Review Of Ronald Reagan's Speech 'A Time For Choosing'

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Ronald Reagan’s speech “A Time for Choosing” marks the beginning of his accomplishment in politics. This speech is one of the first given by Reagan that earns him the recognition of being a great speaker. In 1964, Barry Goldwater was the Republican candidate opposing Lyndon B. Johnson in the presidential election. As part of Goldwater’s campaign, Ronald Reagan gave a speech on television. Regan’s speech, “A Time for Choosing,” was written and spoken to the Americans in order to persuade the Americans to vote for Barry Goldwater. Reagan is one of the greatest public speakers, and he always knew what the people wanted to hear and how they wanted to hear it. Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 to John Reagan and Nellie Wilson Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. Reagan graduated from Dixon High School and later attended Eureka College in Illinois on an athletic scholarship. He majored in sociology and economics. In 1937, Reagan started working with the Warner Brothers movie studio. …show more content…

One part of Reagan’s speech that has great significance is when he repeats the phrase, “this is a man who…” followed by a remarkable service that Goldwater did for the American people. In the words of Reagan: This is a man who, in his own business before he entered politics, instituted a profit-sharing plan before unions had ever thought of it. He put in health and medical insurance for all of his employees. He took 50 percent of the profits before taxes and set up a retirement program, a pension plan for all his employees. (Reagan 6-7) This quote is effective because it creates characteristics of Goldwater that help the people recognize what a helpful man that Goldwater is. When Reagan speaks of Goldwater’s qualities, Goldwater becomes more likeable and trustworthy in the eyes of the citizens. Reagan implies that Goldwater gave of himself for the help of someone

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