Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan
40th President of the United States
In office January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989
Vice President	George H. W. Bush
Preceded by	Jimmy Carter
Succeeded by	George H. W. Bush
33rd Governor of California
In office January 2, 1967 – January 6, 1975
Lieutenant	Robert Finch (1967–69) Edwin Reinecke (1969–74) John L. Harmer (1974–75)
Preceded by	Pat Brown
Succeeded by	Jerry Brown
Personal details
Born	Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-02-06)February 6, 1911 Tampico, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 5, 2004(2004-06-05) (aged 93) Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California 34°15′32″N 118°49′14″W / 34.25899°N 118.82043°W / 34.25899; -118.82043
Political party	Republican (1962 and after)
Other political affiliations	Democratic (before 1962)
Spouse(s)	Jane Wyman  (m. 1940; div. 1949) Nancy Davis  (m. 1952; his death 2004)
Relations	Neil Reagan (brother)
Children	Maureen Reagan Christine Reagan Michael Reagan (adopted) Patti Davis Ron Reagan
Parents	Jack Reagan Nelle Wilson Reagan
Alma mater	Eureka College
Profession	Politician, actor
Religion	Christianity (Presbyterianism)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	U.S. Army Air Forces
Years of service	1937–45
Rank	Captain
Unit	18th Army Air Forces Base Unit

Ronald Wilson Reagan (/ˈrɒnəld ˈwɪlsən ˈreɪɡən/; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–89). Before his presidency he served as the 33rd Governor of California (1967–75) and was also an actor from 1937 to 1964.

Born and raised in small towns in Illinois, Reagan graduated from Eureka College and then worked as a radio broadcaster. He moved to Hollywood in 1937, where he began a career as an actor, first in films and later in television. Reagan served as President of the Screen Actors Guild and later as a spokesman for General Electric (G.E.); his start in politics occurred during his work for G.E. Originally, he was a member of the Democratic Party, but due to the parties' shifting platforms during the 1950s, he switched to the Republican Party in 1962.^[1]

After delivering a speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 and in 1976, but won both the nomination and general election in 1980, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.^[1]

As president, Reagan implemented sweeping new political and economic initiatives. His supply-side economic policies, dubbed "Reaganomics", advocated reducing tax rates to spur economic growth, controlling the money supply to reduce inflation, deregulation of the economy, and reducing government spending. In his first term he survived an assassination attempt, spoke out in favor of labor unions,^[2] escalated the War on Drugs, and ordered an invasion of Grenada to reverse a Communist coup.

He was re-elected in a landslide in 1984, proclaiming that it was "Morning in America". His second term was primarily marked by foreign matters, such as the ending of the Cold War, the 1986 bombing of Libya, and the revelation of the Iran–Contra affair. Publicly describing the Soviet Union as an "evil empire",^[3] he supported anti-communist movements worldwide and spent his first term forgoing the strategy of détente in favor of rollback by escalating an arms race with the USSR. Reagan subsequently negotiated with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, culminating in the INF Treaty and the decrease of both countries' nuclear arsenals. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union occurred soon afterward.

Reagan left office in 1989. In 1994, the former president disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease earlier in the year; he died ten years later at the age of 93. A conservative icon, he ranks highly in public opinion polls of U.S. Presidents and is credited for generating an ideological movement or paradigm shift on the American political right.

Early life

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in an apartment on the second floor of a commercial building in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911, the son of Nelle Clyde (Wilson) and John Edward "Jack" Reagan.^[4] Reagan's father was a salesman and a storyteller, the grandson of Irish Catholic immigrants from County Tipperary,^[5] while his mother was of half Scots and half English descent (Reagan's maternal grandmother was born in Surrey, England).^[6] Reagan had one older brother, Neil (1908–96), who became an advertising executive.^[7] As a boy, Reagan's father nicknamed his son "Dutch", due to his "fat little Dutchman"-like appearance, and his "Dutchboy" haircut;^[8] the nickname stuck with him throughout his youth.^[8] Reagan's family briefly lived in several towns and cities in Illinois, including Monmouth, Galesburg, and Chicago,^[9] in 1919, they returned to Tampico and lived above the H.C. Pitney Variety Store until finally settling in Dixon.^[4] After his election as president, residing in the upstairs White House private quarters, Reagan would quip that he was "living above the store again".^[10]

According to Paul Kengor, author of God and Ronald Reagan, Reagan had a particularly strong faith in the goodness of people, which stemmed from the optimistic faith of his mother, Nelle,^[11] and the Disciples of Christ faith,^[11] which he was baptized into in 1922.^[12] For the time, Reagan was unusual in his opposition to racial discrimination, and recalled a time in Dixon when the local inn would not allow black people to stay there. Reagan brought them back to his house, where his mother invited them to stay the night and have breakfast the next morning.^[13]

After the closure of the Pitney Store in late 1920, the Reagans moved to Dixon;^[14] the midwestern "small universe" had a lasting impression on Reagan.^[15] He attended Dixon High School,^[16] where he developed interests in acting, sports, and storytelling.^[17] His first job was as a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon, in 1927. Over a six-year period, Reagan reportedly performed 77 rescues as a lifeguard, notching a mark on a wooden log for each one.^[17] Reagan attended Eureka College, where he became a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, a cheerleader,^[18][19] and majored in economics and sociology. He developed a reputation as a jack of all trades, excelling in campus politics, sports and theater. He was a member of the football team, captain of the swim team and was elected student body president. As student president, Reagan led a student revolt against the college president after he tried to cut back the faculty.^[20]

Entertainment career

Radio and film

After graduating from Eureka in 1932, Reagan drove himself to Iowa, where he auditioned for a job at many small-town radio stations.^[21] The University of Iowa hired him to broadcast home football games for the Hawkeyes. He was paid $10 per game.^[21] Soon after, a staff announcer's job opened at radio station WOC in Davenport, and Reagan was hired, now earning $100 per month.^[21] Aided by his persuasive voice,^[21] he moved to WHO radio in Des Moines as an announcer for Chicago Cubs baseball games.^[22] His specialty was creating play-by-play accounts of games using as his source only basic descriptions that the station received by wire as the games were in progress.^[21]

While traveling with the Cubs in California, Reagan took a screen test in 1937 that led to a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers studios.^[23] He spent the first few years of his Hollywood career in the "B film" unit, where, Reagan joked, the producers "didn't want them good, they wanted them Thursday".^[21] While sometimes overshadowed by other actors, Reagan's screen performances did receive many good reviews.^[21]

His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie Love Is on the Air, and by the end of 1939 he had already appeared in 19 films,^[24] including Dark Victory with Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Before the film Santa Fe Trail with Errol Flynn in 1940, he played the role of George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film Knute Rockne, All American; from it, he acquired the lifelong nickname "the Gipper".^[25] In 1941 exhibitors voted him the fifth most popular star from the younger generation in Hollywood.^[26]

Reagan's favorite acting role was as a double amputee in 1942's Kings Row,^[27] in which he recites the line, "Where's the rest of me?", later used as the title of his 1965 autobiography. Many film critics considered Kings Row to be his best movie,^[28] though the film was condemned by New York Times critic Bosley Crowther.^[29][30]

Although Reagan called Kings Row the film that "made me a star",^[31] he was unable to capitalize on his success because he was ordered to active duty with the U.S. Army at San Francisco two months after its release, and never regained "star" status in motion pictures.^[31] In the post-war era, after being separated from almost four years of World War II stateside service with the 1st Motion Picture Unit in December 1945, Reagan co-starred in such films as, The Voice of the Turtle, John Loves Mary, The Hasty Heart, Bedtime for Bonzo, Cattle Queen of Montana, Tennessee's Partner, Hellcats of the Navy (the only film in which he appears with Nancy Reagan) and the 1964 remake The Killers (his final film and the only one in which he played a villain).^[32] Throughout his film career, his mother often answered much of his fan mail.^[33]

Military service

After completing fourteen home-study Army Extension Courses, Reagan enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve on April 29, 1937, as a private assigned to Troop B, 322nd Cavalry at Des Moines, Iowa.^[34] He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Officers Reserve Corps of the cavalry on May 25, 1937.^[35]

Reagan was ordered to active duty for the first time on April 18, 1942. Due to his poor eyesight, he was classified for limited service only, which excluded him from serving overseas.^[36] His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation at Fort Mason, California, as a liaison officer of the Port and Transportation Office.^[37] Upon the approval of the Army Air Force (AAF), he applied for a transfer from the cavalry to the AAF on May 15, 1942, and was assigned to AAF Public Relations and subsequently to the First Motion Picture Unit (officially, the "18th Army Air Force Base Unit") in Culver City, California.^[37] On January 14, 1943, he was promoted to first lieutenant and was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of This Is The Army at Burbank, California.^[37] He returned to the First Motion Picture Unit after completing this duty and was promoted to captain on July 22, 1943.^[34]

In January 1944, Reagan was ordered to temporary duty in New York City to participate in the opening of the Sixth War Loan Drive. He was reassigned to the First Motion Picture Unit on November 14, 1944, where he remained until the end of World War II.^[34] He was recommended for promotion to major on February 2, 1945, but this recommendation was disapproved on July 17 of that year.^[38] While with the First Motion Picture Unit in 1945, he was indirectly involved in discovering actress Marilyn Monroe.^[39] He returned to Fort MacArthur, California, where he was separated from active duty on December 9, 1945.^[38] By the end of the war, his units had produced some 400 training films for the AAF.^[34]

Reagan never left the United States during the war, though he kept a film reel, obtained while in the service, depicting the liberation of Auschwitz, as he believed that someday doubts would arise as to whether the Holocaust had occurred.^[40] It has been alleged that he was overheard telling Israeli foreign minister Yitzhak Shamir in 1983 that he had filmed that footage himself and helped liberate Auschwitz,^[40][41] though this purported conversation was disputed by Secretary of State George Shultz.^[42]

SAG president

Reagan was first elected to the Board of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild in 1941, serving as an alternate. After World War II, he resumed service and became 3rd vice-president in 1946.^[43] The adoption of conflict-of-interest bylaws in 1947 led the SAG president and six board members to resign; Reagan was nominated in a special election for the position of president and subsequently elected.^[43] He was subsequently chosen by the membership to serve seven additional one-year terms, from 1947 to 1952 and in 1959.^[43] Reagan led SAG through eventful years that were marked by labor-management disputes, the Taft-Hartley Act, House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings and the Hollywood blacklist era.^[43]

Secret FBI informant in Hollywood

During the late 1940s, Reagan and his wife provided the FBI with names of actors within the motion picture industry whom they believed to be communist sympathizers, though he expressed reservations; he said "Do they expect us to constitute ourselves as a little FBI of our own and determine just who is a Commie and who isn't?".^[44]

Reagan testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee on the subject as well.^[45] A fervent anti-communist, he reaffirmed his commitment to democratic principles, stating, "I never as a citizen want to see our country become urged, by either fear or resentment of this group, that we ever compromise with any of our democratic principles through that fear or resentment."^[45]

Television

Though an early critic of television, Reagan landed fewer film roles in the late 1950s and decided to join the medium.^[21] He was hired as the host of General Electric Theater, a series of weekly dramas that became very popular.^[21] His contract required him to tour GE plants sixteen weeks out of the year, often demanding of him fourteen speeches per day.^[21] He earned approximately $125,000 per year (about $1.07 million in 2010 dollars) in this role. His final work as a professional actor was as host and performer from 1964 to 1965 on the television series Death Valley Days.^[46] Reagan and Nancy Davis appeared together several times, including an episode of General Electric Theater in 1958 called "A Turkey for the President".^[47]

Marriages and children

In 1938, Reagan co-starred in the film Brother Rat with actress Jane Wyman (1917–2007). They were engaged at the Chicago Theatre,^[48] and married on January 26, 1940, at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather church in Glendale, California.^[49] Together they had two biological children, Maureen (1941–2001) and Christine (who was born in 1947 but only lived one day), and adopted a third, Michael (born 1945).^[50] After arguments about Reagan's political ambitions, Wyman filed for divorce in 1948,^[51] citing a distraction due to her husband's Screen Actors Guild union duties; the divorce was finalized in 1949.^[25] He is the only US president to have been divorced.^[52] Reagan and Wyman continued to be friends until his death, with Wyman voting for Reagan in both of his runs and, upon his death, saying "America has lost a great president and a great, kind, and gentle man."^[53]

Reagan met actress Nancy Davis (born 1921)^[54] in 1949 after she contacted him in his capacity as president of the Screen Actors Guild to help her with issues regarding her name appearing on a Communist blacklist in Hollywood. She had been mistaken for another Nancy Davis. She described their meeting by saying, "I don't know if it was exactly love at first sight, but it was pretty close."^[55] They were engaged at Chasen's restaurant in Los Angeles and were married on March 4, 1952, at the Little Brown Church in the San Fernando Valley.^[56] Actor William Holden served as best man at the ceremony. They had two children: Patti (born October 21, 1952) and Ron (born May 20, 1958).

