Ronald Reagan and the resurgence of the puritan covenantal tradition: the “City on a Hill” and a reorientation of the people of the United States into an “Economy of Grace”

Abstract

When the Puritans first settled in New England on the "city on a hill," they used covenantal thought as a framework by which to understand their social, economic, political, and spiritual obligations and relationships. This project explores how President Ronald Reagan also rhetorically managed covenantal ideas, or used covenantal form, during the 1980s to morally legitimate his economic policies of limited government, lower taxes, and reductions in welfare spending. I argue that he grounded his policies in an "economy of grace," which gave the people of the United States the freedom to fulfill their covenantal obligations in a self-serving manner and the faith that God would ultimately protect them from economic disaster.