Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Ronald Wilson Reagan

2007-03-16T23:43:39Z

JulesWinnfield: /* Other events */

[[Image:Gorbachev reagan bush.gif|right|250px|thumb]]
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan '''(February 6, 1911- June 5, 2004) was the fortieth [[President of the United States of America]] from 1981 to 1989, following [[Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and preceding [[Republican]] [[George H. W. Bush]]. Considered by some [[conservative]]s to be one of the greatest American Presidents, Ronald Reagan is credited with leading America peacefully through the Cold War, lowering taxes (despite supporting major tax increases in the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Highway Revenue Act)[http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp], promoting a free economy, and staunchly opposing [[socialism]] and [[communism]]. He was known to Americans as "The Gipper".

In one of his most famous challenges to Soviet communism in Europe, Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in which he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics" based the idea tax cuts will spur savings and investment. Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of big government, advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government. During his terms in office, he faced a divided government split between Republican and Democratic control for six of his eight years as President. Even then, when the Democrats gained control of the House and Senate, he was known for forging alliances with the Democratic Speaker, [[Tip O'Neil]], among others, to effectively pass legislation.

==Early Life==
Reagan was born and raised in Illinois and attended Eureka College, where he quickly developed a reputation as a "jack of all trades", excelling in the areas of athletics and theater. In his first year at Eureka, the president of the college tried to cut back the faculty. He graduated Eureka with a degree in economics. Reagan immediately helped organize a student strike. He became a radio sports announcer after graduation, and then a famous actor, leading the Screen Actors Guild. Ironically, Reagan was thus the only president to ever lead a [[labor union]], traditionally considered bastions of liberalism. (It should be noted that Reagan considered himself a liberal, and was a registered Democrat well into the 1950's. Reagan enlisted in the military during World War II, but his eyesight was not good enough for combat duty. He used his acting skills to make military training films and promote the sale of "War Bonds. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.obit/index.html</ref>. Peggy Noonan, wrote: ''Even in his zeal to purge the communist influence from Hollywood, he fought those who engaged in witch hunts and defended those who had been falsely accused of involvement.'' Reagan met his second wife, actress Nancy Davis, when she ended up on the "Black List" and came to him for help. [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2001/11/17/noonan_when_character_was_king]

==Governor of California==
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California. In 1970, he was re-elected. But in 1974, he chose not to seek a third term. Achievements during his terms included:

*Fighting the People's Park protests, and restoring order to California's chaotic University campuses.

*Led a massive revision of California's massive public assistance programs, actually increasing benefits to the needy.

*Working well with the Democrats to forge consensus on a variety of issues.

*Opposing the Dos Rios Dam

==Presidency==
In 1968, Reagan ran for president in the Republican primaries. However, [[Richard Nixon]] easily beat him. In 1976, he briefly challenged Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination, before withdrawing his name from consideration. Reagan knew if he continued, he would take the nomination away from Ford, and forever be branded as a Party spoiler. This he did not want, so he signaled his wish to be removed from consideration, and gave a very effective speech at the convention in support of Ford. Then, in 1980, he beat [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Republican primaries, and went on to oppose [[Jimmy Carter]] (incumbent) in the general election with G.H.W. Bush as his running mate. A poor economy and the incumbents failing to deal with several international crisis's aided Reagan. As he put it, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." In the general election, he received 50.75% of the popular vote and 90.9% of the electoral.

Once in office, Reagan showed he was playing hardball. When the [[Federal Air Traffic Controllers]] struck illegally, Reagan gave them 48 hours before he fired all who hadn't gone back to work (11,359).

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states' electoral votes, and the largest public vote in almost 100 years, 58.77%. During his second term, he helped end the [[Cold War]], with the help of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and [[Pope John Paul II]] by recognizing the weakness of the Soviet economy, and simply spending them out of existence.

==Presidential Legacy==

Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative became popularly known as "Star Wars," the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular George Lucas films. This plan was never actually fully instituted. Although billions of dollars have been spent on development, no space-based missile defense was tested successfully until 2006. While supporters of Reagan claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], many political scientists and historians note that Star Wars played a secondary role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount, but it should be noted that the threat the Soviet Union felt from the initiative was instrumental in making them step-up negoiations, according to many involved with diplomacy at the time. [[Henry Kissinger]] wrote: ''I know it's an axiomatic view of the Left around the world that missile defense is sinful, and that it's desirable to keep each nation as vulnerable as possible. But that's a debatable premise. The U.S. must defend itself against whoever has missiles that would threaten the United States. And you don't have to be able to name an enemy.'' [http://www.doublestandards.org/dreifus1.html]

Upon his death, Margaret Thatcher commented: ''As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president. Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively. When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do. When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear. When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership. And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding. Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth. Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform. Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire'. But he realised that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors. So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation. Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.'' [http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/thatcher.asp]

===Economy===

Fueled by an over spending Congress that steadfastly refused Reagan's budget proposals, the national debt increased 160% during his two terms in office. The economic growth that resulted from tax cuts made deficits as a percentage of GDP lower than what they had been in during the previous decade of stagflation.

===Other events===

In 1985, after Reagan won reelection to his second term, the focus turned from reviviing the domestic economy to several foreign policy matters which had been lingering throughout the decade. One such matter involved Iran, a long time ally of the Western Allies since 1941 that had experienced an Islamic Revolution in 1979 after President Carter announced [[Human Rights]] had superseded [[Containment]] as the primary focus of American foreign policy. Since 1980 Iran had been enmeshed in a brutal trench war with neighboring Iraq which was emerging as a potent military threat in the region to other allies. Members of the National Securirty Council staff, along with CIA Director [[William Casey]], persuaded Reagan much could be gained and several problems could be addressed simulataneousluy with an overture to Iran to restore relations.

Members of the Reagan Administration in 1986 are believed to have helped sell arms to Iran and used the proceeds to fund the Contras, an anti-communist guerrilla organization in Nicaragua. The objective of the plan was fourfold (1) takes step to restore good relations with the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]] which was becoming increasingly hostile to the West; (2) takes measures to convince Iran that Isreal could become a friend and ally; (3) insurance against Iraq becoming too strong which could become a threat to [[Kuwait]] and [[Saudi Arabia]]; (4) provide funding for other operations to continue the policy of containment in the Western Hemisphere, most notably Nicaragua and threat the Soviet/Cuban/Nicaragua connection was creating in [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]], although this funding had been explicitly prohibited by the United States Congress.

There were humanitarian aspects to the proposal as well; (1) the Iran-Iraq War had stalemated for nearly six years and Reagan was advised that he was in the unique position as President to help facilitate bringing a senseless war with much suffering to an end (although the U.S. government under Reagan gave direct support to Iraq during the war. President Ronald Reagan stated that the United States "could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran", and that the United States "would do whatever was necessary and legal to prevent Iraq from losing the war with Iran."); (2) the suffering of the people of the Central American Republics at the hands of Soviet inspired subversion which had finally in the decade of the 80s established a beachhead in North America and was threatening to move northward; (3) Iran perhaps could be persuaded to use its good office to influence hostage takers in Lebanon who had held several Western prisoners, many of the Christian Missionaries, for several years.

===Cold War victory===
Reagan is credited for ending the Cold War in victory for the United States. Historian Tony Judt in ''Postwar'' credits Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, while the political scientist Jan Kubik presents a viewpoint that credits [[Pope John Paul II]][http://praguepost.com/articles/2007/02/28/letters-to-the-editor.php]. Other historians contend structural weaknesses within the Communist bloc meant Reagan's actions were inconsequential to the end of communism. This is the view adopted by Russians themselves, and many political historians, citing [''perestroika''] and [''glasnost''] as beginning an inevitable slow fading of central power, and a collapse by irreconcilable differences between the central Soviet [[Politburo]] and the constituent republics, especially the [[Ukraine]].<ref>David Remnick, "Lenin's Tomb</ref> In the end, the consensus seems to point to all of the above, that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union; Internal factors, religious pressure brought by the Pope, Gorbachev's "Perestrokia" and the united front of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, leading NATO and the West to imbed a missle defense system in Western Europe.

Political Commentator Cal Thomas wrote about it like this: ''He proved he was right about the big things. Faced with editorial denunciations at home and massive demonstrations in Europe against his plan to put missiles there to offset a Soviet threat, Reagan went ahead and did it anyway. The Soviets could not keep pace with the buildup or Reagan's proposed missile defense system (derided by critics as "Star Wars"). When those critics could not bring themselves to admit they were wrong, they unpersuasively claimed the Soviet Union fell under its own weight. More accurately, Reagan pushed it onto "the ash heap of history," with the able assistance of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. What Reagan did more than anything else - and it will be his lasting legacy - is replace despair with hope. Most people, even his detractors, felt a glow from being in his presence. He was the kindest, most gracious president I have met, and I have met them all since JFK. In his presence you felt he was interested in you and not himself. He was a good man.'' [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2004/06/07/ronald_reagans_wonderful_life]

Brian Mulroney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said of Reagan: ''"Some in the West during the early 1980s believed communism and democracy were equally valid and viable. This was the school of "moral equivalence." In contrast Ronald Reagan saw Soviet communism as a menace to be confronted in the genuine belief that its squalid underpinning would fall swiftly to the gathering winds of freedom. Provided, as he said, that NATO and the industrialized democracies stood firm and united. They did. And we know now who was right."'' [http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/mulroney.asp]

==Miscellaneous Facts==

*The first, and so far only, divorced president.

*Reagan's 1994 announcement that he had Alzheimer's Disease brought large amounts of public attention to the disease.

*Reagan was a lifeguard for seven years growing up, and was said to have saved 77 people <ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html</ref>.

*The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California <ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/visitorguide/hours_directions.asp</ref>.

*Was the first American President to have ever led a Labor Union, the AFL-CIO allied Screen Actors Guild.

*Reagan was the first president to break the "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]]"

*At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected to the presidency.

*Reagan loved jelly beans <ref>http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/trivia.shtml</ref>. The blueberry flavor was made in his honor. [[Jelly Belly]] even created a [http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/bean_art_gallery.shtml Ronald Reagan portrait out of jelly beans].

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040614-646317,00.html Time Magazine Article on ''The All-American President'']
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html White House Official Page]
*[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/ Reagan's Presidential Library]
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0001654/ Actor Bio At IMDB]
*[http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/ Official Memorial]

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]

Ronald Wilson Reagan

2007-03-16T23:42:29Z

JulesWinnfield: /* Other events */

[[Image:Gorbachev reagan bush.gif|right|250px|thumb]]
'''Ronald Wilson Reagan '''(February 6, 1911- June 5, 2004) was the fortieth [[President of the United States of America]] from 1981 to 1989, following [[Democrat]] [[Jimmy Carter]] and preceding [[Republican]] [[George H. W. Bush]]. Considered by some [[conservative]]s to be one of the greatest American Presidents, Ronald Reagan is credited with leading America peacefully through the Cold War, lowering taxes (despite supporting major tax increases in the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Highway Revenue Act)[http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200310290853.asp], promoting a free economy, and staunchly opposing [[socialism]] and [[communism]]. He was known to Americans as "The Gipper".

In one of his most famous challenges to Soviet communism in Europe, Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in which he said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Reagan's economic policies became known as "Reaganomics" based the idea tax cuts will spur savings and investment. Reagan was strongly opposed to the concept of big government, advocating a reduction in the size and budget of the federal government. During his terms in office, he faced a divided government split between Republican and Democratic control for six of his eight years as President. Even then, when the Democrats gained control of the House and Senate, he was known for forging alliances with the Democratic Speaker, [[Tip O'Neil]], among others, to effectively pass legislation.

==Early Life==
Reagan was born and raised in Illinois and attended Eureka College, where he quickly developed a reputation as a "jack of all trades", excelling in the areas of athletics and theater. In his first year at Eureka, the president of the college tried to cut back the faculty. He graduated Eureka with a degree in economics. Reagan immediately helped organize a student strike. He became a radio sports announcer after graduation, and then a famous actor, leading the Screen Actors Guild. Ironically, Reagan was thus the only president to ever lead a [[labor union]], traditionally considered bastions of liberalism. (It should be noted that Reagan considered himself a liberal, and was a registered Democrat well into the 1950's. Reagan enlisted in the military during World War II, but his eyesight was not good enough for combat duty. He used his acting skills to make military training films and promote the sale of "War Bonds. <ref>http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/05/reagan.obit/index.html</ref>. Peggy Noonan, wrote: ''Even in his zeal to purge the communist influence from Hollywood, he fought those who engaged in witch hunts and defended those who had been falsely accused of involvement.'' Reagan met his second wife, actress Nancy Davis, when she ended up on the "Black List" and came to him for help. [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DavidLimbaugh/2001/11/17/noonan_when_character_was_king]

==Governor of California==
In 1966, he was elected the 33rd Governor of California. In 1970, he was re-elected. But in 1974, he chose not to seek a third term. Achievements during his terms included:

*Fighting the People's Park protests, and restoring order to California's chaotic University campuses.

*Led a massive revision of California's massive public assistance programs, actually increasing benefits to the needy.

