Synthesis Essay - President Ronald Reagan MSgt Christopher Reed Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy 15 May 2014 Instructor: SMSgt DJ Stinard Introduction Imagine your home town surrounded by a twelve foot concrete wall along with guard towers. This is the situation that East Berlin found itself facing began in August of 1961. (History Channel, n.d.) It was Ronald Reagan's long-term vision and ethical leadership that led the United States of America to prevail over the former Soviet Union. His vision was a world free from the Berlin wall and freedom for those that lived behind it. His ethics and values were based on his belief that "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction" (Reagan, 1984). What was President Reagan's vision? We are going to first look at President Reagan's vision, the plan that he used to fulfill his vision, and the leadership involved in moving his vision forward. Next, we are going to look at his ethics and what influenced them. Additionally, we will look at the impacts that his vision and his ethics had on bringing down the Berlin wall. Finally, we are going to look at how he impacted the world that we live in today, his impacts upon me, and my leadership skills. We know that President Reagan was a visionary leader, and ethical, we will now examine his vision. Body - MP1 Visionary Leader Ronald Reagan's had more than just a vision. He had a plan on how to he was going to accomplish his vision. His plan consisted of a two pronged approach. His first vision to bring about the fall of the Soviet Union was based on his knowledge that the Soviet economy was struggling and weak. With this knowledge he believed that he could ruin the Soviet economy by forc... ... middle of paper ... ... Gipper. TheAtlantic.http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/04/thatcher- and-reagan-the-iron-lady-was-tougher-than-the-gipper/274774/ Edwards L. (2010). Ronald Reagan and the fall of communism. The Heritage Foundation. http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/ronald-reagan-and-the-fall- of-communism Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (U.S.) United States. Department of the Air Force. (2012a). Full Range Leadership Development (CF02). Maxwell- Gunter Annex, AL: Department of the Air Force. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (U.S.) United States. Department of the Air Force. (2012b). Ethical Leadership (LM01). Maxwell-Gunter Annex, AL: Department of the Air Force. Weigel G. (n.d.). President Reagan and Pope John Paul Bioethics and Public Policy Center.http://www.eppc.org/publications/president-reagan-and-pope-john-paul-ii/
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
Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (Reagan 361) This line, while so simple, is probably the most famous from the whole speech and arguably one of Ronald Reagan 's most famous and recognizable lines ever. It sends a glaringly strong message that the United States and entire free world wants to bring Germany together not just for its own personal interests but because it genuinely cares about the state of the country. This short concise statement also shows that the president means business and that he is willing to do anything in his power to help the German people should Gorbachev accept his offer. He goes on to state that the United States is striving for peace and although it can not permit the spreading of communism, it does seek for all the people to see an increase in the standard of living and assure both sides security by demilitarizing and disarming both sides wherever
Works Cited "American President Ronald Wilson Reagan: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center. University of Virginia, n.d. -. Web. The Web.
...speech to the world where he was quoted as saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” The speech was given at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin (“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall: President Ronald Reagan”). This speech signified the beginning of the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan’s foreign policy tactics are another reason why he was a great president.
Contextual analysis is made up of three basic components; intended audience, setting and most importantly purpose. Authors often times consider and work each contextual piece into the construction of their given argument. An argument is not powerful if audience preference is not a main concern, if the setting isn’t taken into consideration, or if the purpose is not relevant to the current situation. On January 28th, 1986 the shuttle challenger exploded 73 seconds into its take off. President Ronald Reagan wrote a critical speech to address the tragedy that had struck our nation that day. It is highly evident in his address that kept audience, setting, and purpose in mind. He comforts a worried public using calm tone and simple yet effective diction to convince the American nation that it’s necessary to go on and continue the space program and ultimately the scientific revolution.
