Berlin was known as the centerpiece of the Cold War. Being the capital city of Germany, the desire to have power over it was extremely high. Germany was split into two, the East, taken over by the Soviet Union, and the West, taken over by the United States, Britain, and France. Tensions rose between each country on who would be able to have power over Berlin. Since the city was on the east side and up to 100 miles inside Soviet-controlled East Germany, the Soviets had power; However, the West would not allow them to take over the capital city so easily. (Dearden)
Shooting the wall and people down was not going to be in America’s best interest because of the amount of troops the Soviet Union had. Truman was also all about his citizens and about his troops, knowing how many troops the Soviet Union had compared to how much troops we had, he knew it would not end well.
The 80 's was a pivotal and controversial decade in American history. It can be characterized by prominent political, religious, military, economic and social aspects. While turbulence was common, it is also noted for being one of the most influential and important periods for America and the rest of the world as well.
President John F Kennedy and Ronald Reagan each have their own beliefs on how they should have dealt with the Berlin wall. Although Both think it is a big fail they both have their own opinions as to why. President JFK thinks that the wall should be taken down because it causes everyone pain and really has no point, it does nothing but trap people. President Reagan thinks that the wall should be taken down peacefully because they mean no harm and want to unite the country to make it stronger. Both presidents want the wall down but for their own reasons, by taking the wall down they can become whole and finally put an end to communism remaining in Germany.
President Ronald W. Reagan was known as a great communicator. In his “Address from the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin Wall)” speech, President Reagan called upon the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open the gates and tear down the wall that divided Berlin. Reagan appealed to the West Berliners by connecting with them through emotions because they rebuilt their city and had prospered and were free. He uses facts to persuade the West Berliners they would benefit from tearing down the wall. He uses examples how other countries who have achieved freedom have been successful. He appeals to their logic that being an economic giant is a positive thing, and also tells them about the outcomes of having freedom.
With great courage yet peacefulness, Ronald Reagan stated, “Tear down this wall!” By wall, he meant the Berlin Wall that divided East and East Germany. The Cold War was ending. Reagan achieved many things while in office. We will look at how the Reagan administration influenced the Cold War and when the Cold War ended.
The Soviets had expansive tendencies. The Soviets wanted to isolate West Berlin from the West and take them over. From Document A, In these circumstances it is clear that the main element of any United States policy
This investigation, examining certain events of the Cold War, will answer the question: To what extent did President Ronald Reagan’s actions aid in the end of the Cold War? The Cold War was a war between the United States and the Soviet Union that took place from 1947 to 1991. During that time several United States presidents took office, one of the last being Ronald Reagan whose actions have been argued to have been more influential than the rest and impactful toward the downfall of the ongoing war with the Soviet Union. The role that Reagan’s actions played in ending the Cold War has been a controversial topic ever since the war came to a close. This investigation will show that, to a good extent, Reagan’s actions
The Soviet Union requested substantial reparations from Germany, but the United States recalled the reason that World War II started was because of post World War I reparations. In March and April 1947, the United States, British, French, and Soviet officials met in Moscow to arrange Germany’s future, but failed. After the conference, the Western Allies unified their German occupation zones to create West Germany. In response to this, Soviets built the Berlin Blockade, cutting off railways, highways, and waterways into West Berlin. To counteract this, the United States airlifted food and supplies to the residents, until Soviets finally realized their blockade was not achieving their goals, and tore it down in May 1949. This became one of the first of many international crisis of the Cold War, in which America responded well, not destroying the blockade or attacking the Soviets, but by delivering supplies through an alternate route until the USSR had no choice but to acknowledge their actions were futile and remove the blockade. Just before the Berlin Blockade and right before Harry Truman became president he said, “I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisted subjugation by armed or outside pressures.” (A) This concept surely followed him into the incident involving West Berlin and he stayed true to his ideas in helping the citizens living there obtain resources, despite the Soviets
In 1987 he forged a diplomatic relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev chairman of the Soviet Union. That same year the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed a historic agreement to eliminate intermediate range nuclear missiles. Later that year Reagan spoke at the Berlin wall a symbol of communism and challenged Gorbachev to tear down the wall “ Mr. Gorbachev tear down that wall”. 2 years later he allowed the people to dismantle the wall. This is considered a symbol of the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of communism. ( Biography)
The conservative movement included the entitlement programs, civil rights policies, and decreasing the size of the government. The political party, Moral Majority, was a Christian rights and conservative party. It also included affirmative action, or providing special treatment to minorities, being scaled back (as well as reverse discrimination which is the practice of favoring those who were previously oppressed). One of the major social concerns of the 1980’s was abortion. After the Roe v Wade of 1973, opponents began to organize and the Supreme Court ruled that states were allowed to impose restrictions to abortion. Another issue was drug abuse becoming out of hand. America also faced an educational inferiority; American students were found
He explained the Wirtschaftswunder to be an economic miracle that originated in West Germany and Berlin. During this economic wonder, the german leaders did many things that caught the eyes of citizens. These things included reduced tariffs, expanded free trade, lowered taxes. Ronald Reagan compares this time to forty years prior when everything was in ruins. Reagan mentions these facts in his “Tear Down this Wall Speech” to make everyone listening realize that Berlin has come a long ways in a short period of time. Ronald Reagan said, “From devastation, from utter ruin, you Berliners have, in freedom, rebuilt a city that once again ranks as one of the greatest on Earth.” He uses facts to get this point across to all of the listeners around the world, and by doing so, he has indirectly won the favor of
East Berlin was controlled by the communists and West Berlin was controlled by the U.S and supported by the Western Powers. The Soviet Union was concerned because it’s East Germans were fleeing to the new democratic West Berlin. In order to stop any more from leaving, Stalin completely isolated Berlin with large iron walls called the Berlin Wall- also referred to as the Iron Curtain. Now that The Berliners were isolated from the world, they couldn’t get any supplies and the sectors only had enough coal to last 45 days and food to last just 36 days. West Berlin relied entirely on their allies to transport supplies into the capital or city or something. The Western Powers generally transported supplies by ways of trucks and railway. Democracy was becoming too strong so the Soviet Union thought that they could drive the Western Powers out of West Berlin. They thought that if they could block any way of the allies from coming into West Berlin by land, they would eventually give up and stop supporting them. In order to do this, Stalin built a blockade on roads, railways, and rivers between the three allied sectors of West Germany and West Berlin. Stalin soon realizes that
On 19th June 2013 Barack Obama, who is the current president of America, held a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. It brought thousands of people there and millions around the world in front of the televisions. Its purpose is to inform the world about the beginning of negotiations with Russia aimed at ending the two nations` Cold War military posture and a reduction of nuclear arms by up to one third.
Purpose – This article’s purpose is to explain what the Wall meant, not only to the people in Germany, but to the rest of the world. Its purpose is to question common beliefs about the Berlin Wall.