Observers described the Reagans' relationship as close, authentic and intimate.^[57] During his presidency they were reported to frequently display their affection for one another; one press secretary said, "They never took each other for granted. They never stopped courting."^[55][58] He often called her "Mommy" and she called him "Ronnie".^[58] He once wrote to her, "Whatever I treasure and enjoy ... all would be without meaning if I didn't have you."^[59] When he was in the hospital in 1981, she slept with one of his shirts to be comforted by his scent.^[60] In a letter to U.S. citizens written in 1994, Reagan wrote "I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.... I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience",^[55] and in 1998, while Reagan was stricken by Alzheimer's, Nancy told Vanity Fair, "Our relationship is very special. We were very much in love and still are. When I say my life began with Ronnie, well, it's true. It did. I can't imagine life without him."^[55]

Early political career

Reagan began his political career as a Democrat and, in December 1945, was prevented from leading an anti-nuclear rally in Hollywood by pressure from the Warner Bros. studio. He would later make nuclear weapons a key point of his presidency, specifically his opposition to mutually assured destruction, building on previous efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons to a new focus to reduce the numbers and types of them.^[61] In the 1948 election, Reagan strongly supported Harry S. Truman, appearing on stage with him during a campaign speech in Los Angeles.^[62] However, in the early 1950s, as his relationship with Republican actress Nancy Davis grew,^[63][64] he shifted to the right and, while remaining a Democrat, endorsed the presidential candidacies of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 as well as Richard Nixon in 1960.^[65] The last time Reagan actively supported a Democratic candidate was in 1950 when he helped Helen Gahagan Douglas in her unsuccessful Senate campaign against Richard Nixon.^[66]

After being hired in 1954 to host the General Electric Theater, a TV drama series,^[67] Reagan soon began to embrace the conservative views of the sponsoring company's officials.^[67][68] His many GE speeches—which he wrote himself—were non-partisan but carried a conservative, pro-business message; he was influenced by Lemuel Boulware, a senior GE executive. Boulware, known for his tough stance against unions and his innovative strategies to win over workers, championed the core tenets of modern American conservatism: free markets, anticommunism, lower taxes, and limited government.^[69] Eventually, the ratings for Reagan's show fell off and GE dropped Reagan in 1962.^[70] In August of that year, Reagan formally switched to the Republican Party, stating, "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me".^[71]

In the early 1960s Reagan opposed certain civil rights legislation, saying that "if an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, it is his right to do so."^[72] When legislation that would become Medicare was introduced in 1961, Reagan created a recording for the American Medical Association warning that such legislation would mean the end of freedom in America. Reagan said that if his listeners did not write letters to prevent it, "we will awake to find that we have socialism. And if you don't do this, and if I don't do it, one of these days, you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children's children, what it once was like in America when men were free."^[73][74][75] He also joined the National Rifle Association and would become a lifetime member.^[76]

Reagan endorsed the campaign of conservative presidential contender Barry Goldwater in 1964. Speaking for Goldwater, Reagan stressed his belief in the importance of smaller government. He revealed his ideological motivation in a famed speech delivered on October 27, 1964: "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing."^[77] He also said, "You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream – the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order – or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism."^[77][78] This "A Time for Choosing" speech, which later became known as "The Speech", raised $1 million for Goldwater's campaign^[21] and is considered the event that launched Reagan's political career.^[79]

Governor of California, 1967–75

California Republicans were impressed with Reagan's political views and charisma after his "Time for Choosing" speech,^[80] he announced in late 1965, his campaign for Governor of California in 1966. He defeated former San Francisco mayor George Christopher in the GOP primary. In Reagan's campaign, he emphasized two main themes: "to send the welfare bums back to work", and, in reference to burgeoning anti-war and anti-establishment student protests at the University of California at Berkeley, "to clean up the mess at Berkeley".^[81] Ronald Reagan accomplished in 1966 what US Senator William F. Knowland in 1958 and former Vice-President Richard M. Nixon in 1962 had tried: he was elected, defeating two-term governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, and was sworn in on January 2, 1967. In his first term, he froze government hiring and approved tax hikes to balance the budget.^[82]

Shortly after the beginning of his term, Reagan tested the presidential waters in 1968 as part of a "Stop Nixon" movement, hoping to cut into Nixon's Southern support^[83] and be a compromise candidate^[84] if neither Nixon nor second-place Nelson Rockefeller received enough delegates to win on the first ballot at the Republican convention. However, by the time of the convention Nixon had 692 delegate votes, 25 more than he needed to secure the nomination, followed by Rockefeller with Reagan in third place.^[83]

Reagan was involved in high-profile conflicts with the protest movements of the era. On May 15, 1969, during the People's Park protests at UC Berkeley, Reagan sent the California Highway Patrol and other officers to quell the protests, in an incident that became known as "Bloody Thursday", resulting in the death of student James Rector and the blinding of carpenter Alan Blanchard.^[85][86] Reagan then called out 2,200 state National Guard troops to occupy the city of Berkeley for two weeks to crack down on the protesters.^[85] A year after "Bloody Thursday", Reagan responded to questions about campus protest movements saying, "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with. No more appeasement."^[87] When the Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst in Berkeley and demanded the distribution of food to the poor, Reagan joked to a group of political aides about a botulism outbreak contaminating the food.^[88] Conversely, in that one afternoon, "Bloody Thursday", 111 police officers were injured, including one C.H.P. officer who was knifed in the chest. After calling in the National Guard, the Guard remained in Berkeley for 17 days, camping in People's Park, and demonstrations subsided as the University removed cordoned-off fencing and placed all development plans for People's Park on hold.^[85][89]

Early in 1967, the national debate on abortion was beginning. Democratic California state senator Anthony Beilenson introduced the "Therapeutic Abortion Act", in an effort to reduce the number of "back-room abortions" performed in California.^[85] The State Legislature sent the bill to Reagan's desk where, after many days of indecision, he signed it.^[90] About two million abortions would be performed as a result, most because of a provision in the bill allowing abortions for the well-being of the mother.^[90] Reagan had been in office for only four months when he signed the bill, and stated that had he been more experienced as governor, he would not have signed it. After he recognized what he called the "consequences" of the bill, he announced that he was pro-life.^[90] He maintained that position later in his political career, writing extensively about abortion.^[91]

Despite an unsuccessful attempt to recall him in 1968,^[92] Reagan was re-elected in 1970, defeating "Big Daddy" Jesse Unruh. He chose not to seek a third term in the following election cycle. One of Reagan's greatest frustrations in office concerned capital punishment, which he strongly supported.^[27] His efforts to enforce the state's laws in this area were thwarted when the Supreme Court of California issued its People v. Anderson decision, which invalidated all death sentences issued in California before 1972, though the decision was later overturned by a constitutional amendment. The only execution during Reagan's governorship was on April 12, 1967, when Aaron Mitchell's sentence was carried out by the state in San Quentin's gas chamber.^[93]

In 1969, Reagan, as Governor, signed the Family Law Act, an amalgam of two bills which had been written and revised by the California state legislature for over two years^[94] and became the first no-fault divorce legislation in the United States.^[95]

Reagan's terms as governor helped to shape the policies he would pursue in his later political career as president. By campaigning on a platform of sending "the welfare bums back to work", he spoke out against the idea of the welfare state. He also strongly advocated the Republican ideal of less government regulation of the economy, including that of undue federal taxation.^[96]

Reagan did not seek re-election to a third term as governor in 1974 and was succeeded by Democratic California Secretary of State Jerry Brown on January 6, 1975.

1976 presidential campaign

In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President Gerald Ford in a bid to become the Republican Party's candidate for president. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate with the support of like-minded organizations such as the American Conservative Union which became key components of his political base, while President Ford was considered a more moderate Republican.^[97]

Reagan's campaign relied on a strategy crafted by campaign manager John Sears of winning a few primaries early to damage the inevitability of Ford's likely nomination. Reagan won North Carolina, Texas, and California, but the strategy failed, as^[98] he ended up losing New Hampshire, Florida, and his native Illinois.^[99] The Texas campaign lent renewed hope to Reagan, when he swept all ninety-six delegates chosen in the May 1 primary, with four more awaiting at the state convention. Much of the credit for that victory came from the work of three co-chairmen, including Ernest Angelo, the mayor of Midland, and Ray Barnhart of Houston, whom President Reagan would appoint in 1981 as director of the Federal Highway Administration.^[100]

However, as the GOP convention neared, Ford appeared close to victory. Acknowledging his party's moderate wing, Reagan chose moderate Senator Richard Schweiker of Pennsylvania as his running mate if nominated. Nonetheless, Ford prevailed with 1,187 delegates to Reagan's 1,070.^[99] Ford would go on to lose the 1976 Presidential election to the Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Reagan's concession speech emphasized the dangers of nuclear war and the threat posed by the Soviet Union. Though he lost the nomination, he received 307 write-in votes in New Hampshire, 388 votes as an Independent on Wyoming's ballot, and a single electoral vote from a faithless elector in the November election from the state of Washington,^[101] which Ford had won over Democratic challenger Jimmy Carter.

After the campaign, Reagan remained in the public debate with the Ronald Reagan Radio Commentary series^[102] and his political action committee, Citizens for the Republic, which was later revived in Alexandria, Virginia in 2009 by the Reagan biographer Craig Shirley.^[103]

1980 presidential campaign

The 1980 presidential campaign between Reagan and incumbent President Jimmy Carter was conducted during domestic concerns and the ongoing Iran hostage crisis. His campaign stressed some of his fundamental principles: lower taxes to stimulate the economy,^[104] less government interference in people's lives,^[105] states' rights,^[106] a strong national defense,^[105] and restoring the U.S. Dollar to a gold standard.^[107][108]

Reagan launched his campaign by declaring "I believe in states' rights." After receiving the Republican nomination, Reagan selected one of his primary opponents, George H.W. Bush, to be his running mate. His showing in the October televised debate boosted his campaign. Reagan won the election, carrying 44 states with 489 electoral votes to 49 electoral votes for Carter (representing six states and Washington, D.C.). Reagan received 50.7% of the popular vote while Carter took 41%, and Independent John B. Anderson (a liberal Republican) received 6.7%.^[109] Republicans captured the Senate for the first time since 1952, and gained 34 House seats, but the Democrats retained a majority.

