Iron Curtain Speech Research Paper

The persuasive speech Tear Down this Wall, written by President Ronald Reagan, used logos and pathos to effectively convince the Soviet Union to break down the barrier between East and West Germany. To start, Reagan utilized logos while delivering his plausible address. The author stated the vital fact that “East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other” (Reagan). This statement helped support the fact that the two countries had to overcome their several differences to be able to reunite Germany once again. Reagan urged the Soviets to do their part in bringing the divider down in that specific section. The other device Reagan used was pathos to give the speech more meaning and depth.

In Churchill's “The Iron Curtain" speech - which he officially named "the Sinews of Peace"- he proposed that the current situation facing the Western European countries is what he alerted as the Soviet mission of expanding their territory and the intention of the

In President Reagan’s speech regarding the Berlin wall entitled “Address at Brandenburg Gate” delivered on June 12th, 1987, Reagan takes the position as the rhetor with the sole purpose of convincing the city of Berlin to unite and get rid of the wall separating the city in two. The wall is described by Reagan multiple times and is described to be both a physical and non-physical wall. Most of the city is separated by the physical wall and those that aren’t are heavily guarded and prevent travel to the other side. The discourse was intended to not only be heard by the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, but by most of Europe and North America. The exigency in Reagan’s

An “iron curtain” of Communism spread over Eastern Europe as the post-World War II world tried to re-build Germany and Easter Europe. As the dictator Joseph Stalin sealed off the Eastern Bloc, the rest of Europe began to re-build under a democratic rule. This re-building continued and the USSR continued to keep their “totalitarian” hold on the East. As the Cold War continued the battle that was being fought soon became the battle between the two world super powers. This led to many conflicts and continued up until finally in 1989 the Berlin Wall was taken down reuniting Western and Eastern Germany and bringing down the “iron curtain“ that shaded the East from freedom.

In the speech “Tear Down this Wall”, the author, Peter Robinson a speechwriter for the White House, attempts to end the divide between East and West Berlin. Robinson wrote the speech; however, former President Ronald Reagan brought it to life when he delivered the speech in West Berlin in June of 1987. Reagan presented this speech in a calm yet persuasive manner, ultimately winning over his immediate Berlin audience. President Reagan’s speech did not just reach Berlin. It was broadcasted all over from Western Europe to North America resulting in Reagan’s tremendous contributions to ending the Cold War. In order to persuade his audience, Reagan uses various rhetorical tools such as suggestions of hope, liberty, and freedom to grab the alienated German forces and reunite the opposing sides.

In the Second World War USA and its western allies like Britain, France and so forth needed the help of Soviet Union to combat Nazi Germany. “Indeed, the western democracies could not have defeated Germany except the unlimited support of those Soviet troops which in 1945 occupied all areas in dispute.”(Graebner, 1976) However, after the war, the Soviet-American unity collapsed following the Yalta Conference of February 1945, largely over the issue of Poland. As a result, USSR established what Churchill termed as ‘iron curtain’ from Stettin to Trieste.

Ronald Reagan 's speech at the Brandenburg gate was one of the most impactful and important speeches given during the cold war, and aided in the eventual downfall of the Soviet Union. Reagan begins his speech by addressing the people present and recognizing the “freedom” and “feeling of history” of the city of Berlin has. He makes his first reference to previous speakers by saying, “Twenty four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, and speaking to the people of this city and the world at the city hall. Well since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn to Berlin. And today, I, myself, make my second visit to your city,”( Reagan 361) Ronald Reagan adeptly utilizes Ethos Pathos and Logos in his Brandenburg Gate address, he attempts to sway the audience of the importance of success of the marshal plan and western values as a whole, and convince the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the barrier which had divided West and East Berlin since 1961.

Have you ever been moved or inspired by a speech? The speech “Tear down this wall” spoken by Ronald Reagan is a speech that highlights and the problems with the Berlin Wall. The purpose of this speech is to convince the listeners that the Berlin wall is an enormous problem and needs to be taken care of. This speech also tries to invoke the emotions of the listeners by giving some examples of how the wall is hurting the people in Berlin and Europe in general. “Tear down this wall” by Ronald Reagan uses logos, ethos, and pathos to persuade the audience that the Berlin Wall is bad.

