In September 1984, the day after the President addressed the UN, he addressed a meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank was established along with the International Monetary Fund in 1944, at the Bretton Woods Conference. The Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low and middle income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. During the 1980s, the bank emphasized lending to service Third World debt and making structural adjustment policies that were designed to streamline the economies of developing nations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) oversees the stability of the world's monetary system, while the World Bank aims to reduce poverty by offering assistance to middle-income and low-income countries. You’ll hear in these remarks, that while the President lauds the work of the World Bank and IMF, he does clarify where American support needs to be because as he said: "While we would not impose our ideas, our policies, on anyone, we felt obliged to point out that no nation can have prosperity and successful development without economic freedom."
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Ahead in the Polls
So 40 years ago at this time, our then 40th president was running for a second term. And just what did the polls say? Well, by the end of October 1984, the latest national opinion polls strongly favored President Reagan. Newsweek’s poll showed the president ahead by 17 points: a USA Today poll showed his lead at 23 points and US News and World Report said that its state-by-state survey showed Mr. Reagan way ahead in 45 out of the 50 states and the President “on his way to a smashing victory on November 6.” In addition to traditional campaign stops, the President used his bully pulpit to pursue his agenda; specifically, those radio addresses. So in today’s podcast, we’ll tune into one he sent in September 1984.
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Country Music
Most people don’t associate Ronald Reagan with country music, but in today’s podcast, we’ll hear another side! The President actually journeyed to Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate the birthday of one of country music’s all-time greats, Roy Acuff. He met with Mr. Acuff and his family early in the day, then journeyed to the Grand Ole Opry Theater at Opryland, USA to deliver these remarks. You’ll hear the President mention Barbara Mandrell early on because as you might recall, she had been in a terrible automobile accident.
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The Republican National Convention
Ok a little quiz…when I say August 1984 and Ronald Reagan, what comes to mind? His acceptance of the presidential nomination, of course. It’s important to remember that the President regarded the 1984 election as pivotal. Why? Because he believed the gains he had made during his first four years were in jeopardy. He wanted to preserve what he had accomplished and there were still things he wanted to do. What were those two things? Cutting the deficit and balancing the budget. Although an economic expansion was underway, he thought he could do more to stimulate the economy by making our tax system fairer and simpler. Our optimistic 40th president believed he could persuade Congress to cut more waste out of the budget and continue making our government smaller and less intrusive. So for this week’s podcast, we’ll walk down memory lane with the President to hear his remarks when accepting the nomination in 1984 in Dallas, Texas, what his objectives were, and his thoughts on his opponent, Walter Mondale. You’ll hear the President refer to San Francisco because that’s where the Democrats held their convention in July of 1984.
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Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising, which officially began on August 1, 1944, and lasted until October 2, 1944, was a major military endeavor of the Polish resistance movement during World War II. From the beginning, civilians were embroiled in the 63-day conflict enduring relentless airstrikes and the resulting fires that forced them from their homes. They were also working to procure arms, provide supplies for insurgents, erect defensive barriers, extinguish fires, and carry messages underground. Yet, as the Soviets halted their offensive—which to this point had been a remarkable success—Nazi units had time to regroup and organize a counteroffensive, forcing the armed insurrection to hold out much longer than originally planned. Civilians were initially in favor of the uprising since they believed that the fighting would last only a few days. As the unrest raged on and Warsaw received little help from the Soviets, however, civilian support diminished, leading to tensions between the AK or the Polish army and the population of Warsaw. Remember, in 1984, the Polish people were again fighting for their freedom from the Soviets, a struggle that the President addresses in this speech.
An audio podcast featuring Ronald Reagan speeches and radio addresses from the 1960s through the 1990s. A new Words to Live By Podcast will be posted every Tuesday.
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