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'''Ronald Wilson Reagan''' (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004, age 93) served as the 40th [[President of the United States of America]] from 1981 to 1989. He was the 33rd Governor of [[California]] (1967–1975), following a successful career in film and television. He has been widely recognized as was one of the greatest American Presidents and the main inspiration for part of the conservative movement from since the late 1970s to . His victorious presidential debate with Jimmy Carter a week before the present1980 presidential election was the most-watched presidential debate in history until [[Donald Trump]]'s first debate with [[Hillary Clinton]] in 2016.

Reagan was a [[movement conservative]] who succeeded in moving the nation to the right in terms of reducing federal regulation and lowering taxes. He promoted Individual Liberty individual liberty and the conviction that government was the problem and private enterprise the solution. He cut taxes but despite his proposals, spending and the federal deficit went up. After a short sharp recession early in his first term, the economy was strong by 1984. Proclaiming "It's Morning Again in America", Reagan carried 49 of 50 states to win reelection. He moved the [[Supreme Court]] and the federal courts to the right with his appointments.

Reagan's [[Supply-side economics|supply-side economic]] policies were based on the [[libertarian]] ideas of [[Milton Friedman]] and the [[Chicago School of Economics]]. "Reaganomics" was based on the idea that tax cuts will spur savings and investment. Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of [[Big government]], advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government. During his terms in office, he faced a divided Congress split between Republican and Democratic control for six of his eight years as Presidentpresident. Reagan was known for forging alliances with "[[Blue DogConservative Coalition|boll weevil]]" (conservative) Democrats to overcome the apparent majority led by Democratic Speaker [[Tip O'Neill]].

In foreign affairs, Reagan rejected ''détente '' with the [[Soviet Union]], but not with [[China]]. His massive defense buildup forced the Soviets to confront their crumbling financial base. He rejected the legitimacy of Communism and in the [[Reagan Doctrine]] systematically challenged and eventually destroyed Soviet strength in the Third World. After 1986 the new leadership of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] who tried desperately to rescue Communism by cutting its losses; they came to terms with Reagan; the Communist empire collapsed in 1989 a few months after Reagan left office, and Communism was abolished (and Gorbachev repudiated) by Russia in 1991. Reagan is thus credited with achieving victory in the Cold War.<ref>Knopf (2004)</ref><ref>Multiple references:*Pinkerton, James P. (November 10, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2019/11/10/pinkerton-thirty-years-after-fall-wall-lets-recall-ronald-reagan-man-who-called-it/ Pinkerton: Thirty Years After the Fall of the Wall, Let’s Recall Ronald Reagan, the Man Who Called It]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved November 12, 2019.*Akan, Emel (November 20, 2019). [https://www.theepochtimes.com/lessons-from-reagans-epochal-battle-against-communism_3152456.html Reagan’s Epochal Battle Against Communism Offers Lessons]. ''The Epoch Times''. Retrieved November 20, 2019.*Edards, Lee (December 26, 2019). [https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/474669-how-ronald-reagan-won-the-cold-war How Ronald Reagan won the Cold War]. ''The Hill''. Retrieved December 26, 2019.</ref>

As a great communicator, and leader of the Republican party, he added a new base of "Reagan Democrats" (blue -collar workers who were social conservatives), religious [[evangelical]]s, and [[neoconservative]]s; his success became the model for Republicans into the 21st century.

By all accounts, including by many of his adversaries, Reagan was a highly intelligent individualwith an excellent sense of humor. He also contributed many new well-thought-through [[insight]]s to the general public that were not previously available.<ref>Tear Down This Wall, Laffer Curve, etc. See [[conservative insights]]</ref>

[[File:Ronald Reagan Young Boy.jpg|left|160px|thumb|Jack Reagan, Neil, Ronald, and his mother Nelle (from left to right) Photograph circa 1916-171916–17.]]

