Mr. Marinello * US History The End of the Cold War Mr. Marinello * US History

Reagan and the USSR Reagan’s approach to the Soviet Union was one of contrasts. Reagan the Cold Warrior: He called the Soviet Union “the Evil Empire” Often referred to the collapse of the Union Reagan the pragmatic statesman: Reagan negotiated with the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev The goal was to reduce American and Soviet nuclear arms What could account for Reagan’s nuanced approach to dealing with the Soviets?

The Fall of the Berlin Wall August of 1989 – Hungarian soldiers on the border stopped enforcing the border controls into Austria This begins a chain reaction of events destabilizing the “Iron Curtain” November 9, 1989 – Citizens in Berlin begin dismantling the Berlin Wall Without the communist state to enforce the boundary the wall falls quickly The fall of the wall means that Berlin and Germany can begin to re-unify

The Collapse of the Soviet Union The fall of the Berlin Wall did not signal the end of the Soviet Union It wasn’t until December 26, 1991 that the Union formally dissolved. The dissolution of the Soviet Union created new countries and a new geo-political dynamic across the world US President George HW Bush (Reagan’s VP) found that he had to deal with a world that did not include the Soviet Union or the Cold War The breakup of the Soviet Union had an impact on US military spending Without the great enemy could we justify spending at the same levels?