preview

Ronald Reagan

Good Essays

President Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois (Huckshorn 1). He was born in a small apartment above the Pitney General Store (Life Before 1). John Edward Reagan (his father) was a shoe salesman that was an alcoholic. The first time he saw his son he said, "For such a little bit of a fat Dutchman, he makes a hell of a lot of noise, doesn 't he" (Life Before 1). This led to his nickname, "Dutch." Reagan 's father barely had a grade-school education, but he loved his children. He tried to earn a living for his family, but it was difficult because he was an "alcoholic". Reagan 's father 's luck changed when he was chosen to be the Dixon director of the Works Progress Administration. This was a …show more content…

This turned many in the favor of Reagan. "It was the worst defeat of an incumbent president since Hoover 's loss to FDR in 1932. Carter won only four small states plus his home state of Georgia" (Campaigns 4). Republicans again selected Reagan and Bush to run in 1984. The Democrats selected Walter Mondale. Reagan used many one-liners that poked fun at his adversaries. Mondale believed that the high deficits and unbalanced budget would put the public in his favor and against Reagan, but it did not happen. Reagan 's campaign slogan was "It 's morning again in America" was accepted by most of middle-Americans" (Campaigns 7) The Reagan 's years can be said to be of the nation who loved their president. They forgave his mistakes and overlooked his wrongs. Reagan was shot ten weeks after his inauguration and Reagan turned this into a lesson of courage. Reagan 's courage and humor endeared him to even his enemies. "Reagan early on showed his mettle for tough-minded and decisive action when he took on the 11,600 Air Traffic Controller 's union" (Prime-Time 1). They had called an illegal strike and Reagan was not afraid to fire them when they were given a back-to-work order. This led the public to see Reagan as a strong leader. Reagan led the move to cut government spending in 1981 by cutting more than $25 billion from welfare programs with another $20 billion to be implemented in 1982 and 1983. Reagan

Get Access