Ronald Reagan’s War against the Evil Empire  

Foreign policy, President Reagan sought to assert American power in the world. He denounced the
Soviet Union as an “evil empire,” and authorized the largest military buildup in US history

Cold War Iconography - The Americans

 

 

Reagan Reset 

 

George W. Bush 2004 Campaign Ad

 

 

“I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose last pages even now are being written.

I believe this because the source of our strength in the quest for human freedom is not material, but spiritual. And because it knows no limitation, it must terrify and ultimately triumph over those who would enslave their fellow man.”

 

Ronald Reagan's Evil Empire Speech - March 8, 1983

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

 

The build up included new bombers and missiles, as well as the development of a space-based Strategic Defense Initiative (nicknamed "Star Wars") to shoot down Soviet missiles before they reached the United States. He also deployed medium-range nuclear missiles in five NATO countries in late 1983 to counter a Soviet missile build-up.

 

"I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace; to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.... We seek neither military superiority nor political advantage. Our only purpose—one all people share—is to search for ways to reduce the danger of nuclear war."

 

President Ronald Reagan, March 23, 1983

 

 

 

 

'Star Wars' First Phase Cost Put at $170 Billion : System Would Intercept Only 16% of

Soviet Missiles, Report of 3 Senate Democrats Says

 

 

 

But was the technology even feasible? In the 2000 book Way Out There in the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold War, Frances Fitzgerald writes that “a perfect anti ballistic missile defense was beyond the reach of technology. It was just a story, and yet to trust the polls, the idea had great popular appeal in the mid-’80s, and many Americans believed such a thing could be built. In that sense the Strategic Defense Initiative was Reagan’s greatest triumph as an actor-storyteller 

 

 

The Cold War thaws

 

The rise of Mikhail Gorbachev to Soviet leadership in March 1985, along with the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (Soviet economic and political restructuring) he introduced, led to warmer relations between the two superpowers

 

Reagan and Gorbachev held four summit meetings during Reagan’s second term, and agreed to the first-ever nuclear arms reduction treaty. They also began negotiations that led to the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) in the 1990s, which reduced the two nations’ nuclear arsenals by 50 percent. 

 

 

 

This article was written by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev following the death of former President Ronald Reagan on June 5, 2004. 

Source: Mikhail Gorbachev, “A President Who Listened,” New York Times, June 7, 2004

 

 

 … Ronald Reagan’s first term as president had been dedicated to restoring America’s self-confidence. He appealed to the traditions and optimism of the people, to the American dream, and he regarded as his main task strengthening the economy and the military might of the United States. This was accompanied by confrontational rhetoric toward the Soviet Union, and more than rhetoric—by a number of actions that caused concern both in our country and among many people throughout the world. It seemed that the most important thing about Reagan was his anti-Communism and his reputation as a hawk who saw the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.”

 

Yet his second term as president emphasized a different set of goals. I think he understood that it is the peacemakers, above all, who earn a place in history. This was consistent with his convictions based on experience, intuition and love of life. In this he was supported by Nancy— his wife and friend, whose role will, I am sure, be duly appreciated.…

 

In the final outcome, our insistence on dialogue proved fully justified. At a White House ceremony in 1987, we signed the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty, which launched the process of real arms reduction. And, even though we saw the road to a world free of nuclear weapons differently, the very fact of setting this goal in 1986 in Reykjavik [Iceland] helped to break the momentum of the arms race.…

 

 

 

The Cold War through Music - Leningrad 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cold War in Berlin 1945 to 1989

 

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” (1989) 

President Ronald Reagan’s 1987 exhortation to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall was a visceral response to a monstrosity. In the mid-1980s, through glasnost—openness and freedom— and perestroika—economic restructuring—Gorbachev had demonstrated willingness to loosen government strangleholds in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, including East Germany. While his openness was praised in the West, he met resistance from East German leader Erich Honecker and his regime. The incipient freedoms Gorbachev encouraged in Eastern Europe and Germany led to an unforeseen outcome on November 9, 1989 when the Wall fell.

 

 

Start at 28:00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cold War through Music - Lenningrad 

 

 

The Cold War through Music - Leningrad