In the year 1987, June 12th at Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin Germany, President Ronald Reagan gave one of the most memorable speeches (Berlin Wall) a president has given. The Berlin Wall speech changed Berlin completely, it reunited east and west berlin back together. The speech itself was intended for the people but most importantly it was meant for the soviet union leader Mikhail Gorbachev, President Ronald Reagan was an American Politician and also was an actor that appeared in over 50 films. This shows that even though he was our president he had a chose to visit berlin or not and give a speech that later on caused the wall to fall. To achieve this speech Ronald Reagan used rhetorical devices, such as Ethos, Rhetorical Question, Tone,

     It was less than a year after war ended in Europe that Churchill revealed in his “Sinews of Peace” address that, “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent”. The Soviet Union became extremely

The speech, delivered about 100 yards from the Berlin Wall, marked Reagan's most prominent call. This speech called for the reunification of East and West Berlin. Reagan had much bravery to challenge Gorbachev and was considered a very bold move. Gorbachev was dared to take the Berlin Wall down!

Ronald Reagan, in his speech, (“Berlin Wall”, 1987), the former governor and President of the United States and at the time of the Cold War, “ the most magnetic public figure in the nation”(encyclopedia.com) elucidates to his audience the consequences of residing under the influence of the Soviet Union. Reagan supports his assertion through the use of various rhetorical devices to generate logos, ethos, and pathos. His purpose is to incite a feeling of an injustice done to the people of Berlin and Soviet Allies and to bring down the Berlin Wall as “the most visible symbol of the decades-long Cold War”(History.com) between the Americans and the Soviets during the Cold War. Reagan writes in perfervid tone generated toward the people of Berlin and other Soviet allies in hopes of bringing the Cold War to an end and it is reported by CBS News that he successfully “bolstered the morale of the pro-democracy movement in East Germany”(Brinkley).

At the time when tensions were high and the once divided people of Berlin were beginning to lose hope, Reagan was able to captivate millions and not only unite the Berliners but also the world.President Reagan was a man with strong beliefs that made his statements believable and logical.Claiming the benefits of living in a free, democratic country, Ronald Reagan uses pathos, logos and ethos to sympathize with the Berlin people.Given the time and place when the speech was given, Ronald Reagan took advantage to address the Berlin people of their misfortune and provided a sense of support and hope making his speech more monumental than what it already was. Ronald Reagan was naturally a good rhetoric; and he used his abilities to persuade the world of the injustice of the Berlin wall and win over the Berlin people. “Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate” by Ronald Reagan was a powerful and compelling speech for its time and helped persuade the people to end communism and reunite the people of Germany.

Later, events like Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech, and the Berlin Blockade, many attribute to the start of the Cold War. These were simply the two strongest European nations coming out of WWII trying to gain leverage in the newly structured continent. While it was a strong move by the Soviet Union, Berlin was inside their occupation zone laid out at Potsdam. More than anything, the issue of Berlin, was much like that of the Truman Doctrine and Marshal Plan that are often included in causes of the Cold War. These were all issues of the United States trying to move their democratic ideals into other parts of the world, while the Soviets were trying to spread communism. This battle is not new, given that the Red Scare occurred in 1920, so it clearly is the continuance of two countries ideals, not the start of the Cold War. While this struggle has been going on for years and did not cause the Cold War, it definitely played a key role how it did culminate.

“Tear down this wall!” these were the inspiring and captivating words that came out of President Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Berlin Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987. Speaking to the Soviet leader Mikahil Gorbachev, Reagan was calling for the unification of East and West Germany. With the destruction of the wall, he believed it would bring not only Germany prosperity, but The Soviet Union as well. During this speech, President Reagan brings forth the benefits of tearing down the wall and unifying Germany once again. He introduces his strategies to create freedom, economic prosperity, and free trade to stop Soviet Expansion. On this day, President Ronald Reagan’s speech was classified as a heroic event. Why? He challenged the Soviet leader like no other president had before.