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The United States and the Cold War
Ronald Reagan impact
Ronald Reagan impact
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Recommended: The United States and the Cold War
President Ronald Reagan is one of the most known American politicians of all time. He helped redefine the purpose of government and pressured the Soviet Union to end the Cold War and has surpassed odds many presidents would never accomplish. Even though his terms as president caused some problems he solidified the conservative agenda for decades after his presidency.
Ronald Regan was born in Tampico, Illinois on February 6, 1911 to John Edward "Jack" Reagan and Nellie Wilson Reagan. He studied in Economics and Sociology at Eureka College but after graduating in 1932, he found work as a radio sports announcer in Iowa. Years later Reagan was offered a seven-year contract with the Warner Brothers movie studios. While working for the group he married actress Jane Wyman. The couple had 1 child together, and adopted another before their divorce in 1948. During World War II, Reagan was unfit for combat duty due to his poor eyesight , so he spent his time in the Army making training films. From 1947 – 1952 Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild which lead to him meeting his future wife, Nancy Davis, who had sought his help after she was mistakenly accused of being a possible communist promoter on the "Hollywood blacklist." Over time they married in 1952 and had two children, Patricia and Ronald. During this time his political views were shifting from Democratic to a Conservative Republican stance. He led pro-business discussions, and started speaking out against excessive government regulation and wasteful spending which became central themes of his future career as a politician.
Reagan started his journey into the national political spotlight in 1964, when he gave a televised speech for Republican presidential candid...
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...Central America. He initially refused knowing any knowledge about it but, Reagan later announced that he did which portrayed him as a liar. Reagan also engaged in a diplomatic relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev, chairman of the Soviet Union in 1987. This led to the historic agreement to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles thus beginning the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union. That same year Reagan spoke at Germany's Berlin Wall, and famously challenged Gorbachev to tear it down and 2 years later it was destroyed and the once separated Germany was once again a whole.
On June 5, 2004 Ronald Reagan passed away at the age 93. Many of Reagan’s Beliefs and practices are still in our government today, and some may never leave. He was an American with a love for his nation. He was a symbol of how great democracy is, and will forever be remembered as that.
He was born into a happy, well-disciplined family, and had a very happy childhood. Before Reagan held office, Reagan was a radio announcer, and became the voice of Major League Baseball in 1932. Reagan also had a 7-year contract with Warner Brothers, and made about fifty movies. Reagan then put all the fun and games aside, and joined the Army Reserve and was called to active duty shortly after Pearl Harbor. He was in the Army from 1942-45, rising to the level of Captain.
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
"American President: Ronald Wilson Reagan: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
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
To crack down on communism, Reagan issued the Reagan Doctrine.... ... middle of paper ... ... At the congressional hearings, Oliver North took full responsibility for the scandal, claiming he did it in the name of patriotism.
His many successes included the tax cuts of 1981, appointing the first woman to the United States Supreme Court, reduced the amount of nuclear arms by signing a deal with the Soviet Union, made progress towards the end of the Cold War, got the Soviet Union to leave Afghanistan, released the Air Traffic Controllers who went on strike, the rescue mission in Grenada, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, and the Strategic Defense Strategy Initiative of 1983. In 1981, President Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act . This act created incentives for saving and small businesses, the ability to expense depreciable property, and reductions in individual income tax rates (Reaganomics). During his time as president, Reagan nominated the first woman to the Supreme Court . Her name was Sandra Day O’Connor and she was approved 99-0 in the Senate with one absentee senator (Ronald Reagan 's big impact on the Supreme Court). Another success of Reagan was the signing of the INF treaty with Mikhail Gorbachev (Bosch). It was the first treaty to ever reduce nuclear weapons. This treaty was part of Reagan’s progress to helping end the Cold War. In 1988, President Reagan signed an agreement that got the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan. This was the first time in 33 years that the Red Army left without conflict and effectively ended a war (The Achievements and Failures of the Reagan Presidency). Reagan did something
Ronald Reagan was born to parents Nelle and John Reagan in February 1911. He went to Eureka College where he studied economics and sociology. Before Reagan began his political career, he was a Hollywood actor. Starring in over 50 movies, his n...
Ronald Wilson Reagan served two terms as the 40th president of the United States of America. Reagan was known for having a strong faith in the goodness of people. In college he was known as, “the jack of all trades” for excelling in everything he did (“Life Before the Presidency”). President Reagan’s beliefs gave him lots of respect from citizens around the world. One of his main beliefs was that peace comes with strength. I believe that Ronald Reagan was a great president because of his leadership qualities, domestic policies, and foreign policies.
ending of the cold war. It has been said that President Ronald Reagan ended the
...imes when we are faced with national tragedies we are left at a loss for words. We look upon our leaders to help us through these difficult times, to have all the answers. We listen to what they have to say with vulnerability and uncertainty of what’s to come next for our country. Reagan was aware of all these factors when he gave his famous address. He was aware that in order for any argument to be considered a powerful and successful one it needs to be thought through and take into consideration the outside factors that are affecting it. Reagan’s challenger argument was one that had a clear audience, distinct setting, and finally the argument had a definite and in this case necessary purpose. By Reagan utilizing these three elements and effectively combining them he created a memorable speech that is now widely considered a masterpiece of public communication.
Reagan’s speech on the night of January 28, 1986 dramatically “took the first step toward uniting the country in its grief (Ritter, 4)”. Ronald Reagan reached out to the schoolchildren of America and all other citizens of the United States to counsel them in time of tragedy. He gave hope to the nation through emotional and spiritual reference. He was effective in conveying his message but the way his thoughts were organized was in part ineffective. His speech is very unorganized, and he could have ordered his thoughts better. More importantly than disorganization though, Ronald Reagan reached out to a nation that needed him as there president. He gave the people of the United States hope and Reassurance, a task that the President has been expected to do since the beginning of our country.
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...
Ronald Reagan was a very popular person before, during, and after his time of presidency. He went from a mere radio announcer, to the head of the United States of America. Ronald had defeated most of the world’s problems with Communism, improved the economy, and handled terrorist threats like a pro. Ronald quickly took America’s heart with his honorable deeds and doings. He was very famous by the time he became deceased. (Ronald Reagan Facts.)
A couple of the heroic values that Reagan possessed were strength and courage. Most people would agree that it took an agglomeration of strength and courage during the cold war era to make his ever famous, “Tear Down This Wall Speech” in Berlin. Ramesh Jaura explains how many people believe this speech made a positive effect toward ending the cold war:
The United States of America’s 40th president, Ronald Wilson Reagan served as our country’s leader from 1981 to 1989. Ronald Reagan was a very strong advocate for freedom. Many and most of his speeches were related to freedom or the concept of freedom was thrown in and mentioned in the speeches. A large part of Reagan’s campaign was freedom. His beliefs on this matter did not all come from morals, Ronald Reagan’s perception of freedom came from his lifestyle of/in Christianity.