As Convention of States celebrates ten years of grassroots activism, we’re examining the lives of ten figures crucial to the Article V movement, including today's hero: President Ronald Reagan. Read parts one (George Mason), two (Alexander Hamilton), and three (Mark Meckler) of this series here.
Arguably the most popular president of the modern era, “The Great Communicator,” Ronald Reagan once said the fundamental political issue of his day was “whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”
As a political newcomer, Reagan embarked on his political journey by campaigning for the influential conservative figure, Barry Goldwater, who had significantly shaped the foundations of the political movement Reagan would later capitalize on. As he explained in his speech, the future president had, at the time, recently undergone a dramatic political transformation, distancing himself from longtime political leanings due, at least in part, to the unsustainability of the welfare state.
“No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income,” he declared in 1964 (one can only imagine what Reagan would think if saw the state of the American economy today). “Today, 37 cents out of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector’s share, and yet our government continues to spend 17 million dollars a day more than the government takes in. We haven’t balanced our budget 28 out of the last 34 years. We’ve raised our debt limit three times in the last twelve months, and now our national debt is one and a half times bigger than all the combined debts of all the nations of the world. We have 15 billion dollars in gold in our treasury; we don’t own an ounce. Foreign dollar claims are 27.3 billion dollars. And we’ve just had announced that the dollar of 1939 will now purchase 45 cents in its total value.”
SEE ALSO: 'To prevent our becoming slaves': The George Mason story
The nation’s premier apologist for the principles of self-governance challenged the notion that a government that tried to “help us,” “provide for us,” or “be our all in all” was merely benevolent. Instead, he argued, it was actually trying to control our lives. Resoundingly, that message resonated with the American people and launched Reagan into political stardom.
“In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” he emphasized in his 1981 inaugural address. “From time to time we’ve been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden. The solutions we seek must be equitable, with no one group singled out to pay a higher price.”
SEE ALSO: Heroes of COS: The Alexander Hamilton Story
Reagan did not implement these principles perfectly, of course. Despite his vocal opposition to endless government spending, for example, the national debt increased during his presidency (thanks, in part, to an increase in military spending). Nevertheless, the 40th president cut taxes, reduced welfare spending, eliminated undue government programs, chipped away at inflation and unemployment, and led the nation through a season of general prosperity. And in 1984, he was re-elected in an unprecedented landslide, garnering 525 out of 538 electoral votes.
SEE ALSO: Heroes of COS: The Mark Meckler I Know
For those of us in the Article V Convention of States movement, Reagan’s life, example, and wise words remind us of what we’re aiming for in our endeavor to limit the size and scope of the federal government.
Ronald Reagan was a firm believer in self-governance. He believed in the capacity of the American people, under God, to reclaim liberty — provided that they did not depend on the government to give it to them. Additionally, he believed that the states should use Article V to curb the out-of-control, freedom-suppressing federal leviathan.
“Fortunately, our Nation’s Founders gave us the means to amend the Constitution through action of state legislatures,” he once wrote. “Unless we act quickly, the people in the White House and those running Congress will bankrupt America.”
On another occasion, he observed that “the Convention is a safety valve giving the people a chance to act if Congress refuses to.”
Working within the federal government, Ronald Reagan made an incalculable impact on the nation, but its longevity was limited. Within years of his departure, the swamp had already returned in full force; the lessons he taught us were quickly forgotten.
Thankfully, however, we still have Article V.
As we seek to call history’s first-ever Article V convention and finish the work the Great Communicator started, may Reagan’s wisdom guide us, reminding us never to surrender our God-given capacity for self-government or the spirit of the revolution to that little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital.
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Heroes of COS: The Sage of Self-Governance
Published in Blog on December 10, 2023 by Jakob Fay
