'Ronald Wilson Reagan' (
February 6,
1911 –
June 5,
2004) was the 40th
President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd
Governor of California (1967–1975). Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to
Hollywood in the 1930s, where he became an actor, President of the
Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and a spokesman for
General Electric. Reagan became involved in politics during his work for G.E. and switched parties from the
Democratic to the
Republican in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of
Barry Goldwater's Presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California Governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the
Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as
1976, but won both the nomination and election in
1980.
Reagan helped to sharply define the Republican Party's platforms in contrast to those of the Democrats; the economic policies enacted during his presidency were dubbed "
Reaganomics." After surviving an
assassination attempt during his first term and ordering a
military operation in Grenada, Reagan was
reelected in a landslide in 1984. Soon after, his administration saw a number of
scandals, most notably the
Iran-Contra Affair.
Reagan instituted a policy of "
peace through strength" in an
arms race with the Soviet Union, rejecting the previous patterns of
détente and directly confronting
Communism. He portrayed the USSR as an "
Evil Empire" and publicly
supported anti-Communist movements worldwide. Despite his rejection of détente, he negotiated with
Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to shrink both countries' nuclear arsenals and help bring a peaceful end to the
Cold War.
[1] Reagan left office in 1989 and was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease in 1994. He
died ten years later at the age of ninety-three.
Early life
Reagan was born in an
apartment above the
local bank building in
Tampico,
Illinois on
February 6,
1911 to John "Jack" Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan. As a boy, Reagan's father nicknamed him "Dutch", due to his "fat little Dutchman"-like appearance, and his "Dutchboy" haircut.
[ Ronald Reagan Facts ] The nickname stuck with him throughout his youth. Reagan's family briefly lived in several Illinios towns, including
Monmouth,
Galesburg and
Chicago, until 1919, when they returned to Tampico and lived above the
H.C. Pitney Variety Store.
[Ward, Michael. "Main Street Historic District," (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, 1 April 1982, HAARGIS Database, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Retrieved 27 July 2007.]
According to
Paul Kengor, author of ''God and Ronald Reagan'', Reagan had a particularly strong faith in the goodness of people which stemmed from the optimistic faith of his mother, Nelle,
[2] and the
Disciples of Christ faith. For the time, Reagan was unusual in his opposition to racial discrimination, and recalls a time in
Dixon when the local inn would not allow black people to stay there. Reagan brought them back to his house, where his mother invited them to stay the night and have breakfast the next morning.
[3]
Following the closure of the Pitney Store in late 1920, the Reagans moved to
Dixon,
Illinois;
[4] the midwestern "small universe" had a lasting impression on Ronald.
[5] He attended
Dixon High School, where he developed interests in acting and storytelling. His first job was that of a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon in 1926. "I saved 77 lives," Reagan said in an interview, and mentioned that he notched a mark on a wooden log for every life he saved.
[6] After high school, Reagan attended
Eureka College, where he was a member of the
Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, majored in economics and sociology, and was very active in sports.
[7]
Entertainment career
Radio and film
Reagan starred in ''Cowboy From Brooklyn'' in 1938
After graduating from Eureka in 1932, Reagan worked at radio stations
WOC in
Davenport, Iowa, and then
WHO in
Des Moines as an announcer for
Chicago Cubs baseball games.
[ Reagan's America: Innocents at Home, , Garry, Wills, Doubleday, , ] While traveling with the Cubs in California, Reagan took a screen test in 1937 that led to a seven-year contract with the
Warner Brothers studio.
His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie ''
Love Is on the Air'', and by the end of 1939, he had appeared in 19 films.
[8] Before the film ''
Santa Fe Trail'' in 1940, he played the role of
George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film ''
Knute Rockne, All American''. From this role he acquired the nickname "the Gipper," which he retained the rest of his life.
[9] Reagan's favorite acting role was in 1942's ''
Kings Row'',
[ Where's the Rest of Me?, , Ronald, Reagan, Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1965, ] but his performance did not meet with universal approval; one reviewer felt that Reagan had made "only casual acquaintance with the [character]".
[10] Reagan also played in ''
Tennessee's Partner'', ''
Hellcats of the Navy'', ''
This Is the Army'', ''
Bedtime for Bonzo'', ''
Cattle Queen of Montana'', and ''
The Killers'' in a 1964 remake.
Military service
After completing 14 home-study Army Extension Courses, Reagan enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve on
April 29 1937, as a private assigned to Troop B, 322nd
Cavalry at Des Moines, Iowa.
He was appointed
Second Lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the Cavalry on
May 25 1937, and on
June 18 was assigned to the 323rd Cavalry.
[ History of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment ]
Having served for five years in the Army Reserve, Reagan was ordered to active duty for the first time on
April 18 1942. Due to his nearsightedness, he was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas.
[11] His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at
Fort Mason, California, as liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office. Upon the request of the
Army Air Force (AAF), he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF on
May 15 1942, and was assigned to AAF Public Relations and subsequently to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in
Culver City, California. On
January 14 1943 he was promoted to First Lieutenant and was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of ''This Is The Army'' at
Burbank, California. Following this duty, he returned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit and was promoted to Captain on
July 22 1943.
In January 1944, Captain Reagan was ordered to temporary duty in
New York City to participate in the opening of the sixth War Loan Drive. He was assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit, Culver City, California on
November 14 1944, where he remained until the end of the
World War II. He was recommended for promotion to Major on
February 2 1945, but this recommendation was disapproved on
July 17 of that year. He returned to
Fort MacArthur, California, where he was separated from active duty on
December 9 1945.
By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the AAF.
