Society remembers historical figures for many things, but these reasons boil down to two basic ideas: those who contribute to more tangible contributions such as in science, politics, and acts, and those who contribute to the arts, ideas, and direct influence. While many fit into one of two categories, a select few breaks the status quo and make an impact that goes above and beyond mere groups such as these. On February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan was born to a poor family in Tampico, Illinois. Following his dreams, Reagan became a Hollywood actor and began to develop his conservative political worldview as well as going after what he believed to be communists infiltrating actor’s unions. When acting was not a viable career anymore, he became …show more content…
He was seen as a patriot, loyal to the cause of “making America great again.” In fact, he was so respected as a person that he was named as the greatest United States president by a Gallup poll conducted in 2011 (Gallup), placing him above the likes of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. How could he outpace figures known by virtually everyone, even outside the US? Taking into account only the years in which each person served, something becomes clear: these are very different times with very different circumstances. The Founding Fathers may have been extremely inspirational and excellent people overall who were perhaps even better people than Reagan, but this tends to fade with time, as the only thing to go off now is their writings and the writings of others since then. Through the use of modern technology, people are able to relive every spoken word and inflection, truly getting to know a person much more intimately than just purely reading about them. Bringing it back to the point, the phrase mentioned earlier may seem very familiar to anyone who has had even the smallest bit of exposure to recent news. Current president Donald Trump has used this phrase in his campaign, taking after Reagan’s same slogan for his campaign. Trump, and many of his supporters, believe that they are the logical continuation of the neoconservative movement started all those years ago by Reagan. Trump’s inaugural address highlights many of the same concerns that Reagan had during his term: “the very sad depletion of our military,” terrorism, government control, and taxes (whitehouse.gov). However, Trump tries to live up to Reagan’s policy rather than his worldview, and misses some key points. Reagan’s simple foreign policy on Russia was to build up faster than they could and use the US’s upper-hand to negotiate and force
... years in office. Even when President Reagan, didn’t make wise decisions, he took full blame for them, which made the American population trust him and gain more popularity. With his many major accomplishments in helping the American people, and putting them first, really helped in his favor. Reagan has built up the US military to what it is now because he believed that we needed to “restore America's ability to defend itself and fulfill its responsibilities as a trustee of freedom and peace in the world” (Wild Thing, January 21, 2006). President Reagan is man that has a heart and soul with America, and will fight for our freedoms and rights for as long as his lives. In 1994, President Reagan got Alzheimer’s disease, left public life, and died on June 5, 2004 from pneumonia. Reagan is still looked up to and is considered one of the greatest Presidents of all time.
At the time of Jimmy Carter's presidency, he was often perceived as an unsatisfactory president, but today is associated with some of the exceptional ex-presidents. His accomplishments drew interest from the Nobel Committee, who would ultimately award him the Nobel Peace Prize. Jimmy Carter’s background, actions, and legacy, assisted him in winning the prestigious award.
"American President: Ronald Wilson Reagan: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Theodore Roosevelt was a man uniquely fitted to the role that he played in American
Ronald Reagan, like many other presidents, had his successes and his failures while in office. He led the nation with a conservative agenda that a lot of critics disagreed with. Some of his actions can be called a success or a failure depending on who is looking at it. His successes included the tax cuts of 1981, appointing the first woman to the United States Supreme Court, reduced the amount of nuclear arms by signing a deal with the Soviet Union, made progress towards the end of the Cold War, got the Soviet Union to leave Afghanistan, released the Air Traffic Controllers who went on strike, the rescue mission in Grenada, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, and the Strategic Defense Strategy Initiative of 1983. His failures included the Marines
Ronald Wilson Reagan served two terms as the 40th president of the United States of America. Reagan was known for having a strong faith in the goodness of people. In college he was known as, “the jack of all trades” for excelling in everything he did (“Life Before the Presidency”). President Reagan’s beliefs gave him lots of respect from citizens around the world. One of his main beliefs was that peace comes with strength. I believe that Ronald Reagan was a great president because of his leadership qualities, domestic policies, and foreign policies.
He uses patriotism to prove to the people that he is devoted to serving his country and willing to sacrifice for it. In his inaugural speech, he claims that “The price for this freedom at times has been high, but we have never been unwilling to pay that price” and that “we’re too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams.” He creates unity between himself and the people by speaking favorably towards freedom, an important American principle. While he stresses the importance of freedom, he also he builds up the concept of a hero, encouraging the common man to help restore America. Reagan
In the beginning of his speech, he uses a unique style to communicate his speech. He immediately starts off with a clear and precise tone, however his assortment of words indicates a consciousness of concern. Reagan’s tone in this speech is serious and influential. He wants the audience to understand his viewpoints and how he fee...
A couple of the heroic values that Reagan possessed were strength and courage. Most people would agree that it took an agglomeration of strength and courage during the cold war era to make his ever famous, “Tear Down This Wall Speech” in Berlin. Ramesh Jaura explains how many people believe this speech made a positive effect toward ending the cold war:
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 was a man of many talents from sports, to acting, and finally politics. Reagan sought “peace through strength”; meaning that in order for us to have peace he would need the strength or power to provide us with just that. Having two terms in office it seems like Reagan was satisfied with most of what he could change in the U.S. He caused many differences throughout the nation; he made an impact. Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States of America; holding his seat from 1981 to 1989. Implementing Reaganomics which was basically meant to cut taxes which in turn generates more revenue. Reagan wanted “the American people to believe in themselves again” that was one of his main goals and some would say that he succeeded
Reagan’s ethos was created throughout his two terms but solidified in his second and final one. Reagan presents his ethos throughout his rhetoric by stating facts with authority and also in a way that made him credible to the audience. One of the parts in his speech is headlined with a cold and awakening fact directed at the Soviet Union. In a 1956 speech given by Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev, the statement “We will bury you,” was aimed at Western ambassadors who stood for freedom. In Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate, he specifically calls out the previously stated notion that the Soviets would essentially, “bury the free world.” Reagan profoundly proclaims this: “In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: "We will bury you." But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind--too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.” The great appeal this presented to the
Eisenhower was a strong and loyal president. He had military, school, and law as his most achieved hobbies and jobs in life. He was the leader of the allied forces in Europe during WWII. He was a tough leader that taught his followers well. President during the scariest time this country as probably ever faced the Cold War. He was a Republican with strong military power. He was widely known as Ike because all the boys in his family were called Ike so it carried on into his adult life.
...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.
Reagan’s speech on the night of January 28, 1986 dramatically “took the first step toward uniting the country in its grief (Ritter, 4)”. Ronald Reagan reached out to the schoolchildren of America and all other citizens of the United States to counsel them in time of tragedy. He gave hope to the nation through emotional and spiritual reference. He was effective in conveying his message but the way his thoughts were organized was in part ineffective. His speech is very unorganized, and he could have ordered his thoughts better. More importantly than disorganization though, Ronald Reagan reached out to a nation that needed him as there president. He gave the people of the United States hope and Reassurance, a task that the President has been expected to do since the beginning of our country.