Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois. He worked at various jobs growing up. He had a very happy childhood. He was taught to read by his mother when he was five. He attended local public schools. He then enrolled at Eureka College in Illinois where he played football and made average grades. He graduated in 1932.
Family Ties:

Father: John Edward "Jack" Reagan - Shoe salesman.
Mother: Nelle Wilson Reagan.
Siblings: One older brother.
Wife: (1)Jane Wyman - Actress. They were married from January 26, 1940 until they divorced on June 28, 1948. (2)Nancy Davis - Actress. They were married on March 4, 1952.
Children: One daughter by first wife - Maureen. One adopted son with first wife - Michael. One daughter and one son by second wife - Patti and Ronald Prescott.
Ronald Reagan's Career Before the Presidency:

Reagan began his career as a radio announcer in 1932. He became the voice of Major League Baseball. In 1937, he became an actor with a seven year contract with Warner Brothers. He moved to Hollywood and made about fifty movies. Reagan was elected Screen Actors Guild President in 1947 and served until 1952 and again from 1959-60. In 1947, he testified before the House concerning Communist influences in Hollywood. From 1967-75, Reagan was the Governor of California.
World War II:

Reagan was part of the Army Reserve and was called called to active duty after Pearl Harbor. He was in the Army from 1942-45 rising to the level of Captain. However, he never took part in combat and stated stateside. He narrated training films and was in the Army Air Force First Motion Picture Unit.
Becoming the President:

Reagan was the obvious choice for the Republican nomination in 1980. George Bush was chosen to run as his vice president. He was opposed by President Jimmy Carter. The campaign centered on inflation, the gasoline shortage, and the Iran hostage situation. Reagan won with 51% of the popular vote and 489 out of 538 electoral votes.
Life After the Presidency:

Reagan retired after his second term in office to California. In 1994, Reagan announced that he had Alzheimer's Disease and left public life. He died of pneumonia on June 5, 2004.
Historical Significance:

Reagan's largest significance was his role in helping bring down the Soviet Union. His massive buildup of weapons which the USSR could not match and his friendship with Premier Gorbachev helped usher in a new era of openness which eventually caused the breakup of the USSR into individual states. His presidency was marred by the events of the Iran-Contra Scandal.
Events and Accomplishments of Ronald Reagan’s Presidency:

Soon after Reagan took office, an assassination attempt was made on his life. On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley, Jr. shot six rounds at Reagan. He was hit by one of the bullets which caused a collapsed lung. His Press Secretary James Brady, policeman Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were also all hit. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was committed to a mental institution.
Reagan adopted an economic policy whereby tax cuts were created to help increase savings, spending, and investment. Inflation went down and after a time so did unemployment. However, a huge budget deficit was created.
A lot of terrorist acts occurred during Reagan's time in office. For example, in April 1983 an explosion occurred at the U.S. embassy in Beirut. Reagan claimed that five countries typically harbored aided terrorists: Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, and Nicaragua. Further, Muammar Qaddafi was singled out as the primary terrorist.
One of the major issues of Reagan's second administration was the Iran-Contra Scandal. This involved several individuals throughout the administration. In exchange for selling arms to Iran, money would be given to the revolutionary Contras in Nicaragua. The hope was also that by selling arms to Iran, terrorist organizations would be willing to give up hostages. However, Reagan had spoken out that America would never negotiate with terrorists. The revelations of the Iran-Contra scandal caused one of the major scandals of the 1980's.
In 1983, the U.S. invaded Grenada to rescue threatened Americans. They were rescued and the leftists were overthrown.
One of the most important events that occurred during Reagan's administration was the growing relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Reagan created a bond with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who instituted a new spirit of openness or 'glasnost'. This would eventually lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union during President George H. W. Bush's term in office.