[ Military service of Ronald Reagan ]
Television and SAG President
Television star Ronald Reagan as the host of General Electric Theater
Reagan landed fewer film roles in the late 1950s and moved to television as the host of ''
General Electric Theater'', earning approximately $125,000 per year ($800,000 in 2006 dollars), until he was fired by General Electric in 1962.
[12][13] His final work as a professional actor was as host and performer from 1964 to 1965 on the television series ''
Death Valley Days''.
Reagan was first elected to the Board of Directors of the
Screen Actors Guild in 1941, serving as an alternate. Following World War II, he resumed service and became 3rd Vice President in 1946.
[14] The adoption of conflict-of-interest bylaws in 1947 led the SAG president and six board members to resign; Reagan was nominated in a special election for the position of president and was elected. He would subsequently be chosen by the membership to seven additional one-year terms, from 1947 to 1952 and in 1959. Reagan led SAG through eventful years that were marked by labor-management disputes, the
Taft-Hartley Act,
House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings and the
Hollywood blacklist era.
In 1947, as SAG President, Reagan testified before HUAC regarding the influence of Communists in the motion picture industry. Strongly opposed to communism, he reaffirmed his commitment to democratic principles, stating, "As a citizen, I would hesitate to see any political party outlawed on the basis of its political ideology. However, if it is proven that an organization is an agent of foreign power, or in any way not a legitimate political party—and I think the government is capable of proving that—then that is another matter. [...] but at the same time I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment."
[15]
Marriages and children
In 1938, Reagan co-starred in the film ''Brother Rat'' with actress
Jane Wyman. They were engaged at the
Chicago Theatre,
[16] and married on
January 26,
1940, at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather church in Forest Lawn, California.
[17] Together they had two children,
Maureen (1941–2001) and Christine (born and died
June 26, 1947), and adopted a third,
Michael (born 1945). Reagan and Wyman divorced on
June 28,
1948 following arguments about Reagan's political ambitions,
making Reagan (as of 2007) the only American President to have been divorced.
[18]
Reagan met actress
Nancy Davis in 1949 after Davis contacted then-President of the Screen Actors Guild Reagan to help her with issues regarding her name appearing on a communist blacklist in Hollywood (Davis was mistaken for another Nancy Davis). Nancy described their meeting by saying, "I don't know if it was exactly love at first sight, but it was pretty close."
They were engaged at
Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles and were married on
March 4,
1952 at the Little Brown Church in the
San Fernando Valley.
[ Noteworthy places in Reagan's life ] Ronald and Nancy Reagan had two children:
Patti (born 1952) and
Ron (born 1958).
Observers described Ronald and Nancy Reagan's relationship as close, real, and intimate.
[19] While President and First Lady, the Reagans were reported to display their affection for each other frequently, with one press secretary noting, "They never took each other for granted. They never stopped courting."
He often called her "Mommy"; she called him "Ronnie".
[ By Reagan's Side, but her own person Berry, Deborah Barfield ] When the President was recuperating in the hospital after the assassination attempt in 1981, Nancy Reagan slept with one of his shirts to be comforted by the scent;
[20] in a letter to Mrs. Reagan, President Reagan wrote, "whatever I treasure and enjoy [...] all would be without meaning if I didn’t have you."
[ Reagan Love Story ] In 1994, President Reagan wrote "I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with
Alzheimer's disease [...] I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience,"
and in 1998, while her husband was severely affected by Alzheimer's, Nancy told ''
Vanity Fair'', "Our relationship is very special. We were very much in love and still are. When I say my life began with Ronnie, well, it's true. It did. I can't imagine life without him."
[ End of a Love Story ]
Early political career
An admirer of
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Reagan supported the
New Deal as well as the presidential candidacies of
Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, and that of
Richard Nixon in 1960, as a registered
Democrat. His political loyalties soon shifted to the
Republican Party, however, for he thought that the Democrats had created a larger government.
[21] Following the election of
John F. Kennedy, Reagan formally switched parties in 1962, saying "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me."
During his work for General Electric, Reagan wrote his own speeches, laboring diligently and daily upon his prose. Although he had speechwriters later in the White House, he continued editing, and even occasionally writing, many of them.
[22]
Two years after switching parties, Reagan joined the campaign of conservative Presidential contender
Barry Goldwater. Speaking on Goldwater's behalf, Reagan revealed his ideological motivation in a famed speech given on
October 27,
1964: "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government set out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing."
[ A Time for Choosing ] The address soon became known as the "
Time for Choosing" speech, and is considered the speech that launched Reagan's political career.
[23]
Governor of California, 1967–1975
Ronald and Nancy Reagan celebrate Reagan's gubernatorial victory at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California
California Republicans were impressed with Reagan's political views and charisma after his "Time for Choosing" speech,
[ Governor Ronald Reagan ] and nominated him for
Governor of California in 1966. In Reagan's campaign, he emphasized two main themes: "to send the welfare bums back to work", and in reference to burgeoning anti-war and anti-establishment student protests at the
University of California at Berkeley, "to clean up the mess at Berkeley".
[24] He was elected, defeating two-term governor
Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, and was sworn in on
January 3,
1967. In his first term, he froze government hiring and approved tax hikes to balance the budget.
[25]
Shortly after the beginning of his term, Reagan tested the Presidential waters in 1968 as part of a "Stop Nixon" movement which included those from the party's far right. Reagan won the pledges of some 600 delegates, but
Richard Nixon received 98% of the votes needed for the nomination.
Reagan was involved in high-profile conflicts with the protest movements of the era. In 1969, during the
People's Park protests at UC Berkeley, Reagan sent
California Highway Patrol officers onto the campus to quell the protests.
[26] On
May 15 of that year, the protests increased, and the officers resorted to using firearms, shooting and killing a 25-year-old man from San Jose, California and injuring others, the incident being known as "Bloody Thursday."
