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'''Ronald Wilson Reagan''' was an evil person. I wish he dided when he was shott. Ronald Reagan hated blak and poor people. The only president worse than regan is our president we have today. I was happy when he died.
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan''' (born ], ] - ], ]) was the 40th ] (1981–1989) and the 33rd ] (1967–1975). Reagan was born and raised in ] and moved to California in the 1930s. Before entering politics, he was a successful Hollywood and television actor, President of the ], and a spokesman for ]. He supported ] ] and other Democrats in the 1930s and 1940s, but by the late 1950s, Reagan had become a ] Republican. During his work for ''General Electric Theatre'', he began to articulate the basic moral and political themes that would carry him into the California Governorship, which he won in ], and the Presidency of the United States. He narrowly lost a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in ], before winning it and the Presidency in ].

Reagan is credited with revitalizing America's economy, and its morale, after a period of stagflation and high interest rates. <ref name= "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime" /> Following an attempt on his life early in his presidency, Reagan ], resulting in tremendous economic growth and a significant reduction in inflation and unemployment. <ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" /> His supporters credit him for reviving the philosophy of ] by advocating minimal government intervention in the economy. He believed in a strong national defense, and supported increases in military spending, among other things, leading to large budget deficits and subsequent tax reform.<ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" /> In foreign affairs, Reagan rejected ] and actively confronted ] and the ]. Reagan negotiated with ] to shrink both countries' nuclear arsenals and bring a peaceful end to the ].<ref name= "The Cold War: A New History"> {{cite book |last= Gaddis|first= John Lewis |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "The Cold War: A New History" |year= 2005 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }} </ref> Reagan is credited with hastening the collapse of the Soviet Union, and many give him credit for helping to bring down the ].<ref name= "The Cold War: A New History" />

Reagan's persuasive ] speaking style earned him the ] "The Great Communicator," while his survival of a number of ], including the ], earned him the nickname "The Teflon President." <ref name="USAToday: Reagan: Teflon President"> {{cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 2006 | url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-06-06-schroeder_x.htm | title = Teflon President | format = | work = Associated Press | publisher = New York Times | accessdate = 2006-12-28}} </ref> After leaving office, Reagan wrote a best-selling autobiography, ''An American Life.'' In 1994, Reagan disclosed that he was suffering from ], and ] ten years later, in 2004, at the age of ninety-three. After a major state funeral in ], Ronald Reagan was laid to rest in California. He is the second longest-lived president in U.S. history, 45 days behind ].

Academics and historians ] Reagan among the top fifteen American presidents, although he is ranked higher in several ]. <ref name= "President's and History" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.pollingreport.com/wh-hstry.htm |title= "President's and History" |accessdate=2007-03-18 |format= |work= }} </ref>

==Early life==
]
Reagan was born in a flat above the local bank building in Tampico, Illinois, on ], ] to John Edward Reagan (]&ndash;]), an ] Catholic, and Nelle Clyde Wilson (]&ndash;]), who was of Scottish and English descent. His mother was a member of the ] Church, and she raised her son accordingly. Reagan's father was a ] and a shoe clerk whose income barely supported the family. <ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio" <ref> {{cite book |last= Cannon |first= Lou |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio" |year= 2001 |publisher= Public Affairs |location= New York |isbn=}}</ref>

His paternal great-grandfather, Michael Reagan, came to the United States from ], ], in the 1860s, and the rest of his paternal family also immigrated from ] in the 1800s.<ref name= "World Connect"<ref> {{cite web |url=http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=updike&id=I27117|title= World Connect: Reagan|accessdate=2007-03-09 |format= |work= }} </ref> Prior to his immigration, the family name was spelled ''Regan''. His maternal great-grandfather, John Wilson, immigrated to the United States from ], ], in the 1840s and married Jane Blue, from Queens, ]. Reagan's maternal grandmother, Mary Anne Elsey, was born in ], ].

Reagan's family briefly lived in several small Illinois towns, and ], during Reagan's earliest years. In ], when Reagan was nine years old, the Reagan family settled in the small town of ]. The Midwestern "small universe" made a lasting impression on Reagan "where I learned standards and values that would guide me the rest of my life," Reagan recounted in his autobiography ''An American Life''. "I learned that hard work is an essential part of life - that by and large, you don't get something for nothing - and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work hard. I learned to admire risk takers and entrepreneurs, be they farmers or small merchants, who went to work and took risks to build something for themselves and their children, pushing at the boundaries of their lives to make them better. I have always wondered at this American marvel." <ref name="An American Life" <ref> {{cite book |last= Reagan |first= Ronald |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "An American Life" |year= 1990 |publisher= Simon & Schuster |location= New York |isbn=}} </ref>

In Dixon, Reagan attended Dixon High School, where he developed a gift for storytelling and acting. In ], Reagan's first job was that of a lifeguard at the Rock River in Lowell Park, near Dixon. He was credited with saving 77 lives during the seven summers he worked there.<ref name="Los Angeles Times Obituary"/>

After High School, Reagan attended ], where he majored in ] and ]. He was a member of the ] fraternity, and was very active in sports.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/>

==Radio and film career==

]
In ], after graduating from Eureka, Reagan worked at radio stations ] in ], and then ] in ] as an announcer for ] ] games, getting only the bare outlines of the game from a ] and relying on his imagination to flesh out the game.<ref>Garry Wills, ''Reagan's America: Innocents at Home'', pp.109-110.</ref> Once, during the ninth inning of a game, the wire went dead but Reagan smoothly improvised a fictional play-by-play (in which hitters on both teams fouled off numerous pitches) until the wire was restored.<ref>Lou Cannon, ''Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power'', pp. 43-44.</ref> As a Headline radio announcer, Reagan took a screen test that led to a seven-year contract with the ] studio. Reagan's clear voice, easy-going manner, and athletic physique made him popular with audiences; the majority of his screen roles were as the leading man, beginning with "B" films and carrying on through "A" films. His first screen credit was the starring role in the 1937 movie '']''. By the end of ], he had appeared in 19 films. Before '']'' in ], he played the role of ] in the film '']''. From this role he acquired the nickname ''the Gipper'', which he retained the rest of his life. Reagan considered his best acting work to have been in '']'' (]). He played the part of a young man whose legs were amputated. He used a line he spoke in this film, "Where's the rest of me?", as the title for his autobiography. Other notable Reagan films include ''International Squadron'', '']'', '']'', '']'', '']'', ''Hong Kong'', ''The Winning Team'', '']'', ''Cattle Queen of Montana'', ''Storm Warning'', '']'' (1964 remake), and Prisoner of War movie. His many leading ladies included ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. He has a star on the ].

On May 25, 1937, Reagan was appointed a ] in the Officers' Reserve Corps of the ]. He served with Troop B, 322nd Cavalry.<ref name= "11th ACR Homepage">{{cite web |url= http://www.irwin.army.mil/Units/11TH+Armored+Cavalry+Regiment/11thACR/ 11th ACR Homepage |title= 11th ACR Homepage |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref> After the ], on April 18, 1942, Lieutenant Reagan was ordered to active duty, but because of his ] was prevented from serving overseas.<ref name="USSRR"<ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.reagan.navy.mil/about_reagan/ball_cap/ball_cap.htm CVN-76 ''USS Ronald Reagan'' Homepage |title= "Significance of Horse and Ridder" |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref> He was first assigned to the ] Port of Embarkation at ], California, as a liaison officer for the Port and Transportation Office.<ref name="USSRR" /> At the request of the ], he applied for a transfer from the Cavalry to the Army Air Force.<ref name="USSRR" /> In June 1942, was assigned to the ], which made training and education films for the war effort.<ref name="USSRR" /> Reagan recalled in his first autobiography ''Where's the Rest of Me'' that he witnessed inefficiencies in his Army department because bureaucrats wanted to protect their own jobs and budgets. That's when his enthusiasm for government efforts began to wane and his enthusiasm for free markets - and competition - began to rise, he recalled. Reagan remained in Hollywood for the duration of the war.

]
Reagan's film roles became fewer in the late 1950s; he moved to television as a host and frequent performer for '']''. Reagan appeared in over 50 television dramas. Reagan served as the president of the ] (SAG) from 1947 until 1952, and again from 1959 to 1960. In 1952, a Hollywood dispute raged over his granting of a SAG blanket waiver to ], which allowed it to both represent and employ talent for its burgeoning ]. He went from host and program supervisor of ''General Electric Theater'' to producing and claiming an equity stake in the TV show itself. At one point in the late 1950s, Reagan was earning approximately $125,000 per year ($800,000 in 2006 dollars). His final work as a professional actor was as host and performer from 1964 to 1965 on the popular '']'' television series. Reagan's final big-screen appearance came in the 1964 film '']'', a remake of an earlier version, based on a short story by ]. Reagan portrayed a mob chieftain. This film, the first made-for-TV movie, was originally produced for NBC, but the network's censor found it too violent. Reagan's co-stars were ], ], and Angie Dickinson.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/> Ronald Reagan has a star on the ], located at 6374 Hollywood Boulevard.

==Marriages==
], at a luncheon for her in ].]]
Reagan married actress ] on ], ]; they had a daughter, ] in 1941; an adopted son, ] in 1945, and a second daughter, Christine, born and died ], ]. They divorced on ], ].<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/> Reagan is the only United States President to have been divorced.

Reagan married actress ] on ], ]. His best man was ]. Their daughter ] was born on ] of the same year. In 1958, they had a second child, ].

From the very start of their marriage, Ronald and Nancy Reagan were "soul mates." He often called her "Mommy"; she called him "Ronnie".<ref name= "By Reagan's Side, but her own person"> {{cite web |url= http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usnanc063835985jun06,0,3872519.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines "By Reagan's side, but her own person."|title= "By Reagan's Side, but her own person" |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref> This deep relationship was with the Reagans throughout all of their married life. While ] and ], the Reagans frequently displayed their affection for each other in public, and in private.<ref name="An American Life"/> Even when the President was debilitated by ], Nancy Reagan reaffirmed their love for each other, stating: "We were very much in love, and still are." <ref name= "End of a Love Story" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/265714.stm |title= "End of a Love Story" |accessdate=2007-03-21 |format= |work= }} </ref> President Reagan's passing away in ] of ] ended what ] called "the greatest love affair in the history of the American Presidency." <ref name= "End of a Love Story" />

==Early political career==
Reagan was originally a ], a supporter of the ], and a lifelong admirer of ]'s leadership skills. In the late 1940s, Reagan was still a visible speaker defending President ], but his political loyalties shifted to the ].<ref name="An American Life"/>
].]]

