On November 8, 1966 California voters elected Republican candidate Ronald Reagan as the states 33rd Governor. Reagan defeated then two-term Governor, Democrat Edmund G. “Pat” Brown. This would be the first elected political office Ronald Reagan would hold in his long public career. Reagan would serve two terms as the Governor of California before going on to achieve greater heights serving as a two term President. Reagan’s political career began to unfold when he decided to work on the 1964 Goldwater campaign for President. The endorsement of once presidential nominee Barry Goldwater: A conservative Republican Senator from Arizona, culminated with Reagan gaining national prominence with his “Time for Choosing” speech endorsing Goldwater in his bid for the presidency. In what author Paul Kengor, terms his spiritual biography of Ronald Reagan; the author suggests the “The time for Choosing” speech was a watershed moment for American Leadership (GOD 109). The speech was such a success that in the wake of Goldwater’s trouncing in the 1964 Presidential election, what pundits thought surely the demise of the right wing conservative movement, conservative activist in California began talking about Reagan as a candidate for Governor in 1966. Reagan in fact did run in 1966. In the campaign for Governor, Reagan had to overcome not only his opponents but also his reputation. Reagan lacked experience in state politics in spite of being a well-known representative for conservative views on subjects that range from individual freedoms, small government, the evils of communism and taxes. The Reagan campaign did not officially announce the intentions of running until January of 1966, but in the fall of 1965 it coined the term citizen-polit... ... middle of paper ... ...gainst his appeal. Unlike four years earlier, Brown was competing against a polished figure not like the dark tragic Nixon. He was unable to show voters he was the man for the challenges California faced in 1966 and beyond specifically with the civil unrest and violence on campuses throughout the state. On November 8, 1966 voters spoke loudly giving Reagan a margin of victory of more than a million votes. Works Cited Dallek, Matthew . The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan’s First Vicotory and Decisive Turning Point in American Politics. Kindle ed. New York, NY : The Free Press, c2000. Kengor, Paul, 1966-. God and Ronald Reagan: a spiritual life. 1st ed. New York, NY : ReganBooks, c2004. TIME, “California: New Role for Reagan” TIME Magazine Date: January 14, 1966. Time Inc. .
Every four years there is an election to elect a new President of the United States. In some cases, if a President is well liked, they may be reelected to serve another term; but may only be in office for two consecutive terms (8 years). One of the few Presidents that held off a total of 8 years was President Ronald Reagan. He was the 40th President to be sworn into office, and at the time was the oldest to ever serve this country. When Reagan took office in 1980, he had many hopes and dreams to turn America into a great nation, and get America back on track. He fulfilled his goals and dreams for America and is highly regarded still to this day. He left office with great shoes to fill, and is looked back on as a great American leader. During his two terms as president, Reagan has had many major accomplishments/events while in office, such as signing of the Economic Recovery Tax Act, the Iran-Contra scandal, and aiding the United States in winning the cold war.
In the 1980 presidential election, Carter faced even more trouble when the Democratic party became divided. Senator Ted Kennedy, member of the Democratic liberal wing, stole much of the democratic support away from Carter; although Jimmy won the Democratic primary, he had lost much needed democratic support and faced a major disadvantage heading into the election ("Election of 1980" 1). Not surprisingly, the dissatisfied voters did not reelect him for a second term, and many openly expressed their dissatisfaction with his handling of domestic and foreign affairs ("Outline of American History" 3). Ronald Reagan won the election, and Carter was forced to head back to Georgia behind a dark cloud of public disapproval.
Looking at the United States in 1965, it would seem that the future of the liberal consensus was well entrenched. The anti-war movement was in full swing, civil rights were moving forward, and Johnson's Great Society was working to alleviate the plight of the poor in America. Yet, by 1968 the liberal consensus had fallen apart, which led to the triumph of conservatism with the election of President Reagan in 1980. The question must be posed, how in the course of 15 years did liberal consensus fall apart and conservatism rise to the forefront? What were the decisive factors that caused the fracturing of what seemed to be such a powerful political force? In looking at the period from 1968 to the triumph of Reagan in 1980, America was shaken to the core by the Watergate scandal, the stalling of economic growth, gas shortages, and the Vietnam War. In an era that included the amount of turbulence that the 1970's did, it is not difficult to imagine that conservatism come to power. In this paper I will analyze how the liberal consensus went from one of its high points in 1965 to one of its lows in 1968. From there I will show how conservatism rose to power by the 1980 elections. In doing so, I will look at how factors within the American economy, civil rights issues, and political workings of the United States contributed to the fracturing of the liberal consensus and the rise of conservatism.
Cannon writes in the third person, largely objective narrator. He is writing not from the point of view of a Reagan supporter or and employee of his administration, but from the perspective of an objective reporter. Cannon was the White House corespondent for The Washington Post. Most of the book Cannon merely tells the facts of Reagan’s life without throwing in any of his own thoughts. While Reagan mostly deals with the positive aspects of Reagan’s life, Cannon doesn’t shy away from talking about the negative parts of his life, such as his firing from his radio announcing job. Cannon also discusses Reagan’s many failures as an actor, while at the same time mentioning his successes too. Cannon writes about his political defeats, such as his failure to win nomination for president in 1976, while also writing about his many political victories, such as being elected governor of California, and President of the United States. Overall, Cannon writes with a detached, objective point of view. He balances all of the positives and negatives of Reagan’s life, giving equal time to each.
