Home About Chat Users Issues Party Candidates Polling Firms Media News Polls Calendar Key Races United States President Senate House Governors International

New User Account
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource." 
Email: Password:

  Reagan, Ronald
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationRepublican  
<-  1985-06-03  
 
NameRonald Reagan
Address
Pacific Palisades, California , United States
EmailNone
Website [Link]
Born February 06, 1911
DiedJune 05, 2004 (93 years)
Contributor411 Name Removed
Last ModifedRob Ritchie
Feb 06, 2024 11:49am
Tags English - Irish - Scottish - Divorced - Married - NRA - Union Member - Christian - Presbyterian - Protestant - Straight -
InfoRonald Wilson Reagan

When leaving office in 1988, President Reagan viewed with satisfaction the effects of what his supporters had dubbed the 'Reagan Revolution'. In his Farewell Address to the Nation, he proclaimed, 'We've done our part. And as I walk into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan Revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made a city stronger. We made a city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.'

Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in a small apartment above a bank in Tampico, Illinois to John (Jack) and Nelle Reagan. The Reagans finally settled in Dixon, where young Ron came to be known for his exploits as a lifeguard. Reagan spent summers lifeguarding at the Rock River, where in the course of six years, he pulled 77 struggling swimmers out of the water. Reagan attended Eureka College, where he majored in Economics and Sociology. While there, he won four varsity sweaters in football, and managed the lead in most school plays. As a freshman, Reagan led the Eureka student body on a strike when a number of professors were fired. It was not long before the school hired back the professors in question.

After graduating, Reagan went back to Dixon and applied for a job as manager of the sports department at a Montgomery Ward that had just opened in town. Reagan, because of his success in sports in high school and college, thought he had the job wrapped up, but was turned down. In the middle of the depression, he began traveling across the Midwest looking for a job in radio. Reagan was able to convince a radio station, which had turned down more qualified applicants, to hire him. It was not long before 'Dutch' Reagan could be heard broadcasting Big Ten football games. But his dream was to be an actor, and in 1937 a screen test lead him off to Hollywood. Over the next two decades he would appear in 53 films; in only one did he play a villain.

Several years later, Reagan became President of the Screen Actors Guild and found himself in the middle of the attempted communist takeover of the movie industry. He testified before Congress as a friendly witness, where he gave a powerful defense of the strength of democracy. Slowly, his political views began to shift from liberal to conservative. He was later hired as a spokesman for General Electric, and, in touring the country on their behalf, he was able to interact with many Americans, leading to his growing sense that the government was hindering the lives of Americans. In 1964 he gave a speech for Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and he burst onto the political scene as a prominent leader in the conservative movement. In 1966, he defeated incumbent Governor Pat Brown by nearly a million votes. In 1970 he won re-election.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan became the Republican nominee for President and chose Texas Congressman George Bush as his running mate. In a time when conventional politicians were cynical and many thought that America's best days were of the past, Reagan radiated optimism while speaking of an America whose best days were still ahead. Americans were ready for a change. With the economy out of control, inflation, interest rates, and unemployment all soaring, an American hostage crisis in Iran, and the Soviet Union on the march, Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter resoundingly, winning 489 electoral votes to Carter's 49.

On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States. In his first 100 days as President, Reagan met with a total of 467 legislators as he prepared to send his Economic Recovery Act to Congress. This was interrupted however, when on March 30, Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Reagan was rushed to George Washington Hospital, a bullet within an inch of his heart.

But it was not long after being shot that Reagan was back to work on his Economic Recovery Act. Remarkably, Reagan had convinced forty Democrats in the House to break ranks for the plan.

By 1984, as a Reagan campaign ad declared, it was 'morning again in America.' His tax cuts, true to Reagan's belief, had stimulated the economy and his defense buildup was beginning to take a large toll on the Soviets. In that election year, the Reagan-Bush team defeated Democrat challengers Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro by one of the largest margins in U.S. history, losing only Mondale's home of Minnesota and D.C.

It was during his second term that Reagan's policies towards the Soviet Empire began to evidence the results that Reagan had predicted years earlier. The political elite laughed when Reagan referred to the Soviets as an 'evil empire' and gasped when Reagan called for a nuclear arms buildup that would allow the U.S. to negotiate from a position of strength, but in the same year that Reagan left office, the Berlin Wall was on its way down, and shortly thereafter the Soviet Union itself would collapse.

