Ronald Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the
fortieth President of the United States (1981–1989) and the
thirty-third Governor of California (1967–1975). Ronald Wilson
Reagan was born to Nelle and John Reagan in Tampico, Illinois. He
attended high school in nearby Dixon and then worked his way
through Eureka College. There, he studied economics and sociology,
played on the football team, and acted in school plays. Upon
graduation, he became a radio sports announcer. A screen test in
1937 won him a contract in Hollywood. During the next two decades
he appeared in 53 films.
From his first marriage to actress Jane Wyman, he had two
children, Maureen and Michael. Maureen passed away in 2001. In 1952
he married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress, and they had two
children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott.
As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan became embroiled
in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry; his
political views shifted from liberal to conservative. He toured the
country as a television host, becoming a spokesman for
conservatism. In 1966 he was elected Governor of California by a
margin of a million votes; he was re-elected in 1970.
Ronald Reagan won the Republican Presidential nomination in 1980
and chose as his running mate former Texas Congressman and United
Nations Ambassador George Bush. Voters troubled by inflation and by
the year-long confinement of Americans in Iran swept the Republican
ticket into office. Reagan won 489 electoral votes to 49 for
President Jimmy Carter.
On January 20, 1981, Reagan took office. Only 69 days later he
was shot by a would-be assassin, but quickly recovered and returned
to duty. His grace and wit during the dangerous incident caused his
popularity to soar.
Dealing skillfully with Congress, Reagan obtained legislation to
stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and
strengthen national defense. He embarked upon a course of cutting
taxes and Government expenditures, refusing to deviate from it when
the strengthening of defense forces led to a large deficit.
A renewal of national self-confidence by 1984 helped Reagan and
Bush win a second term with an unprecedented number of electoral
votes. Their victory turned away Democratic challengers Walter F.
Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro.
In 1986 Reagan obtained an overhaul of the income tax code,
which eliminated many deductions and exempted millions of people
with low incomes. At the end of his administration, the Nation was
enjoying its longest recorded period of peacetime prosperity
without recession or depression.
In foreign policy, Reagan sought to achieve "peace through
strength." During his two terms he increased defense spending 35
percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In
dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he
negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear
missiles. Reagan declared war against international terrorism,
sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that
Libya was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West
Berlin nightclub.
By ordering naval escorts in the Persian Gulf, he maintained the
free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war. In keeping with the
Reagan Doctrine, he gave support to anti-Communist insurgencies in
Central America, Asia, and Africa.
Overall, the Reagan years saw a restoration of prosperity, and
the goal of peace through strength seemed to be within grasp.
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The Cache
"Tear down this wall!" was the famous challenge from United States
President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to
destroy the Berlin Wall.
In a speech at the Brandenburg Gate commemorating the 750th
anniversary of Berlin, by the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan
challenged Gorbachev, then the General Secretary of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union, to tear it down as a symbol of Reagan's
desire for increasing freedom in the Eastern Bloc.
Upon receiving news on November 9, 1989 that East Berliners
would be allowed to crosss over into West Berlin, the brave
citizens of East and West Germany began the destruction of the
wall.
This cache is placed very near to a rather large piece of the
Berlin Wall that is on permanent display at Rice University. When
getting this cache, please be sure to also visit the piece of the
wall and reflect on the tribulations overcome by the peoples of
East Germany while the wall stood. Coordinates for the display are
provided below.
This cache placed by a
Member
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