By Larkyn Soletski
St. Bernard Catholic School
President Ronald Reagan redefined the definition of purpose of government. He solidified the conservative agenda for decades after his presidency. Reagan served a total of two terms from 1981-1989, becoming the fortieth president of the United States. Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 5, 1911, in Tampico Illinois. His parents Nelle Clyde, and John Edward “Jack” worked constantly to provide a good family life. His father Jack, had a grade school education and a gift a salesman. Jack struggled with Alcoholism and died in the early 1940’s as a result. His mother Nelle, did not have any job and focussed her life of nurturing her two sons. Even through the Reagans were quite …show more content…
Reagan's political outlook was shaped by his parents, both Democrats, and especially by the the Great Depression. The entire Reagan family supported Franklin D. Roosevelt whole heartedly. In Hollywood, in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Reagan also identified with Roosevelt's internationalism, especially his opposition to the aggressions of Nazi Germany and imperial Japan. After World War II, Reagan aligned with the dominant faction in the Democratic Party as an anti-Communist liberal. Reagan opposed the Communists and their allies. In 1953 he became a secret informant for the FBI, reporting on Communist activities in Hollywood. Reagan's politics changed in the 1950s. In partisan politics, however, Reagan identified more frequently with Republicans. Reagan started to get more involved in politics. In 1966 Reagan was voted to become the Golden State Governor. Reagan believed that you can combine both faith, and state into his career. He also believe that citizens should not have socialized health care and was against raising taxes. Policies advocated a laissez-faire …show more content…
For the next six years, he spent his time organizing his memoirs and supervising the creation of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. On November 5, 1994, Reagan addressed a letter to the American people. The letter went on to talk about the heavy burden his condition would place upon his wife, Nancy, and that he only wished for some way to spare her from its pain. Ronald Reagan died on June 5, 2004. He was accorded a state funeral in which leaders from around the world, Republicans and Democrats, and thousands of American citizens paid their respects to this great