His first major political role was as president of the ] (SAG), the labor union that represented most Hollywood actors. In this position, he testified before the ] (HUAC) on suspected communist influence in the motion picture industry. The Screen Actors Guild, he claimed, was being infiltrated by communists. In private he and his first wife, Jane Wyman, met with FBI agents in 1947 to name "suspected subversives". Among those he allegedly fingered were actors ], ], and ], each of whom was later called before HUAC and subsequently blacklisted in Hollywood. (This information was not revealed until a 2002 ] request.)<ref name= "Reagan, FBI to Quash Campus Unrest"> {{cite web |url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2002/06/08/reagan.htm Reagan, FBI, CIA tried to quash campus unrest|title= "Reagan, FBI to Quash Campus Unrest" |accessdate=2004-06-08 |format= |work= }} </ref> FBI files allegedly show that he continually gave the FBI names of people he suspected of communist ties.

Now a staunch anti-Communist, Reagan supported the presidential candidacies of ] (1952, 1956) and ] (1960), while remaining a registered Democrat. Through these years, Reagan read about American history, the ], and free market economics, such as Nobel Prize-winner ]'s '']''. Reagan came to believe that socialism was a threat to the American way of life and that liberals were naively leading the country down a road to serfdom.<ref name="An American Life"/>

Following the election of ], he formally ] to become a Republican in 1962 — in time to mount the 1964 bandwagon of conservative Presidential contender ]. Speaking on Goldwater's behalf, Reagan revealed his ideological motivation: "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government set out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing."<ref name= "Remembering Ronald Reagan"> {{cite web |url= http://www.house.gov/paul/press/press2004/pr061004.htm ''Remembering Ronald Reagan'' |title= "Remembering Ronald Reagan" |accessdate=2004-06-09 |format= |work= }} </ref> This speech became known as the "Time for Choosing" speech.

"I didn't leave the Democratic Party", he claimed. "The party left me."<ref name="Los Angeles Times Obituary"> {{cite web |url= http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-reagan,1,4780792.story?page=4&coll=la-news-obituaries ''Los Angeles Times'' obituary |title= "Los Angeles Times Obituary" |accessdate= 2004-06-09 |format= |work= }} </ref> Reagan later explained in his autobiography ''An American Life'' that Franklin D. Roosevelt warned that welfare programs could destroy the work ethic like "a narcotic," and that Roosevelt liquidated the temporary welfare programs designed to aid the country through the Great Depression once the Depression had passed (though the programs would be revived after his death). Reagan implied that Roosevelt would have also disapproved of the change in the ].<ref name="An American Life"/>

==Governor of California, 1967-1975==
After Reagan's "Time for Choosing" speech, California Republicans became impressed with Reagan's political views and charisma. <ref name= "Governor Ronald Reagan of California" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.californiagovernors.ca.gov/h/biography/governor_33.html |title= "Governor Ronald Reagan" |accessdate=2007-03-21 |format= |work= }} </ref> They nominted him for ] in 1966, and he was elected, defeating two-term governor ]. After working with UC Regent ] to crack down on anti-war protesters at ], he was re-elected in 1970, defeating "Big Daddy" ], but chose not to seek a third term. Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California on ], ]. In his first term, he froze government hiring but also approved tax hikes to balance the budget. Reagan entered into high profile conflicts with the protest movements of the era. During the ] in 1969, he sent 2,200 ] troops to the Berkeley campus of the ]. In a speech in April 1970, he stated, "If it's to be a bloodbath, let it be now. Appeasement is not the answer." Later, in April 1970, a young man who was aiding police was accidentally shot during a riot in ]. Reagan then blamed the death of the young man on the rioters.<ref name= "Los Angeles Times, Reagan and Rioting"> {{cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "Los Angeles Times" |year= 1970|publisher= Los Angeles Times |location= Los Angeles, California|isbn= }} </ref>]

He worked with Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Moretti to reform ] in 1971. Reagan also opposed the construction of a large federal dam, the Dos Rios, which would have flooded a valley of ] ranches. Later, Reagan and his family took a summer backpack trip into the high ] to a place where a proposed trans-Sierra highway would be built. Once there, he declared it would not be built. One of Reagan's greatest frustrations in office concerned ]. He had campaigned as a strong supporter; however, his efforts to enforce the state's laws in this area were thwarted when the ] issued its '']'' decision, which invalidated all ]s issued in California prior to 1972, although the decision was quickly overturned by a ]. Despite his support for the death penalty, Reagan granted two clemencies and a temporary reprieve during his governorship. ], no other clemency has been granted to a condemned person in California. The only execution during Reagan's governorship was on ], ], when Aaron Mitchell was executed by the state in ]'s gas chamber. There was not another execution in California until 1992. When the ] kidnapped ] in Berkeley and demanded the distribution of food to the poor, Reagan suggested that it would be a good time for an outbreak of ].<ref name= "Los Angeles Times, Reagan and Botulism"> {{cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "Los Angeles Times" |year= 1974 |publisher= Los Angeles Times |location= Los Angeles, California |isbn= }}</ref> After the media reported on the comment, he apologized.

Reagan promoted the dismantling of the public ] system, proposing that community-based housing and treatment replace involuntary hospitalization, which he saw as a violation of ] issue. Critics allege that the community replacement facilities have never been adequately funded, either by Reagan or his successors, and that his dismantling of the psychiatric hospitals resulted in an increase in homelessness, motivated more by a desire to find ways of cutting public expenditure. Reagan was strongly influenced by the ]. When asked in an interview in ] which economists were influential on him, he replied: "] and ], and ] and ]–I’m one for the classical economists."<ref name="Inside Ronald Reagan: A Reference Interview"> {{cite web |url= http://reason.com/7507/int_reagan.shtml |title= "Inside Ronald Reagan: A Reference Interview" |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref>

Reagan was the first governor to use a corporate business jet for official travel. ] received one of the first ] jets manufactured. His pilot, Bill Paynter, changed his Democratic voting registration to Republican within six months of meeting Reagan. Paynter often told listeners the Reagan on TV was the same Reagan in person, a man who walked his talk. Reagan claimed that he would often ask his flight crew if it would be any inconvenience to change the published flight schedule because he did not want to keep his support staff from being with their families and any family planned events.<ref name="An American Life"/>

Reagan first tested the Presidential waters in 1968 as part of a "Stop Nixon" movement which included those from the party's left led by then-] Governor ]. Reagan managed to win the pledges of some 600 delegates, but ] quickly steamrolled to the nomination; Reagan urged the convention to nominate Nixon unanimously.<ref name="Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan"/>

===1976 presidential campaign===
] at the ], after narrowly losing the Presidential nomination. ] is at his left.]]
In 1976, Reagan challenged incumbent President ], a moderate. Reagan soon established himself as the conservative candidate; like-minded organizations such as the ] became the key components of his political base. He relied on a strategy crafted by campaign manager ] of winning a few primaries early to seriously damage the liftoff of Ford's campaign, but the strategy quickly disintegrated. Poor management of expectations and an ill-timed speech promising to shift responsibility for federal services to the states without identifying any clear funding mechanism caused Reagan to lose ] and later ]. Reagan found himself cornered, desperately needing a win to stay in the race. <ref name="My Turn" <ref> {{cite book |last= Reagan |first= Nancy |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan" |year= 1989 |publisher= Random House |location= New York |isbn=}} </ref>

Reagan's stand in the North Carolina primary was a do-or-die proposition. Hammering Ford on the ], ] with the Soviet Union, busing of school children, and ]'s performance as ], Reagan won 53% to 47%. He used that bit of momentum to add the major states of ] and ], but then fell back from losing efforts in ], ], ], and ]. As the party's convention in Kansas City neared, Ford appeared close to victory, thanks to New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania delegates ostensibly under the control of Ford's liberal Vice President Rockefeller. Acknowledging the strength of his party's moderate and liberal wing, Reagan balanced his ticket by choosing as his running mate moderate Republican Senator ] of ]. Nonetheless, Ford squeaked by with 1,187 delegates to Reagan's 1,070. Reagan's concession speech was a stirring exhortation, emphasizing the dangers of nuclear war and the moral threat posed by the Soviet Union. Although Reagan lost the nomination, in the ] he received 307 write-in votes in ], 388 votes as an Independent on ]'s ballot, and a single electoral vote from a Washington State "]."<ref name="My Turn"/> Ford went on to lose the 1976 presidential election to the Democratic challenger ].

===1980 presidential campaign===
{{main|United States presidential election, 1980}}
] in ].]]
In ], Reagan won the Republican nomination for president, handily winning most of the primaries after an early defeat in the ]es. During the convention, Reagan attempted to negotiate an unusual power-sharing arrangement that would entice former President Gerald Ford to be the Vice Presidential nominee, but nothing came of it. Instead, Reagan selected his opponent in the primaries, ], who had extensive international experience.<ref name="My Turn"/>

The presidential campaign, led by ], was conducted in the shadow of the ]; every day during the campaign the networks reported on Carter's unavailing efforts to free the hostages. Most analysts argue this weakened Carter's political base, and gave Reagan the opportunity to attack Carter's ineffectiveness. On the other hand, Carter's inability to deal with double-digit inflation and unemployment, lackluster economic growth, instability in the petroleum market leading to gasoline shortages, and the perceived weakness of the U.S. national defense may have had a greater impact on the electorate. Adding to Carter's woes was his use of the "]," the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates, during the 1976 election. The misery index had considerably worsened during his term, which Reagan used to his advantage during the campaign.<ref name="President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/> With respect to the economy, Reagan said, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."<ref name= "An American Life" />

Reagan's showing in the ] boosted his campaign. He seemed more at ease, deflecting President Carter's criticisms with remarks like "There you go again." His most influential remark<ref name= "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/> was a closing question to the audience, during a time of skyrocketing prices and high interest rates, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" (a phrase he would successfully reuse in the 1984 campaign).<ref name="An American Life"/> After he was elected, Reagan was awarded TIME Magazine's "Man of the Year," a title which he would claim again in the next few years.

