Ronald Wilson Reagan (/ˈreɪɡən/ RAY-gən; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He previously served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1947 to 1952 and from 1959 until 1960. Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and began to work as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, Reagan moved to California, where he became a film actor. From 1947 to 1952, Reagan served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild. In the 1950s, he worked in television and spoke for General Electric. From 1959 to 1960, he again served as the Screen Actors Guild's president. In 1964, "A Time for Choosing" gave Reagan attention as a new conservative figure. He was elected governor of California in 1966. During his governorship, he raised taxes, turned the state budget deficit into a surplus, and cracked down harshly on student protests in Berkeley. After challenging and nearly defeating incumbent president Gerald Ford in the 1976 Republican presidential primaries, Reagan won the Republican nomination and then a landslide victory over incumbent Democratic president Jimmy Carter in the 1980 United States presidential election. In his first term, Reagan implemented "Reaganomics", which involved economic deregulation and cuts in both taxes and government spending during a period of stagflation. He escalated an arms race with the Soviet Union and transitioned Cold War policy from détente to rollback. He also survived an assassination attempt, fought public sector labor unions, expanded the war on drugs, and ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983. In the 1984 presidential election, Reagan defeated former vice president Walter Mondale in another landslide victory. Foreign affairs dominated Reagan's second term, including the 1986 bombing of Libya, the Iran–Iraq War, the secret sale of arms to Iran to fund the Contras, and a more conciliatory approach in talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that culminated in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Reagan left the presidency in 1989 with the American economy having seen a significant reduction of inflation, the unemployment rate having fallen, and the United States having entered its then-longest peacetime expansion. At the same time, the federal debt had nearly tripled since 1981 as a result of his cuts in taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary spending. Alzheimer's disease hindered Reagan's post-presidency and his physical and mental capacities rapidly deteriorated, ultimately leading to his death in 2004. His presidency constituted the Reagan era, and he is considered a prominent conservative figure in the United States. Historians and scholars have ranked Reagan among the middle to upper tier of American presidents, and he is often viewed favorably among the general public. Early life Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in a commercial building in Tampico, Illinois, as the younger son of Nelle Clyde Wilson and Jack Reagan.[7] Nelle was committed to the Disciples of Christ,[8] which believed in the Social Gospel.[9] She led prayer meetings and ran mid-week prayers at her church when the pastor was out of town.[8] Reagan credited her spiritual influence[10] and he became a Christian.[11] According to Stephen Vaughn, Reagan's values came from his pastor, and the First Christian Church's religious, economic and social positions "coincided with the words, if not the beliefs of the latter-day Reagan".[12] Jack focused on making money to take care of the family,[7] but this was complicated by his alcoholism.[13] He also strongly opposed the Ku Klux Klan, racism, and bigotry.[14] Neil Reagan was Reagan's older brother.[15] Reagan's family lived in Chicago, Galesburg, and Monmouth before returning to Tampico. In 1920, they settled in Dixon,[14] living in a house near the H. C. Pitney Variety Store Building.[16] Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he developed interests in drama and football.[17] His first job involved working as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park.[18] In 1928, Reagan began attending Eureka College[19] at Nelle's approval on religious grounds.[20] He was a mediocre student[21] that participated in sports, drama, and campus politics. He became student body president and joined a student strike that resulted in the college president's resignation.[22] Reagan recalled a time when two black football teammates were refused service at a segregated hotel; he invited them to his parents' home nearby in Dixon and his parents welcomed them. At the time, his parents' stance on racial questions were seemingly, unusually progressive in Dixon.[23] Reagan himself had grown up with very few black Americans there and he was unaware of a race problem.[24] Entertainment career Further information: Ronald Reagan filmography Radio and film A frame of Ronald Reagan in the 1939 film Dark Victory Dark Victory (1939) A frame of Reagan in the 1941 film The Bad Man The Bad Man (1941) After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Eureka College in 1932,[25] Reagan took a job in Davenport, Iowa, as a sports broadcaster for four football games in the Big Ten Conference.