to eradicate the New Deal government.” [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Republicans claim to shrink government but have never fully eliminated New Deal structures, showing a persistent mixed system. **In simple terms:** Republicans can’t fully dismantle New Deal policies. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of political promises. Themes politics government policy history Mood critical analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - election campaigning - policy analysis - civic education - activism Key Concepts federalism regulatory state political rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - What reforms could balance government role and individual freedom? - How do historical policies shape current political debates? A Different Perspective The New Deal’s legacy is entrenched, making total rollback unrealistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deal Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deal-government-240278/) [Federal government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/federal-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-republican-240277/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [New deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-deal/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [President ronald reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-ronald-reagan/) [Reagan Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reagan-took-240280/) [Republican Leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican-leaders-240279/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) ## Related quotes > [Capitalism in the United States has undergone profound modification, not just under the New Deal but through a consensus that continued to grow after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-cousins/capitalism-in-the-united-states-has-undergone-profound-modification/) [Norman Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-cousins/) > [ \[Nancy Reagan\] took that career, that obviously mattered to her, and just tucked it away in a box, because she thought, "That's over with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/nancy-reagan-took-that-career-that-obviously-mattered-to-her-and-just/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [Reagan took an approach to the Cold War dramatically different from any other US President. To wit, he thought we should win. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/reagan-took-an-approach-to-the-cold-war-dramatically-different-from/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Men must turn square corners when they deal with the Government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/men-must-turn-square-corners-when-they-deal-with-the-government/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [If Republican leaders are willing to enable Trump's autocratic enthusiasms in return for oligarchy, American democracy will die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/if-republican-leaders-are-willing-to-enable-trump-s-autocratic/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Republicans are a shrinking minority ruling an increasingly angry majority that not only wants to change the Republican policies that are moving wealth upward,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/republicans-are-a-shrinking-minority-ruling-an-increasingly-angry/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [The political construct that idealized cowboys fell into disrepute during and immediately after the New Deal. In those years, Americans turned away from Western…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/the-political-construct-that-idealized-cowboys-fell-into-disrepute/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Roosevelt's New Deal regulated business, protected social welfare and promoted national infrastructure on the principle that the role of government was not simply to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/roosevelt-s-new-deal-regulated-business-protected-social-welfare-and/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [The Democratic political juggernaut that emerged from the Depression and the New Deal meant that Republicans had to scramble to figure out a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/the-democratic-political-juggernaut-that-emerged-from-the-depression/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [It is a misnomer to call a government republican in which a branch of the supreme power is independent of the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/it-is-a-misnomer-to-call-a-government-republican-in-which-a-branch-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Between government in the republican meaning, that is, Constitutional, representative, limited government, on the one hand, and Empire on the other hand, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garet-garrett/between-government-in-the-republican-meaning-that-is-constitutional/) [Garet Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garet-garrett/) > [FDR's New Deal and, after it, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower's similar Middle Way, used the government to regulate business, provide a basic social safety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/fdr-s-new-deal-and-after-it-republican-president-dwight-eisenhower-s/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Since Democratic president Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the New Deal in the 1930s, radical conservatives have railed against the idea that the government should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/since-democratic-president-franklin-delano-roosevelt-established-the/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [ \[T\]he Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government. . . . and I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-webster/t-he-christian-religion-in-its-purity-is-the-basis-or-rather-the/) [Noah Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-webster/) > [In short, Republicans under Trump have finally destroyed the New Deal, turning the government over to a small cadre of wealthy businessmen, unhampered, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/in-short-republicans-under-trump-have-finally-destroyed-the-new-deal/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) ## More by Heather Cox Richardson > [Since 2012, the USPS has not been able to meet its prefunding requirement, but without it, the agency would have made a modest operating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/since-2012-the-usps-has-not-been-able-to-meet-its-prefunding/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Republicans turned against organized workers and abandoned the idea of promoting equality at the bottom of the economic scale. They turned their idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/republicans-turned-against-organized-workers-and-abandoned-the-idea/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Producing 1,200 words every day, when you're already working a full-time job is a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/producing-1-200-words-every-day-when-you-re-already-working-a-full/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Abraham Lincoln and others recoiled from the idea of government as a prop for the rich. 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It has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/the-question-of-impeaching-donald-trump-is-about-replacing-the-toxic/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Trump's administration looks a great deal like those of the 1850s and the 1890s, with business and government so intertwined that they cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/trump-s-administration-looks-a-great-deal-like-those-of-the-1850s-and/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Trump's alliance with Russia's Vladimir Putin, in defiance of America's own intelligence community, the Department of Justice, and the bipartisan report of the Senate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/trump-s-alliance-with-russia-s-vladimir-putin-in-defiance-of-america/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [When a president, as Trump does, demonises opponents as an un-American mob trying to destroy the country, it is not a lunatic who tries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/when-a-president-as-trump-does-demonises-opponents-as-an-un-american/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Democracy was always a gamble. In 1776, the founders rejected the old idea that government should be based on hierarchies according to wealth or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/democracy-was-always-a-gamble-in-1776-the-founders-rejected-the-old/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [Dog whistles about women who want handouts are simply an acceptable way to say that women are not worth as much as the men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/dog-whistles-about-women-who-want-handouts-are-simply-an-acceptable/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [The Treaty of Fort Laramie established most of what would later become South Dakota as a reservation, along with the Black Hills. 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Rushmore was conceived in 1923 in a desperate attempt to draw tourist dollars to a state that had been rushed into the Union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/mt-rushmore-was-conceived-in-1923-in-a-desperate-attempt-to-draw/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) [Explore all 99 Heather Cox Richardson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) ## More Federal government quotes > [ \[States and the Federal government are\] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... 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