Born on August 19, 1946 in Hope, Arkansas, as William Jefferson Blythe III. His father was a traveling salesman and died in a car accident three months before he was born. His mother remarried when he was four to Roger Clinton. He took the Clinton name in high school where he was an excellent student and an accomplished saxophonist. Clinton became ignited to a political career after visiting the Kennedy Whitehouse as a Boys Nation delegate. He went on to be a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford University.
Family Ties:

Father: William Jefferson Blythe, Jr. - Traveling Salesman. Roger Clinton was his stepfather and owned an automobile dealership business.
Mother: Virginia Dell Cassidy - a nurse.
Siblings: One half-brother Roger Jr. whom Clinton pardoned for earlier crimes during his last days in office.
Bill Clinton's Career Before the Presidency:

In 1974, Clinton was a first year law professor and ran for the House of Representatives. He was was defeated but remained undaunted and ran for Attorney General of Arkansas unopposed in 1976. He went on to run for Governor of Arkansas in 1978 and won becoming the youngest governor of the state. He was defeated in the 1980 election but returned to office in 1982. Over the next decade in office he established himself as a New Democrat that could appeal to both Republicans and Democrats.
Becoming the President:

In 1992, William Jefferson Clinton was nominated as the Democratic nominee for president. He ran on a campaign that emphasized job creation and played to the idea that he was more in touch with the common people than his opponent, the incumbent George H. W. Bush. Actually, his bid for the presidency was helped by a three party race in which Ross Perot garnered 18.9% of the vote. Bill Clinton won 43% of the vote and President Bush won 37% of the vote.
Post-Presidential Period:

Upon leaving office President Clinton entered the public speaking circuit. He also remains active in comtemporary politics by calling for multilateral solutions to issues facing the world. Clinton has also started working with former rival President George H.W. Bush on several humanitarian endeavors. He also assists his wife in her political aspirations as a Senator from New York.
Historical Significance:

Clinton was the first two term Democratic president since Franklin Roosevelt. In a period of increasingly divided politics, Clinton moved his policies more to the center to appeal to mainstream America. Despite being impeached, he remained a very popular President.
Events and Accomplishments of Bill Clinton’s Presidency:

An important protective bill that passed in 1993 soon after taking office was the Family and Medical Leave Act. This act required large employers to give employees time off for illnesses or pregnancy.

Another event that occurred in 1993 was the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement that allowed for nonrestricted trade between Canada, the U.S., Chile, and Mexico.

A huge defeat for Clinton was when his and Hillary Clinton's plan for a national health care system failed.

Clinton's second term in office was marked by controversy surrounding relationships he had with White House staffer, Monica Lewinsky. Clinton denied having a relationship with her under oath in a deposition. However, he later recanted when it was revealed that she had evidence of their relationship. He had to pay a fine and was disbarred temporarily. In 1998, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Clinton. The Senate, however, did not vote to remove him from office.

Economically, the U.S. experienced a period of prosperity during Clinton's time in office. The stock market rose dramatically. This helped add to his popularity.

James Earl Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. He grew up in Archery, Georgia. His father was a local public official. Jimmy grew up working in the fields to help bring in money. He attended public schools in Plains, Georgia. After high school, he attended Georgia Institute of Technology before being accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy in 1943 from which he graduated in 1946.
Family Ties:

Father: James Earl Carter, Sr. - farmer and public official.
Mother: Bessie Lillian Gordy Carter - Peace Corps volunteer.
Siblings: Two sisters and one brother.
Wife: Eleanor Rosalynn Smith - She was his sister Ruth's best friend.
Children: Three sons and one daughter. His daughter, Amy, was a child while Carter was in the White House.
Military Service:

Carter joined the navy from 1946-53. He began as an ensign. He attended submarine school adn was stationed aboard the submarine Pomfret. He was then placed in 1950 on an antisub submarine. He then went on to study nuclear physics and was chosen to serve as an engineering officer on one of the first atomic submarines. He resigned from the navy in 1953 upon the death of his father.
Career Before the Presidency:

After leaving the military in 1953, he returned to Plains, Georgia to help on the farm upon his father's death. He expanded the peanut business to the point of making him very wealthy. Carter served in the Georgia State Senate from 1963-67. In 1971, Carter became the governor of Georgia. In 1976, he was the dark horse candidate for president. The campaign centered around Ford's pardon of Nixon. Carter won by a narrow margin with 50% of the vote and 297 out of 538 electoral votes.
Becoming the President:

Jimmy Carter declared his candidacy for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination in 1974. He ran with the idea of restoring trust after the debacle of Watergate. He was opposed by Republican President Gerald Ford. The vote was very close with Carter winning 50% of the popular vote and 297 out of 538 electoral votes.
Post-Presidential Period:

Carter left the presidency on January 20, 1981 after losing to Ronald Reagan. He retired to Plains, Georgia. He became an important figure in Habitat for Humanity. Carter has been involved in diplomatic endeavors including helping forge an agreement with North Korea. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
Historical Significance:

Carter was president at a time when energy issues came to the forefront. During his time, the Department of Energy was created. Further, the Three Mile Island incident showed possible problems inherent in relying on nuclear energy. Carter is also important for his part in the Middle East peace process with the Camp David Accords in 1972.
Events and Accomplishments of Jimmy Carter’s Presidency:

On Carter's first day in office, he issued a pardon for all those who dodged the draft in the Vietnam War era. He did not pardon deserters, however.
Energy was a huge issue during Carter's administration. With the Three Mile Island incident, stricter regulations on Nuclear Energy plants were required. Further, the Department of Energy was created.
In 1978, President Carter invited Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David for peace talks. This led to a formal peace treaty in 1979.
In 1979, diplomatic relations were formally established between China and the U.S.
On November 4, 1979, the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran was seized and 60 Americans were taken hostage. 52 of the hostages were held for more than a year. Carter suspended oil imports from Iran and the UN Security Council called for the release of the hostages. He imposed economic sanctions. He also attempted in 1980 to rescue the hostages. However, three helicopters malfunctioned and they were unable to follow through with the rescue. Eventually, the Ayatollah Khomeini agreed to release the hostages in exchange for unfreezing Iranian assets in the U.S. They were not released, however, until Reagan was president. The hostage crisis was part of the reason that Carter did not win reelection.

Born on June 12, 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts, George Bush's family moved to a suburb of New York City where he was raised. His family was very wealthy, having numerous servants. Bush attended private schools. After high school he joined the military to fight in World War II before going to Yale University. He graduated with honors in 1948 with a degree in econonmics.
Family Ties:

Father: Prescott S. Bush - Wealthy businessman and Senator.
Mother: Dorothy Walker Bush
Siblings: Three brothers - Prescott Bush, Jonathan Bush, and William "Buck" Bush and one sister - Nancy Ellis.
Wife: Barbara Pierce.
Children: Four sons and one daughter - George W. Bush: 43rd President of the U.S.; John F. "Jeb" Bush - Governor of Florida; Neil M. Bush; Marvin P. Bush; Dorothy W. "Doro" Bush.
George Bush's Military Career:

Before going to college, Bush signed up to join the navy and fight in World War II. He rose to the level of lieutenant. He was a navy pilot flying 58 combat missions in the Pacific. He was injured bailing out of his burning aircraft during a mission and was rescued by a submarine.
Life and Career Before the Presidency:

Bush began his career in 1948 working in the oil industry in Texas and created a lucrative career for himself. He became active in the Republican party. In 1967, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1971, he was U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. He served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee (1973-4). He was the Chief Liaison to China under Ford. From 1976-77, he served as the Director of the CIA. From 1981-89, he served as Vice President under Reagan.
Becoming the President:

Bush gained the nomination in 1988 to run for presdient. Bush chose Dan Quayle to run as Vice President. He was opposed by Democrat Michael Dukakis. The campaign was extremely negative and centered around attacks instead of plans for the future. Bush won with 54% of the popular vote and 426 out of 537 electoral votes.
Life After the Presidency:

When Bush lost in the 1992 election to Bill Clinton, he retired from public service. He has joined with Bill Clinton since the latter's retirement from the presidency to raise money for victims of the tsunami that hit in Thailand (2004) and Hurricane Katrina (2005).
Historical Significance:

Bush was president when the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union fell apart. He sent troops into Kuwait to help fight Iraq and Saddam Hussein in the First Persian Gulf War. In 1989, he also ordered the removal of General Noriega from power in Panama by sending troops in.
Events and Accomplishments of George Bush’s Presidency:

Much of George Bush's attention was focussed on foreign policies. In December, 1989, Bush sent troops into Panama to depose General Manuel Noriega. Noriega was heavily involved in drug trafficking. The attack was a success with Noriega removed from power.
From 1990-91, the U.S. and a United Nations Coalition were sent to Kuwait to remove Iraqi invading forces. This action was given the name Desert Storm. When the Iraqi forces were removed from Kuwait, Bush stopped all military activity and did not pursue deposing Saddam Hussein.
From 1990-91, the Soviet Union began breaking up as the Communist Party let go of its stranglehold on the country. The Berlin Wall came done in 1990.
Economically, Bush had boxed himself into a corner with his campaign promise, "Read my lips: No new taxes." However, he was required to sign a bill into law to raise taxes to try and reduce the deficit.
In 1989, many savings and loans were failing. Bush signed into law a bail out plan paid for by taxpayers.

His presidency is marked by a controversial Presidential pardon and his personality, perhaps, by his "I'm a Ford, not a Lincoln," quip. Gerald Ford (1913-2006), the 38th and only unelected President of the United States, died Tuesday at his home in Rancho Mirage, CA. He was 93 and was the oldest living president. [There are now three living presidents: Carter, Bush the Elder, and Clinton.]

Ford's death marks the passing of an era. He was also "the last surviving member of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin."

And yet. Vice President Dick Cheney was Ford's chief of staff. Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was also Ford's Defense Secretary, and they served in Congress together.

Ford assumed the presidency on 9 August 1974, the day after President Nixon resigned over Watergate, pending impeachment. Ford pardoned Nixon on 8 September 1974. He also managed the US withdrawal from Vietnam, including the 28 April 1975 "evacuation of U.S. personnel as the North Vietnamese stormed Saigon." He also established a clemency program for "Vietnam draft resisters and military deserters."

Timeline
Nixon named Ford his vice president in October 1973 when Spiro Agnew, former governor of Maryland, resigned "under investigation for accepting bribes and income tax evasion." He was the first vice president appointed under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution; the Senate confirmed, 92-3, and the House, 387-35. After Nixon's resignation, Ford made former New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller his vice president, also under the 25th Amendment. Together, they are the only non-elected Presidential team in the history of the nation.

Although he opposed American intervention in Europe while in college (he supported the isolationist America First Committee), Ford volunteered for the Navy in 1942 and was honorably discharged in 1946. When he successfully ran for Congress in 1948 (Michigan), he defeated isolationist Rep. Bartel Jonkman (R-5th). In 1965, he became the House Minority Leader.

Ford defeated challenger Ronald Reagan and was the Republican candidate for president in 1976. He lost to Georgia Democrat Jimmy Carter, in one of the closest elections in history.

Then & Now
Ford was a fiscal conservative, and he stuck to his guns on spending (unlike the current Republican administration). For example, he "veto[ed] 39 spending-related measures in his first 14 months" as President. President Bush set a new record for not vetoing Congressional measures.

In the Middle East, Ford used diplomacy, not guns, to achieve a truce between Israel and Egypt in 1975. "He pursued a policy of detente with China and the Soviet Union, agreeing with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev to limit nuclear weapons."

President Bush brokered a deal to "supply India with civilian nuclear technology," reversing "decades of U.S. policies designed to discourage countries from developing nuclear weapons."

About The Pardon
Although Carter made a campaign issue of the Nixon pardon, in retrospect Ford's action was brave (it was political suicide) and helped a divided nation begin to heal.

Today there is a similar, militant faction of the Democratic party calling for impeachment proceedings over how the Bush Administration manuvered the country into the Iraq war. Retribution or healing? This House has to decide, just as that one did, 32 years ago. Then, it chose impeachment. Today's leadership says it will not follow that path.

In both cases, one could make an impassioned and convincing case for impeachment -- for the President to "get his due" and for hidden documents and behind-closed-door decisions to be made public. But at what cost?

Let history be the judge.

Lyndon Baines Johnson would have been 100 on 27 August 2008. Here is his legacy, not just as a legislator, but as an executive who understood Congress, having risen from that body to the White House.

