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. .
“Should Reagan be offered the GE job, Nancy will make sure he takes it.” When Reagan challenges Ford in the 1976 Republican primaries and loses the nomination at the convention, “Nancy Reagan looks ahead to the day that her husband, Ronald Wilson Reagan, becomes the president of the United States in 1980. She will see to it.” After the assassination attempt, “Nancy decides whom Reagan will and will not see. This practice will continue throughout Reagan’s presidency.” So there you have it — the first theme, that Reagan’s entire career after he marries is inspired, directed, and controlled by his wife. Nancy goads him on. The second theme is that Reagan is passive, lacking his wife’s inner steel. He lets others make important decisions for him (not one example is offered) and is not very bright. The unifying theme is that the assassination attempt caused mental decline, accelerated the onset of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, and ultimately lead to the Iran-Contra debacle. Thus did the violent assault of March 30, 1981, change a presidency. In reporting Reagan’s first speech after the assassination attempt, the April 28 speech to a joint session of Congress,
Cannon, Lou. “Actor, Governor, President, Icon.” The Washington Post. 6 June 2004. Web. 3 September 2010. .
Works Cited "American President Ronald Wilson Reagan: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center. University of Virginia, n.d. -. Web. The Web.
One of the most important aspects of Reagan’s time in office was his domestic policy. He knew to have a successful presidency and create a strong, the people of the United States needed to be cared for. His first goal was to turn the economy around from the stagflation it encounter in the Carter era. Stagflation is very similar to inflation. The main difference is that inflation is the result of a quick economic growth while causes the value of money to decrease with now economic growth. To accomplish the turn around, Reagan introduce his economic policy which became known as Reaganomics. Reaganomics was based in supply side economics. This economic theory says that lowering taxes through tax cuts increases revenue by allowing more money
...speech to the world where he was quoted as saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” The speech was given at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin (“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall: President Ronald Reagan”). This speech signified the beginning of the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan’s foreign policy tactics are another reason why he was a great president.
In the late1960’s American politics were shifting at a National level with liberalism being less supported as its politics were perceived as flawed, both by people on the left who thought that liberalism was not as effective as more radical political enterprises and by conservatives who believed that liberal politics were ostensibly crippling the American economy.
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.
...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.
The 1960s and 1970s helped shape the conservative movement to grow in popularity and allowed conservatives to enjoy modern benefits such as economic prosperity and consumerism without conforming to liberal ideologies. The period of strong conservative support, the 1960s, usually refers to the time frame between 1964 through 1974. The grass roots mobilization started strong with the help of Orange County's middle-class men and women volunteers. The effort and hard work of these people along with economic support from businesses such as the National Review helped to spread conservative philosophy. Other contributions to the effort include community meetings, film showing, handing out pamphlets, and Fred Schwarz's school of anti-communism to inform Southern Californians of communist threat. Among anti-communism, conservatives also believe in the importance of religion, a restrictive government role, upholding traditional American values, and private business prosperity. The ethos upheld by long-time residents along with a heavy migration of people who would later join right-wing conservatism made Orange County the ideal location to enrich and expand the movement.
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.
"The U.S. presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent Ronald Reagan, along with a third party candidate, the liberal Republican John Anderson."(USPE1980, 1) By the beginning of the election season, the lengthy Iran hostage crisis sharpened public perceptions of a crisis. In the 1970s, the United States was experiencing a wrenching episode of low economic growth, high inflation and interest rates, intermittent energy crises. This added to a sense of discomfort that in both domestic and foreign affairs the nation was headed downward. With candidates and their reasons why they should be president, who would win the 1980 presidential election?
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...
Dallek, Matthew. “The Conservative 1960s From The Perspective Of The 1990s, It's The Big Political Story Of The Era.” The Atlantic Online. The Atlantic Online, Dec. 1995. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.
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.