In the general election, he received 50.7% of the popular vote while incumbent President ] received 41% and independent John Anderson received 6.7%.

==Presidency, 1981-1989==
{{main|Reagan Administration}}
{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="2" style="float: left; margin:1em 1em 1em 0; border:1px solid #000000;font-size:85%;" align="left"
!bgcolor="#dcdcdc" colspan="3"|The Reagan Cabinet
|-
|align="left"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3" |
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left" |'''Ronald Reagan'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1989
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1982
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1982&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1988
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1988&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1988
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1988&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1983
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1983&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1986
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1986&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1983
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1983&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1984
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1988
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1988&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1982
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1983&ndash;1987
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1987&ndash;1989
|-
|align="left"|]||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1981&ndash;1982
|-]]''''''''']]</math></nowiki>]]]]]]]]]|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1982&ndash;1985
|-
|align="left"|&nbsp;||align="left"|''']'''||align="left"|1985&ndash;1989
|}

===First term, 1981-1985===
]
During his Presidency, Ronald Reagan pursued policies that reflected his optimism in individual freedom, promoted individual liberty domestically, and pursued freedom abroad. <ref name= "A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan" /> The Reagan Presidency began in a historic manner. The first major event happened just thirty minutes into his presidency on ], ]. As he was delivering his inaugural address, ], were set free.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/>

====Assassination attempt====
{{main|Reagan assassination attempt}}
On March 30, 1981, only sixty-nine days into the new administration, Reagan, his press secretary ], and two others were struck by gunfire from a deranged would-be assassin, ]. Missing Reagan’s heart by less than one inch, the bullet instead pierced his left lung, which likely spared his life. In the operating room, Reagan joked to the surgeons, "I hope you're all Republicans"<ref name= "I Hope You're all Republicans!"> {{cite web |url= http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa120197b.htm |title= "I Hope You're all Republicans" |accessdate=2003-04-14 |format= |work= }} </ref> (though they were not, Dr. Joseph Giordano replied, "Today, Mr. President, we're all Republicans"). Reagan later famously told his wife, "Honey, I forgot to duck" (borrowing Jack Dempsey's line to his wife). On ], ] escorted the President home from the hospital.<ref name="My Turn"/>

====Federal air traffic controllers' strike====
Only a short time into his administration, Federal air traffic controllers went on strike.<ref name= "Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio" /> Reagan held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, where he stated that if "they did not return to work within forty-eight hours, they have forfeited their jobs, and will be terminated."<ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination">] (2005). ''President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination''. New York: Simon & Schuster.</ref> On ], ], Reagan fired 11,359 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work, notwithstanding the fact that the strike was illegal under federal law.<ref name="A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan"/> This situation painted a new picture of Reagan for many Americans.

===="Reaganomics" and the economy====
]
{{main|Reaganomics}}
When Ronald Reagan entered office, the American economy faced the highest rate of ] since ], and this was considered the nation's principal economic problem. Reagan was considered a small-government ] and supported income ], cuts to ] and deregulation, but no one knew what concrete steps he meant to take, or whether the ] (controlled by ]) would support him.<ref name="Los Angeles Times Obituary 2"/>

When President Reagan returned from the hospital, he focused on reviving the economy which was exhibiting ] (a high rate of ] combined with an ]). Partially based on ] (derided by opponents as "trickle down economics"), Reagan's policies sought to stimulate the economy with large across-the-board ]. The cuts were to be coupled with commensurate reductions in social welfare spending. Reagan also anticipated that economic growth would offset projected revenue losses from lower ].<ref name="An American Life"/>

After less than two years in office, Reagan rolled back a large portion of his corporate income tax cuts.<ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" /> Not only did Reagan retreat from proposed cuts in the ] budget, but he also appointed the Greenspan Commission, which resolved the solvency crisis through reforms (including acceleration of previously-enacted increases in the payroll tax). Although Reagan achieved a marginal reduction in the rate of expansion of government spending, his overall fiscal policy was expansionary. Social programs grew apace at the behest of the Democrat-controlled Congress. Reagan's fiscal policies soon became known as "]", a nickname used by both his supporters and detractors. <ref name="President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/>
]

President Reagan's tenure marked a time of economic prosperity for most Americans in the United States. Tax rates were lowered significantly under Reagan (the top personal tax bracket dropped from 70% to 28% in 7 years <ref name= "Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio" />), and ] growth recovered strongly after the 1982 recession. Unemployment peaked at over 11 percent in 1982, then dropped steadily, and ] dropped even more significantly (plus wages fell). <ref name="President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/> This economic growth generated greater tax revenue, although the new revenue did not cover an increased federal budget that included a military buildup, and expansions of social programs, in violation of the doctrine of ]. The result was greater deficit spending and a dramatic increase in the ], which tripled in unadjusted dollar terms during Reagan's presidency. The U.S. trade deficit expanded significantly.

He reappointed ] ] and steadfastly supported the Fed's anti-inflation actions, <ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" /> despite political risks from the ensuing recession, which ended the high inflation that damaged the economy under his predecessors. Reagan appointed the monetarist ] to succeed Volker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He preserved the core New Deal safeguards, such as the ], ], ] and ], while rolling-back the excesses of 1960s and 1970s liberal policies. <ref name= "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan" /> He reformed ], to make it solvent many decades longer. <ref name= "Ronald Reagan: The Triumph on Imagination" />

Critics from the left charged that Reagan was unconcerned with income inequality and its effects, abandoning the egalitarian ideals that had come to be standard stated policy goals since the New Deal era.<ref name= "The Historical Record" <ref> {{cite book |last= Danziger|first= S.H. |authorlink= |coauthors= D.H. Weinburg|title= "The Historical Record: Trends in Family Income, Inequality, and Poverty" in ''Confronting Poverty: Prescriptions for Change'' |year= 1994 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }} </ref> Reagan's efforts to cut ] and income taxes became common flash points for both critics and supporters. Critics charged that this primarily benefited the wealthy in America, deriding these policies as "]". Reagan's former director of the ], ], stated that Reagan was deliberately left "out of the loop" by cabinet members, when the true economic decisions were made. He believed that Reagan did not know where he stood on economic policy and said he was forced to coach him prior to speeches and press conferences on what to say.<ref name= "PBS Special Broadcasting">''''. Prod. by Sherry Jones. April 20, 1986. Videocassette. PBS, 1986.</ref> Prior to the submission of the updated figures of the 1981 budget to Congress, Stockman gave a "test" to Reagan, asking him to cut funding from 50 different categories that comprised the entire budget. Stockman asserted that Reagan "failed" the test as he couldn't bring himself to cut funding from any of the programs.<ref name= "PBS Special Broadcasting"/> He later characterized the Reagan administration as giving the "the greatest free lunch fiscal policy" to Americans through his economic policies.<ref name= "PBS Special Broadcasting"/> Stockman was fired by Reagan after a disagreement (unrelated to Stockman's claims), and many have speculated that this may have been his way of exacting revenge against the President. Stockman's claims are considered by most to be untrue.<ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" />

Although there is some disagreement over how much Reagan's policies contributed to the unequal distribution of the benefits of economic growth among the rich and the poor, supporters would argue that by 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. In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code, which eliminated some 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.
]

The ] of the banking industry before Reagan took office meant savings and loan associations were given the flexibility to invest their depositors' funds in commercial real estate. Many savings and loan associations began making risky investments. As a result, the ], the federal agency that regulates the industry, tried to clamp down on the trend. In so doing, however, the Board clashed with the policy of permitting the deregulation of many industries, including the thrift industry. The resulting savings and loan scandal bailout ultimately cost the government $150 billion.

In order to cover federal budget deficits created by Congressional overspending on social programs which increased spending by $2 for every $1 of increase in military and defense spending, the ] borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, and by the end of Reagan's second term the ] held by the public rose from 26 percent of ] in ] to 41 percent in 1989, the highest level since 1963. By 1988, the debt totaled $2.6 trillion. The country owed more to foreigners than it was owed, and the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.<ref name= "Washington Post Article"> {{cite book |last= Weisman|first= Jonathan |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "Reagan policies Gave Green Light to Red Ink" |year= 2004 |publisher= Washington Post |location= |isbn= }} </ref> Yet, most American's still consider Reagan's economic strategies successful, and are thankful for "Reaganomics".<ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" />

===="War on Drugs"====
Reagan's policies in the "]" emphasized a comprehensive, five pronged strategy which led to dramatic decreases in adolescent drug use in America.<ref name= "Interview with Mary 'Angie' Hammock" /> The administration produced the government's first comprehensive drug strategy, which was the product of the combined expertise of every Cabinet and Independent agency. The success of the plan was implementation of policies, such as : "zero tolerance," addressing drug ''use'', not just ''abuse'' (as had been addressed by previous administrations), and a strong emphasis on prevention/education (health consequences of drugs and positive alternatives to drug use).<ref name= "Interview with Mary 'Angie' Hammock" /> The prevention plan followed a comprehensive approach to every sector of American society. The emphasis was drug-free schools, drug-free transportation, drug-free homes, etc., but the particular emphasis was on parents and youth.<ref name= "Interview with Mary 'Angie' Hammock" /> Though educational efforts addressing youth were pivotal to the success of the program, educational efforts were aimed at parents with a belief that education should be reinforced in the home and that youth groups would require the support of parents and teachers in order to assure their success. It was this effort that caused the immediate downturn of drug use by adolescents in America, which had eluded previous administrations, and has not been achieved in subsequent administrations.<ref name= "Interview with Mary 'Angie' Hammock" <ref> {{cite interview |last= Hammock |first= Mary "Angie" |subjectlink= |interviewer= |title= "Interview with Mary 'Angie' Hammock" |callsign = |city= |date= |program= }} </ref>

Critics charged that the policies did little to actually reduce the availability of drugs or crime on the street, while resulting in a great financial and human cost for American society. Due to this policy, and various cuts in spending for social programs during his Presidency, some critics regarded Reagan as indifferent to the needs of poor and minority citizens. Nevertheless, some surveys showed that illegal drug use among Americans declined significantly during Reagan's presidency, leading supporters to argue that the policies were successful.<ref name="President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/> The decrease was reported by all national, independent measures including the University of Michigan's National High School Seniors survey, the National Parents Resource Institute on Drug Education, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse's National Household survey.

