How Ronald Reagan’s Ended Cold War Essay

How Ronald Reagan’s Ended the Cold War with the Soviet Union â€Å"I’ve always recognized that ultimately there’s got to be a settlement, a solution. † —Ronald Reagan, December 23, 1981 President Ronald Reagan initially had a hard-lined foreign policy with the Soviet Union. At the beginning of his administration, he focused on massive reduction of arms, confirmation of agreements between the U. S. and the Soviet Union, series of negotiations regarding arms control specifically to the employment of arms of the Soviets outside their territory and reciprocity (Matlock, 2004, â€Å"Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War ended†). However, these policies have not been effective in promoting changes in the Soviet Union. Soviet leaders were not intimidated by Reagan’s rigid approach that led the Soviets to continue with their communist ways. By 1985, Reagan started to change the direction of his policy. He opted to soften his methods by facilitating negotiations on arms negotiation, preventing the use of Euromissiles, â€Å"compromising strategic nuclear weapons† and complying with the restrictions of the SALT II treaty (Wittner, 2004, â€Å"Did Reagan’s military build-up really lead to victory in the Cold War?†). Because of this, the American public felt that there was a brewing nuclear war between the U. S. and the Soviet Union that resulted to numerous mass protests. The public stir influenced Reagan to make an announcement proposing for conciliatory efforts with the Soviet Union to assure the public that there will be no war. Then, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev forged an alliance in â€Å"implementing disarmament and peace†(Wittner, 2004, â€Å"Did Reagan’s military build-up really lead to victory in the Cold War? †). Reagan’s continuous efforts amid many hurdles, strategic alliance with Soviet leaders and American political transparency have pushed both countries to stop global domination through arms that put an end to the Cold War (Wittner, 2004, â€Å"Did Reagan’s military build-up really lead to victory in the Cold War? †). References Matlock, J. (2004). Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War ended. Random House Publishing. Wittner, L. S. (2004). Did Reagan’s military build-up really lead to victory in the Cold War?. History News Network. Retrieved March 29, 2008 from http://hnn. us/articles/2732. html