Changes

Ronald Reagan, born to a poor family in Illinois, was taught to read by his mother at home.<ref>http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/spring/schoolhouse.html</ref>  Like his father, Ronald was unsuccessful at most things in life, but had a positive attitude instilled in him by his mother and the "Disciples of Christ" evangelical Christian faith.  He played sports but was not very good; took economics in college but did poorly; became a second-rate sports broadcaster; and then went on to a second-rate movie career.  But through it all his upbeat optimism about people and America continued.

Ronald Reagan, born to a poor family in Illinois, was taught to read by his mother at home.<ref>http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/spring/schoolhouse.html</ref>  Like his father, Ronald was unsuccessful at most things in life, but had a positive attitude instilled in him by his mother and the "Disciples of Christ" evangelical Christian faith.  He played sports but was not very good; took economics in college but did poorly; became a second-rate sports broadcaster; and then went on to a second-rate movie career.  But through it all his upbeat optimism about people and America continued.

After serving in World War II (he was rejected for a promotion), he became a leader of the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood at a time when the communists were trying to infiltrate it.  Though a Democrat himself, Reagan found himself in the way of the communist infiltration.  He stood up to them, and they terrorized him in an attempt to intimidate him.  Reagan became an strong anti-communist that would guide him the rest of his life.

After serving in World War II (he was rejected for a promotion), he became a leader of the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood at a time when the communists were trying to infiltrate it.  Though a Democrat himself, Reagan found himself in the way of the communist infiltration.  He stood up to them, and they terrorized him in an attempt to intimidate him.  Reagan became strongly anti-communist, a principle that would guide him for the rest of his life.

After campaigning for the conservative Barry Goldwater for president in 1964 (Goldwater lost), Reagan ran for governor of California by emphasizing two points:  (1) "to send the welfare bums back to work," and (2) "to clean up the mess at Berkeley" (referring to the student and hippie protests).  Reagan won in a stunning upset.  Two years later, he showed up at the Republican National Convention in Miami in 1968, when Nixon was being nominated for president.  Your teacher laughed at people who went to shake Reagan's hand instead of Nixon's, but it turned out that Reagan would be much more influential than Nixon was.

After campaigning for the conservative Barry Goldwater for president in 1964 (Goldwater lost), Reagan ran for governor of California by emphasizing two points:  (1) "to send the welfare bums back to work," and (2) "to clean up the mess at Berkeley" (referring to the student and hippie protests).  Reagan won in a stunning upset.  Two years later, he showed up at the Republican National Convention in Miami in 1968, when Nixon was being nominated for president.  Your teacher laughed at people who went to shake Reagan's hand instead of Nixon's, but it turned out that Reagan would be much more influential than Nixon was.