American Presidents






Ronald Reagan: Life Portrait

Streamed Video

Access Program
from 12/6/99


Purchase Videotape

This program is also available on videotape.

  • Purchase from the C-SPAN Archives or
  • Apply for a C-SPAN Archives Grant

    • LIFE FACTS

    Personal

    First Lady: Nancy Reagan, Wife

    Wife's Maiden Name:
    Nancy Davis
    Number of Children: 4

    Education Level: College

    School Attended:
    Eureka College

    Religion: Presbyterian

    Profession:
    Military, Radio Announcer, Actor

    Public Service

    Dates of Presidency: 1/20/1981 - 1/20/1989

    Presidency Number: 40

    Number of Terms: 2

    Why Presidency Ended: End of 2nd term

    Party: Republican

    His Vice President(s): George Bush


    Governor of a State: California (1967-1975)



    Footnotes  
    Methodology  &  Resources


    Did You Know?

  • He was the oldest man elected president.
  • He was the first Hollywood actor to be elected president.
  • He appointed the first woman to the supreme court, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
  • He sent United States soldiers into Grenada and commanded soldiers out of Lebanon.
  • He dedicated the Vietnam Memorial.
  • His wife, Nancy Reagan, was known for her grace and commitment to the causes she believed in - particularly the "Just Say No (to drugs)" campaign.
  • He submitted the first trillion dollar budget to Congress.
  • "What I'd really like to do is go down in history as the President who made Americans believe in themselves again."

    C-SPAN in the Classroom is a free membership service for teachers. Join C-SPAN in the Classroom now!

    Membership includes:

  • Unrestricted taping and viewing rights on programming produced by C-SPAN for use in the classroom.
  • Access to classroom resources and teaching ideas from fellow educators.
  • E-mail updates about programs and resources related to the topics you teach.

    • Other Ronald Reagan Resources and Activities

    • C-SPAN in the Classroom
    Ronald Reagan: Life Portrait Video Clip List

    Now it is easier to find a short video clip for your classroom! Use the clip list below to search for short, relevant segments from the featured American Presidents: Life Portraits program.