Millions of viewers tuned into the National Broadcasting Company television network for a special broadcast on the 27th of October. Viewers were anticipating Ronald Reagan’s “A Time for Choosing” speech. Reagan was acknowledged for his acting in motion pictures and television episodes since 1937, and was now being seen in an unfamiliar role. Reagan emerged in support of the Republican nominee Barry Goldwater. Barry Morris Goldwater was a businessman and five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for president in the 1964 election. “A Time for Choosing” was effective, because he gave personal examples to capture the audiences’ attention, and gave humor to a tough subject.
In 1966 Ronald Reagan beat Pat Brown by a landslide in the election for California governor.
Introduction Reagan, Ronald Wilson (1911- ),the 40th president of the United States (1981-1989), enforced the policies that reversed a general direction of movement toward greater government involvement in economic and social regulation. Reagan as the younger of two sons, was born in Tampico, Illinois and spent most of his childhood in Dixon, Illinois. After studying at Eureka College,a small Disciples of Christ college near Peoria, Illinois, he majored in economics, and became the president of the student body, a member of the football team, and captain of the swimming team. He had special drawings toward acting, but after the graduation in 1932 the only job available related to show business was as a local radio sportscaster. In 1936 he became a sportscaster for station WHO in Des Moines, Iowa. A year latter, Reagan went to Hollywood and began an acting career that spanned more than 25 years. He played in more than 50 films, including "Knute Rockne"-All American (1940), "King's Row" (1942), and "Bedtime for Bonzo" (1951). Early political career Reagan's first political activities were associated with his responsibilities as a union leader. As union president, Reagan tried to remove suspected Communists from the movie industry. When the U.S. House Committee. Began an investigation in 1947 on the influence of Communists in the film industry, Reagan took a strong anti-Communist stand testifying before the committee. Reagan emerged on the national political scene in 1964 when he made fervent television speech supports for the Republican presidential candidate, United States Senator Barry Goldwater from Arizona. Although the election was lost, Reagan's speech brought in money and admiration from Republicans around the country. After the speech a group of Republicans in California persuaded Reagan to run for governor of California in 1966. Reagan appealed to traditional Republican voters. He defeated Edmund G. (Pat) Brown, Sr., Democrat, by almost a million votes. The election of 1980 Reagan spent years making political friends at party fund-raising dinners around the country. In the election of 1980 for the president, the candidates were Carter and Reagan. The contrast between the television personalities of two candidates was very important to people. Carter’s nervous manner had never been popular to people, while Reagan’s charm and happy face was a call for return to patriotism, which appealed to the public. Many voters believed that Reagan was forceful leader who could get their lives in shape and who could restore prosperity at home.
Ronald Reagan [Electronic Resource] : 03/07/76 / NBC News. n.p.: New York, N.Y. : Films Media Group, [2008], c2007., 2008.Dalton State College GIL Catalog. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
As the 1980s rolled in, the American people were desperate for a change as the American government and economy crashed. There had been a period of economic stagflation since Gerald Ford’s presidency in 1976. Americans found hope in presidential candidate Ronald Reagan to transform the nation’s situation, and on January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan became the United State’s 40th president. Reagan brought about a lot of drastic changes in the American economy and government. For example, he decreased the size of the federal government and put a conservative economic policy into practice. This policy was called Reaganomics by the public.
In January 1968, Nixon decided to run again as a President. His presidential election was helped by the division inside of Democrat Party. This time Nixon easily became the President.
After many years, Republicans from California persuaded Nixon to run as candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Although the campaign of Nixon was aggressive for accusing his rival Jerry Voorhis for being communist, he won th...
Ronald Reagan believed that the United States must never lose their principles or grounding which come from being part of the faithful. He viewed evangelicals who participated in the government as being saviors of the Unite States. He saw them as preventing the moral decline of the United States. He saw the overall battle as being between good and evil, with the United States being a beacon of all that is good, so long as it remained true to its’ christian principles. Reagan urged his audience to not accept the idea that both sides of a struggle are equally at fault. That the battle of good versus evil is ever ongoing and that the arms race was not just a simple misunderstanding, but rather a battle against evil. Reagan believed that because their motives were spiritual and not materiel, that they would triumph because there are no limitations on the freedom of man.
President Reagan, at the time in the beginnings of his second term, had successfully maintained overall a high approval rating with the American people. He had won their trust and respect by being quite relatable to the average citizen (Cannon). He had planned that evening to give his State of the Union address, but instead postponed it. The tragedy that had unfolded just hours earlier demanded his complete attention (Eidenmuller 29).
...imes when we are faced with national tragedies we are left at a loss for words. We look upon our leaders to help us through these difficult times, to have all the answers. We listen to what they have to say with vulnerability and uncertainty of what’s to come next for our country. Reagan was aware of all these factors when he gave his famous address. He was aware that in order for any argument to be considered a powerful and successful one it needs to be thought through and take into consideration the outside factors that are affecting it. Reagan’s challenger argument was one that had a clear audience, distinct setting, and finally the argument had a definite and in this case necessary purpose. By Reagan utilizing these three elements and effectively combining them he created a memorable speech that is now widely considered a masterpiece of public communication.
I have given you a little background on Ronald W. Reagan the man and a leader. Then I explained to you, two areas that I feel that make Reagan an effective visionary leader. The first area was how he effectively uses of Transformation Leadership style through his vision, thinking, charisma and caring approach inspired a nation to embrace and move forward after a decade of hardship. Seconded area I covered was how he fully embraced Cognitive/Behavioral and Demographic Diversity in accomplishing his vision of promoting world peace and setting the foundation to ending the Cold War. In closing I would like to leave you with this closing remake for Reagan: "What I'd really like to do is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again.”