U.S. PRESIDENTS 36-40

#36 Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969

8/27/1908 – 1/22/1973

Party: Democrat

Timeline; 1963-1969

Johnson got into teaching and politics early on before joining the U.S. Navy reserves (1940-1964) only serving active duty for 2 years (1941-1942), the rest were spent in political positions; Texas House of representatives member  (1937-1949), Senate majority whip (1951-1953), Senate minority leader (1953-1955), Senate majority leader (1955-1961), before serving as VP (1961-1963)

1963;

  • Following Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson becomes the 36th President of the United States at the age of 55.
  • Johnson addresses a joint session of Congress calling on legislators to fulfill Kennedy’s legacy and pass civil rights and tax legislation
  • Johnson creates a special commission chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren to investigate the Kennedy assassination

1964;

1964; ruby conviction newspaper
  • In a speech at the University of Michigan, Johnson announces his intention to create a Great Society by extending American prosperity to all its citizens.
  • Johnson signs The Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • Former President Hoover is laid to rest in West Branch Iowa
1964; hoover grave

HOOVER GRAVE

1964; MLK nobelpeaceprize

MLK WITH HIS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

1965;

1965; selma march

SELMA TO MONTGOMERY MARCH

  • Johnson signs the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
  • Johnson sends U.S. marines to the Dominican Republic to protect U.S. citizens after a military coup during the Dominican Civil War
  • The U.S. Supreme Court finds a Connecticut law banning the use of contraceptives unconstitutional
  • Martin Luther King Jr. leads a demonstration in Chicago in an attempt to bring the Civil Rights Movement to the North
  • Johnson increases the number of troops sent to Vietnam, indicating his determination to engage in a ground war
1965; Marines_Arrive_at_Da_Nang

MARINES ARRIVE AT DA NANG

1965; watt riots

NATIONAL GUARD WALKS TOWARDS SMOKE FROM BURNING BUILDINGS

  • Fearing that American involvement in Vietnam will draw France into a world war, French president Charles De Gaulle announces that France will withdraw from NATO
  • The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upholds the Voting Rights Act of 1965

1966;

  • The White House Conference on Civil Rights urges Congress to pass further civil rights legislation
  • James Meredith is shot in a March from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi; civil rights leaders organize to complete his march. During this demonstration, Stokely Carmichael makes a statement in support of “black power.”
1966; JAMES MEREDITH SHOT

JAMES MEREDITH SHOT AND WOUNDED

1967;

  • A launch pad fire during tests for the Apollo I program kills three astronauts.
1967; APOLLO DISASTER
  • The Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, providing rules of succession upon the death of the President, and enabling the President to appoint a new vice-president in the case of a vacancy.
  • The Eternal Flame memorial is added to Kennedy’s grave at Arlington National cemetery
1967; Surreal-JFK-Eternal-Flame

ETERNAL FLAME MEMORIAL AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

  • The Six Day War breaks out between Israel and several Arab nations
1967; 6 DAY WAR
1967; NEWARK RIOT

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY RIOTS

1967; DETROIT RACE RIOT

DETROIT RACE RIOT

1967; anti-war-protest-at-Pentagon

ANTI-WAR PROTEST AT PENTAGON

1968;

1968 USS PUEBLO
  • North Vietnamese troops surprise South Vietnamese and American troops by attacking during the Tet holiday, known as the Tet Offensive
1968 TET offensive
1968 HUEYS

HUEYS DROPPING OFF U.S. FORCES IN VIETNAM

1968 MLK ASSASSINATED
1968 SOVIET INVASION

SOVIET INVASION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA

  • Leonid Brezhnev announces that the Soviet Union has the right to intervene anywhere in its sphere of influence. This “Brezhnev Doctrine” becomes central to Soviet foreign policy

Antiwar protests caused Johnson to drop a reelection bid. He retired to his ranch in Texas and worked on books and memoirs, occasionally getting involved with politics.

Famous quotes;

“If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: “President Can’t Swim.”.”

