Reagan's Rhetoric: Crumbling Communism with Words

Ronald Reagan: The Speeches that Shattered Communism “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! (History Place)” On June 12, 1987, US President Ronald Reagan shocked the world with his speech at the Brandenburg Gate in East Berlin. In his speech, Reagan called for the removal of the Berlin Wall, which served as a constant reminder of the oppression of Communism in Germany. However, Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg Gate was not his first open stand against the oppression of Communism. One of the highlights of Reagan’s presidency was his approach to Communism:

In fact, the only threat that Reagan mentioned in his speech was the threat of the economy in the United States (Inaugural Address). However, Reagan made it known early in his first term of office that he would not stand down and let Communism take over the modern world. On March 8, 1983, President Reagan gave one of his most powerful, but also one of his lesser known speeches against Communism to the National Association of Evangelicals. This speech later came to be known as the Evil Empire Speech. However, the main focus of the speech is not on the threat of Communism, but rather on the moral plight of abortion and the institution of recent child legislation. While Reagan talks about the morality of performing abortions, he then switches to the morality of the Soviet leaders, on which he says “. . . the Soviet leaders have openly and publicly declared that the only morality they recognize is that which will further their cause, which is world revolution (Voices of Democracy).” Here, Reagan calls out the Soviet leaders for misusing their morals to justify the revolutions going on throughout the world; revolutions that call for Communist reforms