While Senator from Texas:

* 1957: Civil Rights Act of 1957 (LBJ was Democratic Senate Leader)
* 1958: National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (chaired Senat Special Committee on Space and Astronautics)


1963

• Clean Air Act, signed 17 December
• Foreign Assistance Act, signed 16 December
• Higher Education Facilities Act, signed 16 December
• Vocational Education Act of 1963, signed 18 December

1964

• Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed 2 July
• Economic Opportunity Act, signed 20 August
• Food Stamp Act of 1964, signed 31 August
• Nurse Training Act, signed 4 September
• Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964, signed 9 July
• Water Resources Research Act, signed 17 July 1964
• Wilderness Act, signed 3 September

1965

• The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
• Higher Education Act, signed 8 November
• Immigration and Nationality Services Act, signed 3 October
• Social Security Amendments of 1965 (includes Medicare), signed 30 July
• Voting Rights Act, signed 6 August ; 15 March speech to Congress

1967

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act, signed 16 December
• Air Quality Act, signed 21 November
• Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, signed 16 December

1968

• Bilingual Education Act
• Civil Rights Act, signed 11 April
• Fair housing
• Higher Education Act Amendments of 1968, signed 16 October
• Vocational Education Act Amendments of 1968, signed 16 October

Mary Todd Lincoln - Lincoln 's spouse

As a girlhood companion remembered her, Mary Todd was vivacious and impulsive, with an interesting personality--but "she now and then could not restrain a witty, sarcastic speech that cut deeper than she intended...." A young lawyer summed her up in 1840: "the very creature of excitement." All of these attributes marked her life, bringing her both happiness and tragedy.

Daughter of Eliza Parker and Robert Smith Todd, pioneer settlers of Kentucky, Mary lost her mother before the age of seven. Her father remarried; and Mary remembered her childhood as "desolate" although she belonged to the aristocracy of Lexington, with high-spirited social life and a sound private education.

Just 5 feet 2 inches at maturity, Mary had clear blue eyes, long lashes, light-brown hair with glints of bronze, and a lovely complexion. She danced gracefully, she loved finery, and her crisp intelligence polished the wiles of a Southern coquette.

Nearly 21, she went to Springfield, Illinois, to live with her sister Mrs. Ninian Edwards. Here she met Abraham Lincoln--in his own words, "a poor nobody then." Three years later, after a stormy courtship and broken engagement, they were married. Though opposites in background and temperament, they were united by an enduring love--by Mary's confidence in her husband's ability and his gentle consideration of her excitable ways.

Their years in Springfield brought hard work, a family of boys, and reduced circumstances to the pleasure-loving girl who had never felt responsibility before. Lincoln's single term in Congress, for 1847-1849, gave Mary and the boys a winter in Washington, but scant opportunity for social life. Finally her unwavering faith in her husband won ample justification with his election as President in 1860.

Though her position fulfilled her high social ambitions, Mrs. Lincoln's years in the White House mingled misery with triumph. An orgy of spending stirred resentful comment. While the Civil War dragged on, Southerners scorned her as a traitor to her birth, and citizens loyal to the Union suspected her of treason. When she entertained, critics accused her of unpatriotic extravagance. When, utterly distraught, she curtailed her entertaining after her son Willie's death in 1862, they accused her of shirking her social duties.

Yet Lincoln, watching her put her guests at ease during a White House reception, could say happily: "My wife is as handsome as when she was a girl, and I...fell in love with her; and what is more, I have never fallen out."

Her husband's assassination in 1865 shattered Mary Todd Lincoln. The next 17 years held nothing but sorrow. With her son "Tad" she traveled abroad in search of health, tortured by distorted ideas of her financial situation. After Tad died in 1871, she slipped into a world of illusion where poverty and murder pursued her.

A misunderstood and tragic figure, she passed away in 1882 at her sister's home in Springfield--the same house from which she had walked as the bride of Abraham Lincoln, 40 years before.

Learn more about Mary Todd Lincoln's spouse, Abraham Lincoln .

Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you.... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it."

Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had begun.

The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:

"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up.... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all."

Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, "His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest."

He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860.

As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.

Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion.

The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds.... "

On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln's death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.

Learn more about Mary Todd Lincoln's spouse, Mary Todd Lincoln