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”

“Jerry Ford is so dumb he can’t fart and chew gum at the same time.”

“A man without a vote is man without protection.“

#37 Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974

Party: Republican

Timeline; 1969-1974

Nixon served with the U.S. Navy Reserves (1942-1966) with just the first 5 years spent active duty, the other time was spent as a member of the house of representatives for California (1947-1950), California Senator (1950-1953), and Vice President (1953-1961).

1969;

  • Nixon becomes the 37th President of the United States at the age of 56. Spiro Agnew is his V.P.
  • Following an attack on a U.S. plane on April 15, Nixon orders that reconnaissance flights off of North Korea be resumed
  • Former President Eisenhower is laid to rest in Abilene, KS
1969 eisengrave

EISENHOWER TOMB AT HIS PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

  • Nixon asks that Congress be granted authority to consolidate federal aid programs to states and cities
  • Apollo 11 lifts off and becomes the first space flight to land on the moon
1969 moon landing

NEIL ARMSTRONG BECOMES FIRST MAN ON THE MOON

  • Nixon asks that Congress make the Post Office department a public corporation
  • Nixon announces a plan to withdraw 25,000 U.S. troops from South Vietnam within next couple of months and orders cuts in overseas government personnel by 10 percent.
  • Nixon affirms his desire to withdraw U.S. troops from southeast Asia and declares that individual nations will bear a larger responsibility for their own security. Initially referred to as the “Guam Doctrine,” this statement later becomes known as the “Nixon Doctrine.”
  • Nixon discloses his program for welfare reform, which includes the Family Assistance Plan
  • Nixon declares that Latin America must be responsible for its own social and economic progress
  • Nixon reveals that North Vietnam has rejected the administration’s secret peace offers. He proposes a plan for the gradual and secretive withdrawal of troops
  • Nixon signs the Selective Service Reform bill, ensuring that draftees are selected by a lottery system

1970;

  • Nixon signs executive order ending occupational and parental deferments for the draft.
  • Nixon puts forth a plan to reorganize the federal agencies that handle environmental problem
  • Nixon approves a plan for an Inter-agency Committee on Intelligence to conduct operations against domestic targets
  • Nixon approves and signs the Postal Reorganization Act, which establishes an independent United States Postal Service
  • Nixon meets with Israeli Premier Golda Meir to talk about problems in the Middle East.
  • In a televised address, Nixon proposes a five-point peace plan for Indochina. The plan includes a “cease-fire in place” and the negotiated withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam
  • Nixon signs the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970, which gives the secretary of labor the responsibility of setting workplace safety standards for jobs in the United States.
  • Nixon signs a clean air bill which mandates that car manufacturers reduce certain pollutants by 90 percent

1971;

  • Nixon delays the construction of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal in order to stop environmental damage
  • Taping systems are activated in the White House. The Oval Office is outfitted with a voice-activated system and the Cabinet Room with a manual system
  • A voice-activated taping system in the Executive Office Building (EOB) becomes operational. Taping also begins on phone conversations held in the Oval Office, the EOB, and the Lincoln Sitting Room
  • Nixon signs a Wage-Price Controls Bill, extending his authority to impose restraints on wages, prices, salaries, and rents for another year
  • The New York Times begins to publish secret internal documents referred to as the “Pentagon Papers,” a development which leads the White House to become increasingly fearful of further disclosures. Within a week, a special unit named the “Plumbers” is created to stop the leaks.
  • Nixon signs an Emergency Employment Act, earmarking $2.25 billion for the creation of public service jobs at state and local levels.
  • Nixon declares a 90-day freeze on wages and prices, known as Phase One of his economic program.
  • Nixon announces Phase Two of his economic plan
  • Nixon signs an extension of the Economic Stabilization Act, allowing himself another year in which to right the economy.

