Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War

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Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War
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HUAC Witnesses Ronald Reagan Blames Hollywood
Labor Conflicts on Communist Infiltration (1947)

• Ronald Reagan was long-time opponent of Communism
  
• As President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG),
  he cooperated with the House Un-American
  Activities Committees inquiry into the potential
  infiltration of Communism into the Motion Picture
  industry.
• In testimony before HUAC, he claimed members of
  the Communists played a role in a series of
  Hollywood union strikes .

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A Time for Choosing Speech (1964)

• Reagan campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964
  presidential race.
• His televised "A Time for Choosing" speech
  propelled the actor from corporate spokesman to
  conservative champion
• It became known as "The Speech.
• He implied that liberalism represents a shift
  toward socialism.
• He outlined the goals of the modern conservative
  movement
• smaller government,
• lower taxes, personal autonomy, and more
• aggressive policy toward Communist states.

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Address to the British Parliament (1982)

• As President, Reagan revived the Cold War
  rhetoric, which had not been the focus of the
  Nixon and Carter administrations.
• In a speech to the British Parliament, Reagan
  outlined "a plan and a hope for the long termthe
  march of freedom and democracy which will leave
  Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history as it
  has left other tyrannies which stifle the freedom
  and muzzle the self-expression of the people."

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The Strategic Defense Initiative

• In 1983, President Reagan proposed his Strategic
  Defense Initiative (SDI) as an additional check
  on Soviet nuclear capability.
• He envisioned space-based missile defense
  technology capable of striking down nuclear
  weapons before they reached the U.S.
• The Soviets feared SDI would increase the risk of
  the U.S. launching an attack because it would not
  fear retaliation.
• The press derisively dubbed the plan "Star Wars.
• Many believed it was infeasible due to the
  enormous expense and technical innovation it
  would require to become operational.

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The Evil Empire (1983)

• In this speech at the Annual Convention of the
  National Association of Evangelicals, President
  Reagan made his case against a Nuclear Freeze by
  appealing to the audiences belief in God.
• He labeled the U.S.S.R. an evil empire and
  insisted that their secular beliefs were a threat
  to America.
• He also predicts the end of Communism.

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Tear Down This Wall Speech (1987)

• The Berlin Wall was built by Communists in August
  1961 to keep Germans from escaping
  Communist-dominated East Berlin into Democratic
  West Berlin.
• The 12-ft concrete wall extended for 100 miles
  and included electrified fences and guard posts.
• The wall was a symbol of the Cold War, in which
  the politically opposed superpowers continually
  wrestled for dominance, stopping just short of
  actual warfare.

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Tear Down This Wall Speech (1987)
as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to
stand, it is not the German question alone that
remains open, but the question of freedom for all
mankind. the Soviets themselves may, in a
limited way, be coming to understand the
importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow
about a new policy of reform and openness.
General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek
peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek
liberalization Come here to this gate! Mr.
Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear
down this wall!
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Citations Slide 2 http//www.authentichistory.c
om/1950s/speeches/images/19471023_Reagan_HUAC.jpg
Slide 3 http//www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/3
c/0/AAAAAqSZLrEAAAAAADwFtg.jpg Slide 4
http//www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/
large/c8466-23.jpg Slide 5 http//img.timeinc.ne
t/time/magazine/archive/covers/1983/1101830404_400
.jpg Slide 6 http//www.reagan.utexas.edu/archiv
es/photographs/large/c13322-21a.jpg Slide 7
http//www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-tear-d
own.htm Slide 8 http//www.historyplace.com/spe
eches/reagan-tear-down.htm Slide 9
http//www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/web16/images/i
mg_intro.jpg