Ronald Reagan & the 'Second Cold War' (Edexcel GCSE History)

Why did Reagan's Presidency Start the Second Cold War? - Summary

Who was Ronald Reagan?

• Ronald Reagan became the President of the USA in 1981

  • Reagan was the Governor of California from 1967 to 1975

  • He was a Republican

• Before Reagan's career in politics, he was an actor

  • Over a 30-year career, Reagan appeared in more than 50 films

• Reagan held strong opinions about communism

  • Communism went against his Christian and conservative values

Reagan's Attitude Towards the Soviet Union & the 'Evil Empire' Speech

• Reagan believed that communism posed a significant threat to the USA

  • Reagan persuaded the US Congress to increase military spending

    • In 1982, the USA spent almost 7% of its GDP on the defence budget

    • Reagan encouraged the development of new weapons such as Trident and stealth bombers

• Reagan developed his own doctrine

  • The Reagan Doctrine aimed to:

    • Give support to anti-communist groups attempting to overthrow communist governments

      • The US government financed the efforts of anti-communist groups in El Salvador

      • The US army invaded and overthrew the communist government in Grenada

    • 'Rollback' communism

      • Reagan wanted to remove the influence of communism from other parts of the world. This would keep communism in the Soviet Union

• Reagan made a key speech stating his opinions of communism and the Soviet Union

  • On 8th March 1983, Reagan made a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals (a Christian organisation)

    • The image below shows some key quotes from Reagan's speech:

An image showing the important messages from Reagan's 'Evil Empire' speech on 8th March 1983

The Strategic Defense Initiative: the Star Wars Program

• Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1983

  • A popular nickname for the SDI was 'Star Wars'

• The SDI involved:

  • Sending satellites into orbit

  • These satellites would have the capability of shooting down Soviet missiles by laser

• Reagan announced the SDI to the US public on 23rd March 1983

  • At this point, the US scientists had not developed the technology to implement the SDI

    • Reagan did not inform the US public that the technology did not exist

  • In the next decade, the US government spent $30 billion attempting to create the SDI

The Soviet Union's Reaction to the SDI

• The US announcement of the SDI shocked the Soviet Union

  • The Soviet government had spent an unsustainable amount of money developing nuclear technology to the same levels as the USA

  • By the 1980s, the Soviet economy was failing

    • The Soviet Union could not afford to create a new weapons system

• The Soviet Union saw the SDI as a significant threat to their safety

  • The SDI broke the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which banned the use of space for military purposes

  • The Soviet Union believed the USA was becoming more aggressive towards them

The Impact of the SDI on Cold War Relations

• The SDI showed the growing gap between the USA and the Soviet Union's economy

  • Reagan knew that the US government could out-spend the Soviet Union. The US government did not believe that the SDI would become a reality

  • Announcing the SDI was a tactic to force the Soviet Union to collapse or to accept defeat in the Cold War. This worsened US-Soviet relations

• The Soviet Union's belief that the USA could develop the SDI showed the USA's technological advantage 

  • The USA's development of computers boosted their economy

    • By 1983, the computer company Apple earned nearly $1 billion in sales

  • In comparison, the Soviet Union did not have the same level of computer technology

    • A lack of consumerism meant that Soviet goods were of poor quality

    • The Soviet Union experienced a skill gap. Many engineers had left East Germany during the Berlin Refugee Crisis in the 1950s.

    • The Soviet Union would have to develop better computers before it could create a system like the SDI

• The SDI forced the Soviet Union to reform

  • Mikhail Gorbachev became the new Soviet leader in 1985

    • Gorbachev developed a policy called 'new thinking'. A part of Gorbachev's policy aimed to reform the Soviet economy