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Only in America can a B-movie actor transform himself into one of the most influential and revered presidents in history.
There was more than a little skepticism when Reagan announced his candidacy for the presidency in 1980. Though he had previously served as governor of California, he was still considered to be something of a political lightweight.
Reagan presented himself as the alternative to Jimmy Carter's America, a country humbled by a weak economy and the Iran hostage crisis. It was a message that resonated with the American people. Reagan overwhelmed Carter in the 1980 election and would ride a wave of immense popularity to an even more decisive victory over Walter Mondale in 1984.
Reagan's domestic tenure was marked by his "trickle down economics" policy of cutting taxes and bringing economic incentives to big business. While he amassed an enormous deficit, the 1980s proved to be one of the country's most prosperous decades.
On the international front, Reagan oversaw a massive increase in defense spending and was credited, in part, with the downfall of the Soviet Union. It was during his 1987 speech in Berlin that Reagan uttered his most famous line: "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
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