Presidency, 1981–89

During his Presidency, Reagan pursued policies that reflected his personal belief in individual freedom, brought changes domestically, both to the U.S. economy and expanded military, and contributed to the end of the Cold War.^[110] Termed the Reagan Revolution, his presidency would reinvigorate American morale,^[111][112] reinvigorate the American economy and reduce American reliance upon government.^[110] As president, Reagan kept a series of diaries in which he commented on daily occurrences of his presidency and his views on the issues of the day. The diaries were published in May 2007 in the bestselling book, The Reagan Diaries.^[113]

First term, 1981–85

To date, Reagan is the oldest man elected to the office of the presidency (at 69). In his first inaugural address on January 20, 1981, which Reagan himself wrote, he addressed the country's economic malaise arguing: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem".^[114]

Prayer in schools and a moment of silence

In 1981, Reagan became the first president to propose a constitutional amendment on school prayer. The school prayer had previously been banned by the supreme court in 1962, and Reagan's election reflected an opposition to the courts decision.^[115] Reagan's 1981 proposed amendment stated: "Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools or other public institutions. No person shall be required by the United States or by any state to participate in prayer." In a message to Congress, Reagan said that his proposed amendment would "restore the simple freedom of our citizens to offer prayer in public schools and institutions."^[116] In a nationally televised speech the following day, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson lauded Reagan's speech and said the moment of silence would "ensure that children grow up to be decent and upright."^[117] In 1984, Reagan again raised the issue, asking Congress "why can't [the] freedom to acknowledge God be enjoyed again by children in every schoolroom across this land?"^[118] In 1985, Reagan expressed his disappointment that the Supreme Court ruling still bans a moment of silence for public-school, and said he had "an uphill battle."^[119] In 1987 Reagan again renewed his call for Congress to support voluntary prayer in schools and end "the expulsion of God from America's classrooms."^[120] During his term in office, Reagan campaigned vigorously to restore prayer to the schools, first as a moment of prayer and later as a Moment of Silence.^[121]

Assassination attempt

On March 30, 1981, only 69 days into the new administration, Reagan, his press secretary James Brady, Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were struck by gunfire from would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr., outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Although "close to death" upon arrival at George Washington University Hospital, Reagan was stabilized in the emergency room, then underwent emergency exploratory surgery.^[122] He recovered and was released from the hospital on April 11, becoming the first serving U.S. President to survive being shot in an assassination attempt.^[123] The attempt had great influence on Reagan's popularity; polls indicated his approval rating to be around 73%.^[124] Reagan believed that God had spared his life so that he might go on to fulfill a greater purpose.^[125]

Air traffic controllers' strike

In summer 1981 PATCO, the union of federal air traffic controllers went on strike, violating a federal law prohibiting government unions from striking.^[126] Declaring the situation an emergency as described in the 1947 Taft–Hartley Act, Reagan stated that if the air traffic controllers "do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated".^[127] They did not return and on August 5, Reagan fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order, and used supervisors and military controllers to handle the nation's commercial air traffic until new controllers could be hired and trained.^[128] A leading reference work on public administration concluded, "The firing of PATCO employees not only demonstrated a clear resolve by the president to take control of the bureaucracy, but it also sent a clear message to the private sector that unions no longer needed to be feared".^[129]

"Reaganomics" and the economy

During Jimmy Carter's last year in office (1980), inflation averaged 12.5%, compared with 4.4% during Reagan's last year in office (1988).^[130] During Reagan's administration, the unemployment rate declined from 7.5% to 5.4%, with the rate reaching highs of 10.8% in 1982 and 10.4% in 1983, averaging 7.5% over the eight years, and GDP growth average 7.9% with a high of 12.2% growth in 1982.^[131][132]

Reagan implemented policies based on supply-side economics, advocating a laissez-faire philosophy and free-market fiscal policy,^[133] seeking to stimulate the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts.^[134][135] He also supported returning the United States to some sort of gold standard, and successfully urged Congress to establish the U.S. Gold Commission to study how one could be implemented. Citing the economic theories of Arthur Laffer, Reagan promoted the proposed tax cuts as potentially stimulating the economy enough to expand the tax base, offsetting the revenue loss due to reduced rates of taxation, a theory that entered political discussion as the Laffer curve. Reaganomics was the subject of debate with supporters pointing to improvements in certain key economic indicators as evidence of success, and critics pointing to large increases in federal budget deficits and the national debt. His policy of "peace through strength" resulted in a record peacetime defense buildup including a 40% real increase in defense spending between 1981 and 1985.^[136]

During Reagan's presidency, federal income tax rates were lowered significantly with the signing of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981^[137] which lowered the top marginal tax bracket from 70% to 50% and the lowest bracket from 14% to 11%, however other tax increases passed by Congress and signed by Reagan, ensured that tax revenues over his two terms were 18.2% of GDP as compared to 18.1% over the 40-year period 1970–2010.^[138] Then, in 1982 the Job Training Partnership Act of 1982 was signed into law, initiating one of the United States' first public-private partnerships and a major part of the president's job creation program. Reagan's Assistant Secretary of Labor and Chief of Staff, Al Angrisani, was a primary architect of the bill. The Tax Reform Act of 1986, another bipartisan effort championed by Reagan, further reduced the top rate to 28%, raised the bottom bracket from 11% to 15%, and, cut the number of tax brackets to 4.

Conversely, Congress passed and Reagan signed into law tax increases of some nature in every year from 1981 to 1987 to continue funding such government programs as Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), Social Security, and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (DEFRA).^[139][140] Despite the fact that TEFRA was the "largest peacetime tax increase in American history",^{[140][141][142][143]} gross domestic product (GDP) growth recovered strongly after the early 1980s recession ended in 1982, and grew during his eight years in office at an annual rate of 7.91% per year, with a high of 12.2% growth in 1981.^[144] Unemployment peaked at 10.8% monthly rate in December 1982—higher than any time since the Great Depression—then dropped during the rest of Reagan's presidency.^[145] Sixteen million new jobs were created, while inflation significantly decreased.^[146] The net effect of all Reagan-era tax bills was a 1% decrease in government revenues when compared to Treasury Department revenue estimates from the Administration's first post-enactment January budgets.^[147] However, federal income tax receipts increased from 1980 to 1989, rising from $308.7 billion to $549 billion,^[148] Reagan was still known for his lower-taxes philosophy.

During the Reagan Administration, federal receipts grew at an average rate of 8.2% (2.5% attributed to higher Social Security receipts), and federal outlays grew at an annual rate of 7.1%.^[149][150] Reagan also revised the tax code with the bipartisan Tax Reform Act of 1986.^[151]

Reagan's policies proposed that economic growth would occur when marginal tax rates were low enough to spur investment,^[152] which would then lead to increased economic growth, higher employment and wages. Critics labeled this "trickle-down economics"—the belief that tax policies that benefit the wealthy will create a "trickle-down" effect to the poor.^[153] Questions arose whether Reagan's policies benefited the wealthy more than those living in poverty,^[154] and many poor and minority citizens viewed Reagan as indifferent to their struggles.^[154] These views were exacerbated by the fact that Reagan's economic regimen included freezing the minimum wage at $3.35 an hour, slashing federal assistance to local governments by 60%, cutting the budget for public housing and Section 8 rent subsidies in half, and eliminating the antipoverty Community Development Block Grant program.^[155] The widening gap between the rich and poor had already begun during the 1970s before Reagan's economic policies took effect.^[156] Along with Reagan's 1981 cut in the top regular tax rate on unearned income, he reduced the maximum capital gains rate to only 20%.^[157] Reagan later set tax rates on capital gains at the same level as the rates on ordinary income like salaries and wages, with both topping out at 28%.^[158] Reagan is viewed as an antitax hero despite raising taxes eleven times over the course of his presidency, all in the name of fiscal responsibility.^[159] According to Paul Krugman, "Over all, the 1982 tax increase undid about a third of the 1981 cut; as a share of GDP, the increase was substantially larger than Mr. Clinton's 1993 tax increase".^[160] According to historian and domestic policy adviser Bruce Bartlett, Reagan's tax increases over the course of his presidency took back half of the 1981 tax cut.^[161]

Further following his opposition to government intervention, Reagan cut the budgets of non-military^[162] programs^[163] including Medicaid, food stamps, federal education programs^[162] and the EPA.^[164] While he protected entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare,^[165] his administration attempted to purge many people with disabilities from the Social Security disability rolls.^[166]

The administration's stance toward the Savings and Loan industry contributed to the savings and loan crisis.^[167] It is also suggested, by a minority of Reaganomics critics, that the policies partially influenced the stock market crash of 1987,^[168] but there is no consensus regarding a single source for the crash.^[169] In order to cover newly spawned federal budget deficits, the United States borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, raising the national debt from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion.^[170] Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.^[146]

He reappointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and in 1987 he appointed monetarist Alan Greenspan to succeed him. Reagan ended the price controls on domestic oil which had contributed to energy crises in the early 1970s.^[171][172] The price of oil subsequently dropped, and the 1980s did not see the fuel shortages that the 1970s had.^[173] Reagan also fulfilled a 1980 campaign promise to repeal the windfall profit tax in 1988, which had previously increased dependence on foreign oil.^[174] Some economists, such as Nobel Prize winners Milton Friedman and Robert A. Mundell, argue that Reagan's tax policies invigorated America's economy and contributed to the economic boom of the 1990s.^[175] Other economists, such as Nobel Prize winner Robert Solow, argue that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush, reneged on a campaign promise and raised taxes.^[175]

During Reagan's presidency, a program was initiated within the U.S. intelligence community to ensure America's economic strength. The program, Project Socrates, developed and demonstrated the means required for the United States to generate and lead the next evolutionary leap in technology acquisition and utilization for a competitive advantage—automated innovation. To ensure that the United States acquired the maximum benefit from automated innovation, Reagan, during his second term, had an executive order drafted to create a new federal agency to implement the Project Socrates results on a nationwide basis. However, Reagan's term came to end before the executive order could be coordinated and signed, and the incoming Bush administration, labeling Project Socrates as "industrial policy", had it terminated.^[176][177]

Escalation of the Cold War

Reagan escalated the Cold War, accelerating a reversal from the policy of détente which began in 1979 after the Soviet war in Afghanistan.^[178] Reagan ordered a massive buildup of the United States Armed Forces^[136] and implemented new policies towards the Soviet Union: reviving the B-1 Lancer program that had been canceled by the Carter administration, and producing the MX missile.^[179] In response to Soviet deployment of the SS-20, Reagan oversaw NATO's deployment of the Pershing missile in West Germany.^[180]

Together with the United Kingdom's prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Reagan denounced the Soviet Union in ideological terms.^[182] In a famous address on June 8, 1982, to the British Parliament in the Royal Gallery of the Palace of Westminster, Reagan said, "the forward march of freedom and democracy will leave Marxism–Leninism on the ash heap of history".^[183][184] On March 3, 1983, he predicted that communism would collapse, stating, "Communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written".^[185] In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals on March 8, 1983, Reagan called the Soviet Union "an evil empire".^[186]

After Soviet fighters downed Korean Air Lines Flight 007 near Moneron Island on September 1, 1983, carrying 269 people, including Georgia congressman Larry McDonald, Reagan labeled the act a "massacre" and declared that the Soviets had turned "against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere".^[187] The Reagan administration responded to the incident by suspending all Soviet passenger air service to the United States, and dropped several agreements being negotiated with the Soviets, wounding them financially.^[187] As result of the shootdown, and the cause of KAL 007's going astray thought to be inadequacies related to its navigational system, Reagan announced on September 16, 1983, that the Global Positioning System would be made available for civilian use, free of charge, once completed in order to avert similar navigational errors in future.^[188][189]

