Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan
Born	Ronald Wilson Reagan 6 2, 1911
Birthplace	Tampico, Illinois, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age
Nationality	American
Occupation	Template:Flatlist
Known for	40th President of the United States, 33rd Governor of California
Education	Eureka College (B.A., 1932)
Spouse(s)	Template:Plainlist
Children	5
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom (1993), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Website	[https://www.reaganfoundation.org Official site]

Ronald Wilson Reagan (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. Born in the small town of Tampico, Illinois, Reagan followed an unlikely path from Midwestern radio broadcaster to Hollywood film actor to leader of the free world — a trajectory that reshaped the American conservative movement and left an enduring imprint on the nation's political landscape. A member of the Republican Party, Reagan served two terms as governor of California from 1967 to 1975 before winning the presidency in a landslide victory over incumbent Jimmy Carter in 1980. As president, he implemented sweeping economic policies that became known as "Reaganomics," escalated Cold War pressures against the Soviet Union, survived an assassination attempt, and presided over a period of economic expansion. His foreign policy, including negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that culminated in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, contributed to the eventual end of the Cold War. Reagan left office in 1989 as one of the most consequential presidents of the twentieth century. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1994 and died at his home in Los Angeles on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93. The period encompassing his presidency is commonly referred to as the Reagan era, and his political legacy continues to shape American policy debates decades after he left office.

Early Life

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois, the second son of Nelle Wilson Reagan and John Edward "Jack" Reagan. His father was a shoe salesman of Irish Catholic descent, and his mother was of English and Scottish ancestry. Jack Reagan reportedly nicknamed his newborn son "the Dutchman," saying he looked like "a fat little Dutchman" — a nickname that stayed with Reagan throughout his youth. The family moved several times during Reagan's childhood, living in various small towns across Illinois before settling in Dixon, Illinois, in 1920.

Reagan's early years were shaped by his family's modest economic circumstances and his father's struggles with alcoholism. Nelle Reagan was a devout member of the Disciples of Christ church and instilled in her son a strong sense of religious faith and optimism. Reagan later credited his mother's influence as foundational to his worldview. During his years in Dixon, Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he participated in football, basketball, track, and school plays. He also worked as a lifeguard at Lowell Park along the Rock River for seven summers, a job during which he was credited with saving 77 lives — a number Reagan himself kept track of by notching a mark on a log for each rescue.

Reagan's upbringing in small-town Illinois during the era of the Great Depression informed his political sensibilities. His father, a Democrat who supported Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, worked in various positions related to government relief efforts. These experiences left a lasting impression on the young Reagan, though his political views would shift dramatically in the decades to come.

Education

Reagan enrolled at Eureka College, a small liberal arts institution affiliated with the Disciples of Christ in Eureka, Illinois, in 1928. He attended Eureka on a partial athletic scholarship for swimming and played on the football team, though he was not a standout player. Reagan also participated in student government, drama, and campus journalism. He studied economics and sociology, and was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. His time at Eureka was notable for an early display of his oratorical talents; as a freshman, he delivered a speech during a student strike against proposed faculty and course cuts that drew significant attention on campus. Reagan later described his experience at Eureka as formative, crediting the college with nurturing his interest in both performance and public life.

Career

Broadcasting and Early Hollywood Career

After graduating from Eureka College in 1932, Reagan found work as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. He was hired by radio stations WOC in Davenport and later WHO in Des Moines, where he became known for his vivid play-by-play recreations of Chicago Cubs baseball games. Reagan would receive telegraph updates of games in progress and use his imagination and narrative skill to create compelling radio broadcasts, a technique common in the era before live game broadcasts became widespread.

In 1937, while traveling with the Cubs for spring training in California, Reagan took a screen test at Warner Bros. and was offered a seven-year contract. He moved to Hollywood and began a film career that would span more than two decades. Reagan appeared in over 50 films, including Knute Rockne, All American (1940), in which he played George Gipp, and Kings Row (1942), which is often considered his finest dramatic performance. While Reagan was a popular and busy actor, he was typically cast in B-films and supporting roles rather than as a top-tier leading man.

During World War II, Reagan served in the United States Army Air Forces, though he was disqualified from combat duty due to poor eyesight. He was assigned to the First Motion Picture Unit in Culver City, California, where he helped produce training and propaganda films for the military. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of captain.

Screen Actors Guild and Political Awakening

Reagan's involvement in Hollywood labor politics proved pivotal in his transition toward a public life. He was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and served two terms, from 1947 to 1952 and again from 1959 to 1960. During his tenure as SAG president, Reagan navigated the tumultuous political environment of postwar Hollywood, including jurisdictional disputes between rival unions and the intensifying anti-Communist investigations led by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Reagan cooperated with HUAC and testified before the committee regarding alleged Communist influence in the film industry.

Originally a Democrat who had supported Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Reagan's political views shifted rightward during the late 1940s and 1950s. His experiences with union politics, his concerns about Communist infiltration, and his marriage to actress Nancy Davis in 1952 — who came from a politically conservative family — all contributed to his evolving ideology. Reagan formally switched his party registration to Republican in 1962.