Reagan's ], ], even took on the War on Drugs as her main cause, by founding the "]" anti-drug association. Even today, there are thousands of "Just Say No" clinics around the country, aimed a helping and rehabilitating kids and teens with drug problems.<ref name="My Turn"/>

====The Judiciary====
], the first female Supreme Court Justice, whom he appointed.]]
During his 1980 campaign, Reagan pledged that if given the opportunity, he would appoint the first female Supreme Court Justice.<ref name="An American Life"> {{cite book | last = Reagan | first = Ronald | authorlink = | coauthors = | origyear = 1990 |title = | url = | title = "An American Life" |pages= | publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York | id = | accessdate = 2 January 2007}}</ref> That opportunity came in his first year in office when he nominated ] to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of ]. In his second term, Reagan elevated ] to succeed ] as ], and named ] to fill the vacant seat. All of these appointments were confirmed by the Senate with relative ease. However in 1987 Reagan lost a significant political battle when the Senate rejected the nomination of ]. ] was eventually confirmed in his place.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/>

Reagan also nominated a large number of judges to the ]s and ]: most of these nominations were not controversial, although a handful of candidates were singled out for criticism by civil rights advocates and other liberal critics, resulting in occasional confirmation fights.

Both his Supreme Court nominations and his lower court appointments were in line with Reagan's philosophy that judges should interpret law as enacted and not "legislate from the bench".<ref name= "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan" /> By the end of the 1980s, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court had put an end to the perceived "activist" trend begun under the leadership of ]. Critics pointed out that the conservatives justices were equally activist, but showed sympathy to corporate America. However, general adherence to the principle of '']'' along with minority support, left most of the major landmark case decisions (such as '']'', '']'', and '']'') of the previous three decades still standing as binding precedent.<ref name="President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination"/>

====Invasion of Grenada, 1983====
{{main|Invasion of Grenada}}

United States Forces invaded the island of ] in 1983, to free kidnapped American hostages. The ] was cited as justification. Reagan sent the U.S. Military to Grenada to carry out the task. The ordeal was a tough one, but in the end, the American military successfully completed the operation, and all the hostages were returned home.<ref name= "Invasion of Grenada, 1983"> {{cite web |url= http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/history/urgfury.pdf |title= "Operation Agent Fury" |accessdate=2007-03-09 |format= |work= }} </ref>

The invasion, ordered by Reagan commenced at 05:00 on October 25, and was the first major operation conducted by the U.S. military since the ]. Fighting continued for several days and the total number of American troops reached some 7,000 along with 300 troops from the OECS. The invading forces encountered about 1,500 Grenadian soldiers and about 600 Cubans, most of whom were military engineers.

Official U.S. sources<ref name= "Invasion of Grenada, 1983"> {{cite web |url= http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/history/urgfury.pdf |title= "Operation Agent Fury" |accessdate=2007-03-09 |format= |work= }} </ref> state that the defenders were well-prepared, well-positioned and put up stubborn resistance, to the extent that the U.S. called in two battalions of reinforcements on the evening of October 26. However, the total naval and air superiority of the invading forces — including helicopter gunships and naval gunfire support — proved to be significant advantages.
U.S. forces suffered 19 fatalities and 116 injuries. Grenada suffered 45 military and at least 24 civilian deaths, along with 358 soldiers wounded. Cuba had 25 killed in action, with 59 wounded and 638 taken prisoner.

In mid-December, after a new government was appointed by the Governor-General, the U.S. forces withdrew.<ref name="Invasion of Grenada, 1983"/>

===1984 presidential campaign===
{{main|United States presidential election, 1984}}
]
In the ], Reagan was re-elected over former Vice President ], winning 49 of 50 states. Reagan's landslide victory saw Mondale carry only his home state of ] (by 3800 votes) and the ]. Reagan received nearly 60% of the popular vote. His chances of winning were not harmed when, at the ], Mondale accepted the party nomination with a speech that was regarded as a self-inflicted mortal wound to his presidential aspirations. In it, Mondale remarked "Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won't tell you. I just did."<ref name= "Mondale's Acceptance Speech"> {{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/conventions/chicago/facts/famous.speeches/mondale.84.shtml Mondale's Acceptance Speech, 1984|title= "Mondales' Acceptance Speech |accessdate=2003-07-15 |format= |work= }} </ref>

Reagan accepted the Republican nomination in ], on a wave of positive feeling bolstered by the recovering economy and the dominating performance by the U.S. athletes at the ] that summer. He became the first American President to open a summer Olympic Games held in the United States.<ref name= "Los Angeles Olympics">{{cite web |url= http://www.sok.se/inenglish/losangeles1984.4.18ea16851076df63622800011008.html |title= "Los Angeles Olympics" |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref>

Despite a weak performance in the first debate,<ref name="My Turn"/> Reagan recovered in the second and was considerably ahead of Mondale in polls taken throughout much of the race. Reagan's landslide win in the 1984 presidential election is often attributed by political commentators to be a result of his conversion of the "]s", the traditionally Democratic voters who voted for Reagan in that election.<ref name="President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination"/> <!--He was also considering Republican party but decided not to.-->

===Second term, 1985-1989===
]
Reagan was sworn in as President for the second time on ], ], in the ] of the ]. The 20th of January fell on a Sunday, so no public celebration was held until the next day, which was the coldest day on record in ] Because of that, inaugural celebrations were held inside the Capitol.<ref name= "My Turn" /> Reagan's Second Term consisted mostly of Foreign Affairs.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/>

On ], ], Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon, causing the first-ever invocation of the Acting President clause of the 25th Amendment. On January 5, 1987, Reagan underwent surgery for prostate cancer which caused further worries about his health, but which significantly raised the public awareness of this "silent killer."<ref name="An American Life"/>

In ], Ronald and Nancy Reagan visited a cemetery in ], where Reagan was to lay a wreath. Some Jewish leaders criticized him for deciding to visit the cemetery, after they discovered that 49 ] men were buried there, and for stating that the German soldiers buried there, who were drafted into services in the later years of the war, were victims, just as were the Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps.<ref name= "Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/> In ], and again in ], Reagan told prominent Israelis and American Jews — notably Prime Minister ] of Israel, ], and Rabbi Martin Hier of ] — of his personal experience ''vis-à-vis'' the ], saying "I was there"; he was in a film unit in Hollywood that processed raw footage they received from Europe for newsreels, but he was not in Europe itself during the war. This incident has often been used to describe Reagan as either confused or lying about his role in WWII, but no claims have been confirmed.<ref name= "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan"> {{cite book |last= Morris |first= Edmond |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan" |year= 2000 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }} </ref>

Reagan was criticized for the slow response of his Administration to the ]-] epidemic, until after the illness of movie star and national icon ] became public news in late July ], by which time 12,067 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS, and 6,079 had died.<ref name= "And the Band Played On"> {{cite book |last= Shilts|first= Randy|authorlink= |coauthors= |title= And the Band Played On|year= 1987 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}</ref> The White House was accused of ignoring an epidemic that had primarily affected gay men; many believing that it took Hudson's death to legitimize the need for action.

====The Iran-Contra Affair====
{{main|Iran-Contra Affair}}
{{main|Reagan administration scandals}}
]
In 1986, the Reagan Administration was found to have illegally sold arms to Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The Iran-Contra Affair was the largest ] in the ] during the ], considered by some to be one of the largest political scandals in history.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Hart
| first = Robert
| authorlink = Robert Hart
| title = NYT's apologies miss the point
| publisher = ]
| date = ]
| url = http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/060204.html }}</ref> Large volumes of documents relating to the scandal were destroyed or withheld from investigators by ] officials.<ref name="Excerpts from Iran-Contra Report">{{cite web
| last =
| first =
| authorlink =
| title = Excerpts From the Iran-Contra Report: A Secret Foreign Policy
| work =
| publisher = New York Times
| date = 1994
| url = http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/06/29/reviews/iran-transcript.html}}</ref> President Reagan professed ignorance of the plot's existence and quickly called for an Independent Counsel to investigate. Reagan's denial of awareness of the scandal belied his signing a secret presidential "finding" describing the deal as "arms-for-hostages". Critics objected to his comparison of the contras to the Founding Fathers and to the French Resistance, which suggests that he viewed the Sandinistas as Communists who were akin to an occupying power. The ], in its ruling on '']'', found that the US had been involved in the "unlawful use of force" in Nicaragua due to its treaty obligations and the customary obligations of international law not to intervene in the affairs of other states. The US had not accepted the court's jurisdiction and did not argue the merits of its case, nor did the court accept the intervention on the behalf of the U.S. by ], to whose defense the US claimed it was coming by its actions in Nicaragua. Despite a ] resolution<ref name= Resolution A/RES/41/31<ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/41/a41r031.htm Resolution A/RES/41/31 |title= "Resolution A/RES/41/31 |accessdate=1986-11-04 |format= |work= }} </ref> demanding compliance, the U.S. never paid the required fine and since ], relations with Nicaragua were friendly.

