I. Reagan and the Cold War

A. Reagan Doctrine Before Reagan, the U.S. had what kind of policy toward communism? Reagan Doctrine – believed in “peace through strength.” launched the largest peacetime military buildup in American history believed that the U.S. should support guerrilla groups trying to overthrow Communist or pro-Soviet governments – happened in Latin America in places like Nicaragua.

B. The Evil Empire “The Evil Empire” (1983) – Reagan declared: “In your discussions of nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride, the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire…”. What opinion does Reagan have of the Soviet Union? Since the Soviet Union at the time was installing new nuclear weapons in its west, President Reagan ordered the deployment of nuclear weapons in Western Europe in response.

C. Space Defense Initiative Reagan wanted develop a new nuclear defense system composed of ground- and space- based nuclear weapons designed to destroy any in-coming Soviet missiles before they landed in the United States. What was it called? Showed the U.S. might be preparing for a more aggressive approach to the Soviet Union, worried the Soviet leadership. Accelerated the sophistication of American missile technology.

D. “Tear Down This Wall” Questions to answer based on the speech: Which wall is Reagan talking about? Why does he think some people aren't free? Why does he want them to tear down the wall?

E. Reagan and Gorbachev In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union. Answer these questions based on the video: How was Gorbachev different than other Soviet leaders? What are “glasnost” and “perestroika”? How is this new for the Soviet Union? Why did the Soviet Union eventually collapse?

Guided Practice Create a chart that shows major foreign policy events that happened during each foreign policy approaches. Your chart can look like this: Containment/Truman Doctrine Détente Reagan “Evil Empire” Reagan Version of Détente

Exit Ticket 2) Which of the following would be an example of détente? a. Nixon officially recognizing the Communist regime of China. b. Nixon expanding the war in Vietnam to Laos and Cambodia. c. Carter condemning the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. d. The foreign policy of Ronald Reagan.

Exit Ticket 3) Why did events of the Vietnam War have the ability to influence U.S. public opinion as no other war had done before? a. U.S. citizens knew nothing about the enemy. b. This was the first war viewed extensively on television. c. The president did not have a clear policy. d. Reports from overseas said the United States was losing the war.

Exit Ticket 4) Which of the following represents a change in policy from Nixon’s détente? a. Reagan signing the INF treaty. b. Ford’s continuing negotiations with Soviet leader Brezhnev. c. Reagan referring to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire”. d. Carter initiating the Camp David talks.