During Reagan’s tenure, it is evident that the Soviet Union and the communist and socialist ideology was the focus of his foreign policy, and although Reagan was viewed as aggressive and fearless towards to Soviets, he did have a softer side, and maintained bilateral relations and communications between the two nations. Reagan often did not have a stable relationship with the Soviet Union, there were times when the United States and the Soviet Union were close to war and there were times when both nations were able to reach agreements. Reagan was a critic of the Soviet Union, especially during his first term from 1981-1984. It was during his second term that he was able to relax the tensions and create a friendlier environment in negotiating …show more content…
with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev whom he shared a unique relationship with. During Reagan’s first term, the Soviet Union was weak having been suffering an economic stagnation, which made it easier for Reagan to attack and take a firm stance against the Soviets because the Soviets couldn’t not fight back with a stronger defense. The Soviet economic stagnation, which was known as the Stagnation Era began in 1964 when Leonid Brezhnev ascended to the role of the Secretary of the Central Secretary Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR (United Soviet Socialist Republics) which ultimately meant he was the leader of the Soviet Union.
The stagnation began in 1964 and continued on until 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the role as the leader of the Soviet Union and initiated reforms that improved the economy and ended the economic decline. During the earlier years of Reagan’s presidency, the Soviet Stagnation was at its lowest point with the economy having already been in negative growth and decline for almost two decades. One main issue with the stagnation was that Stalin and his socialist planned economy could not cope with changes in development and innovation which led to lower production as time went on for improved technologies such as electronics. On the contrary, the US economy fared much better than that of the Soviet economy at that time, and that allowed Reagan to further criticize the failed policies of communism and …show more content…
socialism. One of the landmark events of Reagan’s Presidency which depicted his views surrounding the Soviet Union was his rhetoric of labeling the Soviet Union as an “evil empire”, first said in 1983. Reagan addressed the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and further supported his rollback strategy which as Reagan said would “write the final pages of the history of the Soviet Union.” (Reagan, “Evil Empire” Speech. 1983) The tough, aggressive, and strong stance Reagan employed in his rhetoric caused outrage amongst Soviet leaders and further strained the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Reagan characterized a negative outlook on the Soviet Union which weakened the image of the Soviet Union showing the tense and unpredictable relationship the United States has with the Soviet Union during Reagan’s first term. One situation that characterized the Soviets in a negative and hostile manner was the downing of Korean Air Flight 007 on September 1, 1983. The flight which was from JFK Airport in New York to Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, South Korea with a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska was shot down by the Soviet Air Force. The Boeing 747 carrying 246 passengers and 23 crew, or 269 total including United States Congressman Larry McDonald from Georgia. The flight, after departing its stopover at Anchorage, flew off course into prohibited Soviet airspace where the Soviets misidentified it as an American reconnaissance spy plane and shot it down with an air to air laser guided missile over Moneron Island west of Sakhalin in the Sea of Japan. This incident provided Reagan with justification for his anti-Soviet rhetoric at a moment when American Soviet relations were especially
tense. In response to the downing of Korean Air Flight 007, on September 5, 1983 Reagan called the incident the “Korean airline massacre", a "crime against humanity [that] must never be forgotten" and an "act of barbarism... [and] inhuman brutality". This condemnation further demonstrated the aggression and disdain Reagan wanted Americans to view the Soviets with using language such as “inhuman” and “barbarism” to further motivate the emotions of Americans.
“The distinct differences in the political systems of the two countries often prevented them from reaching a mutual understanding on key policy issues and even, as in the case of the Cuban missile crisis, brought them to the brink of war” (Library of Congress). The Soviet Union and The United States were complete opposites, The United States was a democracy whereas The Soviet Union was a dictatorship. This only began their differences though, their economies, beliefs, goals, and even their fears, everything about them made them different except for their enemy. The
In the second term of Reagan’s presidency, a warming of bilateral relations between the Soviet Union and the United States was initiated which began in 1985 when Mikhail Gorbachev took power in the Soviet Union. Gorbachev and Reagan were able to work together because Gorbachev contrasted the policies of his predecessor Leonid Brezhnev. Although Brezhnev was not the immediate predecessor of Gorbachev, the Brezhnev Era was considered the Era preceding the Gorbachev Era because Brezhnev’s successors, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko only served from 1982, which was Brezhnev’s death to 1985 when Gorbachev assumed power. The three years between both Eras, Brezhnev’s policies were still being implemented and no significant reforms or changes
For the past century, the United States has been regarded as the greatest hegemonic power in the world. The U.S. played the most important role in the advancement of mankind from social, political, scientific, military, and economic standpoint. Unfortunately, today this is no longer true. Since the 1980’s the U.S. has been on a gradual decline. The introduction and implementation of trickle down economics, otherwise known as “Reaganomics,” has contributed greatly to the systemic dismantling of the socioeconomic structure that made America great.