1972;

  • President and Mrs. Nixon travel to China. A joint communique, later known as the Shanghai Communique, is released by the United States and China. It calls for both countries agree to increase their contacts, and for the United States to withdraw gradually from Taiwan
1972; shanghai communiques

SHANGHAI COMMUNIQUE MEETING

  • Nixon dismisses busing as a means of achieving racial integration and seeks legislation that would deny court-ordered busing.
  • Nixon enacts legislation devaluing the dollar.
  • Former President Truman is laid to rest in Independence Missouri
1972 harry_s_truman_grave

TRUMAN GRAVE

1972; A-7E_VA-195_bombing_Hai_Duong_bridge

BOMBING OF THE HAI DU’O’NG BRIDGE

  • A mixture of taping systems in Camp David become operational
  • Nixon arrives in the Soviet Union for the Moscow summit meeting. He is the first sitting President to visit the U.S.S.R.
1972 Nixon_Kosygin_May

U.S. PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON AND U.S.S.R. PREMIER ALEXEI KOSYGIN SIGNING AN AGREEMENT WHILE U.S.S.R PRESIDENT LEONID BREZHNEV AND OTHER DIPLOMATS WITNESS.

1972; watergate_hotel
  • Nixon orders Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman to tell the F.B.I. not to go any further with its Watergate investigation, justifying his actions on national security grounds.
  • In a news conference, Nixon declares that no one on the White House staff, in the administration, or anyone “presently employed” was involved in the Watergate break-in
  • Nixon endorses a bill which calls for revenue sharing with the states and grants over $30 billion to state and local governments over the course of five years.
  • Nixon enhances the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the sale and use of pesticides.
  • Nixon signs multiple bills, one of which provides more than $5 billion in benefits for the aged, blind, and disabled, while also increasing Social Security taxes.
  • Nixon asks for the resignation of all agency directors, federal department heads, and presidential appointees.
  • Operation Lumberjack II starts, which was also known as December Raids of Vietnam
1972; operation lineback II

1973;

  • Phase Three of the economic plan is announced, in which wages and price controls will be ended in all but a few industries.
  • Nixon wins his 2nd term, Agnew remains V.P.
  • Paris Peace Accords are signed by all parties at war in Vietnam.
  • Voice-activated taping systems at Camp David cease operations
  • Nixon admits responsibility for the Watergate affair on television, but continues to assert no prior knowledge of it.
  • Former President Johnson is laid to rest in Stonewall, TX
1973 Lyndon_Baines_Johnson_grave_cropped
  • Nixon declares a freeze on all prices for sixty days, with the exception of raw agricultural products and rents.
  • The voice-activated taping system in the Oval Office ceases operation.
  • Testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee, Federal Aviation administrator Alexander Butterfield confirms the existence of an Oval Office taping system
  • Phase Four of the economic program is revealed, in which the freeze is lifted on all foods except beef and health-care products.
  • Taping systems in the Cabinet Room, Oval Office, EOB, and Lincoln Sitting Room ceases operation
  • Nixon refuses to turn over tapes to the Senate Watergate Committee, claiming executive privilege
  • Vice President Agnew comes under scrutiny for charges stemming from campaign contributions he received while in office from persons who were later given government contracts. Agnew denies the charges in a press conference.
  • Nixon denies involvement in the Watergate cover-up in a televised address.
1973; nixon-coverup
  • Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns and pleads “no contest” to charges stemming from a kickback scheme he ran while Governor of Maryland. Agnew is fined $10,000 and sentenced to three years probation. Gerald Ford is nominated as vice president.
  • Nixon addresses the nation regarding the energy crisis.
  • Nixon discloses his personal finances, which indicate he paid less than $1,000 in taxes in 1970 and 1971.
  • Nixon increases Social Security benefits.

