Andrew E. Busch is Associate Director of the Institute of American Civics at the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee. This interview is based on his new book, Ronald Reagan and the Firing of the Air Traffic Controllers (University Press of Kansas, 2024).
JF: What led you to write Ronald Reagan and the Firing of the Air Traffic Controllers?
AB: The University Press of Kansas invited me to write the book as part of its series on important presidential decisions. The genesis of it was in a paper I wrote for the American Political Science Association in 2006. I was about to start high school when the PATCO strike occurred, and I have memories of it. I knew it was important, so I looked forward to doing an in-depth study of how and why the events happened and what effects they had in the long-term.
JF: In 2 sentences, what is the argument Ronald Reagan and the Firing of the Air Traffic Controllers?
AB: Ronald Reagan’s response to the PATCO strike is a window into both his values and his managerial approach. The profound long-term consequences of firing the strikers have been economic, political, institutional, and international.
JF: Why do we need to read Ronald Reagan and the Firing of the Air Traffic Controllers?
AB: It is a concise look into a decision that helped define the Reagan presidency and continues to have consequences today.
JF: Why and when did you become an Am​erican historian?
AB: I am actually a political scientist, but I have always loved history and believe that a thorough understanding of American politics cannot be attained without knowledge of American political history. This book is an attempt to use a historical study to illuminate past and ongoing issues in the institution of the presidency and in American politics and society more generally. My first foray into historical writing came in the summer before 4th grade, when I researched and wrote a short essay on the 1868 battle of Beecher Island in eastern Colorado for no particular reason.
JF: What is your next project?
AB: John J. Pitney, Jr. and I are writing a book on the presidential election of 2024 to be published by Rowman & Littlefield. Like the result, the title is to be determined.
JF: Thanks, Andrew!