Teaches a class about the president Ronald Reagan and the end of the cold war. This class was taught online due to the coronavirus pandemic at the university of austin in texas provided the video. Okay lets go to our first slide if we could. Here we have Ronald Reagan. We talked in our last lecture about the disruptions of the 1960s, the changes in the 1970s. The social changes in the 1970s towards suburb besides a shun following the 1960s we talked about nixon and carter and the desire so Many Americans had for quiet, for silence, to escape, to escape the disruptions. To discuss escape the conflict, ronald raking coming into office in the 19 eighties, elected 1980 represented what Time Magazine is saying here. A fresh set for so many people. A sunny positive disposition. Ronald reagans hero was Franklin Roosevelt. Ronald reagan was of a Different Party but his hero was roosevelt because he grew up listening to him on the radio. I will talk more about that in a couple minutes. So in roosevelt, a figure who helped help to restore hope to americans and the sense of better days ahead, someone who restored a sense of can do spirit in americans. That is what reagan was all about. He came of age, not just in that shadow of the Great Depression and the cold war, but also the vietnam, war the disruptions of the 1970s and 1960s. And for reagan there had to be a better way. There had to be a more positive perspective. It was not enough to put up or shut up. It was not enough to accept things as the were. There had to be a better way. He brought a new infusion of idealism that in fact Many Americans were looking for after a decade, decade and a half following the vietnam war. Following the disruptions of the 1960s. A decade, decade and a half when people were escaping rather than really seeking major fundamental change. He believed that now change could be initiated, change in ways that were props different from the ways that were pursued before. He argued as a conservative that in fact many changes had gone too far, and it was time to reverse some of these changes. He also argued that new changes were necessary in line with american idealism, less selfcritical. More patriotic. More attached to certain core ideas of americanism. He appealed reagan did, to a post vietnam war desire to find a new source of self confidence. The vietnam war shook the confidence of americans and the power it brought, shaped americans in the sense of the righteousness in the cold war. If the vietnam war meet americas question what they were about as did the Civil Rights Movement, as did the many disruptions of the 1960s and if the sun route by station of the 1970s was an escape, Ronald Reagan was looking for a way to research what america was about. He was going to step in and help americans redefine who they were and he wanted to do that by going back to traditions. Basic values that he felt had been lost. Look at this image of him. The sunny optimism, the sense of looking forward to a bright horizon. He appealed, he appealed to those citizens who had moved to the suburbs. His core group were these very suburbanites we talked about in the last lecture. These were liberals who had been mud in the cities. These were liberals who were upset about all of the changes happening around them. These were liberals who did not want their kids sent to schools with their kids they didnt want their kids going to school. With the move to the suburbs. They still considered themselves moderates, they still consider themselves racially progressive and believers and basic american ideas but they were looking for another figure to protect their way of life at the same time. I want to be idealistic and conservative which is to say they want to talk protection for their way of life, while embracing the best of american ideals. So they were not isolationist, but they were not cold warriors. They were not opposed to civil rights, but they were not civil rights activists either. They were looking for someone to instill a sense of values while protecting their wave, life to mix the old with the new and protect their self interests in that context. They were in a sense racial moderates, they were in a sense policy moderates. They believed in opportunity, but then what particular opportunity for themselves. They want to lower taxes, they wanted more choice in where they send their kids to school. They wanted to make it easier to send their kids to the suburbs, and easier for their kids to have the idyllic lives they wanted for them. They did not deny that to people who were differ from themselves. They believed in that for everyone. In a sense, they were traditional republicans. But they also believe that there should be protection for their particular way of doing it, and they believe that race issues had gone too far. Ronald reagan, one of his first Major Campaign addresses, its the story behind this. One of his first Major Campaign addresses it was a trip he made to mississippi in 1980, the site of one of the worst civil rights massacres where for civil rights workers were killed during the Civil Rights Movement. He went to an shoah, mississippi, to a county fair were no politician, no National Politician had gone before and he yelled and articulated to this crowd about the importance of states rights. He argued for local control. He never defended racial segregation or we shall hatred. He personally was opposed to those activities, but then embrace the argument of states rights. People should choose where they live, have personal freedom, personal choice in their suburban lives and the rural lives, wherever they choose to live. This was a movement in the mainstream of american thinking. If we saw after the civil war conflict over the question of who would control the resources and in the 20th century they moved into progressive sets of reform with a new Deal Movement now to more Government Intervention this is now effort under reagan to empower local communities again. To be free for the from the intervention and disruption that was coming around them, to limit the, live the kinds of life they want to live to be left alone and attach that belief to not escape but a sense of great suffrage, dismiss greater sense of american purpose, to be found living in your own local community. A return to a sense of states rights and a return to a sense of local control. This was not married to the same race hatred, but it did have many of those same implications. Many of the same implications. Okay so we have three topics were going to talk about today. Were going to talk about reagan and that new right. Its the beginnings of a new republican party. And will talk about that new cold war. The changes in the cold war, and well talk about the end of the cold war. We will talk more about that in a lecture next week as well. We will talk about the early end of the cold