Reagan took religious values into the presidency that he learned from his [[Disciples of Christ]] background at home and at Eureka College, a Disciples school. He was strongly influenced by Ben Hill Cleaver, the minister of the First Christian Church<ref>The formal name of the denomination is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).</ref> in Dixon, Illinois, during the 1920s, and by Reagan's mother, Nelle, an active member of the church. At many points the positions taken by the Disciples Church of Reagan's youth coincided with the words, if not the beliefs of the latter-day Reagan. These positions included faith in Providence, the association of America's mission with God's will, belief in progress, trust in the work ethic and admiration for those who achieved wealth, an uncomfortableness with literature and art that questioned the family or challenged notions of proper sexual behavior, the presumption that poverty is an individual problem best left to charity rather than the state, sensitivity to problems involving alcohol and drugs, and reticence to use government to protect civil rights for minorities. Reagan's experiences in the church and with the Cleavers provided early training in public speaking and offered a way of learning in which acting played a central part. Reagan's use of the jeremiad and his fusing of Judeo-Christianity <ref>[https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganreligiousliberty.htm Ronald Reagan]. National Affairs Campaign Address on Religious Liberty (Abridged) - delivered 22 August 1980, Dallas Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas.</ref><ref>Tom Freiling (2003). ''Reagan's God and Country: A President's Moral Compass''. p. 19.</ref><ref>Reagan, R. (2005). Memorial Services in the Congress of the United States and Tributes in Eulogy of Ronald Reagan, Late a President of the United States. United States: U.S. Government Printing Office, [https://books.google.com/books?id=L-Oup8TM63MC&pg=PA24 p. 24].</ref><ref name=ae1966/> and patriotism into a civil religion also have their roots in this early period. For her part, Nelle was a pillar of the church and the one who provided stability to the shaky Reagan family when the head was drunkard and a poor provider. She helped spark her son's interest in acting and believed the stage could be a force for noble purposes.<ref>Stephen Vaughn, "The Moral Inheritance of a President: Reagan and the Dixon Disciples of Christ." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 1995 25(1): 109-127. 0360-4918</ref>

[[Image:Reagantheater.jpg‎|right|thumb|205px|Ronald Reagan and General Electric Theater. 1954-621954–62.]]Reagan's movie career faded in the late 1940s but he made a successful transition to television, especially as a host, and became a celebrity on the speakers' circuit. He traveled the country as a motivation speaker for [[General Electric]], attracting highly appreciative audiences for his polished, witty speeches based on a wide reading in current events and libertarian economic principles. Reagan also starred in the 1960s television series ''[[Death Valley Days]].''. By 1964 , he had appeared in over 50 more than fifty films.

While remaining a Democrat Reagan married Nancy Davis on March 4, 1952, at The Little Brown Church, located in the 1950sSan Fernando Valley, California. Nancy Davis's father was a strongly [[conservative]] neurosurgeon from the [[Midwest]], Dr. Loyal Davis, who had a big political influence on Reagan started to increasingly hold . By 1961, Reagan wrote a lengthy [[conservative points ]] article that was published by the [[Association of viewAmerican Physicians and Surgeons]],<ref>https://jpands. After org/vol27no4/reagan.pdf</ref> a conservative group of doctors founded in 1943. Reagan remained a registered Democrat in the 1950s, but actively supporting [[Richard Nixon]]'s campaign for president in 1960and had been developing [[conservative]] viewpoints while working for [[General Electric]].<ref>https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/01/ronald-reagans-conservative-conversion-as-spokesman-for-general-electric-during-the-1950s.html</ref> In 1962, Reagan felt that the [[Democrat Party]] had left him and he publicly switched his political parties and officially became party to become a Republican in 1962. He realized that he had diverged greatly from fully rejected the tax-and-spend liberalism of the Democratic Party, and its appeasement of [[communism]]. As a part of Reagan's change in viewpoints, he came to be a fan of former president [[Calvin Coolidge]], and would later replace a painting of Truman with that of Coolidge in the White House Cabinet Room.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1981/07/04/opinion/calvin-reagan.html Calvin Reagan], [[The New York Times]]</ref>

