Student Essay on Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Summary:   A biography of Ronald Reagan, actor and president of the United States.

I. Introduction

Reagan was a unique president that made a positive impact to the United States. Before Ronald Reagan took over, the nation was mostly troubled and unhappy. Many did not have a job, economy was down, and all lived under the threat of Soviet Union. But it was Ronald Reagan that destroyed the Soviet Union and restored the nation's confidence, its optimism, and also produced an era of good feeling.

I chose Ronald Reagan as my topic because he is a popular president and I would like to know his accomplishments and how he made a positive impact to the United States. In this report, I will present Ronald Reagan's life during teen, as an actor, and what he contributed in his political life.

II. As a kid

Ronald Reagan's family was never prosperous, but he his memories were mostly happy ones. He showed a lot of qualities a good president should have since he was little. Ronald Reagan always showed a lot of compassion for people around him. His love for his dad never changed, despite the fact that his father was an alcoholic, and had to drag him whenever his dad got drunk. He also showed a lot of leadership. He was the president of Dixon High School, president of Screen Actor's Guild 5 times. But the most important fact is that he enjoyed being the leader.

III. Before actor

Reagan searched for a permanent job. Since he showed a lot of talent in communicating and public speaking, he first turned toward broadcasting. After days of searching, he went to many different cities to find a station that had extra space for new employees. Most station turned him down because of his lack of experience. Then, the manager of station, WOC, was impressed by his spirit and decided to use him. He always animates and makes the most boring sport games interesting. Very soon, his voice was very popular to radio listeners, especially in sports.

IV. As an actor

Ronald Reagan, as a broadcaster, was prospering. However, Ronald Reagan's goal was to become an actor. His agent called Warner Brothers, a major film studio. Warner Brothers agreed to interview Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan stretched his experience and doubled his previous salary during the interview. At the end, Warner Brothers accepted him and offered a seven-year contract to him.

Ronald Reagan was successful in Hollywood. He memorized his scripts and picked up acting techniques quickly. He later met actress, Jane Wyman. They fell in love and married. After acting in a lot of movies, he was sent to England to make the film The Hasty Heart, he was suppose to be the star in the movie. When the film is completed, he found out that the star wasn't him, but another actor. He was shocked and felt betrayed. That was the beginning of the end of his prospering acting career. He became more and more involved in politics while his wife was turning into a big Hollywood star. Later, they got divorced because of their very different interest.

V. Political Life

After his acting career, he became very active in politics. He had been campaigning for many candidates, and giving political speeches. Throughout the whole time, people urged Ronald Reagan to run for a political office. Eventually, he did. In 1996, he was nominated as a republic candidate for California Governor. He won by a big victory. He got 3.7 million votes, and 2.7 votes for Pat Brown.

As a governor, he had no problem compromising with legislators. Ronald Reagan fixed California's economy problems and ended up with a budget surplus. One of his major bills passed was the California Welfare Reform Act of 1971. It reduced the amount of people receiving welfare and increased the money for the truly needy.

After governing California, his supporters convinced him to try for the Republican presidential nomination, and he got it in 1980. He was running against the former president, Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan was very old, and his opponents used it against him. Ronald Reagan simply replied "Thomas Jefferson once said, "'we should never judge a president by his age, only by his works.' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying." Ronald Reagan was great at debates. When Jimmy Carter starts to criticize Ronald Reagan's record when he was a governor during the presidential debates, Ronald Reagan said, "There you go again" That quote made Carter looked really bad and he never recovered from it. Before the last debate, the two candidates were even in polls, after the debate, it was clear Ronald Reagan was going to win. At the end, Ronald Reagan won with 489 electoral votes, and became the oldest president to be elected at the age of 69.

His greatest achievement during his presidency was the defeat of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union consists of many different countries under communism. Then the Soviet Union took more and more countries over with the threat of their nuclear weapons. Ronald Reagan was the only person thought that abolishing the Soviet Union was possible. Actions Ronald Reagan took against the Soviet Union include increasing the US army so it could compete with the Soviet Union's army. He also invaded the Soviet Union's fortresses, and destroying a part of the Soviet Union's weapons. He supported all anti-communist organizations, and issued the Reagan Doctrine, which states any countries that want to rebel against the Soviet would get military supports from USA. Finally, Soviet Union crashed, and if it wasn't for Ronald Reagan, it may still be around today.

VI. Conclusion

What kind of president was Ronald Reagan? He was a daring president that fights for what he believes in. He worked to destroy Soviet Union when no other people thought it was possible. He's someone who loved his family and it never changed after becoming a star in Hollywood and a president. Ronald Reagan's leadership, his good humor, and his optimism made him a president that stands out.