Ronald Reagan and the “Evil Empire” Speech

Convinced that détente and the Vietnam War had eroded American military strength and international prestige, Ronald Reagan took office determined to reverse these trends. He called for huge increases in defense spending and aggressively combated communism. Under a policy eventually known as the Reagan Doctrine, the United States began challenging communist insurgencies throughout the developing world, regardless of whether or not the Soviets were directly aiding these leftists. The policy led to a significant expansion of U.S. activism abroad, especially in Latin America. In the 1980s, the United States supported anti-communists in El Salvador and Nicaragua and deployed troops to oust the left government of Grenada.

During Reagan’s first term, his militant anticommunism and Soviet aggression markedly increased Cold War tensions. In December 1981, the Soviets forced the communist government of Poland to impose martial law in order to quash the independent labor movement Solidarity. In September 1983, the Soviets destroyed a Korean airliner that strayed over Sakhalin Island. All 269 passengers, including 61 Americans, perished. At the same time, the Reagan administration began the most massive peacetime military build-up in history. Armed with secret intelligence showing grave weaknesses in the Soviet economy, U.S. officials concluded that the Soviets could not afford a renewed arms race.

Reagan’s strategy terrified and enraged his opponents. Critics howled when defense spending reached $40 million an hour at its peak. A massive anti-nuclear movement arose in Europe and the United States. In 1982, approximately one million protestors gathered for a “nuclear freeze” rally in New York’s Central Park, perhaps the largest demonstration ever.

Soviet-American relations were particularly bleak in March 1983. On March 8, Reagan gave a harshly anti-communist speech (that you can read or see by clicking here) before the National Association of Evangelicals. His uncompromising rhetoric received worldwide attention. Three weeks later, Reagan called for the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI or “Star Wars”), a system of lasers and satellites designed to prevent a nuclear missile strike. Although critics denounced the costs and technological flaws of Reagan’s proposal, the Soviets later identified SDI as a key factor in the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. SDI, the explained, highlighted their economic and technological challenges.

During Reagan’s second term, Soviet-American relations dramatically improved. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet premier and ushered in a remarkable array of political and economic reforms. Tempering their initial suspicions of one another, Gorbachev and Reagan came extremely close to abolishing half of their nuclear arsenals at a 1986 nuclear summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. Although Reagan’s refusal to abandon SDI ended those discussions, they signed a sweeping arms agreement the following year. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty removed all intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe. By late 1991, the Iron Curtain would fall and the Soviet Union would cease to exist. While experts continue to debate Reagan’s role in ending the Cold War, his foreign policy was undoubtedly bold.

After reading Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech, I would like you all to think about and discuss the following: How does Reagan characterize the Soviet Union? What does he believe is the proper response to communism? What are Reagan’s opinions of the nuclear arms race and the nuclear freeze movement? This speech drew heated criticism from some U.S. commentators. Anthony Lewis of the New York Times called it “primitive.” The renowned historian Henry Steele Commanger declared, “It was the worst presidential speech in American history, and I’ve read them all.” Do you agree or disagree with these remarks? Why? Your thoughts…