RONALD REAGAN

At the end of his two terms in office, Ronald Reagan viewed with satisfaction  the achievements of his innovative program known as the Reagan  Revolution, which aimed  to reinvigorate the American people  and reduce their reliance upon Government. He  felt he had fulfilled his campaign pledge  of 1980 to restore  "the great, confident roar of American  progress and growth and  optimism. "On February 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan was born to Nelle and  John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He attended high school in  nearby Dixon and then worked  his way through Eureka College.  There, he studied economics  and sociology, played on the football  team, and acted in school plays.  Upon graduation, he became  a radio sports announcer. A screen test  in 1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next  two decades he appeared in 53 films. From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952 he married Nancy Davis,  who was also an actress,  and they had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott. As president of the  Screen Actors Guild,  Reagan became embroiled in disputes over the issue  of Communism in the film industry; his political views shifted from liberal  to conservative. He toured  the country as a television host,  becoming a spokesman  for conservatism. In 1966  he was elected Governor of California by a margin of a million  votes; he was re-elected in 1970. Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination  1980 and chose as his running  mate former Texas  Congressman and United Nations  Ambassador George Bush.  Voters troubled by inflation  and by the year-long confinement  of Americans in Iran swept  the Republican ticket into office.  Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for President Jimmy Carter. On January 20, 1981,  Reagan took office.  Only 69 days later he was shot  by a would-be assassin,  but quickly recovered  and returned to duty.  His grace and wit during  the dangerous  incident caused  his popularity to soar. Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb  inflation, increase employment and strengthen national defense.  He embarked upon a course  of cutting taxes and Government  expenditures, refusing  to deviate from it when the  strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit. A renewal of national  self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and Bush win a second term with  an unprecedented number of electoral votes.  Their victory turned away  Democratic challengers Walter F. Mondale  and Geraldine Ferraro. In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code,  which eliminated many deductions and exempted  millions of people with low incomes. At the end  of his administration, the Nation was enjoying its longest recorded period  of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression. In foreign policy, Reagan sought  to achieve "peace through strength."  During his two terms he increased  defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations  with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with  Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear  missiles. Reagan declared war  against international terrorism, sending American bombers  against Libya after evidence came  out that Libya was involved in  an attack on American soldiers  in a West Berlin nightclub. Ronald Reagan was President  from 1981 - 1989.