1974;

  • The Senate Watergate Committee subpoenas more than 500 tapes, which Nixon refuses to turn over, stating that presidential communications must remain confidential.
  • Nixon gives his State of the Union address, in which he refuses to resign and demands an end to the Watergate investigation.
  • As a result of an IRS investigation into Nixon’s finances, the President is forced to pay $432,787 in back taxes and $33,000 interest.
  • Nixon increases the minimum wage to $2 with the likelihood of future increases and broader coverage.
  • Nixon addresses the nation before disclosing more than 1,200 pages of his conversations regarding Watergate.
1974 watergate
  • Despite Vice President Ford’s advice to surrender the necessary evidence to the House Judiciary Committee, Nixon refuses to hand over Watergate-related tapes.
  • In an 8-0 ruling, the Supreme Court orders that Nixon turn over sixty-four tapes to the Senate Watergate Committee, in United States v. Nixon. The tapes disclose Nixon’s knowledge and participation in the cover-up of the Watergate burglary.
  • Three articles of impeachment are brought against Nixon by the House Judiciary Committee: obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and the unconstitutional defiance of its subpoenas.
  • Three new transcripts are released, showing that Nixon ordered a cover-up less than a week after the break-in. Nixon issues a statement with the transcripts indicating that he withheld this evidence from his lawyers and from those who support him on the Judiciary Committee.
1974; smoking gun tapes
  • Nixon informs his cabinet that he will not resign despite the fact that even his closest advisors are suggesting that he should.
  • Nixon is told by a few of his supporters that he would not win an impeachment trial. Nixon tells Kissinger, Ford, and a few Congressional leaders that he plans to resign.
  • Nixon resigns the presidency, effective at noon the next day, in a televised address. Before leaving for California, he sends his letter of resignation to Kissinger and offers Gerald Ford the new President spot since he had no VP successor, Ford accepts.
1974; nixonresigns_headline

During Nixon’s first term, he improved relations with the Soviet Union and China and wound down the Vietnam War. But the Watergate scandal, forced Nixon to resign before Congress could impeach him, becoming the only President in U.S. history to resign. The first few years of retirement were rough, socially and financially, due to his involvement from Watergate, but he eventually got past it by doing sit-down interviews, speeches and writing his memoirs regarding it all.

Famous quotes;

“No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.”

“If an individual wants to be a leader and isn’t controversial, that means he never stood for anything.”

“The Cold War isn’t thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat. Communism isn’t sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting.“

#38 Gerald R. Ford 1974-1977

7/14/1913 – 12/26/2006

Party: Republican

Timeline; 1974-1977

Ford made a name for himself playing football for the University of Michigan (1932-1934). He almost quit the team his senior year after the team pulled his best friend Willis Ward from a game because Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets refused to take the field with an African-American, Ward talked him out of it though. After College he turned down contracts from Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, opting to coach football in Yale instead where he eventually got admitted to Yale Law School (1938) graduating in the top 25 and getting admitted to the Michigan bar (1941). He went on to be commissioned in the U.S Navy (1942-1946) where he served in World War II, on board the U.S.S. Monterey where he almost went overboard. After his military service he got back into politics, serving as a of Michigan’s house of representatives (1949-1973) becoming chairman (1963-1965) and minority leader (1965-1973) before eventually being put on as Nixon’s Vice President (1973-1974).

1974 USS_Monterey_(CVL-26)_in_Gulf_of_Mexico

U.S.S. MONTEREY

1974 USS MONTEREY

FORD WAS ON DECK AT THIS POINT AND ALMOST WENT OVERBOARD BUT WAS ABLE TO CATCH HIMSELF, TWIST AND JUMP TO THE LOWER DECK

1974;

1974 ford-pardons-nixon-hf
  • Ford issues a proclamation of conditional amnesty for those who deserted or dodged the Vietnam War by performing alternative services.
  • Ford forms the Economic Policy Board, which will oversee all aspects of economic policy.
  • Ford speaks to a joint session of Congress. He calls for a temporary 5 percent tax hike, cuts in federal spending, and the creation of a voluntary inflation-fighting organization, named “Whip Inflation Now”
  • Ford signs the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1974, the most significant attempt at campaign finance reform since the 1920s.
  • Ford makes a visit to Japan, the first by an American President.
  • The Freedom of Information Act is passed over Ford’s veto. It provides expanded access to government files and allows secrecy classifications to be challenged in court and justified by the appropriate federal authorities.

