Biography And Political Career Of Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, our 40th president of the United States, was a very liked and popular president. He was most known for his peacemaking efforts, his focus on space exploration, his love for jelly beans, his friendly personality, and his good sense of humor. Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, to Nelle (his mother) and Neil (his father) Reagan. He only had one sibling, an older brother named Jack. Ronald was a very active boy. Although he was small for his age, in high school, he played on his high school’s football team, and in the summer worked as a lifeguard and construction worker to build up his muscles. Ronald really wanted to go to Eureka college, but his family was poor and couldn’t pay for it. Fortunately, he got a scholarship to play on the football team. He worked for many different jobs there, including washing dishes at a fraternity to help pay for the rest of the tuition.

At Eureka, he studied economics and sociology, and soon became very interested in drama. When Ronald graduated in 1932, he decided to start his acting career. He first got a job as a sports announcer for the WOC radio. He was very successful and soon was moved to a bigger station, WHO, announcing for the Chicago Cubs. It was through this position that he got his first big break, an audition to try out for a movie role in Hollywood. He was offered a seven year movie contract with Warner Brothers Studio! He soon met Jane Wyman who he would marry in 1940 and had a daughter named Maureen in 1941. Ronald wanted to help with World War II, so in 1942, Reagan joined the U. S. Army Air Force. When the war ended in 1945, he returned to Hollywood to act. One of his most famous movies was Knute Rockne: All American, where he played George Gipp, a Notre Dame college football player. He and Jane then adopted a baby boy named Michael, to complete their family. Unfortunately, due to interests moving apart between them, they got divorced on June 29, 1948.

Reagan remarried in 1952 to Nancy Davis. Together they had two children, Patti and Ronald Jr. They remained married until his death. His interest changed from acting to politics and he ran for the governor of California in 1966 and won! He served two terms in 1967 and 1971 but declined running for a third term. Reagan worked hard in each area of his life, and had great success as an athlete, actor, and a politician. After Ronald Reagan finished his second term as governor, in 1976 he decided he would run for president. Unfortunately, the other Republican who was running, Gerald Ford, defeated him. But then, Democrat Jimmy Carter, defeated Ford. Although Reagan was upset he didn’t win the election, he persevered and decided to run again in 1980. His opponent was Jimmy Carter, who had already been in office for four years. Luckily, he defeated Carter, and became the nations 40th president! His inauguration took place on January 20, 1981. Nancy Reagan, his wife, was the First Lady. She helped stop the drug use of teens, called “Just Say No. ”President Reagan faced many problems during his presidency. On March 30, 1981, a man named John Hinckley Jr. , tried to assassinate him. They rushed him to the hospital immediately, and unfortunately, the doctors discovered that one of his lungs was damaged. The doctors performed surgery on him, and luckily, he recovered and quickly returned back to work. Even through times like this, Reagan still kept his humor. When he was brought into the operating room, he said to the surgeons, “I hope you’re all Republicans. ” Reagan also loved jellybeans. As governor and president, he always kept a jar of red, white, and blue jellybeans on his desk.

During his first and second term as president, Reagan was trying to work on the nation’s relationship with other countries, specifically between the Soviet Union. The U. S. was worried because the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons. So, Reagan wanted to increase the making of nuclear weapons as a show of U. S. strength. Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet Union’s leader in March 1985. He and Reagan met several times together, and over time they started to develop a friendship. Then on December 8, 1987, they both signed an agreement called the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. This was a big improvement of helping the relationship between the two countries. In the middle of all of this, doctors unexpectedly discovered he had cancer.