Ronald Regan
By: Ben Hall
Summary
President Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th president of the United States for two terms from 1981 to 1989. He was originally an actor and starred in 52 different films including, All American, and Kings Row. While in Hollywood he met his future wife Nancy Reagan and would later have five children. He served two terms as the governor of California. He then became president during the cold war.
Before Presidency
Reagan was born in a small apartment on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He had an older brother and his parents names were Jack and Nelle, who were both Democrats. His mother was a catholic do gooder, but his father was an alcoholic. Ronald was a good student who did many extra curricular activities. He had many jobs, including swim coach, lifeguard, radio sportscaster, and had a successful movie/television career. Through his television career he earned the nickname ," The Gipper", and learned many new skills he would later use in politics. He married Jane Wyman, also an actor, her career skyrocketed and she divorced him. He then married Nancy Davis, and soon got into politics after his career in acting went for a turn downhill.
Career in Politics
Ronald Reagan's parents had been democrats, and so had he in his early years, but once he got into politics, he quickly became a conservative republican. He saw Franklin D. Roosevelt as an inspiration and had many of the same views as him. Soon after he gave a speech for Barry Goldwater getting him a lot of attention. His speech is what ultimately what led him to becoming the governor of California and then getting re-elected again in 1970. He finally became the oldest president ever elected at the age of 69, after two unsuccessful attempts of trying to go for president. He gave his inaugural speech in 1981 and gave a very inspirational speech saying ," the government is not the solution to our problem, it is our problem". He was almost killed in an attempted assassination, when a bullet pierced his lungs and almost hit his heart. Reagan started many advanced programs which led America into what economists call," a seven year age of economical prosperity". Reagan did not like the Soviet Union and put a massive amount of effort into the build up of weapons and troops so that if they attacked us, we could fight back. There was trouble in the middle east when suicide bombers attacked a military base. Then Reagan ordered America to invade the Caribbean island of Granada when its government was taken over by rebels. During his second term he put and end to the cold war with and agreement not to fight the Soviet Union. He also put more effort into stopping communism and successfully broke down the Berlin wall.
Lasting Effect on America
In November of 1994, after Ronald Reagan had left his position as president, he shared with the world that he had alzheimers disease. Nearly 10 years later he died in Los Angeles at the age of 93. He was the oldest president at the time, and was buried at the presidential library in California. He inspired many many people and was one of the greatest presidents of his time. He helped the economy of America flourish, he helped put an end to the cold war, and put a dent in the stopping of Communism.