How did Ronald Reagan change the Cold War?

Learning objective – to be able to explain the impact of the Ronald Reagan on the Cold War. I can describe the consequences of Reagan’s actions in developing a Second Cold War. Grade D I can explain the consequences of Reagan’s actions in developing a Second Cold War. Grade B I can evaluate the consequences of Reagan’s actions in developing a Second Cold War. Grade A

Starter This word cloud is in the shape of Ronald Reagan. During the presentation, list the words you can spot in the word cloud and explain why it relates to this lesson.

Who was Ronald Reagan? Former actor – Although not a Hollywood star, Reagan was famous for acting in a number of low budget 1950s films. Strong anti-Communist – as president of the Film Actors Guild, he played a leading role in the rejection of communists in Hollywood. Not an intellectual – Regan was seen as a homespun American rather than from the elite or an intellectual. Popular and unpopular – although Reagan won the 1980 Presidential election by a huge margin, many thought he was not suitable as President. The media dismissed him as a cowboy who knew nothing of world affairs.

Why was Ronald Reagan’s approach to the Cold War different? Détente was a disaster – Reagan saw détente as a disaster for America as it damaged their prestige and made them weak. Defeat communism and win the Cold War – Reagan broke away from the US foreign policy of Containment. Instead of containing Communism, Reagan wanted to fight it and beat it. Fight for individual freedoms – Reagan felt that Communism was oppressive and took away freedoms of others. Therefore, ‘peaceful co-existence’ could not happen. Second Cold War – this more aggressive stance marked a period – 1979-85 – as a low in international relations often called ‘a Second Cold War’.

Reagan’s ‘Evil Empire’ Speech - 1983 Why? By 1983, Reagan was established as President of America and was popular. In contrast, the USSR was faltering as Brezhnev had died in 1982 and was replaced by Yuri Andropov, the terminally ill former head of the KGB. What? In March 1983, Reagan was secure enough to make his view on the Soviet Union plain and made a speech where he called the Soviet Union an ‘evil empire’. In the speech, Reagan argued that the Cold War was a fight between good and evil and America fought with God’s blessing. Reagan placed the Cold War as a moral struggle and argued that it was his duty to increase spending on nuclear missiles in order to defend liberty and freedom. Significant? Relations between USA and Soviet Union hit a now low as Andropov responded by calling Reagan ‘a liar and insane’

How did Reagan try to win the Cold War? Outspending the Soviet Union – The key idea in Reagan’s strategy was that knowing the USA had by far the stronger economy, all they needed to do was to invest money in more nuclear weapons knowing that the Soviet Union could not keep up with this spending and would have to admit defeat. Increased defence spending – Under Reagan, the USA saw the biggest increase in defence spending in history. This was not only in acquiring missiles but also in developing technology, such as stealth weapons. Weapons in Europe – Part of the defence spending was updating and increasing the number of nuclear missiles in Europe.

Strategic Defence Initiative - 1983 Why? Reagan wanted to find a way of stopping Soviet missiles being able to reach American soil. In 1983, Reagan announced a plan which would be a ‘nuclear umbrella’ for America called the Strategic Defence Initiative. What? The SDI was a plan which proposed to launch a series of satellites into space. These satellites would be armed with lasers which would be able to intercept incoming Soviet missiles before they reached America. The project became known as ‘Star Wars’ and Reagan believed that this would make Soviet technology obsolete and would force them to disarm. Significant? The SDI was seen as a turning point in the arms race and threatened to give America a huge advantage. SDI broke them terms of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which agreed to use space technology for peace alone.

What was the impact of the SDI on the Soviet Union? USA was seen to have won the space race – By the 1980s, the USA was seen to have won the space race as alongside SDI they had developed a new spacecraft – the space shuttle. Wealth – The Soviet economy could not cope with funding consumer goods, military spending and new space technology. Outdated technology – The Soviet Union distrusted computers as they could be used against the state in terms of producing and circulating anti-government materials. Computers were now essential in technological developments and the Soviet Union were far behind America and could no longer compete in the space race.

Task List in order of aggression the following actions of Ronald Reagan with the most aggressive at the top. Write a short paragraph on each explaining how they contributed to the decline in East-West Relations during the early 1980s. Election of Ronald Reagan as President - 1980 Increasing American defence spending – 1981-85 Improving weapons in Europe – 1981-85 Andropov becomes USSR President - 1982 The Evil Empire Speech – 1983 Strategic Defence Initiative - 1983

Extension Task Using your completed table, answer the following exam style questions – Describe the key features of the Second Cold War. Outline two reasons why relations between America and the Soviet Union declined between 1980 and 1985. Explain why relations between the USA and the Soviet Union changed in the years 1979 to 1985. You may use the following in your answer and must also include information of your own. Reagan’s Evil Empire Speech. Increased American defence spending.

Plenary This word cloud is in the shape of Ronald Reagan. Which word is the most significant in the word cloud? Explain your answer.