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Chris Hong
Author's Bio
Peggy Noonan is a political author who also spent time near the Ronald Reagan administration during the 1980's. She has written essays that have appeared in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes and many other publications. She has also written the critically acclaimed bestseller The Case Against Hillary Clinton and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
From Rags to Riches
Upon modest beginnings, Ronald Reagan grew up in Tampico, Illinois within a one-bedroom rental apartment. Reagan's family had no status and their lives "were built around an embarrassment that was also a shame."1 Other than Dwight Eisenhower (whose family was financially problematic, but was respected locally), no previous president had lacked more in all aspects of life. Not only was his family financially deprived, Reagan had the unfortunate privilege of living with a dysfunctional Irish father who, in his pessimistic behavior, never allowed young Ronald to hope for success. However with the serene presence of his mother, Nelle Wilson Reagan, and a continuous desire to create a worthier life," Young Dutch" embattled through all the restrictions of his humble beginnings and surpassed the greatest challenges on his way to becoming the fortieth president of the United States of America.
As all presidents step into the White House, each of them brings to the nation's capitol something unique of themselves. With Ronald Reagan came an underprivileged childhood, a career background unlike any other president before him, and a charismatic charm that could command the attention of the whole room. What many generations fail to understand is that Reagan's "beginnings were the most modest and lacking of any president of the past hundred years."2 His parents had no profession, owned nothing, and were virtually an embarrassment to the small town of Tampico. Reagan's father Jack Reagan was broad shouldered and handsome, with thick dark hair (much like his son), however had an intense dark side to his character. An Irish Catholic and a chain-smoking raconteur, Jack Reagan tended to by cynical, and often times, this pessimistic attitude agonized his son. For example when young Ronald, also known as "Young Dutch", went to Chicago to look for a job during the Great Depression, his father claimed "don't bother, no one is going to hire you. Coupled with the fact of his heavy drinking, Jack Reagan proved to be an unlikely source of comfort and support for a maturing Ronald Reagan. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, his mother was the one who saved him in a literal and religious sense. Nelle Wilson Reagan instilled in the future president a sense of purity and helped him grasp the significance of God and Christianity at an early age. Her life was based around the message that she conveyed to those who had not heard it; "Jesus is with you, is aware of your life and fully engaged in it."3 With such different sets of morality and religious beliefs, it would be hard to imagine a Reagan household where every member of the family shared a similar standing on political issues. However, the family was able to find solace as Democrats. Jack believed in the rights of the working man and Nelle believed that all men were children of God. Both parents believed the biggest sin was discriminating against a different religion or race. These set of beliefs remained a constant in Dutch's childhood as his family constantly moved and as Reagan became a local star as a high school football player and a talented actor in school plays. As the Great Depression hit the nation, Reagan embarked on a journey for a job at the tender age of 18. He tried out for acting gigs, but ended up as a sports announcer and began to make a name for himself as Dutch Reagan in the Midwest announcing college football games. Eventually, he would arrive in Hollywood, enjoy promising roles like "Knute Rockne", his father would quit drinking as things were finally turning alright, and he would marry the love of his life, a talented actress, Janie Wyman. It seemed he had carried the Reagan family our of continuous hardship until World War II swept the nation. As he came back from war, stars like Jimmy Stewart and Clark Gable picked up right where they left off and his wife was winning Academy Awards. Ronald Reagan did not enjoy the same success, and the time ahead was tougher still.
As life after war was marked by constant strife, Reagan couldn't rely on the virtue of effort which had continuously yielded reward when met with challenges. They years from 1947-1950 were the worst of his life as his acting career was over and his marriage was over. Reagan started to lean toward talking about politics amongst peers and as he learned more about communism, the more he spoke against it. More importantly, he would meet Nancy Davis while working as an anti-communist for the Screen Actors Guild. He would eventually marry the future first lady. Then a reversal of fortunes would benefit the once down and out actor. He was offered a job by General Electrics to host a weekly show and continued the gig for eight years. This would mark the Reagan of the 1950's: a leader in Hollywood but no longer a movie star, a television star but no longer a liberal Democrat. By working for a big company, Reagan made the transition to a Republican and a conservative. He was a deeply "committed philosophical and economic conservative."4 Whereas his father disagreed with the corruption of big business, Reagan deemed it all depended on the integrity of the people who led them. In the future whenever someone asked him why he left the democratic party, he would reply "I didn't leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me."6 As a Republican in a heavily democratic region, Reagan was vulnerable. As GE continued to ask him to speak to the public, the Kennedy administration would send one of their own to combat it. He was being labeled a right-wing radical and becoming a focus of powerful resistance. On January 4, 1966, Ronald Reagan declared himself a candidate for the governor of California. His opponents scoffed at his campaign and figured they would easily defeat the "actor" in a cakewalk. However, that would not be the case as Reagan passionately relayed his beliefs and eventually won in a landslide; by over a million votes. However, as soon as he stepped into office, Reagan's staff unearthed the problems of the previous regime. The state of California was over $300 million in debt. Reagan had to do what he promised he wouldn't; raise taxes. Then, Reagan, a man of extreme honesty and integrity, did something that had never been done in the history of the state. When in 1968, he found out that California would be $100 million over the budget; he decided to reward the taxpayers of California with a 10% tax rebate for 1969. Soon supporters throughout the nation were begging him to run for president in the next election. He was a man of pure political genius.