Reagan then called out 2,200
state National Guard troops to occupy the city of Berkeley in order to crack down on the protesters.
Early in 1967, the national debate on abortion was beginning. Democratic California state senator
Anthony Beilenson introduced the "Therapeutic Abortion Act", in an effort to reduce the number of "back-room abortions" performed in California.
The State Legislature sent the bill to Reagan's desk where, after many days of indecision, he signed it.
[27] About two million abortions would be performed as a result, most because of a provision in the bill allowing abortions for the well-being of the mother.
Reagan had been in office for only four months when he signed the bill, and stated that had he been more experienced as governor, it would not have been signed. After he recognized what he called the "consequences" of the bill, he announced that he was
pro-life.
He maintained that position later in his political career, .
[28]
Reagan was re-elected in 1970, defeating "Big Daddy"
Jesse Unruh, but chose not to seek a third term. One of Reagan's greatest frustrations in office concerned
capital punishment, which he strongly supported.
His efforts to enforce the state's laws in this area were thwarted when the
Supreme Court of California issued its ''
People v. Anderson'' decision, which invalidated all death sentences issued in California prior to 1972, though the decision was later overturned by a constitutional amendment. The only execution during Reagan's governorship was on
April 12,
1967, when Aaron Mitchell's sentence was carried out by the state in
San Quentin's gas chamber.
Reagan's terms as governor helped to shape the policies he would pursue in his later political career as President. By campaigning on a platform of sending "the welfare bums back to work," he spoke out against the idea of the welfare state. He also strongly advocated the Republican ideal of less government regulation of the economy, including that of undue federal taxation.
[29]
1976 presidential campaign
In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President
Gerald Ford in a bid to become the Republican Party's candidate for president. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate; like-minded organizations such as the
American Conservative Union became the key components of his political base, while President Ford was considered a more moderate Republican.
[30] He relied on a strategy crafted by campaign manager
John Sears of winning a few primaries early to seriously damage the lift-off of Ford's campaign, such as his victories in North Carolina, Texas, and California, but the strategy disintegrated. Reagan ended up losing New Hampshire and later Florida.
[ 1976 New Hampshire Presidential Primary, February 24 1976 Republican Results ]
As the party's
1976 convention in
Kansas City, Missouri neared, Ford appeared close to victory, in thanks partly to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania delegates. Acknowledging his party's moderate wing, Reagan chose moderate Republican Senator
Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as his running mate. Nonetheless, Ford narrowly won, with 1,187 delegates to Reagan's 1,070.
Reagan's concession speech emphasized the dangers of nuclear war and the threat posed by the Soviet Union. Although he lost the nomination, he received 307 write-in votes in New Hampshire, 388 votes as an Independent on Wyoming's ballot, and a single electoral vote from a Washington State "
faithless elector" in the November election.
[ Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996 ] Ford went on to lose the 1976 presidential election to the Democratic challenger
Jimmy Carter.
1980 presidential campaign
Main articles: United States presidential election, 1980
Reagan campaigns with Nancy in South Carolina, 1980
The 1980 presidential campaign, led by
William J. Casey, was conducted in the shadow of the
Iran hostage crisis, with media networks reporting frequently on Carter's unavailing efforts to free the hostages. On the domestic front, Reagan attacked Carter's inability to deal with double-digit inflation, soaring interest rates, high unemployment, and slow economic growth. With respect to the economy, he quipped, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his!"
[ Famous Ronald Reagan Quotes ] Reagan also stated that America's military had fallen behind that of the Soviet Union, and that détente was a failure.
Reagan's showing in the
televised debates boosted his campaign. He deflected President Carter's criticisms with remarks like "there you go again", and a closing question to the audience in which he asked, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?"
[31] During the campaign, there was some speculation that former President Gerald Ford was to be the Vice Presidential nominee, but Reagan declined when Ford offered a power-sharing arrangement that would elevate the position of the vice-presidency. Instead, Reagan selected his opponent in the primaries,
George H. W. Bush, who had extensive international experience.
[32]
Reagan swept to a landslide, carrying 44 states with 489 electoral votes to 49 electoral votes for Carter (representing six states and Washington, D.C.). Reagan won 50.7% of the popular vote while Carter took 41%, and Independent
John B. Anderson (a liberal Republican) received 6.7%.
[ 1980 Presidential Election Results ] With the aid of
Reagan Democrats, blue collar Democrats who voted for him, he was able to carry states such as Michigan, New York and Massachusetts.
Republicans captured the Senate for the first time since 1952, and
gained 34 House seats, but the Democrats retained a majority.
Presidency, 1981–1989
Main articles: Presidency of Ronald Reagan
During his Presidency, Ronald Reagan pursued policies that reflected his optimism in individual freedom, expanded the
American economy, and contributed to the end of the
Cold War.
[33] The "Reagan Revolution," proponents claimed, would reinvigorate American morale, and reduce the people's reliance upon government.
As President, Reagan kept a series of leather bound diaries, in which he talked about daily occurrences of his presidency, commented on current issues around the world (expressing his point of view on most of them), and frequently mentioned his wife,
Nancy. The diaries were published in May 2007, into the bestselling book, ''
The Reagan Diaries''.
[34]
First term, 1981–1985
In his first inaugural address on
January 20,
1981, which Reagan himself wrote,
[35] he addressed the country's economic malaise arguing: "Government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem." The Reagan Presidency began in an historic manner: just 30 minutes into his inaugural address,
52 American hostages, held by Iran for 444 days were set free.
[36].
Assassination attempt
Main articles: Reagan assassination attempt
On
March 30,
1981, only 69 days into the new administration, Reagan, his press secretary
James Brady, and two others were struck by gunfire from a deranged would-be assassin,
John Hinckley, Jr.. Missing Reagan’s heart by less than one inch (2.5 cm), the bullet instead pierced his left lung, which likely saved his life. In the operating room, Reagan joked to the surgeons, "I hope you're all Republicans!"
