Reagan Later attended Eureka College, not too far away from his hometown. He majored in Economics and Sociology. While he was there, he joined the football team where he won four varsity sweaters. He was also into acting and led in many school plays. During his freshman year, he led the student body on a strike when a group of professors were fired. Soon, they were re-hired.

After graduating, Reagan went back to Dixon and applied for a job as manager of the sports department at a Montgomery Ward that had just opened in town. Reagan, because of his success in sports in high school and college, thought he had the job wrapped up, but was turned down. In the middle of the depression, he began traveling across the Midwest l

In 1942, he interrupted his acting career by joining the army. After being discharged, at the rank of captain, he decided to turn toward a political career. In 1947 he was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild, a union representing Hollywood personalities that was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. He soon found himself in the middle of the attempted communist takeover of the movie industry. He testified before Congress as a friendly witness, where he gave a powerful defense of the strength of democracy. Slowly, his political views began to shift from liberal to conservative. He was later hired as a spokesman for General Electric. He was able to travel a lot because of his job and he was able to interact with many Americans, leading to his growing sense that the government was hindering the lives of Americans.

On January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th President of the United States. In his first 100 days as President, Reagan met with a total of 467 legislators as he prepared to send his Economic Recovery Act to Congress. This was interrupted however, when on March 30, Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Reagan was rushed to George Washington Hospital. The bullet was within an inch of his heart. Reagan showed grace and a quick wit in the face of death, even telling a joke or two within hours of the shooting. When wife Nancy asked what had happened, he simply said, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”

“In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”

Some topics in this essay:
Ronald Reagan's, Minnesota DC, Unruh Democratic, Washington Hospital, Federation Labor, Warner Brothers, Pat Brown, Montgomery Ward, Kerr Reagan, George Bush, welfare reform, acting career, rock river, radio station, ronald reagan, american people, local governments,