Upon leaving office in 1989, Reagan said that he would remain active on what he called 'the mashed potato circuit' and, hopefully, spend some much longed for time at his beloved California ranch. Sadly these activities were cut short, when, in 1994, in an emotional letter to the American people, Reagan announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. With characteristic optimism, Reagan chose not to focus on his own hardship, but instead on his great love and hope for his country:

"In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. 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."
(from [Link] )

Reagan died on June 5, 2004 of pneumonia. After lying in state at the United States Capitol Rotunda and a funeral at the National Cathedral on June 12, Reagan was buried in a crypt beneath a memorial site at the Ronald Wilson Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California some 45 miles north of Los Angeles. A curved wall adorned with shrubbery and ivy lines the memorial and has a three-line inscription from Reagan, "I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life."


JOB APPROVAL POLLS
DateFirmApproveDisapproveDon't Know
06/13/2007-06/24/2007 Rasmussen Reports 72.00% ( 0.0) 22.00% ( 0.0) 5.00% ( 0.0)
01/12/1989-01/15/1989 CBS News 68.00% ( 0.0) 26.00% ( 0.0) 6.00% ( 0.0)
08/10/1974-08/15/1974 Field Poll 53.00% ( 7.0) 42.00% ( 6.0) 5.00% ( 1.0)
10/10/1972-10/15/1972 Field Poll 46.00% ( 0.0) 48.00% ( 4.0) 6.00% ( 4.0)
08/10/1971-08/15/1971 Field Poll 46.00% ( 11.0) 52.00% ( 15.0) 2.00% ( 4.0)
02/10/1970-02/15/1970 Field Poll 57.00% ( 1.0) 37.00% ( 1.0) 6.00% ( 2.0)
08/10/1969-08/15/1969 Field Poll 58.00% ( 2.0) 38.00% ( 5.0) 4.00% ( 3.0)
02/10/1969-02/15/1969 Field Poll 60.00% ( 12.0) 33.00% ( 15.0) 7.00% ( 3.0)
05/10/1968-05/15/1968 Field Poll 48.00% ( 10.0) 48.00% ( 15.0) 4.00% ( 5.0)
06/10/1967-06/15/1967 Field Poll 58.00% ( 0.0) 33.00% ( 0.0) 9.00% ( 0.0)
FAVORABILITY POLLS
DateFirmFavorableUnfavorableDon't Know
09/08/2011-09/11/2011 Public Policy Polling 60.00% ( 0.0) 30.00% ( 0.0) 10.00% ( 0.0)

BOOKS
Title Purchase Contributor
Where's the Rest of Me  Purchase Thomas Walker 
Ronald Reagan: An American Life  Purchase RP 
Reagan's War: The Epic Story of His Forty Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism  Purchase Tony82 
How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life  Purchase Tony82 
Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power  Purchase COSDem 

EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor
Apr 04, 2013 09:00am News Patti Davis says Reagan wouldn’t have opposed gay marriage  Article Brandonius Maximus 
Aug 30, 2012 03:45pm News Reagan hologram is real, was planned for RNC debut  Article Homegrown Democrat 
May 21, 2012 11:40pm General Foundation objects to auction of purported vial of Reagan's blood  Article RP 
May 18, 2012 04:30pm Amusing Funny letter from Ronald Reagan to seventh-grader resurfaces  Article Brandonius Maximus 
Mar 08, 2012 12:35pm Legal Ruling FBI Must Deliver Info on Informant Reagan  Article Craverguy 
Dec 08, 2011 12:00pm General Reagan was for taxing millionaires, says new Dem ad  Article Monsieur 

DISCUSSION
[View All
8
Previous Messages]
Importance? 10.00000 Average

FAMILY
Wife Jane Wyman Jan 26, 1940-Jun 28, 1948
Wife Nancy Reagan Mar 04, 1952-Jun 06, 2004
Daughter Maureen Reagan 1941-2001
Son Michael Reagan 1945-
Daughter Christine Reagan 1947-1947
Daughter Patti Davis 1952-
Son Ron Reagan 1958-