war, and Ronald Reagans role in that as well as Michael Gorbachev and others as well. So lets talk with reagan and then you write and his biography, ignore the next image. Here we have Ronald Reagan in his first job. Really a second job, his first job was as a lifeguard. His second job as a radio announcer in des moines, iowa. The moines, iowa. His career was largely occur in entertainment, not policy, in entertainment. In radio and then move east as well. He was born reagan in dickson, illinois. A small rural town in illinois where farmers came in to buy their supplies, sell their goods, etc. And then at a very young age as i already mentioned he became a great fan of Franklin Roosevelt. He began his life as a teenager who was a new deal democrat. This was largely because of experiences he and his family had. His father jack reagan as you can top from the name was a irish descendant. Jack reagan was a fast talking, backslapping shoe salesman. Well loved. As a shoe salesman in dickson, illinois he went door to door. He went into peoples homes to sell shoes to them. I dont think they were wearing making high tops. We dont know. He was selling shoes, and during the Great Depression his father lost his job. Quite literally. Its hard for us to imagine today. People stop buying shoes. His father lost his job. His father who was already a heavy drinker became even heavier drinker. This is a common story from the new deal we talked about this before. People didnt simply lose the, jobs they lost their sense of purpose, they lost their sense of connection, they lost their sense of control over their lives, its particularly difficult for. Men its different guilt for anyone but its difficult for men at a time who were assumed breadwinners for the families. 25 of americans were unemployed in 1933. Most of them were from single wage earning families. So these were the men who defined who they were by their ability to bring home income to their families, when they couldnt do that they had lost their masculinity. They lost their manhood. His father, like many men dealing with this kind of depression, became a deeper. Drinker developed a very serious drinking problem and began having problems with reagans mother and family. Reagan described later in life the horror of one day opening the door to his house and seeing his father faced planted in front of the house, not having made it back into the home the night before. Ronald reagan believed as a young man that his family was saved by Franklin Roosevelt. The new deal was what saved his family. His father after being unplanned for about nine months got a job working for a new deal agency, working for the Works Progress administration. Basically taking small amounts of money from the federal government to help start projects to put people to. Work his father was the perfect person to do this because as the popular shoe salesman in town he knew everything. He knew how to fight people and put them to work. So the new deal saved his father, it gave his father a job. It gave him income, a sense of purpose. Growing up as a young man Ronald Reagan wanted to be someone give purpose to others, you want to embody that hope and went into entertainment as i said. He was a radio announcer and if we go back to this image here he had moved to day loin des moines, he moved to who, he was a sportscaster. They used to send in this course for baseball games by telegraph. Didnt have video screens. And he would read the scores. And it was his job to enliven, them to tell the story. He became a good storyteller. Telling, people explain to people what was happening in the chicago cubs game, or the yankees game, whatever he was covering. After doing radio for, awhile radio was also Franklin Roosevelt means of communication Ronald Reagan move to hollywood to become a movie star. He never made it to the top of hollywood, he never became isle of those were all his friends. He was a great move east. Or who would be the equivalent . The great b movie stars. People we recognize that theyre not the brad pits. I think youtubers. You think there is the b, list i would say the there are the d list. Im thinking of the people who are often supporting actors in a lot of movies. Whoever they are, people you recognize in a lot of movies but they usually arent the stars. He never quite made it to the top, and this is crucially important, he became involved with the work of actors to protect their pay. He was very concerned, Ronald Reagan was, that actress like himself especially those who are not at the top were being exploited by the movie studios. And this is the way that things worked at that time, its also the way the sports you as a actor or a as a baseball player were owned by the studio or team you played for. Babe ruth played his entire career after being traded to the red sox. He played his entire career for the yankees because the yankees owned. Him most actors in the 1960s worked for the same studio the studio on that they can work for anyone else. Regan got involved in the creation with you all know now that the parents of the awards, some people watch when they know the actors get the awards and they pretend to cry and thank their grandmothers for making them actress and all this. This is the discreet actress killed. Essentially the first union for actors. The first union for actors. The actress killed was designed to give actors the ability to bargain better. Reagan became the president of the Screen Actors Guild when he spent as much of his career in hollywood negotiating as he did acting. This is really important because he developed a sense of importance of Free Enterprise and the importance of for unions. Throughout our course unions have plenty really important. Roll think of the brotherhood of sleeping car think of the importance of the Civil Rights Movement and the union to the Civil Rights Movement. Unions were crucially important to hollywood and to sports. Its the Major League Baseball union that allows the creation that negotiates the creation of free agency. So Baseball Players are not owned by their team when their contract is up, they can go somewhere else and they can negotiate another team to pay more. You all believe in free agents. None of you want to graduate and sell your entire career to one company. Most of you will work for multiple people and many of you because you are talented youll be at the top of one place lets a google. Then apple will come and offering more money and you want to be able to leave to get more money. Thats up being a free agent is all about. The negotiation for free agency was done by the Screen Actors Guild. Ronald reagans role in that. He became well known as a be great actor but someone who is a eloquent and effective Spokes Person for freedom and entrepreneurship. Protecting those values for actress and others. He was hired then by General