Ronald Reagan And His Career And Changing The World...

Ronald Reagan overcame his poor and deprived childhood by having a successful theatrical career and changing the world forever through politics. Reagan had a poor yet eventful childhood. In Tampico, Illinois, Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 (Banks 199). He acquired the nickname â€Å"Dutch† because he looked like a Dutchman when he was born (Orr13). Ronald Reagan had one older brother named John Neil Reagan (Boyarsky 164), who was born in late 1908 (Orr 14). Reagan and his brother were polar opposites when it came to their personalities, and they went in opposite directions while growing up (Orr 14). Reagan’s parents were named John Edward Reagan and Nelle Wilson Reagan (Boyarsky 164). His parents came from quite different†¦show more content†¦Even with this affliction, Reagan’s parents showed their two boys the value of fairness and qualities of discipline, faith, generosity, fairness, and tolerance, which Reagan would later use as president of the United States (Orr 27). At the age of nine years old, the Reagan family settled down in Dixon, Illinois (Boyarsky 164). When Reagan was a boy, he enjoyed drawing cartoons and reading numerous books (Orr 21). Watching Tom Mix, his favorite movie actor, was another passion Reagan carried with him while growing up (Orr 22). Reagan became a freshman at Dixon Northside High School in 1924 (Orr 26). This high school was concentrated more on the arts and cultural studies rather than sports (Orr 26). While in high school, Reagan was elected student council president (Boyarsky 165). Early in his high school career, Reagan began dating a girl named Myrtle Williams (Edwards 133). Myrtle and Reagan’s mother, who also performed in many local plays (Boyarsky 164), influenced Reagan to join the drama club at his school (Orr 30). As a result, Reagan performed in many school plays (Boyarsky 165). During his teen years, Reagan had many summer jobs, including being a construction worker, a golf caddy, and a lifeguard, his favorite (Orr 29). Being the only lifeguard at Lowell Park, Reagan was credited to have saved a total of 77 lives from drowning over his six year span of being a lifeguard (Sidey 143).