The Reagan years–first hand account

Edwin Meese reflects on the Reagan presidency.

Edwin Meese, attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, has been team-teaching a class, “Ronald Reagan and the Rise of Conservative Leadership,” with Gary McDowell, professor of leadership studies, political science and law. The course offers a critical assessment of Reagan’s role in the rise of contemporary conservative leadership.

Other guests of the class included both critics and supporters of Reagan, including former Sen. Paul Laxalt and William Bradford Reynolds, former U.S. assistant attorney general, who shared their recollections of the Reagan years. Students read original writings by Reagan in the years before and during his presidency, reflections by those who served with him and assessments by those who followed his career as both governor and president.