1
Jul, 2025

Ronald Reagan

8G History Lesson 150 Assignment

Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Illinois. His dad was an alcoholic, and it was hard for him to stay in a job. Reagan went to Eureka College, where he played football and was in the drama society. His grades were passing, but not amazing. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics, but later decided to pursue sportscasting. Reagan became the sportscaster for the radio stations WCO and later WHO.

Reagan soon became interested in acting, and landed a job with Warner Bros. Interestingly, the characters that Reagan played in the movies were often like Reagan himself. Reagan served in the war by making army training films. Although he wasn’t involved in any combat, he was portrayed as being a real soldier.

Between 1947 and 1952 Reagan was president of the Screen Actors Guild. His job was to Around this time, Reagan’s political beliefs were shifting. He had previously been more of a Democrat, but was slowly becoming more conservative. Eventually he declared himself to be a Republican.

Reagan supported Barry Goldwater, a Republican who ran for president during the 1964 presidential election. Reagan gained a lot of popularity even though Goldwater didn’t win.

Due to the popularity Reagan received by endorsing Goldwater, Reagan was asked to run for governor of California in the 1966 election. He won, taking over 57 percent of the vote. As governor, Reagan approved tax increases and helped reform the welfare system.

In 1976 Reagan ran for president, and although he lost the nomination for Republican on the ballot, he received many write in votes. Reagan ran again for president in 1980, and this time he won!

As president, Reagan implemented a type of economics commonly called supply-side economics, which is a type of free market economics that focuses on lowering taxes and and government spending and deregulating the economy. Some people criticized Reagan’s use of this, calling it Reaganomics or Voodoo economics. During Reagan’s presidency, inflation dropped from 13.5% to 4.1%. He also lowered income taxes by 25% for everyone.

Reagan pushed to allow organized prayer in schools. He tried to overturn the ruling that the Supreme Court issued that didn’t allow a moment of silence for prayer in schools. Reagan was not ultimately successful in this matter.

Reagan prioritized rebuilding the military, and the defense budget went up while he was in office. He sent the U.S. military to invade Grenada, ultimately resulting in a U.S. victory.

Reagan campaigned for a second term in 1984, and won in a landside victory, taking electoral votes from 49 out of the 50 states. In his second term, Reagan passed the Tax Reform act, which made the tax filing system much easier and lowered taxes overall. The economy continued to grow, and Reagan continued to invest more money into the national defense.

After Reagan left office, his health declined, and in 1994 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Reagan was not in public much as his health declined. Weakened by Alzheimer’s he passed away in 2004 from pneumonia. He was given a state funeral and many former presidents attended.

I hope you enjoyed learning about Ronald Reagan, his life and his career.

Presidents of the 1970’s

8G History Lesson 140 Assignment

In this week’s assignment, I will be summarizing the lives of three different presidents. They are Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, and they were all president during the 1970s.

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 in California. He received an education from Duke University, and decided to pursue law. He met Thelma Ryan and married her in 1940. Nixon also served a short term in the Navy during World War I. After the Navy, he became a member of the House of Representatives. Nixon’s popularity was boosted after his role in the investigation of Alger Hiss.

In the 1952 election, Nixon became Eisenhower’s vice president. Nixon didn’t do much while vice president, but he gained a large amount of popularity.

As president, Nixon was involved in overseas relations, like helping to improve relations between the U.S, China, and the U.S.S.R. But the main thing he is remembered for is the Watergate Scandal. The scandal involved a break-in of the Democratic Party Headquarters. 5 men broke in and stole important government documents. The men were on the Republican Committee to re-elect the president. Nixon tried to cover up this, and it led to an investigation.

Nixon decided to resign to avoid becoming impeached. This was the end of his political career, and he died on April 22, 1994.

Gerald Ford

Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was born on July 14, 1913 in Nebraska. His parents divorced while he was a baby, and he went with his mom to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford was a good football player when he was at the University of Michigan.

Ford served in Congress for 25 years, and was very popular and well-liked. He was thrust into the vice presidency when Nixon’s VP resigned, then when Nixon himself resigned, Ford became president. One of Ford’s first acts was to completely pardon Nixon. This was very controversial. Ford tried to limit inflation and helped to end the Vietnam war. Ford was almost assassinated twice!

During Ford’s reelection, he ran mostly behind Jimmy Carter, and eventually lost. Ford retired after leaving the White House, and enjoyed golfing and skiing. On December 26, 2006 Ford passed away.

Ford enjoying a game of golf

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter (full name James Earl Carter Jr.) was born on October 1, 1924 in Georgia. Carter, like both Nixon and Ford, went to college before serving in the Navy for a few years. Carter left the army after he heard the news that his father had passed away. He was elected to the Georgia State Senate, and then became governor of Georgia.

After his term as governor ended, he decided to run for president in the Democrat party. He was not very well known at the time, but he won the main election by a margin of 57 electoral votes.

Carter helped to form peace between Israel and Egypt and formed the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. The presidency was also marked by a few small scandals, but they were not very large in comparison to the Watergate Scandal when Nixon was in office.

Carter was defeated in the 1980 re-election by a large margin. After leaving the White House, Carter became a humanitarian and a diplomat. He is the longest lived former president, and he passed away at the age of 100 in 2024.

(Left to Right) Presidents George Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon.

References:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-Nixon

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gerald-Ford

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jimmy-Carter/Life-after-the-presidency

John F. Kennedy

8G History Lesson 135 Assignment

In this assignment, I will summarize the life and accomplishments of John F. Kennedy, also known as JFK.

Childhood and Early Career

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Massachusetts. He was the second of nine children, and his parents were Roman Catholics. His father was a multi-millionaire businessman. John joined the U.S. navy in 1941, and when his time serving was up, he returned home in 1945 to pursue a career in politics. The war impacted him for the rest of his life, he suffered from many sustained injuries, and he also had Addison disease. This didn’t stop him from pursuing a career in politics.

Career in Politics

At age 29, he decided to run for Congress. He easily beat his opponent, and served 3 terms in the House of Representatives as a liberal Democrat. After his terms in the House, he ran for Senate, and again easily won.

As senator, Kennedy wanted to abolish the Electoral College vote, protested for labor reform, and supported civil rights legislation. Slowly, Kennedy achieved higher levels of recognition, and then decided to run for president in the 1960 election.

In the 1960 election, Kennedy and vice president Lyndon B. Johnson barely defeated Richard Nixon, Kennedy became the youngest president ever, at the age of 43.

Kennedy’s main accomplishments as president included helping to avoid a potential nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis, helping to lay the foundations for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and challenging a man to land on the moon by the end of the century. Kennedy also increased the military presence in the Vietnam war, and cut taxes.

On Friday, November 22, 1963, JFK was riding with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy (whom he married in 1953) in a procession in Dallas, Texas, when suddenly he was struck by two bullets. He died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office to become president the next day. On the same day, Lee Oswald was accused of the assassination, but it remains a controversy today. Nobody has been able to explain Lee’s motives as to why he committed the act.

Kennedy is often remembered as one of the greatest presidents, but sadly, he didn’t really have much time to accomplish anything outstanding. His family line still lives on today. U.S. politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is JFK’s nephew.

Reference:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-F-Kennedy

Warren Harding

8G History Lesson 110 Assignment – Part 1

This week I was to write about presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. I decided to split it into two essays, this is the first part.

Overview

Warren Harding was the 29th president. He promised to help the U.S. return to normalcy after World War 1, but he accomplished little in office. His short time as president was marked by many scandals, which upset many people. Most people consider Warren Harding’s time in office as one of the worst.

Life and Presidency of Harding

Warren G. Harding was born on November 2, 1865 in the state of Ohio. He grew up on a farm, but his father later abandoned farming and became a physician. Warren grew up the oldest of 8 children. He tried many different careers, and bought a small newspaper company in Ohio. He became interested in politics, and slowly became more well-known.

Harding served as a senator, and was a member of the Republican party. He ran for president in 1920, under the slogan “Return to Normalcy.”

Harding didn’t do much in office. His biggest acts were to increase tariffs, and lower taxes on business. But the thing he is most remembered for is the scandals that took place during his presidency. Harding wasn’t the most honest man, and he didn’t appoint very trustworthy people.

Harding died of a heart attack while returning from a vacation in 1923. This marked the end of his presidency, and Calvin Coolidge took over.

Reference:

www.britannica.com/biography/Warren-G-Harding

11
Apr, 2025

Calvin Coolidge

8G History Lesson 110 Assignment – Part 2

This is part two of my assignment for this week.

Overview

Calvin Coolidge was our 30th president. He became president after Harding died in office. In my opinion, he was one of the best presidents ever, but he is often forgotten.

Life and Presidency of Coolidge

Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872. He was an only child, and his parents raised him well. His father was a storekeeper, and taught Calvin many Puritan virtues. Coolidge loved reading and nature as a child.

Coolidge decided to pursue a career in law, starting in 1897. He married Grace Goodhue in 1905. Coolidge was chosen as mayor of Northampton in 1909, and was active in the Massachusetts government. He was a popular republican cantidate for Vice President, and made it onto the ballot with president Harding. They were easily elected into office by a 60 percent popular vote.

Coolidge was thrust into the presidency when Harding unexpectedly died. Harding had left Coolidge a seat surrounded by scandals. However, Coolidge was determined to restore the people’s trust. In 1924, he was nominated for president. He won more than half of the popular vote under the campaign “Keep Cool with Coolidge”.

Coolidge improved the U.S. economy and government in many ways. He was very supportive of business and the free market, and dramatically lowered the income and property tax rates. He also supported smaller government. His Secretary of the Treasury was Andrew Mellon. He believed that lowering taxes would help expand the economy. Coolidge vetoed the McNary Haugen bill 2 times, which Congress was trying to approve. This bill was a plan for the government to subsidize American crops. Coolidge’s move to veto it was a controversial one, and some people were not happy. He was also a supporter of racial equality, and tried to move the U.S. towards it.

Some people criticize Coolidge for his “lack of action”, and blamed the Great Depression on him. They thought that he should have taxed the rich more, and enact more laws that subsidized the economy.

Coolidge oversaw almost a decade of prosperity, and in 1928, he decided not to run again. 1929 saw the election of Herbert Hoover, and the biggest economic crash in United States history.

In summary, Calvin Coolidge was a somewhat controversial president, but I think the things that he did (and the things that he didn’t do) helped the economy and America as a whole.

Reference:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Calvin-Coolidge