Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan used the presidency from 1981 to 1989 to unite tax revolt politics, Cold War anticommunism, and conservative realignment into the defining program of late Cold War America.
Born February 6, 1911 / Died June 5, 2004
On February 6, 1911, in Tampico, Illinois, Ronald Reagan was born into a family that moved through small-town Midwestern life during an era of instability and optimism. He studied at Eureka College, became a radio announcer and Hollywood actor, and later entered politics through anti-communist activism and corporate speechmaking for General Electric. Those experiences made performance, ideology, and mass communication central to his public rise.
Reagan served as governor of California and then as president from 1981 to 1989, where he cut taxes, challenged organized labor, increased defense spending, and promoted a confrontational rhetoric toward the Soviet Union. His administration also handled Iran-Contra, judicial appointments, and a conservative restructuring of federal priorities. Partnership with Margaret Thatcher and negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev made him a key figure in the closing stage of the Cold War.
Reagan reshaped the Republican Party, the modern conservative movement, and the public language of free markets and limited government. Tax politics, judicial conservatism, and later nostalgia for the 1980s all remained deeply tied to the coalition and style he helped consolidate.
Key Contributions
- Reagan, a Republican from California, took office after defeating the Democratic incumbent president Jimmy Carter and independent congressman John B. Anderson in the 1980 presidential election.
- Four years later, he won re-election in the 1984 presidential election, after defeating the Democratic nominee Walter Mondale.
- Reagan was constitutionally limited to two terms and was succeeded by his vice president, George H. W. Bush, who won the 1988 presidential election.
Related Events
Economic Recovery Tax Act signed
On August 13, 1981, Ronald Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act, launching the Kemp-Roth tax cuts and making supply-side economics the center of his domestic program.
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