[26] He then worked for WHO radio in Des Moines as a broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games using only basic descriptions that the station received by wire as the games were in progress.[27] Simultaneously, he often expressed his opposition to racism.[28] In 1936, while traveling with the Cubs to their spring training in California, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Bros.[29] Reagan arrived at Hollywood in 1937, debuting in Love Is on the Air (1937).[30] Using a simple and direct approach to acting and following his directors' instructions,[31] Reagan made thirty films, mostly B films, before beginning military service in April 1942.[32] He broke out of these types of films by portraying George Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), which would be rejuvenated when reporters called Reagan "the Gipper" while he campaigned for president of the United States.[33] Afterward, Reagan starred in Kings Row (1942) as a leg amputee, asking, "Where's the rest of me?"[34] His performance was considered his best by many critics.[35] Reagan became a star,[36] with Gallup polls placing him "in the top 100 stars" from 1941 to 1942.[35] World War II interrupted the movie stardom that Reagan would never be able to achieve again[36] as Warner Bros. became uncertain about his ability to generate ticket sales. Reagan, who had a limited acting range, was dissatisfied with the roles he received. As a result, Lew Wasserman, renegotiated his contract with his studio, allowing him to also make films with Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and RKO Pictures as a freelancer. With this, Reagan appeared in multiple western films, something that had been denied him working at Warner Bros.[37] In 1952, he ended his relationship with Warner Bros.,[38] but went on to appear in a total of 53 films,[32] his last being The Killers (1964).[39] Military service Captain Reagan in the Army Air Force working for the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California, between 1943 and 1944 Reagan at Fort Roach, between 1943 and 1944 In April 1937, Reagan enlisted in the United States Army Reserve. He was assigned as a private in Des Moines' 322nd Cavalry Regiment and reassigned to second lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps.[40] He later became a part of the 323rd Cavalry Regiment in California.[41] As relations between the United States and Japan worsened, Reagan was ordered for active duty while he was filming Kings Row. Wasserman and Warner Bros. lawyers successfully sent draft deferments to complete the film in October 1941. However, to avoid accusations of Reagan being a draft dodger, the studio let him go in April 1942.[42] Reagan reported for duty with severe near-sightedness. His first assignment was at Fort Mason as a liaison officer, a role that allowed him to transfer to the United States Army Air Forces (AAF). Reagan became an AAF public relations officer and was subsequently assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit in Culver City[43] where he felt that it was "impossible to remove an incompetent or lazy worker" due to what he felt was "the incompetence, the delays, and inefficiencies" of the federal bureaucracy.[44] Despite this, Reagan participated in the Provisional Task Force Show Unit in Burbank[45] and continued to make theatrical films.[46] He was also ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the sixth War Loan Drive before being reassigned to Fort MacArthur until his discharge on December 9, 1945, as a captain. Throughout his military service, Reagan produced over 400 training films.[45] Screen Actors Guild presidency When Robert Montgomery resigned as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) on March 10, 1947, Reagan was elected to that position, in a special election.[47] Reagan's first tenure saw various labor-management disputes,[48] the Hollywood blacklist,[49] and the Taft–Hartley Act's implementation.[50] On April 10, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) interviewed Reagan and he provided them with the names of actors whom he believed to be communist sympathizers.[51] During a House Un-American Activities Committee hearing, Reagan testified that some guild members were associated with the Communist Party[52] and that he was well-informed on a "jurisdictional strike".[53] When asked if he was aware of communist efforts within the Screen Writers Guild, he called the efforts "hearsay".[54] Reagan would remain SAG president until he resigned on November 10, 1952;[55] Walter Pidgeon succeeded him, but Reagan stayed on the board.[56] The SAG fought with film producers over residual payments[57] and on November 16, 1959, the board installed Reagan as SAG president,[58] replacing the resigned Howard Keel. In his second stint, Reagan managed to secure the payments for actors whose theatrical films were released from 1948 to 1959 were televised. The producers were initially required to pay the actors fees, but they ultimately settled for pensions instead. However, they were still required to pay residuals for films after 1959. Reagan resigned from the SAG presidency on June 7, 1960, and also left the board;[59] George Chandler succeeded him as SAG president.