Reagan and the “Evil Empire”

After Jimmy Carter’s presidency, Ronald Reagan took over office. As soon as he came to power, his immediate goal was to eliminate communism once and for all, and to get rid of Joseph Stalin’s rule in the Soviet Union. According to Reagan, from the Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia, communism was “the worst thing that came about in this world.” Reagan also criticized the Soviet Union, calling them an “evil empire” ruled by Stalin.

The Arms Race was a “competition” between the United States and the Soviet Union to see who could develop weapons and nuclear weapons the fastest. Reagan ordered the economy of the United States to focus on producing these war materials. This mass production process cost the U.S. more than $2 trillion.

Ronald Reagan also aided any anti-communist territories. He also helped any territories controlled by a communist government to make sure that the people were put up front before any problems occurred with the government. Finally, Reagan ordered the invasion and destruction of Greneda, which was controlled by a communist government, but then destroyed by United States soldiers. When the Soviet Union saw the United States taking real action against communism, it was shocked. No anti-communism country had ever physically done anything about it, until now. But, the Soviet Union had a rapidly decreasing economy, which didn’t make circumstances any better for them. Because of the falling economy, the Soviet Union had to appease to United States’ demands, which drew the war closer to an end.