[37] Though they were not, Dr. Joseph Giordano replied, "Today, Mr. President, we're all Republicans." When
Nancy Reagan came to see him, he famously told her, "Honey, I forgot to duck" (using defeated boxer
Jack Dempsey's quip).
On
April 12, Mrs. Reagan and their daughter,
Patti, escorted the President home from the hospital.
Air traffic controllers' strike
Main articles: Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968),
Only a short time into his administration
Federal air traffic controllers went on strike, violating a regulation prohibiting Government unions from striking.
[ The Pressures of PATCO: Strikes and Stress in the 1980s Rebecca Pels ] Declaring the situation an emergency as described in the 1947
Taft Hartley Act, Reagan held a press conference in the
White House Rose Garden, where he stated that if the air traffic controllers "do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated".
[ Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Reporters on the Air Traffic Controllers Strike ] On
August 3, 1981, Reagan fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work.
[38]
"Reaganomics" and the economy
Main articles: Reaganomics
Ronald Reagan's official White House portrait
When Reagan entered office, the American economy's
inflation rate stood at 11.83%, and
unemployment at 7.1%. Reagan implemented policies based on
supply-side economics, seeking to stimulate the economy with large, across-the-board
tax cuts.
[39][40] He aimed to reduce the growth of domestic government spending, cut back on excess regulation, and institute a sound currency policy which would end inflation.
[ Reaganomics William A. Niskanen ] In attempting to cut back on non-defense spending, significantly increase defense spending, while at the same time lowering taxes, Reagan's approach was a departure from his immediate predecessors.
The economic policy, dubbed "
Reaganomics", was the subject of debate, with supporters pointing to improvements in certain key economic indicators as evidence of success, and critics pointing to large increases in federal budget deficits and the national debt. His policy of "
peace through strength" resulted in a record peacetime defense buildup, including a 40% real increase in defense spending between 1981 and 1985.
[41]
During Reagan's tenure, income tax rates were lowered significantly, with the top personal tax bracket dropping from 70% to 28% in seven years,
[42] although effective payroll tax rates increased.
[43] Real
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth recovered strongly after the 1982 recession and grew during Reagan's eight years in office at an annual rate of 3.4% per year,
[ Gross Domestic Product ] slightly lower than the post-
World War II average of 3.6%.
[44] Unemployment peaked at 9.7% percent in 1982 then dropped during the rest of Reagan's presidency,
while employment increased by 16 million, and inflation significantly decreased.
[45]
Reagan gives a televised address from the Oval Office, outlining his plan for Tax Reduction Legislation in July 1981
Reagan's economics polices assumed that economic growth will occur when marginal tax rates are low enough to spur investment
[46] which then leads to increased economic growth. This supposedly results in higher employment and wages. Critics called this "trickle-down economics" — the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will create a "trickle-down" effect to the poor.
[47]
The administration's stance toward the Savings and Loan industry and reluctance to take action as problems arose contributed to the
Savings and Loan crisis.
[48] It is also suggested, by a minority of Reaganomics critics, that the policies partially caused the
stock market crash of 1987,
[49] but there is no consensus regarding a single source for the crash.
[50] In order to cover newly-spawned federal budget deficits, the
United States borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, raising the
national debt from $700 billion to $3 trillion,
[51] and the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.
[ Reagan Policies Gave Green Light to Red Ink ] Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.
He reappointed
Paul Volcker as
Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and in 1987 appointed monetarist
Alan Greenspan to succeed him. Some economists, such as
Nobel Prize winners
Milton Friedman and
Robert A. Mundell, argue that Reagan's tax policies invigorated America's economy and contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s.
Other economists, such as Nobel Prize winner
Robert Solow, argue that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor,
George H.W. Bush, and raised taxes.
[52]
War on Drugs
Midway into his second term, Reagan declared more militant policies in the "
War on Drugs". He said that "drugs were menacing our society" and promised to fight for drug-free schools and workplaces, expanded drug treatment, stronger law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts, and greater public awareness.
[53][ The Drug War as Race War Randall, Vernellia R ] On
October 27,
1986, President Reagan signed a drug enforcement bill into law, which budgeted $1.7 billion dollars to fund the War on Drugs, and specified a mandatory minimum penalty for drug offenses.
[54]
The bill was criticized for promoting significant racial disparities in the prison population, because of the differences in sentencing for
crack versus powder
cocaine.
Critics also charged that the administration's policies did little to actually reduce the availability of drugs or crime on the street, while resulting in a great financial and human cost for American society.
[ The Reagan-Era Drug War Legacy ] Defenders of the effort point to success in reducing rates of adolescent drug use.
[ NIDA InfoFacts: High School and Youth Trends ][ Interview: Dr. Herbert Kleber ]
First Lady Nancy Reagan made the War on Drugs one of her main priorites by founding the "
Just Say No" anti-drug association, which aimed to discourage children and teenagers from engaging in
recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying "no." Mrs. Reagan traveled to 65 cities in 33 states, raising awareness about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
[55]
Judiciary
During his 1980 campaign, Reagan pledged that, if given the opportunity, he would appoint the first female Supreme Court Justice.
[56] That opportunity came in his first year in office when he nominated
Sandra Day O'Connor to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice
Potter Stewart. In his second term, Reagan elevated
William Rehnquist to succeed
Warren Burger as
Chief Justice, and named
Antonin Scalia to fill the vacant seat. However, in 1987, Reagan lost a significant political battle when the Senate rejected the nomination of
Robert Bork, but
Anthony Kennedy was eventually confirmed in his place.