[60] Marriages and children Actors Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan at a Los Angeles premiere for the 1942 film Tales of Manhattan Reagan and Jane Wyman, 1942 The Reagans at The Stork Club in New York City, 1952 Ronald and Nancy Reagan, 1952 Reagan married Brother Rat (1938) co-star Jane Wyman[61] in January 1940.[62] Together, they had two biological daughters, Maureen in 1941,[63] and Christine,[64] born prematurely and dead the next day in 1947.[65] They adopted one son, Michael, in 1945.[44] Wyman filed to divorce Reagan in June 1948. She was uninterested in politics, and occasionally recriminated, reconciled and separated with him. Although Reagan was unprepared,[65] the divorce was finalized in July 1949. Reagan would also remain close to his children.[66] Later that year, Reagan met Nancy Davis after she contacted him in his capacity as the SAG president about her name appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood; she had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis.[67] They married in March 1952[68] and had two children, Patti in 1952, and Ron in 1958.[69] Television Reagan initially refused to work in television and on Broadway theatre, but after receiving offers to work in nightclubs in 1954,[70] he became the host of MCA Inc. television production General Electric Theater[38] at Wasserman's recommendation. It featured multiple guest stars,[71] and Ronald and Nancy Reagan, continuing to use her stage name Nancy Davis, acted together in three episodes.[72] When asked how Reagan was able to recruit such stars to appear on the show during television's infancy, he replied, "Good stories, top direction, production quality."[73] However, the viewership declined in the 1960s and the show was canceled in 1962.[74] In 1965, Reagan became the host[75] of another MCA production, Death Valley Days.[76] Early political activities Reagan speaking for presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in Los Angeles, 1964 Reagan campaigning with Barry Goldwater, 1964 Reagan began as a Democrat, viewing Franklin D. Roosevelt as "a true hero".[77] He joined the American Veterans Committee and Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions (HICCASP), worked with the AFL–CIO to fight right-to-work laws,[78] and continued to speak out against racism when he was in Hollywood.[79] In 1945, Reagan planned to lead an HICCASP anti-nuclear rally, but Warner Bros. prevented him from going.[80] Reagan also supported Harry S. Truman in the 1948 presidential election[81] and Helen Gahagan Douglas for the United States Senate in 1950. It was Reagan's belief that communism was a powerful backstage influence in Hollywood that led him to rally his friends against them.[78] Reagan began shifting to the right when he supported the presidential campaigns of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and Richard Nixon in 1960.[82] When Reagan was contracted by General Electric (GE), he began giving speeches to their employees.[83] His speeches had a positive take on businesses, but a negative take on government.[84] Under anti-communist[85] Lemuel Boulware, the employees were encouraged to vote for business-friendly officials.[86] In 1961, Reagan adapted his speeches into another speech to criticize Medicare.[87] In his view, its legislation would have meant "the end of individual freedom in the United States".[88] In 1962, Reagan was dropped by GE,[89] and he formally registered as a Republican.[82] He said, "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me."[84] In 1964, Reagan gave a speech for presidential contender Barry Goldwater[90] that was eventually referred to as "A Time for Choosing".[91] Reagan argued that the Founding Fathers "knew that governments don't control things. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose"[92] and that "We've been told increasingly that we must choose between left or right."[93] Even though the speech was not enough to turn around the faltering Goldwater campaign, it increased Reagan's profile among conservatives. David S. Broder and Stephen H. Hess called it "the most successful national political debut since William Jennings Bryan electrified the 1896 Democratic convention with his famous 'Cross of Gold' address".[90] 1966 California gubernatorial election Further information: 1966 California gubernatorial election The Reagans celebrating Ronald's victory in the 1966 California gubernatorial election at The Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles Ronald and Nancy Reagan celebrating his gubernatorial election victory, 1966 In January 1966, Reagan announced his candidacy for the California governorship,[94] repeating his stances on individual freedom and big government.