Reagan himself trying to undo the damage done by the “ Great Society”, Reagan administration also had a profound effect on American life in the 80s. There was a decline in activism. The general mood reflected off a belief that earlier movements had gone to far and it was time to draw morals and a political line including the damage of the social security system from bankruptcy. All examples of how the President made huge changes in politics. On the other hand, like once stated before the President did have some questionable choices. Examples, near the end of the hearings into the Iran-Contra Affair, President Reagan admits to a policy that went astray, but denied knowledge of the funds to the Contras. On January 20th 1989, President Reagan’s reign came to an end. The presidency was known as the Reagan Revolution with successes in economic growth and political realignment. Reagan was the first President since Dwight D. Eisenhower to serve two full terms. While there was some difficulty in the beginning of the presidency with that nation debt increasing. The good outweighs the bad. Concluding, one of Reagan’s famous quotes
In the speech, Reagan’s uses emotional appeal through diction that emphasizes the harsh reality of Germany being in a divided state. He states that the ‘’brutal division’’ that is ‘’cutting’’ across the city is an inevitable reminder for every Berliner to ‘’look upon a scar’’. It is a method Reagan uses to remind everyone, especially the Berliners, that half of their beloved country is trapped under communism. After stirring bitter sentiments to the people, he goes on and say that despite of ‘’the shadow of [the] wall’’, there was a ‘’message of triumph’’, giving a sense of hope to everyone against the division. To support those uplifting words, Reagan again appeals to emotion by inviting Gorbachev to work together and stating that there was
As the 1980s rolled in, the American people were desperate for a change as the American government and economy crashed. There had been a period of economic stagflation since Gerald Ford’s presidency in 1976. Americans found hope in presidential candidate Ronald Reagan to transform the nation’s situation, and on January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan became the United State’s 40th president. Reagan brought about a lot of drastic changes in the American economy and government. For example, he decreased the size of the federal government and put a conservative economic policy into practice. This policy was called Reaganomics by the public.
It is undeniable that Ronald Reagan’s approach to the Soviet Union was vital in its defeat. The Encyclopedia Britannica acknowledges that “His policies have been credited with contributing to the demise of Soviet communism.” Reagan had no qualms in confronting the Soviets and communism, as shown when he described the Soviet Union as both an “evil empire” and “the focus of evil in the modern world” (Britannica).
Throughout American history presidents leave a legacy that either very positive or especially negative. Ronald Reagan was a president that left an undeniable positive legacy. Following the footsteps of what the country deemed poor leadership Reagan became an almost folk hero as he used his infamous campaign slogan ; Let’s make America great again to win the presidency after Jimmy Carter. Prior to his great landslide victory the United State had become embroiled in a Cold War under the leadership of President Harry Truman. It would take many years later for this Cold War to end and Ronald Reagan would get credit for bringing about that end. This paper will attempt to address how the Cold War revived during the Eighties and how Ronald Reagan
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.
Whether people agree with him or not, he was able to captivate people with his inspiring speeches and his likable personality. Confidence in what someone says and what someone thinks is what makes that someone an icon, for better or for worse. Reagan had confidence in his policies and his ideas. Many people have confidence in their own ambitions and goals. However, this can go awry when someone’s goals can lead to them not making the best decisions. Ronald Reagan’s second term was severely damaged when the Iran-Contra affair happened. What happened was the US was selling weapons to Iran, which was illegal at the time. The money made from the selling of weapons was directed into funding anti-communist insurgencies throughout Central America. This was made even worse when Reagan tried denying that it ever took place. He eventually gave in and told the truth, but the damage had already been done. (Biography.com Editors, 2017) Reagan, nonetheless, was able to redeem himself with overseeing the fall of the Soviet Union. Even though it did not officially end until after Reagan left office, Reagan was the one to really push for better relations with Russia and encouraging the leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to become more open. Famously, he was able to convince Gorbachev to let the people of Germany tear down the Berlin wall, which was one of the last nails in the coffin of the USSR. (Biography.com Editor’s, 2017) The
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to act on President Reagan’s challenge. Reagan within the speech uses hope for a new government to get the emotion out of the crowd. Signifying that the Berlin wall is an obstruction of freedom he say “Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.” Using pathos within his speech made his speech more appealing to listen too and comprehend. President Reagan infasized what the will bring freedom to a country and what could prevent freedom, liberty, and democracy from happening in a country.
1. This was a time when the Soviet Union believed communism was the way to achieve a better life. Although it only did the opposite, and America knew that freedom was the answer. In Reagan’s speech we can see that Americas technology is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Americans have freedom to create, which helps our country discover new useful tools. While communist countries have no freedom, which means no creating – which means no improving. He says at the end “Come to Berlin…tear down this wall.” Meaning that it is doing no good but stopping
Although President Ronald Reagan’s speech at Brandenburg Gate is most known for his demand for tearing down the Berlin wall, his speech was a motivational speech to encourage the Germans of freedom to come. He wanted to encourage the world for that matter that at some point Germany and the entire Soviet Union would be free and safe. President Reagan does a side by side comparison of what freedom can do to society. He explains this through the comparison of post-war Germany to the Soviet Union and the 1987 industrial West-Berlin. Reagan describes the Soviet Union as unable to feed themselves, but reminds everyone what has worked to solve peace and happiness is freedom.