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Who is Ronald Reagan?. Born in Tampico, IL in 1911 Interested in acting and sports in school Lived through the depression and ended up with liberal/Democratic ideals. Got jobs working in radio Announced Iowa football games and Chicago Cubs baseball games - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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• Born in Tampico, IL in 1911• Interested in acting and sports in school• Lived through the depression and ended up
with liberal/Democratic ideals
• Got jobs working in radio– Announced Iowa football games and Chicago Cubs
baseball games
• Appeared in over 50 movies in his acting career– Most famous role was George “the Gipper” Gipp
in Knute Rockne: All American
• Reagan enlisted in the Army reserves in 1937– Could not serve overseas due to nearsightedness
• Ended up making over 400 army training films before the end of the war
• Reagan became president of the Screen Actors Guild
• Spoke in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) during the Red Scare– Confirmed his anti-communist stance while also
claiming the U.S. should not be run on fear
• Married Jane Wynman in 1940 and was divorced in 1949 due to opposition to his political ambitions– Had two children and adopted another
• Married Nancy Davis in 1952 and remained marries until Reagan’s death– Had two children
• Reagan was a registered Democrat and admired Roosevelt– Family lived through the depression
• Hosted GE Theatre and gave speeches at GE plants– Controversial political themes led to his firing
• Registered as a Republican and supported Barry Goldwater in 1964– Gave a speech that started his political career
• Reagan was elected governor of California in 1966– Campaign of sending the “welfare bums back to
work” and “cleaning up Berkley”
• Sent police and National Guard to put down several protests in Berkley
• Did not run for reelection after 1974
• Reagan ran for the Republican nomination in 1976 against incumbent Gerald Ford
• Ran on a more conservative platform; Ford was more moderate
• Lost the nomination by 100 delegates
• Reagan ran for president on these principles– Lower taxes, smaller government, state’s rights,
strong national defense
• Picked George H.W. Bush as his running mate• Defeated Carter 489 electoral votes to 49
• Reagan wanted to raise American moral by limiting government– “Government is not the solution to our problems.
Government is the problem.”
• Air Traffic Controllers went on strike – Reagan ended up firing 11,000 controllers
• Reaganomics helped to raise the country’s GDP, decrease unemployment and inflation, and helped create 16 million jobs
• Promoted trickle-down economics– Cut taxes on the upper class and let the extra
money trickle down to the lower class
• Reagan cut budgets for nonmilitary services– Medicaid, food stamps, educational programs
• After a stock market crash in 1987 the U.S. had to borrow excessively raising the debt from $700 bill. to $3 trill.
• Reagan sent troops into Lebanon and Grenada to protect American interests
• Increased the production of nuclear arms– Going against earlier reduction agreements
• Provided aid to foreign countries to fight against communism– Supported Afghanis, including Osama bin Laden
• Reagan beat Walter Mondale in 1984 525 electoral votes to 13
• Put $1.8 bill. toward the “War on Drugs”– Nancy focused on “Just Say No”
• Bombed Libya after U.S. soldiers were attacked
• Iran-Contra affair hurt Reagan’s popularity– Sold guns to Iran and sent that money to Contra
soldiers in Nicaragua who opposed the communist government
– Interfering in Nicaraguan affairs was illegal – 14 were indicted from Reagan’s staff