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President of the United States | |
| Predecessor | Jimmy Carter |
| Successor | Bob Dole |
| Vice President | Bob Dole |
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Senator from Connecticut | |
| Born | May 16 1931 Paris,France |
| Political Party | Republican |
Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr.(May 16 1931) is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States from 1981 to 1989. Known for his credit in starting what is now called "The 2k20 Peak",a period from the beginning of Weicker's presidency to 2000 that brought the United States a very large economy and grew at its fastest level in history at the time;the record has been broken by president Phil Scott in 2015.
A extremely popular president,Weicker helped the Republican Party maintain its status quo as the majority party in ruling and voter registration. When he left office,he had the highest approval rating of any president in modern history.
Early Life[]
If you want to see his early life before his run for president in 1980,see Wikipedia.
Running for President[]
1980:First Run for President[]
In 1979,Weicker decided to run as a nominee for the Republican Party,in hopes of becoming president. During the first primaries,Weicker wasn't doing very well as Ronald Reagan,his main opponent,won most primaries. However,4 days before the first Super Tuesday,racist remarks of Reagan surfaced on national television,and soon many of those who endorsed Reagan soon dropped their endorsement of him and switched to Weicker,who soon won the rest of the primaries,and,the nomination.
The 1980 Republican Convention,held in Albany,New York,a first for the Republican Party,nominated Lowell Weicker by a huge landslide,winning all but 1 vote. During the convention,Weicker choose Senator from Kansas Bob Dole as his running mate. The choice of his running mate drew praise from those who still supported Reagan who swung to support Weicker.
Meanwhile,the Democratic Party had nominated Ted Kennedy in an upset victory,beating incumbent president Jimmy Carter. With some Democrats angry that Kennedy was made the Democratic nominee,Weicker used this to attack Kennedy as a far left extremist. On election day,Weicker won in a landslide,beating Ted Kennedy by a solid margin.
First Term[]
After being elected in a landslide in 1980,Lowell Weicker and Bob Dole both resigned from the Senate on January 19,1981 to prepare themselves for the roles of being president and vice president. On 12 PM on January 20,1981,he was inaugurated along with Bob Dole as the 41st president of the United States.
Second Term and Second Run for President[]
With the economy booming,both Weicker and Dole ran for re-election in 1984,easily defeating former President Jimmy Carter. Although the Republican ticket lost ground in the South,they made up for by bringing back it's old Republican bases in the Union.
On January 20,1985,Weicker and Dole were sworn in for second terms,as with other presidents,they didn't run for a third term.
Presidency[]
When Weicker entered office,the United States was still suffering from the Crash of 74', a economic crash that hurt the American economy and led to Jimmy Carter being elected. However,Carter was voted out of office because he failed to successfully make the economy recover.
That changed with Lowell Weicker. With the help of his pro business policies,Weicker gave birth to what is now known as the 2k20 Peak(then known as Lowell's Peak). Under his pro economic growth policies,the economy recovered and would continue to grow until 1999,resulting in new jobs and economic opportunity.
Another huge thing Weicker is credited for is his successful infrastructure plans,in which he expanded certain amenities to low income and rural areas,such as television access,and by the time he left office in 1989,54% of Americans had a television. Also important was his ability to turn around Carter's idea of Expressway Americana into a success. During Carter's presidency,the idea was proposed to transport people and goods faster by building highways,however,very few highways were built and most that were built were in poor condition. Under Weicker's watch,the number of highways being built skyrocketed,first in the Northeast and Midwest,and the skyrocketing conutined into the 1990s with Bob Dole's expansion into Western and Southern states,though a number of highways were being built in both regions. The quality of the highways began to recover and soon reached excellent quality.
A huge crisis that developed during the Crash of 74' was the reliance of foreign energy. Weicker had successfully expanded the United States into its own domestic energy production via various methods,including nuclear power,which was praised by both the Republican and Democratic parties.
Weicker also reformed the tax code,introducing a flat tax on income. While this has been criticized by the Democratic Party,a majority of voters supported this.
A more contersival aspect of his presidency is Weicker's overhauling of the immigration system. Weicker had increased the number of immigrants that were allowed to move to the United States.
Weicker is known for many other things,but these are considered to be his most important by historians.