    Directions:   Click on the streamed video links to the left and view the program online; use the start and end times in the list below to cue up and watch the segments of your choice. The clips shaded in gray are those recommended by C-SPAN's Teacher Fellows.
    Ronald Reagan
    Video Clip List
    1 0:00 4:21 Biographical Vignette.
    2 4:41 7:10 View of Rancho del Cielo, the Reagan ranch near Santa Barbara, CA; Lou Cannon, author of Ronald Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, discusses what the ranch meant to Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
    3 7:10 8:53 Short tour inside the home at the Reagan ranch.
    4 8:57 12:06 Caller criticizes Edmund Morris's biography of President Reagan; Mr. Cannon briefly discusses Reagan's feelings for Vice President George H.W. Bush.
    5 12:07 13:09 Reagan's two greatest accomplishments: 1) he restored confidence in America; 2) he and Mikhail Gorbachev led the way out of the Cold War.
    6 14:05 15:08 Getting to the ranch from Los Angeles.
    7 15:35 18:07 Mr. Cannon's discussion of Reagan's unrecognized accomplishments.
    8 18:08 18:50 A brief look at the outside of the home; patio where Reagan signed the Tax Bill.
    9 19:35 22:02 Lou Cannon's own thoughts on Reagan from his point of view as a journalist and a biographer.
    10 22:03 22:48 Panoramic view of the Reagan ranch.
    11 22:59 25:41 The Pope's role in ending the Cold War; the debt and its relation to "Star Wars" between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
    12 26:03 28:16 Supply-side economics.
    13 28:17 29:07 Discussion of Reagan's birthplace in Tampico, IL.
    14 29:56 33:58 Isolated location of the Reagan ranch.
    15 34:03 35:56 Discussion of spending cuts in social programs during Reagan administration.
    16 36:02 37:40 Reagan's reasoning for selling arms to Iran.
    17 37:47 39:56 Did Reagan attempt to crush the Russian oil market?
    18 40:49 43:39 Similarities between Pres. Reagan and Pres. Andrew Jackson; discussion of Iran-Contra.
    19 43:38 45:38 Election of 1980 vs. election of 1984.
    20 46:22 47:21 Reagan's aspirations to be president.
    21 48:23 50:46 Talk with John Barletta, retired secret service agent; tour of significant spots on the ranch.
    22 50:46 51:59 Security at the ranch.
    23 52:32 54:44 Giving Gorbachev credit for helping to end the Cold War; comparing security at Reagan's ranch to that at Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson's.
    24 54:45 56:10 A look at the guest house; visitors to the ranch; Mr. Barletta's relationship with Reagan.
    25 56:11 57:27 Description of the premises of the ranch; Reagan's driver, Barney.
    26 57:29 58:37 The media's relationship with Reagan.
    27 58:37 1:00:17 Mr. Cannon discusses Reagan's high regard for Mr. Barletta; Mr. Barletta describes his visits in 1999 with an ill Reagan.
    28 1:00:17 1:01:17 Disney-manufactured boulders at the ranch.
    29 1:01:24 1:03:39 Impact the state of the economy has on presidential approval.
    30 1:03:40 1:04:58 How weather conditions affected security strategies at the ranch.
    31 1:05:16 1:08:03 Discussion of Reykjavik Summit and its portrayal as a failure.
    32 1:08:10 1:10:39 Panorama of ranch's landscape; mention of pets; Mr. Barletta's memories of the Reagans at the ranch : 1) receiving news of Korean airline being shot down; 2) Reagan too ill to ride horses.
    33 1:10:46 1:11:29 Impact of Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's on Nancy Reagan.
    34 1:11:43 1:12:32 Talk about Dennis LeBlanc who followed the Reagans from California to the White House.
    35 1:13:33 1:15:10 Interview with Dennis LeBlanc, friend of Ronald Reagan; discuss media's access to the Reagans at the ranch.
    36 1:18:36 1:20: 15 Background facts on Reagan: timeline of career, cabinet members, Supreme Court appointments.
    37 1:20:16 1:23:01 Reagans sold Rancho del Cielo to The Young America's Foundation in 1998; interview with Marc Short, Exec. Director.
    38 1:23:01 1:24:48 Nancy Reagan's donation of genuine personal items to re-create their home for the Foundation.
    39 1:24:53 1:28:04 Location of ranch; Mr. Short gives a detailed tour of the home.
    40 1:28:10 1:29:46 Reagan's military record.
    41 1:29:58 1:32:25 Soviet relations; Reagan & Gorbachev's relationship.
    42 1:32:54 1:36:38 Reagan's tax plan; Reagan's thoughts on the Truman Doctrine.
    43 1:36:39 1:40:31 Tour inside of Rancho del Cielo.
    44 1:40:47 1:43:23 Could Reagan have been elected in 1976? FDR as Reagan's political idol.
    45 1:43:30 1:45:06 An excerpt from Reagan's 1985 State of the Union speech.
    46 1:48:14 1:51:20 Supreme Court Appointments; Roe v. Wade.
    47 1:53:10 1:54:45 National deficit; budget cuts.
    48 1:56:15 1:58:56 Reagan's parents and his early years.
    49 2:00:21 2:03:19 Day of the Challenger explosion; clip of speech.
    50 2:03:29 2:04:53 Rancho del Cielo; tack room.
    51 2:06:20 2:07:54 Reagan's response to the Air Traffic Controllers strike.
    52 2:07:55 2:10:59 Secret Service logistics at the ranch when Reagan's were there.
    53 2:11:01 2:12:00 "Kitchen Cabinet".
    54 2:12:02 2:13:04 Lou Cannon discusses Reagan's greatest acheivement.
    55 2:13:49 2:15:59 Tack room; saddles; riding trails at the ranch.
    56 2:17:08 2:18:10 Secret Service details after assassination attempt on Reagan.
    57 2:18:30 2:20:43 Transition from acting to politics. Clip of 1964 speech for Barry Goldwater.
    58 2:22:16 2:24:45 Religion and Reagan's faith; Nancy's influence on Ronald Reagan.
    59 2:24:46 2:25:38 Their current living situation; burial plans for Ronald Reagan.
    60 2:27:09 2:28:44 Reagan's Jeep; stool that was a gift from Vice President Bush.
    61 2:28:50 2:29:57 Reagan's speaking style.
    62 2:30:02 2:31:23 Heliport at Rancho del Cielo.
    63 2:31:40 2:33:58 The amount of U.S. tax dollars spent on the ranch.
    64 2:34:34 2:35:26 What Reagan will be remembered for.
    65 2:36:22 2:39:54 Cold War; Truman Doctrine.
    66 2:40:05 2:42:33 Call from Peggy Alameda, Teacher at Ronald Reagan School.
    67 2:43:06 2:44:47 Reagan as a good negotiator; his love of drawing.
    68 2:46:23 2:48:16 Reagan's relationship with his 4 children.
    69 2:48:20 2:50:23 Ronald Reagan as an admirer of FDR.
    70 2:52:04 2:54:06 Iran-Contra scandal.
    71 2:55:03 2:55:42 Final thoughts.

    Created by America's Cable Companies.