Winning the Cold War Ronald Reagan politics Mikaela Montroy
The Evil Empire Addressed on March 8, 1983 One of Reagan s most famous presidential speeches The speech emphasized the religious and moral basis of a number of policy initiatives Initiatives included: Abortion Legislation Discrimination against the handicapped Prayer in public schools Foreign Policy Nixon announced the invasion of Cambodia Received a negative reaction The speech is remembered as an attack upon the Soviet Union
The Evil Empire In Reagan's view explained why the U.S. had been locked in a cold war with the U.S.S.R since the end of WWII The speech was about morals
Strategic Defense Initiative- Star Wars Initiated on March 23, 1983 under President Reagan Objective- To develop a sophisticated anti- ballistic missile system in order to prevent missile attacks from other countries (U.S.S.R.) U.S. response to possible nuclear attacks Ultimately set aside
Strategic Defense Initiative- Star Wars Nicknamed Star Wars because it connected the public to associate the program with new technologies The weapons required included space (under a central control of a supercomputer system) ground-based nuclear X-ray lasers, subatomic particle beams computer-guided projectiles fired by electromagnetic rail guns
Strategic Defense Initiative- Star Wars Focused on land based kinetic energy weapons At the end of the Strategic Defense Initiative, there had been a total of 30 Billion dollars invested into the program The program was abandoned a few years later Due to: Political pressure (domestic and international) budgetary conflicts
Gorbachev President of the Soviet Union from March 15, 1990- December 1991 Chairman of the Supreme Soviet from May 25, 1989- March 1990 General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Negotiations with Gorbachev When Gorbachev became General Secretary, the Soviet economy was faced with a sharp fall in foreign currency resulting in a downward slide in oil prices. June 1987- Gorbachev announced an agenda of economic reform; perestroika A political movement to reform the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Allowed private ownership of businesses and paved the way for foreign investment
Negotiations with Gorbachev Glasnost was introduced by Gorbachev Increased freedom of the press and the transparency of state institutions Intended to reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party and moderate the anuse of power in the Central Committee Increased contact between Soviet citizens and the western world
Negotiations with Gorbachev Reagan agrees to renew talks on economic issues The first- November 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland. Agreed in principle to reduce each country s nuclear arsenal in half The second- Iceland. Gorbachev wanted the Strategic Defense Initiative eliminated. Reagan refused resulting in the negotiations failing The third- 1987 led to a breakthrough with the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)
Negotiations with Gorbachev Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) Eliminated all nuclear-armed ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges 500 and,, 5,500 kilometers
Impact of Eastern European Independence Movements 1989- Soviet alliance system was on the brink of collapse Poland's Solidarity movement Polish trade union Gained ground with popular strong ground bases 1989- Communist governments in Poland and Hungary were the first to negotiate the organizing of competative elections
Impact of Eastern European Independence Movements Mass protests unseated entrenched Communist leaders in Czechoslovakia and East Germany In Bulgaria and Romania, Communist regimes crumbled as well Tidal wave of change with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of 1989 Symbolized the collapse of European Communist governments and ended the Iron Curtain divide of Europe
Impact of Eastern European Independence Movements 1989 revolutionary wave- swept across Central and Eastern Europe and overthrew all Soviet-style communist states
Reagan agrees to renew talks on economic issues The first- November 1985 in Geneva, Switzerland. Agreed in principle to reduce each country s nuclear arsenal in half The second- Iceland. Gorbachev wanted the Strategic Defense Initiative eliminated. Reagan refused resulting in the negotiations failing
The End of the Cold War The fall of the Berlin Wall. The shredding of the Iron Curtain. The end of the Cold War. December 3, 1989- Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush declared the Cold War over at the Malta Summit One year later- Two formal rivals were partners in the Gulf War against Iraq
Work Cited http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/02/reagan s- evil-empire -speech/ http://www.milestonedocuments.com/documents/view/ronald-reagans-evil-empire-speech http://www.coldwar.org/articles/80s/sdi-starwars.asp http://www.ushistory.org/us/59e.asp The Diplomacy