Lebanon and Grenada, 1983
Main articles: Invasion of Grenada
American peacekeeping forces in
Beirut, a part of a multinational force (MNF) during the
Lebanese Civil War, were attacked on
October 22,
1983. The
Beirut barracks bombing, in which 241 American servicemen were killed by suicide bombers, was the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since the
Battle of Iwo Jima, and the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States military since the first day of the
Tet offensive. Reagan called the attack "despicable," pledged to keep a military force in Lebanon, and planned to target the Sheik Abdullah barracks in
Baalbek, Lebanon, which housed Iranian Revolutionary Guards believed to be training
Hezbollah fighters,
[57][ Report on the DoD Commission on Beirut International Airport Terrorist Act, October 23, 1983 ] but the mission was later aborted by Defense Secretary
Caspar Weinberger. Besides a few shellings, there was no serious American retaliation, and the Marines were moved offshore where they could not be targeted. On
February 7, 1984, President Reagan ordered the Marines to begin withdrawal from Lebanon. This was completed on
February 26: the rest of the MNF was withdrawn by April.
Three days later, U.S. forces invaded
Grenada, where a 1979 ''
coup d'état'' had established a
Marxist-Leninist government aligned with the Soviet Union and Cuba. The Grenadan government began military expansion and construction of an international airport with Cuban assistance. On
October 13, 1983, a faction led by Deputy Prime Minister
Bernard Coard seized power. A formal appeal from the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) led to the intervention of U.S. forces; President Reagan also cited the regional threat posed by a Soviet-Cuban military build-up in the Caribbean and concern for the safety of several hundred American medical students at St. George's University as adequate reasons to invade. On
October 25, 1983, in the first major operation conducted by the U.S. military since the
Vietnam War, several days of fighting commenced, and led to U.S. victory,
[ Operation Agent Fury ] with 19 American fatalities and 116 wounded American soldiers.
[ Grenada, 1983: Operation 'Urgent Fury' Cooper, Tom ] In mid-December, after a new government was appointed by the Governor-General, U.S. forces withdrew.
1984 presidential campaign
Main articles: United States presidential election, 1984
1984 Presidential electoral votes by state. Reagan (red) won every state, with the exception of
Minnesota, and
Washington, D.C.
Reagan accepted the Republican nomination in
Dallas, Texas, on a wave of positive feeling bolstered by the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the
Los Angeles Olympics that summer. He became the first American president to open a summer Olympic Games held in the United States.
[ Los Angeles 1984 ]
Reagan's opponent in the
1984 presidential election was former Vice President
Walter Mondale. With questions about Reagan's age, and a weak performance in the first presidential debate, many wondered if he was up to the task of being president for another term.
[ The Debate: Mondale vs. Reagan ] Reagan rebounded in the second debate, and confronted questions about his age, stating, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience," which generated applause and laughter from members of the audience, and even from Mondale himself.
[ 1984 Presidential Debates ]
In the
1984 presidential election, Reagan was re-elected, winning 49 of 50 states. The president's landslide victory saw Mondale carry only his home state of Minnesota (by 3800 votes) and the District of Columbia. Reagan won a record 525 electoral votes total (of 538 possible), and received 58.8% of the popular vote to Mondale's 40.6%.
[ 1984 Presidential Election Results ]
Second term, 1985–1989
Ronald Reagan is sworn in for a second term as President in the Capitol Rotunda
Reagan was sworn in as President for the second time on
January 20,
1985, in a private ceremony at the
White House. The public ceremony took place in the
Capitol Rotunda the next day, because
January 20 fell on a Sunday, and thus no public celebration was held.
January 21 was one of the coldest days on record in
Washington, D.C., and due to the low temperatures inaugural celebrations were held inside the Capitol.
On
July 13,
1985, Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon, causing the first-ever invocation of the Acting President clause of the
25th Amendment,
[58] and on
January 5,
1987, Reagan underwent surgery for prostate cancer which caused further worries about his health. At the time, the President was 76 years old.
In 1985, Reagan visited a German military cemetery in
Bitburg, Germany to lay a wreath with West German Chancellor
Helmut Kohl, but it was found that the cemetery held the graves of 49 members of the
Waffen-SS. In advance of the visit, many prominent U.S. government officials, veterans, Jewish leaders, Holocaust survivors, 95 Republican and 215 Democratic members of Congress, even First Lady Nancy Reagan protested and called on Reagan to cancel the visit,
[59] but the President argued that it would be wrong to back down on a promise he had made to Chancellor Kohl. Reagan issued a statement that called the Nazi soldiers buried in that cemetery "victims" and some say equated them with victims of the Holocaust, but
Pat Buchanan, Director of Communications under Reagan, argues: "President Reagan never equated SS troops and camp victims. He equated the teenage boys Hitler put in uniform and sent to certain death at war's end with concentration camp victims."
[60] In the end, Reagan attended the ceremony where two military generals laid the wreath, as was customary.
[61] In 1983, he told prominent Jews — notably Prime Minister
Yitzhak Shamir of Israel,
Simon Wiesenthal, and Rabbi
Marvin Hier of
Los Angeles — of his personal experience ''vis-à -vis'' the
Holocaust, saying "I was there," and that that he had assisted at the liberation of Nazi death camps. He was in a film unit in Hollywood that processed raw footage it received from Europe for newsreels, but was not in Europe during the war.
[62]
Reagan's administration was criticized for its slow response to the
HIV-
AIDS epidemic, and for Reagan's controversial refusal to say the term "AIDS" in public for several years, until the illness of movie star and national icon
Rock Hudson became public news in July 1985, by which time over 10,000 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS, and over 6,000 had died.
[ Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the United States Osmond, Dennis H ]
Immigration
In 1986, Reagan signed the
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit
illegal immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted
amnesty to approximately 3 million illegal immigrants who entered the United States prior to
January 1, 1982 and lived there continuously. Critics of the act claim that its laws subjecting employers to sanctions were without teeth and that it failed to stem illegal immigration.
[63] Upon signing the act at a ceremony held beside the newly refurbished
Statue of Liberty, Reagan said, "The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society. Very soon many of these men and women will be able to step into the sunlight and, ultimately, if they choose, they may become Americans."
[64]
Iran-Contra Affair
Main articles: Iran-Contra Affair,
Reagan administration scandals
President Reagan receives the Tower Report in the Cabinet Room of the White House in 1987
In 1986, the Reagan Administration was found to have illegally sold arms to
Iran to fund the
Contras in
Nicaragua, which was specifically outlawed by act of Congress.
[65] The
Iran-Contra Affair became the largest
political scandal in the United States during the 1980s.
[66] President Reagan professed ignorance of the plot's existence and quickly called for an Independent Counsel to investigate, but while the arms sales and hostage releases were going on, Reagan allegedly signed a presidential finding authorizing the actions after they had begun.
[67] The
International Court of Justice, whose jurisdiction to decide the case was disputed,
[68] ruled that the U.S. had violated international law in Nicaragua
[69] due to its treaty obligations and the customary obligations of international law not to intervene in the affairs of other states.
Reagan appointed two Republicans and one Democrat (
John Tower,
Brent Scowcroft and
Edmund Muskie, known as the "Tower Commission") to investigate the scandal. The commission could not find direct evidence that Reagan had prior knowledge of the program, but criticized him heavily for his disengagement from managing his staff, thus making the diversion of funds to the Contras possible.
[70] A separate report by Congress concluded that "If the president did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have."
[70]
Fourteen individuals who were directly involved in the illegal activity were indicted, resulting in eleven convictions (both plea agreements and trial convictions).
[72] Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger was indicted for perjury, but received a pardon from then-President George H. W. Bush during the last month of his presidency. At the same time, President Bush pardoned five others, four of whom had already pleaded guilty or had been convicted.
[73] In 2006, a survey of presidential historians ranked the Iran-Contra affair as the ninth worst mistake by a U.S. president.
[74]
Many Central Americans criticize Reagan for his support of the Contras, saying he was an anti-communist zealot, blinded to human rights abuses, while many others say he "saved Central America."
[ In Central America, Reagan Remains A Polarizing Figure ] Daniel Ortega,
Sandinistan president of
Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, said that he hoped God would forgive Reagan for his "dirty war against Nicaragua."
Cold War
Reagan addresses the
British Parliament in London. In this speech, he famously predicted communism would collapse.
Reagan escalated the
Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy of
détente which began in 1979 following the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
[ Towards an International History of the War in Afghanistan, 1979-89 ] The Reagan Administration implemented new policies towards the
Soviet Union: reviving the
B-1 bomber program that had been canceled by the
Carter administration, and producing the MX "Peacekeeper" missile.
[ LGM-118A Peacekeeper ] In response to Soviet deployment of the
SS-20, Reagan oversaw
NATO's deployment of the
Pershing II missile in West Germany.
[ Cold War Generals: The Warsaw Pact Committee of Defense Ministers, 1969–90, by Christian Nünlist ]
One of Reagan's more controversial proposals was the
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a defense project
that would have used ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles.
[ SDI:The Next Generation Adelman, Ken ] Reagan believed that this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible,
[ Deploy or Perish: SDI and Domestic Politics ][75] but disbelief that the technology could ever work led opponents to dub SDI "Star Wars," and argue that the technological objective was unattainable.
The Soviets became concerned about the possible effects SDI would have,
and leader
Yuri Andropov said it would put "the entire world in jeopardy."
[76] For those reasons,
David Gergen, former aide to President Reagan, believes that in retrospect, SDI hastened the end of the Cold War.
[57]
In a famous address on
June 8,
1982 to the
British Parliament, Reagan called the Soviet Union an "
Evil Empire" that would be consigned to the "ash heap of history." On
March 3, 1983, he predicted that communism would collapse, stating, "communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written."
[ Former President Reagan Dies at 93 ] After Soviet fighters downed
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 on
September 1, 1983, Reagan labeled the act a "massacre" and declared that the Soviets had turned "against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere."
[ 1983:Korean Airlines flight shot down by Soviet Union ] The Reagan administration responded to the incident by suspending all Soviet passenger air service to the United States, and dropped several agreements being negotiated with the Soviets, hurting them financially.
Reagan's foreign policies were criticized variously as aggressive, imperialistic, and were derided as "warmongering".
[ Foreign Affairs: Ronald Reagan ] These events occurred before a reformer,
Mikhail Gorbachev, rose to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. To confront the USSR's serious economic problems, Gorbachev implemented new policies for openness and reform: ''
glasnost'' and ''
perestroika''.
End of the Cold War
By the early 1980s, Moscow had built up a military that had surpassed that of the United States.
Previously, the United States had relied on the qualitative superiority of its weapons to essentially frighten the Soviets, but with Soviet technological advances in the 1980s, the gap between the two nations was narrowed.
[ New Evidence of Moscow's Military Threat Hamm, Manfred R ] With the Soviet military buildup came large budget deficits; as a result, Gorbachev offered major concessions to the United States on the levels of conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and policy in Eastern Europe.
[ The Thawing of the Cold War Beschloss, Michael ]
Ronald Reagan recognized the change in the direction of the Soviet leadership with Gorbachev, and shifted to diplomacy, with a view to encourage the Soviet Leader to go further with his reforms. Gorbachev agreed to meet Reagan in four summit conferences around the world: the first in Geneva, Switzerland, the second in ReykjavÃk, Iceland, the third held in Washington, D.C., along with the fourth summit in Moscow, Russia.
[ Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings ] Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to look at the prosperous American economy, they would embrace free markets and a free society. Gorbachev, facing severe economic problems at home, was swayed.
Speaking at the
Berlin Wall, on
June 12,
1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev to go further:
When Gorbachev visited Washington, D.C. for the third summit in 1987, he and Reagan signed the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty at the White House (they finalized it a year later), which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.
[78]
Reagan and Gorbachev sign the
INF Treaty at the White House in 1987
When Reagan visited Moscow for the fourth summit in 1988, he was viewed as a celebrity by Russians. A journalist asked the president if he still considered the Soviet Union the evil empire. "No," he replied, "I was talking about another time, another era."
[ Gorby Had the Lead Role, Not Gipper Martin, Lawrence ] At Gorbachev’s request, Reagan gave a speech on free markets at
Moscow University.
[79]
In his autobiography ''An American Life'', Reagan expressed his optimism about the new direction that they charted, his warm feelings for Gorbachev, and his concern for Gorbachev's safety because he pushed reforms so hard: "I was concerned for his safety," Reagan wrote. "I've still worried about him. How hard and fast can he push reforms without risking his life?"
[80] In 1990, the Berlin Wall was torn down and a year later the Soviet Union collapsed.
Close of the Reagan era
In 1988 George H. W. Bush, Reagan's Vice President, was elected President of the United States. On
January 11,
1989 Reagan addressed the nation for the last time on television from the
Oval Office, nine days before handing over the presidency. On the morning of
January 20, Ronald and Nancy Reagan escorted the Bushes to the Capitol Building, where Bush took the
Oath of Office. The Reagans then boarded a
Presidential helicopter, and flew to
Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. There, they boarded the
Presidential Jet and flew to California—to their new home in the wealthy suburb of
Bel-Air in
Los Angeles. Reagan was the oldest president to have served (at 77), surpassing
Dwight Eisenhower, who was 70 when he left office in 1961.
Post-presidential years, 1989–2004
The Reagans would enjoy the private life for the next five years, traveling from their
Bel-Air home to the
Reagan Ranch in
Santa Barbara every few months. They regularly attended
Bel Air Presbyterian Church and occasionally appearances on behalf of the Republican Party, including a well-received speech at the
1992 Republican National Convention.
[ 1992 Republican National Convention, Houston ] He publicly spoke in favor of a
line-item veto, a
constitutional amendment requiring a
balanced budget, and repealing the
22nd Amendment, which prohibits a President from serving more than two terms.
[81] Reagan's final public speech was on
February 3,
1994, during a tribute in Washington, D.C., and his last major public appearance was at the funeral of fellow Republican President
Richard Nixon on
April 27, 1994.
In 1992, President Reagan established the
Ronald Reagan Freedom Award with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The award, the highest given by the Reagan Foundation, is presented on a regular basis to one person in the world who has "made monumental and lasting contributions to the cause of freedom worldwide," and who "embodies President Reagan's lifelong belief that one man or woman truly can make a difference."
[ The Ronald Reagan Freedom Award ] The first recipient was former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the most recent (as of February 2007) was former United States President George H. W. Bush.
[ Ex-President Bush Receives Reagan Award Daisy ] When President Reagan was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's Disease, Nancy Reagan took on the role of presenting the award on behalf of her husband.
Presidential Library and Museum
Main articles: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
On
November 4,
1991, the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was dedicated and opened to the public. At the dedication ceremonies, five presidents,
Richard Nixon,
Gerald Ford,
Jimmy Carter, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, were all in attendance, as well as six first ladies,
Lady Bird Johnson,
Pat Nixon,
Betty Ford,
Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and
Barbara Bush. As of 2007, the library is the largest of the Presidential Libraries. Notable exhibits include ones on the Reagan's Ranch; a full-scale replica of the Oval Office; the limousine that President and Mrs. Reagan used while in the White House; and the actual Boeing 707,
Air Force One, that served President Reagan during his eight years in office. On
June 11, 2004, after a
state funeral in Washington, D.C., President Reagan was interred on the property, and on
May 3, 2007, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation hosted the first 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates debate in the Air Force One Pavilion at the Library, with Mrs. Reagan in attendance.
[ Republicans walk tightrope over war in Iraq Johnson, Alex ]
Alzheimer's disease
On
November 5,
1994, Reagan informed the nation via a hand-written letter that he had been diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease. With his trademark optimism, he stated: "I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you."
[ The Alzheimer's Letter ]
As the years went on, the disease slowly destroyed his mental capacity and his family decided that he would live in quiet isolation. On
February 6,
2001, Reagan reached the age of 90, becoming the third former President to do so (the other two being
John Adams and
Herbert Hoover). Just three weeks before, Reagan had undergone hip-replacement surgery; because of this and his Alzheimer's disease, his 90th birthday was a low-key celebration with his family at his home in Bel-Air. With the progression of the disease, Reagan's public appearances became much less frequent, and Nancy Reagan told CNN's
Larry King that very few visitors were allowed to see her husband because she felt that "Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was."
[ Nancy Reagan Reflects on Ronald ] Since his diagnosis and his death, Mrs. Reagan has become a
stem-cell research advocate, urging
Congress and President
George W. Bush to support embryonic stem-cell research, something he adamantly opposes. Mrs. Reagan has said that she believes that it could lead to a cure for Alzheimer's.
[ Nancy Reagan plea on stem cells ]
Death
Main articles: Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan
Reagan died at his home in Bel-Air, California, at 1:00 PM PDT on
June 5,
2004. A short time after his death, Nancy Reagan released a statement saying: "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of Alzheimer's Disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." Reagan's body was taken to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California later in the day, where well-wishers paid tribute by laying flowers and American Flags in the grass.