Electric, General Electric which makes dishwashers and washing machines and things like that to be a spokesman for them. He went around the country advocating for entrepreneurship in companies. The General Electric of the 1960s was like the google of today. We are bringing you the future. Embrace this, embrace freedom. In 1964 he decided that he was going to support a republican candidate. Not a democratic candidate. He supported marie goldwater for president against linda johnson. Reagans belief was that what Lyndon Johnson was doing in the sport of the Civil Rights Movement, will Lyndon Johnson was doing in support of new Government Programs were quitting too many restrictions on the freedoms of individual like himself. Reagan did not oppose civil rights but he opposed the federal government getting too involved in peoples lives limiting their ability to live as they wish. Send their kids to school where they want to send them, more where they want to work. Lyndon johnson was seen as overregulated the economy, over regulating society. He became innocence the first celebrity, first major celebrity to be elected to the office. Barry goldwater didnt win in 64 but 66. He actually defeated the most recent california governor, jerry brown, his dad, who had been governor before. He this is a comment. I hope you like it. Currently wants me to tell you that she likes year shirt. Thank you currently. You and i do a lot of blue on blue. I yes but i think i surpassed you today. Thats a Higher Quality shirt that i saw. Its wonderful that you mentioned this because this was actually brought to me by might relatives in india. So im wearing my indian internationalism in a really stylish way. Right . Now eddie what about your shirt . I mean its been a while and no one has commented on my shirt. Its very summary. Its jungley, doesnt it remind you of the jungle . At first i thought it was camouflage. You joined the marines. Camouflage on there. Got a speed on style because its important to me. Hes doing the facial hair. Can you grow it . I strange looking guy in the mirror, we are no. But anyway, there is a real pleasure. I like students appreciate that. You dont want to be too serious. So nathan would like to know did reagan become Popular Premier League because of his sense of humor . Good question nathan, i would say that reagan it wasnt just because of a sense of humor he was famous for his ability to tell jokes. Being humorous is able to show that you dont take yourself too seriously. Right . If you take yourself to seriously its really hard to get people to connect with. You we connect with people who we feel are, open reagan was able to do that convey a sense of humor. But it wasnt his only source of popularity. I think a lot of his popularity was his authenticity. People believe even though he was a actor there was a real human side to him. He was humane in his ability to connect with people. What we have to remember is that being the smartest in the room is not always the best way to lead people. You should be smart, but you should also be humane and a human being. People connect with others who they feel they can identify with, and so reagans humor, his storytelling all of these things allow him to do that. And to nathans point he gained a lot of experts talking to a lot of people. One of the things that he learned as a radio broadcaster, as a movie after, as a union leader, as a campaign or someone who spoke for General Electric around the country heat learned how to talk to lots of different audiences. One thing you should all learn in your careers is not just to travel widely but to talk to different people if there are people out there who you havent figured out how to talk to you need to figure out how to talk them because when do they will be important. Even if they see the world differently of to learn to speak to different audiences and the way we do that is to be human and break tension with humor. Another way we do this to reveal part of, ourselves be vulnerable, tell stories. That is why history is so valuable, to tell a story, them to tell people what to do. More effective to tell people a story than to tell people what to do. During the 1970s, reagan campaigned on renewing americas story. Renewing who we are. He was upset that we in his eyes forgot who we are. Weve got so caught up in the crises and controversies about civil rights about vietnam that we had forgotten who we were and this concept of a new writes that i had used was a concept at the time of creating a return to what made America Great or meet america what it was a return to basic humanitarian values. A return as reagan said in the 19 eighties to use our force in limited values but when we use it used to. When reagan was a big fan of the rainbow movies. And he won a fan of the rainbow movies . Have you seen any of them . All of them. You like the rainbow movies as well. Yeah. Sure. He loved the rainbow movies, he loved the rambo movies because unlike vietnam you can find a way to win, the enemies on the ground. But the real strong american finds his way to win. Theres a famous moment and i think its rambo 73 or 74, one of the rambo films where rambo it is communicating back with home and hes says can we win this time . Reagan use that line all the time. Yes we can win this time. His belief was that this new right was the argument that the left had done so much to try to make American Society better, and control American Society, that it had lost its sense of american freedom. This is going to be recaptured. As he became president as it was elected to president largely on that argument, carter was a response to nixon. Carter providing integrity. Carter providing honesty. Reagan was a response to carter. Reagan was providing idealism and hope in a way carded. If reagan was seen as a this dull, carter was exciting. Showcasing American Power at home and abroad. Reagan found traces where this is possible. In particular in the next image. The country of el salvador. El salvador in south america. Look at the of the map you can see el salvador in the map. A decade after vietnam communist forces were winning and we were losing. They were running and we were losing. The soviets were developing or weapons. They were spreading their material. We were leaving vietnam and they were going into places like afghanistan. And they were using their allies in cuba and elsewhere to spread their influence in the native states into countries like el salvador that had new soviet and cuban friendly governments. We as americans were going to return to our righteous ideas and we were not going to accept this. We were not going to accept this. Some reagan argued that the United States had to pursue more militant, anti communism in our local region. No more big wars, but the use of force in small worse to protect ourselves. The reagan doctrines had become