One of the most influential and perhaps well loved of Republicans, Ronald Wilson Reagan was the Fortieth President of the United States of America from 1981 to 1989. His illustrious career covered not only the spotlight of the international political scene but also that of the silver screen during his early years. Remembered, among many things, for his Reaganomics, President Ronald Reagan was as bold on screen as he was with his policies. During his second term as President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan was responsible for the ending of the Cold War.
Perhaps one of the most important achievements of the Reagan administration was the cessation of the Cold War. Ronald Reagan was not only responsible for the escalation of the Cold War but he was also responsible for the end of the Cold War. In a historic signing in 1987, the INF treaty was signed into law, ending the Cold War. This signing, however, was not without its drama as the events in the early 1980s did nothing to suggest that such a historic event was ever possible. By cleverly asking the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia, to increase oil production, Reagan was able to slow down the oil revenues of the Soviet Union. This led to a slowdown in their arms buildup.
It was the installation of Mikhail Gorbachev into power, however, that eventually led to the end of the Cold War. Ronald Reagan changed his international policy with the Soviet Union and soon adopted a more diplomatic approach to Russian-American relations. In 1987, the Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty that called for the elimination of an entire class of nuclear weapons. This signaled the end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new era of Russian-American relations.
Works Cited:
Jeanne Boydston, Nick Cullather, Jan Lewis, Michael McGerr, James Oakes (2002) Making a Nation: The United States and Its People. Prentice Hall