Under a policy that came to be known as the Reagan Doctrine, Reagan and his administration also provided overt and covert aid to anti-communist resistance movements in an effort to "rollback" Soviet-backed communist governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.^[190] Reagan deployed the CIA's Special Activities Division to Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were instrumental in training, equipping and leading Mujaheddin forces against the Soviet Army.^[191][192] President Reagan's Covert Action program has been given credit for assisting in ending the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan,^[193] though some of the United States funded armaments introduced then would later pose a threat to U.S. troops in the 2000s (decade) war in Afghanistan.^[194] However, in a break from the Carter policy of arming Taiwan under the Taiwan Relations Act, Reagan also agreed with the communist government in China to reduce the sale of arms to Taiwan.^[195]

In March 1983, Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative, a defense project^[196] that would have used ground- and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles.^[197] Reagan believed that this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible,^[196][198] but disbelief that the technology could ever work led opponents to dub SDI "Star Wars" and argue that the technological objective was unattainable.^[196] The Soviets became concerned about the possible effects SDI would have;^[199] leader Yuri Andropov said it would put "the entire world in jeopardy".^[200] For those reasons, David Gergen, former aide to President Reagan, believes that in retrospect, SDI hastened the end of the Cold War.^[201]

Critics labeled Reagan's foreign policies as aggressive, imperialistic, and chided them as "warmongering", though they were supported by leading American conservatives who argued that they were necessary to protect U.S. security interests.^[199] The Reagan administration also backed anti-communist leaders accused of severe human rights violations, such as Efraín Ríos Montt of Guatemala.^[202][203]

Lebanese Civil War, 1983

With the approval of Congress, Reagan in 1983 sent forces to Lebanon to reduce the threat of the Lebanese Civil War. The American peacekeeping forces in Beirut, a part of a multinational force during the Lebanese Civil War, were attacked on October 23, 1983. The Beirut barracks bombing killed 241 American servicemen and wounded more than 60 others by a suicide truck bomber.^[204] Reagan sent in USS New Jersey (BB-62)battleship to shell Syrian positions in Lebanon. He then withdrew all the marines from Lebanon.^[205]

Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada), 1983

On October 25, 1983, Reagan ordered U.S. forces to invade Grenada, code named Operation Urgent Fury, where a 1979 coup d'état had established an independent non-aligned Marxist–Leninist government. A formal appeal from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) led to the intervention of U.S. forces; President Reagan also cited an allegedly regional threat posed by a Soviet-Cuban military build-up in the Caribbean and concern for the safety of several hundred American medical students at St. George's University as adequate reasons to invade. Operation Urgent Fury was the first major military operation conducted by U.S. forces since the Vietnam War, several days of fighting commenced, resulting in a U.S. victory,^[206] with 19 American fatalities and 116 wounded American soldiers.^[207] In mid-December, after a new government was appointed by the Governor-General, U.S. forces withdrew.^[206]

1984 presidential campaign

Reagan accepted the Republican nomination in Dallas, Texas. He proclaimed that it was "morning again in America", regarding the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the 1984 Summer Olympics, among other things.^[21] He became the first American president to open an Olympic Games held in the United States.^[208]

Reagan's opponent in the 1984 presidential election was former Vice President Walter Mondale. With questions about Reagan's age, and a weak performance in the first presidential debate, his ability to perform the duties of president for another term was questioned. His apparent confused and forgetful behavior was evident to his supporters; they had previously known him clever and witty. Rumors began to circulate that he had Alzheimer's disease.^[209][210] Reagan rebounded in the second debate, and confronted questions about his age, quipping, "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience", which generated applause and laughter, even from Mondale himself.^[211]

That November, Reagan was re-elected, winning 49 of 50 states.^[212] The president's overwhelming victory saw Mondale carry only his home state of Minnesota (by 3,800 votes) and the District of Columbia. Reagan won a record 525 electoral votes, the most of any candidate in United States history,^[213] and received 58.8% of the popular vote to Mondale's 40.6%.^[212]

Second term, 1985–89

Reagan was sworn in as president for the second time on January 20, 1985, in a private ceremony at the White House. Because January 20 fell on a Sunday, a public celebration was not held but took place in the Capitol Rotunda the following day. January 21 was one of the coldest days on record in Washington, D.C.; due to poor weather, inaugural celebrations were held inside the Capitol. In the coming weeks he shook up his staff somewhat, moving White House Chief of Staff James Baker to Secretary of the Treasury and naming Treasury Secretary Donald Regan, a former Merrill Lynch officer, Chief of Staff.^[214][214]

In 1985, Reagan visited a German military cemetery in Bitburg to lay a wreath with West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. It was determined that the cemetery held the graves of forty-nine members of the Waffen-SS. Reagan issued a statement that called the Nazi soldiers buried in that cemetery as themselves "victims", a designation which ignited a stir over whether Reagan had equated the SS men to victims of the Holocaust; Pat Buchanan, Reagan's Director of Communications, argued that the president did not equate the SS members with the actual Holocaust.^[215] Now strongly urged to cancel the visit,^[216] the president responded that it would be wrong to back down on a promise he had made to Chancellor Kohl. He ultimately attended the ceremony where two military generals laid a wreath.^[217]

The disintegration of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, proved a pivotal moment in Reagan's presidency. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.^[218] On the night of the disaster, Reagan delivered a speech, written by Peggy Noonan, in which he said:

The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave...We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of Earth' to 'touch the face of God.'^[219]

War on Drugs

Reagan announced a War on Drugs in 1982, in response to concerns about the increasing crack epidemic. Though Nixon had previously declared a war on drugs, Reagan advocated more militant policies.^[220]

He said that "drugs were menacing our society" and promised to fight for drug-free schools and workplaces, expanded drug treatment, stronger law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts, and greater public awareness.^[221][222]

In 1986, Reagan signed a drug enforcement bill that budgeted $1.7 billion to fund the War on Drugs and specified a mandatory minimum penalty for drug offenses.^[223] The bill was criticized for promoting significant racial disparities in the prison population^[223] and critics also charged that the policies did little to reduce the availability of drugs on the street, while resulting in a great financial burden for America.^[224] Defenders of the effort point to success in reducing rates of adolescent drug use.^[225][226] First Lady Nancy Reagan made the War on Drugs her main priority by founding the "Just Say No" drug awareness campaign, which aimed to discourage children and teenagers from engaging in recreational drug use by offering various ways of saying "no". Nancy Reagan traveled to 65 cities in 33 states, raising awareness about the dangers of drugs including alcohol.^[227]

Libya bombing

Relations between Libya and the United States under President Reagan were continually contentious, beginning with the Gulf of Sidra incident in 1981; by 1982, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was considered by the CIA to be, along with USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and Cuban leader Fidel Castro, part of a group known as the "unholy trinity" and was also labeled as "our international public enemy number one" by a CIA official.^[228] These tensions were later revived in early April 1986, when a bomb exploded in a Berlin discothèque, resulting in the injury of 63 American military personnel and death of one serviceman. Stating that there was "irrefutable proof" that Libya had directed the "terrorist bombing", Reagan authorized the use of force against the country. In the late evening of April 15, 1986, the United States launched a series of air strikes on ground targets in Libya.^[229][230]

The UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher allowed the U.S. Air Force to use Britain's air bases to launch the attack, on the justification that the UK was supporting America's right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.^[230] The attack was designed to halt Gaddafi's "ability to export terrorism", offering him "incentives and reasons to alter his criminal behavior".^[229] The president addressed the nation from the Oval Office after the attacks had commenced, stating, "When our citizens are attacked or abused anywhere in the world on the direct orders of hostile regimes, we will respond so long as I'm in this office".^[230] The attack was condemned by many countries. By a vote of 79 in favor to 28 against with 33 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 41/38 which "condemns the military attack perpetrated against the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya on April 15, 1986, which constitutes a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international law".^[231]

Immigration

Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986. The act made it illegal to knowingly hire or recruit illegal immigrants, required employers to attest to their employees' immigration status, and granted amnesty to approximately three million illegal immigrants who entered the United States before January 1, 1982, and had lived in the country continuously. Critics argue that the employer sanctions were without teeth and failed to stem illegal immigration.^[232] Upon signing the act at a ceremony held beside the newly refurbished Statue of Liberty, Reagan said, "The legalization provisions in this act will go far to improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society. Very soon many of these men and women will be able to step into the sunlight and, ultimately, if they choose, they may become Americans."^[233] Reagan also said, "The employer sanctions program is the keystone and major element. It will remove the incentive for illegal immigration by eliminating the job opportunities which draw illegal aliens here."^[233]

Iran–Contra affair

In 1986, a scandal shook the administration stemming from the use of proceeds from covert arms sales to Iran to fund the Contras in Nicaragua, which had been specifically outlawed by an act of Congress.^[234][235] The Iran–Contra affair became the largest political scandal in the United States during the 1980s.^[236] The International Court of Justice, whose jurisdiction to decide the case was disputed by the United States,^[237] ruled that the United States had violated international law and breached treaties in Nicaragua in various ways (see Nicaragua v. United States).^[238][239]

President Reagan professed ignorance of the plot's existence. He appointed two Republicans and one Democrat (John Tower, Brent Scowcroft and Edmund Muskie, known as the "Tower Commission") to investigate the scandal. The commission could not find direct evidence that Reagan had prior knowledge of the program, but criticized him heavily for his disengagement from managing his staff, making the diversion of funds possible.^[240] A separate report by Congress concluded that "If the president did not know what his national security advisers were doing, he should have".^[240] Reagan's popularity declined from 67% to 46% in less than a week, the greatest and quickest decline ever for a president.^[241] The scandal resulted in fourteen indictments within Reagan's staff, and eleven convictions.^[242]

Many Central Americans criticize Reagan for his support of the Contras, calling him an anti-communist zealot, blinded to human rights abuses, while others say he "saved Central America".^[243] Daniel Ortega, Sandinistan and president of Nicaragua, said that he hoped God would forgive Reagan for his "dirty war against Nicaragua".^[243]

End of the Cold War

Until the early 1980s, the United States had relied on the qualitative superiority of its weapons to essentially frighten the Soviets, but the gap had been narrowed.^[244] Although the Soviet Union did not accelerate military spending after President Reagan's military buildup,^[245] their large military expenses, in combination with collectivized agriculture and inefficient planned manufacturing, were a heavy burden for the Soviet economy.^[246] At the same time, Saudi Arabia increased oil production,^[247] which resulted in a drop of oil prices in 1985 to one-third of the previous level; oil was the main source of Soviet export revenues.^[246] These factors contributed to a stagnant Soviet economy during Gorbachev's tenure.^[246]

Reagan recognized the change in the direction of the Soviet leadership with Mikhail Gorbachev, and shifted to diplomacy, with a view to encourage the Soviet leader to pursue substantial arms agreements.^[248] Reagan's personal mission was to achieve "a world free of nuclear weapons", which he regarded as "totally irrational, totally inhumane, good for nothing but killing, possibly destructive of life on earth and civilization".^{[249][250][251]} He was able to start discussions on nuclear disarmament with General Secretary Gorbachev.^[251] Gorbachev and Reagan held four summit conferences between 1985 and 1988: the first in Geneva, Switzerland, the second in Reykjavík, Iceland, the third in Washington, D.C., and the fourth in Moscow.^[252] Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to allow for more democracy and free speech, this would lead to reform and the end of Communism.^[253]

Speaking at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev to go further, saying:

“

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

”

Before Gorbachev's visit to Washington, D.C., for the third summit in 1987, the Soviet leader announced his intention to pursue significant arms agreements.^[254] The timing of the announcement led Western diplomats to contend that Gorbachev was offering major concessions to the United States on the levels of conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and policy in Eastern Europe.^[254] He and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty at the White House, which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.^[255] The two leaders laid the framework for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START I; Reagan insisted that the name of the treaty be changed from Strategic Arms Limitation Talks to Strategic Arms Reduction Talks.^[250]

