Ronald Reagan Biography Essay

Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, on Monday, February 6th, 1911. He graduated from Dixon high in 1928, as an athlete and Student body President and performed in many school plays. Reagan enrolled and attended Eureka college of Illinois on an athletic scholarship, where he majored in Economics and Sociology. He also played football, ran track, captained the swim team, served as student council president and acted in school productions. Graduating in 1932, he found an open position as a radio sports announcer in Iowa. Later on in his life, Ronald Reagan served two terms as governor of California. Although he was a Liberal Democrat, he ran as a Republican, changing parties mainly due to his belief that issues with which America was being confronted had crossed party lines and so must he. He ran and was elected president of the United States of America for two terms, starting in the year 1980 and ending in the year 1989. During that time, there was an increased United States military presence in the middle east, where Reagan sent over 800 Marines to Lebanon as a part of an international peacekeeping force. But in October of 1983, nearly one year after sending the troops into the country, a group of suicide bombers attacked the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 …show more content…
He had a tense relationship with Muammar al-Quaddafi of Libya, but a fairly civil relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev of Russia. Reagan also spoke at the Berlin wall and pleaded for Gorbachev to open up the barrier which had divided West and East Berlin for nearly thirty years. Along with the quote, “Tear down this wall!” Reagan was also quoted on a mispronunciation that changed his intended meaning of “ I am a Berliner,” (Ich bin Berliner) to “ I am a donut” (Ich bin ein