Who Was Ronald Reagan?

đź“ŚCategory: Government, History, History of the United States, President of the United States
đź“ŚWords: 962
đź“ŚPages: 4
đź“ŚPublished: 10 April 2021

Ronald Reagan, the 40th United States president, was very well known throughout his entire life. During his life, he had made a big impact on the people of America. His presidency was like no other. He had a bright career, from acting to being governor, to being the President. This is Ronald Reagan; the life, legacy, and impact he created. 

Who was Ronald Reagan? Well, Ronald Reagan was not just the 40th United States president, and there is so much more to him and his life before politics. Reagan was born on February 6th, 1911, in a small town located in Illinois. He was a very active person. For example, when he went to Eureka College, he played football, acted in the school plays/musicals, and even became student body president during last year of college. While in college, he had studied sociology and economics. After he graduated from college, he had a job as a radio sports announcer, which he had until he moved to Hollywood and became a very well known figure in the entertainment industry (The White House). His debut film was called Love is on The Air. After his debut, he had been a part of at least 50 more movies before dipping into politics more. Before he was a well known political figure, he was actually a part of the Democratic party. As he got older, his views on politics had shifted drastically. In The 1960’s, Ronald Reagan had officially become a part of the Repbulican party. In 1966, he was elected as governor of the State of California, and then he was reelected in 1970. After his two terms being governor, and lots of hard work, Ronald Reagan was elected as the 40th President of the United States in the 1980 election. He was president from the beginning of 1981 until the beginning of 1989. Just a couple of short months after he was inaugurated, there was an attempted assassination on Ronald Reagan. The shooter was a man named John Hinkley Jr. Reagan had gotten shot, puncturing a lung, the bullet that hurt his lung just barely missing his heart. He luckily recovered and got back to work as soon as he could. Fast forward to 1994, he had written a letter addressing the people of America that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. About 10 years after that letter was written, president Ronald Reagan passed away on June 5th, 2004 (History.com Editors). He may have passed away, but his legacy did not. He had an astonishing career that was as bright as the stars in the sky. No one would forget the name Ronald Reagan.

The impact that the former president had on people was huge. He put the people of America first, as any president should do. After the never seen before win for Reagan in the 1984 presidential election, in which Reagan won 49 out of the 50 states (the only state he lost was Minnesota), Reagan helped his political party drastically. First off, he was able to help the Republican party gain control of the Senate. Also, he was able to help his party regain control of the House of Representatives in 1994 (after he was president). Reagan was able to contribute/help even after his presidency was over because the people from the Republican party had followed Reagan’s footsteps in a sense, using a leftover proposal that Reagan didn't end up doing/using while president that was called “Contract With America.” That bill was what helped Republicans gain control of the House of Representatives (Cannon Lou). Also, Reagan was a president that was known for grabbing attention from people that wouldn’t typically vote for him, which were people from the Democratic party. The Republican party over the years was slowly dying out. The party had different issues that were going on, which was what caused the Republican party to slowly die out. When Reagan got into office, he helped his party become stronger. Ronald getting the Republican party back in control of the Senate helped his party largely (Learning Lumen). Ronald Reagan to this day is a very strong example of what a good president is, and he sets those standards high. 

Lastly, Ronald Reagan made an impact on other people, not just the people that were a part of the same political party as him. To this day, people still use Ronald Reagan as an example/others do similar tactics he used to prove a point or to make themselves look better. For example, when former Democratic president Bill Clinton ran for president/was president, he did a tactic that Ronald Reagan did to put himself out to the public. Bill Clinton gave off a certain image to the public so it would make him look better (Cannon Lou). Also, when Ronald Reagan was president, he secured what was called “Reagan’s Democrats.” That meant that people who would normally vote against someone like Ronald Reagan, would actually vote for him instead of the other presidential candidate (Dohms-Harter Elizabeth). Ronald Reagan was able to get the attention of the people who wouldn’t typically vote for him, and was able to get their attention and get his message across. He was able to secure their vote. Both Republicans and Democrats are able to agree that Ronald Reagan was one of those presidents that were able to make change in the United States (Schneider William). 

Ronald Reagan was a very good president. Sure, he made mistakes and did things wrong, but he was able to keep his promises and do what he told America what his plans/ideas were. Reagan isn’t just about politics, he had a whole other life before politics were even in the picture. He had a very successful acting career before going head first into politics.  Reagan was a very influential person who people still look up to today. He is used as a good example in American politics, and will for the long time. Reagan was passionate in what he did, and it shows through all of the different accomplishments he had throughout the span of his life. His impact will live in America and in the history textbooks for many years, and everyone will know the name Ronald Reagan somehow.  

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