1975;

  • The House approves Ford’s selection of Nelson A. Rockefeller, as his vice president.
  • Ford signs the Privacy Act of 1974, ensuring the right of Americans to individual privacy
  • Ford announces the creation of the Rockefeller Commission, their intent is to review abuses by the C.I.A.
  • Ford proposes a $16 billion tax cut in his State of the Union Address
  • The Commission on Civil Rights reports that the proportion of blacks in mostly white schools was higher in the South than in the North
  • Following the fall of the city of Ban Me Thout, and the Hue-Da Nang Campaign, the city of Saigon falls to the North Vietnamese causing the South to surrender and the Vietnam War to end. Ford has the remaining Americans evacuated from the capital city.
1975-tank_in saigon

NORTH VIETNAMESE TANK ROLLING THROUGH THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE GATES IN SAIGON

  • Ford tells the nation he will reluctantly sign the Tax Reduction Act of 1975, which calls for a $22.8 billion tax cut.
  • Unemployment rises to 8.7 percent, the highest since 1941
  • Cambodia falls to Khmer Rouge, a communist party of Cambodia
1975 CAMBODIA

CAMBODIA FALLS

  • The Mayaguez Incident starts up as Cambodia (Khmer Rouge) seizes the U.S. merchant ship and takes its crew hostage.
1975; mayaguez incident
  • Marines move onto Koh Tang, an island off the shore of Cambodia believed to hold the captured sailors of the Mayaguez. Fierce fighting kills fifteen Marines, but the sailors are not found.
1975 US_Marines_on_Koh_Tang

MARINES MOVING IN ON KOH TANG ISLAND

  • Ford orders airstrikes on the Cambodian mainland. Shortly after the crew of the Mayaguez is released but battles still go on as marines try to pull out. The Battle of Koh Tang was the last battle of Vietnam
1975 mayagtow
1975 Lynette

FROMME BEING DETAINED BY SECRET SERVICE

  • Sara Jane Moore attempts to assassinate Ford but misses her first shot and gets tackled by an ex-marine on her second, deflected the bullet and narrowly missing the President.
1975; ford attempted assassination

SECRET SERVICE RUSHING FORD TO HIS CAR AFTER MOORE ATTEMPTED TO ASSASSINATE HIM

  • Ford addresses the nation via television asking for a reduction of $28 billion in taxes and spending
  • Ford refuses to give federal economic aid to New York City. Instead he advises the city to use financial restraint. The next day, the headline of the New York Daily News reads: Ford to City—Drop Dead.
1975; ford to city headline

1976;

  • Unemployment drops from 8.3 to 7.8
  • The Concorde supersonic jet makes its first flight between Europe and the United States.
1976; first concorde

FIRST CONCORDE SUPERSONIC JET LIFTS OFF FOR ITS FIRST COMMERCIAL RUN

  • Ford builds up the country’s strategic oil reserve in order to protect the United States from another foreign embargo
  • A memorial grove is dedicated to Lyndon B. Johnson off the Potomac River
1976 lyndon memorial

LYNDON B. JOHNSON MEMORIAL

  • Fords signs a treaty with the Soviet Union limiting underground nuclear testing as part of the Helsinki Accords.
  • Following the murder of the American ambassador and his aide, Ford orders Operation Fluid Drive to evacuate the 116 Americans and 146 third-country nationals from Lebanon.
  • A memorial building and statue are dedicated to James Madison in Washington D.C.
1976 MADISON

JAMES MADISON STATUE

1976 viking 1

VIKING 1 ON THE MARS

  • The Labor Department announces that employment has risen by 3.8 million people
  • Mao Zedong dies, leaving China in a state of unrest.
  • As many as ninety members of Congress are implicated in a scandal for accepting illegal gifts from an agent of the South Korean government, dubbed Korea-Gate.
  • The administration announces that it plans to store as many as 500 million barrels of crude oil in salt dunes on the Gulf Coast
  • Ford proposes that Puerto Rico become the fifty-first state without consulting Congress; critics contend that the proposal violates the principle of self-determination.

