## Ronald Reagan’s 100th Birthday ![Media Name: thatcher_and_reagan.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/aside_mobile/public/wp-content/uploads/thatcher_and_reagan.png?itok=ATr9oQa5) Ronald Reagan’s tenure as president was one of the most consequential of the 20th century. Like his friend and ally Margaret Thatcher, he raised an ideological challenge to both communism and the tax-and-regulation states in the West and changed the climate of opinion toward markets and entrepreneurship. Reagan’s rhetoric was often libertarian, and indeed he said more than once that “the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism.” But libertarians were critical of his hawkishness and social conservatism. Throughout the 1980s Cato scholars wrote a great deal about Reagan and his administration, much of which is not online. ## Highlighted Piece: [Remembering Ronald Reagan](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/remembering-ronald-reagan) by David Boaz ## Studies [Supply-Side Tax Cuts and the Truth about the Reagan Economic Record](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/supply-side-tax-cuts-truth-about-reagan-economic-record) by William Niskanen and Stephen Moore [Reagan’s Nuclear Defense Strategy: Myth and Reality](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/reagans-nuclear-defense-strategy-myth-reality) by Fred Kaplan [Reagan’s 1983 Defense Budget: An Analysis and an Alternative](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/reagans-1983-defense-budget-analysis-alternative) by Earl C. Ravenal [The Reagan Budget: The Deficit that Didn’t Have to Be](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/reagan-budget-deficit-didnt-have-be) by David Boaz [Tedious Fraud: Reagan’s Farm Policy and the Politics of Agricultural Marketing Orders](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/tedious-fraud-reagans-farm-policy-politics-agricultural-marketing-orders) by Michael McMenamin [Reagan, National Security, and the First Amendment: Plugging Leaks by Shutting Off the Main](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/reagan-national-security-first-amendment-plugging-leaks-shutting-main) by Frederick W. Whatley [U.S. Aid to Anti-Communist Rebels: The “Reagan Doctrine” and Its Pitfalls](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/us-aid-anti-communist-rebels-reagan-doctrine-its-pitfalls) by Ted Galen Carpenter [The Reagan Record on Trade: Rhetoric vs. Reality](https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/reagan-record-trade-rhetoric-vs-reality) by Sheldon L. Richman ## Opinion and Commentary [Reagan Was No Neocon](https://www.cato.org/commentary/reagan-was-no-neocon) by Gene Healy [Reagan Embraced Free Trade and Immigration](https://www.cato.org/commentary/reagan-embraced-free-trade-immigration) by Daniel Griswold [It’s the Reagan Economy, Stupid](https://www.cato.org/commentary/its-reagan-economy-stupid) by Lawrence Kudlow and Stephen Moore [Reflections on Reagan the Intellectual](https://www.cato.org/commentary/reflections-reagan-intellectual) by Steve H. Hanke [Reagan: America’s Optimistic Advocate of Freedom](https://www.cato.org/commentary/reagan-americas-optimistic-advocate-freedom) by Doug Bandow [Reagan’s Budget Legacy](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/reagans-budget-legacy) by Chris Edwards [President Reagan’s Torture Advice to President Obama](https://www.cato.org/commentary/president-reagans-torture-advice-president-obama) by Nat Hentoff [Ronald Reagan’s Cross-Border Legacy](https://www.cato.org/commentary/ronald-reagans-cross-border-legacy) by Patrick Basham [Reagan the Intellectual](https://www.cato.org/commentary/reagan-intellectual) by Steve H. Hanke [Reagan’s Small-Government Vision](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/reagans-smallgovernment-vision) by Chris Edwards [Lessons from Reagan](https://www.cato.org/commentary/lessons-reagan) by Richard W. Rahn [Ronald Reagan Was No Libertarian](https://www.cato.org/commentary/ronald-reagan-was-no-libertarian) by Gene Healy [Reagan’s Libertarian Spirit](https://www.cato.org/commentary/reagans-libertarian-spirit) by David Boaz ## Cato at Liberty Blog Posts [Reagan’s Libertarian Spirit](https://www.cato.org/reagans-libertarian-spirit/) by David Boaz [Comparing Reaganomics and Obamanomics](https://www.cato.org/comparing-reaganomics-and-obamanomics/) by Daniel J. Mitchell [What Would Reagan Do on Immigration?](https://www.cato.org/what-would-reagan-do-on-immigration/) by Daniel Griswold [Happy Birthday Ronald Reagan](https://www.cato.org/happy-birthday-ronald-reagan/) by Daniel J. Mitchell [The Reagan Tax Cuts, Budget Forecasting, and Government Revenue](https://www.cato.org/the-reagan-tax-cuts-budget-forecasting-and-government-revenue/) by Daniel J. Mitchell [Obama and Reagan’s Speeches about Freedom](https://www.cato.org/obama-and-reagans-speeches-about-freedom/) by David Boaz ## Books [*The Struggle to Limit Government: A Modern Political History*](https://www.cato.org/store/books/struggle-limit-government-modern-political-history-hardback) by John Samples [*Reaganomics: An Insider’s Account of the Policies and the People*](https://www.cato.org/store/books/reaganomics-insiders-account-policies-people-hardback) by William Niskanen [*Buck Wild: How Republicans Broke the Bank and Became the Party of Big Government*](https://www.cato.org/store/books/buck-wild-how-republicans-broke-bank-became-party-big-government-hardback) by Stephen Slivinski [*Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution*](https://www.cato.org/store/leviathan-right-how-big-government-conservatism-brought-down-republican-revolution-digital-edition) by Michael Tanner [*Reflections of a Political Economist: Selected Articles on Government Policies and Political Processes*](https://www.cato.org/store/books/reflections-political-economist-selected-articles-government-policies-political-processes-hard) by William Niskanen [*Assessing the Reagan Years*](https://www.amazon.com/Assessing-Reagan-Years-David-Boaz/dp/0932790690), by David Boaz ## *Cato Policy Report* [Reagan’s Heir?](https://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/v26n4/cpr-26n4-2.pdf) by David Boaz [The Rise and Fall of the GOP](https://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/v25n6/crane.pdf) by Edward H. Crane [Ronald Reagan and Us](https://www.cato.org/policy-report/january/february-2019/ronald-reagan-us) by David Boaz ## Events [*Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History*](https://www.cato.org/events/ronald-reagan-fate-freedom-making-history) ## Podcasts [Reagan at 100](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast/reagan-100) featuring William A. Niskanen [The Age of Reagan](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/age-reagan) featuring Stephen F. Hayward [Reagan and the Tyranny of the Status Quo](https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/cato-daily-podcast-130176/episodes/reagan-and-the-tyranny-of-the-57523016) featuring John Samples [Can Obama Channel Reagan?](https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-daily-podcast/can-obama-channel-reagan) featuring John Samples