Ronald Reagan Biography

In the history of United States, a total of 44 presidents have been in office since 1789. These presidents are remembered for various achievements and distinctions during their reign. Among the 44, Ronald Reagan was the 40th president having resumed office after Jimmy   Carter and is recognized for his role in redefining the purpose of the government.[1]

The paper presents the biography of Ronald Reagan and his significant historical contributions during the cold war, the period after the second world war.

            Ronald Reagan was born on 6th February 1911 in Tampico town in Illinois. He was the second born to John Edward Reagan, a shoe salesman and Nelle Reagan. His father’s alcoholism made it difficult for the family to settle in one town down to joblessness until in 1920 when they ended in Illinois. Reagan attended Dixon high school where he developed acting and sporting interests. He later enrolled in Eureka college where he was an active member of the drama club and football and was then elected the student leader’s president in his final year.[2] He graduated in 1932 having attained Economics and Sociology bachelor’s degree but decided to focus on radio broadcasting where he got employment in one of the radio stations as a broadcaster commenting on baseball. Reagan impacted strongly on the radio presentation because of his vivid presentation as well as engaging voice. Later in 1937, he moved to Hollywood for a contract job with the Warner brothers. As a prolific actor, by the end of 1939, Reagan was being featured in nineteenth films. His proficiency in acting made the production work easier as producers mainly focused on his strengths and capabilities

            In 1942, Ronald starred in the king’s row film, which was a film revolving around double amputee. His perfect performance was positively complimented, making him a famous Hollywood actor but a short period after his fame in acting, he got recruitment into the U.S army active service.[3]

As an army member, Reagan worked for a short period after which he was barred by the commandants from serving out of the country due to poor eyesight. He served in public relations where he made some propaganda films and also aided in war loan drive aimed at raising money for war expenses. In 1940, Reagan married Jane Wyman, an actor who bore him two children but later divorced him in 1948, citing claims that she could not support her husband’s political ambitions. He then got married to Nancy Reagan in 1952 after four years of divorce.

            Ronald Reagan is always ranked among the most famous American presidents in history having been united states’ 40th president. He was a Democrat in the earlier periods of his life but later converted into politics due to his concern over spreading communism. In the 1950s Reagan became a famous anti-communist and an aggressive cold warrior. He served from 1967-1975 as California’s governor before he was designated united states’ president in 1980. During his tenure between 1981-1989, he played a significant role in ending the cold war which was a period of severe rivalry between united states of America and the Soviet Union.[4] The war had lasted since the end of second world war and the downfall of Soviet Union in the year 1991. The period involved stiff competition between the two worlds’ superpowers U.S and U.S.S.R in the acquisition of exceptional technology, strong military power development and power acquisition in varying ways. It led to frequent regional confrontations referred to proxy wars which included the Korean and Vietnam war. As the then president of U. S, Reagan took a firm stand against the war and had a courageous foreign policy attitude against U.S.S. R and communism. He denounced the Soviet Union an evil empire due to its cruelty.[5]

            President Reagan had a conviction that united states needed a mighty military army and tried to negotiate with U.S rivals, the Soviets about his expectations. Later in 1983, he suggested a missile system of defense referred to ‘strategic defense’ initiative where lasers and the rest of the art of technology would help in neutralizing the missiles. These projects inflicted fear among the Soviets giving United States negotiating benefit over U.S.S.R, though the plan never attained full deployment. With his powers, president Reagan enhanced spending on defense resulting to an arms race with Soviets.[6] The Soviet economy later became damaged as it was not in a position to handle the excessive spending on armaments. During his reign, he established a good rapport with soviet’s general secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader who ascended to leadership in 1985. Reagan mainly aimed at establishing a good relationship with the Soviets to attain easy conflict management to avoid escalated thermonuclear war.

            The two leaders held a meeting in Geneva in November 1985, where President Reagan encouraged Gorbachev to carry out reconstruction and transparency reforms (glasnost and perestroika) policies in Russia. The two strategies, glasnost also referred to openness showed soviet officials’ willingness to permit western mindsets and merchandise into USSR while perestroika initiative authorized regulated market incentives to the U.S.S.R citizens. The policies aimed at arms reduction and liberalization.  President Reagan aimed at reducing war’s threats so as to persuade Soviet leaders about the importance of cooperation in better service delivery to its people. He also advocated for openness and democracy in the USSR. Several treaties were signed up reducing nuclear armories on both sides.[7]

            On 12th June 1987, president Reagan toured west of Berlin where he gave a legendary speech at Brandenburg gate urging Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin wall. The wall had been built to strengthen the boundaries and also to prevent East Germany invasion to the west. Months after Reagan had left his office, in November 1989, the wall was torn down as the authorities of east and west Germany resolved to demolish the wall, prompting democratic revolutions all over Europe. The revolutions bore fruits as they resulted in the fall of communism in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, marking the culmination of the cold war which was officially affirmed over at a convention in Malta.[8] President Reagan served as U.S president from 1981-1989 and was praised by the Romans for his conservative republicanism, strong anti-communism and one of the famous contributors to the end of cold war. Reagan’s policies are credited for having contributed to the downfall of Soviet communism.

Conclusion

             Ronald Reagan received severe applause for his commendable work and remains to be the only movie actor who ever became U.S president. In August 1994, Reagan was diagnosed by medics with a disease called Alzheimer’s that involves continued brain deterioration and later succumbed to death due to pneumonia on 5th June 2004 in Los Angeles, California.

Bibliography

“Biography on Ronald Reagan - Google Scholar.” Accessed December 10, 2018. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&q=Biography+on+Ronald+Reagan.

”Exit with Honor | The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan | Taylor & Francis Group.” Accessed December 10, 2018. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317470878.

”President Reagan and the Cold War: Vision and Diplomacy | DocsTeach.” Accessed December 10, 2018. https://www.docsteach.org/activities/teacher/president-reagan-and-the-cold-war-vision-and-diplomacy.

”Ronald Reagan - HISTORY.” Accessed December 10, 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ronald-reagan.

”Ronald Reagan: The Politics of Symbolism : With a New Preface - Robert Dallek - Google Books.” Accessed December 10, 2018. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sye2geRWzpEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=Biography+on+Ronald+Reagan&ots=_QWauy6d2X&sig=yMWTpfa7XYeFZP_v5tuhpgcSXPc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Biography%20on%20Ronald%20Reagan&f=false.

[1]

”Ronald Reagan - HISTORY,” accessed December 10, 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ronald-reagan.

[2]

”Ronald Reagan: The Politics of Symbolism : With a New Preface - Robert Dallek - Google Books,” accessed December 10, 2018, https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sye2geRWzpEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=Biography+on+Ronald+Reagan&ots=_QWauy6d2X&sig=yMWTpfa7XYeFZP_v5tuhpgcSXPc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Biography%20on%20Ronald%20Reagan&f=false.

[3]

”Biography on Ronald Reagan - Google Scholar,” accessed December 10, 2018, https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&q=Biography+on+Ronald+Reagan.

[4]

”President Reagan and the Cold War: Vision and Diplomacy | DocsTeach,” accessed December 10, 2018, https://www.docsteach.org/activities/teacher/president-reagan-and-the-cold-war-vision-and-diplomacy.

[5]

”Ronald Reagan: The Politics of Symbolism : With a New Preface - Robert Dallek - Google Books.”

[6]

”Ronald Reagan - HISTORY.”

[7]

”Exit with Honor | The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan | Taylor & Francis Group,” accessed December 10, 2018, https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317470878.

[8]

”President Reagan and the Cold War: Vision and Diplomacy | DocsTeach.”