Reagan appointed a non-partisan, three-man commission to review the scandal, called the Tower Commission. Headed by John Tower, the other two members were Edmund Muskie and Brent Scowcroft.
In the end, ten officials in the Reagan Administration were convicted, and others were forced to resign.<ref name= "The Iran Contra Affair"> {{cite web |url= http://www.answerpoint.org/columns2.asp?column_id=1165&column_type=feature |title= A Tale of Three Countries: The Iran Contra Affair |accessdate=2007-03-09 |format= |work= }} </ref> Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger was indicted for perjury and later received a presidential pardon from George H.W. Bush, days before the trial was to begin. In 2006, historians ranked the Iran-Contra affair as one of the ten worst mistakes by a U.S. president.<ref> - ], ] ]</ref>

====The Cold War====
Reagan escalated the Cold War with the Soviet Union, leaving behind the policy of ] used by his predecessors ], ], and ]. The Reagan Administration implemented a new policy towards the Soviet Union through NSDD-32 (National Security Decisions Directive) to confront the USSR on three fronts: decrease Soviet access to high technology and diminish their resources, including depressing the value of Soviet commodities on the world market; increase American defense expenditures to strengthen the U.S. negotiating position; and force the Soviets to devote more of their economic resources to defense. Most visible was the massive American military build-up.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/>

The administration revived the B-1 bomber program that had been canceled by the Carter administration and began production of the MX "Peacekeeper" missile.<ref name="An American Life"/> In response to Soviet deployment of the SS-20, Reagan oversaw NATO's deployment of the Pershing II missile in West Germany to gain a stronger bargaining position to eventually eliminate that entire class of nuclear weapons. Reagan's position was that if the Soviets did not remove the SS-20 missiles (without a concession from the US), America would simply introduce the Pershing II missiles for a stronger bargaining position, and both missiles would be eliminated.<ref name="Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended"/> Reagan's proposed "zero-option" in 1981 to rid Europe of intermediate-range nuclear weapons was derided as "warmongering." <ref name= "The Cold War: A New History" />

In the United States, the nuclear-freeze resolution passed in the House with the support of nearly 85 percent of Democrats, including Dick Gephardt, Steny Hoyer and future (and current) Sens. Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, and Chuck Schumer. The nuclear-freeze issue failed in the Senate, securing the votes of Senators Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Patrick Leahy, and Robert Byrd. {{Fact|date=March 2007}}

] in ]. In this speech, he famously called the Soviet Union an "Evil Empire."]]

One of Reagan's more controversial proposals was the ] (SDI), a program of state-subsidies for private industry, under the cover of a defense project.<ref name="President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination"/> Reagan believed this defense shield could make nuclear war impossible,<ref name="An American Life"/> but the unlikelihood that the technology could ever work led opponents to dub SDI "Star Wars," and argued that the technological objective was unattainable. {{Fact|date=March 2007}} Supporters responded that SDI gave Reagan a stronger bargaining position. {{Fact|date=March 2007}} Indeed, Soviet leaders became genuinely concerned, and SDI ended up playing a major role in ending the Cold War.<ref name="President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/> Today, the legacy of SDI can be seen with the development of the Patriot, THAD, and AEGIS missile systems &ndash; a layered approach to SDI, brought back into light by North Korea's development of nuclear missiles and threats against the United States.<ref name= "SDI: The Next Generation" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,91361,00.html |title="SDI: The Next Generation" |accessdate=2007-03-15 |format= |work= }} </ref>

Reagan supported anti-communist groups around the world. {{Fact|date=March 2007}} In a policy which became known as the ], his administration funded "freedom fighters" such as the ] in ], the ] in ], ] in ], and ] in ]. The interruption of direct military aid by the ] between 1982 and 1984 and the subsequent rearrange of funding to third-parties, culminating in the ] of 1986-1987. When the Polish government suppressed the ] in late 1981, Reagan imposed economic sanctions on the People's Republic of Poland.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/>

Reagan argued that the American economy was on the move again while the Soviet economy had become stagnant. {{Fact|date=March 2007}} For a while, the Soviet decline was masked by high prices for Soviet oil exports, but that crutch collapsed in the early 1980s. In November 1985, the oil price was $30/barrel for crude, in March 1986 it had fallen to $12.<ref name = "1989 Techno-Diplomacy" <ref> {{cite book |last= Schweitzer |first= Glenn E. |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= 1989 Techno-Diplomacy: U.S.-Soviet Confrontations in Science and Technology |year= 1989 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}</ref>

Reagan's militant rhetoric inspired dissidents in the Soviet Union, but also startled allies and alarmed critics. {{Fact|date=March 2007}} In a famous address on ], ], he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" that would be consigned to the "ash heap of history." After Soviet fighters downed Korean Airlines Flight 007 on ], ], he labeled the act an "act of barbarism... inhuman brutality."<ref name="An American Life"/>

On ], ], Reagan predicted that Communism would collapse: "I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose — last pages even now are being written."<ref name= "Los Angeles Times Obituary 2" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-reagan,1,4780792.story?page=6&coll=la-news-obituaries&ctrack=1&cset=true|title= "Los Angeles Times Obituary 2 |accessdate= 2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref> He elaborated on June 8, 1982, to the British Parliament, argueing that the Soviet Union was in deep economic crisis, and stated that the Soviet Union "runs against the tide of history by denying human freedom and human dignity to its citizens."
<ref name= "Los Angeles Times Obituary 2" />

Reagan's foreign policies were criticized variously as aggressive, imperialist, putting the world at risk of nuclear war, and (towards the end of his administration) as too conciliatory to the Soviet Union. {{Fact|date=March 2007}} In Britain, though Reagan had the strong support of ], he was routinely attacked for his foreign policies. Left-wing critics denounced his opposition to ]'s government in ] and complained that he was ignoring ] in ], ], and ]. Although Reagan sought an end to ] and liberalization of South Africa, he opposed ] "on grounds that it would diminish influence on the South African government and create economic hardship for the very people in South Africa that the sanctions were ostensibly designed to help."<ref name= "For the Record"> {{cite book |last= Regan |first= Donald T. |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "For the Record" |year= |publisher= |location= |isbn= }} </ref>

All This was before a reformer, ] rose to power in 1985. Reagan later wrote in his autobiography ''An American Life'' that he did not see the profound changes that would occur in the Soviet Union after Gorbachev rose to power. To confront the Soviet Union's serious economic problems, Gorbachev implemented bold new policies for openness and reform called '']'' and '']''.

====End of the Cold War====
]

According to several scholars and Reagan biographers, including Paul Lettow <ref name= "Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons" <ref> {{cite book |last= Lettow |first= Paul |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons" |year= 2005 |publisher= Random House |location= New York |isbn= }} </ref> , John Lewis Gaddis, <ref name= "The Cold War: A New History" <ref> {{cite book |last= Gaddis |first= John Lewis |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "The Cold War: A New History |year= 2005 |publisher= The Penguin Press |location= |isbn= }} </ref> Richard Reeves, <ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" /> Lou Cannon, <ref name= "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime" /> and Reagan himself in his autobiography, <ref name= "An American Life" /> Ronald Reagan worked to make the world safer from the threat of nuclear war, and earnestly desired the abolition of all nuclear weapons. He proposed to Gorbachev that if a missile shield could be built, all nukes be eliminated and the missile shield technology shared, the world would be much better off.
In his autobiography ''An American Life,'' Reagan wrote, "The Pentagon said at least 150 million American lives would be lost in a nuclear war with the Soviet Union - even if we 'won.' For Americans who survived such a war, I couldn't imagine what life would be like. The planet would be so poisoned the 'survivors' would have no place to live. Even if a nuclear war did not mean the extinction of mankind, it would certainly mean the end of civilization as we knew it. No one could 'win' a nuclear war. Yet as long as nuclear weapons were in existence, there would always be risks they would be used, and once the first nuclear weapon was unleashed, who knew where it would end? My dream, then, became a world free of nuclear weapons....But for the eight years I was president I never let my dream of a nuclear-free world fade from my mind." Reagan wrote that he believed the ] policy formulated by John Kennedy to be morally wrong.<ref name= "An American Life" />

By the late years of the Cold War, Moscow had built up a military that consumed as much as twenty-five percent of the Soviet Union's gross national product at the expense of consumer goods and investment in civilian sectors. <ref name= "America, Russia, and the Cold War" <ref> {{cite book |last= LaFeber|first= Walter |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= |year= 2002|publisher= |location= |isbn=|pages= 332}} </ref> But the size of the Soviet armed forces was not necessarily the result of a simple action-reaction arms race with the United States. {{Fact|date=March 2007}} Instead, Soviet spending on the arms race and other Cold War commitments can be understood as both a cause and effect of the deep-seated structural problems in the Soviet system, which accumulated at least a decade of economic stagnation during the Brezhnev years (see ]). Soviet investment in the defense sector was not necessarily driven by military necessity, but in large part by the interests of massive party and state bureaucracies dependent on the sector for their own power and privileges. <ref name= "America, Russia, and the Cold War" <ref> {{cite book |last= LaFeber|first= Walter |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= |year= 2002|publisher= |location= |isbn=|pages= 335}} </ref>

As a result, of the USSR's horrible economy, Gorbachev offered major concessions to the United States on the levels of conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and policy in Eastern Europe.<ref name="Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended"/>
], and challenges ] to "Tear Down This Wall!"]]

Many US-Soviet experts and administration officials doubted that Gorbachev was serious about winding down the arms race, <ref name= "America, Russia, and the Cold War" <ref> {{cite book |last= LaFeber|first= Walter |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= |year= 2002|publisher= |location= |isbn=|pages= 332}} </ref> but Ronald Reagan recognized the real change in the direction of the Soviet leadership, and Reagan shifted to skillful diplomacy, using his sincerity and charm to personally push Gorbachev further with his reforms.<ref name= "Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended"> {{cite book |last= Matlock |first= Jack |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended" |year= 2004 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }}
</ref>

Gorbachev agreed to meet Reagan in four summit conferences around the world. The first, in ], the second in ], ], the third, held in ], along with the fourth summit, in ].<ref name="Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan"/> Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to look at the prosperous American economy, they would embrace free markets and a free society. Gorbachev, facing severe economic problems at home, was swayed.<ref name= "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"> {{cite book |last= Cannon |first= Lou |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime" |year= 1991 |publisher= Public Affairs |location= New York |isbn= }} </ref>

Speaking at the ], on ], ], Reagan pushed Gorbachev even further: "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!"<ref name="President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/>

The East-West tensions that had reached intense new heights earlier in the decade rapidly subsided through the mid-to-late 1980s. In 1988, the Soviets officially declared that they would no longer intervene in the affairs of allied states in Eastern Europe. In 1989, Soviet forces withdrew from ].

