How did the Cold War end? The Cold War was an impactful event between the United States and the Soviet Union. The administration of Ronald Reagan influenced how and when this war ended. Using the sources provided and my knowledge of US history, the Reagan administration went to great extent to end the Cold War and contain communism. The first method of preventing the spread of communism was implementing US policy. This strategy included external resistance to Soviet imperialism and competing in the international arena. As a nation, we did not want the USSR to feel superior in any area. In order to do so, the US needed to modernize its military, conventionally and nuclear, so the USSR would not underestimate our country. This also intimidated …show more content…
This treaty was signed in Washington on December 8, 1987, and entered into force on June 1, 1988. The agreement was guided by the objective of strengthening strategic ability, reducing the risk of the outbreak of war, and securing peace. Both the United States and Soviet Union were conscious that nuclear war would have devastating consequences for all mankind. This conclusion caused them to come to a compromise concerning military weapons. They decided that both countries will eliminate their intermediate-range and short-range missiles. The treaty states (source B), “all activity related to production, flight-testing, training, repair, storage, or deployment of such missiles and launchers has ceased there.” This statement goes further into detail about the Protocol on Elimination. The treaty also called for the termination of missile operating bases and military support facilities. Both countries would need to eradicate all the listed items within six months of the treaty. Overall, the USSR and US wanted to ensure that no nuclear war outbreak would …show more content…
Ronald Reagan expresses his views by saying, “For the first time in history, the language of ‘arms control’ was replaced by ‘arms reduction’”. President Reagan goes on to declare that the complete elimination of nuclear missiles took conventional wisdom, patience, determination, and commitment. Reagan was thankful for the treaty, and he believed that this treaty would create a working relationship between the Soviets and the United States. He wanted this relationship to take on other urgent issues such as, strategic offensive nuclear weapons, the balance of conventional forces in Europe, the destructive regional conflicts of the world, and the respect for the human and natural rights granted by God to all people. Similarly, General Secretary Gorbachev’s opinion of the treaty was equivalent to Reagan’s. He claimed, “We can be proud of planting this sapling, which may one day grow into a tree of peace.” Gorbachev felt that this treaty was the birth of a relationship between the US and Soviet Union. He thought that they had reached a breakthrough in the Cold War. The General Secretary also states, “...move together toward a nuclear-free world, which holds out for our children and grandchildren and for their children and grandchildren the promise of a fulfilling and
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.
ending of the cold war. It has been said that President Ronald Reagan ended the
Reagan and Jimmy Carter had a debate in the 1980’s, his last debate and Reagan’s whole campaign was dedicated to how the outside world viewed America and he was asking if we were even respected and is their relationship as strong with the world as it was four years ago. Ronald wanted to reevaluate national policy toward the Soviet Union. Like all the presidents before he could sense there was hostility and wanted to reconcile with the Soviets. The SALT II nuclear treaty founded by Jimmy Carter was Reagan’s idea to come together. The SALT II nuclear treaty is basically the beginning of creating nuclear weapons. The point in making these nuclear weapons was so it is for the mutual sharing for the Soviets and United States. Their mutual settlement
The biggest contributing factor which played a part in ending the Cold War was the internal unrest of the Soviet Union. Also the ever changing system we know now as International Relations had a role in the conclusion of this time period. I will additionally argue the antithesis of the question and explain how Ronald Reagan prolonged the Cold War.
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
However, the Cold War had shaped perceptional behaviors and violation of treaties by the Soviet Union instilled suspicion issues of mistrust by both institutions. This institutional trust issue was a major hurdle in building a cohesive relationship between the two entities and severely compromised the interior circle elements: interests, options, and legitimacy in the negotiating process. Both parties shared mutual interest, which was the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020, however underlying interest from both parties hampered the overall outcome of the summit. Reagan underlying interest were human rights and the invasion of Afghanistan, Gorbachev’s was to prevent the development and implementing strategic defenses (SDI) the next ten years using the ABM treaty as an objective
observed Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended, the White House speechwriters finally found the right balance between candor about problems and encouragement for healthy change. The speeches were upbeat and avoided crowing about American victories even as they gave a push for causes on the American agenda. Reagan spoke to prominent writers, artists, and musicians at the writer’s clubs and praised the achievements of glasnost and pressed for publication of some still banned works. Each of Reagan’s public appearances were before an important group, but his address to the student and faculty at Moscow University was the centerpiece of his trip. His theme was freedom, which electrified his audience. The prolonged standing ovation was a testament to his appeal to the Russian audience. Reagan thus exuded that positive, forward looking, and optimistic outlook which made the Russian populace look at the US from an entirely different angle. But it took a question from a reporter to make his optimism shine through; as he and Gorbachev were walking through the red square, a Journalist asked the inevitable question: do you still consider this an Evil Empire? Reagan replied, ’no… That was another time, another era.’ Thus just in that particular moment, Ronald Reagan transformed himself from an enemy to a friend. Here, it would be unjust to deny Gorbachev his due share of credit, as without his eagerness to greet Reagan with open arms, the world would not have seen the flags of freedom that were spreading its colors throughout the USSR. In his memoir, Gorbachev showed his happiness over Reagan’s comments when he said that Gorbachev deserved most of the credit for changes in the Soviet Union. The idea that ordinary people everywhere have the same aspirations was the bedrock of Reagan’s ideals, and that those ideals prevailed finally shows the strength of Ronald Reagan’s convictions. Reagan was a rock star, and he made the Russian people feel that he
