Ronald Reagan - Campaign Speech at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California

May 12, 1966

Ronald Reagan was in the middle of running for the governorship of California in the mid 1960's when the free-speech movement was going on in the United States. Reagan saw this as an issue with American society stating, "its charges that the campus has become a rallying point for Communists and a center of sexual misconduct." When discussing the issue in his campaign speech, Reagan made sure to express that our society has driven off of its rightful course and have taken a path of wrong. Reagan believed that these rallies, riots and filthy-speech movements (as he called them) were getting out of control and there was nobody that was putting an end to it. You had students protesting and speaking out for free-speech, civil rights and speaking out against the Vietnam War.

When trying to make his point to the American people, Reagan used the example of a school dance, where the only lights that were on were those coming off of the projector screens. He goes on to state, "Three rock and roll bands played simultaneously. The smell of marijuana was thick throughout the hall. There were signs that some of those present had taken dope. There were indications of other happenings that cannot be mentioned here." From this statement it shows that Reagan saw free-speech and wide spread love to be morally wrong and not the way a society should be acting. He believed that Americans were being frowned upon for acting in this sort of manner and that it needed to be stopped immediately.

Reagan wanted public hearings to be held for all of those that were involved and they should be made examples of. He also believed that the American people had a right to know exactly what was going in Berkley, California. "The citizens who pay the taxes that support the University also have a right to know that, if the situation is as the report says, that those responsible will be fired, that the University will be cleaned up and restored to its position as a major institution of learning and research."

"Those things could be done and should be done. The people not only have a right to know what is going on at their universities, they have a right to expect the best from those responsible for it."