A.P. United States History
Mr. Tarangelo
11/30/14
“Reagan’s Presidential Accomplishments” Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. He was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He went to Eureka College on an athletic scholarship for swim, track and football. He was also involved in student council and the school productions. Reagan studied sociology and economics. After college he became a radio show host then movie actor. He was married twice. He was first married to Jane Wyman with whom he had two children, Maureen and Michael. They divorced during World War II while Reagan made training films. He met Nancy Davis, while he was president of the Screen Actors’ Guild. He married Nancy Davis in 1952 and had two children, Patricia and Ronald. He began hosting General Electric Theater, which allowed him travel the country. During this time views changed from liberal Democrat to conservative Republican. In 1966 Reagan’s political career began. He ran for Governor of California and won by a landside, and was re-elected in 1970. Running for president was the next step to his political career. When he did not receive the nominations for presidency in 1968 or 1976 he did not stop trying and in doing so he received a nomination from the Republican Party in 1980. Reagan defeated …show more content…
His second term was tarnished by the Iran-Contra scandal. U.S officials sold arms to Iran to free hostages and fund Nicaraguan anti-communist movements. Reagan initially denied having any involvement, but later apologized for the mistake. In his second term in office, Reagan smoothed over diplomatic relation with the Soviet Union with their newly elected president Gorbachev. In 1987, they signed an agreement to get rid of intermediate-range nuclear missiles. Reagan spoke at the Berlin Wall saying that it was a symbol of communism; a few years later it was torn