known. It was a doctrine that said we are going to use force wherever necessary to keep communist outside of our backyard. Keep them out of latin america. Here he quoted theodore roosevelt. They need states using its power to show its a great nation in its own backyard. This had perverse consequences however. It was very popular with americans. It made americans feel like they had a purpose in the Foreign Policy again. A sense of idealism, a reminder of what we stood for. We stood for for the defeat of communism, the spread of democracy, were not particular democratic or idealistic themselves. Next slide. A cartoon. Somewhat accurately capturing what happened. This is a cartoon from the early 19 eighties. This is a soldier in the field in el salvador. He says president tour tape posing as napoleon, anyone imposing napoleon 20 is worried about. Door tate was a dictator, a thug, a militarist to fight against communist forces and el salvador. In this cartoon, the soldier with a beer belly. I was going to make a joke about eight ta in that. The soldier with the beer belly is communicating and says yes president duarte you can tell them that in washington hes going towards democracy. Does it look like theyre moving towards democracy there . What do you think . What you will see in this cartoon . What is the cartoon telling us . Theres a very serious point in the carton relevant to the reagan years, relevant to the later years in the Foreign Policy. Whats really going on . Whats the cartoon poking fun at . Why is the comic sarcastic if not satirical in saying were moving towards democracy. The little dudes at the bottom right, were winning a freeze used by a young minister named jerry to see americans were going to be the majority of people pushing for morality at home and abroad. We would not accept anything less. What do you see in the cartoon here . Sir david says it looks like nothing is happening. Chloe says a bunch of people are dead. He and oppression. Nathan says it sounds like militaries them. John says it seems like they are very much a democratic. Not moving towards democracy. If we go back to the image they are any of it is they are not moving towards democracy at all. Its not that reagan didnt believe, it he actually believed that the pursuit of democracy was simply destroying democracy. Remember george is warning from the early cold war . We have to remember that when were defending values were not defending them in ways that actually destroyed them. The Reagan Administration started to do what reagan advocated out sincerity. Supporting the people who needed to be supported because they were fighting the guys we hated. But in supporting one group of thugs and get another group of folks we werent making it better. We were in some ways making it worse. Look at this image. Our friends are ugly, fast, and they are using guns to kill people. Theyre using guns to kill people. Theyre not actually Building Democracy. Theyre claiming theyre Building Democracy but theyre actually destroy peoples lives. Thats not to say that the other side is better theres no heroic alternative here. What makes this cartoon powerful is that the curtain isnt over simplifying. Its telling us how the Police Policy makers are oversimplifying, how the leaders are oversimplifying. Its the people that we are supporting against the bad guys are potentially as bad as the bad guys. The Jose Napoleon duarte regime were responsible for quitting death crowds who would should people who are not seen as on the good side. They used american aid not to simply buy food, but in large parts to pocket the money for their own purposes and strengthen military capabilities without building infrastructure, without building schools, without building a functioning society. This is a recurring pattern, deeply recurring in the region. Years forces fighting in the name of democracy but in reality undermining the very values themselves. This is study latin america to the state, those who come from Central America this day well see the break in years as a very dark period of militarism and interventionism and a simple way from positive change in that region. But it wasnt that way in other regions. And not that weve seen from everyone as well. One thing we have to recognize as historians is that the same policies can have different effects in different places. If we go back to our list of topics lets talk about reagan in the new cold war if reagan was pushing american ideals often terrifically and abroad he was also challenging the soviet union itself often directly. Reagans believe was that the United States in the 1970s had fallen behind, and Many Americans had come to believe that is well. The soviet union was getting stronger or so it seemed, the United States was becoming weaker that was the dominant impression. Especially because the soviet union seem to be creating a bigger military arsenal and we seem to be pulling out of places like vietnam. In 1984, you can go to the next image. The olympics were held in the United States. I remember this day. It was actually a really interesting moment. Mcdonalds had these little cards that they would give out when you bought a big match or whatever. On the card you have different events and when americans won a gold in that event youve got a big mask. If they won silver youve got fries, if they want bronze you get a. Drink i was at the time 11 years old and believe it or not i was working there to make money so into summer i was working there. These kurds became my source of lunch and thats why since then i have never eaten mcdonalds. I had my fill of mcdonalds in 1971. Sorry mcdonalds is it a sponsor of our course. What happened in 1984 is deeply relevant to this because it affects the stuff that youre hearing about. Its deeply relevant because in 1980, after the soviet union had invaded afghanistan, jimmy carter had boycotted the olympics that that year was in moscow. The United States didnt participate in the olympics. In retaliation the soviet union didnt participate in the elections its so easy to win when your real competitors dont show up and said the United States had this outpouring. This outpouring of success in the olympics. And reagan translated that very effectively into a outpouring of patriotism. Thats what this image of him with the flag behind him comes from. He of course is not the first or last president use the flag as a simple, but heres what reagan was saying in 1984. These guys on the other side, theyve been growing stronger but we are going to reverse that. Its now time for us to flex our muscles again, its now time for us to show we are stronger and we are going to kick their butts in sports and working to kick their butts in everything. We are going to overcome bridges had the vietnam syndrome, the sense that we were losers, never going to be winners again. And we are going to take it, directly to the enemy. Reagan argued that it remilitarization of the cold war would strongly force the soviets to back down. And he pursued this through his first term as president , in 1983 he famously, speaking to a group of florida eventually calls who have this speech on campus came out and said the soviet union is the evil empire. And it is our bright and it is our duty to defeat this empire. In 1983 as well later that month in march he announced the creation of a strategic defense initiative. Strategic defense initiative, which was to be a space based system. The first space based system, not a land based or airspace that would provide protection from the United States and soviet missiles. The United States could knock down their missiles but we can send hours back at them. Today the United States has a navy of 106 at the time to hundred 70. He was going to almost double the size of the u. S. Navy. Create new missiles and in a country most americans dont know much about called afghanistan thinnest its was going to fight the soviet union. A group of islamic fighters fighting the soviet union which had invaded afghanistan, not only give them money. She gave them soldier launch missiles to shut down the paint. A prominent figure who received extensive support because he was fighting the soviets was a man didnt hear of at the time and became popular leader. Went to afghanistan to fight the infidel invaders from the soviet union, so hed be fighting the infidel fighters from the United States. He argued the United States must hold the soviet union accountable. Dont ignore, talk about the human rights violations. 97 inches the first full year as president. Into his first year he refused to meet with the soviet ambassador until he released a group of plan to cross, tells the group of religious dissidents. Many more in the 19 eighties. Many of them were released, russian jews released from russia and became prominent. The recent election in israel was largely determined by russian jews who had left russia in the 19 eighties, moved to israel, and have now become important voters and politicians in israel today. That is just a connect the history to it what happened in the last few days of elections in israel. Reagan claimed the human but the notice was about human rights and power, were going to push the soviets. Were going to mobilize ourselves and our allies, were going to be strong again and we are going to push back the soviets. At the same time, because of his experiences on the Screen Actors Guild, reagan emphasized negotiations. This is really important. He was calling for tougher line, but he was calling for a tougher line so that the United States could negotiate for better deals. This is really important. People outside of that, regain believed that he would get peace through strength. But that meant negotiation. The United States in his view had acquired a week negotiating position in the 1970s. We were going to make our negotiating position stronger. Now we were going to come to the table stronger, more self righteous, and we would be able to negotiate for a better deal from the soviet union. This had an arm us implications at home. It was very popular at home, but it had other implications as well. This carried forward what had been johnson and then certainly nixons agenda of law and order. We talked about this on tuesday. If the emphasis around suburbs was using police power to control areas, to keep areas, safe to prevent disruption, to prevent protest. That used police power abroad was also going to continue autumn. If we needed more freedom at home we needed more strength at home. Reagan was connecting those comments. So there was a pullback from civil rights legislation, new money given to policing, in particular, through the 1970s and even more so in the 19 eighties you had the prevalence and continue to push for more maximum security prisons, and form more mandatory sentencing for drug dealers. This was the height of the drug war latest gentlemen. If we were fighting the communist abroad we would fight the drug dealers at home. We were going to be tough break and said on the drug dealers who hang out at the High School Playground or hang out in the park. We were going to be tough, were going to pay more police to capture them and were going to lock them up. Were going to love them up as long as we could. More money going to law and order at home. To say to local communities you can live as we, wish we will make sure you are protected. Those suburbs have to be safe. They need police, and work to make sure that the drug dealers cannot come down the culdesac. The United States government invested more than in that than ever before. That meant less spending on other things. Less spending on welfare programs, less spending on education. Less spending another elements of society. More spending on offense, more spending on policing power. It had a bit effect upon American Society. This is the American National debt, which has also grown considerably over the last several years. It went down after this period. Reagan is president in the 19 eighties. Look at the debt increases. The debt is the accumulated borrowing of the u. S. Government. Each year there is either a deficit or surplus. We either spend more money than we, taken thats called a deficit. Or we taken more money that we spent. Thats called a surplus. The debt is that cumulated deficits. So if every year you are in college you spend five dollars more than you taken, you have a five dollar deficit each year and after for you to have a 20 dollar debt. Look at how the u. S. Debt explodes. Look at how the u. S. Debt explodes during this period. It exploded in the 19 eighties because reagan was spending more on defensive policing, he was reducing spending slightly on social programs, but he was also increasing spending on entitlements, Social Security, medicare. One of the biggest growth is medicare coverage, Health Insurance covered paid for elderly people. In part was because elder reagan was an elderly person but it is also part of long toward and part of security. We are going to be a more secure internally society. Were going to beat the communists, abroad in prison at the drug dealers and we should the old people have safety and Health Insurance. That was the argument that reagan was macon. It meant that government was actually spending a lot more money, not in the same things that they have been spending money on before, listen education. Its during this period ladies and gentlemen that College Tuition really starts to rise because theres less money from this federal government and state governments four to push, and guess who pays for . It all of. It all of you. So more money is going into defensive. Policing College Campuses are safer but students are paying more. Its a reallocation of resources, its a spending of more money, but a spending of more money and more things for particular groups of people. It means more local control but more federal spending to secure local control. Providing security for local communities to do as they wish. Providing security for local communities to do as they wish and to some extent that creates a long Term Economic problem for the United States. The benefit is that this system is prevent a basis for safety and innovation, its providing a framework where people can work safely. The downside though, is that its creating enormous inequalities. Some are benefiting from this spending, especially the elderly, summer. Not drink reagan the oldest americans become the wealthiest americans. Old americans who deserve it now have more Health Insurance than ever before were as Young Americans dont. Older americans benefit from a lot of this spending worse younger americans dont. This is not to say that any of this wrong but these are the facts of what happened. Whether you think it is right or wrong its a matter of opinion. That is the allocation of. Money money is coming away from other investments. It looks like you had something to say. I dont. Im stretching. You are talking about old white people which reminds me of i was just talking about old people. You dont have to be the fence of. It makes me want to stretch. Im eating myself in a limber. Twice a week. Just want to add want you to take care of yourself. Dont want to pay for any health care. Wanted to take care of yourself. Okay lets go to our third topic now. We have talked about the rise of reagan himself and his new idealism. The new forceful image and then we talked about the new cold war with emphasis on defense and policing in various areas. Now well talk about the end of the cold war, well talk more about this in a leader lectures. What this meant for other countries in wish to those other countries but list talk about it from the sort of u. S. Soviet perspective. From the perspective of u. S. Lawmakers and for understanding Ronald Reagan and for understanding his legacy. People often talk about reagan and his role in ending the cold war. So lets talk about this today. Next image if we could. Mikhail gorbachev. Do you remember him . Around the time that i was born so dont have much of a memory. Wow. That blows my mind. So Mikhail Gorbachev came into the leadership of the soviet union in 1980. Five rigged had been putting pressure on the soviet union. He was taking the game to them and was going to use forced to force them to backed out and when criticized for being too militarist stick rig and said i would love to also talk with the soviet leaders, but they keep dying on me. In fact three soviet leaders in succession died during regans first years as president. They were old men and died. Michael gorbachev became the new leader in 1975. He was a younger, man a man with more International Experience a man who had come of age in the 19 fifties and sixties, not during world war ii. So he had seen the world in a different way. Michael gorbachev was committed to informing the soviet union. He saw that the soviet union was having trouble keeping up with the United States. He also recognize that the soviet union as a entity ad become corrupt and was over investing in the military and had to build a better functioning economy. He was a communist, but like reagan, he believed in the idealistic core values of his system and he believed they had to go back to those values. Get rid of a lot of the bad things that have been. Down he was critical of a lot of stalls policies and crew shoves policies. He was critical of how the soviet union had forced the and to be more militarist. So hes looking for a way to open up the soviet union and reform. Monterrey can continue to put pressure on gorbachev. Many of those closest to reagan didnt believe the gorbachev was different not for a long time. To reagans credit when reagan met gorbachev, in part because of reagans emphasis upon personal negotiations, and because of his experience talking to so many audiences, he saw someone different in gorbachev. My letter has been largely critical of reagan so far, and there are many shortcomings reagan had, but theres no doubt reagan had one deep, deep insight, which was that individuals matter. He saw him gorbachev someone who is different. Gorbachev was the one who want to make the changes, gorbachev is the one one to take more risks. But reagan was willing to meet at those risks. Reagan also believed that all of the pressure he was putting on the soviet union was designed not just to win, but to reform the soviet union. He actually wanted the other country to improve. He actually wanted them to be better. He wanted to help them, just as he was trying to bury them. He wanted to help them just as he was trying to bury them. And he came to believe, despite most of his advisers who warned him otherwise that he could work with gorbachev. He could work with this man. From 1985 to 1989, so the january when reagan left office he began to spend more and more time thinking and working with gorbachev. Reading about the soviet union. It is extraordinary the time rigging took so he was not a avid reader to read about russia, to try to understand about russian people and to get beyond simply the conflict. To get beyond simply threatening them. Reagan believes that they could change. He also believed that they had gone far enough, in his threats, he believes that they were willing to change course. He was willing to be the movie after who pursues one element and then switches the narrative when people have become sufficiently concerned. He wanted a happy ending. As much as he wanted to put pressure on the soviet union, he wanted a happy ending. Gorbachev was willing to take serious risks and make some serious changes. Gorbachev did most of the work to change the soviet union but reagan met him halfway and supported him. Reagan made gorbachev believe that he had a partner. Even though they disagreed. They disagreed on this strategic initiative, on industrialism versus capitalism. Came to believe that region wasnt actually trying to destroy him but that rigging could be part of what gorbachev wanted. Gorbachev wanted better relationship with the United States and a more open society, a society and a world less prone to warfare and he believed that he could actually work with this man based on their discussions. And they both started to take risks. In 1986 they met in rank vic, iceland. Gorbachev and reagan. To that flew horror of their advisers, you can see images of this, to their absolute horror, they began to talk about eliminating all nuclear weapons. Gorbachev didnt want to spend money on these weapons and breakin hated them because they could destroy the war. He had built more of them and he wanted to get rid of them. They negotiated the first limitation that actually destroyed weapons. All of the agreements of the early seventies, the socalled salt, strategic arms limitation talks, they had only put caps on the future building of weapons. Now they were going to diminish weapons, now they were actually want to start destroying them. The Nuclear Arsenals are reduced during this period. The only new means for economical operation and they started to see each other escorting parties. We understand it was the were these were two rivals on the playground who have been punching each other for years. They started punching ever heard and as they started punching hearted they realized now we need to restrain ourselves. We have gone on far enough. They both believed reagan and gorbachev, that they can Work Together. Now control the conflict and help each other. Help each other. And again, gorbachev meet the harder decisions, to greater risks and reagan encouraged. That in ways that were not just policy but personal. This had enormous effect on how societies viewed each other, not just on how these two men of each. Other next image. Thats an extraordinary image here. This is december of 1988. December of 1988. But kyle gorbachev, the one to the left front, comes to new york to speak at the United Nations, and he gives a speech to the United Nations that those who had been longtime soviet watchers never thought they would ever witness. He basically says that the soviet union no longer wants to be involved in military conflict with the u. S. , the soviet union will unilaterally, unilaterally reduce 20 50,000 soldiers in europe and 25,000 tanks. Cut its forces. He asks the United States to reciprocate but does not wait for them to agree. He goes to governors island, there it is, statue of liberty is in the background of the new york harbor. With president reagan. And the president elect, george h. W. Bush, the guy with a very big forehead. Their george h. W. Bush had been Vice President and in november, 1988 he was elected president. Really interesting moment there. If you read the minutes of the set of meetings and ive read them, there you read coming from mars, you would not have known that reagan hit the soviet union so much. You wouldnt know that gorbachev heated capitalism. You would not know that reagan actually in fact when reagan went to moscow just before this he was asked this question from the soviet union and he said there was another time, there was another time not now. This visit is the moment the cold war ended. I know because i was there, i know because i was there and i will tell you my story of this. I was in high school then. I was a high school student, and i used to go to a has cool in new york city and just took the subway. This was december, 1988 and global child was going through and hand ten coming from this meeting going back uptown. This is the lower southern part of manhattan and they were driving back up north. And he was, he had these three limousine,s soviet style limousines, you might have seen them in various tom clancy film stuff like that. I remember coming right up from the subway coming from school on december 3rd, 1988. Youd come out of the subway like a rat, i was like a rat on the subway, i came out of the subway, and the streets were lined with people. You couldnt get across the street. There were so many people lining up. And these were not freaks. These were actually people wearing suits. And ties. These were bankers and lawyers and things like that and i was in my backpack and i was like whats going on here . Get out of my way. Get out of my way whats going on here. I remember faking. The yankees want world series. It was impossible. What was going on. The limousines came by. Gorbachev stopped the limousine and he got out. He started walking towards the crowd. I was standing on the street corner, a little upset, ill the people around me. And there he comes. First of all as he started to walk over it was as if Bruce Springsteen was here. It was as if brooke was. Here the cheering, the sense of gorbachev among american businesspeople as a hero was popular. He was more popular than ron reagan because he was seen as changing the world. And he walked over. Looked at me, and he said jeremy. He didnt say that. He didnt do that at all. Thats what should have happened. He came about three or four feet away from me and that was just a throng of people trying to touch him. Thats the moment leader subject with the cold war ended. Why did it and that moment . Because i said so. No. It ended at that moment because what i recognized as a 16 year old then was that americans no longer feared the soviet leader. I cannot imagine stolen being treated that way. Reagans hardline and idealism had curiously collaborated with klobuchars reform agenda and reagans support for the agenda. Lets go back to the image here. The sense that they could be partners in American Society and the sense that they couldnt remain partners in world war ii had created the foundation for the cold war another was a sense that these two men and the leaders of these two sides could Work Together and there was not a good reason to fear. Klobuchar was not a feared person when he came ten feet from him. Klobuchar was a reformer bringing the world together. And reagan even though he was a hard liner was also seen as a humanitarian, jovial older man who is willing to work with gorbachev. He would be remembered for ending the world cold war but he facilitated gorbachevs efforts, he supported gorbachevs efforts, he humanist his policies and he was willing to work with gorbachev and make americans work with him. More pressure and more force in the early eighties to shift the direction, used the legitimacy what he had as a hard liner to sell a soft light to. Americans to sell americans on working with gorbachev. To sell americans. Reagan made americans feel stronger again but he convince them to use that strength to reach out. It was reagans willingness to reach, out his restoration of american confidence whether justified or not and the use of that confidence to encourage more corporation. You see great leaders are leaders that use strength and corporation and humanitarian activities not bullying and continued conflict. That is what i was feeling on the streets of new york that date. The desire to cooperate, i felt that as a 16yearold because i knew enough to believe that that kind of moment was unthinkable even a few years. Earlier it had direct effects. I was not the only one who felt that way. I was not the only one who felt that way. Next image. It was that exact experience that i had a new york, that explains exact experience that was the experience of the berlin wall falling, 11 months later. The berlin wall as you remember, had been built in august of 1960, one when the United States and soviet union came close to nuclear war over the future of berlin. It imprisoned the whole west of berlin and it became a symbol of conflict between east and west. A symbol of a closed soviet society and a militarized American Society ready to respond. It was east versus west, with Weston Churchill had called before it was built, the iron curtain. I define east from west. After it wasnt just that americans stopped fearing gorbachev, citizens in poland and hungary and elsewhere it stopped fearing gold which are as well. They believe that the United States was open to them, that American Allies were open to them. So beginning really in poland in the 18 1980 night and culminating to some extent in berlin and 1989, people who were living in the soviet system who had been wealth and started to tear down these walls. This was most romantic in november of 1989 a throng of citizens came. If you look at these young people, they are not doing this as i said because of america. Theyre doing this because they want to be free. They want to go where they want to go, and they no longer fear that gorbachev will shape them down like dogs as stolen. Did they no longer feel that the United States will explore to them. They believe that now this is a new moment and the leaders working together will allow them to Work Together with other citizens in places they can before. It was, and i cant really emphasize this enough. It was such a idealistic moment. Again i was and how, School Anything seemed possible. Anything seemed possible, i went off to college and 1990. I went up to stanford in 1990 and we thought every problem in the world was going to be solved. Not because reagan solve them, or because gorbachev solve them but reagan and gorbachev have found a way to solve these problems and anything is possible. Anything was possible. The fall of the berlin wall was followed by nationalist uprisings through the soviet system in places like a mania, as bergeron, the Baltic States like estonia, lithuania. These people long imprisoned in the soviet system were able to gain their freedom. Russians themselves argued for major reform. Russia was one component of a larger soviet system. A real democracy. And by december of 1991, the soviet union was gone. It was gone. Gorbachev peacefully sign the document ending the soviet union as we know. It again, this was not a victory for the United States. This was an openness to change, encouraged by the United States, and courageously sought by those in the former soviet union. Regan did not make this happen. At some point he even made it more difficult. But he did play a crucial role. His crucial role was to embrace the possibility of change, push forward, and when he sought to support it. It was his willingness to negotiate, his willingness to adjust, and his willingness to convince americans using his legitimacy as a tough guy to sell a more cooperative policy, that made this moment a little more possible that it might have been otherwise. So lets go back to our initial image of reagan. He did offer americans a fresh start. Not quite in the ways he always wanted, but in ways that were injuring. In ways that had lasting effects. Attitude matters. Words matter. I what your image is matters for people. Reagan inspired lots of people. He is spread a love people to believe that the United States could be a better society. Heres part lots of people to believe that they could live the lives they wanted. He inspired a lot of people to think they could do better. And he alienated others who were not included in that vision. So it wasnt everyone, but for many people, this was an inspiring moment. He gave americans a new sense of self confidence. And he actually spent a lot of money on certain things, the topped the United States in certain ways. Again, our medicare system, our Social Security system in some ways reflects the investments that he made. He actually built government to help some people. Not everyone, others lost resources, but he did many positive things for many groups. There were negatives as well though. He supported brutal dictators in places like el salvador. Many progressive reforms especially civil rights reforms came to a halt. He supported, he encouraged groups that were not actually groups of hate. He was not a heater. He supported groups that want to limit investments of rights. During the aids crisis, when aides became not just of disease in the United States and the world but also a phobia. People fearful of even talking attaching others braid can regain did very little while thousands of gay americans suffered from this horrible disease. While tens of thousands of africans in other societys effort, he did very little about the. Inequality group during inequality grew during his presidency. Overall, his policies were revolutionary because they brought the u. S. Out of the shadow of vietnam, out of the shadow of the disruptions of the 1960s and brought suburban politics into the mainstream. The social changes in the 1970s became the heart of american politics. It became the heart of the new republican party. It became the heart of a new system and a new approach to the world and approach at home. American society was not more divided, nor was American Society more prosperous as a whole. But American Society seemed to be moving in what many believed was a positive direction. And those who were left behind. Those who were left behind were now mobilized and pushed for their own purposes and other ways. He replaced, reagan did the vietnam war us with one of the global worse. He replaced the global disruptions with law and order. He created two americas. Not divided, but still to. Americas there was the america that found hope and idealism and what he created, the two americas would Work Together in his time but in some ways they would be the two americas we would come to see in later years. Ring is politics for politics for many, they left people in despair. Politics of idealism, but not for everybody. Rig and teaches us us most of all that in a large complex society like the United States that are different experiences people have with the same policies. We must be attentive to those different experiences, to reagans credit he pursued chain which. To reagans discredit he didnt see how it affected different groups in different ways. Thats a tall order. Change in a complex society will always affect people in different ways, leadership is about understanding and reconciling those changes. That topic will be the topic for us as we move into the post cold war period and we look at the consequences as we get to the end of the world war for the creation of the world we live in today. I will join you twostate discuss that fascinated. Topic have a good weekend. Until then dont forget your response papers. Youre watching American History tv, every weekend on cspan three explore our nations past. Cspan 3, created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider