President Reagan’s Motto for the 2nd Term: “We’ll take our case to the people.”

Acquired from the descendants of the recipient and never before offered for sale

Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration took place on January 20, 1985. Douglas Morrow was a Hollywood screenwriter and film producer. He earned an Academy Award for his script for 1949’s The Stratton Story, a biography of baseball player Monty Stratton, who was disabled in a hunting accident. Reagan played the lead role in the film, and the men stayed close. Morrow’s other films included Jim Thorpe – All-American and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. He also wrote for a number of television series.

In this letter to his friend, Reagan shows the cheerful fight that characterized his politics. He also shows his distrust of the Democrats and his implicit distrust of the media. He demonstrates a desire to speak directly to the people, a virtual motto for his upcoming term.

Typed letter signed, The White House, January 7, 1985. “Dear Doug: This won’t keep you off the slopes too long. Just want to report that Bud and Coon have had a good meeting and it looks like something has worked out for early spring. In the meantime, the Ambassador will continue his work in academia.

You are right about the coming four years. The Democrats show signs of marshalling their forces to resist our efforts. So we’ll take our case to the people. Thank you for your kind words, I’ll try to deserve them. Love to Margot.”

Carleton Stevens Coon and his wife were simultaneously Ambassadors of different Asian countries and there was discussion around this time as to what role they would play in the 2nd administration.