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Compare And Contrast Reagan And Bush

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Both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush served as presidents of the United States of America during the late 20th century, from 1981-89 and 1989-93 respectively. Their presidencies covered the ending of the Cold War and the transition from a bipolar to a unipolar world. The Cold War was a hegemonic struggle between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union/USSR (which later became Russia) and dominated world relations since the end of the Second World War. Primarily, the Cold War was marked by the ideological and economic expansion of US capitalism and Soviet communism, which underlined many proxy wars and self-determination struggles. Both presidents sought to promote the US’ best interests, but the execution of these was determined by …show more content…

He thought that negotiating from a position of strength was vital in order to end the Cold War so that the US remained prosperous afterwards. Reagan’s aggressive approach to achieve this was due to his view of the Soviet Union as an “evil empire”, as known through his 1983 speech of the same name. This is quite different to George H. W. Bush’s perspective of the Soviet Union, although Bush still viewed the Soviet Union and Mikhail Gorbachev with “extraordinary caution” and “suspicion”. Both Presidents saw the USSR as a significant threat to US security and power and therefore were committed to containing Soviet expansionism. Despite this, the threat was significantly reduced when Bush came into power due to the efforts of Reagan and Gorbachev, which explains President Bush's comparatively less aggressive …show more content…

It became evident that the position of strength was achieved through the commencement of negotiations to reduce arms. For example, in 1988, Reagan and Gorbachev implemented the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) which banned all land-based missiles with ranges between 500-1000km from both nations. This was a significant step in the ending of the cold war as it reduced the nuclear arsenal which enabled a period of relative peace afterwards. This treaty highlights the clear shift in Reagan’s policies between his first and second term, as the SDI (although defensive) increased the military strength of the US but only a few years later Reagan implemented treaties aiming to reduce this

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The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) of 1991 was between the United States and the Soviet Union. START largest arms control treaty there had ever been. It was to reduce missiles and other short and long range arms. Nuclear arms reduced dramatically during this treaty and lasted until 2009. The first START worked well and continued after 2009 through START II.

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Presidential Power Ronald Reagan served as America’s 40th president. Reagan managed to cut taxes, increase defense spending, negotiate a nuclear arms reduction agreement with the Soviets and is credited with helping to bring a quicker end to the Cold War. I think that president Reagan used his presidential powers properly in order to achieve what needed to be done. Ronald Reagan was president as the Cold War was raging worse than it had ever before. Reagan used his executive power, Commander in Chief, to put up resistance against Mikhail Gorbachev and push his defensive strategy.

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Nixon, Carter and Reagan in terms of their stance towards the Soviet Union were different. Richard Nixon was elected as the 37th president of the United States. His presidency lasted from 1969 to 1974. The Nixon administration had took a more realist approach to foreign policy. The Nixon administration viewed that the United States “must think along the line of balance of powers” ( 105).

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American Political Thought 4/27/2023 What principles did Ronald Reagan draw on for his Cold War strategy? How did this shape American Political Thought? The role that Ronald Reagan played in the Cold War was one of a puzzle solver. According to this week's lecture, from The Peacemaker, Reagan had three clear goals at the beginning of his presidency: the expansion of liberty in the world, the end of Soviet communism, the abolition of nuclear weapons, peace between the American and Russian people, and a world free of the Cold War.

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As the president of United States of America it can be a little hard to make certain decisions. What the people want and what is for the best for them is very different. Yet this President is for. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were presidents of the United States, who may have done good or bad throughout their time serving in office. Both presidents will be compared to determine who brought the best for United States.

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There were many explanations for the end of the cold war by historians and others that emphasized on other factors than Regan’s impact that collapsed the Soviet Union, but it is clear that he made the change. On the economic side, an economic growth was seen due to a tax reduction and a decrease of interest rates by the Federal Reserve. However, a growth in national debt, a budget deficit and a trade deficit followed. Revenues after this taxation-cut were not as expected. Even though the economist Robert Samuelson stated that Reagan main achievement on the economic side is that he kept inflation low, and he succeeded in reducing the marginal income tax rate from 70 % to 28 %.

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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.

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Reagan was at odds with the Soviet Union but he could imagine a good man standing behind such a

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Engaging in the topic of the Cold War and the tactics Reagan used to win, between the United States and The Soviet Union, Thatcher states that despite the pressure Reagan was under, he not only won the war but had done so “without firing a shot…” as well as inviting his enemies “out of their fortress and turning them into friends'' (39). Thatcher’s explanation of this is clear and understandable as it is known to the audience that Reagan accomplished things that worked out for the better of the country and avoided violence at all costs. It also goes to complete Reagan's exemplary image as he is seen as someone who can avoid violence as well as bring others together who used to be against each

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The Cold War was a time when the world powers, the US and the USSR, made many technological advancements from weapons to space travel. Ronald Reagan was the US president that ended the tensions between the US and the USSR. On June 11, 2004, the former prime minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher, presented Reagan’s eulogy at his funeral. In her eulogy viewed by thousands worldwide, she depicts Reagan as a great man whose accomplishments united a torn nation and pulled the nation out of the Cold War.

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Because of this, Reagan had the tools and power needed to put a stop to the spread of communism and end the Cold War. These huge accomplishments occurred during his term as president, therefore making him one of the most accomplished United States presidents of all time. Furthermore, Lou Cannon explains Reagan’s innovative defense system by

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He was not very comfortable with the style of the Cold War, but as his administration collided with renewed Cold war fears, he was obliged to bring back the terms of the Cold war into his speeches. Therefore, Ronald Reagan was

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Roland Reagan came into the office during his first term hoping to use his administration to fight communism and end the Cold War. He finds out it was not easy as he thought. So, in his second term he turned to a different strategy getting to know someone like Gorbachev. The conservatives thought he was making a mistake. Roland Reagan’s success finally proved to the conservatives that his friendship with Gorbachev was not a dupe.

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Reagan started again to spend most of the federal budget in weapon. However, after the leader of Soviets changed, Reagan understood that his popularity is declining. Therefore, he called the Soviet Union for a friendlier relationship and a new cooperative system. Both leaders of United States and Soviet Union agreed with each other principles and this marked the end of the Cold War that lasted 45 years. After Cold War ended, United States was leaded by Reagan’s vice president, George Herbert Walker Bush.

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And he had a passion to grasp real Soviet Union because he believed mutual understanding will solve problems between United States and Soviet. However, for Soviet people, the former image was so strong that mutual understanding was difficult. What is more, Reagan was incoherent person. It deepened suspicion not only in Soviet Union president but also among the U.S. community. Therefore, six national security advisors were essential in order to help Reagan’s policy keep consistency and mediate

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