Recall your feelings when you took office for the first time . Pres. Reagan i recall that day with great clarity. All of it, the coming to the white house, the being taken thoseappearing before thousands of people stretched wason the mall, there unreality to all of it. Awareness of what it meant in my life, and i mean an awareness of the importance of the occasion, and at the same prayer in my mind that i could meet the responsibilities. Godfrey people have told us one of your great strengths is that you had an agenda with just a few big things that you wants to change you wanted to change. Pres. Reagan the country was in the economic doldrums. Doubledigit inflation, great unemployment. The economy stagnating. People in the country seemed to have lost belief in themselves and in the country. There was the matter of National Security, of on any given day, half of our military planes could not take off for lack of spare parts. Half of our naval vessels cannot leave port for that were lac
But it was an awareness of what it meant in my life, and i mean an awareness of the importance of the occasion. And at the same time, a great prayer in my mind that i could meet the responsibilities. Godfrey a lot of people have told us that one of your greatest strengths was that you had an agenda of just a few big things that you wanted to change. Can you tell me what your goals were . Pres. Reagan yes, the country was in the economic doldrums. It doubled inflation, great unemployment, the economy stagnating, the people of the country seems to have lost a belief in themselves and in the country. Also, there was a matter of National Security. On any given day, half of our military planes couldnt take off for lack of spare parts. Half of our naval vessels had that or lack of crew. So i was determined that we had to restore the economy, and i have been asked many times, and campaigning if i ran into the deficit problem because we have been deficit spending for almost half a century, wit
To be left alone, but now to attach that belief, not simply to escape but to a sense of greater selfrighteousness, a greater sense of american purpose. Overturned in this sense. Rights andof states they return in this sense to local control. S was we will talk about reagan and the new right, a new american right. Then we will talk about the new cold war, the changes in the cold war. Then we will talk about the end of the cold war. We will talk about that in our lecture next week as well. We will talk about early in the cold war and Ronald Reagans role in that as well as mikal gorbachev. Lets start with reagan and the new right. Reagan atave ronald his first job. Really, his second job. His first job was as a lifeguard. His second job, as a radio announcer in des moines, iowa. In des moines, iowa. His career was largely a career in entertainment, not in policy. In entertainment and in radio in and in movies as well. He was born in dixon, illinois, which was a rural town in illinois, a F
In the 1980s represented what Time Magazine is saying here, a fresh start. A positive disposition. His hero was Franklin Roosevelt. He was of a different party, but his hero was roosevelt because he grew up listening to him on the radio. A figure who hope to restore helped to restore hope to americans and the sense of better days ahead, someone who restored can do spirit in america. That is what reagan was all about. He came of age not just in the shadow of the Great Depression and the cold war also the vietnam war, the disruptions of the 1970s and 1960s and for reagan, there had to be a better way, a more positive perspective. It was not enough to put up or shut up, not enough to accept things as they were. There had to be a better way. He brought idealism Many Americans were looking for after a decade, decade and a half following the vietnam war and disruptions of the 1960s when people were escaping rather than seeking major fundamental changes. He believed now change could be initia
First slide if we could. We have Ronald Reagan, and we talked about the disruptions of the 1960s, the social changes in the towards 1970s suburbanization. We talked about nixon and carter and the desire so Many Americans silence, tot, for escape the disruption, to escape the conflicts. Ronald reagan coming into office in the early 1980s, elected in november 1980, represented what Time Magazine is saying here, a fresh start. A positive disposition. His hero was Franklin Roosevelt. Ronald reagan was of a different party, but his hero was roosevelt because he grew up listening to him on the radio. I will talk about that more and a couple of minutes. He saw and roosevelt a figure who helped to restore hope to americans and the sense of better days ahead, someone who restored a sense of can do spirit in america. That is what reagan was all about. He came of age not just in the shadow of the Great Depression and the cold war but also the vietnam war, the disruptions of the 1970s and 1960s, a