[95] When he met with black Republicans in March,[96] he was criticized for opposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Certain in his own lack of prejudice, Reagan responded resentfully that bigotry was not in his nature[97] and later argued that certain provisions of the act infringed upon the rights of property owners.[98] After the Supreme Court of California ruled that the initiative that repealed the Rumford Act was unconstitutional in May, he voiced his support for the act's repeal,[99] but later preferred amending it.[100] In the Republican primary, Reagan defeated George Christopher,[101] a moderate[102] who William F. Buckley Jr. thought had painted Reagan as extreme.[95] Reagan's general election opponent, Pat Brown, attempted to label Reagan as an extremist and tout his own accomplishments.[103] Reagan portrayed himself as a political outsider,[104] and charged Brown as responsible for the Watts riots and lenient on crime.[103] In numerous speeches, Reagan "hit the Brown administration about high taxes, uncontrolled spending, the radicals at the University of California, Berkeley, and the need for accountability in government".[105] Meanwhile, many in the press perceived Reagan as "monumentally ignorant of state issues", though Lou Cannon said that Reagan benefited from an appearance he and Brown made on Meet the Press in September.[106] Ultimately, Reagan won the governorship with 57 percent of the vote compared to Brown's 42 percent.[107] California governorship (1967–1975) Main article: Governorship of Ronald Reagan The Reagans at an airport, 1972 The Reagans in 1972 Brown spent much of California's funds on new programs, prompting them to use accrual accounting to avoid raising taxes. Consequently, it generated a larger deficit,[108] and Reagan would call for reduced government spending and tax hikes to balance the budget.[109] He worked with Jesse M. Unruh on securing tax increases and promising future property tax cuts. This caused some conservatives to accuse Reagan of betraying his principles.[110] As a result, taxes on sales, banks, corporate profits, inheritances, liquor, and cigarettes jumped. Kevin Starr states, Reagan "gave Californians the biggest tax hike in their history—and got away with it."[111] In the 1970 gubernatorial election, Unruh used Reagan's tax policy against him, saying it disproportionally favored the wealthy. Reagan countered that he was still committed to reducing property taxes.[112] By 1973, the budget had a surplus, which Reagan preferred "to give back to the people".[113] Reagan reacted to the Black Panther Party's strategy of copwatching by signing the Mulford Act in 1967[114] to prohibit the public carrying of firearms. On May 2, before the act was passed, 26 Panthers were arrested after interrupting a debate on the bill in the California State Capitol. The act was California's most restrictive piece of gun control legislation, with critics saying that it was "overreacting to the political activism of organizations such as the Black Panthers". Reagan also approved additional legislation for a waiting period of fifteen days as a "cooling-off" period for handgun buyers so that they would not purchase weapons in the heat of the moment and could think about their future actions.[115] Although the Panthers gained national attention, their membership barely grew.[116] The act marked the beginning of both modern legislation and public attitude studies on gun control.[114] After Reagan won the 1966 election, he and his advisors planned a run in the 1968 Republican presidential primaries.[117] He ran as an unofficial candidate to cut into Nixon's southern support and be a compromise candidate if there were to be a brokered convention. He won California's delegates,[118] but Nixon secured enough delegates for the nomination.[119] Reagan, who had been critical of administrators tolerating student demonstrations in the city of Berkeley,[120] sent the California Highway Patrol and other officers to quell the People's Park protests in May 1969. One student was shot and killed while many police officers and two reporters were injured. Reagan then commanded the state National Guard troops to occupy Berkeley for seventeen days to subdue the protesters, allowing other students to attend class safely. In February 1970, violent protests broke out near the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he once again commanded the National Guard. On April 7, Reagan defended his response to the protests, saying, "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with. No more appeasement." When further violence erupted on April 18, one student was inadvertently killed by a policeman, leaving Reagan distraught.[121] During his victorious reelection campaign in 1970, Reagan, remaining critical of government, promised to prioritize welfare reform.[122] He was concerned that the programs were disincentivizing work and that the growing welfare rolls would lead to both an unbalanced budget and another big tax hike in 1972.[123] At the same time, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates to combat inflation, putting the American economy in a mild recession. Reagan worked with Bob Moretti to tighten up the eligibility requirements so that the financially needy could continue receiving payments. This was only accomplished after Reagan softened his criticism of Nixon's Family Assistance Plan. Nixon then lifted regulations to shepherd California's experiment.