On this day in 1983, Ronald Reagan stood before the 41st Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in The Sheraton Twin Towers in Orlando and made history. In his speech Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an “Evil Empire” and “the focus of evil in the modern world”. Staffers repeatedly cut the phrase from his speech leading up to the keynote address, however, Reagan left in it and the rest is history. Courage under fire.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” – Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles in the 1930s, where he became an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and a spokesman for General Electric. Reagan became involved in politics during his work for G.E. and switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California Governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and election in 1980.