Great President Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 - June 5, 2004) was the fortieth President of the United States (1981 - 1989) and the thirty-third Governor of California (1967 - 1975). Born and raised in Illinois, Reagan moved to California in the 1930s, where he became a Hollywood actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild, and a spokesman for General Electric. Once a New Deal Democrat, Reagan switched parties and became a Republican in 1962. After delivering his famous "Time for Choosing" speech, he was persuaded to seek the California Governorship, which he won in 1966. After serving two terms as governor, he made two presidential bids: the first, unsuccessful, in 1976; the second, which he won, in 1980.

Reagan began his presidency by introducing fiscally-expansive economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics." After surviving an assassination attempt in his first term, experiencing a period of economic growth, and ordering a military operation in Grenada, Reagan was reelected in a landslide in 1984. His administration soon saw a number of scandals, most notably the Iran-Contra Affair, although few seemed to have any effect on Reagan's personal popularity.

Reagan instituted his policy of "peace through strength" in an arms race with the Soviet Union. He rejected détente and confronted Communism, famously portraying the USSR as an "Evil Empire" and supporting anti-Communist movements worldwide. Reagan negotiated with Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to shrink both countries' nuclear arsenals and help bring a peaceful end to the Cold War.

After leaving office in 1989, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and died in 2004 at the age of ninety-three.

Reagan was born in a flat above the local bank building in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911 to John "Jack" Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan. As a boy, Reagan's father nicknamed his son "Dutch," due to his "fat little Dutchman" like appearance, and his "Dutchboy" haircut. The nickname stuck with him throughout his youth. Dutch's family briefly lived in several Illinois towns, including Chicago, until 1920, when his family settled in Dixon, Illinois. The Midwestern "small universe" made a lasting impression on Reagan: "I learned standards and values that would guide me the rest of my life...I learned that hard work is an essential part of life - that by and large, you don't get something for nothing - and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work hard."

Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he developed interests in acting and storytelling. His first job was that of a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon in 1926. He said he saved 77 lives during the seven summers that he worked there. After high school, Reagan attended Eureka College, where he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, majored in economics and sociology, and was very active in sports.