When Reagan visited Moscow for the fourth summit in 1988, he was viewed as a celebrity by the Soviets. A journalist asked the president if he still considered the Soviet Union the evil empire. "No", he replied, "I was talking about another time, another era".^[256] At Gorbachev's request, Reagan gave a speech on free markets at the Moscow State University.^[257] In his autobiography, An American Life, Reagan expressed his optimism about the new direction that they charted and his warm feelings for Gorbachev.^[258] In November 1989, ten months after Reagan left office, the Berlin Wall was torn down, the Cold War was officially declared over at the Malta Summit on December 3, 1989, and two years later, the Soviet Union collapsed.^[259]

Health

Early in his presidency, Reagan started wearing a custom, technologically advanced hearing aid, first in his right ear^[260] and later in his left as well.^[261] His decision to go public in 1983 regarding his wearing the small, audio-amplifying device boosted their sales.^[262]

On July 13, 1985, Reagan underwent surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital to remove cancerous polyps from his colon. He relinquished presidential power to the Vice President for eight hours in a similar procedure as outlined in the 25th Amendment, which he specifically avoided invoking.^[263] The surgery lasted just under three hours and was successful.^[264] Reagan resumed the powers of the presidency later that day.^[265] In August of that year, he underwent an operation to remove skin cancer cells from his nose.^[266] In October, additional skin cancer cells were detected on his nose and removed.^[267]

In January 1987, Reagan underwent surgery for an enlarged prostate which caused further worries about his health. No cancerous growths were found, however, and he was not sedated during the operation.^[268] In July of that year, aged 76, he underwent a third skin cancer operation on his nose.^[269]

Judiciary

During his 1980 campaign, Reagan pledged that, if given the opportunity, he would appoint the first female Supreme Court Justice.^[270] That opportunity came in his first year in office when he nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Potter Stewart. In his second term, Reagan elevated William Rehnquist to succeed Warren Burger as Chief Justice, and named Antonin Scalia to fill the vacant seat. Reagan nominated conservative jurist Robert Bork to the high court in 1987. Senator Ted Kennedy, a Democrat of Massachusetts, strongly condemned Bork, and great controversy ensued.^[271] Bork's nomination was rejected 58–42.^[272] Reagan then nominated Douglas Ginsburg, but Ginsburg withdrew his name from consideration after coming under fire for his cannabis use.^[273] Anthony Kennedy was eventually confirmed in his place.^[274] Along with his three Supreme Court appointments, Reagan appointed 83 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 290 judges to the United States district courts.

Reagan also nominated Vaughn R. Walker, who would later be revealed to be the earliest known gay federal judge,^[275] to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. However, the nomination stalled in the Senate, and Walker was not confirmed until he was renominated by Reagan's successor, George H. W. Bush.^[276]

Early in his tenure, Reagan appointed Clarence M. Pendleton Jr., of San Diego as the first African American to chair the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Pendleton tried to steer the commission into a conservative direction in line with Reagan's views on social and civil rights policy during his time as tenure from 1981 until his sudden death in 1988. Pendleton soon aroused the ire of many civil rights advocates and feminists when he ridiculed the comparable worth proposal as being "Looney Tunes".^{[277][278][279]}

In 1984, Reagan commuted the 18-year sentence of former Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Gil Dozier, a Democrat from Baton Rouge, to the time served for violations of both the Hobbs and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations acts. On September 23, 1980, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana convicted Dozier of extortion and racketeering when he pushed companies doing business with his department to make campaign contributions on his behalf.^[280] Reagan determined that the 18-year sentence was excessive compared to what other political figures in similar circumstances had been receiving.^[281][282]

Post-presidential years, 1989–2004

After leaving office in 1989, the Reagans purchased a home in Bel Air, Los Angeles in addition to the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara. They regularly attended Bel Air Presbyterian Church^[283] and occasionally made appearances on behalf of the Republican Party; Reagan delivered a well-received speech at the 1992 Republican National Convention.^[284] Previously on November 4, 1991, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was dedicated and opened to the public. At the dedication ceremonies, five presidents were in attendance, as well as six first ladies, marking the first time that five presidents were gathered in the same location.^[285] Reagan continued publicly to speak in favor of a line-item veto; the Brady Bill;^[286] a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget; and the repeal of the 22nd Amendment, which prohibits anyone from serving more than two terms as president.^[287] In 1992 Reagan established the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award with the newly formed Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.^[288] His final public speech was on February 3, 1994, during a tribute to him in Washington, D.C., and his last major public appearance was at the funeral of Richard Nixon on April 27, 1994.

Alzheimer's disease

Announcement and reaction

In August 1994, at the age of 83, Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,^[289] an incurable neurological disorder which destroys brain cells and ultimately causes death.^[289][290] In November, he informed the nation through a handwritten letter,^[289] writing in part:

I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease... At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done... I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.^[291]

After his diagnosis, letters of support from well-wishers poured into his California home.^[292]

But there was also speculation over how long Reagan had demonstrated symptoms of mental degeneration.^[293] Former CBS White House correspondent Lesley Stahl recounted that, in her final meeting with the president in 1986, Reagan did not seem to know who Stahl was, and that she came close to reporting that Reagan was senile, but at the end of the meeting, Reagan had regained his alertness.^[294] However, Dr. Lawrence K. Altman, a physician employed as a reporter for the New York Times, noted that "the line between mere forgetfulness and the beginning of Alzheimer's can be fuzzy",^[295] and all four of Reagan's White House doctors said that they saw no evidence of Alzheimer's while he was president.^[295] Dr. John E. Hutton, Reagan's primary physician from 1984 to 1989, said the president "absolutely" did not "show any signs of dementia or Alzheimer's".^[295] Reagan did experience occasional memory lapses, though, especially with names.^[295] Once, while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, he repeatedly referred to Vice President Bush as "Prime Minister Bush".^[296] Reagan's doctors, however, note that he only began exhibiting overt symptoms of the illness in late 1992^[297] or 1993,^[295] several years after he had left office. His former Chief of Staff James Baker considered "ludicrous" the idea that Reagan slept during cabinet meetings.^[298] Other staff members, former aides, and friends said they saw no indication of Alzheimer's while he was President.^[295]

Complicating the picture, Reagan suffered an episode of head trauma in July 1989, five years before his diagnosis. After being thrown from a horse in Mexico, a subdural hematoma was found and surgically treated later in the year.^[289][290] Nancy Reagan, citing what doctors told her, asserts that her husband's 1989 fall hastened the onset of Alzheimer's disease,^[290] although acute brain injury has not been conclusively proven to accelerate Alzheimer's or dementia.^[299][300] Reagan's one-time physician Daniel Ruge has said it is possible, but not certain, that the horse accident affected the course of Reagan's memory.^[297]

Progression

As the years went on, the disease slowly destroyed Reagan's mental capacity.^[295] He was only able to recognize a few people, including his wife, Nancy.^[295] He remained active, however; he took walks through parks near his home and on beaches, played golf regularly, and until 1999 he often went to his office in nearby Century City.^[295]

Reagan suffered a fall at his Bel Air home on January 13, 2001, resulting in a broken hip.^[301] The fracture was repaired the following day^[302] and the 89-year-old Reagan returned home later that week, although he faced difficult physical therapy at home.^[303] On February 6, 2001, Reagan reached the age of 90, becoming the third former president to do so (the other two being John Adams and Herbert Hoover, with Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter later reaching 90).^[304] Reagan's public appearances became much less frequent with the progression of the disease, and as a result, his family decided that he would live in quiet semi-isolation with his wife Nancy. Nancy Reagan told CNN's Larry King in 2001 that very few visitors were allowed to see her husband because she felt that "Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was".^[305] After her husband's diagnosis and death, Nancy Reagan became a stem-cell research advocate, urging Congress and President George W. Bush to support federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, something Bush opposed. In 2009, she praised President Barack Obama for lifting restrictions on such research.^[306] Mrs. Reagan has said that she believes that it could lead to a cure for Alzheimer's.^[307]

Death

Reagan died of pneumonia, complicated by Alzheimer's disease^[308] at his home in Bel Air, California, on the afternoon of June 5, 2004.^[309] A short time after his death, Nancy Reagan released a statement saying, "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has died after 10 years of Alzheimer's disease at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers."^[309] President George W. Bush declared June 11 a National Day of Mourning,^[310] and international tributes came in from around the world.^[311] Reagan's body was taken to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in Santa Monica, California later in the day, where well-wishers paid tribute by laying flowers and American flags in the grass.^[312] On June 7, his body was removed and taken to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where a brief family funeral was held conducted by Pastor Michael Wenning. His body lay in repose in the Library lobby until June 9; over 100,000 people viewed the coffin.^[313]

On June 9, Reagan's body was flown to Washington, D.C. where he became the tenth United States president to lie in state; in thirty-four hours, 104,684 people filed past the coffin.^[314]

On June 11, a state funeral was conducted in the Washington National Cathedral, and presided over by President George W. Bush. Eulogies were given by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,^[315] former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and both President George H.W. Bush and President George W. Bush. Also in attendance were Mikhail Gorbachev, and many world leaders, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles, representing his mother Queen Elizabeth II, German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and interim presidents Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, and Ghazi al-Yawer of Iraq.^[316]

After the funeral, the Reagan entourage was flown back to the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, where another service was held, and President Reagan was interred.^[317] At the time of his death, Reagan was the longest-lived president in U.S. history, having lived 93 years and 120 days (2 years, 8 months, and 23 days longer than John Adams, whose record he surpassed). He is now the second longest-lived president, just 45 days fewer than Gerald Ford. He was the first United States president to die in the 21st century, and his was the first state funeral in the United States since that of President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973.

His burial site is inscribed with the words he delivered at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: "I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and that there is purpose and worth to each and every life."^[318]

Legacy

Since Reagan left office in 1989, substantial debate has occurred among scholars, historians, and the general public surrounding his legacy. Supporters have pointed to a more efficient and prosperous economy as a result of Reagan's economic policies,^[319] foreign policy triumphs including a peaceful end to the Cold War,^[320] and a restoration of American pride and morale.^[112] Proponents also argue Reagan restored faith in the American Dream with his unabated and passionate love for the United States,^[321] after a decline in American confidence and self-respect under Jimmy Carter's perceived weak leadership, particularly during the Iranian hostage crisis, as well as his gloomy, dreary outlook for the future of the United States during the 1980 election.^[322] Critics contend that Reagan's economic policies resulted in rising budget deficits,^[146] a wider gap in wealth, and an increase in homelessness^[155] and that the Iran-Contra affair lowered American credibility.^[323]

Opinions of Reagan's legacy among the country's leading policy makers and journalists differ as well. Edwin Feulner, President of The Heritage Foundation, said that Reagan "helped create a safer, freer world" and said of his economic policies: "He took an America suffering from 'malaise'... and made its citizens believe again in their destiny."^[324] However, Mark Weisbrot, co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, contended that Reagan's "economic policies were mostly a failure"^[325] while Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post opined that Reagan was "a far more controversial figure in his time than the largely gushing obits on television would suggest."^[326]

Despite the continuing debate surrounding his legacy, many conservative and liberal scholars agree that Reagan has been the most influential president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, leaving his imprint on American politics, diplomacy, culture, and economics through his effective communication, dedicated patriotism and pragmatic compromising.^[327] Since he left office, historians have reached a consensus,^[328] as summarized by British historian M. J. Heale, who finds that scholars now concur that Reagan rehabilitated conservatism, turned the nation to the right, practiced a considerably pragmatic conservatism that balanced ideology and the constraints of politics, revived faith in the presidency and in American exceptionalism, and contributed to victory in the Cold War.^[329]