[[Image:Reagangovernor.jpg‎|left|thumb|275px|Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan at the Victory celebration for California Governor at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California 11/8/66.]] In the 1966 gubernatorial campaign, conservatives generally supported Reagan over George Christopher, the Republican mayor of [[San Francisco]].  Already at the 1966 campaign Reagan began to stress Judeo-Christianity.<ref name=ae1966>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/reagan/ The American Experience | Reagan]. [http://www.shoppbs.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/filmmore/transcript/transcript1.html Enhanced Transcript].<blockquote><small>Lyn Nofziger, Press Secretary: They looked at Ronald Reagan, that dumb actor and they said, oh man, this is the guy we want to run against. He has no political experience, ah he's not going to be able to handle himself well . Stu Spencer: So we devised a technique where he would give his twenty-minute speech and incidentally Ronald Reagan wrote all his own speeches when he ran for Governor in 1966. He'd give the twenty-minute speech and we'd open it to twenty minutes of Q and A for... for the people there at the meeting or the press, and if he could handle those questions we felt we could get over the hump of here's an empty person who doesn't know anything about government or doesn't have any real ideas. Reporter: Ronnie, where do you stand on the death penalty. Reagan: You just expressed a question which is also as much on the minds of the people in the state as Berkeley. This too is a question asked all over the state. And as I've answered to those other people, I would tell you I think all of us have wavered back and forth on this issue because of our Judeo-Christian background our questioning as to our right to take human life. But I believe we have the right to take human life in defense of our own.</small></blockquote></ref> Reagan defeated Christopher, and incumbent [[liberal]] [[Democrat]] [[Pat Brown]] in the general election, taking fifty-three of California's fifty-eight counties. Reagan's strategists wanted to emphasize libertarian support for smaller government and less taxation, as the state verged on a revolt against high property taxes. As student and black unrest exploded in the headlines, Reagan's call for [[Law and order]] won the votes of former liberals. Reagan's victory marked the end of New Deal liberalism in California.<ref>Dallek, Matthew. "Liberalism Overthrown." ''American Heritage'' (1996) 47(6): 39+ Fulltext online at Ebsco</ref>

At the Republican convention, victory came down to the Mississippi delegation which swung the nomination to Ford. However, given how difficult it is to run against an incumbent President president in a Primary, Reagan's campaign was surprisingly strong. On the first ballot, Ford had 1,187 delegates, Reagan had 1,070.<ref name=seventysix /> Ford had succeeded in becoming the party's nominee.

On January 28, 1986, the [[Space Shuttle Challenger]] disintegrated due to O-ring failure 73 seconds after lift-off. In response, Reagan gave a speech that is regarded as a high mark of his Presidencypresidency.<ref name=challenger>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/01/28/how-ronald-reagan-explained-the-challenger-disaster-to-the-world-its-all-part-of-taking-a-chance/ Exactly the right words, exactly the right way: Reagan’s amazing Challenger disaster speech], [[The Washington Post]]</ref> [[Peggy Noonan]] was chosen to write the speech who, at the time, was relatively unknown.<ref name=challenger /> In the speech, the freedom of the United States was highlighted in contrast to the tyranny of socialism, and the astronauts were honored as they were on their final journey to "touch the face of God".<ref>[http://history.nasa.gov/reagan12886.html Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, Address to the Nation, January 28, 1986], by President Ronald W. Reagan, [[NASA]]</ref>

Reagan revived the issue in 1984<ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40205 Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union], January 25, 1984</ref> noting the beliefs of the [[Founding Fathers]] on the importance of faith. He said: "America was founded by people who believed that God was their rock of safety. He is ours. I recognize we must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think it's all right to keep asking if we're on His side." Also in 1984, the Supreme Court reviewed a case regarding a moment of silence in schools.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19840712&id=vogzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dDIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=5416,1067751 Reagan urges school 'moment of silence']</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/05/us/high-court-weighs-silence-in-school-for-prayer-or-meditation.html High Court Weighs Silence in School for Prayer or Meditation], [[The New York Times]]</ref> In [[Wallace v. Jaffree]], the court ruled 6-3 6–3 against.<ref>[http://articles.latimes.com/1985-06-04/news/mn-6462_1_voluntary-prayer High Court Bars Moments of Silence for School Prayer : But Would Approve Meditation], [[Los Angeles Times]]</ref> Reagan received the support of boxing legend [[Muhammad Ali]] who said, "He's keeping God in schools and that's enough."<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/06/10/when-muhammad-ali-endorsed-ronald-reagan/?utm_term=.e84c75ad95f2</ref>

