The year was 1989, and the Americans had just elected their 41st President of the United States: George H. W. Bush. As the former Vice-President, Bush was well acquainted with the ongoing conflict he was inheriting from the Reagan administration between the Soviet Union and the United States. He was also cognizant of the man on the other side of the strife, Mikhail Gorbachev, leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was thought to be a relatively revolutionary character; he was less of a hardliner and more open to change and influence from the West. Despite this, Bush had his reservations; he ordered a comprehensive review of the Soviet-American relationship shortly after assuming office. In the report, the US National Security Advisor, Brent …show more content…
In fact, when Hungary started acting more independently by establishing an official commission to reassess the rebellion that occurred in the country earlier – a report that later criticized communism – Gorbachev did nothing. As a result of his indifference, the Hungarian prime minister, Miklós Németh, tested the waters further by halting the funding of the fence separating Hungary from Austria. Eventually, the entire fence was dismantled, which catalyzed the mass movement of East Germans (who were then part of the communist German Democratic Republic) through Austria and into Budapest to seek asylum at the West German embassy. Although East German officials contested this movement, Hungary allowed the asylum, citing humanitarian responsibilities. Ultimately, Erik Hokenor, leader of the GDR, stepped down and a new, less conservative leader took his place. Egon Krenz promised Gorbachev there would be no military action against his people, dissipating fears of a second Tiananmen Square-like crises, and instead decided to relieve tension by relaxing emigration policies to the West. At a press conference, a lower level politician miscommunicated this change in policy, and led people to believe the wall would be permanently opened “immediately, and without delay” (Announcement that DDR border will open) Thus later that day, the wall …show more content…
There was no longer a threat of global nuclear warfare – the threat to American security was – for the time- gone. The collapse of the Soviet Union also changed the nature of the international system and has created a unipolar balance of power system – with America being the sole superpower – instead of the bipolar system it was in the past. NATO gained a valuable asset during this era as well; Germany has proven to be an economic leader and strategist globally and within Europe. Additionally, the reformation of former communist states into open and democratic capitalist states is an additional benefit to the West under democratic peace theory – after all, ‘democracies do not go to war with other
Prior to World War 2, America was in a Great Depression that cause politicians to focus on domestic issues. At the start of another world war the United States declare neutrality, but it shows sympathy to democracies. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor America stop being isolationist to combat external threats. The United States didn’t address the domestic issues that plague the country for years. However, Proxity wars, Truman’s policies, and rising tensions shaped the world and US. Therefore, the role of the US would change from managing the Americas to supporting democracies and governments around the world to stop the spread of communism.
Ronald Reagan started as a radio announcer and became one of the most influential presidents and people in the world. He was known as one of the top five young celebrities in Hollywood, was the 40th President, stopped the Cold War, and created a foundation to help students get a good education. If Ronald Reagan is not the most valuable person, then I don’t know who is.
Like presidents before Reagan wherever he goes, whatever he does: Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. President Reagan wants to bring down this Brandenburg Gate. He wants the people of East and West Berlin to come together as one, because they are all Berliners. In this communist world the west has found a free world full of prosperity and well being. Russia is opening up to the outside world and starting understand the importance of freedom. With this Germany should bring down this wall and seek the peace in Eastern Europe.
Gorbachev’s destruction of the Berlin Wall means a lot in Reagan’s opinion because it is the thing that the Soviet could do to reach his idea of making the world peace, comity of nations, and human advanced liberty (ReaganFoundation 2009). People are surprised when he says, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this Wall”, because they think it is impossible and a faint hope (ReaganFoundation 2009).Also, Reagan feels the Soviet becomes to comprehend what freedom is and how significant, so the destruction is one of certain evidences to progress to the freedom and peace considerably (ReaganFoundation 2009). At Reagan’s speech at the Brandenburg, he says the Soviet and other countries controlled by them are the only nation that refuse to join freedom society (ReaganFoundation 2009). However, Reagan insists the Soviet has inescapable choice to be changed fundamentally or get left behind (ReaganFoundation 2009). Thus, he claims Belin is the best spot to start cooperation about improving nation openness and liberalization, so destruction of the Berlin Wall has very important meaning to attain his ideal world (ReaganFoundation
Despite the unsuccessful past during the Cold War years between the United States and the Soviet Union, President Ronald Reagan and his counterpart the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev during the 1980s should have focused on bright future by reducing the nuclear arms, because having a partnership, friendship and the common goal will move two nations toward success. On 1985, in an effort to improve the international situation, the United States and the Soviet Union have decided to hold a meeting in Switzerland, Geneva. It was a first official meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, to discuss reductions in nuclear weapons and talk about future partnerships. Geneva Summit led on to four further meetings in 1986 Reykjavik, in 1987 in Washington, Moscow in 1988, and the last one in New York Harbour in 1988.
The Cold War had a significant impact on American foreign policy, changing it substantially in both attitudes to social and economic factors. The heavy influence of a difference in political standing between the Soviet Union and the United States, in conjunction with the high tensions that followed in the post war period, set the foundations for American foreign policy to adapt and change to better suit the developing political agender of the time. Socially, the two sides were heavily split, with the Soviet Union seeking communist support and allies whilst the US sought to counter their progress in a similar manner. Economically these relations with foreign countries that either joined the eastern or western blocs helped to further the
George H.W. Bush deserves to be named “Person of the Decade”. He worked hard to follow his own beliefs in what was the right thing to do and achieved amazing things because of that. When dealing with the Soviet Union and Mikhail Gorbachev he established his own methods and plan instead of following Raegan’s. Soon after his plan was established things in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union began to change. The berlin wall collapsed and the communist rule through out Eastern Europe was overthrown. Bush chose to let all of these events happen naturally, cautious not to do anything to make Gorbachev’s position any worse. Bush had the policy review complete and decided to meet with Gorbachev. While in the meeting they laid the basis for completing
With the end of World War II, American found itself the strongest economy in the world, with its complete infrastructure intact. The years of conflict had created economic turmoil in Asia and Europe, with some governments teetering on the brink of collapse. Stalin sought to rebuild the Soviet Union in the years after the war through expansion. The United States was quick to adopt the containment policy to control Soviet expansion. The Soviets sought to undermine American interests in Europe as well as Asia through guerilla and political communist movements.
Reagan became president in 1981, which means that he was president of the U.S. during a time in which the Cold War began to draw to a close. (Fischer, 1997, p.477). Whereas his predecessors used détente, a more relaxed approach in order to reduce tension between the U.S. and USSR, Reagan and his advisers rejected this strategy (Authors, People and a Nation, p.833). This led to a turning point in the Cold War. Even though the Cold War ended in 1991, two years after Reagan’s presidency, Reagan is still known to have made a huge influence on ending the Cold War. This essay will investigate his actions and how they might have influenced the ending of the Cold War, by looking at how Reagan expressed his distrust toward the Soviet Union and communism, the ways in which Reagan expanded the arms race in order to bankrupt the USSR and other ways in which he tried to sabotage the Soviet economy, but also
Although the indications were present well before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world was not completely ready for the end of the Cold War. The US was left alone without any major balancing opponents. Furthermore, after the dissolution of the Soviets the numbers of newly established independent states have increased significantly. All these new states were lacking of self-governing capabilities and also the Western vision, which was the victorious ideology of the Cold war. Moreover, some
During the cold war era, President Reagan’s strong anti-Soviet feelings and rhetorical “attack” style was an approach that his own administration saw as extreme and even dangerous (Rowland, p 23). And unlike many American leaders before him, who avoided the strained relations between the United States and Soviet Union, President Reagan set out to exploit and end communist tyranny. President Reagan’s devotion to ending tyranny was stronger than any other leader during the time period. For example, he criticized the Carter administration for their failure to deal with "the adventurousness of the Soviet Union" (Fisher, p 303). He believed that their foreign policy enabled the Soviet Union to view the United States in a weak and vulnerable state. President Reagan 's staunch opposition to communism and his willingness to confront the Soviet Union during a time when it was not popular, played a key role in the failure of the Soviet Union. Aiding him in his lone stand against tyranny was his rhetoric style of "ideological and moral clarity." A rhetoric style that he utilized to demonstrate a strong moral position towards the Soviet Union, while reducing the risk of conflict. In doing so he was able to set the stage for successful negotiation between the two nations (Rowland, p 24). This essay will examine Ronald Reagan 's June 12, 1987, address at the Brandenburg Gate. Mainly, the rhetoric style of "ideological and moral clarity", he utilized to exploit the Soviet Union, while
Following the end of World War Two (WWII), the United States as well as much of the western world was thrust into the escalating crisis which came to be known as the Cold War. As this new threat emerged looming over the United States and its NATO
After the Second World War, there were two major nations on the globe, the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviet Union was obsessed with an idea of communism - a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and its paid according to their abilities and needs. In addition to their communistic ideas, the Soviet Union began to build the country back from the ruins of the war and they wanted to spread the communism ideas into other Eastern European countries to gain as much the power and territory as they could. The United State, in contrast to the Soviet Union was fairly financially stable after the war. Therefore, they had a little more to offer to Eastern European countries.
The heart of Reagan 's foreign policy was to prevent the expansion of communism and at the heart of communism was the Soviet Union. Reagan often referred to the Soviet Union as the “evil empire.” Reagan believed that the United States should negotiate with the Soviet Union from a position of strength. The administration embarked on a modernization program which included the production of intercontinental missiles and the Strategic Defense Initiative. He increased military spending and forces, while holding negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev- the General Secretary of the Soviet Union. After a number of meetings between Reagan and Gorbachev, the two men signed an Intermediate
Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union have always been complicated. Over the entire 20th century they have been close allies to bitter rivals. The stark differences in each of their political systems prevented the USA and the USSR from maintaining a close political friendship and understanding, and even to the very edge of war.