Cold War

The Cold War was a major political, economic and military endeavor for over four decades, but the confrontation between the two superpowers had decreased dramatically by the end of Reagan's presidency.^[330] The significance of Reagan's role in ending the Cold War has spurred contentious and opinionated debate.^{[331][332][333]} That Reagan played a role in contributing to the downfall of the Soviet Union is agreed, but the extent of this role is continuously debated,^[248] with many believing that Reagan's defense policies, economic policies, military policies and hard line rhetoric against the Soviet Union and Communism, as well as summits with General Secretary Gorbachev played a significant part in ending the Cold War.^[154][248]

He was first among post–World War II presidents to put into practice the concept that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply negotiated with, a post-Détente strategy,^[248] a conviction that was vindicated by Gennadi Gerasimov, the Foreign Ministry spokesman under Gorbachev, who said that the Strategic Defense Initiative was "very successful blackmail. ... The Soviet economy couldn't endure such competition."^[334] Reagan's aggressive rhetoric toward the USSR had mixed effects; Jeffery W. Knopf observes that being labeled "evil" probably made no difference to the Soviets but gave encouragement to the East-European citizens opposed to communism.^[248]

General Secretary Gorbachev said of his former rival's Cold War role: "[He was] a man who was instrumental in bringing about the end of the Cold War",^[335] and deemed him "a great President".^[335] Gorbachev does not acknowledge a win or loss in the war, but rather a peaceful end; he said he was not intimidated by Reagan's harsh rhetoric.^[336] Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said of Reagan, "he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power... but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform."^[337] She later said, "Ronald Reagan had a higher claim than any other leader to have won the Cold War for liberty and he did it without a shot being fired."^[338] Said Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada: "He enters history as a strong and dramatic player [in the Cold War]."^[339] Former President Lech Wałęsa of Poland acknowledged, "Reagan was one of the world leaders who made a major contribution to communism's collapse."^[340] That Reagan had little or no effect in ending the Cold War is argued with equal weight; that Communism's internal weakness had become apparent, and the Soviet Union would have collapsed in the end regardless of who was in power.^[248] President Harry Truman's policy of containment is also regarded as a force behind the fall of the U.S.S.R., and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan undermined the Soviet system itself.^[332]

Domestic and political legacy

Ronald Reagan reshaped the Republican party, led the modern conservative movement, and altered the political dynamic of the United States.^[341] More men voted Republican under Reagan, and Reagan tapped into religious voters.^[341] The so-called "Reagan Democrats" were a result of his presidency.^[341]

After leaving office, Reagan became an iconic influence within the Republican party.^[342] His policies and beliefs have been frequently invoked by Republican presidential candidates since 1989.^[21] The 2008 Republican presidential candidates were no exception, for they aimed to liken themselves to him during the primary debates, even imitating his campaign strategies.^[343] Republican nominee John McCain frequently said that he came to office as "a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution".^[344] Reagan's most famous statement regarding the role of smaller government was that "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem."^[345]

Cultural and political image

According to columnist Chuck Raasch, "Reagan transformed the American presidency in ways that only a few have been able to".^[346] He redefined the political agenda of the times, advocating lower taxes, a conservative economic philosophy, and a stronger military.^[347] His role in the Cold War further enhanced his image as a different kind of leader.^[348][349] Reagan's "avuncular style, optimism, and plain-folks demeanor" also helped him turn "government-bashing into an art form".^[155]

Ronald Reagan's approval ratings

Date	Event	Approval (%)	Disapproval (%)
March 30, 1981	Shot by Hinckley	73	19
January 22, 1983	High unemployment	42	54
April 26, 1986	Libya bombing	70	26
February 26, 1987	Iran-Contra affair	44	51
January 20, 1989	End of presidency	64
n/a	Career Average	57	39
July 30, 2001	(Retrospective)[350]	64	27

As a sitting president, Reagan did not have the highest approval ratings,^[351] but his popularity has increased since 1989. Gallup polls in 2001 and 2007 ranked him number one or number two when correspondents were asked for the greatest president in history. Reagan ranked third of post–World War II presidents in a 2007 Rasmussen Reports poll, fifth in an ABC 2000 poll, ninth in another 2007 Rasmussen poll, and eighth in a late 2008 poll by United Kingdom newspaper The Times.^{[352][353][354]} In a Siena College survey of over 200 historians, however, Reagan ranked sixteenth out of 42.^[355][356] While the debate about Reagan's legacy is ongoing, the 2009 Annual C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leaders ranked Reagan the 10th greatest president. The survey of leading historians rated Reagan number 11 in 2000.^[357]

In 2011, the Institute for the Study of the Americas released the first ever UK academic survey to rate U.S. presidents. This poll of UK specialists in U.S. history and politics placed Reagan as the 8th greatest U.S. president.^[358]

Reagan's ability to connect with Americans^[359] earned him the laudatory moniker "The Great Communicator".^[360] Of it, Reagan said, "I won the nickname the great communicator. But I never thought it was my style that made a difference—it was the content. I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things."^[361] His age and soft-spoken speech gave him a warm grandfatherly image.^{[362][363][364]}

Reagan also earned the nickname "the Teflon President", in that public perceptions of him were not tarnished by the controversies that arose during his administration.^[365] According to Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder, who coined the phrase, and reporter Howard Kurtz, the epithet referred to Reagan's ability to "do almost anything wrong^[365] and not get blamed for it".^[359][366]

Public reaction to Reagan was always mixed; the oldest president was supported by young voters, and began an alliance that shifted many of them to the Republican party.^[367] Reagan did not fare well with minority groups, especially African-Americans.^[213] This was largely due to his opposition to affirmative action policies.^[368] However, his support of Israel throughout his presidency earned him support from many Jews.^[369] He emphasized family values in his campaigns and during his presidency, although he was the first president to have been divorced.^[370] The combination of Reagan's speaking style, unabashed patriotism, negotiation skills, as well as his savvy use of the media, played an important role in defining the 1980s and his future legacy.^[371]

Reagan was known to joke frequently during his lifetime, displayed humor throughout his presidency,^[372] and was famous for his storytelling.^[373] His numerous jokes and one-liners have been labeled "classic quips" and "legendary".^[374] Among the most notable of his jokes was one regarding the Cold War. As a microphone test in preparation for his weekly radio address in August 1984, Reagan made the following joke: "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."^[375] Former aide David Gergen commented, "It was that humor... that I think endeared people to Reagan."^[201]

Honors

Reagan received a number of awards in his pre- and post-presidential years. After his election as president, Reagan received a lifetime gold membership in the Screen Actors Guild, was inducted into the National Speakers Association Speaker Hall of Fame^[376] and received the United States Military Academy's Sylvanus Thayer Award.^[377]

In 1989, Reagan was made an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, one of the highest British orders (this entitled him to the use of the post-nominal letters "GCB" but, as a foreign national, not to be known as "Sir Ronald Reagan"); only two American presidents have received this honor, Reagan and George H.W. Bush.^[378] Reagan was also named an honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford. Japan awarded him the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum in 1989; he was the second American president to receive the order and the first to have it given to him for personal reasons (Dwight D. Eisenhower received it as a commemoration of U.S.-Japanese relations).^[379]

On January 18, 1993, Reagan's former Vice-President and sitting President George H. W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom (awarded with distinction), the highest honor that the United States can bestow.^[380] Reagan was also awarded the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed by Republican members of the Senate.^[381]

On Reagan's 87th birthday, in 1998, Washington National Airport was renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport by a bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton. That year, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center was dedicated in Washington, D.C.^[382] He was among 18 included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th century, from a poll conducted in the U.S. in 1999; two years later, USS Ronald Reagan was christened by Nancy Reagan and the United States Navy. It is one of few Navy ships christened in honor of a living person and the first aircraft carrier to be named in honor of a living former president.^[383]

In 1998 the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation awarded Reagan its Naval Heritage award for his support of the U S Navy and military in both his film career and while he served as President.

Congress authorized the creation of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site in Dixon, Illinois in 2002, pending federal purchase of the property.^[384] On May 16 of that year, Nancy Reagan accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, on behalf of the president and herself.^[385]

After Reagan's death, the United States Postal Service issued a President Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp in 2005.^[386] Later in the year, CNN, along with the editors of Time magazine, named him the "most fascinating person" of the network's first 25 years;^[387] Time listed Reagan one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century as well.^[388] The Discovery Channel asked its viewers to vote for The Greatest American in June 2005; Reagan placed in first place, ahead of Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.^[389]

In 2006, Reagan was inducted into the California Hall of Fame, located at The California Museum for History, Women, and the Arts.^[390] Every year since 2002, California Governors Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger have proclaimed February 6 "Ronald Reagan Day" in the state of California in honor of their most famous predecessor.^[391] In 2010, Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 944, authored by Senator George Runner, to make every February 6 Ronald Reagan Day in California.^[392]

In 2007, Polish President Lech Kaczyński posthumously conferred on Reagan the highest Polish distinction, the Order of the White Eagle, saying that Reagan had inspired the Polish people to work for change and helped to unseat the repressive communist regime; Kaczyński said it "would not have been possible if it was not for the tough-mindedness, determination, and feeling of mission of President Ronald Reagan".^[393] Reagan backed the nation of Poland throughout his presidency, supporting the anti-communist Solidarity movement, along with Pope John Paul II;^[394] the Ronald Reagan Park, a public facility in Gdańsk, was named in his honor.

On June 3, 2009, Nancy Reagan unveiled a statue of her late husband in the United States Capitol rotunda. The statue represents the state of California in the National Statuary Hall Collection. After Reagan's death, both major American political parties agreed to erect a statue of Reagan in the place of that of Thomas Starr King.^[395] The day before, President Obama signed the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act into law, establishing a commission to plan activities to mark the upcoming centenary of Reagan's birth.^[396]

Independence Day 2011 saw the unveiling of another statue to Reagan this time in the British capital of London, outside the American Embassy, Grosvenor Square. The unveiling was supposed to be attended by Reagan's wife Nancy, but she did not attend; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took her place and read a statement on her behalf; further to the former First Lady's absence President Reagan's friend and the British Prime Minister during Reagan's presidency Baroness Thatcher was also unable to attend due to frail health.^[397]

See also

• List of Presidents of the United States
• List of Presidents of the United States, sortable by previous experience
• Political positions of Ronald Reagan
• U.S. presidents on U.S. postage stamps

Citations

References

Further reading

External links

Official sites

• Ronald Reagan Foundation & Presidential Library
• White House biography
• Ronald Reagan & His Legacy at Eureka College

Media

• Appearances on C-SPAN
  • Ronald Reagan at C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits
• Ronald Reagan audio archives at NPR
• Oral History Transcripts on the Reagan administration from the Miller Center of Public Affairs
• The Governor and the Students television show, 1973–74, at the Hoover Institution Archives, aired unedited, unrehearsed sessions with Governor Reagan answering questions from high school students.
• Television ads from Reagan's 1976 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination are among the Citizens for Reagan records at the Hoover Institution Archives

News coverage

• Ronald Reagan collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Ronald Reagan from The Washington Post
• Ronald Reagan at CNN
• Ronald Reagan collected news and commentary at The Guardian

Timeline

• Timeline at PBS

Essays and historiographies

• Essays on Ronald Reagan, each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs
• The Presidents: Reagan – An American Experience documentary

Site directories

• Works by or about Ronald Reagan at Internet Archive
• Ronald Reagan at the Internet Movie Database
• Ronald Reagan at AllMovie

