After reading your short answers comparing Reagan’s 1st and 2nd terms regarding foreign policy, and it made me wonder what you think is the turning point of Reagan’s presidency, especially with regards to the Cold War and the Soviet Union.
Schools of history fall into a couple of areas regarding the end of the Cold War:
- Gorbachev is the main reason why the Cold War ended. It was his reforms (glasnost and perestroika), different from the previous Soviet leaders, that prompted Reagan to renew negotiations over reducing / eliminating nuclear weapons;
- Gorbachev was the reason why Reagan considered the Zero Option in Europe – Gorbachev proposed the Zero Option (for all nuclear weapons) at the Reykjavik Summit which eventually turned into the INF Treaty in 1987 that eliminated all intermediate range nuclear missiles (especially those in Europe).
- It was Reagan playing hard ball with the Soviets / Gorbachev over SDI when Gorbachev proposed the Zero Option at the Reykjavik Summit in 1986, that Reagan refused to abandon SDI, which led to the INF Treaty (in a roundabout way).
- SDI’s introduction was the pivotal moment of the Reagan presidency because it forced the Soviets back on their heels, wondering how to counter it, and if there could be anything done about it.
- Reagan’s refusal to entertain detente and cast the Soviet Union as the “evil empire”, plus a massive increase in military spending caused the Soviets to match us or risk losing the edge it had in conventional and nuclear weapons.
But there is also some unconventional thinking about the Reagan / Bush administrations and how they helped end the Cold War:
- The CIA’s aid to the mujahideen in Afghanistan helped sink the Soviets deeper into an unwinnable war, forcing the Soviets to use their best troops, and spend oodles of money that it didn’t have.
- While the Berlin Wall collapsed and the Eastern European countries and Soviet Republics broke away (1989-1991), President Bush did everything he could to encourage them to put democracy first and Communism second. He did not ask for military aid to be sent to these countries, but he supported their break w/ the Soviets. Even during the hard-line coup in the Soviet Union in August 1991, President Bush and his administration fought hard to support Russian President Boris Yeltsin in his resistance to the Communists.
So which event or person or concept was the most pivotal to ending the Cold War and why?
Explain your answer in 300 words or more. Due Thursday, Dec. 1 by class.
1st Hour – http://bit.ly/2fakBAQ
2nd Hour – http://bit.ly/2eGcbk1
3rd Hour – http://bit.ly/2eG9rTS
4th Hour – http://bit.ly/2eg2VVa
DUE TUESDAY NIGHT, 11/15 @10PM (Google Docs only, not The Breakfast Club).
The Breakfast Club (best movie of the 1980s, sorry, I’m biased.)
Crash Course John Green, Reagan Revolution – https://youtu.be/2h4DkpFP_aw?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7s
Crash Course John Green, George HW Bush and End of the Cold War – https://youtu.be/L-K19rVDxoM?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwmepBjTSG593eG7ObzO7
CNN Cold War: Star Wars – https://youtu.be/cCVZNNYpTz0
CNN Cold War: Soldiers of God – https://youtu.be/IQBFXM1PIhM
My fave photo of President Reagan:
My all time fave Ronald Reagan pic. Thanks to Jeff Cougar for finding it. I think it exemplifies the Gipper’s optimism and most likely his wit and spontaniety as well. Nancy doesn’t seem too thrilled about it which makes this even more memorable.
Love you guys. I will miss you over the summer. Enjoy Mr. Sherman’s technology-free classroom next year. We will start review sessions in March 2013 so stay tuned. Also, I will post an optional, cool-swaggalicious summer reading list on here shortly for your consumption if you find yourself w/ nothing good to read this summer. I will have read most if not all of the books on this list. Your test date is Wednesday, May 15, 2013.
5th Hour –