How Did The Cold War Influence Ronald Reagan's Personality

Margret Thatcher depicted the greatness of Ronald Reagan in all aspects of his life in a eulogy spoken at his funeral after his unfortunate passing in 2004. Her eulogy accurately describes the legacy of Reagan, his relationships with the American people, and his hardships throughout his presidency. Thatcher used a variety of rhetorical strategies to convey message, and her creative use of these strategies allowed for unison and proper tone within her speech.

Thatcher uses the characterization of Ronald Reagan to make the reader feel more emotionally attached to him. Thatcher describes Reagan as ¨a great American¨ and more importantly ¨a great man¨ (Thatcher) Describing Reagan as someone who ruled over a country without corruption makes him look good. The reader is likely to sympathize more with his death if they know more about his good heart. Thatcher tells stories about REagan's

Thatcher uses contrast to set Reagan aside from everyone else in the way he ran his country. Once again, using the example of “Others… He…” Thatcher tells of the fear, doubt, and uncertainty many Americans faced, while describing Reagan as the great inspirational leader who boosted morale, spread reassurance, and brought back hope into the suffering peoples’ lives. Contrasting this heroic president to devastated citizens helps to portray him as a ray of light during dark times.

“A great president, a great American, and a great man...” While these characteristics could undoubtedly be used to describe many American Presidents, the words from Margaret Thatcher’s eulogy for Ronald Reagan describe a man who helped pull the United States together during the tense Cold War period and eventually defeated the communist Soviet Union. By using rhetorical strategies such as flattery, nostalgia, and patriotism, Margaret Thatcher successfully moves the audience of this message and convinces them that Ronald Reagan was the perfect American and someone they should strive to be like. At the same time, she uses clever diction to reinforce the idea that Great Britain is a great ally of the US. This is successful because of her high praise of the American President’s ideals while saying that she, and all of Britain agreed with him.

She claims that “he saw the many sides of the truth.” Reagan saw the Soviet Union’s prominent desire for military power and territorial expansion, but also “sensed that it was being eaten away by systemic failures.” In addition, he “realized that a man of good will might...emerge” from Moscow’s evil empire. Thatcher mentions the Cold War by exemplifying that Reagan possessed an awareness for realizing the hidden truths under chaotic circumstances. By showcasing Reagan’s capabilities during a demanding event such as the Cold War, Thatcher develops a positive image of Reagan for Americans citizens to fondly remember, but to also give recognition to President Reagan’s aptitude. When displaying Reagan’s great intuition when it came to politics, Thatcher stresses that he held aptitude for his position leading a grand country that felt weakened. Ronald Reagan successfully fostered America through tough times with strength and

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

In conclusion, President Reagan was operative in convincing his audience that he was the right choice for who should lead the U.S. I firmly believe that Ronald Reagan was the last good President we had in office. He not only kept to his word, but also was able to inspire the American people and remind them what hope was and what it looked and felt like. Shown through this piece, it is evident that he was an eloquent communicator and an overall persuasive orator. By using pathos, rhetorical questioning,

In her speech, Thatcher goes through and illustrates that even though in the end of the Cold War, Ronald Reagan won out, and America came through, not everyone was supportive of his plans. In fact, many of the American citizens had been skeptical about his plans when he chose to make an agreement with the man who had turned from ally to enemy in recent years before that. Not many people could see why Reagan would make such a bold move, but Thatcher knew that there was a reason the two conflicting countries had gotten through without firing a shot, and that reason was because Reagan knew what he was doing. In her speech, Margaret Thatcher uses the

With the word “Ronnie”, Ms.Thatcher shows the readers a personal side of the eulogy. She allowed the reader to see the close relationship with the former president by using his nickname. That nickname helps significs how accurate everything she said or is about to say is legitimate. Her choice of words about the cold war plays with the audience’s emotion. The cold war can be thought of as one of the difficult times in History. In the third paragraph, she quotes the former president “Whatever time i've got left now belongs to the big fella upstairs.” With the context of the quote, it shows how much compassion the former president had. When she states, “He...inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends.” she uses figurative language. That statement is a recognition of Mr.Reagan’s talents as president and the respect she had for

President Ronald Reagan, the man who is accredited with ended the forty six year cold war was elected on Nov. 4, 1980. Reagan won his election with fifty percent of the popular vote over former President Jimmy Carter who had forty one percent. While Reagan as a president is praised for such successes as strengthening the national defense, stimulating growth in the U.S. economically, and as mentioned before he is considered the President who ended the Cold War. President Reagan had achieved many things by the end of his administration, but just as he had many successes his presidency was plagued with shortcomings and a handful of what could be considered flat out failures. The purpose of this writing is to establish and identify the ‘cons’ or failures of the Reagan administration, and provide a brief description of each different aspect of the administration.

ending of the cold war. It has been said that President Ronald Reagan ended the

This essay will focus on the Reagan Administration which spanned from January 1981 to January 1989. When Reagan became President, he had only one clear, defined foreign policy goal – containment of the Soviet Union, or the “evil empire” as he referred to it. He primarily wanted to stop the USSR from growing larger and to keep other non-Communist countries from becoming Communist. In the past, American presidents had used a theory called the “Domino Theory” to justify the need for intervention around

This emotional appeal is important because it stresses the influence he had on not only people, but entire nations. Arnold Bennett, an English writer, said Reagan embodied “‘the great cause of cheering us all up’”. Reagan fulfilled his presidential duties as well as working hard to make his people happy and cheerful. Reagan used the term “evil empire” to refer to the Soviet Union. Thatcher wrote, “His policies had a freshness and optimism that won converts from every class and every nation, and ultimately, from the very heart of the ‘evil empire’”.

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

President Reagan was a man with strong beliefs that made his statements believable and logical. He believed that democracy was the way to go and communism was the root of all evil. In Philip Kostka's piece, he addresses, “ The president presents us with the basic idea that freedom is the natural state of man, and that one reaches his fullest potential under freedom. In contrast, totalitarianism holds individuals back,keeps one from doing things that he