Ronald Reagan’s Political Breakthrough
00:09It's December 1963 on a movie set in Los Angeles, California.As the crew bustles around him, 52-year-old actor Ronald Reagan stands still to let a makeup artist do some final touch-ups.He cracks a joke, and though the woman tells him she needs to focus, she can't help smiling.Charm comes natural to Reagan. He's been acting for almost 30 years now.Still, even for a veteran like him, this movie is a new challenge.Reagan is used to playing likable characters.But in The Killers, he's playing a mob boss, a cold-blooded villain,and today they're shooting his death scene.
00:46With his makeup perfect, he walks over to the set.It's a wood-paneled office with a large, open safe full of prop money.Reagan's character is trying to flee, but the film's protagonist has cornered him.A shot is a close-up, so all eyes will be on Reagan.It takes a deep breath and gets into character.The buzz of activity on set dies down as the assistant director callsfor quiet, and the camera rolls.Reagan is supposed to be staring down the gunman, daring him to shoot.
01:16Then, from behind the camera, someone shouts, bang.Reagan grimaces as if shot, grabbing his stomach in pain before falling to the ground.The director cuts, and Reagan climbs back to his feet.With a twinkly smile back on his face, he looks around the set and asks if he needs to do it again.The Killers will be the last movie of Ronald Reagan's acting career.But just a few months after it hits theaters,Reagan will step into a new role, this time on the political stage.He'll be even more successful in this new career than his last,
01:52thanks to a potent combination of conservatism and movie star charisma,he first demonstrates to the publicwhen he endorses Barry Goldwater for president on October 27, 1964.From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham,and this is History Daily.History is made every day.On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.Today is October 27, 1964, Ronald Reagan's political breakthrough.
02:49It's October 3rd, 1946, at the Hollywood Legion Stadium in Los Angeles, California,almost 20 years before Ronald Reagan shoots the killers.Reagan looks around the Pact Arena.The Legion Stadium is an old boxing venue,and Reagan is here to address the crowd from the middle of the ring.and although he might not be using his fists tonight,he knows he's going to fight on his hands.The audience consists of members of the Screen Actors' Gill,
03:15and they've gathered here to decide their response to a strike that has convulsed Hollywood.The Conference of Studio Unions, or CSU,is a new body representing carpenters, set painters, electricians, and other crew.Last month, a dispute over studio jobs escalated into a strike.Tensions in Hollywood have been high ever since,with scenes of violence on the picket line.And now the Screen Actors Guild must decide whether it will support the strike or not.At age 35, Reagan has been working as an actor for almost a decade.
03:47Before World War II, he was on his way to becoming one of Warner Brothers' biggest stars.And now that that conflict is over, he's eager to get his career back on track.But over the last year and a half, there's been a series of strikes in Hollywood,and the production of new movies has been severely affected.As the vice president of the Actors Guild, Reagan might still be expected to support his fellow union workers,but he has come to believe that the CSU is a communist organization and a danger to Hollywood.He and the rest of the board have agreed that the Actors Guild should not support the strike.Now they just have to convince their members to support that decision.
04:25Reagan arranges the pages of handwritten notes in front of him.In the audience, he sees a who's who of Hollywood stars, including Catherine Hepburn,Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, and Frank Sinatra.He knows that many of them support the strikers, but he's not deterred.In his speech, he tells the story of Hollywood changing over time,becoming fairer to workers thanks to labor unions like the Screen Actors Guild.But he draws a clear line between past campaigns and the newest CSU strike,and he implores the actors to honor their contract with the studios.
04:57Reagan can see some in the crowd are angry,and as the evening goes on, several well-known faces stand up to all.argue against the board's recommendation. But when the vote has taken, the guild overwhelminglybacks Reagan's position. It will not support the CSU strike. In the days that follow, Reagan continuesto speak out against the striking workers, and it marks the beginning of a shift in Reagan'spolitics. His whole life, Reagan has identified as a Democrat. His family adored Franklin D. Roosevelt,the president who guided the United States through the Great Depression in World War II. But now Reaganis becoming increasingly worried about the threat of communism,
05:36and he soon gains a new platform to continue his crusade.In March 1947, the president of the Screen Actors Guild resigns,and the Union Board elects Reagan as his replacement.It comes at a pivotal time for the industry.Hollywood is under congressional investigation.The House Un-American Activities Committee, or Hugh Act,suspects that communists are sneaking pro-Soviet messages into films.As part of its investigation, in September 1914,
06:03the committee issues subpoenas to dozens of actors, writers, and producers.Many are alleged communists, but other witnesses are expected to testifyabout the supposed left-wing threat to the film industry.Ronald Reagan is one of them.But Reagan knows he needs to be careful about his testimony.Many in Hollywood view Hughack itself as un-American,an attack on freedom of speech and freedom of association.As Guild President, he has a responsibility to his members,
06:31but he also sees the hearings as an opportunity to restate his case against communism.So when he appears before the committee, Reagan does not directly name any suspected communists.Instead, he uses his time to praise the Screen Actors Guild itself as being strong enough to withstand any threat of infiltration.In doing so, Reagan has displayed deaf political instinct.But the collision between Hughack and Hollywood is far from over.Other witnesses called to Washington refused to answer any of the committee's questions.and are held in contempt.Soon after, they're denounced by the studios that employed them and fired.
07:08Reagan mostly keeps his union out of the dispute.When studios begin to blacklist other actors who were suspected communists,Reagan criticizes the move, but he doesn't fight for the actors either.By 1954, Reagan is getting fewer movie roles,and the ones he's offered don't excite him.But then he's hired to host General Electric Theater,a television anthology show,As part of his job, he also acts as a corporate spokesperson for General Electric and visits all of the company's 139 plants across the United States.
07:39He gives speeches to hundreds of thousands of employees.At first, his talks are designed to promote the company and cheer up the workers.But over time, his speeches grow more political.He extols the free market and criticizes federal intervention in the economy.By 1962, Reagan's transformation from liberal to conservative is complete.and he officially changes his party affiliation to Republican.He's already developed a reputation as a charismatic speakerwho can promote conservative ideas in a relatable manner.
08:09And in just a few years, those talents will change the course of Reagan's lifewhen he decides to make a major intervention in a national political campaignfor the very first time.It's October 27, 1964 in Los Angeles, California,two years after Ronald Reagan officially became a Republican.Sitting in the living room of a family friend, Reagan takes a sip of wine and stares nervously at the television in the corner.Reagan has appeared on screen more times than he can remember, but never like this.Back in 1952, Reagan befriended the then-needed Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.
08:57Twelve years later, Goldwater is now the Republican nominee for president, but his campaign is stagnating.While he successfully energized the conservative base, other voters are less enthusiastic.Goldwater's opponent, President Lyndon B. Johnson, is portraying him as a dangerous radical.So a few days ago, Goldwater's team reached out to Reagan.He'd already been involved in the campaign in California,but they hoped that Reagan's foxy brand of celebrity would convince voters elsewhere to give Goldwater a chance.Reagan was happy to help his friend, and he endorsed Goldwater for president in a speech in Los Angeles.His words were then recorded for television, and tonight his speech, a time for choosing,
09:37is being broadcast across the country.Reagan's wife, Nancy, hushes the group as her husband appears on screen.Reagan, like always, is at ease in front of the camera.And in his time as spokesman for General Electric,he's polished his conservative talking points into a compelling narrative.He talked to the television audience about rising taxes, national debt,and what he calls overly generous social programs.He tells a story of a country at a pivotal turning point.
10:04You and I have a rendezvous with destiny.We'll preserve for our children this the last best hope of man on earth,or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.As Reagan's speech ends, those gathered around him in the living room cheer and pat his back.Reagan has communicated Goldwater's ideas without any of the candidate's baggage.One friend turns to another and says what everyone is thinking.The wrong man is running for president.After a time for choosing heirs, the Goldwater campaign receives a number.
10:37outpouring of donations. It's not enough to change the race, though. When the votes are counted aweek later, Goldwater only wins 38% of the popular vote and 52 electoral votes out of 538. It's alandslide defeat. But while Goldwater's presidential aspirations are over, Ronald Reagan'spolitical career is just beginning. Impressed by his speech and conservative credentials,a group calling itself the friends of Ronald Reagan forms to recruit him into politics. But othersand the Republican Party are more skeptical.They worry Reagan as too ideologicaland inexperienced to win.
11:12And Reagan himself isn't sure he wants to be a politician.He decides to test the watersby giving versions of a time for choosing around California.Audiences respond well,and Reagan makes up his mind.He's running for governor.On the campaign trail in 1966,Reagan sticks to his conservative beliefs.
11:32He condemns the anti-Vietnam war proteststhat are spreading across the country.He says American troops are being denied the right to try for victory, and he claims the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are both unconstitutional.During the gubernatorial primary, he's up against a moderate Republican and runs into some criticism about his views.But his populism appeals to Republican voters, and he wins by a two-to-one margin.The media doubts he'll fare so well against the incumbent Democratic Governor Pat Brown.But on November 8, 1966, Reagan wins in yet another landslide.He will go on to lead the Golden State for two terms.
12:12As Governor Reagan sometimes defies expectations,he raises taxes to balance the budget,and he signs a law legalizing abortion in certain cases.But he also continues his fight against the left.In response to armed protests by the Black Panther Party,Reagan signs gun control legislation,and he sends in the National Guard to squash protests.protests on college campuses. But after two terms in office, Reagan decides not to run for re-election,
12:39but he's not ready to step out of the public eye. In 1975, Reagan travels around the countrywith his now well-practiced a time for choosing speech. It's more than a decade old, but the crowdstill seem to love it, and he soon announces his candidacy for president. He narrowly losesthe nomination to sitting President Gerald Ford, but Reagan's speech at the 1976 RepublicanNational Convention leaves many wondering if the right choice was made.Because Ford will go on to lose the general election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.But four years later, Ronald Reagan will have another chance to become president,and he won't hesitate to take it.
13:28It's August 3, 1980, at the Neshoba County Fair in Mississippi,two weeks after Ronald Reagan became the Republican nominee for president.From his seat behind the podium, Reagan flashes his movie star smileas he's introduced to the waiting audience of thousands of local Mississippians.Confederate flags flutter in the wind,and people chant, We Want Reagan,as he shakes hands with the local dignitary at the podiumand steps up to address the crowd.
13:55Some of Reagan's team are unhappy with the optics of this event.Reagan was recently alleged to have snubbed an invitation from the NAACP,but he's happy to speak at this county fair,even though it's not far from the site where three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.Reagan's advisors worried that his appearance will confirm accusations that he's indifferent or outright hostile to black voters.But Reagan has overruled those concerns.Four years ago, Jimmy Carter became president in part by winning states like Mississippi.If Reagan is to win in November, he believes he has to take them back.
14:31So he gazes over the crowd with a look that is somehow both dreamy and stern.As usual, Reagan speaks about the need to limit federal overreach.It's been a theme of his.writing and speaking for decades now. But today Reagan uses the words states' rights. This is a loadedphrase. For years, it was used by those seeking to justify racial segregation in the South,and the audience in Mississippi cheers it wildly. But beyond the county fair, some observerscriticize his language as a dog whistle for supporters of racist policies. But the controversydoesn't seem to do Reagan any harm, though. Three months later, Reagan takes the White House in another
15:09landslide victory over the incumbent Jimmy Carter. His two-term presidency will change America profoundly,and decades on, his policies and personality will continue to influence not only Republicans,but conservative politicians around the world. His combination of on-screen charisma and soaring rhetoricwill be just as sought after in today's candidates, as it was when Reagan first grabbed thepolitical spotlight with his endorsement of Barry Goldwater on October 27, 1964.Next on History Daily, October 28th, 1628,French Protestants and La Rochellesurrender after a 14-month siege by government forces.
15:56From Noisor and Ayrship, this is History Daily,hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham,audio editing by Mohamed Shazzy,sound design by Molly Bond,music by Throne.This episode is written in research by Ruben Abrams-Brosby,edited by William Simpson,managing producer Emily Burke,
16:14Executive producers are William Simpson for airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.
There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click any sentence in the transcript to leave one.