Reagan and Gorbachev built a close relationship. Gorbachev was awarded the first ], The ], and Time Magazine’s Man of the Decade. Reagan and Gorbachev signed the ] in ] (they finalized it a year later) at the ], which eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.<ref name="Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio"/>. The INF Treaty followed the vision of Reagan's zero option. Reagan has received great credit for standing his ground on the zero option to achieve much more ambitious progress against the opposition of the nuclear freeze advocates of the early-mid 80s. {{Fact|date=March 2007}}

] at the ] in ].]]

When Reagan visited Moscow, he was viewed as a celebrity by Russians. 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." <ref name= "Gorby Had the Lead Role, Not Gipper"> {{cite web |url= http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040610/COMARTIN10/TPComment/TopStories Gorby Had the Lead Role, Not Gipper |title= "Gorby Had the Lead Role, Not Gipper" |accessdate=2004-06-10 |format= |work= }} </ref>

Reagan's Secretary of State, ], a former economics professor at Stanford, privately instructed Gorbachev on free market economics. At Gorbachev’s request, Reagan gave a speech on free markets at Moscow University. <ref name= "The Cold War: A New History"> {{cite book |last= Gaddis|first= John Lewis |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "The Cold War: A New History" |year= 2005 |publisher= |location= |isbn= }} </ref>

In his autobiography ''An American Life'', Reagan expressed his optimism about the new direction they charted, his warm feelings for Gorbachev, and his concern for Gorbachev's safety because Gorbachev pushed reforms so hard: "I was concerned for his safety," Reagan wrote. "I've still worried about him. How hard and fast can he push reforms without risking his life?"<ref name="An American Life"/> Events would unravel far beyond what Gorbachev originally intended. In ], in thanks partly to Reagan's efforts, the ] was torn down, and a year later, the Soviet Union officially collapsed. <ref name= "Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended" />

====The close of the Reagan Era====
In ], Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, was elected President of the United States.On ], ], Reagan addressed the nation for the last time on television from the ], nine days before handing over the presidency to ]. On the morning of ], ], Ronald and Nancy Reagan escorted the Bushes to the Capitol Building, where Bush took the Oath of Office. The Reagans then boarded a Presidential helicopter, and flew to ] in ]. There, they boarded the Presidential Jet (in this instance, it was not called ]), and flew home to ] &ndash; to their new home in the wealthy suburb of ] in ].<ref name="An American Life"/> Reagan was the oldest president to serve (at 77), surpassing ], who was 70 when he left office in 1961. ]

====Major legislation approved====
During Reagan's two terms in office, he signed a number of famous bills into effect, such as the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, and the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. Reagan was a firm believer in Social Security benefits, for he signed the Social Security Amendments of 1983, as well as the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. Reagan gave amnesty to illegal immigrants living in America when he signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. That same year, he signed the Martin Luther King holiday into law. In 1988, he signed the Civil Liberties Act, which compensated victims of the Japanese American Internment during World War II.<ref name= "President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime"/>

==Post presidential years, 1989-2004==
Ronald and Nancy Reagan would enjoy the private life for the next five years, traveling from their Bel Air, California home, to the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara every few months.

In the fall of 1989, ] of ] hired him to make two speeches and attend a few corporate functions. Reagan's fee during his nine-day visit was about $2 million, more than he had earned during eight years as President. Reagan made occasional appearances on behalf of the Republican Party, including a well-received speech at the ]. He publicly spoke in favor of a ], a ] requiring a ], and repealing the ], which prohibits a President from serving more than two terms. Reagan's final public speech was on ], ], during a tribute in ] His last public appearance was at the funeral of fellow Republican President ] on ], ].

In ], President Reagan established the ] with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The award, the highest given by the Reagan Foundation, is presented on a regular basis to one person in the world who has "made monumental and lasting contributions to the cause of freedom worldwide," and who "embodies President Reagan's lifelong belief that one man or woman truly can make a difference." <ref name= "The Ronald Reagan Freedom Award" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.reaganfoundation.org/programs/cpa/awards.asp |title= "The Ronald Reagan Freedom Award" |accessdate=2007-03-23 |format= |work= }} </ref> The first recipient was former leader of the ], ], and the most recent was former ] ]. <ref name= "Ex-President Bush Receives Reagan Award" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/07/AR2007020700141.html |title= "Ex-President Bush Receives Reagan Award" |accessdate=2007-03-23 |author= Daisy Nguyen |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 07 |year= 2007 |month= 02 |format= |work= |publisher= Washington Post |pages= |language= English |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }} </ref> When President Reagan was diagnosed with ], ] took on the role of presenting the award on behalf of her husband. <ref name= "The Ronald Reagan Freedom Award" />

===Presidential Library and Museum===
{{main|Ronald Reagan Presidential Library}}
On November 4, 1991, ] was opened to the public. At the opening ceremonies, four former presidents, ], ], ], and Reagan, and the current president, ], were all in attendance, as well as five former first ladies, ], ], ], ], and ], plus the current First Lady, ]. Currently, the library is the largest of all of the Presidential Libraries. Notable exhibits include ones on the Reagan's Ranch, a full scale replica of the Oval Office, and the actual Boeing 707, ], that served President Reagan during his eight years in office. On ], ], after a ] in ], President Reagan was interred on the property.

===Alzheimer's disease===
], ], ], Ronald Reagan, and ] at the dedication of the Reagan Presidential Library.]]
On ], ], Reagan announced that he had been diagnosed with ]. At the ], Reagan, a man known for his rhetorical talents, had difficulty reading and remembering a speech he was to deliver. He informed the nation of his condition via a hand-written letter shortly after his diagnosis. With his trademark optimism, he stated in conclusion: "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."<ref name= "The Alzheimer's Letter"<ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/filmmore/reference/primary/alzheimers.html | title= "The Alzheimer's Letter" |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref>

As the years went on, the disease slowly destroyed his mental capacity, forcing him to live in quiet isolation. On ], ], Reagan reached the age of 90 and was, at the time, only the third former U.S. president to reach that age &ndash; the other two being ] and ] (] later becoming the fourth). Since the former president had a hip operation just three weeks earlier and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for seven years, his 90th birthday was a low-key celebration with his family at his home in ]. Nancy Reagan told CNN's Larry King that very few visitors were allowed access to her husband because she felt that "Ronnie would want people to remember him as he was."

===Religious beliefs and philosophy===
Reagan was a ], attending ] in his later years.<ref name="RelHabits">{{cite web |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E1D71539F93BA35750C0A962948260 White House Explains Reagan Church Habits|title=White House explains Reagan Church Habits |accessdate=2007-03-06 |format= |work= }}</ref> His burial site is inscribed with the optimistic words he delivered at the opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: {{cquote|I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there’s purpose and worth to each and every life.}} <ref name= "Remarks at the Opening of the Reagan Library" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.planbproductions.com/postnobills/reagan1.html |title= "Ronald Reagan Library Opening" |accessdate=2007-03-23 |format= |work= }} </ref>

According to one of his biographers, John Patrick Diggins, Reagan had an "]" belief in personal reliance and an optimistic faith in the goodness of most people.<ref>Diggins, John Patrick. ''Ronald Reagan: Fate, Freedom, and the Making of History.'' W. W. Norton: February 6, 2007.</ref> Reagan's mother, a member of the ] with an optimistic view of human nature, taught Ronald Reagan a strong sense of faith in the goodness of people, personal responsibility, sobriety, and Christian tolerance. <ref name= "Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio" /> Reagan recalled in his autobiography that "my mother always taught us: 'Treat thy neighbor as you would want your neighbor to treat you,' and 'Judge everyone by how they act, not what they are.'" <ref name= "An American Life" /> He was appalled by discrimination, stating "My parents constantly drummed into me the importance of judging people as ''individuals''." <ref name= "An American Life" />
"Every individual is unique, but we all want freedom and liberty, peace, love and security, a good home, and a chance to worship God in our own way; we all want the chance to get ahead and make our children's lives better than our own," Reagan wrote in ''An American Life.'' These convictions of personal responsibility, individual freedom, and the goodness of people guided Reagan's policies as president.

In a March 1978 letter to a Methodist minister who was skeptical about Christ's divinity&mdash;and accused Reagan of a "limited Sunday school level theology"&mdash;Reagan argued strongly, using ]'s ]. In fact, French President ], who very much liked Reagan (but disagreed on issues), reflected that Reagan "has two religions: free enterprise and God - the Christian God."<ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" />

==Death==
{{main|Death and state funeral of Ronald Reagan}}
] in ].]]
Reagan died at his home in ], at 1:00 PM PST on ], ]. A few hours after Reagan died, Mrs. Reagan released a statement saying: "My family and I would like the world to know that President Ronald Reagan has passed away after 10 years of ] at 93 years of age. We appreciate everyone's prayers." Reagan's body was taken to the Kingsley and Gates Funeral Home in ], later in the day, where well-wishers paid tribute by laying flowers and American Flags in the grass.<ref name= "Reagan Dies-National Review"<ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/leigh200406071201.asp |title= "Reagan Dies-National Review" |accessdate=2007-03-09 |format= |work= }} </ref> On ], Reagan's body was removed and taken to the ], where a brief family funeral service was held. His body laid in repose in the library lobby for the next twenty-four hours. In that amount of time, 108,000 people came to pay their respects to President Reagan.
] to the Capitol Building.]]

The next day, Reagan's casket was removed, and flown to ], where he became the 10th ] to lie in state in the ] of the ]. In the twenty four hours it lied there, 105,000 people filed past the coffin, paying their respects.

On ], a ] was conducted in the ], and presided over by President ]. Eulogies included those from former British Prime Minister ], former Canadian Prime Minister ], and both Presidents Bush. The service drew leaders and dignitaries from around the world, including the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the former ], ]. After the funeral service, the Reagan entourage was flown back to ] &mdash; to the ] &mdash; where another service was held, and President Ronald Reagan was interred. Reagan was the first United States president to die in the ].

