Was Ronald Reagan A Liberal Or Conservative

Paper 1

Ronald Reagan was and still is a very dynamic figure in American politics. Brought up on the values of the New Deal, Reagan underwent a major transformation in the 1940s and 1950s. His acting career dwindling to a series of guest roles on television shows, and a new conservative family chirping in his ear, Reagan would be heavily swayed by anti-tax and anti-government rhetoric. This shaped the cocoon for Reagan’s ideological metamorphosis and his entrance into the political spectrum. So it can be seen that Ronald Reagan’s dramatic shift in the 1940’s and 1950s, from liberal to conservative was due to many factors, both personal and professional. In the late 1930s to early 1940s many of Reagan’s liberal ideas were still present. The shift happened almost immediately as Reagans acting career was coming to an end. With this chapter

This union led to a wide variety of conservative versus liberal debates between Reagan and his father-in-law, Loyal Davis. These debates would lead to a slight wavering in Reagan’s left leaning stances. What would ultimately seal Reagan’s fate as a conservative would be his job on the General Electric show G.E. Theater. This job would allow Reagan to travel around and give speeches and talk to many General Electric employees. His entertaining personality and his desire to give the people what they want led to a more and more conservative rhetoric in his speeches. He noticed the crowd would react and be increasingly happy with anti-tax and anti-communist ideas. This then, made him talk more about those issues and led to his strong belief in them. Another way the General electric job allowed conservatism to sink its teeth into Reagan was that it allowed Earl Dunckel to have many conservative conversations with him. It can be seen that Reagan’s personal life and in the late 1940s and 1950s is what led to the radical transformation in his