Offices and distinctions Non-profit organization positions Preceded by Robert Montgomery President of the Screen Actors Guild 1947–52 Succeeded by Walter Pidgeon Preceded by Howard Keel President of the Screen Actors Guild 1959–60 Succeeded by George Chandler Party political offices Preceded by Richard Nixon California Republican gubernatorial nominee 1966, 1970 Succeeded by Houston Flournoy Preceded by Gerald Ford Republican presidential nominee 1980, 1984 Succeeded by George H. W. Bush Political offices Preceded by Pat Brown Governor of California 1967–75 Succeeded by Jerry Brown Preceded by Jimmy Carter President of the United States 1981–89 Succeeded by George H. W. Bush Diplomatic posts Preceded by François Mitterrand Chairperson of the Group of 7 1983 Succeeded by Margaret Thatcher Awards and achievements Preceded by Ruhollah Khomeini Time Person of the Year 1980 Succeeded by Lech Wałęsa Preceded by The Computer Time Person of the Year 1983 Served alongside: Yuri Andropov Succeeded by Peter Ueberroth Honorary titles Preceded by Richard Nixon Oldest living President of the United States 1981–2004 Succeeded by Gerald Ford Preceded by John Gibson Persons who have lain in state or honor in the United States Capitol rotunda 2004 Succeeded by Rosa Parks Preceded by Jacob Chestnut

Ronald Reagan February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975) Life and politics Birthplace Pitney Store Boyhood home Rancho del Cielo Filmography Presidential Library Death and state funeral Political positions Governship of California Namesakes and memorials Presidency First inauguration Second inauguration Domestic policy Economic policy Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 Tax Reform Act of 1986 Assassination attempt Strategic Defense Initiative Foreign policy Reagan Doctrine Cold War: first term second term 1985 Geneva Summit 1986 Reykjavík Summit INF Treaty 1987 Washington Summit 1988 Moscow Summit Invasion of Grenada Iran–Contra Resolute desk The Grace Commission Cabinet Federal judicial appointments Supreme Court controversies Speeches Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine "A Time for Choosing" Reagan's Neshoba County Fair "states' rights" speech First inaugural address "Ash heap of history" "Evil empire" "Tear down this wall!" State of the Union Address: 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Books An American Life (1990 autobiography) The Reagan Diaries (2007) Biographical works Elections California gubernatorial election, 1966 1970 Republican Party presidential primaries, 1968 1976 1980 1984 Republican National Convention 1968 1976 1980 1984 Ronald Reagan presidential campaign, 1980 "There you go again" United States presidential election, 1976 1980 1984 Popular culture In fiction In music Postage stamps The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001 film) The Reagans (2003 film) Reagan (2011 documentary) The Butler (2013 film) "What would Reagan do?" Family Jack Reagan (father) Nelle Wilson Reagan (mother) Neil Reagan (brother) Jane Wyman (first wife) Nancy Reagan (second wife) Maureen Reagan (daughter) Michael Reagan (adopted son) Patti Davis (daughter) Ron Reagan (son) Rex (dog) ← Jimmy Carter George H. W. Bush → Book California portal Category Conservatism portal Commons Wikibooks Wikiquote Wikisource texts

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Cabinet of United States President Ronald Reagan (1981–89)   Cabinet Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. (1981–82) George P. Shultz (1982–89) Secretary of the Treasury Donald T. Regan (1981–85) James A. Baker (1985–88) Nicholas F. Brady (1988–89) Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger (1981–87) Frank C. Carlucci (1987–89) Attorney General William French Smith (1981–85) Edwin Meese (1985–88) Richard L. Thornburgh (1988–89) Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt (1981–83) William P. Clark (1983–85) Donald P. Hodel (1985–89) Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block (1981–86) Richard E. Lyng (1986–89) Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige (1981–87) C. William Verity (1987–89) Secretary of Labor Raymond J. Donovan (1981–85) William E. Brock III (1985–87) Ann Dore McLaughlin (1987–89) Secretary of Health and Human Services Richard S. Schweiker (1981–83) Margaret M. Heckler (1983–85) Otis R. Bowen (1985–89) Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Samuel R. Pierce (1981–89) Secretary of Transportation Drew Lewis (1981–83) Elizabeth H. Dole (1983–87) James H. Burnley IV (1987–89) Secretary of Energy James B. Edwards (1981–83) Donald P. Hodel (1983–85) John S. Herrington (1985–89) Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell (1981–85) William J. Bennett (1985–88) Lauro F. Cavazos (1988–89)   Cabinet-level Vice President George H. W. Bush (1981–89) White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker (1981–85) Donald T. Regan (1985–87) Howard H. Baker Jr. (1987–88) Kenneth M. Duberstein (1988–89) Director of the Office of Management and Budget David Stockman (1981–85) James C. Miller III (1985–88) Joseph R. Wright Jr. (1988–89) Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Anne M. Gorsuch (1981–83) William D. Ruckelshaus (1983–85) Lee M. Thomas (1985–89) Director of Central Intelligence William J. Casey (1981–87) William H. Webster (1987–89) Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick (1981–85) Vernon A. Walters (1985–89) Trade Representative William E. Brock III (1981–85) Clayton K. Yeutter (1985–89) Chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers Murray L. Weidenbaum (1981–82) Martin S. Feldstein (1982–84) Beryl W. Sprinkel (1985–89)

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Governors of California Before US de Portolà Fages Rivera de Neve Fages Roméu Arrillaga Arrillaga Borica Alberní Arrillaga J. Argüello Solá L. Argüello Echeandía Victoria P. Pico Zamorano / Echeandía Figueroa Castro Gutierrez Chico Gutierrez Alvarado Carrillo Alvarado Micheltorena P. Pico Flores A. Pico P. Pico Riley Burnett After US Burnett McDougall Bigler J. Johnson Weller Latham Downey Stanford Low Haight Booth Pacheco Irwin Perkins Stoneman Bartlett Waterman Markham Budd Gage Pardee Gillett H. Johnson Stephens Richardson Young Rolph Merriam Olson Warren Knight P. Brown Reagan J. Brown Deukmejian Wilson Davis Schwarzenegger J. Brown Before US After US US list by time in office US list by age

United States presidential election, 1968 Republican Party Convention Primaries Nominee Richard Nixon campaign VP Nominee: Spiro Agnew Candidates: Frank Carlson Clifford P. Case Hiram Fong John Lindsay Ronald Reagan Jim Rhodes Nelson Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller George W. Romney campaign Harold Stassen John A. Volpe Democratic Party Convention protests Primaries Nominee: Hubert Humphrey campaign VP Nominee: Edmund Muskie Candidates: Roger D. Branigin John G. Crommelin Paul C. Fisher Lyndon B. Johnson Robert F. Kennedy (campaign) Thomas C. Lynch Eugene McCarthy (campaign) George McGovern Dan K. Moore Channing E. Phillips George Smathers Stephen M. Young American Independent Party Nominee: George Wallace campaign VP nominee: Curtis LeMay   Other Third party and independent candidates Communist Party Nominee: Charlene Mitchell VP nominee: Michael Zagarell Peace and Freedom Party Nominee: Eldridge Cleaver VP nominee: Douglas Fitzgerald Dowd Prohibition Party Nominee: E. Harold Munn Socialist Labor Party Nominee: Henning A. Blomen Socialist Workers Party Nominee: Fred Halstead VP nominee: Paul Boutelle Independents and other candidates: Dick Gregory Pat Paulsen Pigasus Other 1968 elections: House Senate

United States presidential election, 1976 Democratic Party Convention Primaries Nominee: Jimmy Carter VP Nominee: Walter Mondale Candidates: Birch Bayh Lloyd Bentsen Jerry Brown Robert Byrd Hugh Carey Frank Church Fred R. Harris Hubert Humphrey Henry M. Jackson Leon Jaworski Barbara Jordan Eugene McCarthy Ellen McCormack Walter Mondale Jennings Randolph Terry Sanford Milton Shapp campaign Sargent Shriver Adlai Stevenson III Mo Udall George Wallace Republican Party Convention Primaries Nominee: Gerald Ford VP Nominee: Bob Dole Candidates: James L. Buckley Ronald Reagan Harold Stassen   Third party and independent candidates American Party Nominee: Thomas J. Anderson American Independent Party Nominee: Lester Maddox Communist Party Nominee: Gus Hall VP nominee: Jarvis Tyner Libertarian Party Nominee: Roger MacBride VP nominee: David Bergland People's Party Nominee: Margaret Wright VP nominee: Benjamin Spock Prohibition Party Nominee: Ben Bubar VP nominee: Earl Dodge Socialist Workers Party Nominee: Peter Camejo VP nominee: Willie Mae Reid U.S. Labor Party Nominee: Lyndon LaRouche Other 1976 elections: House Senate Gubernatorial

United States presidential election, 1980 Republican Party Convention Primaries Primary results Nominee Ronald Reagan VP Nominee George H. W. Bush Candidates John B. Anderson Howard Baker George H. W. Bush John Connally Phil Crane Bob Dole Ben Fernandez Harold Stassen Democratic Party Convention Primaries Primary results Nominee Jimmy Carter VP Nominee Walter Mondale Candidates Jerry Brown Ted Kennedy Ron Dellums Independent Candidate John B. Anderson VP candidate Patrick Lucey   Other independent and third party candidates Citizens Party Nominee Barry Commoner VP Nominee LaDonna Harris Libertarian Party Nominee Ed Clark VP Nominee David Koch Prohibition Party Nominee Ben Bubar VP Nominee Earl Dodge Socialist Party Nominee David McReynolds VP Nominee Diane Drufenbrock Socialist Workers Party Nominee Andrew Pulley Alternate nominees Richard Congress Clifton DeBerry Workers World Party Nominee Deirdre Griswold VP Nominee Gavrielle Holmes Independents and other candidates Lyndon LaRouche Maureen Smith Running mate Elizabeth Cervantes Barron Warren Spannaus Other 1980 elections House Senate Gubernatorial

United States presidential election, 1984 Republican Party Convention Primaries Primary results Nominee Ronald Reagan VP Nominee George H. W. Bush Candidates Ben Fernandez Harold Stassen Democratic Party Convention Primaries Primary results Nominee Walter Mondale VP Nominee Geraldine Ferraro Candidates Reubin Askew Alan Cranston John Glenn Gary Hart Ernest Hollings Jesse Jackson George McGovern   Third party and independent candidates Citizens Party Nominee Sonia Johnson VP Nominee Richard Walton Communist Party Nominee Gus Hall VP Nominee Angela Davis Libertarian Party Nominee David Bergland VP Nominee Jim Lewis Candidates Gene Burns Earl Ravenal Mary Ruwart Prohibition Party Nominee Earl Dodge Socialist Equality Party Nominee Edward Winn VP Nominee Helen Halyard Socialist Party Nominee Sonia Johnson VP Nominee Richard Walton Socialist Workers Party Nominee Melvin T. Mason VP Nominee Matilde Zimmermann Workers World Party Nominee Larry Holmes Alternate nominee Gavrielle Holmes VP Nominee Gloria La Riva Independents and other candidates: Charles Doty Larry Flynt Lyndon LaRouche Running mate Billy Davis Other 1984 elections House Senate Gubernatorial

