1964 Goldwater Campaign: A Leader Is Born
The Goldwater Campaign called upon Ronald Reagan one week before the 1964 Election to give a speech supporting Barry Goldwater. Reagan was already very popular in the public's eye, but his popularity would soar after he delivered ¨The Speech¨ on October 27th, 1964.
“Reagan galvanized the emerging conservative movement in America at a time when we had a floundering economy, a growing welfare state and a raging Cold War,'' author Steven F. Hayward said. "Reagan hit all the high notes of conservative thought that he upheld the rest of his career. Excessive taxation. The celebration and preservation of freedom. Growth of government. The Cold War. The Soviet Union and our desire for peace.”
After the speech, Reagan was viewed as a future presidential candidate. Journalist David Boder of The Washington Post said this after the speech, “The most successful national political debut since William Jennings Bryan electrified the 1896 Democratic Convention with his ‘Cross of Gold’ speech.”
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu *Click To Enlarge)
“Reagan galvanized the emerging conservative movement in America at a time when we had a floundering economy, a growing welfare state and a raging Cold War,'' author Steven F. Hayward said. "Reagan hit all the high notes of conservative thought that he upheld the rest of his career. Excessive taxation. The celebration and preservation of freedom. Growth of government. The Cold War. The Soviet Union and our desire for peace.”
After the speech, Reagan was viewed as a future presidential candidate. Journalist David Boder of The Washington Post said this after the speech, “The most successful national political debut since William Jennings Bryan electrified the 1896 Democratic Convention with his ‘Cross of Gold’ speech.”
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu *Click To Enlarge)
Excessive Taxation:
No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income. Today, 37 cents out of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collector's share, and yet our government continues to spend 17 million dollars a day more than the government takes in.
-Ronald Reagan: ¨A Time For Choosing¨ (Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
The Celebration And Preservation Of Freedom:
We're at war with the most dangerous enemy that has ever faced mankind in his long climb from the swamp to the stars, and it's been said if we lose that war, and in so doing lose this way of freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening.
-Ronald Reagan: ¨A Time For Choosing¨ (Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
Growth Of Government:
The full power of centralized government, this was the very thing the Founding Fathers sought to minimize. They knew that governments don't control things. A government can't control the economy without controlling people.
-Ronald Reagan: ¨A Time For Choosing¨ (Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
The Cold War, The Soviet Union, And Our Desire For Peace:
We cannot buy our security, our freedom from the threat of the bomb by committing an immorality so great as saying to a billion human beings now enslaved behind the Iron Curtain, "Give up your dreams of freedom because to save our own skins, we're willing to make a deal with your slave masters." Alexander Hamilton said, "A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one." Now let's set the record straight. There's no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there's only one guaranteed way you can have peace and you can have it in the next second, surrender.
Ronald Reagan: ¨A Time For Choosing¨ (Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
'' In Your Heart You Know He's Right! ''
-Barry Goldwater Campaign Slogan
Governor Reagan
In 1966 there were several problems facing the state of California. California needed a hero. Ronald Reagan, persuaded to run for Governor, ran against incumbent Pat Brown but that didn’t matter, Reagan won the election in a landslide. Once elected, he worked to balance the state’s budget and put people back to work.
"Things were a whole lot worse for California than I thought they were. Every morning it seemed someone would stand at my desk and tell me about a new problem I hadn't heard of before," Reagan retold in his autobiography. "The democrats controlled the legislature and the last thing they wanted to do was reduce spending, and make the state live within it's needs. They wanted to raise taxes. Then FDR gave me an idea with his fireside chats. By going on television or radio, I thought I might be able to make an end run against the legislatures, and tell the people what was going on in Sacramento, and get public opinion on my side. It worked like a charm."
-Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 25 Page 164.
Running a large state like California helped prepare Reagan for the years ahead as President of the United States. As Governor he saw what worked, and what didn't.
(Photo: FF.Org *Click To Enlarge)
"Things were a whole lot worse for California than I thought they were. Every morning it seemed someone would stand at my desk and tell me about a new problem I hadn't heard of before," Reagan retold in his autobiography. "The democrats controlled the legislature and the last thing they wanted to do was reduce spending, and make the state live within it's needs. They wanted to raise taxes. Then FDR gave me an idea with his fireside chats. By going on television or radio, I thought I might be able to make an end run against the legislatures, and tell the people what was going on in Sacramento, and get public opinion on my side. It worked like a charm."
-Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 25 Page 164.
Running a large state like California helped prepare Reagan for the years ahead as President of the United States. As Governor he saw what worked, and what didn't.
(Photo: FF.Org *Click To Enlarge)
The Problem Is Not That People Are Taxed Too Little. The Problem Is That Government Spends Too Much.
-Ronald Reagan On Anti-Big Government
''Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago? ''
Following a failed Presidential bid in 1976, Ronald Reagan was unsure if he would run in 1980, until a series of events unfolded in our nation. President Jimmy Carter’s economic plan was failing, his foreign policy wasn't working, and America needed a savior. On November 13th, 1979, Ronald Reagan announced his candidacy for President.
In his campaign, Reagan preached about restoring pride in America and winning The Cold War. His slogan was, “Let’s Make America Great Again!”
"During the summer and fall of 1980, there were many problems facing our nation: the tragic neglect of our military establishment, high unemployment, an ailing economy, the continuous expansion of communism abroad, the taking of 50 American hostages in Iran, but to me none was more serious than the fact that America had lost faith in itself," Reagan said in An American Life. ''If I could be elected president I wanted to do what I could to bring a spiritual revival in America.¨
-Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 35 page 219.
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu *Click To Enlarge)
In his campaign, Reagan preached about restoring pride in America and winning The Cold War. His slogan was, “Let’s Make America Great Again!”
"During the summer and fall of 1980, there were many problems facing our nation: the tragic neglect of our military establishment, high unemployment, an ailing economy, the continuous expansion of communism abroad, the taking of 50 American hostages in Iran, but to me none was more serious than the fact that America had lost faith in itself," Reagan said in An American Life. ''If I could be elected president I wanted to do what I could to bring a spiritual revival in America.¨
-Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 35 page 219.
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu *Click To Enlarge)
Goldwater Won The Election In 1964 . . . It Just Took Sixteen Years To Count The Votes.