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 After
failing in his bid to deny President Gerald
Ford the Republican nomination in 1976, former California
Governor Ronald
Reagan again sought the presidency in 1980. In the years
leading up to the election, he used his considerable media
skills to deliver frequent commentary on television and radio
advancing his conservative positions. Although upset in the
New Hampshire primary by George
H.W. Bush, Reagan soon recovered in later primaries to
win on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention.
When negotiations over the vice presidential nomination with
former President
Ford broke down after Ford evidently sought commitments
of considerable autonomy as vice president, Reagan then surprised
many of his supporters by turning to Bush as his vice presidential
choice for the campaign against President Jimmy
Carter and Vice President Walter
Mondale.
The campaign
included only two presidential debates,
and President Carter declined to participate in the first,
apparently due to the decision by the sponsor, the League
of Women Voters, to allow independent party candidate John
Anderson to appear. Reagan's strong performance undermined
Anderson's candidacy, and also mitigated fears that Reagan
would risk dangerous confrontation with the Soviet Union if
elected. In the second
debate, limited to only President Carter and Reagan after
Anderson's poll ratings had fallen, Carter made what some
analysts later identified
as a critical strategic error by ending his discussion on
nuclear weapons with the remark, "I had a discussion
with my daughter, Amy, the other day, before I came here,
to ask her what the most important issue was ..." When
Carter began to charge that Reagan was planning to cut Medicare,
Reagan (who had repeatedly complained that Carter was distorting
his views), also scored points when he interrupted the President
with the line: "There you go again." Reagan's closing
statement also included the rhetorical question to voters,
often copied or adapted by many subsequent challengers to
incumbents in national, state and local races: "Are you
better off now than you were four years ago?"
The campaign
also was marked by the pervasive media coverage of the confinement
of American hostages in Iran, particularly the ABC-TV nightly
report hosted by Ted
Koppel, "The Iran Crisis: America Held Hostage,"
which began November 8, 1979, four days after the hostages
were seized at the U.S. Embassy and that later evolved into
the Nightline
broadcast. President Carter's decision to limit his campaign
appearances during the hostage crisis also served to further
focus public attention on the frustration of many that the
federal government was unable to bring an end to the situation.
Reagan also capitalized on sentiment that large government
programs were ineffective, using the frequent campaign line:
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government
is the problem."
Voters
troubled by the hostage crisis and economic issues, especially
inflation led by higher energy prices, produced an overwhelming
Reagan-Bush victory, with the Republicans securing 489 electoral
votes to 49 for the Democrats.
On January
20, 1981, President Reagan took office, announcing on the
day of his Inauguration that the Iranians had released the
American hostages. The President then advanced a radical tax-cutting
program in an effort to spur the economy, imposed major cutbacks
in federal domestic spending and employees and endorsed large
hikes in the military budget. Only 69 days later, however,
the President was shot
by John Hinckley, a mentally disturbed would-be assassin.
During the incident and his recovery, Reagan's personal popularity
soared by his reported good humor and dignity (e.g. saying
to his surgeons prior to being anaesthesized for removal of
the bullet: "I hope you're all Republicans"). Although
the Reagan economic program generated the largest budget deficits
in US history, the economic recovery led to renewed public
confidence. The President's strong and prompt action in firing
striking air traffic controllers also demonstrated his decisive
leadership style.
Reagan's
1984 re-election campaign against former Vice President Walter
Mondale and Congresswoman Geraldine
Ferraro, the first woman to receive a national party's
nomination as vice president, emphasized the restoration of
public confidence during the first term, especially through
the innovative "Morning in America" theme illustrated
in campaign commercials depicting positive images with little
political rhetoric or even mention of the Democrats. The President's
advanced age and mental fitness briefly re-emerged as an issue
when he appeared confused
during the first debate with Mr. Mondale, but he recovered
for a stronger performance during the final
debate, when he deftly put aside the question with the
quip: "I want you to know also I will not make age an
issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political
purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience." On election
day, the Republican ticket won with the greatest electoral
vote margin in history.
In his
second term, the President intensified his attacks on Communism,
previously highlighted in his first term by his 1982 "Evil Empire" speech
to the House of Commons, and also sought more funds for the
controversial Strategic
Defense Initiative, the so-called "Star Wars"
anti-missile defense program. President Reagan's refusal to
to terminate the anti-missile defense program as demanded
by the Soviets blocked a potential agreement with Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev for sharp reductions in nuclear weapons
when the two leaders met in Rejkavik, Iceland in October 1986
(see transcript
of discussions).
Speaking
at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12, 1987, his
speech included his famous challenge to the Soviet leader,
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall". The President's
second term, however, was marred by the Iran
Contra scandal, where officials illegally diverted funds
to support counter-insurgent forces in Nicaragua.
Strategic
Defense Initiative Letter to Majority Leader Robert Dole dated
October 1, 1985
Meanwhile,
strains within the Soviet bloc became more evident. In Poland,
the movement that arose in the shipyards of Gdansk emerged
as Solidarity, a protest uniting labor and political forces
challenging the legitimacy of the Marxist government. In August
1980, Walesa led the Gdansk shipyard strike, which provoked
other labor protests. over much Under mounting pressure, the
Communist authorities were forced to to negotiate with Walesa
the Gdansk Agreement of August 31, 1980, which gave the workers
the right to strike and to organise their own independent
union. By the end of 1981, however, the Communist government
declared martial law, under which the army and special riot
police arrested or detained Solidarity leaders and many intellectuals.
The United States and other Western countries responded to
martial law by imposing economic sanctions against the Polish
regime and against the Soviet Union. Unrest in Poland continued
for several years thereafter, but in November 1990, Lech
Walesa was elected President for a fiveyear term.
In January
1989, President Reagan left office at the conclusion of his
second term, succeeded by his vice president, George
H.W. Bush. In his farewell address, President Reagan reflected
on the progress that had been made in easing tensions with
the Soviet Union:
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...We must keep up our guard, but we must also continue
to work together to lessen and eliminate tension and
mistrust. My view is that President Gorbachev is different
from previous Soviet leaders. I think he knows some
of the things wrong with his society and is trying to
fix them. We wish him well. And we'll continue to work
to make sure that the Soviet Union that eventually emerges
from this process is a less threatening one. What it
all boils down to is this: I want the new closeness
to continue. And it will, as long as we make it clear
that we will continue to act in a certain way as long
as they continue to act in a helpful manner. If and
when they don't, at first pull your punches. If they
persist, pull the plug. It's still trust by verify.
It's still play, but cut the cards. It's still watch
closely. And don't be afraid to see what you see....
Ronald
Reagan, Farewell Address to the Nation, January 11,
1989
Source:
Ronald Reagan
Foundation
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As President
Reagan left office, events rapidly escalated in the remainder
of 1989 underming the Soviet system both within the country
and in its control of its former East European allies. Within
the USSR, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia moved toward independence.
In Russia, Boris Yeltsin -- a former Communist who had been
dismissed from the Party's Politburo by Gorbachev and others
in 1987-- had been elected President of the Russian Republic's
parliament. Yeltsin denounced the Communist Party and the
policies of Gorbachev.
In early
July, Gorbachev pledged that the Poles and Hungarians were
free to determine their own future. Gorbachev believed that
Communist leaders in the Warsaw Pact countries should try
hanging onto power by being good Communists, that is, by winning
the support of the masses. It may be also that Gorbachev believed
that the Warsaw Pact countries were not worth hanging onto,
that they were costing the Soviet Union more money than value
being received in return. Advances in freedom in Poland and
Hungary was encouraging people in neighboring Czechoslovakia.
On August 21, the twenty-first anniversary of Soviet tanks
rolling into that city, people in Prague demonstrated.
In mid-October,
mounting dissent in East Germany was followed by the Politburo
there replacing Eric Honneker, hoping this would quiet dissent.
But Honneker was replaced with another hardliner, and the
dissent continued. To reduce the "contradiction"
between the Party line and public perceptions, and the Party
admitted publicly that its regime was not popular.
On November
9, the Communist regime in East Germany went further in appeasing
public opinion by announcing liberalized travel regulations.
Inept in its communications, the regime led people in East
Berlin to believe that this meant they could journey freely
into West Berlin. A hoard of people massed at border crossing
points, overwhelming the guards, who let the joyous crowd
pass. The happy East Germans flocked to West German stores
to make purchases and they rejoiced with West Berliners.
By the
end of 1989 each of the Soviet republics had acquired its
own parliament, with its own president In July 1990, he convened
the Russian Republic's Supreme Soviet and demanded economic
sovereignty for the republic free of Soviet central control.
Other republics also sought measures of autonomy, with leaders
of The Ukraine calling for the return of all Ukrainian soldiers
from the Soviet military and the creation of an independent
Ukrainian military.
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Germans
scaling Berlin Wall Image Source:
BBC.com
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In
Prague, the strategy of Communist leaders remained that
of repression. In mid-November, on the fourth consecutive
day of demonstrations, the police in Prague attacked demonstrators.
Thirteen were admitted to hospitals and dozens were arrested.
The following day the number of demonstrators increased,
to approximately 10,000 persons. This inspired a greater
demonstration the following day: an estimated 200,000
demonstrators. The leader of the Czech Communist Party
resigned. Encouraged, an estimated 500,000 people marched
for the end of Communist Party rule. And millions of Czechs
went out on a two-hour general strike to express solidarity
with the demand for political freedom. It was a demonstration
too massive for the Communist regime, and the regime responded
with a pledge of free elections within a year. |
In early
December, the Politburo of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
declared the Soviet invasion to have been a mistake. The promised
elections also were expedited, and by the end of December,
Czechoslovakia had a new parliament, with its president the
dissident leader Vaclav Havel and the chairman of parliament
the former premier jailed by the Communists, Alexander Dubcek.
In the summer of 1991, key Soviet leaders aligned with some
military commanders attempted to depose Soviet Premier Gorbachev
while he was away from Moscow at his seashore retreat on the
Black Sea. The forces against Gorbachev had become increasingly
upset over the planned new constitution that would grant autonomy
or independence to former republics previously absorbed into
the Soviet Union. They also held Gorbachev responsible for
a series of actions that they viewed as impairing Soviet prestige
and world standing, including the withdrawal of Soviet troops
from Afghanistan, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the
fall of the Berlin Wall, the failure of Gorbachev's reform
program to renew economic growth and the surging crime rates
and other signs of social disorder as the central authority
of the state was weakened. Despite warnings, including a phone
call from President Bush, Gorbachev dismissed the concerns:
Bush
phoned me and I said: 'George, you can sleep soundly. Nothing's
going to happen.' That's what I said."
On August
18, however, Gorbachev's chief of staff and a small group
of senior government officials arrived at the presidential
dacha to demand that Gorbachev sign a decree declaring a state
of emergency or resign. After Gorbachev refused, the officials
confiscated the codes required to launch the Soviet Union's
nuclear weapons, and Gorbachev and his family were in effect
placed under house arrest. News of the coup became public
the next morning, with the plotters issuing a statement that
Gorbachev had been relieved of his duties for health reasons
with his powers assumed by Vice President Gennady Yanayev.
A State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP) was established,
led by eight officials who shortly became known as the "gang
of eight," including Soviet Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov,
KGB head Vladimir Kryuchkov, and Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov.
Opposition
to the coup quickly surfaced, including from some of the most
prominent critics of Gorbachev's policies. Later on the morning
of August 19, Russian President Boris
Yeltsin, who had become the first elected president of
the Russian Federation on June 12, nd
other key Russian politicians denounced the coup as unconstitutional.
A joint statement -- by Yeltsin, Russian Prime Minister Ivan
Silayev, and Ruslan Khasbulatov, who was to become chairman
of the Supreme Soviet -- was issued condemning the motives
of the coup-plotters:
On the night of 18-19 August 1991, outside of
the ruling power and the law, the president of the
country was removed. No reasons can be given to justify
this removal. This is a case of a right-wing, reactionary,
anti-constitutional coup. We believe, and believed,
that these methods of force are unacceptable. They
discredit the Soviet Union before the entire world,
damage our prestige in international society, and
return us to the Cold War-era and the isolation of
the Soviet Union from the rest of the world.
Joint
statement of Boris Yeltsin and others August 19, 1991
Source:
Jeremy
Bransten, RadioFree Europe/Radio Free Liberty
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In Moscow,
Yeltsin called for the public to resist the coup, denouncing
the plotters after climbing a tank outside parliament, known
as the White House, to address the crowd that had gathered
to defend the building against an anticipated military assault
by the anti-Gorbachev forces to seize control of the parliament.
Tanks controlled by Yeltsin and Moscow military commander
Nikolai Smirnov took up defensive positions on all the bridges
leading to central Moscow. Yeltsin also issued a decree declaring
all USSR government bodies located on Russian territory, including
the KGB, subject to his authority. Leningrad Mayor Anatoly
Sobchak also called for a city-wide strike to begin the next
day to protest the coup and demand restoration of Gorbachev
to power.
On August
20, the crowd outside the White House had swelled to over
100,000, who erected a series of barricades to slow the progress
of any military action to re-take the building. Tanks loyal
to the plotters also appeared, and three peole died in skirmishes
with the soldiers. President Bush also advised Yeltsin in
a phone conversation that the U.S. would not recognize the
anti-Gorbachev government. In the evening, as tanks were reported
to be moving toward the White House, Yeltsin offered amnesty
to all military personnel and police who switched their allegiances
and ignored the orders from the coup leaders.
Shortly
after midnight on the morning of August 21, tanks dispatched
by the plotters approached the barricades erected to defend
the White House. Clashes broke out, with two protestors shot
as the attempted to block the tanks, and a third was crushed
to death under a tank. Crowds surrounded the vehicles, with
an armored personnel carrier set on fire. In face of the opposition,
the tank commander soon retreated, marking the effective collapse
of the plot to depose Gorbachev. On the next day, the "gang
of eight" was arrested, and Gorbachev was freed from
his confinement.
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Boris
Yeltsin standing on tank outside Parliament building
in Moscow (left; tank commander waving flag to celebrate
news of collapse of the coup (right) and Yeltisin waving
to cheering crowd (below). Image Sources: BBC.com
(left);
Associated Press/CNN.com (right)
and ITAR-TASS/BBC.com
(below)
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Despite
Gorbachev's tacit restoration as Soviet leader, his practical
political authority had eroded in the face of Yeltsin's surging
popularity. As 1991 progressed, each of the 15 Soviet states
declared independence. On December 31, 1991. The Soviet Union
was no more.
Resources
The
Cold War >>
BBC.com
Mikhail
Gorbachev
Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library
Ronald Reagan, "Evil Empire"
speech delivered to the House of Commons June
8, 1982 >> The American Conservative Union
Ronald
Reagan Informal Exchange With Reporters on the Presidential
Campaign October 22, 1984
A
New Russia >> Newshour,
PBS.org
Educational
Resources:
Presidential
Debates Teacher Guide
Rejkavik
Iceland Summit Game >> CNN.com
Reform,
Coup and Collapse: The End of Soviet Communism and of the
Soviet State, by Professor Archie Brown>>
BBC.com
Next>
Clinton
Impeachment
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