==Legacy==
When Ronald Reagan died in June 2004, he left behind a nation that had been revitalized, and a world free of nuclear war. He was eulogized as one of the greatest Presidents of the 20th century, and all U.S. Presidents. <ref name= "America Mourns: Ronald Reagan dies at 93" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,121899,00.html |title= "America Mourns: Ronald Reagan dies at 93" |accessdate=2007-03-19 |format= |work= }} </ref> One of his successors, ], who presided over the ] called Reagan "a modest son of America," and said "Ronald Reagan always told us the best was yet to come....We know that's true for him, too. His work is done." <ref name= "Reagan Laid to Rest" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,122528,00.html |title= "Reagan Laid to Rest" |accessdate=2007-03-24 |format= |work= }} </ref>

Reagan's supporters, and even many who are not, state that a large part of America's recent success can be contributed to Ronald Reagan,<ref name= "A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan" <ref> {{cite book |last= Deaver |first= Michael |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan" |year=2001 |publisher= Harper Torch|location= New York|isbn= }} </ref> but critics state that his economic policies caused huge deficiets in the 1980's and '90's, and tripled the United States National Debt. <ref name= "Von Mises Institute" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.gold-eagle.com/gold_digest_02/shostak062802.html |title= "Supply-Side Gold Standard: A Critique" |accessdate=2007-03-21 |author= Ludwig von Mises |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= 2007 |month= |format= |work= |publisher= Vronsky and Westerman |pages= |language= English|archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }} </ref> Today, Ronald Reagan is one of America's most popular presidents. In several recent ] of American presidents, Ronald Reagan ranked high.<ref>]</ref>


The noted presidential biographer Richard Reeves (Kennedy, Nixon) summarized in ''President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination'' that Reagan understood "how to be President, who knows that the job is not to manage the government but to lead a nation. In many ways, a quarter century later, he is still leading. As his vice president, George H.W. Bush, said after Reagan was shot and hospitalized in 1981: 'We will act as if he were here.' He is a heroic figure if not always a hero. He did not destroy communism, as his champions claim, but he knew it would self-destruct and hastened the collapse. No small thing. He believed the Soviet Union was evil and he had contempt for the established American policies of ] and ]. Asked about his own ] strategy, he answered: 'We win. They lose!' Like one of his heroes, Franklin D. Roosevelt, he has become larger than life." <ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination"> {{cite book |last= Reeves |first= Richard |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" |year= 2005 |publisher= Simon & Schuster |location= New York |isbn= }} </ref>

Ronald Reagan has become the iconic image of today's ]. Republican politicians frequently call on the philosophies of Reagan when making speeches, or voting on bills. He has become a hero to many of them, and to many ordinary Americans.<ref name= "President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination" />

===Public opinion ratings===
The ] took a poll in February 2007 asking respondents to name the greatest president in U.S. history. Ronald Reagan came in second. <ref name= "President's and History" /> He ranked fifth in an ABC poll of the public in 2000. He was named the greatest president since ] by a Quinnipiac poll of the public in 2006, and he ranked sixth in a ] poll of viewers in 1999. On June 26, 2005, the Discovery Channel asked Americans to vote for ]. Reagan received the honorary title. <ref name= "The Greatest American Top 25" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/greatestamerican/greatestamerican.html |title= "Greatest American Top 25" |accessdate=2007-03-21 |format= |work= }} </ref>

According to ABC News,<ref name= "ABC News"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/DailyNews/poll_reagan010806.html|title=Improving With Age: Reagan Approval Grows Better in Retrospect|accessdate=2006-09-12|author=Dalia Sussman|last=Sussman|first=Dalia|date=2001-08-06|publisher=ABCNEWS.com|language=English}}</ref> by date:
] in ], and again in ].]]
{| class="prettytable"
|-
! | Date
! | Event
! | Approval (%)
! | Disapproval (%)
|-
| | ] ]
| | Shot by Hinckley
| style="text-align: center" | 73
| style="text-align: center" | 19
|-
| | ] ]
| | High unemployment
| style="text-align: center" | 42
| style="text-align: center" | 54
|-
| | ] ]
| | Libya bombing
| style="text-align: center" | 70
| style="text-align: center" | 26
|-
| | ] ]
| | Iran-Contra affair
| style="text-align: center" | 44
| style="text-align: center" | 51
|-
| | ] ]
| | End of presidency
| style="text-align: center" | &ndash;
|-
! n/a
! '''Career Average'''
! '''57'''
! '''39'''
|-
| | ] ]
| | (Retrospective)
| style="text-align: center" | 64
| style="text-align: center" | 27
|}

=== Honors ===
{{see|List of things named after Ronald Reagan}}

As a very popular former President, Reagan is honored by many monuments and objects named in his likeness. In a ], poll of 2,307 coin collectors by the Littleton Coin Company, Reagan was ranked as the figure most likely to appear on a future U.S. coin. Reagan had appeared on a non-circulating dime in 2006, however. Three years later, on ], ], Washington National Airport was renamed ] by a bill signed into law by President Clinton. Three years later, the ] was christened by ] and the ]. It is one of few ships christened in honor of a living person, and the first to be named in honor of a living former President.<ref name= "USS Ronald Reagan" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.reagan.navy.mil/ |title= "USS Ronald Reagan Official Site" |accessdate=2007-03-20 |format= |work= }} </ref>
].]]

In 2005, Reagan was given two posthumous honors. On ], ], along with the editors of '']'', named him the "most fascinating person" of the network's first 25 years.<ref name = "Top 25 Most Fascinating People"> {{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/02/cnn25.top.fascinating/index.html Top 25: Fascinating people |title= "Top 25 Most Fascinating People" |accessdate=2005-06-19 |format= |work= }} </ref> '']'' also named Reagan one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.<ref name= "Time 100"> {{cite web |url= http://www.time.com/time/time100/index_2000_time100.html|title= "Time 100 List" |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref> In ], Reagan was ranked the 15th most admired person in the ].

These and other honors were, as one reporter noted, "a final win for the Gipper."

In 1999, in San Antonio, Texas, a new high school was named after him, Ronald Reagan High School, and in 2002, Congress authorized the creation of ] in ], pending federal purchase of the property. In 2004, the ] voted to rename ], which was formerly called the East-West Tollway, in his memory. In 2006, in Doral, Florida, a new high school was named after him. Its full name is Ronald W. Reagan High.

On ], ], President Clinton dedicated the ] in ] ]. The building hosts large events in the Washington, D.C. area. <ref name= "Ronald Reagan Building" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.itcdc.com/ |title= "The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center" |accessdate=2007-03-22 |format= |work= }} </ref>

On ] Channel's show, "Hannity's America," (hosted by conservative ]) there is a segment titled "What Would Reagan Do?" The segment looks at issues facing the world today, and compares them to the ones President Reagan faced during his Presidency.<ref name="What Would Reagan Do?" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256625,00.html |title= "The State of America is One of Dangerous Doublespeak" |accessdate=2007-03-19 |format= |work= }} </ref><ref name= "MsUnderestimated: Hannity's America" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://msunderestimated.com/category/hannitys-america/ |title= "MsUnderestimated: Hannity's America" |accessdate=2007-03-20 |format= |work= }} </ref>

When Reagan died, a record number of people turned out to say their goodbyes to the late President. More than 200,000 people filed past Reagan's casket in both ] and ] Even more lined the motorcade routes, holding signs and American flags, and waving to ].<ref name= "America Mourns: Ronald Reagan dies at 93" /> Vice-President ] said this at Reagan's memorial service: "In this national vigil of mourning, we show how much America loved this good man, and how greatly we will miss him."<ref name= "Reagan Eulogy-Dick Cheney" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/cheney.asp |title= "Reagan Eulogy-Dick Cheney" |accessdate=2007-03-19 |format= |work= }} </ref>

===Awards===

], the highest civilian honor given in the United States. It was awarded to him by President ] in 1993.]]
Reagan recieved a number of awards, both in his pre and post Presidential years. After he was elected President, Reagan recieved a lifetime "Gold" membership in the ], as well as the ] ]. <ref name= "Association of Graduates USMA" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.aogusma.org/aog/awards/TA/awardees.htm |title= "Association of Graduates USMA" |accessdate=2007-03-22 |format= |work= }} </ref> In 1989, Reagan received an ] British knighthood, ]. This entitled him to the use of the post-nominal letters GCB but did not entitle him to be known as "Sir Ronald Reagan". He, ], and ] are the only American Presidents to have received the honor. <ref name= "Order of the Bath" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4883.asp |title= "Order of the Bath |accessdate=2007-03-22 |format= |work= }} </ref> While in England, he was named an honorary Fellow of ]. Also in 1989, the nation of ] awarded Reagan the ]. <ref name= "Order of the Crysanthemum" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www8.cao.go.jp/english/decoration/kikka.html |title= "Spreme Orders of the Crysanthemum" |accessdate=2007-03-22 |format= |work= }} </ref> The highest honor the United States can give, the ], was awarded to Ronald Reagan in 1993, by then-President ]. <ref name= "Presidential Medal of Freedom" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://medaloffreedom.com/1993Recipients.htm |title= "1993 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients" |accessdate=2007-03-22 |format= |work= }} </ref> Reagan was also awarded the ], which is the highest honor bestowed by the Republican members of the Senate. <ref name= "Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://www.nrsc.org/nrscweb/e-activists/medal_of_freedom.shtml |title= "Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom" |accessdate=2007-03-22 |format= |work= }} </ref> On ], ], ] accepted the ], the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, on behalf of the President and herself. <ref name= "Congressional Gold Medal Recipients" <ref> {{cite web |url= http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/goldMedal.html |title= "Congressional Gold Medal Recipients" |accessdate=2007-03-22 |format= |work= }} </ref>

===Coinage===
Reagan is scheduled to be featured on the $1 coin in 2016 during the ]. Congress considered placing Reagan's likeness on a currency; the ] became the most likely proposal, but the ] and ] were also considered. Congressional Republicans also proposed the ], which has the likeness of ], but Nancy Reagan rejected the idea.<ref name= "Nancy Reagan Rejecs Dime Idea"> {{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/05/dime/ |title= "Dime Debate pits Reagan Against FDR" |accessdate=2007-03-07 |format= |work= }} </ref>