*Working well with the Democrats to forge consensus on a variety of issues.

*Opposing the Dos Rios Dam

==Presidency==
In 1968, Reagan ran for president in the Republican primaries. However, [[Richard Nixon]] easily beat him. In 1976, he briefly challenged Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination, before withdrawing his name from consideration. Reagan knew if he continued, he would take the nomination away from Ford, and forever be branded as a Party spoiler. This he did not want, so he signaled his wish to be removed from consideration, and gave a very effective speech at the convention in support of Ford. Then, in 1980, he beat [[George H. W. Bush]] in the Republican primaries, and went on to oppose [[Jimmy Carter]] (incumbent) in the general election with G.H.W. Bush as his running mate. A poor economy and the incumbents failing to deal with several international crisis's aided Reagan. As he put it, "I'm told I can't use the word depression. Well, I'll tell you the definition. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job; depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." In the general election, he received 50.75% of the popular vote and 90.9% of the electoral.

Once in office, Reagan showed he was playing hardball. When the [[Federal Air Traffic Controllers]] struck illegally, Reagan gave them 48 hours before he fired all who hadn't gone back to work (11,359).

In 1984, Reagan won 49 out of 50 states' electoral votes, and the largest public vote in almost 100 years, 58.77%. During his second term, he helped end the [[Cold War]], with the help of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and [[Pope John Paul II]] by recognizing the weakness of the Soviet economy, and simply spending them out of existence.

==Presidential Legacy==

Reagan's 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative became popularly known as "Star Wars," the name given to it by critics because they thought it was pure fantasy like the popular George Lucas films. This plan was never actually fully instituted. Although billions of dollars have been spent on development, no space-based missile defense was tested successfully until 2006. While supporters of Reagan claim SDI gave the United States a large amount of leverage in its standoff with the [[Soviet Union]], many political scientists and historians note that Star Wars played a secondary role in the calculus of Soviet policy-making, where internal structural problems were paramount, but it should be noted that the threat the Soviet Union felt from the initiative was instrumental in making them step-up negoiations, according to many involved with diplomacy at the time. [[Henry Kissinger]] wrote: ''I know it's an axiomatic view of the Left around the world that missile defense is sinful, and that it's desirable to keep each nation as vulnerable as possible. But that's a debatable premise. The U.S. must defend itself against whoever has missiles that would threaten the United States. And you don't have to be able to name an enemy.'' [http://www.doublestandards.org/dreifus1.html]

Upon his death, Margaret Thatcher commented: ''As Prime Minister, I worked closely with Ronald Reagan for eight of the most important years of all our lives. We talked regularly both before and after his presidency. And I have had time and cause to reflect on what made him a great president. Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles - and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly, he acted upon them decisively. When the world threw problems at the White House, he was not baffled, or disorientated, or overwhelmed. He knew almost instinctively what to do. When his aides were preparing option papers for his decision, they were able to cut out entire rafts of proposals that they knew 'the Old Man' would never wear. When his allies came under Soviet or domestic pressure, they could look confidently to Washington for firm leadership. And when his enemies tested American resolve, they soon discovered that his resolve was firm and unyielding. Yet his ideas, though clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth. Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion; but he also sensed it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform. Yes, he did not shrink from denouncing Moscow's 'evil empire'. But he realised that a man of goodwill might nonetheless emerge from within its dark corridors. So the President resisted Soviet expansion and pressed down on Soviet weakness at every point until the day came when communism began to collapse beneath the combined weight of these pressures and its own failures. And when a man of goodwill did emerge from the ruins, President Reagan stepped forward to shake his hand and to offer sincere cooperation. Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity - and nothing was more American.'' [http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/thatcher.asp]

===Economy===

Fueled by an over spending Congress that steadfastly refused Reagan's budget proposals, the national debt increased 160% during his two terms in office. The economic growth that resulted from tax cuts made deficits as a percentage of GDP lower than what they had been in during the previous decade of stagflation.

===Other events===

In 1985, after Reagan won reelection to his second term, the focus turned from reviviing the domestic economy to several foreign policy matters which had been lingering throughout the decade. One such matter involved Iran, a long time ally of the Western Allies since 1941 that had experienced an Islamic Revolution in 1979 after President Carter announced [[Human Rights]] had superseded [[Containment]] as the primary focus of American foreign policy. Since 1980 Iran had been enmeshed in a brutal trench war with neighboring Iraq which was emerging as a potent military threat in the region to other allies. Members of the National Securirty Council staff, along with CIA Director [[William Casey]], persuaded Reagan much could be gained and several problems could be addressed simulataneousluy with an overture to Iran to restore relations.

Members of the Reagan Administration in 1986 are believed to have helped sell arms to Iran and used the proceeds to fund the Contras, an anti-communist guerrilla organization in Nicaragua. The objective of the plan was fourfold (1) takes step to restore good relations with the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]] which was becoming increasingly hostile to the West; (2) takes measures to convince Iran that Isreal could become a friend and ally; (3) insurance against Iraq becoming too strong which could become a threat to [[Kuwait]] and [[Saudi Arabia]]; (4) provide funding for other operations to continue the policy of containment in the Western Hemisphere, most notably Nicaragua and threat the Soviet/Cuban/Nicaragua connection was creating in [[El Salvador]] and [[Honduras]], although this funding had been explicitly prohibited by the United States Congress.

There were humanitarian aspects to the proposal as well; (1) the Iran-Iraq War had stalemated for nearly six years and Reagan was advised that he was in the unique position as President to help facilitate bringing a senseless war with much suffering to an end (although the U.S. government under Reagan gave direct support to Iraq during the war. President Ronald Reagan stated that the United States "could not afford to allow Iraq to lose the war to Iran", and that the United States "would do whatever was necessary and legal to prevent Iraq from losing the war with Iran."); (2) the suffering of the people of the Central American Republics at the hands of Soviet inspired subversion which had finally in the dacade of the 80s established a beachhead in North America; (3) Iran perhaps could be persuaded to use its good office to influence hostage takers in Lebanon who had held several Western prisoners, many of the Christian Missionaries, for several years.

===Cold War victory===
Reagan is credited for ending the Cold War in victory for the United States. Historian Tony Judt in ''Postwar'' credits Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, while the political scientist Jan Kubik presents a viewpoint that credits [[Pope John Paul II]][http://praguepost.com/articles/2007/02/28/letters-to-the-editor.php]. Other historians contend structural weaknesses within the Communist bloc meant Reagan's actions were inconsequential to the end of communism. This is the view adopted by Russians themselves, and many political historians, citing [''perestroika''] and [''glasnost''] as beginning an inevitable slow fading of central power, and a collapse by irreconcilable differences between the central Soviet [[Politburo]] and the constituent republics, especially the [[Ukraine]].<ref>David Remnick, "Lenin's Tomb</ref> In the end, the consensus seems to point to all of the above, that hastened the demise of the Soviet Union; Internal factors, religious pressure brought by the Pope, Gorbachev's "Perestrokia" and the united front of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, leading NATO and the West to imbed a missle defense system in Western Europe.

Political Commentator Cal Thomas wrote about it like this: ''He proved he was right about the big things. Faced with editorial denunciations at home and massive demonstrations in Europe against his plan to put missiles there to offset a Soviet threat, Reagan went ahead and did it anyway. The Soviets could not keep pace with the buildup or Reagan's proposed missile defense system (derided by critics as "Star Wars"). When those critics could not bring themselves to admit they were wrong, they unpersuasively claimed the Soviet Union fell under its own weight. More accurately, Reagan pushed it onto "the ash heap of history," with the able assistance of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. What Reagan did more than anything else - and it will be his lasting legacy - is replace despair with hope. Most people, even his detractors, felt a glow from being in his presence. He was the kindest, most gracious president I have met, and I have met them all since JFK. In his presence you felt he was interested in you and not himself. He was a good man.'' [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/CalThomas/2004/06/07/ronald_reagans_wonderful_life]

Brian Mulroney, the Canadian Prime Minister, said of Reagan: ''"Some in the West during the early 1980s believed communism and democracy were equally valid and viable. This was the school of "moral equivalence." In contrast Ronald Reagan saw Soviet communism as a menace to be confronted in the genuine belief that its squalid underpinning would fall swiftly to the gathering winds of freedom. Provided, as he said, that NATO and the industrialized democracies stood firm and united. They did. And we know now who was right."'' [http://reagan2020.us/eulogies/mulroney.asp]

==Miscellaneous Facts==

*The first, and so far only, divorced president.

*Reagan's 1994 announcement that he had Alzheimer's Disease brought large amounts of public attention to the disease.

*Reagan was a lifeguard for seven years growing up, and was said to have saved 77 people <ref>http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/reagan/stories/bio.part.one/index.html</ref>.

*The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is located in Simi Valley, California <ref>http://www.reaganfoundation.org/visitorguide/hours_directions.asp</ref>.

*Was the first American President to have ever led a Labor Union, the AFL-CIO allied Screen Actors Guild.

*Reagan was the first president to break the "[[Curse of Tippecanoe]]"

*At 69, Reagan was the oldest man elected to the presidency.

*Reagan loved jelly beans <ref>http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/trivia.shtml</ref>. The blueberry flavor was made in his honor. [[Jelly Belly]] even created a [http://www.jellybelly-uk.com/pages/q&a/bean_art_gallery.shtml Ronald Reagan portrait out of jelly beans].

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040614-646317,00.html Time Magazine Article on ''The All-American President'']
*[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html White House Official Page]
*[http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/ Reagan's Presidential Library]
*[http://imdb.com/name/nm0001654/ Actor Bio At IMDB]
*[http://www.ronaldreaganmemorial.com/ Official Memorial]

[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]

Bill Clinton

2007-03-16T23:01:52Z

JulesWinnfield: /* Presidency */

[[Image:billclinton.jpg|thumb|right|150px|United States President Bill Clinton]]
'''William''' "Bill" '''Jefferson Clinton''' served as the 42nd [[President of the United States of America]] from 1993-2001, following [[George H. W. Bush]] and preceding [[George W. Bush]].

== Early Life ==
----

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 AD in Hope, Arkansas. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. died in a car accident while his mother was pregnant with him. Clinton's mother later married Roger Clinton, and the four year-old William was given his stepfather's name.[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html]

Clinton was active in high school, participating in various student government organizations as well as playing the saxophone. Roger Clinton, however, made Bill's family life unpleasant by repeatedly abusing Clinton's mother and her children.'''(sources needed)''' Bill Clinton would eventually stand up to his stepfather in high school, forcing him to stop beating his mother and kicking him out of the house. '''(sources needed)''' After Roger Clinton underwent alcohol rehabiliation, he would eventually rejoin the family.

Clinton attended [[Georgetown University]], then [[Oxford University]] after winning a [[Rhodes Scholarship]], and finally earned a Juris Doctorate from [[Yale University]] in 1973 ADE. At Yale he met [[Hillary Rodham]], whom he would later marry [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html].

== Early Political Career ==
----

After returning to live in Arkansas, Clinton was elected [[Attorney General]] of Arkansas in 1976 AD. Two years later, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country as a 32 year-old. Though defeated in 1980 AD, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 AD and held it until becoming President in 1992 AD. During his time as governor, Clinton was known for his bipartisan leadership. '''(sources needed)'''Some business transactions he while made were extensively investigated for years (the [[Whitewater]] scandal), though never charged.

== Presidency ==
----
Clinton's presidency is notable as he never won a majority of the popular vote, only a bare plurality. Interestingly, his successor, George W. Bush, also won election without receiving a majority of the popular vote--or a plurality. Clinton won in 1992 with 43% of the popular vote versus President [[George H. W. Bush's]] 37%, capitalizing on public discontent with a weak economy and public displeasure with Bush's proposed tax increases, and Ross Perot, a popular third candidate. In his first two years in office, 1993 through 1994, Clinton was unable to "reform" health-care in the United States by some sort of government-backed universal health-care insurance, which many conservatives felt would result in effective government control of the health care system. '''(sources needed)''' His approach consisted of appointing a planning committee with secret members to reshape this important sector of the economy. '''(sources needed)''' The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] successfully sued to force disclosure of the committee members, and Clinton was ultimately unable to pass the program.'''(sources needed)'''

In 1994, voters expressed their high disapproval of Clinton by giving a victory to Republicans in Congress, where Republicans won 49.9% of the popular vote (compared to the Democrat's 44%). This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and began a series of showdowns with the Republican-led Congress.'''(sources needed)''' These showdowns were epitomized by the budget conflict with then-Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]] in 1995. Gingrich refused to pass Clinton's budget proposal, and the latter threatened to shut down the government if he did not have his way. '''(sources needed)'''When Clinton called his bluff, Gingrich caused the federal government to shut down for several days.'''(sources needed)''' Clinton did not cave, however, and eventually had his budget passed [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html]. This showdown backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings, which would remain above 60% for most of his presidency[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Clinton_approval_rating.JPG].

Clinton was reelected in 1996 with 49.2% of the popular vote against Republican candidate ([[Robert Dole | Bob Dole]]), who won 41%, and "populist" candidate, [[H. Ross Perot]], who won 8%. Clinton spent a lot of the remainder of his presidency combating scandals. '''(sources needed)''' A special prosecutor was named to investigate Clinton for allegations of impropriety in the Whitewater real-estate scandal, an investment of Clinton's in a failed real estate venture. '''(sources needed)''' Although no charges against Clinton came out of this investigation, and it turned out that Clinton actually lost money on his investment, one of the results of the investigation was that the special prosecutor turned to investigating other Clinton activities, one of which (the [[Monica Lewinsky]] scandal) resulted in his impeachment and eventual loss of his license to practice law for a period of 5 years.'''(sources needed)''' The main charge was that he lied about a sexual relationship with an employee in an attempt to avoid paying damages to another employee for sexual harassment. After a brief trial, the Senate acquitted Clinton of ALL charges.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/02/12/impeachment/</ref>

Clinton became just the second sitting president to be impeached by the US House of Representatives during his second term for lying in grand jury testimony connected to the Paula Jones lawsuit.'''(sources needed)''' However, the US Senate voted not to remove him from office, although he later lost his law license in Arkansas. His term also saw an increase in terrorism directed at the United States. '''(sources needed)''' These incidents included the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Alfred P. Murrah building bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995, the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and the attack on the USS Cole in 2000. '''(sources needed)''' Clinton responded by striking back at [[al Qaeda]], the organization responsible for the attacks. '''(sources needed)''' He launched cruise missile strikes aimed to kill al Qaeda's leader [[Osama bin Laden]] [http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/20/us.strikes.01/], and began planning to invade [[Afghanistan]] in order to capture bin Laden and overthrow the [[Taliban]] government[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/nov2001/afgh-n20.shtml]. There are still many who argue that these actions were also an attempt to distract the public and the media from the unfolding Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Clinton also signed into law the [[Violence Against Women Act]], which opened the federal courts to claims of domestic disputes between men and women, which had always been handled under state rather than federal law. '''(sources needed)''' A key provision of this law was later ruled unconstitutional in [[United States v. Morrison]].<ref>http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-5.ZS.html</ref>

Under Clinton's presidency, the economy boomed, creating the largest ever budget surplus. <ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/27/clinton.surplus/</ref>

Clinton devoted much time during his two terms to the peace process in Northern Ireland. '''(sources needed)''' He made interventions including 3 trips to Ireland during periods of stagnation in negotiations which coincided in major breakthroughs which ensured the province didn't slide back to the violence of the 70's and 80's. '''(sources needed)'''

== After the Presidency ==
----

Clinton has spent much of time since leaving office working for charitable causes such as support and fundraising for the victims of AIDS and the Asian tsunami.

Bill Clinton's wife, [[Hillary_Rodham_Clinton|Hillary Clinton]], was elected Senator to New York in 2000. Reelected in 2006, she is now running for president in 2008.

Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff was John Podesta between 1998-2001.

----

'''Sources:''' <references/>

[[Category:Biographies]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]

Bill Clinton

2007-03-16T23:01:04Z

JulesWinnfield: /* Presidency */

[[Image:billclinton.jpg|thumb|right|150px|United States President Bill Clinton]]
'''William''' "Bill" '''Jefferson Clinton''' served as the 42nd [[President of the United States of America]] from 1993-2001, following [[George H. W. Bush]] and preceding [[George W. Bush]].

== Early Life ==
----

Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946 AD in Hope, Arkansas. His father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr. died in a car accident while his mother was pregnant with him. Clinton's mother later married Roger Clinton, and the four year-old William was given his stepfather's name.[http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html]

Clinton was active in high school, participating in various student government organizations as well as playing the saxophone. Roger Clinton, however, made Bill's family life unpleasant by repeatedly abusing Clinton's mother and her children.'''(sources needed)''' Bill Clinton would eventually stand up to his stepfather in high school, forcing him to stop beating his mother and kicking him out of the house. '''(sources needed)''' After Roger Clinton underwent alcohol rehabiliation, he would eventually rejoin the family.

Clinton attended [[Georgetown University]], then [[Oxford University]] after winning a [[Rhodes Scholarship]], and finally earned a Juris Doctorate from [[Yale University]] in 1973 ADE. At Yale he met [[Hillary Rodham]], whom he would later marry [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/bc42.html].

== Early Political Career ==
----

After returning to live in Arkansas, Clinton was elected [[Attorney General]] of Arkansas in 1976 AD. Two years later, he was elected Governor of Arkansas, becoming the youngest governor in the country as a 32 year-old. Though defeated in 1980 AD, Clinton won back the governorship in 1982 AD and held it until becoming President in 1992 AD. During his time as governor, Clinton was known for his bipartisan leadership. '''(sources needed)'''Some business transactions he while made were extensively investigated for years (the [[Whitewater]] scandal), though never charged.

== Presidency ==
----
Clinton's presidency is notable as he never won a majority of the popular vote, only a bare plurality. Interestingly, his successor, George W. Bush, also won election without receiving a majority of the popular vote--or a plurality. Clinton won in 1992 with 43% of the popular vote versus President [[George H. W. Bush's]] 37%, capitalizing on public discontent with a weak economy and public displeasure with Bush's proposed tax increases, and Ross Perot, a popular third candidate. In his first two years in office, 1993 through 1994, Clinton was unable to "reform" health-care in the United States by some sort of government-backed universal health-care insurance, which many conservatives felt would result in effective government control of the health care system. '''(sources needed)''' His approach consisted of appointing a planning committee with secret members to reshape this important sector of the economy. '''(sources needed)''' The [[Association of American Physicians and Surgeons]] successfully sued to force disclosure of the committee members, and Clinton was ultimately unable to pass the program.'''(sources needed)'''

In 1994, voters expressed their high disapproval of Clinton by giving a victory to Republicans in Congress, where Republicans won 49.9% of the popular vote (compared to the Democrat's 44%). This event was tagged the "Republican Revolution," and began a series of showdowns with the Republican-led Congress.'''(sources needed)''' These showdowns were epitomized by the budget conflict with then-Speaker of the House [[Newt Gingrich]] in 1995. Gingrich refused to pass Clinton's budget proposal, and the latter threatened to shut down the government if he did not have his way. '''(sources needed)'''When Clinton called his bluff, Gingrich caused the federal government to shut down for several days.'''(sources needed)''' Clinton did not cave, however, and eventually had his budget passed [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint082800d.html]. This showdown backfired for the Republicans, as it reinvigorated Clinton's flagging approval ratings, which would remain above 60% for most of his presidency[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Clinton_approval_rating.JPG].

Clinton was reelected in 1996 with 49.2% of the popular vote against Republican candidate ([[Robert Dole | Bob Dole]]), who won 41%, and "populist" candidate, [[H. Ross Perot]], who won 8%. Clinton spent a lot of the remainder of his presidency combating scandals. '''(sources needed)''' A special prosecutor was named to investigate Clinton for allegations of impropriety in the Whitewater real-estate scandal, an investment of Clinton's in a failed real estate venture. '''(sources needed)''' Although no charges against Clinton came out of this investigation, and it turned out that Clinton actually lost money on his investment, one of the results of the investigation was that the special prosecutor turned to investigating other Clinton activities, one of which (the [[Monica Lewinsky]] scandal) resulted in his impeachment and eventual loss of his license to practice law for a period of 5 years.'''(sources needed)''' The main charge was that he lied about a sexual relationship with an employee in an attempt to avoid paying damages to another employee for sexual harassment. After a brief trial, the Senate acquitted Clinton of ALL charges.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/02/12/impeachment/</ref>

Clinton became just the second sitting president to be impeached by the US House of Representatives during his second term for lying in grand jury testimony connected to the Paula Jones lawsuit.'''(sources needed)''' However, the US Senate voted not to remove him from office, although he later lost his law license in Arkansas. His term also saw an increase in terrorism directed at the United States. '''(sources needed)''' These incidents included the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Alfred P. Murrah building bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995, the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and the attack on the USS Cole in 2000. '''(sources needed)''' Clinton responded by striking back at [[al Qaeda]], the organization responsible for the attacks. '''(sources needed)''' He launched cruise missile strikes aimed to kill al Qaeda's leader [[Osama bin Laden]] [http://www.cnn.com/US/9808/20/us.strikes.01/], and began planning to invade [[Afghanistan]] in order to capture bin Laden and overthrow the [[Taliban]] government[http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/nov2001/afgh-n20.shtml]. It is still unclear the extent to which these actions were also an attempt to distract the public and the media from the unfolding Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Clinton also signed into law the [[Violence Against Women Act]], which opened the federal courts to claims of domestic disputes between men and women, which had always been handled under state rather than federal law. '''(sources needed)''' A key provision of this law was later ruled unconstitutional in [[United States v. Morrison]].<ref>http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/99-5.ZS.html</ref>

Under Clinton's presidency, the economy boomed, creating the largest ever budget surplus. <ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/27/clinton.surplus/</ref>

Clinton devoted much time during his two terms to the peace process in Northern Ireland. '''(sources needed)''' He made interventions including 3 trips to Ireland during periods of stagnation in negotiations which coincided in major breakthroughs which ensured the province didn't slide back to the violence of the 70's and 80's. '''(sources needed)'''

== After the Presidency ==
----

Clinton has spent much of time since leaving office working for charitable causes such as support and fundraising for the victims of AIDS and the Asian tsunami.

Bill Clinton's wife, [[Hillary_Rodham_Clinton|Hillary Clinton]], was elected Senator to New York in 2000. Reelected in 2006, she is now running for president in 2008.

Bill Clinton's Chief of Staff was John Podesta between 1998-2001.

----

'''Sources:''' <references/>

[[Category:Biographies]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States]]

Bob Dylan

2007-03-16T22:33:41Z

JulesWinnfield:

Bob Dylan (birth name Robert Zimmerman), is one of the towering figures of American music, and has made contributions to many musical genres, including [[Rock music|Rock]], [[Country Music|Country]], and [[Rhythm and Blues|R&B]]. He has also, though some may have forgotten it, made enormous contributions to [[Christian music]] and [[Gospel]], particularly through two of his albums, [[Slow Train Coming]], and [[Saved]], released after his public declaration of his [[Christianity]] in the late 1970s. Even though he soon ceased recording songs that were explicitly Christian, he continued to perform the songs from those albums, and for some time dedicated the song "In the Garden" to [[Jesus Christ]] when he performed it publically. By the mid-1980's, however, he seemed to have fallen far from a relationship with Christianity, so much so that by 1997 he was writing songs like [[Not Dark Yet]] in which he sang, "Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer/It's not dark yet, but it's getting there." This pessimistic trend has continued in his songwriting since that time.

Robert Zimmerman was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, [[Minnesota]], and grew up in Hibbing. His father owned an appliance store, and Zimmerman grew up listening to the radio, where he got his first musical education. After playing in some short-lived high school bands, he left to attend the [[University of Minnesota]] in [[Minneapolis]]. It was there that he took a deep interest in [[folk music]], listening to the recordings of artists such as [[Odetta]] and [[Woody Guthrie]]. In 1961, he dropped out of college and headed to [[New York City]], where he became a part of the burgeoning folk music scene in [[Greenwich Village]]. Sharing the stage with a wide variety of folk acts, among them [[Dave von Ronk]] and [[Tiny Tim]], he eventually landed a contract with [[Columbia Records]], for whom his still records today. He most recent album, [[Modern Times]] (2006), reached #1 on the pop music charts; at age 65, he is the oldest artist to have attained that mark.

Over a long and variegated career, Dylan has collaborated with numerous other artists, including [[Joan Baez]], [[Johnny Cash]], and [[Tom Petty]]. In 2004, he published the first volume of [[Chronicles]], his planned autobiography. Since 2005, he has had a weekly radio show on [[XM Radio]]; among the themes of each week, he recently chose "The Bible," playing songs by the Reverend J.M. Gates, Kitty Wells, and the Reverend Gary Davis.

==References==
* [http://web.utk.edu/~wparr/IsDylanStillChr.html "Is Dylan Still Christian", by Bill Parr, gives much more detail on Dylan's faith]

Bob Dylan

2007-03-16T22:31:50Z

JulesWinnfield:

Bob Dylan (birth name Robert Zimmerman), is one of the towering figures of American music, and has made contributions to many musical genres, including [[Rock music|Rock]], [[Country Music|Country]], and [[Rhythm and Blues|R&B]]. He has also, though some may have forgotten it, made enormous contributions to [[Christian music]] and [[Gospel]], particularly through two of his albums, [[Slow Train Coming]], and [[Saved]], released after his public declaration of his [[Christianity]] in the late 1970s. Even though he soon ceased recording songs that were explicitly Christian, he continued to perform the songs from those albums, and for some time dedicated the song "In the Garden" to [[Jesus Christ]]. By the mid-1980's, however, he seemed to have fallen far from a relationship with Christ, so much so that by 1997 he was writing songs like [[Not Dark Yet]] in which he sings, "Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer/It's not dark yet, but it's getting there."

Robert Zimmerman was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, [[Minnesota]], and grew up in Hibbing. His father owned an appliance store, and Zimmerman grew up listening to the radio, where he got his first musical education. After playing in some short-lived high school bands, he left to attend the [[University of Minnesota]] in [[Minneapolis]]. It was there that he took a deep interest in [[folk music]], listening to the recordings of artists such as [[Odetta]] and [[Woody Guthrie]]. In 1961, he dropped out of college and headed to [[New York City]], where he became a part of the burgeoning folk music scene in [[Greenwich Village]]. Sharing the stage with a wide variety of folk acts, among them [[Dave von Ronk]] and [[Tiny Tim]], he eventually landed a contract with [[Columbia Records]], for whom his still records today. He most recent album, [[Modern Times]] (2006), reached #1 on the pop music charts; at age 65, he is the oldest artist to have attained that mark.

Over a long and variegated career, Dylan has collaborated with numerous other artists, including [[Joan Baez]], [[Johnny Cash]], and [[Tom Petty]]. In 2004, he published the first volume of [[Chronicles]], his planned autobiography. Since 2005, he has had a weekly radio show on [[XM Radio]]; among the themes of each week, he recently chose "The Bible," playing songs by the Reverend J.M. Gates, Kitty Wells, and the Reverend Gary Davis.

==References==
* [http://web.utk.edu/~wparr/IsDylanStillChr.html "Is Dylan Still Christian", by Bill Parr, gives much more detail on Dylan's faith]

Mark Twain

2007-03-16T22:20:55Z

JulesWinnfield:

'''Mark Twain''' (1835-1910), pen name of ''Samuel Langhorne Clemens,'' was a great American writer and humorist. On his death, the New York Times wrote:
:His personality and his humor have been an integral part of American life for so long that it has seemed almost impossible to realize an America without him.<ref>"His Countrymen's Tribute," ''The New York Times,'' April 22, 1910, p. 2</ref>
His most famous books are ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' and ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.''

==Quotations==
Mark Twain was both a writer and a performer, famous as a comic lecturer. He was famous for his witticisms. Some of them are:
:"In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made School Boards." (Following the Equator, chapter LXI)
:"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
:"By this time you will have noticed that the human being's heaven has been thought out and constructed upon an absolutely definite plan; and that this plan is, that it shall contain, in labored detail, each and every imaginable thing that is repulsive to a man, and not a single thing he likes!" (Letters From the Earth, Crest Books, 1963. p.20)
:"I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any."[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/onstage/70bday.html]
:"Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." (Following the Equator, chapter XXVIL)
:The report of my death was an exaggeration. (Mark Twain, New York Journal, June 2, 1897)
:Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. (Pudd'nhead Wilson)

Many quips attributed to Mark Twain are not his. Ralph Keyes call this "the flypaper effect: unclaimed comments... stick to famous quotable figures." He quotes a reference librarian as saying "if it's humorous and cynical, it must be Mark Twain."<ref>Keyes, Ralph (1992), ''Nice Guys Finish Seventh: False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations,'' p 24.</ref> A famous disputed case is:
:"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."
This was long attributed to Twain; according to Keyes, quotation sleuths traced it to an unsigned editorial in the Hartford Courant and decided it was most likely by Charles Dudley Warner, but there are reasons to believe it may really be Twain's remark after all.<ref>Keyes, Ralph (1992), ''Nice Guys Finish Seventh: False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations,'' p 194-5. Keyes notes that the quotation, as printed in the ''Courant,'' actually opened with the words "A well known American writer once said," and that a 1923 memoir by a journalist who had known Twain mentioned "never having seen in print Mark's saying about the weather...."</ref>.

==A "hymn to liberty"==
[[George Orwell]] said that "all that is best in [Twain]'s work centers about the Mississippi river and the wild mining towns of the West."<ref>Orwell, George (1943), "Mark Twain—The Licensed Jester;" ''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell,'' volume 2, pp. 325. Spelling brought into conformance with American usage.</ref> He specifically mentions ''Tom Sawyer,'' ''Huckleberry Finn,'' and ''Life on the Mississippi.''

Orwell, who later would write ''Nineteen Eighty-Four,'' was writing during the Second World War, when individual freedom in Europe and England were at a low point. Orwell says that these books are set in
:the golden age of America, the period when the great plains were opened up, when wealth and opportunity seemed limitless, and human beings felt free, indeed ''were'' free, as they had never been before and may not be again for centuries.
He called these books "ragbag[s] of anecdotes, scenic descriptions and social history both serious and burleque." But Orwell felt that they had a central theme:
:This is how human beings behave when they are not frightened of the sack.<ref>I.e. being fired from their job. To "get the sack" is a British colloquialism, similar to the U. S. "to get the ax."</ref>
Orwell says Twain did not ''mean'' to write "a hymn to liberty," but did so simply by reporting what he saw. He feels that Twain's colorful characters were able to develop their "strange and sometimes sinister individuality because of the lack of any outside pressure:
:If you disliked your job you simply hit your boss in the eye and moved further west.... The "log cabin to White House" myth was true while the free land lasted. In a way, it was for this that the Paris mob had stormed the Bastille, and when one reads Mark Twain, [[Bret Harte]], and [[Walt Whitman|Whitman]] it is hard to feel that their effort was wasted.<ref>ibid., p. 326</ref>

==Religion==

Mark Twain was not a Christian, and was supremely suspicious of organized religion. Some of his quotes on the subject are listed below.

"Faith is believing something you know ain't true."

"'In God We Trust.' I don't believe it would sound any better if it were true."

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

"Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of."

"There is no other life; life itself is only a vision and a dream for nothing exists but space and you. If there was an all-powerful God, he would have made all good, and no bad." [Mark Twain in Eruption]

"Our Bible reveals to us the character of our god with minute and remorseless exactness... It is perhaps the most damnatory biography that exists in print anywhere. It makes Nero an angel of light and leading by contrast" [Reflections on Religion, 1906]

==The pen name "Mark Twain"==
Clemens began using the pen name "Mark Twain" in his early newspaper columns.

"Mark Twain" was a reference to a leadsman's call. The leadsman's job was to toss a weighted line overboard to measure the depth of the water. On a Mississippi steamboat, he would do this again and again, calling out the results to the pilot. The depth was measured in ''fathoms,'' where a fathom is six feet. "Twain" is an old-fashioned word for "second." "Mark" meant the depth was on the exact fathom mark, much like describing a time as "on the dot." So "mark twain" literally means "two fathoms."

In ''Life on the Mississippi,'' Twain says that he worked for a captain who used to send "brief paragraphs of plain practical information about the river" to the New Orleans Picayune (the famous newspaper), signed "Mark Twain." According to Twain, this captain always added little reminiscences about things like islands that "disappeared in 1807, if I remember rightly," which were annoying and drew the scorn of other captains. Twain wrote a humorous parody, without thinking about the captain's feelings, and was printed in a newspaper:
:There was no malice in my rubbish; but it laughed at the captain. It laughed at a man to whom such a thing was new and strange and dreadful. He never printed another paragraph while he lived, and he never again signed "Mark Twain" to anything. At the time that the telegraph brought the news of his death, I was on the Pacific coast. I was a fresh new journalist, and needed a nom de guerre; so I confiscated the ancient mariner's discarded one.<ref>Twain, Mark (1863), ''Life on the Mississippi,'' Chapter 50</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Mark Twain

2007-03-15T17:07:12Z

JulesWinnfield:

'''Mark Twain''' (1835-1910), pen name of ''Samuel Langhorne Clemens,'' was a great American writer and humorist. On his death, the New York Times wrote:
:His personality and his humor have been an integral part of American life for so long that it has seemed almost impossible to realize an America without him.<ref>"His Countrymen's Tribute," ''The New York Times,'' April 22, 1910, p. 2</ref>
His most famous books are ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' and ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.''

==Quotations==
Mark Twain was both a writer and a performer, famous as a comic lecturer. He was famous for his witticisms. Some of them are:
:"In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made School Boards." (Following the Equator, chapter LXI)
:"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
:"By this time you will have noticed that the human being's heaven has been thought out and constructed upon an absolutely definite plan; and that this plan is, that it shall contain, in labored detail, each and every imaginable thing that is repulsive to a man, and not a single thing he likes!" (Letters From the Earth, Crest Books, 1963. p.20)
:"I have never taken any exercise, except sleeping and resting, and I never intend to take any."[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/onstage/70bday.html]
:"Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." (Following the Equator, chapter XXVIL)
:The report of my death was an exaggeration. (Mark Twain, New York Journal, June 2, 1897)
:Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education. (Pudd'nhead Wilson)

Many quips attributed to Mark Twain are not his. Ralph Keyes call this "the flypaper effect: unclaimed comments... stick to famous quotable figures." He quotes a reference librarian as saying "if it's humorous and cynical, it must be Mark Twain."<ref>Keyes, Ralph (1992), ''Nice Guys Finish Seventh: False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations,'' p 24.</ref> A famous disputed case is:
:"Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it."
This was long attributed to Twain; according to Keyes, quotation sleuths traced it to an unsigned editorial in the Hartford Courant and decided it was most likely by Charles Dudley Warner, but there are reasons to believe it may really be Twain's remark after all.<ref>Keyes, Ralph (1992), ''Nice Guys Finish Seventh: False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations,'' p 194-5. Keyes notes that the quotation, as printed in the ''Courant,'' actually opened with the words "A well known American writer once said," and that a 1923 memoir by a journalist who had known Twain mentioned "never having seen in print Mark's saying about the weather...."</ref>.

==A "hymn to liberty"==
[[George Orwell]] said that "all that is best in [Twain]'s work centers about the Mississippi river and the wild mining towns of the West."<ref>Orwell, George (1943), "Mark Twain—The Licensed Jester;" ''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell,'' volume 2, pp. 325. Spelling brought into conformance with American usage.</ref> He specifically mentions ''Tom Sawyer,'' ''Huckleberry Finn,'' and ''Life on the Mississippi.''

Orwell, who later would write ''Nineteen Eighty-Four,'' was writing during the Second World War, when individual freedom in Europe and England were at a low point. Orwell says that these books are set in
:the golden age of America, the period when the great plains were opened up, when wealth and opportunity seemed limitless, and human beings felt free, indeed ''were'' free, as they had never been before and may not be again for centuries.
He called these books "ragbag[s] of anecdotes, scenic descriptions and social history both serious and burleque." But Orwell felt that they had a central theme:
:This is how human beings behave when they are not frightened of the sack.<ref>I.e. being fired from their job. To "get the sack" is a British colloquialism, similar to the U. S. "to get the ax."</ref>
Orwell says Twain did not ''mean'' to write "a hymn to liberty," but did so simply by reporting what he saw. He feels that Twain's colorful characters were able to develop their "strange and sometimes sinister individuality because of the lack of any outside pressure:
:If you disliked your job you simply hit your boss in the eye and moved further west.... The "log cabin to White House" myth was true while the free land lasted. In a way, it was for this that the Paris mob had stormed the Bastille, and when one reads Mark Twain, [[Bret Harte]], and [[Walt Whitman|Whitman]] it is hard to feel that their effort was wasted.<ref>ibid., p. 326</ref>

==Religion==

Mark Twain was not a Christian in the conventional sense. Some of his quotes on the subject are listed below.

"Faith is believing something you know ain't true."

"'In God We Trust.' I don't believe it would sound any better if it were true."

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

"Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of."

"There is no other life; life itself is only a vision and a dream for nothing exists but space and you. If there was an all-powerful God, he would have made all good, and no bad." [Mark Twain in Eruption]

"Our Bible reveals to us the character of our god with minute and remorseless exactness... It is perhaps the most damnatory biography that exists in print anywhere. It makes Nero an angel of light and leading by contrast" [Reflections on Religion, 1906]

==The pen name "Mark Twain"==
Clemens began using the pen name "Mark Twain" in his early newspaper columns.

"Mark Twain" was a reference to a leadsman's call. The leadsman's job was to toss a weighted line overboard to measure the depth of the water. On a Mississippi steamboat, he would do this again and again, calling out the results to the pilot. The depth was measured in ''fathoms,'' where a fathom is six feet. "Twain" is an old-fashioned word for "second." "Mark" meant the depth was on the exact fathom mark, much like describing a time as "on the dot." So "mark twain" literally means "two fathoms."

In ''Life on the Mississippi,'' Twain says that he worked for a captain who used to send "brief paragraphs of plain practical information about the river" to the New Orleans Picayune (the famous newspaper), signed "Mark Twain." According to Twain, this captain always added little reminiscences about things like islands that "disappeared in 1807, if I remember rightly," which were annoying and drew the scorn of other captains. Twain wrote a humorous parody, without thinking about the captain's feelings, and was printed in a newspaper:
:There was no malice in my rubbish; but it laughed at the captain. It laughed at a man to whom such a thing was new and strange and dreadful. He never printed another paragraph while he lived, and he never again signed "Mark Twain" to anything. At the time that the telegraph brought the news of his death, I was on the Pacific coast. I was a fresh new journalist, and needed a nom de guerre; so I confiscated the ancient mariner's discarded one.<ref>Twain, Mark (1863), ''Life on the Mississippi,'' Chapter 50</ref>

==References==
<references/>