INFORMATION LINKS
A Time for Choosing (1964) - Ronald W. Reagan  Discuss
Congressional Gold Medal Recipient President Ronald Reagan  Discuss
Governor Ronald Reagan Inaugural Address January 2, 1967  Discuss
Governor Ronald Reagan Inaugural Address January 4, 1971  Discuss
President Ronald Reagan Inaugural Address January 20, 1981  Discuss
President Ronald Reagan Inaugural Address January 21, 1985  Discuss
Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient President Ronald W. Reagan  Discuss
REAGAN ADMINISTRATION CABINET MEMBERS  Discuss
REAGAN ADMINISTRATION DEPUTY CABINET OFFICIALS  Discuss
Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate - Ronald W. Reagan  Discuss
Remarks at the U.S. Ranger Monument on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day - Ronald W. Reagan  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - Address at Moscow State University (May 31, 1988)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - Address to the British Parliament (June 8, 1982)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - Address to the Nation on Iran-Contra (March 4, 1987)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp (May 5, 1985)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - Farewell Address (January 11, 1989)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - Remarks at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (November 11, 1988)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - Speech on the Geneva Summit (November 21, 1985)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (Feb 2, 1985)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (Feb 4, 1986)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (Jan 25, 1983)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (Jan 25, 1984)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (Jan 25, 1988)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (Jan 26, 1982)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan - State of the Union Address (Jan 27, 1987)  Discuss
Ronald Reagan: 1911-2004 - A CNN Special -  Discuss
Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech 1980  Discuss
Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech 1984  Discuss
Speech at the National Republican Convention 1992 - Ronald W. Reagan  Discuss
The Evil Empire - Ronald W. Reagan  Discuss
The Space Shuttle "Challenger" Tragedy Address - Ronald W. Reagan  Discuss
RACES
  12/17/1984 US President Won 97.58% (+95.17%)
  11/06/1984 US President National Vote Won 58.77% (+18.22%)
  11/06/1984 GU US President Won 63.97% (+29.02%)
  11/05/1984 Dixville Notch NH US President Won 96.67% (+93.33%)
  09/08/1984 NY US President - RTL Convention Lost 45.17% (-9.66%)
  08/23/1984 US President - R Convention Won 99.91% (+99.82%)
  07/01/1984 US President - R Primaries Won 98.78% (+97.93%)
  07/01/1984 US President - D Primaries Lost 0.06% (-38.26%)
  12/22/1980 TIME Man of the Year Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  12/15/1980 US President Won 90.89% (+81.78%)
  11/04/1980 US President National Vote Won 50.75% (+9.73%)
  11/04/1980 Jefferson - US President Won 55.91% (+22.96%)
  11/04/1980 Dixville Notch NH US President Won 73.91% (+60.87%)
  11/04/1980 GU US President Lost 38.38% (-18.65%)
  08/23/1980 NY US President - RTL Convention Lost 29.00% (-38.33%)
  07/17/1980 US President - R Convention Won 97.44% (+95.58%)
  06/03/1980 US President - R Primaries Won 59.79% (+35.98%)
  12/13/1976 US President Lost 0.19% (-55.02%)
  11/02/1976 US President National Vote Lost 0.00% (-50.06%)
  08/19/1976 US President - R Convention Lost 47.39% (-5.18%)
  08/19/1976 US Vice President - R Convention Lost 1.20% (-83.84%)
  07/01/1976 US President - R Primaries Lost 45.88% (-7.42%)
  11/03/1970 CA Governor Won 52.84% (+7.70%)
  08/08/1968 US President - R Convention Lost 9.69% (-56.20%)
  06/11/1968 US President - D Primaries Lost 0.07% (-38.66%)
  06/11/1968 US President - R Primaries Won 37.93% (+0.38%)
  05/14/1968 NE US President - Amer Primary Lost 1.19% (-96.63%)
  03/12/1968 NH US Vice President - R Primary Lost 11.14% (-18.66%)
  11/08/1966 CA Governor Won 57.55% (+15.28%)
  06/07/1966 CA Governor - D Primary Lost 1.05% (-50.86%)
  06/07/1966 CA Governor - R Primary Won 64.68% (+33.85%)
  11/01/1959 Screen Actors Guild President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/01/1951 Screen Actors Guild President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/01/1950 Screen Actors Guild President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/01/1949 Screen Actors Guild President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/01/1948 Screen Actors Guild President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/01/1947 Screen Actors Guild President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  03/10/1947 Screen Actors Guild President Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
ENDORSEMENTS
LA State House 081 - Special Runoff - Feb 18, 1989 R John S. Treen
WI District 2 - Nov 06, 1984 R Albert Lee Wiley, Jr.
WI District 02 - R Primary - Sep 14, 1982 R Albert Lee Wiley, Jr.
NJ District 12 - R Primary - Jun 08, 1982 R James A. Courter
PA District 11 - R Primary - Apr 22, 1980 R James L. Nelligan
Proposition 6 (Briggs Initiative) - Nov 07, 1978 NO No
TX District 19 - R Runoff - Jun 03, 1978 R Jim Reese
UT US Senate- R Primary - Sep 14, 1976 R Orrin G. Hatch
US Vice President - R Convention - Aug 19, 1976 R Richard S. Schweiker
CA US Senate - Nov 07, 1950 D Helen Gahagan Douglas
CA US President - Nov 02, 1948 D Harry S. Truman
MN US Senate - Nov 02, 1948 DFL Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr.