PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN - QUOTATION SIGNED - HFSID 258284

RONALD REAGAN
Ronald Reagan signs a calligraphy quotation of "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Quotation signed: "Ronald Reagan", 1p, 5¾x7¾. Official pale blue White House stationery. In calligraphy. In full: "Mr. Gorbachev,/Tear Down/This Wall!" President Reagan issued this challenge to the Soviet leader at the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987. While this speech was delivered to the people of West Berlin, it was also audible on the East side of the Berlin wall. President Reagan said, in part: "We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! MR. GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!" Two years later, in November 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) had two careers: actor and politician. His first movie was Love is on the Air (1937) and his 53rd and last film was The Killers (1964). In 1965, he wrote his autobiography, Where's the Rest of Me?, a line from his role as Drake McHugh in King's Row (1942). Reagan left his job hosting television's Death Valley Days during the 1965-1966 season, when he entered politics. Elected Governor of California in 1966, he was reelected in 1970. Reagan began his campaign for the presidency and narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to Gerald Ford. He was elected President in 1980 and was reelected in 1984. After leaving office in 1989, he wrote his second autobiography, An American Life. On February 6, 2001, Reagan became just the third U.S. President to reach the age of 90 and the nation's longest living President until Gerald Ford (d. 2006) lived 45 days longer. Slightly creased. Fine condition.