Ronald Reagan

When one thinks of a President, they immediately think of position and prestige. This may have been the case with most presidents but not with Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911, in a one room apartment. He was unlike most Presidents who came from wealthy and influential families and were somewhat pampered into the presidency.

Ronald grew up in the south side of Tampico. In fact, the Reagans were one of the poorest families in the entire town, and they had to work hard to survive. Ronald Reagan learned to work his way through life and become the great man that he was. He grew up in a time when “the government was not there to tell you when you were poor” is the way he put it. He never knew about the financial struggles of his family because his parents were careful not to discuss such things in the presence of their children.

When Ronald was nine, the Reagan family moved to Dixon, a town that was at least ten times larger than Tampico. This was a big change for Ronald; he was accustomed to the small town where everyone knew everyone. When he arrived in Dixon, he felt lost in the crowd and at first, had difficulty making friends. During the summer, there was a store in town that had a window arrangement with a mannequin posed wearing the local high school football jersey. It was Ronald’s dream to one day fill that jersey.

Ninth grade finally came around, and Ronald was ready to tryout for the football team. That is exactly what he did. After an exuberating practice, the coach announced the people who had made the team. In suspense Ronald waited for his name, but it was never called. He did not make the team because they had no need for the only five feet three inches, one hundred and eight pound midget. The next summer, he got his first job remodeling homes making thirty-five cents. He was determined to make the football team and was glad for the physical labor that his job provided. He came back for his sophomore year much stronger and ready to play football. This year happened to be his big break; they started a second team for students who were less than one hundred and thirty-five pounds. They made Ronald captain of the team, and he excelled. By the time he reached the eleventh grade, Reagan was five feet ten-and-a-half inches, and weighed over one hundred and sixty pounds. However, it took him until halfway through the season until he got his big chance to play. He started in the place of one of the first string guards who the coach was unhappy with. Ronald Reagan played the game extremely well, thus assuring himself a position on the team.

During the summer of Reagan's junior year, he got a job that he said was on of the best jobs he ever had in his whole life. He was a lifeguard for the Lowell Park and worked seven days a week for about ten to twelve hours a day. For his job he was paid fifteen dollars a week, and by the time he was finished, he was getting paid twenty dollars a week. The thing that stood out most in his mind about the job was the seventy-seven people whose lives he saved while working as a lifeguard.

At the age of eighteen, the depression hit him and his family, just as hard as it hit the rest of America. Reagan, like everyone else, was struggling to find work while America was in shambles. His father was a very cynical man who did not believe that Ronald could do anything. Ronald became very discouraged and came to a point where he would not even inform him of anything because he knew that his father would tell him he couldn’t do it. Even though his father was not the best father in the world, Reagan still learned some important lessons from him. One day, his father went into a hotel that had a sign that read “no Jews,” and his father argued in favor of the Jewish people with the manager of a hotel. Unfortunately, the manager disagreed with Mr. Reagan and refused to rent them a room. The Reagan family spent the night in their car, but Jack Reagan taught his children an important lesson that night. He taught them to stick up for what is right even when the odds are against you. His father also refused to take him and his brothers to the movie, Birth of a Nation, on the grounds that it was a racist movie. Ronald Reagan would learn a great deal of character from his father even at a very young age.

When Reagan graduated from high school, he was determined to go to college. To him, it was a big decision. During the time when Ronald Reagan was a young adult, things were a lot different than they are now. Only about seven percent of people went on to college after graduating high school.

Ronald Reagan did just that. He graduated high school, and then went on to study at Eureka College. In the first year of college for Reagan, he was made freshman representative