[82] On
June 7, his body was removed and taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where a brief family funeral service was held. His body lay in repose in the Library lobby until
June 9; over 100,000 people viewed the coffin.
[83]
On
June 9, Reagan's casket was flown to Washington D.C. where he became the 10th United States president to
lie in state. In the thirty-four hours that it lay there, 104,684 people filed past the coffin.
[57]
On
June 11, a
state funeral was conducted in the
Washington National Cathedral, and presided over by President George W. Bush. Eulogies were given by former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher, former Canadian Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney, and both Presidents Bush. Also in attendance were
Mikhail Gorbachev, and many world leaders, including British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, German Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder, Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi, and interim presidents
Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, and
Ghazi al-Yawer of Iraq.
After the funeral service, the Reagan entourage was flown back to California—to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library—where another service was held, and President Reagan was interred. He is the second longest-lived president in U.S. history and was the first United States president to die in the 21st century. His was the first state funeral in the United States since that of President
Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973.
His burial site is inscribed with the words he delivered at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library:
Legacy
Ronald Reagan at a rally for Senator
David Durenberger in Bloomington, Minnesota 1982
Reagan's legacy is mixed, with supporters pointing to a more efficient and prosperous economy,
[85] a peaceful end to the Cold War, and a world safer from the threat of nuclear war.
[86] Critics argue that his economic policies caused huge budget deficits, quadrupling the United States national debt,
and that the Iran-Contra affair lowered American credibility.
[87]
Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D., President of the
Heritage Foundation said that Reagan "helped create a safer, freer world," and said of his economic policies: "He took an America suffering from 'malaise'... and made its citizens believe again in their destiny."
[88] Howard Kurtz of ''
The Washington Post,'' however, stated that Reagan was "a far more controversial figure in his time than the largely gushing obits on television would suggest,"
[89] and Mark Weisbrot, co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, says Reagan's "economic policies were mostly a failure."
[90]
Popularity
Reagan did not have the highest approval ratings as president,
[92] but the numbers have started climbing since 1989. A
Gallup Organization February 2007 poll asked respondents to name the greatest president in U.S. history; Reagan came in second, capturing 16% of the vote, after
Abraham Lincoln.
[93] In 2001, another Gallup poll ranked him as number one with 18% of the vote and a 5% margin of error.
[94] He ranked fifth in an ABC 2000 poll of the public and ninth in a
Rasmussen Reports 2007 poll of Americans. His popularity rankings tend to sway from time to time, however.
Honors
Reagan received a number of awards in his pre- and post-presidential years. After he was elected president, Reagan received a lifetime "Gold" membership in the Screen Actors Guild, as well as the
United States Military Academy's
Sylvanus Thayer Award.
[ Association of Graduates USMA: Sylvanus Thayer Award Recipients ]
Reagan received an
honorary British knighthood,
The Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1989. This entitled him to the use of the post-nominal letters GCB, but did not entitle him to be known as "Sir Ronald Reagan." Only two American Presidents have received the honor—Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
[95] While in England, he was named an honorary Fellow of
Keble College, Oxford. Also in 1989, Japan awarded Reagan the
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, Reagan being the only American President to receive such an award.
[96]
In 1993, the highest honor that the United States can give, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, was awarded to Ronald Reagan by his former Vice-President and sitting President George H. W. Bush.
[97] Reagan was also awarded the
Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed by the Republican members of the Senate.
[98]
On
February 6,
1998, Washington National Airport was renamed
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by a bill signed into law by President Clinton. Three years later, the
USS ''Ronald Reagan'' was christened by Nancy Reagan and the United States Navy. It is one of few ships christened in honor of a living person, and the first to be named in honor of a living former President.
[99] Also in 1998, the
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
[100] Reagan was among 18 included in
Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people in 1999.
Congress authorized the creation of
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site in Dixon, Illinois, in 2002, pending federal purchase of the property. On
May 16 of that year, Nancy Reagan accepted the
Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, on behalf of the President and herself.
[ Congressional Gold Medal Recipients 1776 to present ]
A President Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp was issued by the
United States Postal Service in 2005, following an unveiling of the stamp's image in a ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library four months earlier, with Nancy Reagan in attendance.
[ ] On
May 14,
CNN, along with the editors of ''
TIME'' magazine, named him the "most fascinating person" of the network's first 25 years.
[ Top 25: Fascinating People ] ''TIME'' also named Reagan one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.
[ Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century ] On
June 26,
2005, the
Discovery Channel asked its viewers to vote for
The Greatest American in an unscientific poll; Reagan received the honorary title.
[101]
California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady
Maria Shriver inducted Ronald Reagan into the
California Hall of Fame in 2006, located at
The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts. One year later, on
July 17, Ronald Reagan was posthumously awarded with the highest Polish distinction, the
Order of the White Eagle, by Polish President
Lech Kaczyński.
[57] Reagan backed the nation of
Poland throughout his presidency, supporting the anti-communist
Solidarity movement, along with
Pope John Paul II.
[103]
Footnotes
1. Appleby, Joyce (2003), pp. 924–26.
2. Kengor, Paul (2004), p. 16
3. Kengor, Paul (2004), p. 15
4. Cannon (2001), p. 2
5. Reagan, Ronald (1990), p. 27
6. "Ronald Reagan (1911~2004): Small town to tinseltown." CNN, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
7. Cannon (2001), p. 9
8. Ronald Reagan Hollywood Years
9. Cannon, Lou (2001), p. 15
10. The Screen; 'Kings Row,' With Ann Sheridan and Claude Rains, a Heavy, Rambling Film, Has Its First Showing Here at the Astor Bosley Crowther
11. USS Ronald Reagan: Significance of Horse and Rider
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