In a democratic year, Reagan put together a campaign team and decided to run for the presidency under the 11th commandment, "thou shalt not speak ill of any Republican."6 He lost his first five states and party professionals wrote him off. He would lose the 1976 primary, but in 1980, he would come back in a storm against Jimmy Carter. In 1980, Ronald and Nancy Reagan stepped into the Executive Mansion. Minutes into Reagan's presidency, the hostages in Iran were released much to the dismay of Jimmy Carter who left ashamed and replaced by a man he did not respect. Reagan got familiar with the workings as a president and developed a routine at would have him waking up at seven working straight through the time he slept. Just as he was becoming familiar with the routine, the president was shot, nine weeks into office. As an ultimate test of his character, the first thing he said as he woke up from operation was "Honey, I forgot to duck."7 More importantly, he felt forever grateful for the two secret service agents who got in the way of the bullet and him. The bullet ended up 1 inch away from his heart and even as he was an inch from death, Reagan got back into office and put into effect all the promises he had made on his campaign trail. Reagan said he would cut taxes, and he cut them by over 40%. He said he would cut the inflation rate, and he cut if by more than half of what it had been. He said he would reduce unemployment and he cut it the rate by over 30%. He said he would cut the budget, lower interest rates, and get the economy going again; he did. It was the imperturbable power of truth that allowed for such success in his first term. He believed the truth was "the only foundation on which can be built something strong and good and lasting ¨C because only truth endures."8
It is often believed Reagan had the last hard presidency. The moment Reagan was implanted into office, he was immersed in crises. He dealt with the "most dangerous days of Soviet communism, Communist aggression in Latin America, tax battles, and budge battles."9 But just like the previous 60 years, Regan met all the obstacles head on. He didn't give in and mustered up all the effort he could for each individual case. In the midst of increasing tensions and a build up of arms, Reagan was able to break the anxiety with his historic summits with Gorbachev. By 1988, The Old Man of St. Cloud Road was getting ready to leave office and prepare a farewell speech. His farewell speech centered around his most golden characteristic; truth and in no way wanted to spin history to favor his legacy. Reagan spoke on two triumphs during his two terms, "the economic boom with its nineteen million new jobs" and "the recovery of America's morale throughˇAmerican values and virtues."10 And with that in ended Reagan's long journey that began in a small town called Tampico. Through countless years of public service, Reagan consummately proved that he loved America and the virtues it upheld in times of struggle, and in times of splendor.
Peggy Noonan wrote When Character was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan to depict a man who relied on his character for his success. These virtues of courage, persistence, honesty, and incredible patience in the face of hindrance, drove Reagan to excel in whatever he was doing and to better the life he was dealt. Peggy Noonan was able to take a simple biography of a great man and turn it into a message of persistence. Using not only a historical figure, but a humble man who overcame many obstacles to become the man he wanted to be, Noonan identified a president with the common people. However, Noonan, a conservative, wrote this biography with the intention of somewhat making a hero out of Reagan. Her bias tends to sympathize with Reagan and his controversial decisions while applauding him of his successes in public service. However Noonan is able to convey a message of hope and determination and inspires the reader to value not only Reagan as a man, but search within himself the morals and virtues that make a complete person. David Nichols, a book reviewer for Society claimed Noonan's greatest "contribution is to show that Reagan the politician was not a creation of media consultants who handed an aging actor a script and shoved him onto the political stage."11The National Review also wrote Reagan was a man who believed in America's promise which was needed for his time where the Soviets believed in America's guilt.
To Peggy Noonan, the 1970's was an era of transition for Reagan. He was a governor from the late 60's to the early 70's and embarked his first crusade to become the president in 1976 where he lost to Gerald Ford. However, the 70's was a decade of controversy filled with the mistakes of Vietnam and "the strain and trauma of Watergate."12The cold war was beginning to steam up and the theory of d¨¦tente and containment were becoming outdated. It was the decade of political failures as even Jimmy Carter, a democrat, couldn't set America's economy and society back on track. The failures of three presidencies paved the way for a man, unharmed by the corruptness of politics, who served as a beacon of truth, to march his way to Washington and give the citizens of the United States a sense of moral integrity and a reason to be proud of their nation.
In many ways, Ronald Reagan was different from any other president of the United States of America. The son of a poor family with no status or standing, Ronald Reagan learned to meet challenges head on at an early age. As a young man trying to create a status for himself, Reagan relied on the power of his strong character to push him along even when all routes looked bleak. He became a successful actor in Hollywood and rode the momentum all the way to politics. As the governor of California, Reagan had embodied the Republican spirit to perfection and proved his worthiness as he succeeded through two terms of the most difficult presidencies in the last century. He helped America "give birth to a technological boomˇand more and more countries were moving toward freedom and democracy."13Ronald Reagan was not only an actor merely put in D.C. to read the script of the Republican Party. Even when opponents labeled him an embarrassment to the United States, a man centered on morality and virtues, endured through to become one of the most respected men of the 20th century.
Endnotes
1. Noonan, Peggy. When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan. 375 Hudson Street, New York: Penguin Putnam Inc. 2001, 18.
2. Noonan, Peggy 17.
3. Noonan, Peggy 22.
4. Noonan, Peggy 57.
5. Noonan, Peggy 78.
6. Noonan, Peggy 122.
7. Noonan, Peggy 185.
8. Noonan, Peggy 200.
9. Noonan, Peggy 263.
10. Noonan, Peggy 314-315.
11. Nichols, David. Society. Vol.4
12. Noonan, Peggy 119.
13. Noonan, Peggy 316.
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