Fueled by an over spending [[Congress]] that steadfastly refused Reagan's budget proposals, the national debt increased 160% during his two terms in office. However, the economic growth that resulted from tax cuts made deficits as a percentage of [[GDP]] lower than what they had been in during the previous decade of stagflation. The period of high [[inflation]] and [[unemployment]] when Reagan took office was over after eight years of his Presidencypresidency. In 1986 Reagan signed the [[Tax Reform Act of 1986]], which obtained an overhaul of the income tax code and eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people with low incomes. The [[income tax]] rates of the top personal tax bracket dropped from 70% to 28% in 7 years. At the same time, Reagan sought to close tax loopholes so that the wealthy would not be able to get away with paying less tax than low to middle-income earners. By the end of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity without [[recession]] or [[depression]].<ref>[https://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html Ronald Reagan]</ref>

In 1986 [[Warren E. Burger]] announced his retirement from the Court. Reagan nominated [[Antonin Scalia]] to fill the vacant seat, at the same time that he elevated [[William Rehnquist]] for Chief Justice. Most of the opposition in the Senate focused their opposition on the Rehnquist nomination. Scalia was confirmed by a unanimous 98-0 98–0 vote, while Rehnquist was confirmed over substantial opposition.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/22/AR2007082200931.html Rehnquist Confirmed In 65-33 Senate Vote]</ref><ref>[https://www.loc.gov/law/find/nominations/scalia/vote.pdf Floor Vote - Scalia], September 17, 1986</ref>

The U.S. Senate rejected Bork's confirmation on a 42–58 vote. Reagan then turned to [[Douglas Ginsburg]], who withdrew his name from considerationwhen it was discovered he smoked [[marijuana]], which was [[illegal]], with his students. Finally, the much less controversial (but more [[liberal]]) Californian [[Anthony Kennedy]] was nominated, who was confirmed on a 97-0 97–0 vote.

Executive Order 12612 was rescinded with Executive Order 13083 by the [[authoritarian]] [[Democrat]] [[Bill Clinton]] on May 14, 1998.<ref>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=55957 Executive Order 13083 - Federalism]</ref><ref>[https://www.heritage.org/research/reports/1998/06/president-clintons-sellout-of-federalism President Clinton's Sellout of Federalism], [[Heritage Foundation]]</ref>

Shortly after taking office in 1981 Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive 11-8211–82, (NSDD 11-82), that explicitly made U.S. defense spending a form of economic warfare against the Soviets. The directive was known more unofficially as the Reagan Initiative, and was an incorporation of the principle of [[Peace through strength]].

There were humanitarian aspects to the proposal as well; (1) the [[Iran-Iraq War]] had stalemated for nearly six years and Reagan was advised that he was in the unique position as President president to help facilitate bringing a senseless war with much suffering to an end; (2) the suffering of the people of the Central American Republics at the hands of Soviet-inspired subversion which had in the decade of the '80s established a beachhead in North America; (3) Iran perhaps could be persuaded to use its good offices to influence hostage-takers in [[Lebanon]] who had held several Western prisoners, many of them Christian Missionaries, for several years.

*Reagan was the first and only divorced president.*Reagan was the first president to break the so-called "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]],", i.e., the first president elected in a twenty-year cycle who did not die in office (although an attempt was made on his life in 1981).

* Griscom Tom. "Core Ideas of the Reagan Presidency." In Thompson, ed., ''Leadership,'' 23-4823–48.

