1980 was a strange time of the United States of America. The previous 10 years included the installment of the 26th amendment, Anti War protests and women’s liberation; the Watergate scandal, NASA stopped sending man to the moon and the death of Elvis Presley. America had its 200th birthday, there was a gas crisis, and you could now play a game call “Pong” right in your very living room. In a country with such a rich and storied tradition of being the best, this time period might have been one of the lowest times in our history, especially with the Cold War going on. We did not have that faith in our government that we always had had. That was, until a group of scrappy college kids and a no-nonsense coach, made us all believe.
As the Cold War was going on, our country was losing its faith. In a excerpt from Jimmy Carter’s Crisis of Confidence speech, I think he pretty much sums of the feelings of the country and what we needed to do…
“We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own.
Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it…But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past…For the first time in
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the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years…We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking…The strength we need will not come from the White House, but from every house in America.” (Carter)
During the Cold War, the Unit...
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...ch save after clutch save. Jimmy made 39 saves in all. Were the Russians usually win games, as I stated earlier, is in the 3rd period when your wore down and they take advantage of you, but not this game. Under Herb Brooks, the Americans were the best conditioned team in the world. And as time expired, everyone know the famous line Al Michaels screams in excitement: “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” Every time I hear that, I just get the goose bumps. It is a line that will always be remembered. The Soviets couldn’t believe it. They just lost to a bunch of 21 year olds.
Two days later the Americans finished the job, defeating Finland for the Gold medal. In every single game, the United States came from behind to win. That game against the USSR gave America hope again. If a bunch of college kids could over come all the odds, why wouldn’t the rest of the country?
With the 1960s and 1970s, came a growing need for change among the American people. A previously dominant liberal government was not taking a hard enough stance on the fight to end communism. All it took, was a final nudge to shift the vote from democratic to republican.
In an article written by ESPN, it explains how the U.S. team is made up of all college students. This miracle game is amazing because of the fact that all of the U.S. team was college players. While the USSR was a tea...
In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, taking over the country from President Carter. Many issues existed when Reagan took office, during his presidency more would follow and continue into the George H. W. Bush presidency. Marc Cornman who was a young family man during both of these administrations recalls the problems and benefits of the mid to late 1980’s. His family was low-income building their way up to middle class by the Clinton Administration, moving from state to state hoping to find better employment after leaving the military. The main aspects of the economy, social issues and global conflicts during President Reagan’s 1980-88 and President Bush’s first two years of his administration and the positive and negative effects they had.
In 1980, it seemed like the United States was not as dominant in the world as it had been before. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began after World War II. The two nations had joined forces as members of the Allies, but tensions arose after the war. The Americans were very worried about the spread of Soviet communism, and tried to prevent it with a policy of containment, where the United States would protect countries from outside oppression. The Cold War also expanded to include the race between the Soviets and Americans to create atomic weapons. Furthermore, there was a race between the two countries to put the first man in space, which was accomplished by the United States in 1961 (“Cold War History”). The Cold War was a standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union to try to prove their dominance in the world. Each country wanted to have more power and diminish the power of the other. At home, Americans were paranoid with the thought of Soviet spies and communists hiding amongst them, dubbed the “Red Scare.” President Richard Nixon and the Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic A...
President Jimmy Carter assumed the role as Commander-in-Chief with very little experience in foreign policy, hence why the few diplomatic achievements and foreign affairs he orchestrated were overlooked due to being too regionalized and or utterly ineffective. Carter was a sensational humanitarian, with the emphasis of his foreign policy on human rights, but it was also his kryptonite to being an effective leader. His policy efforts to achieve peace took decades to see results, and moreover ironically produced greater global instability and never established peace. Carter’s international campaign to bring awareness towards human rights and the negative impacts of communism on the people lives failed because “By the time Carter became
Miracle is a 2004 American sports movie based on real events about the United States national men’s hockey team, which are led by the Coach Herb Brooks portrayed by Kurt Russell. The United States team is formed by players of college hockey, and they are huge underdogs going into the run for the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. They are against the Soviets who are considered the best team in the world having won consecutively the gold medal for the last four editions of the Winter Olympics. Plus, the Games are set during the Cold War; which makes their confrontation even more important. The movie starts when Herb gets interviewed by the United States Olympic Committee, and after some uncertainty he gets the job. He watches the players
When Eruzione scored winning goal, a scene of intense happiness broke out everywhere in the country. There were 10 minutes left, but the Soviets weren't able to score a goal; they had several chances to tie the game, but the USA grew stronger and more confident as time went on. A miracle had just occurred, one which will probably not happen for a very long time.