==See also==
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==Bibliography==
=== References ===
]
{{reflist}}
<div class="references-small">

</div>
<div class="references-small">

===Biographies===
]
* Cannon, Lou. ''President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime '' Public Affairs. (2nd ed 2000) detailed biography
* Cannon, Lou. ''Governor Reagan: His Rise to Power'' Public Affairs. detailed biography
* Evans, Thomas W. ''The Education of Ronald Reagan: The General Electric Years'' (2006)
* Morris, ''Edmund. Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan'' (1999)
* Pemberton, William E. ''Exit with Honor: The Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan'' (1998) biography by historian
* Reeves, Richard. ''President Reagan: The Triumph of Imagination'' (2005) detailed analysis by historian
*Thomas, Tony. ''The Films of Ronald Reagan'' (1980)

===Domestic issues ===
* Berman, Larry, ed. ''Looking Back on the Reagan Presidency'' (1990), essays by academics
* Brinkley, Alan and Davis Dyer. ''The American Presidency'' (2004)
* Brownlee, W. Elliot and Hugh Davis Graham, eds. ''The Reagan Presidency: Pragmatic Conservatism and Its Legacies'' (2003)
* Campagna; Anthony S. ''The Economy in the Reagan Years: The Economic Consequences of the Reagan Administrations'' Greenwood Press. 1994
* Cannon, Lou. ''Ronald Reagan: The Presidential Portfolio''. Public Affairs. ISBN
* Collins, Chuck, Felice Yeskel, and United for a Fair Economy. "Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity." (2000). on tax policies.
* Cook, Daniel M. and Polsky, Andrew J. "Political Time Reconsidered: Unbuilding and Rebuilding the State under the Reagan Administration." ''American Politics Research''(4): 577-605. ISSN 1532-673X Fulltext in SwetsWise. Argues Reagan slowed enforcement of pollution laws and transformed the national education agenda.
* Dallek, Matthew. ''The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics.'' (2004). Study of 1966 election as governor.
* Denton Jr., Robert E. ''Primetime Presidency of Ronald eagan: The Era of the Television Presidency'' (1988)
* Ehrman, John. ''The Eighties: America in the Age of Reagan.'' (2005)
* Ferguson Thomas, and Joel Rogers, ''Right Turn: The Decline of the Democrats and the Future of American Politics'' 1986.
* Germond, Jack W. and Jules Witcover. ''Blue Smoke & Mirrors: How Reagan Won & Why Carter Lost the Election of 1980''. 1981. Detailed journalism.
* Greenstein Fred I. ed. ''The Reagan Presidency: An Early Assessment'' 1983 by political scientists
* Greffenius, Steven. ''The Last Jeffersonian: Ronald Reagan's Dreams of America''. June, July, & August Books. 2002.
* Hertsgaard Mark. ''On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency'' 1988. criticizes the press
* Haynes Johnson. ''Sleepwalking through History: America in the Reagan Years'' (1991)
* Houck, Davis, and Amos Kiewe, eds. ''Actor, Ideologue, Politician: The Public Speeches of Ronald Reagan'' (Greenwood Press, 1993)
* Lewis, William F. "Telling America's Story: Narrative Form and the Reagan Presidency", ''Quarterly Journal of Speech''): 280–302
* Jones, Charles O. ed. ''The Reagan Legacy: Promise and Performance'' (1988) essays by political scientists
* Jones, John M. "'Until Next Week': The Saturday Radio Addresses of Ronald Reagan" ''Presidential Studies Quarterly.'' Volume: 32. Issue: 1. 2002. pp 84+.
* Kengor, Paul. ''God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life'' Regan Books, 2004. ISBN.
* Levy, Peter B. ''Encyclopedia of the Reagan-Bush Years'' (1996), short articles
* Meyer, John C. "Ronald Reagan and Humor: A Politician's Velvet Weapon", ''Communication Studies''): 76–88.
* Muir, William Ker. ''The Bully Pulpit: The Presidential Leadership of Ronald Reagan'' (1992), examines his speeches
* Patterson, James T. ''Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore.'' (2005), standard scholarly synthesis.
* Salamon Lester M., and Michael S. Lund. eds. ''The Reagan Presidency and the Governing of America'' 1985. articles by political scientists
* Salla; Michael E. and Ralph Summy, eds. ''Why the Cold War Ended: A Range of Interpretations'' Greenwood Press. 1995.
* Schmertz, Eric J. et al eds. ''Ronald Reagan's America'' 2 Volumes (1997) articles by scholars and officeholders
* Schmertz, Eric J. et al eds. ''Ronald Reagan and the World'' (1997) articles by scholars and officeholders
* ]. ''Reagan's War: The Epic Story of His Forty Year Struggle and Final Triumph Over Communism'' (2002)
* Shogan, Colleen J. "Coolidge and Reagan: The Rhetorical Influence of Silent Cal on the Great Communicator", ''Rhetoric & Public Affairs'' 9.2 online at Project Muse; argues that Coolidge and Reagan shared a common ideological message, which served as the basis for modern conservatism. Even without engaging in explicitly partisan rhetoric, Reagan's principled speech served an important party-building function.
*Strock, James M. ''Reagan on Leadership: Executive Lessons from the Great Communicator'' (2001) Study of Reagan's Leadership Approach.
* Sullivan, George.''Mr. President'' (1997).
*Troy, Gill. ''Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980s'' (2004). Study of Reagan's image.
* Wills, Garry. ''Reagan's America: Innocents at Home''. (1987)
* Weatherford, M. Stephen and Mcdonnell, Lorraine M. "Ronald Reagan as Legislative Advocate: Passing the Reagan Revolution's Budgets in 1981 and 1982." ''Congress & the Presidency''(1): 1-29. Fulltext in Ebsco; Argues RR ignored the details but played a guiding role in setting major policies and adjudicating significant trade-offs, and in securing Congressional approval.

===Foreign affairs===
* Arnson, Cynthia J. ''Crossroads: Congress, the Reagan Administration, and Central America'' Pantheon, 1989.
* Busch, Andrew E.; "Ronald Reagan and the Defeat of the Soviet Empire" in ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''. Vol: 27. Issue: 3. 1997. pp 451+.
* Dobson, Alan P. "The Reagan Administration, Economic Warfare, and Starting to Close down the Cold War." ''Diplomatic History''(3): 531-556. Fulltext in SwetsWise, Ingenta and Ebsco. Argues Reagan's public rhetoric against the USSR was harsh and uncompromising, giving rise to the idea that his administration sought to employ a US defense buildup and NATO economic sanctions to bring about the collapse of the USSR. Yet many statements by Reagan and Shultz suggest they desired negotiation with the Soviets from a position of American strength, not the eventual demise of the USSR.
* Fitzgerald, Frances. ''Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold War''. political history of S.D.I. (2000). ISBN.
* Ford, Christopher A. and Rosenberg, David A. "The Naval Intelligence Underpinnings of Reagan's Maritime Strategy." ''Journal of Strategic Studies''(2): 379-409. Fulltext in Ingenta and Ebsco; Reagan's maritime strategy sought to apply US naval might against Soviet vulnerabilities on its maritime flanks. It was supported by a major buildup of US naval forces and aggressive exercising in seas proximate to the USSR; it explicitly targeted Moscow's strategic missile submarines with the aim of pressuring the Kremlin during crises or the early phases of global war. The maritime strategy represents one of the rare instances in history when intelligence helped lead a nation to completely revise its concept of military operations.
* Haftendorn, Helga and Jakob Schissler, eds. ''The Reagan Administration: A Reconstruction of American Strength?'' Berlin: Walter de Guyer, 1988. by European scholars
* ''Strategic Insights'', Volume III, Issue 8 (August 2004)
* Kyvig, David. ed. ''Reagan and the World'' (1990), scholarly essays on foreign policy
* Pach, Chester. "The Reagan Doctrine: Principle, Pragmatism, and Policy." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly''(1): 75-88. Fulltext in SwetsWise and Ingenta; Reagan declared in 1985 that the U.S. should not "break faith" with anti-Communist resistance groups. However, his policies varied as differences in local conditions and US security interests produced divergent policies toward "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Mozambique, Angola, and Cambodia.
* ]. ''Victory: The Reagan Administration's Secret Strategy That Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union'', 1994
* Wills, David C. ''The First War on Terrorism: Counter-Terrorism Policy during the Reagan Administration.'' 2004.
</div>

===Primary sources===
<div class="references-small">
* FitzWater, Marlin . ''Call the Briefing! Bush and Reagan, Sam and Helen, a Decade with Presidents and the Press''. 1995. Memoir by press spokesman.
* ] and Mickey Herskowitz. ''Behind the Scenes''. 1987. Memoir by a top aide.
* Reagan, Nancy. "My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan" (1989)
* Reagan, Ronald. ''An American Life: The Autobiography'' (1990)
* Reagan, Ronald. ''Reagan, In His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan That Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America'' (2001)
* Stahl, Lesley. "Reporting Live" (1999) memoir by TV news reporter
* Noonan, Peggy. ''When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan'' (2001) Biography by former Reagan speech writer
</div>

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Ronald Reagan}}
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*{{imdb name|id=0001654|name=Ronald Reagan}}
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|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Ronald Reagan
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Revision as of 18:53, 25 March 2007

Ronald Reagan
40th President of the United States
In office
January 20 1981 – January 20 1989
Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byJimmy Carter
Succeeded byGeorge H. W. Bush
33rd Governor of California
In office
3 January 1967 – 7 January 1975
LieutenantRobert Finch
(1967 - 1969)
Ed Reinecke
(1969 - 1974)
John L. Harmer
(1974 - 1975)
Preceded byEdmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr.
Succeeded byEdmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr.
Personal details
BornFebruary 6, 1911 (age 96)
United States Tampico, Illinois, USA
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)(1) Jane Wyman (married 1940, divorced 1948)
(2) Nancy Davis Reagan (married 1952)
Signature

Ronald Wilson Reagan was an evil person. I wish he dided when he was shott. Ronald Reagan hated blak and poor people. The only president worse than regan is our president we have today. I was happy when he died.