The Reagan Years: 1981-1989

Jan. 20, 1981:  Ronald Reagan is sworn in as 40th president of the United States. (AP)

Jan. 20, 1981:  Ronald Reagan gives his first inaugural address, in which he spoke about the country's economic crisis. "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem," President Reagan said. Click <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/17/transcript-president-reagans-inaugural/"><b>here</b></a> for a transcript of the speech. Also during the inauguration speech, 52 Americans held hostage in Iran for 444 days were set free. (AP)

Jan. 23, 1981: President Reagan gets a haircut from Milton Pitts in the West Wing Barber Shop. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Jan. 26: 1981: President Reagan eats lunch at his desk in the oval office. (Reagan Presidential Library)

March 6, 1981: President Reagan walks along the White House colonnade. (Reagan Presidential Library)

March 30, 1981: John Hinckley Jr. shot President Reagan and three others are wounded, including press secretary James Brady (Reuters)

March 30, 1981: The bullet pierced Reagan's left lung, and he was rushed to George Washington University Hospital for emergency surgery. Brady ended up paralyzed. Hinckley remains in a mental institution after being found not guilty by reason of insanity. (Reuters)

July 29, 1981: President Reagan holds up one of his "doodles" to the press in the oval office. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Oct. 8, 1981: President Reagan awaits the meeting with former Presidents at the White House ground floor corridor. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Jan. 26, 1982: President Reagan makes a point during the first State of the Union speech of his presidency before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. After Republican setbacks in the 1982 House elections, Reagan went to Congress with a message that echoes now: "The problems we inherited were far worse than ... expected; the recession was deeper ... than predicted." (AP)

Feb. 5, 1982: President Reagan blows out candles on his birthday cake in the Oval Office. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Feb. 8, 1982: President Reagan speaks at a rally for Sen. Durenberger in Minneapolis, Minn. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Sept. 29, 1982: President Reagan laughs with William Wilson, Walter Annenberg, William French Smith, and Charles Wick during a private dinner in the Yellow Oval Room. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Oct. 11: 1982: President Reagan at a rally for Texas Republican Candidates in Irving, Texas. (Reagan Presidential Library)

March 23, 1983: President Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative, commonly referred to as Star Wars. The plan was to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the U.S. from attack by strategic nuclear missiles. (AP)

May 30, 1984: President Reagan salutes an Air Force cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy Commencement in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Nov. 1, 1985: President Reagan aboard the helicopter with his dog "Lucky" on his lap.  (National Archives)

Nov. 19, 1985: President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev greet each other in Switzerland. It was the first meeting between U.S. and U.S.S.R. heads of state in six years. (AP)

Nov. 19, 1985: President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev begin talks in Switzerland. The two talked about reducing nuclear arsenals in their respective countries. (AP)

Nov. 19, 1985: President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev begin talks in Switzerland. The two talked about reducing nuclear arsenals in their respective countries. (Reuters)

Aug. 29, 1986: President Reagan throws paper airplane off the balcony at Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, Calif. (Reagan Presidential Library)

June 12, 1987: President Reagan acknowledges the crowd after his speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, where he said "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" (AP)

Dec. 8, 1987: President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty at the White House.

Dec. 8, 1987: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is with President Reagan at the White House to sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. (Reuters)

July 13, 1988: President Reagan working at his desk in the oval office. (Reagan Presidential Library)

Jan. 20, 1989: President Reagan salutes as he boards the helicopter at the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., on his last day as president. (Reagan Presidential Library)