Winning the Cold War Ronald Reagan Policies
BEFORE President Reagan
Policy of Detente Policy set to decrease tensions from Soviet Union and the US
Policy of Detente Nixon recognized that BOTH the Soviet Union and US could benefit from an increase of trade and the reduction of nuclear warfare
Policy of Detente Back home in the US, Nixon was under fire for: Social Change Racial Equality End to the Vietnam War
Policy of Detente May 1972 Nixon took a trip to Moscow to visit Brezhnev (Soviet communist party leader) Together, they signed seven agreements covering the prevention of *accidental military clashes
Election of Ronald Reagan Viewed Detente as a one way street for Soviet Union to get what they wanted Thought the Soviets viewed America as weak with the Policy of Detente Needless to say Reagan eliminated Detente
Reagan wanted the Soviet Union to fear the US He accomplished this by increasing how much the US spent on military expenditures
Soviet Economy Reagan knew the Soviet s government-controlled economy could not compete with America's Free-Enterprise Economy
Along with an increase in Military Defense Spending Reagan used a psychological approach
After the increase in the US s defense spending, Brezhnev declared a freeze in nuclear development This caught the attention of many leftists and religious groups in the US The idea was, weapons, rather than people are the villains of the Cold War
Reagan needed to keep the American people under his beliefs to avoid conflict within the US
Concept originating from a speech Reagan gives to the National Association of Evangelicals Reagan addresses the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire
Addressing the Soviet Union as Evil created a purposeful hatred against the Soviet Union It sent a clear signal that America was prepared to defeat the Soviet Union entirely
OPCVL Evil Empire Speech Origin- Speech to the National Association of Evangelicals, 1983 Purpose- Remind the United States that the Soviet Union is the common enemy Well, because these quiet men do not raise their voices, because they sometimes speak in soothing tones of brotherhood and peace, because, like other dictators before them, they re always making their final territorial demand,
OPCVL Evil Empire Speech Value- Kept the US from crumbling within from realizing the strategy used within the speech to keep America strong and free, while we negotiate real and verifiable reductions in the world s nuclear arsenals and one day, with God s help, their total elimination. Limitation- The speech was used as manipulation to convince the US to believe in one sole idea So, in your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride the temptation of blithely..uh..declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil.
The shield over the US and West Germany
What? Anti-Ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attack from other countries
https://youtu.be/4hglba65tzg
Gorbachev wanted to eliminate military for the Soviet Union to rebuild the Soviet economy By eliminating the Soviet military, the war would be over and he needed to end the STAR wars policy General Secretary of Communist Party
October 11, 1986 *Both leaders went into the meeting expecting to get what they wanted Reagan didn t give up on STAR Wars and they both left angry
End of the War Gorbachev realized the economy was destroyed inside out *He took time to work on the economy and gave up on the war
Gorbachev implemented: Policy of more consultative government Glasnost- Perestroika- Policy of restructuring the economy
Eastern European Independence Movements 1970 s: Eastern Bloc Countries (East Germany, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, Romania) were under control of the Soviet Union 1980 s: Deep into the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc Countries realize the Soviet Union is weak due to America *Independence movements start in Poland and work their way around
Independence movement in Poland Mid 80 s-gorbachev had no interest in stopping the movements
Berlin wall comes down in 1989
Bibliography https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/detente http://reagan.civiced.org/lessons/middle-school/presidential-leadership-cold-war http://historyhalf.com/winning-the-cold-war-the-evil-empire-speech/ http://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/reagan-evil-empire-speech-text/ http://www.coldwar.org/articles/80s/sdi-starwars.asp https://www.brookings.edu/articles/reagan-and-gorbachev-shutting-the-cold-war-down/