In the 1950s, Reagan's film career waned, and he transitioned to television. From 1954 to 1962, he hosted the popular anthology series General Electric Theater on CBS. In this capacity, Reagan also served as a corporate spokesman for General Electric, traveling to the company's plants across the country and delivering motivational speeches that increasingly incorporated free-market economic philosophy and anti-government rhetoric. This period sharpened Reagan's skills as a political communicator and connected him with conservative business leaders.

Entry into Politics and Governorship of California

Reagan's entry into national politics came through a single televised address. On October 27, 1964, he delivered a speech titled "A Time for Choosing" on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. The speech, broadcast nationally, articulated a clear conservative vision centered on limited government, individual liberty, and anti-Communism. Although Goldwater lost the election in a landslide, Reagan's address raised his profile significantly within the Republican Party and launched his political career.

In 1966, Reagan ran for governor of California, defeating incumbent Democrat Pat Brown by nearly one million votes. As governor, Reagan confronted a state budget deficit and responded by raising state taxes — a move that contrasted with his later reputation as an anti-tax crusader but succeeded in turning the deficit into a surplus. His governorship was also marked by confrontations with student protesters at University of California campuses, where he ordered crackdowns on demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Reagan implemented welfare reform measures in California, though the effectiveness of some of these initiatives, including a workfare program, was later questioned.

Reagan served two terms as governor, leaving office in January 1975. He made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976, narrowly losing to incumbent President Gerald Ford in a closely contested primary campaign. The experience, however, solidified his position as the leading figure of the Republican Party's conservative wing.

1980 Presidential Campaign

Reagan entered the 1980 Republican presidential primary as the frontrunner. A notable moment during the campaign occurred at a debate in Nashua, New Hampshire, when a moderator attempted to silence Reagan's microphone during a dispute over debate format. Reagan famously declared, "I am paying for this microphone," a line that became one of the most memorable moments in American presidential debate history. Reagan secured the Republican nomination and selected his primary rival, George H. W. Bush, as his running mate.

In the general election, Reagan challenged incumbent President Jimmy Carter, who was burdened by the Iranian hostage crisis, high inflation, high unemployment, and an energy crisis. Reagan won the November 1980 election in a landslide, carrying 44 states and receiving 489 electoral votes to Carter's 49.

First Term as President (1981–1985)

Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president on January 20, 1981. Just 69 days into his presidency, on March 30, 1981, Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. The bullet lodged within an inch of his heart, and Reagan underwent emergency surgery. His recovery, and his reported quip to surgeons — "I hope you're all Republicans" — reinforced his public image as a figure of resilience and humor. He returned to work within weeks.

Reagan's domestic agenda centered on what became known as "Reaganomics," a supply-side economic program built on four pillars: reducing the growth of government spending, cutting federal income and capital gains taxes, reducing government regulation, and tightening the money supply to control inflation. The centerpiece legislation was the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which reduced the top marginal income tax rate from 70 percent to 50 percent and lowered rates across all brackets. These policies were implemented during a period of severe stagflation inherited from the Carter administration.

The early years of Reagan's presidency saw a sharp recession in 1981–1982, with unemployment reaching 10.8 percent. However, beginning in late 1982, the economy entered a sustained period of expansion. Inflation, which had exceeded 13 percent in 1980, dropped significantly during Reagan's first term. Critics noted that the tax cuts, combined with substantial increases in military spending, contributed to growing federal budget deficits.

On the labor front, Reagan took a decisive action in August 1981 when he fired more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers who were members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) after they defied his order to return to work. The PATCO confrontation became a defining moment in American labor history and signaled a shift in government attitudes toward public-sector unions.

Reagan's first term also saw the expansion of the war on drugs. The administration increased federal spending on drug enforcement and promoted anti-drug campaigns, most notably the "Just Say No" initiative led by First Lady Nancy Reagan. Research later indicated that the "Just Say No" approach had limited effectiveness as a drug prevention strategy.

In foreign affairs, Reagan adopted a confrontational posture toward the Soviet Union, which he described as an "evil empire." He initiated a massive military buildup, increasing defense spending substantially over his two terms. In 1983, he announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a proposed missile defense system that critics dubbed "Star Wars." SDI was controversial both domestically and internationally, but proponents later argued it placed additional pressure on the Soviet Union's already strained economy. Also in 1983, Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada, a small Caribbean island nation, citing the need to protect American medical students and counter a Marxist coup.

Reagan's administration faced criticism for its slow response to the emerging AIDS epidemic. The disease, first identified in 1981, disproportionately affected gay men and intravenous drug users, and public health advocates faulted the administration for not devoting sufficient attention or funding to the crisis during its early years.

In Central America, the Reagan administration pursued an interventionist policy, providing military and financial support to governments and insurgent groups opposing leftist movements. This included support for the Contras in Nicaragua and backing of the Guatemalan military government of Efraín Ríos Montt, who was later convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Second Term as President (1985–1989)

Reagan won reelection in 1984, defeating Democratic candidate Walter Mondale in one of the largest landslide victories in American presidential history. Reagan carried 49 of 50 states, losing only Mondale's home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia, and won 525 electoral votes to Mondale's 13.

