In the minds of many Americans Ronald Reagan is the president that ended the Cold War, but is this view accurate? They claim Reagan's unprecedented military spending forced the Soviets to crumble. However, many critics of the president's outspending theory claim that the Russian economy would have imploded without such spending, and a military buildup of that kind did nothing but delay peace. Although, Reagan's willingness to negotiate was a clear factor in ending the Cold War, his aggressive arms race may have done more to forestall peace than abet it. The ascendance of Mikhail Gorbachev to power, the stagnating economy of Russia, and the personal friendship forged between Gorbachev and Reagan were the clear factors that contributed to the war's end.
Upon taking office in 1981, Ronald Reagan began to implement a simple strategy to win the war against the Soviets: he would outspend them in an arms race and force them to the negotiating table. Over the course of this erratic arms build-up the president spent a total of $2 trillion on the military alone. The most notorious of these programs was the Strategic Defense Initiative; also know as Star Wars, in which the president authorized billions to be spent to research a program that could defend America against a possible nuclear attack by blowing in an incoming nuke out of the sky. A vast majority of the scientific community thought such a program to be absurd and implausible, but Reagan pushed on. His belligerence in this arms race only provoked the Kremlin, and increased tensions. This massive military funding only led Russia to assume that the United States was planning to attack, and undercut efforts of peace. Also, in order to maintain such large military growth hundreds of ...
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...isputes, but Reagan refused to concede the right of the United States to intervene militarily if it deemed necessary. Despite this disagreement, Gorbachev and Reagan reached many agreements on issues regarding disarmament and sent a message to the world that the two biggest conflicting powers had ended their near-40 year dispute.
Although at the outset of his presidency, Reagan sought to resolve the Cold War primarily through the use of money, it was mouth that got the job done. The policy of containment had successfully stifled the Soviet empire and provided an opportune time for Reagan to end the war, and Gorbachev's willingness to comply provided him with the means to do so. Ultimately it was their special relationship, the inevitable implosion of the Russian economy, and President Reagan's fearlessness in demanding progress that brought and end to the Cold War.
As we move into the reelection year, the authors accuse Nancy of ensuring that Reagan hasn’t campaigned for eight months, following a “Rose Garden strategy.” But Reagan has no credible opponent for the 1984 nomination, and Walter Mondale, who will be his Democratic opponent in the general election, has not yet been nominated. So there is no need for a strategy, Rose Garden or otherwise. Of course we get the full chapter and verse on Reagan’s poor performance in his first debate with Mondale; at least we also get the report on the second debate. From there the narrative jumps to the Iran-Contra affair. A few high points — like the Berlin Wall speech in 1987 — are indeed included, but without any perspective on Reagan’s strategy, perseverance with the Soviets on arms control, or success in revitalizing the U.S. economy. Nothing is said about Reagan’s four second-term summits with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Except for a few comments that Reagan deplored Communism, this is a policy-free book, and a book
Eisenhower’s foreign policy was about containment and trying to discourage other countries from joining it by giving them financial and military aid. When he realized that containment itself was not enough to stop the Soviet expansion, he adopted a policy which he called massive retaliation whereby the U.S. was prepared to use atomic weapons if they were to be attacked. He tried diplomacy to develop relation with the Soviets even agreeing to join other leaders in Geneva Switzerland with the intention to calm the temperatures between the two nations. When diplomacy didn’t work, he signed a bill that allowed countries to request economic and military help from the U.S. if they are being attacked by a communist nation. Cold War did not end until after Ronald Reagan’s time as president when he challenged the leader of the Soviet to take down the Berlin wall which was the most recognizable symbol of the Cold War. At this time, the Soviet Union was disintegrating and its influence in Eastern Europe was waning fast bringing the war to an
During the Cold War, the United States engaged in many aggressive policies both at home and abroad, in which to fight communism and the spread of communist ideas. Faced with a new challenge and new global responsibilities, the U.S. needed to retain what it had fought so strongly for in World War II. It needed to contain the communist ideas pouring from the Soviet Union while preventing communist influence at home, without triggering World War III. With the policies of containment, McCarthyism, and brinkmanship, the United States hoped to effectively stop the spread of communism and their newest threat, the Soviet Union. After the war, the United States and the Soviet Union had very different ideas on how to rebuild.
The major factor that led to the true end of the Cold War was the ongoing personal and diplomatic relationship between Presidents George H. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev. This resulted in the reduction of the Russian military and favorable arms agreements. Key indicators of the substance behind this relationship were the Soviet troop withdrawals from Czechoslovakia, Afghanistan, and Hungary (lifting the Hungarian/Austrian “Iron Curtain” along the border). Subsequently the opening of the Berl...
