A Time for Choosing

"A Time for Choosing", also known as "The Speech", was a speech presented during the 1964 U.S. presidential election campaign by future president Ronald Reagan on behalf of Republican candidate Barry Goldwater. The speech launched Reagan into national prominence.

"A Time for Choosing" speech
In support of Goldwater, Reagan delivers the address, A Time for Choosing. The speech launches Reagan to national prominence.
DateOctober 27, 1964 (1964-10-27)
Duration29:33
LocationLos Angeles County, California, U.S.
Also known as"The Speech"
TypeTelevised campaign speech
ParticipantsRonald Reagan
WebsiteVideo clip, audio, transcript
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Background

Many versions of the speech exist, since it was altered over many weeks. Contrary to popular belief, however, the speech was not given at the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco, California as a nomination speech for presidential candidate Senator Barry Goldwater; Everett Dirksen gave that nomination speech, while Richard Nixon introduced Goldwater prior to his acceptance speech. Reagan, though he campaigned for Goldwater, did not use "A Time for Choosing" until October 27, 1964, when it was part of a pre-recorded television program, Rendezvous with Destiny. (The title of the program was used by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his June 27, 1936 speech to the 1936 Democratic National Convention.) In his autobiography, An American Life, Reagan recalled going to bed that night "hoping I hadn't let Barry down."[1]

Speaking for Goldwater, Reagan stressed his belief in the importance of smaller government. In the speech, he revealed his ideological motivation: "The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing."[2] He also said, "You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream – the maximum of individual freedom consistent with law and order – or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism."[2][3] The speech raised $1 million for Goldwater's campaign,[4] and is considered the event that launched Reagan's political career.[5][6]

Aftermath

'A Time For Choosing' has been considered one of the most effective speeches ever made by an eventual presidential candidate.[7] Nevertheless, Barry Goldwater lost the election by one of the largest margins in history to that time. Soon afterwards, Reagan was asked to run for Governor of California; he ran for office and won election in 1966. Reagan was later dubbed the "Great Communicator" in recognition of his effective oratory skills.

References
  1. Reagan, Ronald (1990). An American Life: The Autobiography. New York City: Simon & Schuster. p. 143. ISBN 0671691988. Retrieved 31 March 2014. When it was over, the others in the room said I had done well. But I was still nervous about it and, when I went to bed, I was hoping I hadn't let Barry down.
  2. "A Time for Choosing". PBS. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
  3. Richard A. Harris, Daniel J. Tichenor. A History of the U.S. Political System: Ideas, Interests, and Institutions, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2009. p. 384
  4. Cannon, Lou (June 6, 2004). "Actor, Governor, President, Icon". The Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
  5. Cannon (2001), p. 36
  6. Peter Schweizer; Wynton C. Hall (2007). Landmark Speeches of the American Conservative Movement. Texas A&M University Press. p. 42. ISBN 9781585445981. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  7. Hayward, Steven F. - Why Ronald Reagan’s ‘A Time for Choosing’ endures after all this time. The Washington Post, October 23, 2014

Further reading
  • Bimes, Terri. "Ronald Reagan and the New Conservative Populism." (Institute of Governmental Studies, 2002). online
  • Friedenberg, Robert V. (2002). Notable Speeches in Contemporary Presidential Campaigns. Greenwood. pp. 143ff. ISBN 9780275967857.
  • Kiewe, Amos, Davis W. Houck, and Davis L. Houck. A shining city on a hill: Ronald Reagan's economic rhetoric, 1951–1989 (Greenwood, 1991)
  • Mann, Robert. Becoming Ronald Reagan: The Rise of a Conservative Icon. Potomac, 2019
  • Perlstein, Rick (2009). Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus. Nation Books. pp. 509ff.
  • Ritter, Kurt W. "Ronald Reagan and 'the speech': The rhetoric of public relations politics." Western Journal of Communication (1968) 32#1 pp. 50–58
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