Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan (When Reagan was in office.) (http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan)

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” One famous and encouraging response Ronald Wilson Reagan has said. This is why I did research out of “Biography Today” in honor of him and what he did for our country.

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. His parents were John Edward Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan. As a young child Reagan moved around a lot because his father suffered from alcoholism. John Reagan was outgoing and ambitious but he often lost jobs because of his addiction to alcohol. Reagan remembered that his family didn’t have lot of money “We were poor, but we didn’t know we were poor”, he recalled. Once when he was 11 he came home to find his father passed out on the porch, stepping over him, and trying to forget the whole thing. But he thought better of the decision. “I bent over him, smelling the sharp odor of whiskey from the speakeasy. I got a fistful of his overcoat. Opening the door, I managed to drag him inside and get him to bed”. He recalled in his autobiography that the incident proved to be "the first moment of accepting responsibility."

As his family finally settled in at the small town of Dixon, Illinois. He went to the local public school there. He often had trouble reading as a young boy and remembered the blackboard was often a blur. Reagan went to high school at Northside high, he was a good student and outstanding athlete especially on the football field, and he was also in school plays. After high school he went on to Eureka College, a small Christian school in Peoria, Illinois.

Reagan working at White house desk. (http://www.life.com)

Reagan started off small at a little radio station broadcasting sports events for the Cubs, but that little job turned into so much bigger things. One day, Reagan went to California to announce a Cubs game, while he was there he went to Warner Brothers Studios in Hollywood, he took a screen test and was hired immediately. Reagan then went on the serve two terms as Governor of California by beating Brown over a million votes; he was in office from 1966 to 1974. But four years later on November 4, 1980, Reagan was elected President of the United States in an overwhelming victory. He won 50.7% of the votes to Carter's 41% (an additional 6.6% of voters cast their ballots for independent candidate John Anderson). In a political career that spanned more than 30 years, Ronald Reagan symbolized conservative movement in American politics

Reagan is best remembered for his confidence, hopefulness, and optimism. "So radiant that it seemed almost a force of nature." According to the New York Times. Reagan is deceased now but remembered for how he shaped this country and we thank him.