Ford was unsuccessful in winning a second term and goes down as the only President and Vice President to ever hold those titles without actually being elected to them. After his Presidency he stayed close to politics and still worked on foreign affairs such as making numerous trips outside of the country for diplomatic reasons and attended memorial’s on the President’s behalf at times, as well as dealing with domestic issues.

Famous quotes;

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

“Our constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws, not of men.”

“All of us who served in one war or another know very well that all wars are the glory and the agony of the young.“

#39 Jimmy E. Carter 1977-1981

10/1/1924 –

Party: Democrat

Timeline; 1977-1981

Carter was a farm boy that joined the Navy out of college (1943-1953; active, 1953-1961; reserve) before getting into politics. After his service he went back to farming and studying politics where he eventually won a seat in the Georgia Senate (1963-1967) before going on to win the position of Governor (1971-1975)

1977;

1977-Jimmy-Carter-Pardons-Draft-Dodgers

1978;

  • Carter invokes the Taft-Hartley Act to end the Bituminous coal strike
  • Carter warns of the Soviet threat in a foreign policy address at Wake Forest University
  • Carter mediates talks between Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel and President Anwar Sadat of Egypt at Camp David, resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations.
  • Carter mediates talks between Israel and Egypt and helps sign the Camp David Accords
  • Congress passes a revised energy bill eighteen months after Carter proposed it. Congress also passes the Humphrey-Hawkins full employment bill.
  • The Carter administration grants full diplomatic status to the People’s Republic of China

1979;

1979; Carter_Brezhnev_sign_SALT_II

CARTER AND BREZHNEV SIGN SALT II

  • Carter delivers what becomes known as his the “Crisis of Confidence speech,” blaming the problems of the nation on “a crisis of spirit.”
  • Carter collapses in 10K race, leading the press to depict the event as representative of the strength of his presidency.
1979; CARTER COLLAPSE

CARTER COLLAPSES DURING RACE

1980;

  • Due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Carter asks the Senate to table its consideration of SALT II. He also placed an embargo on grain sales to the Soviet Union and suggests the possibility of boycotting the Summer Olympics in Moscow
1980; soviet invasion of afghanistan

SOVIET INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN

  • Carter announces the “Carter Doctrine” in his State of the Union address
  • Carter announces his anti-inflation program which includes a proposal for a balanced budget for fiscal year 1981.
  • Carter announces that the economy is in recession, with the inflation rates hitting ten percent and interest rates climbing to eighteen percent.
  • The U.S. Olympic Committee votes to boycott the Moscow summer Olympics, supporting Carter in protesting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
  • Carter announces the failure of “Desert One,” the mission to rescue the Iranian-held hostages, and that several American military personnel had been killed.
1980; Desert_One

FAILURE OF DESERT ONE; RH-53 SEA STALLION HELICOPTERS AND THE BODY OF A PILOT

  • Carter signs Presidential Directive 59 advocating a strategy for fighting a nuclear war

Carter had success promoting Middle East peace but the soaring oil prices, high inflation, and the Iran hostage crisis made him look weak and cost him a re-election bid. He took back over his peanut farm from the Trust Company that mismanaged it to debt and went on living an active life establishing the Carter Center, building his presidential library, writing books, traveling the world as a diplomat and doing charity work which won him a Nobel Peace Prize

Famous quotes;

“We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon.”

“Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease.”

“If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement.”