Throughout the Cold War, Korean War, and Vietnam War the main problem was communism. Although the United States and the Soviet Union were allies in World War Two, during the Cold War the United States and the Soviet Union were known as enemies. The Soviet leaders bragged to other nations that communism would “scrape apart” free-enterprise systems around the world. This attitude angered the capitalists which led into the fifty year Cold War. The United States tried creating many tactics and strategies to contain the “bleeding” of communism, but during the cold war, communism spread faster then it could be restrained. The United States used the Marshall Plan , the Trueman Doctrine, and the Berlin Airlift to help lead people to a
It has been about 26 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall marked, as many believed the end to Communism, and the Cold War. For years, there was a lot of tension between the United States and Soviet Union that can be described as “ a competition between two universalist models: each claimed to represent the future” (Dinning). As most global conflicts involving war go, one always loses. Since the USSR does not exist any longer, many believe that the United States won this Cold War, but in reality neither power won, and the USSR became present-day Russia. From the time of his presidency, Ronald Reagan is credited with ending the Cold War, but had nothing to do with the fall of the Berlin Wall that dissolved Communism in Europe. Since he was president,
Srija: The Cold war finally was starting to come at a conclusion when the Berlin wall taken down. When the Berlin Wall was torn down, Germany was free once and for all. Suddenly more and more countries became democratic in which people could vote and choose their own leaders. This sudden increase of capitalism made communism fade away
The speech that Eisenhower’s administration developed had three parts. First, despite American protestations to the contrary, Eisenhower 's "Atoms for Peace" speech was, in fact, a carefully crafted piece of Cold War rhetoric. The speech was specifically designed to gain a psychological victory over the Soviet Union. It was part of the American peace offensive launched, in part, as a response to an ongoing Soviet peace offensive. Second, the speech creates one audience on the level of explicit argument, but a much different audience when the implicit arguments are examined. Specifically, the speech is directed to the world at large, particularly those nonaligned nations in the midst of industrialization. It is aimed at that amorphous animal called world opinion. Implicitly, it is addressed to the Soviet Union, partly as warning, partly as a challenge. Third, the language is intentionally structured to invite the world at large to understand "Atoms for Peace" as a step toward nuclear disarmament. In addition to the internal structure, the
What really made the Cold War “warm up” or end? This is an intriguing question many people do not have a particular answer to. To start out with a cold war it not a war when the weather is freezing, and men are trying to fight on a battlefield. It is just a term used to describe a type of war when no action such as missiles and guns are fired, and no one physically fights, this can be a scary time for some people involved because they do not know when any fighting will strike. The Cold War was capitalism (the U.S. and its allies) vs communism (U.S.S.R.) and happened after WWII (“What”). The Soviets were desperate to prove that they were dominant over the U.S., one example of this was during the Miracle on Ice: a hockey game during the Winter
From 1947-1991 what is known as the Cold War happened. The Cold War was between two world powers, the USA and the Union of Soviet Republics (USSR). However, the war before the Cold War, World War II (WWII), was what led to the Cold War. The USA was not involved in WWII however, until the Japanese decided to make an attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Since they were attacked, they could no longer ignore what was happening in the world and joined forces with the USSR to stop the war. The USA decided to drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese making WWII “the deadliest war in history”(Boyer, PG. 828). This bomb also ended the war. Once the two forces were victorious they then began their own quarrel.
The development of nuclear weapons through-out the cold war period, had led the world to believe that a nuclear war was soon on its way. The evolution of nuclear testing and the Cuban missile crisis indicated how far each state was ready to go to ensure their ideological interests were pursued and at the same time their global superpower status was retained. Such techniques depicted "peace" as simply an expression with no significance. However, measures were established to guarantee the acceleration of nuclear weapons was controlled and didn 't get out of hand. The marking of different arms treaties and limit arrangements demonstrated co-operation between the two superpowers, bringing about no immediate clash, guaranteeing peace was kept and war was prevented. ‘’War would now be disastrous for either side and therefore peace was necessary and possible’’ (Kennedy-pipe, 2007, p.122).
The end of the Cold War meant change around the world, mainly in Europe. We have since seen the unification of Germany, the work of unity within other countries and possibly a balance of power. Our relations with other nations may have continued to develop or diminish but the Cold War had changed Europe’s future. Many had questioned what role the EU would have in international politics, whether the formation would succeed and what this meant for the transatlantic relationship? The US and EU relationship is a complicated one. The EU has always been seen as a loyal ally of the US but it has also been seen as one of the US’s many competitors. Witnessing the relationship change