The Notes: Ronald Reagan's Private Collection of Stories and Wisdom
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Hitler, Adolf (1889–1945): Austrian-born German politician who was appointed chancellor of Germany and transformed it into a fascist state. He is responsible for the Holocaust and the outbreak of World War II.
Holland, Josiah Gilbert (1819–1881): American novelist and poet who wrote under the pseudonym “Timothy Titcomb.”
Holmes, Oliver Wendell (1841–1935): American jurist who served as associate justice of the Supreme Court from 1902 to 1932. He was known for being one of the most influential common-law judges, with efforts to support New Deal regulations.
Hoover, Herbert (1874–1964): Thirty-first president of the United States. He was a mining engineer and author who served as the secretary of commerce. As president he unsuccessfully tried to combat the Great Depression.
Hoover, J. Edgar (1895–1972): First director and instrumental founder of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His controversial tenure led to the instatement of ten-year term limitations for FBI directors.
Hutchins, Robert (1899–1977): Educational philosopher, dean of Yale Law School, and president of the University of Chicago.
Ibn Khaldoun (1332–1406): North African polymath whose expertise lay in astronomy, economics, history, law, and nutrition. He is considered the father of the social sciences, particularly in the East.
Jefferson, Thomas (1743–1826): Third president of the United States, Founding Father, and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He promoted republicanism and is consistently ranked among the greatest U.S. presidents.
Johnson, Hiram (1866–1945): American progressive who served as the twenty-third governor of California and later as a U.S. senator. He became a staunch isolationist, opposing the League of Nations and the United Nations.
Kennedy, John F. (1917–1963): Thirty-fifth president of the United States. He was beloved during his short presidency and presided over the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban missile crisis, the space race, and the beginnings of the African-American civil rights movement. He was assassinated in 1963.
Khrushchev, Nikita (1894–1971): Leader of the Soviet Union during parts of the Cold War, including the Cuban missile crisis. He was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization and liberalization of domestic policy in the Soviet Union.
Krock, Arthur (1886–1974): American journalist and Washington correspondent for the New York Times. Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Lenin (Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, 1870–1924): Russian Marxist revolutionary and Communist politician. He led the October Revolution of 1917 and fought to establish a socialist economic system and maintain Communist control through the Russian Civil War.
Lewis, C. S. (1898–1963): Irish-born British novelist and Christian theologian. He is best known for his children’s fiction, especially The Chronicles of Narnia.
Lieber, Francis (1800–1872): German-American political theorist and jurist. He is widely known as the author of the Lieber Code—a code of conduct for troops during wartime—during the American Civil War.
Lincoln, Abraham (1809–1865): Sixteenth president of the United States. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves, in 1863; led the nation through the Civil War; and was assassinated in April 1865.
Lippmann, Walter (1889–1974): American reporter, commentator, and intellectual who introduced the concept of the Cold War and was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his news column, “Today and Tomorrow.”
Macaulay, Thomas (1800–1859): British poet and Whig politician who wrote extensively on British history and served as secretary of war from 1839 to 1841.
MacLean, Alistair (1922–1987): Scottish novelist who wrote thrillers and adventure stories under the pseudonym “Ian Stuart.”
Madison, James (1751–1836): Fourth president of the United States and principal drafter of the U.S. Constitution. He was a Founding Father whose belief in individual liberty led to the Bill of Rights. He worked closely with George Washington to establish the new federal government.
Magee, John Gillespie, Jr. (1922–1941): Anglo-American aviator and poet who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and died in a midair collision during World War II.
Mao Zedong (1893–1976): Han Chinese revolutionary and Communist who led the People’s Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death. His political strategies are collectively known as Maoism, and he is said to have laid the foundations for modern China. Because his social and political programs also cost millions of Chinese lives, his legacy is controversial.
Marshall, Henry (1954– ): National Football League athlete who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1976 to 1987.
McCracken, Paul (1915– ): American economist who chaired the President’s Council of Economic Advisors under President Nixon and attempted to curb inflation. He now teaches at the University of Michigan.
McCulloch, John Ramsay (1789–1864): Leading Scottish economist in the Ricardian school. He was an early advocate of advanced statistical analysis and the publication of economic data.
McGovern, George (1922– ): Historian and former U.S. representative, senator, and Democratic presidential nominee. He lost badly to Richard Nixon in the 1972 presidential election. He has since served as ambassador to the U.N. on World Hunger and was named 2008 World Food Prize Laureate.
Mill, John Stuart (1806–1873): British philosopher and author of On Liberty, a hugely influential work on the limits of power and the importance of self-government.
Montessori, Maria (1870–1952): Italian educator and philosopher best known for her unique Montessori method of education, which gives children more freedom and self-direction than conventional education.
Montesquieu (Charles-Louis de Secondat) (1689–1755): French political philosopher known for his articulation of the separation of powers and the classifications of governments.
Moulton, John Fletcher (1844–1921): English mathematician and weapons adviser for the British war effort during the First World War.
Muhlenberg, Peter (1746–1807): Revolutionary soldier in the Continental Army; he became both a representative and a senator for Pennsylvania.
Mussolini, Benito (1883–1945): Italian political leader credited with the creation of fascism. He implemented a terrorist police state in Italy after a coup in October 1922. Mussolini led Italy into the Second World War by declaring war on both France and Great Britain in 1940.
Ortega y Gasset, José (1883–1955): Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist who advocated perspectivism while the Spanish government transitioned between monarchy, republicanism, and dictatorship.
Paine, Thomas (1737–1809): American revolutionary and author of the influential Common Sense. His pro-revolutionary propaganda pamphlets were instrumental in spurring the colonists to declare independence from the Crown.
Pascal, Blaise (1623–1662): French mathematician and inventor of the mechanical calculator. He converted to Catholicism late in life, abandoning his scientific work and pursuing theology.
Paul, Randolph (1890–1956): Credited with creating the modern tax system, including the Internal Revenue Code, he served as the director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Penn, William (1644–1718): English philosopher and founder of the colony of Pennsylvania. He advocated religious freedom and democracy in colonial America.
Pericles (495– 429 BCE): Greek statesman and general of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. He is most famous for his written history of the war and his commentary on the war’s revelation of human nature.
Pétain, Philippe (1856–1951): French general made famous for his outstanding leadership during the Battle at Verdun (World War I). He was appointed the premier of France during World War II, and his government quickly set up an authoritarian regime.
Peterson, Wilfred (1893–1954): Senior officer in the Royal Navy. He participated in the naval battle that sank the German battleship Bismarck.
Pius XII, Pope (1876–1958): Head of the Roman C
atholic Church from 1939 until his death. He was a staunch opponent of communism and contributed to the rebuilding of Europe after World War II. Historians continue to debate whether he responded appropriately to the Holocaust.
Rauschenbusch, Reverend Walter (1861–1918): Christian theologian and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American Social Gospel movement.
Read, Leonard (1898–1983): founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, the first modern American libertarian think tank. Ayn Rand was an important adviser of his.
Rogers, Will (1879–1935): American cowboy, humorist, and actor who often provided political and social commentary. He was one of the best-known celebrities of the 1920s and 1930s, and he was beloved by the American people until his death in an airplane crash.
Roosevelt, Franklin (1882–1945): Thirty-second president of the United States. Along with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, led the Allied Powers against Germany and Japan in World War II. He was the only American president ever elected to more than two terms, and his domestic politics revolved around resuscitating the country’s ailing economy.
Seneca, Lucius (c. 3 BCE–65 CE): Tutor and adviser to the emperor Nero. He was a Roman Stoic philosopher and dramatist from the Silver Age of Latin literature.
Shaw, George Bernard (1856–1950): Irish playwright and cofounder of the London School of Economics. He wrote over sixty plays, most of which dealt with social problems. He was very concerned with the exploitation of the working class and remained a staunch socialist until his death.
Slichter, Sumner (1892–1959): Famous labor economist of the 1940s and 1950s. His was the standard economics textbook in America before 1950, and he informally advised President Harry Truman.
Smith, Adam (1723–1790): Key figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, he was the author of the first modern work of economics, The Wealth of Nations. He is widely known for pioneering modern capitalism, as well as for his moral philosophies.
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr (1918–2008): Russian and Soviet novelist who helped make the world aware of the Soviet Union’s forced labor camps through his writings.
Sorensen, Theodore (1928–2010): President John F. Kennedy’s special counsel, adviser, and speechwriter. He drafted much of Kennedy’s Cold War correspondence and influenced foreign policy.
Spencer, Herbert (1820–1903): English philosopher and sociologist of the Victorian era. He wrote Principles of Biology, wherein he coined the term and concept “survival of the fittest.”
Stalin, Joseph (1879–1953): Dictator of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death. He fostered a cult of personality around himself and launched a command economy. He was also responsible for the Great Purge, a campaign to exterminate dissidents in the Communist party.
Sun Tzu (544–496 BC): Chinese philosopher, military general, and strategist who is believed to have been the author of the famous military strategy book The Art of War.
Thomas, Norman (1884–1968): American socialist and pacifist who was a six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.
Tocqueville, Alexis de (1805–1859): French political thinker and historian known for his work on social conditions in western society. He wrote Democracy in America.
Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (1889–1975): British historian who wrote a popular twelve-volume analysis of civilizations. In the early twentieth century, he was a prominent consultant to the English government on international affairs, particularly in the Middle East.
Tytler, Alexander Fraser (1747–1813): British lawyer and writer who wrote cynically of democracies during his time as a professor in Scotland.
Webster, Daniel (1782–1852): American statesman during the antebellum period. He was Andrew Jackson’s conservative counterpart, and he served in the House and the Senate before becoming secretary of state under three presidents.
Williams, Jack (1909–1998): Thirteenth governor of Arizona. He was a political conservative, mayor of Phoenix, radio announcer, and advertising writer.
Willkie, Wendell (1892–1944): Dark-horse Republican Party nominee in the 1940 presidential election. He lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt and subsequently became the president’s ambassador-at-large.
Wilson, Woodrow (1856–1924): Twenty-eighth president of the United States. A leader of the Progressive movement, he led the United States in the First World War and later promoted his plan for the League of Nations. He was known for his idealistic internationalism, calling for the United States to fight for democracy abroad.
Winthrop, John (1588–1649): Wealthy Puritan who obtained a royal charter from King Charles I to lead a group of fellow Englishmen and Englishwomen to the New World. He was elected governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629.
Wolfe, Thomas (1900–1938): Master of autobiographical fiction. He wrote four lengthy novels and many short stories, most of which reflect on American mores and culture of the time. He is said to have influenced authors Jack Kerouac, Ray Bradbury, and Philip Roth.
Wormser, Rene A. (1896–1981): Counsel for a congressional committee commissioned to investigate tax-exempt foundations that were allegedly working—through education, government, and media—to turn America into a socialist nation.
Acknowledgments
With thanks to my wife, Anne Brinkley; and my assistant, Sara Haji, of Austin, Texas.
To John Heubusch, who took the time to share his thoughts. To Nancy Reagan. To my friends Bob Barnett, Tim Duggan, Jonathan Burnham, Fred Ryan, and Joanne Drake.
And to James A. Baker III, a great source of wisdom, for all the encouragement.
—Douglas Brinkley
Index
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.
Acton, John Dalberg, Lord, 54
Acts, Book of, 100
Adam and Eve, 251
Adams, John, 34
Adams, Samuel, 9
Adenauer, Konrad, 185
adolescence, 226, 241
advancement, 155
advice, 218, 220
Aesop, 58
African Americans, 58
Alford, Henry, 67
America:
greatness, 78–79
ideal, 38
loving, 27–28
promise of, 33, 55
American Indian, 223
American Revolution, 65
Amiel, Henri Frédéric, 145
anarchy, 3, 6, 42, 58
Anderson, Maxwell, 166–70
anti-busing campaign, 179
Antigone, 119
Antonius, Marcus, 156
Aptheker, Herbert, 56
Aristophanes, 72
Aristotle, 158
Army, U.S., 66–67
Aspasia, 91
atheists, 202
Athens, 97
Australia, 8
bad ideas, 159
barbarian, 78
Barden, Graham, 186
bargains, 232
Bastiat, Claude-Frédéric, 19–20, 43, 92–93
Belloc, Hilaire, 78
Benton, William, 137
Bill of Rights, 60
Booth, William, 93
borrowers, 24
bosses, 253, 260
bourgeois, 48
Bradford, Ralph, 104–5
Brasco, Frank, 199–200
Brezhnev, Leonid, 234–35
Briggs, Mario, 199–200
Brownfield, Alan C., 86
Browning, Robert, 146
budget, balancing of, 16–17, 18, 257
buffalo, 221
bugs, electronic surveillance, 189, 214
bureaucracy, 19, 40, 44, 93, 103–4, 228
Burke, Edmund, 39, 87
Burns, James McGregor, 132–33
Burton, Richard, 190
Bush, George H. W., 248
Bush, George W., 248
California, 178
campus riots
(1960s), 57
Cantor, Eddie, 145
capital punishment, 161
capitalism, 40, 56, 87, 133, 136
Carnegie, Dale, 150
Chambers, Whittaker, 8, 115
character, 12, 41, 43, 155, 157, 170