“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. To refresh your memory, at the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided Germany into four different zones. Decided at the Potsdam Conference, each separate zone was controlled by The United States, Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain. (Rosenburg) But as the relationships between The Soviet Union and the rest of The Allied Powers quickly evaporated, aggression and power became the main focus. The United States, France, and Great Britain combined their zones, creating “West Germany”, and The Soviet controlled zoned turned into “East Germany” (Rosenburg). Being controlled by democratic nations, West Germany’s living conditions and economy were flourishing. Almost Miraculously. On the other
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.
The Berlin Wall had been in place for 26 years. Increasing unrest was occurring in Berlin, and at this crucial time Ronald Reagan, as several presidents had done before him, traveled to the Brandenburg Gate, seen by most as the symbolical center of the wall. On June 12, 1987, he then spoke of peace between the USSR and the Western world, while motivating Berliners to help take down the wall and come together as a nation once more. Throughout the speech “Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate”, by Ronald Reagan, he makes use of imagery as well as appeals to ethos and pathos to incite the German people to rise up and destroy the Berlin Wall, reunifying Germany.
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
On March 30, 1981 Ronald Reagan is giving a speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. John Hinckley Jr. is waiting outside the hotel with the intent to impress the young actress Jodie Foster, who he had fallen in love with after watching the movie Taxi Driver His plan to impress her was to kill the president of the United States Ronald Reagan. As Reagan was leaving the hotel after his speech John Hinckley approaches Reagan pulling out a 22. Pistol Hinckley fires six shots hitting 4 men including Reagan, police officer Thomas K. Delahanty, press secretary James Brady, and secret servicemen Tim McCarthy. Hinckley is apprehended by authorities was found not guilty by reasons of insanity and was then placed in a mental hospital in Washington D.C.(O’Reily Dugard) This was one of many defining moments in Reagan’s life and all moments help him become the man he was. Ronald Wilson Reagan Was the most influential and charismatic presidents of the United States of America.
Reagan’s ‘Tear Down the Wall’ speech – Ronald Reagan’s “Tear Down the Wall” speech commanded Mikhail Gorbachev to dismantle the Berlin Wall, which divided Berlin between the Capitalist West and Communist East. A point of comparison that can be drawn between this speech and another is Booker T. Washington’s Alabama Exposition Address. In Washington’s speech, he discusses how African Americans would be dedicated workers alongside whites if whites “cast down” their buckets to African Americans to help them to find work. In Washington’s mind, allowing African Americans to have economic prosperity would, in turn, allow them to finally be free. This is similar to the fall of the
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.
Pathos was used prominently in the speech to connect Reagan with the audience and garner their support. Reagan established a relationship with the audience by saying ¨..Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin...¨ (translation: ¨I still have a suitcase in Berlin¨ )the suitcase symbolizes the President´s personal connection to the city, and in turn a connection with the people. Reagan said ¨From the Baltic, south, those barriers cut across Germany in a gash of barbed wire, concrete, dog runs, and guard towers.¨ The vivid diction used to describe the wall evoked intense emotions from the audience including anger and sadness as it reminded them of the foreboding obstacle that kept them from their family on the other side. Reagan´s solution to the wall
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,
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.
2. After WWII, Germany was divided into four zones. West Germany was occupied by the U.S., Britain, and France. Whereas East Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union. Berlin
On June 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan gave his speech “Tear Down this Wall,” in Brandenburg Gate West Berlin Reagan begins by discussing the purpose of the Berlin Wall and how the Communists in August of 1961 built it to keep the Germans from escaping Communist-dominated East Berlin into Democratic West Berlin, that this wall was more than just a wall; it was a stark symbol of decades of a Cold War between the United States and Soviet Russia only to stop short of actual warfare. By giving this speech Reagan had intended to rally the people of West Berlin so the people would accept the western democracy and oppose the Berlin Wall. Due to Reagan being president the words he said had so much impact, he was able to use these appeals towards the German people and provide a very convincing argument.