Ronald Reagan came to the Presidency without any major political qualifications, but his victory in the Cold War was no lucky outcome. Dinesh D'Souza’s new book, Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader, just published by the Free Press, looks at how Reagan helped end the Cold War. Ten years ago Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate and said, “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and East...
Reagan’s ethos was created throughout his two terms but solidified in his second and final one. Reagan presents his ethos throughout his rhetoric by stating facts with authority and also in a way that made him credible to the audience. One of the parts in his speech is headlined with a cold and awakening fact directed at the Soviet Union. In a 1956 speech given by Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev, the statement “We will bury you,” was aimed at Western ambassadors who stood for freedom. In Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate, he specifically calls out the previously stated notion that the Soviets would essentially, “bury the free world.” Reagan profoundly proclaims this: “In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: "We will bury you." But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind--too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.” The great appeal this presented to the
American policy was a mess from 1946 through 1950. The Cold War had begun, and there was a lot of conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. American forces were small however, and the defense budget was too small to meet the Soviet threat. American decision makers didn’t think the Soviets were necessarily seeking a war, but almost no one thought the peace would last. There was an overall gloomy outlook, however the Soviets were counting on several years of peace. Even though the Soviets were not actively seeking conflict, they were still using political means to achieve their goals. No one knew how a war might start and there was fear of miscalculation:
In our personal lives we consider our past forgotten, however in our history everyone affects how they see themselves. "history repeats itself " is gradually long time we know manipulated and deceived us the wrong information, books, learning in school, the "biased" report before the newspaper, radio and television. Let us move on and we just solemn pray for that will prosper in our country. I noticed that there have been distortions in our history. It’s sad because it seems like we have forgotten the sacrifices of those who died during the time of dictatorship. This tragedy cannot continue. We should stand up for someone’s rights today. Times have changed. More sooner than later, they will take power into their hands by all and whatever
What does this nation’s people remember most about the Cold War? Is it the fear, terror, and the absolute uncertainty of not knowing if tomorrow you might not wake up or worse, wake up to all out nuclear hell? “The most terrifying moment in my life was October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I did not know all the facts - we have learned only recently how close we were to war - but I knew enough to make me tremble”-Joseph Rotblat. During those October days of 1962, John F. Kennedy and the United States braced for a nuclear attack that nobody was sure was coming. On the other side Nikita Khrushchev was hungry for power after being dominated by the U.S. for years during the long years of the Cold War. Khrushchev wanted to have the nuclear upper hand in the western hemisphere. With the help of Fidel Castro, Khrushchev could put nuclear weapons in Cuba.
The alliance that had formed between two super powers, U.S and USSR during World War II was not strong enough to overcome the past decades of suspicion and unease between the two nations. Unwilling to compromise because of paranoia about their postwar national security created high tension atmosphere in U.S- Soviet Union’s relationship. This unstable partnership finally cracked due to the defeat of Nazi German: An unnatural alliance that was bound to fall apart after the defeat of the common enemy can be considered the origin of the Cold War.The Cold War had an enormous impact on the United States politically, socially, and economically including Red hunts, unconditionally fear of Communism and McCarthyism in the period 1940s-1950s, also shaped U.S.’s political agendas. This war ended as the reform programs introduced by Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, which unexpectedly led to the collapse of Soviet Union. The...
Let me ask you a question, do you believe in miracles? Or, more appropriately, do you consider, that in today’s scientific era, it is illogical to relate a fact out of common sense, to one that would establish a witness for the intervention of a supernatural being? Here’s a moment to think a about it. Let me guess, you’re sitting there trying to make up your mind. Don’t worry; you’re not the first person that does not believe in miracles. In the past, some two centuries ago, Scottish philosopher David Hume did not believe either. And probably you have good reason not to either. But, let’s not diverse.
"C'mon, Chris, you get in the shower first," Taylor ordered from the other bed. "You're already up." Chris conceded and worked his way to the shower. Everyone in the room knew it too, due to his grunting and whining under his breath. Soon enough he was out of the shower and so were Taylor, Anders, and I. We ate breakfast with the rest of the team downstairs in the hotel in silence. It was too early to talk or chat. Everyone knew that one thing was going to be on their minds: winning. It was not worth discussing, either. Everyone knew that our varsity eight was possibly the strongest that McCallie had ever had, and that we had a good chance of winning some gold medals that day, if not a great chance. We loaded on the bus like ants, noiselessly flowing into one little opening. The bus ride was silent all of the way over as well. Everyone's heads, looking intently forward, were slightly jostling along with the bumps in the road. Some tried to sleep, but the tension and excitement was too much for most of them to be successful.