[124] In 1976, the Employment Development Department published a report suggesting that the experiment that ran from 1971 to 1974 was unsuccessful.[125] Reagan did not run for the governorship in 1974 and it was won by Pat Brown's son, Jerry.[126] Reagan's governorship, as professor Gary K. Clabaugh writes, saw public schools deteriorate due to his opposition to additional basic education funding.[127] As for higher education, journalist William Trombley believed that the budget cuts Reagan enacted damaged Berkeley's student-faculty ratio and research.[128] Additionally, the homicide rate doubled and armed robbery rates rose as well during Reagan's eight years, even with the many laws Reagan signed to try toughening criminal sentencing and reforming the criminal justice system.[129] Reagan strongly supported capital punishment, but his efforts to enforce it were thwarted by People v. Anderson in 1972.[130] According to his son, Michael, Reagan said that he regretted signing the Family Law Act that granted no-fault divorces.[131] Saying he was unaware of the mental health provision, Reagan expressed regret over signing California's 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act that allowed abortions in the cases of rape and incest when a doctor determined the birth would impair the physical or mental health of the mother. Reagan believed that doctors were interpreting the provision loosely and more abortions were resulting.[132] Seeking the presidency (1975–1981) 1976 Republican primaries Main articles: Ronald Reagan 1976 presidential campaign and 1976 Republican Party presidential primaries Reagan and Gerald Ford shaking hands on the podium after Reagan narrowly lost the nomination at the 1976 Republican National Convention Reagan and Gerald Ford shaking hands on the podium after Reagan narrowly lost the nomination at the 1976 Republican National Convention Insufficiently conservative to Reagan[133] and many other Republicans,[134] president Gerald Ford suffered from multiple political and economic woes. Ford, running for president, was disappointed to hear him also run.[135] Reagan was strongly critical of détente and Ford's policy of détente with the Soviet Union.[136] He repeated "A Time for Choosing" around country[137] before announcing his campaign on November 20 when he discussed economic and social problems, and to a lesser extent, foreign affairs.[138] With both candidates determined to knock out each other early in the primaries,[139] Reagan would suffer devastating losses in the first five primaries of 1976, beginning with New Hampshire.[140] There, he popularized the welfare queen narrative about Linda Taylor, exaggerating her misuse of welfare benefits and igniting voter resentment for welfare reform,[141] but never overtly mentioning her name or race.[142] In Florida, Reagan referred to a man morphing into a "strapping young buck" after buying steak with food stamps,[143] which became an example of dog whistle politics.[144] He also accused Ford for handing the Panama Canal to Panama's government while Ford implied that he would end Social Security.[140] Then, in Illinois, he again criticized Ford's policy and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.[145] Losing these primaries prompted Reagan to desperately win North Carolina's by running a grassroots campaign and uniting with the Jesse Helms political machine that viciously attacked Ford. Reagan won an upset victory, convincing party delegates that Ford's nomination was no longer guaranteed.[146] Reagan won subsequent victories in Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Indiana by continuing to attack social programs, opposing forced busing, accumulating support from a declining George Wallace presidential campaign,[147] and repeating his criticism of Ford and Kissinger's policy.[148] The result was a seesaw battle for the 1,130 delegates required for their party's nomination that neither would reach before the Kansas City convention[149] in August.[150] Furthermore, Ford abandoned mentioning détente and began invoking Reagan's preferred phrase, "peace through strength".[151] Reagan took John Sears' advice of choosing liberal Richard Schweiker as his running mate, hoping to pry loose of delegates from Pennsylvania and other states,[152] and distract Ford. Instead, conservatives were left alienated. Ford picked up the remaining uncommitted delegates and prevailed, earning 1,187 to Reagan's 1,070. Before Ford gave his acceptance speech, he invited Reagan to address the convention. In his impromptu speech, Reagan emphasized individual freedom[153] and the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 1977, Ford told Cannon that Reagan's primary challenge contributed to his own narrow loss to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 United States presidential election.[154]
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