Automation FAB QAUC
Ronald Reagan | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1981 | |
| 40th President of the United States | |
| In office January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989 | |
| Vice President | George H. W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Jimmy Carter |
| Succeeded by | George H. W. Bush |
| 33rd Governor of California | |
| In office January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975[1] | |
| Lieutenant | |
| Preceded by | Pat Brown |
| Succeeded by | Jerry Brown |
| 9th and 13th President of the Screen Actors Guild | |
| In office November 16, 1959 – June 7, 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Howard Keel |
| Succeeded by | George Chandler |
| In office March 10, 1947 – November 10, 1952 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Montgomery |
| Succeeded by | Walter Pidgeon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ronald Wilson Reagan February 6, 1911 Tampico, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 5, 2004 (aged 93) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Ronald Reagan Presidential Library |
| Political party | Republican (from 1962) |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic (until 1962) |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5, including Maureen, Michael, Patti, and Ron |
| Parents | |
| Relatives | Neil Reagan (brother) |
| Alma mater | Eureka College (BA) |
| Occupation |
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| Awards | Full list |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | |
| Wars | World War II |
Other offices | |
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. A member of the Republican Party, his presidency constituted the Reagan era, and he is considered one of the most prominent conservative figures in American history.
Reagan graduated from Eureka College in 1932 and began to work as a sports broadcaster in Iowa. In 1937, he moved to California, and became a well-known film actor there. From 1947 to 1952, Reagan served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild. During 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, his "A Time for Choosing" speech 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 university protests. After challenging and losing to 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 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 and transitioned Cold War policy away from détente with the Soviet Union. Reagan also ordered the invasion of Grenada in 1983. Additionally, he survived an assassination attempt, fought public-sector labor unions, expanded the war on drugs, and was slow to respond to the AIDS epidemic in the United States, which began early in his presidency. In the 1984 presidential election, he defeated Carter's 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 and illegal 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 national debt had nearly tripled since 1981 as a result of his cuts in taxes and increased military spending, despite cuts to domestic discretionary spending. Reagan's policies also contributed to the end of the Cold War and the end of Soviet communism.[7] Alzheimer's disease hindered Reagan post-presidency, and his physical and mental capacities rapidly deteriorated, ultimately leading to his death in 2004. Historians and scholars have typically ranked him among the middle to upper tier of American presidents, and his post-presidential approval ratings by the general public are usually high.[8]
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.[9] Nelle was committed to the Disciples of Christ,[10] which believed in the Social Gospel.[11] She led prayer meetings and ran mid-week prayers at her church when the pastor was out of town.[10] Reagan credited her spiritual influence[12] and he became a Christian.[13] According to American political figure 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".[14] Jack focused on making money to take care of the family,[9] but this was complicated by his alcoholism.[15] Neil Reagan was Reagan's older brother.[16] Together, they lived in Chicago, Galesburg, and Monmouth before returning to Tampico. In 1920, they settled in Dixon, Illinois,[17] living in a house near the H. C. Pitney Variety Store Building.[18]
Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he developed interests in drama and football.[19] His first job involved working as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park.[20] In 1928, Reagan began attending Eureka College[21] at Nelle's approval on religious grounds.[22] He was a mediocre student[23] who 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.[24] Reagan was initiated as a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and served as president of the local chapter.[25] Reagan played at the guard position for the 1930 and 1931 Eureka Red Devils football teams and 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 was unusually progressive in Dixon.[26] Reagan himself had grown up with very few black Americans there and was unaware of a race problem.[27]
Entertainment career
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After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology from Eureka College in 1932,[28][29] Reagan took a job in Davenport, Iowa, as a sports broadcaster for four football games in the Big Ten Conference.[30] 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.[31] Simultaneously, he often expressed his opposition to racism.[32] 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.[33]
Reagan arrived at Hollywood in 1937, debuting in Love Is on the Air (1937).[34] Using a simple and direct approach to acting and following his directors' instructions,[35] Reagan made thirty films, mostly B films, before beginning military service in April 1942.[36] 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.[37] Afterward, Reagan starred in Kings Row (1942) as a leg amputee, asking, "Where's the rest of me?"[38] His performance was considered his best by many critics.[39] Reagan became a star,[40] with Gallup polls placing him "in the top 100 stars" from 1941 to 1942.[39]
World War II interrupted the movie stardom that Reagan would never be able to achieve again[40] 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 to him while working at Warner Bros.[41] In 1952, he ended his relationship with Warner Bros.,[42] but went on to appear in a total of 53 films,[36] his last being The Killers (1964).[43]
Military service
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.[44] He later became a part of the 323rd Cavalry Regiment in California.[45] 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.[46]
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[47] 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.[48] Despite this, Reagan participated in the Provisional Task Force Show Unit in Burbank[49] and continued to make theatrical films.[50] 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.[49]
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.[51] Reagan's first tenure saw various labor-management disputes,[52] the Hollywood blacklist,[53] and the Taft–Hartley Act's implementation.[54] 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.[55] During a House Un-American Activities Committee hearing, Reagan testified that some guild members were associated with the Communist Party[56] and that he was well-informed on a "jurisdictional strike".[57] When asked if he was aware of communist efforts within the Screen Writers Guild, he called the efforts "hearsay".[58] Reagan would remain SAG president until he resigned on November 10, 1952;[59] Walter Pidgeon succeeded him, but Reagan stayed on the board.[60]
The SAG fought with film producers over residual payments[61] and on November 16, 1959, the board installed Reagan as SAG president for the second time,[62] 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 and subsequently 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;[63] George Chandler succeeded him as SAG president.[64]
Marriages and children
In January 1940, Reagan married Jane Wyman, his co-star in the 1938 film Brother Rat.[65][66] Together, they had two biological daughters: Maureen in 1941,[67] and Christine in 1947 (born prematurely and died the following day).[68] They adopted one son, Michael, in 1945.[48] 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,[68] the divorce was finalized in July 1949. Reagan would also remain close to his children.[69] 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.[70] They married in March 1952,[71] and had two children, Patti in October 1952, and Ron in May 1958.[72]
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