Revolutions of 1989 Internal background Era of Stagnation Communism Anti-communism Criticism of communism Eastern Bloc Eastern Bloc economies Eastern Bloc politics Eastern Bloc information dissemination Eastern Bloc emigration and defection KGB Nomenklatura Shortage economy Totalitarianism Eastern European Anti-Communist Insurgencies International background Active measures Cold War List of socialist states Predictions of Soviet collapse Reagan Doctrine Soviet imperialism Terrorism and the Soviet Union Vatican Opposition Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Reforms Socialism with Chinese characteristics Perestroika Glasnost Democratisation in the Soviet Union Sinatra Doctrine Doi Moi Government leaders Ramiz Alia Nicolae Ceauşescu Mikhail Gorbachev Károly Grósz Erich Honecker János Kádár Miloš Jakeš Egon Krenz Wojciech Jaruzelski Slobodan Milošević Mathieu Kérékou Mengistu Haile Mariam Ne Win Denis Sassou Nguesso Heng Samrin Deng Xiaoping Todor Zhivkov Siad Barre Opposition methods Civil resistance Demonstrations Human chains Magnitizdat Polish underground press Protests Samizdat Strike action Opposition leaders Lech Wałęsa Václav Havel Alexander Dubček Ion Iliescu Liu Gang Wu'erkaixi Chai Ling Wang Dan Feng Congde Tank Man Joachim Gauck Sali Berisha Sanjaasürengiin Zorig Vladimir Bukovsky Boris Yeltsin Viacheslav Chornovil Vytautas Landsbergis Zianon Pazniak Zhelyu Zhelev Aung San Suu Kyi Meles Zenawi Isaias Afewerki Opposition movements Beijing Students' Autonomous Federation Charter 77 New Forum Civic Forum Democratic Party of Albania Democratic Russia Initiative for Peace and Human Rights Sąjūdis Peaceful Revolution People's Movement of Ukraine Solidarity Popular Front of Latvia Popular Front of Estonia Public Against Violence Belarusian Popular Front National League for Democracy National Salvation Front Unification Church political activities Union of Democratic Forces Events by location Central and Eastern Europe Albania Bulgaria Czechoslovakia East Germany Hungary Poland Romania Soviet Union Yugoslavia Soviet Union Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Chechnya Estonia Georgia Latvia Lithuania Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Moldova Russia Tajikstan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan Elsewhere Afghanistan Angola Benin Burma Cambodia China Congo-Brazzaville Ethiopia Mongolia Mozambique Somalia South Yemen Individual events 1988 Polish strikes April 9 tragedy Black January Baltic Way 1987–89 Tibetan unrest Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Removal of Hungary's border fence Polish Round Table Agreement Hungarian Round Table Talks Pan-European Picnic Monday Demonstrations Alexanderplatz demonstration Malta Summit German reunification January Events in Lithuania January Events in Latvia March 1991 protests in Belgrade August Coup Dissolution of the Soviet Union Later events Colour revolution Decommunization Lustration Democratization Economic liberalization Post-Soviet conflicts Neo-Sovietism Neo-Stalinism Post-communism Yugoslav Wars

Cold War USA USSR ANZUS NATO Non-Aligned Movement SEATO Warsaw Pact 1940s Dekemvriana Yalta Conference Operation Unthinkable Potsdam Conference Gouzenko Affair Operation Masterdom Operation Beleaguer Operation Blacklist Forty Iran crisis of 1946 Greek Civil War Corfu Channel incident Turkish Straits crisis Restatement of Policy on Germany First Indochina War Truman Doctrine Asian Relations Conference Marshall Plan 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état Tito–Stalin Split Berlin Blockade Western betrayal Iron Curtain Eastern Bloc Western Bloc Chinese Civil War (Second round) Malayan Emergency 1950s Bamboo Curtain Korean War 1953 Iranian coup d'état Uprising of 1953 in East Germany 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état Partition of Vietnam First Taiwan Strait Crisis Geneva Summit (1955) Poznań 1956 protests Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Suez Crisis Syrian Crisis of 1957 Sputnik crisis Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Cuban Revolution Kitchen Debate Bandung Conference Bricker Amendment McCarthyism Operation Gladio Iraqi July Revolution "We will bury you" 1960s Congo Crisis Sino-Soviet split 1960 U-2 incident Bay of Pigs Invasion 1960 Turkish coup d'état Soviet–Albanian split Berlin Wall Portuguese Colonial War (Angolan War of Independence Guinea-Bissau War of Independence Mozambican War of Independence) Cuban Missile Crisis Sino-Indian War Sarawak Communist Insurgency Iraqi Ramadan Revolution 1963 Syrian coup d'état Vietnam War 1964 Brazilian coup d'état United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1965–66) South African Border War Transition to the New Order Domino theory ASEAN Declaration Laotian Civil War 1966 Syrian coup d'état Argentine Revolution Korean DMZ Conflict Greek military junta of 1967–74 USS Pueblo incident Six-Day War War of Attrition Cultural Revolution Prague Spring Malaysia Communist Insurgency War Invasion of Czechoslovakia Iraqi Ba'athist Revolution Goulash Communism Sino-Soviet border conflict Communist insurgency in the Philippines Corrective Move 1970s Détente Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Black September in Jordan 1970 Syrian Corrective Revolution Cambodian Civil War Realpolitik Ping-pong diplomacy 1971 Turkish coup d'état Corrective Revolution (Egypt) Four Power Agreement on Berlin 1972 Nixon visit to China 1973 Chilean coup d'état Yom Kippur War Carnation Revolution Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Rhodesian Bush War Angolan Civil War Mozambican Civil War Ogaden War Ethiopian Civil War Lebanese Civil War Sino-Albanian split Cambodian–Vietnamese War Sino-Vietnamese War Iranian Revolution Operation Condor Dirty War Bangladesh Liberation War Korean Air Lines Flight 902 Seven Days to the River Rhine 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympics boycotts 1980 Turkish coup d'état 1986 Black Sea incident 1988 Black Sea bumping incident Solidarity Soviet reaction Contras Central American crisis RYAN Korean Air Lines Flight 007 Able Archer 83 Star Wars Invasion of Grenada People Power Revolution Nagorno-Karabakh War Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall Revolutions of 1989 Glasnost Perestroika 1990s Mongolian Revolution of 1990 Breakup of Yugoslavia Dissolution of the Soviet Union Dissolution of Czechoslovakia Frozen conflicts Abkhazia China Korea Nagorno-Karabakh South Ossetia Transnistria Sino-Indian border dispute Foreign policy Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan Containment Eisenhower Doctrine Domino theory Hallstein Doctrine Kennedy Doctrine Peaceful coexistence Ostpolitik Johnson Doctrine Brezhnev Doctrine Nixon Doctrine Ulbricht Doctrine Carter Doctrine Reagan Doctrine Rollback Sovereignty of Puerto Rico during the Cold War Ideologies Capitalism Chicago school Keynesianism Monetarism Neoclassical economics Reaganomics Supply-side economics Thatcherism Communism Marxism–Leninism Castroism Eurocommunism Guevarism Hoxhaism Juche Maoism Naxalism Stalinism Titoism Liberal democracy Social democracy Organizations ASEAN CIA Comecon EEC KGB Non-Aligned Movement SAARC Safari Club MI6 Stasi Propaganda Active measures Izvestia Pravda Crusade for Freedom Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Red Scare TASS Voice of America Voice of Russia Races Arms race Nuclear arms race Space Race See also Brinkmanship NATO–Russia relations Soviet espionage in U.S. Russian espionage in U.S. Soviet Union–United States relations US–Soviet summits Category Portal Timeline List of conflicts

Time Persons of the Year Jimmy Carter (1976) Anwar Sadat (1977) Deng Xiaoping (1978) Ayatollah Khomeini (1979) Ronald Reagan (1980) Lech Wałęsa (1981) The Computer (1982) Ronald Reagan / Yuri Andropov (1983) Peter Ueberroth (1984) Deng Xiaoping (1985) Corazon Aquino (1986) Mikhail Gorbachev (1987) The Endangered Earth (1988) Mikhail Gorbachev (1989) George H. W. Bush (1990) Ted Turner (1991) Bill Clinton (1992) The Peacemakers: Yitzhak Rabin / Nelson Mandela / F. W. de Klerk / Yasser Arafat (1993) Pope John Paul II (1994) Newt Gingrich (1995) David Ho (1996) Andrew Grove (1997) Bill Clinton / Ken Starr (1998) Jeffrey P. Bezos (1999) George W. Bush (2000) Complete roster 1927–1950 1951–1975 1976–2000 2001–present

Theodore Roosevelt Award winners 1967: Eisenhower 1968: Saltonstall 1969: White 1970: Hovde 1971: Kraft, Jr. 1972: Holland 1973: Bradley 1974: Owens 1975: Ford 1976: Hamilton 1977: Bradley 1978: Zornow 1979: Chandler 1980: Cooley 1981: Linkletter 1982: Cosby 1983: Palmer 1984: Lawrence 1985: Fleming 1986: Bush 1987: Zable 1988: Not presented 1989: Ebert 1990: Reagan 1991: Gibson 1992: Kemp 1993: Alexander 1994: Johnson 1995: Mathias 1996: Wooden 1997: Payne 1998: Dole 1999: Richardson 2000: Staubach 2001: Cohen 2002: Shriver 2003: de Varona 2004: Page 2005: Ride 2006: Kraft 2007: Tagliabue 2008: Glenn 2009: Albright 2010: Mitchell 2011: Dunwoody 2012: Allen 2013: Dungy 2014: Mills 2015: Jackson

National Football Foundation Gold Medal winners 1958: Dwight D. Eisenhower 1959: Douglas MacArthur 1960: Herbert Hoover & Amos Alonzo Stagg 1961: John F. Kennedy 1962: Byron "Whizzer" White 1963: Roger Q. Blough 1964: Donold B. Lourie 1965: Juan T. Trippe 1966: Earl H. "Red" Blaik 1967: Frederick L. Hovde 1968: Chester J. LaRoche 1969: Richard Nixon 1970: Thomas J. Hamilton 1971: Ronald Reagan 1972: Gerald Ford 1973: John Wayne 1974: Gerald B. Zornow 1975: David Packard 1976: Edgar B. Speer 1977: Louis H. Wilson 1978: Vincent dePaul Draddy 1979: William P. Lawrence 1980: Walter J. Zable 1981: Justin W. Dart 1982: Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) - All Honored Jim Brown, Willie Davis, Jack Kemp, Ron Kramer, Jim Swink 1983: Jack Kemp 1984: John F. McGillicuddy 1985: William I. Spencer 1986: William H. Morton 1987: Charles R. Meyer 1988: Clinton E. Frank 1989: Paul Brown 1990: Thomas H. Moorer 1991: George H. W. Bush 1992: Donald R. Keough 1993: Norman Schwarzkopf 1994: Thomas S. Murphy 1995: Harold Alfond 1996: Gene Corrigan 1997: Jackie Robinson 1998: John H. McConnell 1999: Keith Jackson 2000: Fred M. Kirby II 2001: Billy Joe "Red" McCombs 2002: George Steinbrenner 2003: Tommy Franks 2004: William V. Campbell 2005: Jon F. Hanson 2006: Joe Paterno & Bobby Bowden 2007: Pete Dawkins & Roger Staubach 2008: John Glenn 2009: Phil Knight & Bill Bowerman 2010: Bill Cosby 2011: Robert Gates 2012: Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. 2013: National Football League & Roger Goodell 2014: Tom Catena & George Weiss

Presidents of the Screen Actors Guild Ralph Morgan (1933) Eddie Cantor (1933) Robert Montgomery (1935) Ralph Morgan (1938) Edward Arnold (1940) James Cagney (1942) George Murphy (1944) Robert Montgomery (1946) Ronald Reagan (1947) Walter Pidgeon (1952) Leon Ames (1957) Howard Keel (1958) Ronald Reagan (1959) George Chandler (1960) Dana Andrews (1963) Charlton Heston (1965) John Gavin (1971) Dennis Weaver (1973) Kathleen Nolan (1975) William Schallert (1979) Edward Asner (1981) Patty Duke (1985) Barry Gordon (1988) Richard Masur (1995) William Daniels (1999) Melissa Gilbert (2001) Alan Rosenberg (2005) Ken Howard (2009)

Authority control WorldCat VIAF: 76321889 LCCN: n79059562 ISNI: 0000 0001 2140 0474 GND: 118598724 SUDOC: 027091775 BNF: cb11921304q (data) MusicBrainz: f7d8abe8-c693-4514-92e1-7d62275d3a51 NDL: 00453805 NKC: jn19990006873