Reagan rose into power after years of turmoil and the American pride was dipping. About a decade before he became president, the war in Viet-Nam was winding down and the troops were returning home to negative demonstrations towards their duty. Then, during the Carter years, America transitioned into a détente policy, which meant that the United States would try to ease the tensions with the Soviet Union by not expanding the military, but not doing anything to acting ease the tension. The idea behind this became known as MAD, mutually assured destruction, (Hannaford) which meant that both the United States and Soviet Union would maintain and even number of nuclear weapons so that if one would fire, the other would be able to fire back equally. Reagan completely disagreed with this philosophy and created a whole new policy when he became president. The foreign policy he established was to create the Reagan Doctrine. According to a speech by Peter Hannaford, the Reagan Doctrine was that America would support democratic movements in any Communist country until that country could enjoy the fruits of freedom (Hannaford). This meant that the United States would help any country who wanted to leave the influence of the Soviet Union and create their own democracy. Also, to counter the Soviet Union and end the Cold War, a race between the United State and Soviet Union to create the best technology and become the world powerhouse, Reagan increased military spending. Ronald Reagan knew that the Soviet Union was unable to keep up the United States in military spending and still having enough funds to fund their own economy to keep it stable. Reagan used this knowledge to convince Congress to increase military budget to build up technology, causing the Soviets decide on what to do. The United States had the funds to continue, but the Soviet Union could not keep up. The breaking point
ending of the cold war. It has been said that President Ronald Reagan ended the
The Soviet Union began to view the United States as a threat to communism, and the United States began to view the Soviet Union as a threat to democracy. On March 12, 1947, Truman gave a speech in which he argued that the United States should support nations trying to resist Soviet imperialism. Truman and his advisors created a foreign policy that consisted of giving reconstruction aid to Europe, and preventing Russian expansionism. These foreign policy decisions, as well as his involvement in the usage of the atomic bomb, raise the question of whether or not the Cold War can be blamed on Truman. Supporting the view that Truman was responsible for the Cold War, Arnold Offner argues that Truman’s parochialism and nationalism caused him to make contrary foreign policy decisions without regard to other nations, which caused the intense standoff between the Soviet Union and America that became the Cold War (Offner 291)....
Just when you think the war is over, and there will be peace between countries, the aftermath of the war begins. The Cold War began after World War II in Europe. The conflict between the United States and their allies (capitalist) and the Soviet Union and their allies (communist). The Cold War was political and military tension that remained even after the war was over. The power struggle between capitalism and communism was fierce with each trying influence other countries. Fearing communist invasion, the United States felt the need to keep communism under control and within limits. The United States began their battle for containment. There are three prime examples of how the United
eagan recognized the change in the direction of the Soviet leadership with Mikhail Gorbachev, and shifted to diplomacy, with a view to encourage the Soviet leader to pursue substantial arms agreements. {Reagan's personal mission was to achieve "a world free of nuclear weapons," which he regarded as "totally irrational, totally inhumane, good for nothing but killing, possibly destructive of life on earth and civilization.” He was able to start discussions on nuclear disarmament with General Secretary Gorbachev. Gorbachev and Reagan held four summit conferences between 1985 and 1988: the first in Geneva, Switzerland, the second in Reykjavík, Iceland, the third in Washington, D.C., and the fourth in Moscow.} (End of the Cold War) Reagan believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to allow for more democracy and free speech, this would lead to reform and the end of Communism. Speaking at the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev to go further, saying "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!"
In June 1987, 40th president Ronald Reagan gave a speech at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany. Reagan’s intent of this speech was to convince Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, as it divided Eastern and Western Germany since the ending of World War II. In his speech, Reagan elucidates how he felt about Communism, the Cold War, changes taken place in Europe at the time and America’s role during 1987.
The significance of the Moscow summit was bolstered by the fact that it went ahead despite the Communist spring offensive (which was partly carried out to disrupt or even force the cancellat... ... middle of paper ... ... y détente left at all by 1979 stalled following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, were suspended. The ‘Carter Doctrine’ which followed showed the U.S. reverting back to a confrontational stance in the Cold War and in effect, with both sides now not showing any commitment to a relaxation in tensions, this was the confirmation of détente’s failure. Bibliography · Cohen, W.I. ed.
In March 1983, President Reagan accuse the Soviet Union as the "center of evil in the world" and as an "evil kingdom". In rebuttal, Soviet General Secretary Yuri Andropov stated that the U.S. President is insane and a liar. Due to this result, conflicts grew and things became nasty. Moscow continually indicted President Reagan of admiring the heat of war and compared him to Hitler. Such overstatement was more of a result than a cause of tension, but it masked real fears. However, the Hitler comparison was more than a symbolic surplus, but rather a firm thought decision in the mind of the Soviet leaders.
American President Ronald Reagan ordered a massive defense buildup in allied countries around the Soviet Union, and enacted policies that put enormous pressure on the already struggling Soviet economy, forcing the Soviet leadership to stretch its economic capacity beyond its means.
Also, the Soviet Union’s quest to remain a world superpower cost it dearly, as they were hard pressed to keep up with US defense spending under Ronald Reagan. The “Soviet Union was spending a large percentage of its GNP on the military because of the expansion of US spending” (p.3.fsmitha.com). Th...
Gorbachev, though a member of the communist party, had a different outlook on the future of Russia and communism. He was a child during Stalin’s time in power, and couldn’t truly remember the purges, gulags, and the famines. Gorbachev spent most of his time in office actively trying to reform a failing Communist Party. He put a lot of time into improving foreign relations after the Cold War with the policy of detente, (or “relaxation”). Gorbachev met with Margaret Thatcher at Konstantin Chernenko’s funeral. He held arms talks with Ronald Reagan at the Geneva Summit in 1985, and created a good relationship with the American leader. (10) He also loosened The USSR’s hold on the Warsaw Pact countries by ending the Brezhnev Doctrine in 1988. This led the communist regime in these countries to be overthrown. Gorbachev’s main foreign policy goal when he took office was to end the Cold War; 25% of the gross national GDP was going towards defense, and Gorbachev wanted to push more of that money towards other things to help his plan for a free market economy (9). In 1987 Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate Ranges Nuclear Forces treaty (8) and after many more summit conferences, START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was signed by the USSR and the United States, effectively ending the Cold