Ronald Reagan
•40th U.S. President
•A former Hollywood actor
•Elected for a second term in 1984
•Saw the USSR as the ‘evil empire’ and wouldn’t negotiate with them for the first years of his Presidency
•Was much more hardline than the détente Presidents
•Increased military spending dramatically as part of the renewed arms race with the USSR
•A former Hollywood actor
•Elected for a second term in 1984
•Saw the USSR as the ‘evil empire’ and wouldn’t negotiate with them for the first years of his Presidency
•Was much more hardline than the détente Presidents
•Increased military spending dramatically as part of the renewed arms race with the USSR
Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI)
“Star Wars”
•The Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) - Also known as “Star Wars”; wanted to have a defensive umbrella over the U.S. to shoot down incoming missiles from space
•Soviets could not afford to keep up with this kind of science
•The arms race would not fizzle out until Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR in 1985
•Reagan's idea.
•Soviets could not afford to keep up with this kind of science
•The arms race would not fizzle out until Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR in 1985
•Reagan's idea.
Quote- -- The Brezhnev Doctrine
"When forces that are hostile to socialism try to turn the development of some socialist country towards capitalism, it becomes not only a problem of the country concerned, but a common problem and concern of all socialist countries."
summary
During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated a treaty that would eliminate intermediate-range nuclear missiles.