The Soviets could clearly see that when Reagan. said he wanted a "margin of safety." He meant that the United States should be. superior to the Russians. Moscow would not let this happen. They wanted equality.5 Reagan also believed in military power and respect for America abroad.
In the years prior to the Reagan administration the United States experienced a suffering economy. For around 10 years stagflation had grown rampant. Stagflation is the combination of a stagnant economy due to rising unemployment coupled with increasing inflation. Before stagflation, the United States experienced a time of great prosperity from World War 2 until the 1960s. The reason for this prosperous time was based on the huge production of war materials created by World War 2. The United States sailed on the back of this industry until it died by the late 60s to early 70s (Source 1 // Shmoop Editorial Team). In 1960, the United States was officially in a recession, and by 1970 it had become much more serious. The industry from World War 2 had died, stagflation was on the rise, and the administrations of the time were not helping.
curb inflation. President Reagan was able to sign into law a tax cut in late
The Cold War, which started sometime in the 1940’s, was a large quarrel between the United States and the Soviet Union. This dispute involved a lot of propaganda and threats of nuclear warfare. Despite all of the trouble though, after over forty years of fighting, the two leaders of these countries (Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev) would finally work out a solution. However, although they did reach an agreement, there were many differences between these two men.
Consequently, an insurmountable crisis in agriculture and other light industry issues appeared, which caused a visible decline in the rate of growth and then its complete stagnation. Thus, the Soviet Union had a malformed economic system to curb the development of the Soviet Union, which at last led to the collapse of the nation. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power with a vision of reform, perestroika and glasnost, which means to restructure the economy. Gorbachev would like to privatize farms, make industries more efficient, and trim down imports.
The central focus of Reagan’s foreign policy was to combat, and ultimately dismantle, the bastion of Communism that was the Soviet Union (Cannon). He believed the détente policies of previous presidents,
The purpose of this investigation is to determine the role Ronald Reagan played in ending the Cold War. This topic is important because now that it is becoming accepted that Reagan had a goal in mind of ending communism when he became president, it is time to determine the way he accomplished the task of ending the Cold War. The research will focus primarily on deciding whether or not it was through exploiting Soviet vulnerabilities, negotiations, or a military build-up. In answering the inquiry question, the main sources that will be used will be a book and National Security Decision Directive 75 (NSDD 75). The book, a biography of Reagan written by Paul Kengor, titled The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, views Reagan’s technique in ending the Cold War as exploiting the vulnerabilities of the USSR and an arms race.
The 1980s was one of the crazies decades of the 20th century, From the booming music industry, to the Reagan Revolution. If you were to walk down a high-school hallway you would see a lot of kids with a big boom boxes on their shoulders. Scary movies were very popular with the younger age group. On a Friday night you’d usually see the teenagers having a sleepover watching scary and suspenseful movies. Living in the 80s had a lot of ups and downs. It was wild, but also laid back.
(1993), The Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations, Volume Four, America in the Age of Soviet Power, 1945 – 1991, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press · Froman, M.B. (1991) The Development of the Détente, Coming to Terms, London, Macmillan Academic and Professional LTD · Kent, J. and Young, J.W. (2004) International Relations Since 1945, Oxford, Oxford University Press · www.oed.com (Oxford English Dictionary online)
Reagan and Bush were forced to react to the historical, cultural, and political hurdles sent their way. Furthermore, they were all required to speak to the moment while maintaining the political and diplomatic balances requisite of the office of President of the United States. Although Reagan’s advocate points to his accomplishments, including stimulating economic growth in the US, strengthening its national defense, revitalizing the Republican Party, and ending the global Cold War as evidence of his good
Between 1985 and 1991, the youngest individual in decades to become head of the Soviet Communist Party dominated the history of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev launched a program of political and economic reform that dramatically affected domestic life and the place of his country in world affairs. The Soviet dictatorship was transformed into a multiparty state in which the Communist Party had to struggle to maintain a role. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union moved toward a free-market economy. With equal drama, the longstanding Cold War with the United States diminished and then turned into a cooperative relationship.
During the cold war the Soviet Union played a big part. When Stalin was still president and Stalin’s ‘legacy’ which were to remain Soviet Union an authoritarian, one-party state and economically it was focused on producing military hardware rather than housing, transport, food, consumers goods and health care. Mikhail Gorbachev reported to have said ‘We can’t go on living like this,’ on his behalf of being the youngest first university-educated General Secretary leader to the Politburo. Gorbachev was responsible for the collapse of the soviet system, because of Gorbachev introduction of two key ideas, Gorbachev and Reagan’s relationship during the cold war, and Gorbachev keeping the Soviet Union relations with the United States.