Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. Ronald Wilson Reagan was the second child of John Reagan, who was a shoe salesman, and Nelle Reagan. Ronald Reagans family lived in poverty throughout his childhood. This was as a result of John Reagans struggle with alcoholism. His family was always on the move. For several years they moved from town to town in search of a permanent settlement. His family finally settled in Dixon, Illinois; where Reagan describes his childhood as the happiest period of his life. Reagan attended college at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois.
He played gridiron football and was largely associated with the drama society. Reagan, a very popular student, was elected class president in his senior year at Eureka. He graduated with a bachelors degree in economics and sociology in 1932. After college, Reagan received a job as a sportscaster on radio stations. During his time as a sportscaster he was known by the nickname “Dutch Reagan”, and became very popular throughout the state for his broadcasts of the Chicago Cubs games. In 1937, Reagan took a shot at movie acting.
After having a successful screen test with the Warner Brothers company, he took part in B movies as a “good guy”. Observers say his characters he acted as directly portrayed Reagan himself. In the following 27 years, Ronald Wilson Reagan appeared in over 50 films, making quite a name for himself in the acting industry. Some of his most noted films includes, All American (1940), Kings Row (1942), and The Hasty Heart (1950). During his film making, Reagan became engaged to Jane Wyman who’m he married two years later in Hollywood. They had a daughter, Maureen, and a son, Michael, who was adopted by the two just after his birth.
This marriage unfortunately ended in a divorce in 1948, which made Reagan the only president to have been ivorced. Throughout World War II, Reagan made training films at an army film unit based in Los Angeles. Although he never left the country or saw combat, Reagan was portrayed as a real soldier to the public in newsreels and magazine photos. After leaving Hollywood, Reagan absorbed his fathers Democratic opinions and became a very large admirer of Franklin Roosevelt after he was elected in 1932. Becoming interested in politics, Reagan served as president of the union of movie actors from 1947-1952.
The Democrat campaigned for president Harry Truman in the election of 1948, his political opinions began to ecome more and more conservative. In 1950 after originally backing senatorial candidate Helen Douglas, Reagan switched his support to Republican Richard Nixon halfway through the campaign. From then on out, he showed much liking of the Republican Party. In the 1952 and 1956 elections, he supported Republican Dwight Eisenhower, and in Nixon’s campaign for president in 1960 he delivered 200 speeches in favor of Eisenhower. In 1962, Reagan changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.
Reagan married conservative actress Nancy Davis in 1952, which who’m he would spend the remainder of his life with. His new wife’s strong conservative political views helped encourage Reagan’s drift to the Republican Party. Reagan strongly campaigned for Nixon in the 1962 election for Governor of California and supported the 1964 presidential candidacy of Barry Goldwater, conservative Republican. At the ending of this campaign, Reagan delivered a 30 minute long nationally televised address, which came to be titled “A Time for Choosing”.
It was said to have been the most successful political debut since William Jennings Bryan, by the Washington Post. This speech resulted in $1 million in contributions for the Republican Party. In 1966 Reagan ran for Governor of California, his first official campaign. Although he lacked experience, Ronald won the election by nearly one million votes. He became an extremely liked politician, people seemed to adore his personality. After being Governor, Reagan went on to defeat Jimmy Carter and John Anderson in the presidential election of 1980.
Right after his inaugural ceremony, President Reagan announced at a luncheon that Iran had agreed to release the remaining American people being held hostage during the Hostage Crisis. This led to suspicion that Reagan’s campaign had made a secret deal with the Iranians to prevent the Carter dministration from being out into office. On May 30, 1981 69 days after being elected, an assassination attempt was placed on Reagan by John W. Hinckley, who fired a 22 caliber revolver at Reagan 6 times. Reagan was hit in the chest by one of the 6 shots, fortunately he survived the attack.
Three other men were hit in the attack, one of which died later on from injury sustained during this event. Ronald Reagan is considered by many, one of the greatest presidents of all time. Regardless of people’s opinions, Reagan undeniably changed the world in the 1980’s. Reagan worked to bring the ideal of American exceptionalism back to the United States, to set the economy on the right track, and to end the Communist threat which was present since the end of World War II. Reagan certainly accomplished more in his 8 year presidency than most 20th Century Presidents.
He is widely remembered as the man who ended the Cold War and is forever hailed as the man who led to the conservative resurgence in The United States of America. Reagan worked extremely hard to accomplish his goals and truly changed history in the process. Dealing with Congress skillfully, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase mployment, and strengthen national defense. He worked to cut taxes and government expenditures and refused to deviate from it when the strengthening of defense forces led to a huge deficit.
At the end of his 8 year term, the nation was enjoying its longest amount of peacetime prosperity without depression or recession. In 1982, Reagan sent 800 marines to Lebanon to be a part of an international peacekeeping force after Israel invaded them. Suicide bombers entered and attacked the Marine barracks Beirut in October of 1983 which killed 241 Americans. This was one of the biggest attacks in history on a United States arine base. In Reagan’s second term, he forged diplomatic relationship with the soon-to-be Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.
The United States and Soviet Union signed an agreement in 1987, which eliminated short ranged nuclear missiles. Soon after, Reagan spoke at the Berlin Wall (a large symbol of communism) in Germany. During his speech he challenged Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to tear the wall down. About two and a half years later, Gorbachev gave permission to the people of Berlin to dismantle the wall. Reagan was re-elected to the White House in the election of 1984. He blew out his opponent, Walter Mondale, by an bsolute landslide.
Reagan won 49 of 50 states in the election and received 525 out of 538 electoral votes. This was the largest numbers ever won by an American candidate. After leaving the White House, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum and Library opened as a tribute in Simi Valley, California. Reagan died on June 5, 2004 at the age of 93 in his home in Los Angeles after revealing to the American people that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Reagan is the longest living president in United States history. He will be forever remembered as one of Americas greatest presidents to ever come to office.