Foreign affairs dominated Reagan's second term. In April 1986, Reagan ordered the bombing of Libya in response to the Libyan government's alleged involvement in the bombing of a Berlin discotheque frequented by American servicemen. The most significant scandal of Reagan's presidency emerged later that year with the exposure of the Iran-Contra affair. Senior administration officials had secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran — which was under an arms embargo — and used the proceeds to illegally fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, in violation of the Boland Amendment passed by Congress. The affair damaged Reagan's credibility, though he maintained that he had not been fully aware of the diversion of funds. The Tower Commission, appointed by Reagan to investigate, concluded that the president's management style had allowed the operation to proceed without adequate oversight.

Despite the Iran-Contra scandal, Reagan's second term produced significant diplomatic achievements. His relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev evolved from Cold War confrontation to substantive negotiation. After a series of summits — in Geneva (1985), Reykjavik (1986), Washington (1987), and Moscow (1988) — the two leaders signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in December 1987, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons. Reagan's famous challenge delivered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on June 12, 1987 — "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" — became one of the most iconic phrases of the Cold War era.

By the time Reagan left office on January 20, 1989, the American economy had experienced a significant reduction in inflation and a fall in the unemployment rate. The expansion that began in late 1982 continued through Reagan's presidency and became the longest peacetime economic expansion in U.S. history at that time. However, the national debt had nearly tripled since 1981, growing from approximately $994 billion to $2.87 trillion, as a result of tax cuts and increased military spending that outweighed reductions in domestic discretionary spending.

Personal Life

Reagan married actress Jane Wyman on January 26, 1940. The couple had two biological children — Maureen (born 1941) and Christine (born and died in 1947, prematurely) — and adopted a son, Michael (born 1945). Reagan and Wyman divorced in 1949, making Reagan the only U.S. president to have been divorced prior to taking office (a distinction he held until the election of Donald Trump in 2016).

On March 4, 1952, Reagan married actress Nancy Davis. They had two children together: Patricia Ann "Patti" (born 1952) and Ronald Prescott "Ron" (born 1958). The marriage between Ronald and Nancy Reagan was, by all public accounts, exceptionally close. Nancy Reagan became a protective and influential figure throughout her husband's political career and was a central presence in his life during his post-presidential years.

In November 1994, Reagan disclosed in a handwritten letter to the American people that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In the letter, he wrote: "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life." Reagan's physical and mental capacities gradually deteriorated over the following decade. He withdrew from public life and was cared for at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93. He was given a state funeral in Washington, D.C., and was buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Recognition

Reagan received numerous honors during and after his lifetime. In 1993, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, located in Simi Valley, California, houses artifacts from his presidency and serves as a center for public programming and education.

In 1998, Washington National Airport in Virginia was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in his honor. The airport remains a functioning tribute; as of 2026, it underwent upgrades to its air traffic control tower with the installation of electronic flight strips. Numerous other institutions bear his name, including the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), an aircraft carrier commissioned in 2003, and the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

Reagan's birthday, February 6, continues to be commemorated. In 2026, Governor Gavin Newsom of California issued a proclamation declaring February 6, 2026, as Ronald Reagan Day in the state of California. The State of Alaska similarly proclaimed Ronald Reagan Day in 2026. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute organized a 115th birthday commemoration in February 2026.

Legacy

Ronald Reagan's presidency reshaped the American political landscape in ways that continue to reverberate. The conservative movement that he championed — emphasizing lower taxes, reduced government regulation, a strong national defense, and traditional social values — became the dominant ideology of the Republican Party for decades following his tenure. The term "Reagan Revolution" is used to describe the political realignment his presidency produced, and subsequent Republican candidates have routinely invoked his name and record.

Reagan's economic policies remain among the most debated aspects of his legacy. Proponents credit Reaganomics with ending stagflation, reducing inflation, and catalyzing a long economic expansion. Critics point to the tripling of the national debt, growing income inequality, and the erosion of social safety net programs as lasting consequences of his fiscal approach. Analysis published by The Root in 2026 outlined multiple Reagan-era policies whose effects continue to shape American economic and social life, including deregulation of industries, changes to the tax code, and cutbacks in federal housing and welfare programs.

In foreign policy, Reagan's role in the conclusion of the Cold War is his most significant legacy. His military buildup, the Strategic Defense Initiative, and his diplomatic engagement with Gorbachev are credited by many historians as contributing factors in the collapse of the Soviet Union, which occurred less than three years after Reagan left office. The INF Treaty, while later abandoned by subsequent administrations, represented a landmark in nuclear arms control.

Reagan's presidency also left contested legacies in areas including the war on drugs, the response to the AIDS epidemic, and interventionist policies in Central America. The Iran-Contra affair raised enduring questions about executive power and accountability. Nevertheless, Reagan consistently ranks among the top tier of American presidents in surveys of historians and political scientists, and his influence on the modern conservative movement remains a defining feature of late twentieth-century American politics.