#40 Ronald W. Reagan 1981-1989

2/6/1911 – 6/5/2004

Party: Republican

Timeline; 1981-1989

Reagan was a movie star before enlisting in the U.S. Army as a reserve (1937), still starring in roles while serving and even signed a seven year contract with Warner Brothers before he was ordered to active duty (1942-1945). When he was out he went back to the entertainment life serving on the Screen Actors Guild, eventually becoming President (1959-1960). During that time he started his political career as well where the Goldwater campaign and his fame led him to a visible political status which helped him win the position of governor of California (1967-1975). After his terms as Governor he went on to run for President, losing his first campaign in 1976 before finally being elected in 1980.

1981;

1981 HOSTAGES-1-blog427

AMERICAN HOSTAGES ARE FREED FROM IRAN AFTER ALMOST 2 YEARS

  • Reagan proposes increased defense spending, and decreased taxes and domestic spending in speech to Congress.
  • Reagan was shot by John W. Hinkley, Jr., while leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel after giving a speech
1981 REAGAN ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION

ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF REAGAN

  • Reagan lifts a grain embargo imposed on Soviet Union by President Carter.
  • Reagan nominates Sandra Day O’Connor to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart, making O’Connor the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court
  • Reagan orders the dismissal of 13,000 PATCO air traffic controllers out on strike, citing their violation of a federal law against industry strikes.
  • Reagan declares that the United States will produce the B-1 bomber and MX missiles as part of military buildup
1981 BOMBER MISSILE
  • Reagan states that he will not deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe if the Soviet Union agrees to dismantle similar weapons already in place.
  • Reagan imposes economic sanctions on Poland following that government’s imposition of martial law in the Poland Crisis.

1982;

1983;

1983 SUICIDE BOMB

AFTERMATH OF THE BEIRUT SUICIDE BOMBING ON MARINE BARRACKS

1984;

1985;

  • Reagan wins a second term
  • The Reagan administration announces trade embargo against Nicaragua.
  • Reagan attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Bitburg military cemetery in West Germany, the gravesite of 200 German soldiers including 49 members of Adolf Hitler’s SS. Responding to criticism of the visit, Reagan visits and lays a wreath at a nearby concentration camp earlier in the day
1985 reagan cemetery

1986;

1986 challenger at lift off

CHALLENGER AT LIFT OFF

1986 challenger-explosion

CHALLENGER EXPLOSION SHORTLY AFTER LIFT OFF

  • Reagan signs a revision of the tax code into law.
  • The White House informs Congress that the United States secretly sold arms to Iran in violation of federal laws prohibiting arms deals with Iran. The administration denies that the sales were part of an attempt to secure the release of American hostages held by Iranian-backed forces
  • The administration admits that between $10 and $30 million had been diverted from Iranian arms sales and funneled to the Nicaraguan contras
  • The Tower Commission is appointed to investigate the Iran-Contra affair. Reagan forgoes any claim of executive privilege and orders his administration to cooperate fully with the investigation. Lawrence Walsh is appointed special prosecutor to investigate criminal wrongdoing.

1987;

  • Congress overrides Reagan’s veto of the Water Quality Control Act
  • The Tower Commission releases its report, finding no criminal wrongdoing on the part of the White House but remaining critical of the administration nonetheless
  • In televised address, Reagan accepts responsibility for actions in Iran-Contra affair that occurred without his knowledge.
  • Reagan visits Berlin Wall asking Gorbachev to tear down the wall for peace talks
1987 reagan-wall

REAGAN SPEAKS AT BERLIN WALL

1988;

  • The administration prohibits federally funded family-planning centers from providing assistance to women seeking abortions.
  • Reagan visits the Soviet Union for the Moscow Summit
1988 gorbachev and reagan

GORBACHEV AND REAGAN

1989;

  • Reagan delivers his farewell address.
  • Reagan leaves office with public opinion casting him as the nation’s most popular President since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Reagan is credited with reviving national pride after the turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. He enjoyed great popularity, though his conservative policies were controversial. He is the only President to survive after being wounded by a would-be assassin. Reagan retired to California occasionally making appearances on behalf of the Republican Party. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1994

Famous Quotes

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth.”

“Government is not the solution to our problem, government is our problem”

“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit”