Beschreibung:

Original drawings, pencil on paper, signed (“Ronald Reagan”) in green ink, 1 p, 4to, [Los Angeles], November 18, 1968, on lined notepaper, being doodles of a book, papers, candle, coffee cup, glasses, diploma, swords, a torch, and a mace, additionally inscribed at upper margin by Arnold E. Nielsen, page irregularly toned, creased horizontally and vertically, ¼ inch cuts at left margin. Ronald Reagan launched his political career in 1966 by trumpeting law and order and opposing student radicalism. After his election as Governor, Reagan was faced with student protests and riots at several California campuses, including a 4 ½ month strike at San Francisco State College beginning on November 6, 1968. On November 18, Reagan called a special meeting with the board of trustees of San Francisco State College and demanded that the school be reopened. The Trustees passed on the command to the President of the college, but the strike did not end until March of the next year. Annotations at the top margin of this sheet by Reagan aide Arnold E. Nielsen identify these sketches as “Doodles by Governor Reagan during Spl Trustees meeting re: Reopening San Francisco State College 11-18-68.” Intriguingly, Reagan sketches familiar symbols of higher education: a book, pages of paper, a diploma, a cup of coffee. At the bottom of the page, he adds totems of conflict, including a burning torch, two sabers, and the medieval armor-crushing weapon, the mace. See illustration.