* Pach, Chester. "The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''(1): 75-8875–88. Fulltext in SwetsWise and Ingenta; Reagan declared in 1985 that the U.S. should not "break faith" with [[anti-Communist]] resistance groups. However, his policies varied as differences in local conditions and US security interests produced divergent policies toward "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Angola, and Cambodia.

* Burbank, Garin. "Governor Reagan and California Welfare Reform: the Grand Compromise of 1971." ''California History'' 1991 70(3): 278-289278–289. Issn: 0162-2897 * Burbank, Garin. "Governor Reagan's Only Defeat: The Proposition 1 Campaign in 1973." ''California History'' 72 (winter 1993-94): 360-73360–73.

* DeGroot, Gerard J. "'A Goddamned Electable Person': the 1966 California Gubernatorial Campaign of Ronald Reagan." ''History'' 1997 82(267): 429-448429–448. Issn: 0018-2648 Fulltext: in Swetswise, Ingenta and Ebsco * DeGroot, Gerard J. "Ronald Reagan and Student Unrest in California, 1966-1970." ''Pacific Historical Review'' 1996 65(1): 107-129107–129. Issn: 0030-8684 Fulltext: in Jstor

* Moore, Glen. "Ronald W. Reagan's Campaign for the Republican Party's 1968 Presidential Nomination." ''Proceedings and Papers of the Georgia Association of Historians'' (1992) 12[i.e., 13]: 57-7057–70. Issn: 0275-3863

* Cook, Daniel M. and Polsky, Andrew J. "Political Time Reconsidered: Unbuilding and Rebuilding the State under the Reagan Administration." ''American Politics Research''(4): 577-605577–605. ISSN 1532-673X Fulltext in SwetsWise. Argues Reagan slowed enforcement of pollution laws and transformed the national education agenda.

* Griscom Tom. "Core Ideas of the Reagan Presidency." In Thompson, ed., ''Leadership,'' 23-4823–48.

* Dobson, Alan P. "The Reagan Administration, Economic Warfare, and Starting to Close down the Cold War." ''Diplomatic History''(3): 531-556531–556. Fulltext in SwetsWise, Ingenta and Ebsco. Argues Reagan's public rhetoric against the USSR was harsh and uncompromising, giving rise to the idea that his administration sought to employ a US defense buildup and NATO economic sanctions to bring about the collapse of the USSR. Yet many statements by Reagan and Shultz suggest they desired negotiation with the Soviets from a position of American strength, not the eventual demise of the USSR.

* Ford, Christopher A. and Rosenberg, David A. "The Naval Intelligence Underpinnings of Reagan's Maritime Strategy." ''Journal of Strategic Studies''(2): 379-409379–409. Fulltext in Ingenta and Ebsco; Reagan's maritime strategy sought to apply US naval might against Soviet vulnerabilities on its maritime flanks. It was supported by a major buildup of US naval forces and aggressive exercising in seas proximate to the USSR; it explicitly targeted Moscow's strategic missile submarines with the aim of pressuring the Kremlin during crises or the early phases of global war. The maritime strategy represents one of the rare instances in history when intelligence helped lead a nation to completely revise its concept of military operations.

* Pach, Chester. "The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 2006 36(1): 75-8875–88. Issn: 0360-4918 [http://www.questia.com/read/5015817882?title=The%20Reagan%20Doctrine%3a%20Principle%2c%20Pragmatism%2c%20and%20Policy online edition]

* Goodnight, G. Thomas. "Ronald Reagan's Re-formulation of the Rhetoric of War: Analysis of the 'Zero Option,' 'Evil Empire,' and 'Star Wars' Addresses." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 72 (1986): 390-414390–414.

* Meyer, John C. "Ronald Reagan and Humor: A Politician's Velvet Weapon", ''Communication Studies'' 41 (1990): 76-8876–88. * Moore, Mark P. "Reagan's Quest for Freedom in the 1987 State of the Union Address." ''Western Journal of Communication'' 53 (1989): 52-6552–65.

* Reagan Ronald. ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Ronald Reagan. 1981-1989.'' 8 vols. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1982-911982–91.

[[Category:Former Democrats]]