speech

10. The meaning behind the speech was Reagan calling for the wall to be torn down and with that the unification of the torn in half country. However, this was not the only message this speech was focusing on. President Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech was the official declaration of the United States position against communism and helping the Germans reunify their country. Overall the end goal of the speech was to gain peace and prosperity. As Reagan stated this many times throughout the speech.

11. the effects and or aftermath of Reagan's speech was astronomical. It represented a new era for Germany. Reagan's speech was an incredibly important movement, but the total magnitude of the importance of the speech was not realized until a year and a half later; when the wall came down. Bill Plante said, "It's seen as a turning point in the Cold War. I think Reagan's speech bolstered the morale of the pro-democracy movement in East Germany." (Madison) In 1990, East and West Germany was unified under one democratic government. The reunification of Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall was some of the last straws of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union disbanded.

When presenting a speech President Reagan did not read off of a teleprompter. He used prepared notes. This action made him seem more genuine and that he really cared about the topic. It made the speech and Reagen less robotic. 3

4. In the beginning of the Cold War, West Berlin was used by over a thousand of East Germans who fled from the Communist to the democratic West. After seeing this a wall was build by the East German authorities that surrounded West Berlin and blocking the West from the Eastern communist. On 13 August 1961 the wall was put up that will separate a once unified country.

5. When writing the "Tear Down This Wall" speech the speechwriters wanted to put something edgy in the beginning of the speech that would disarm the tense audience. So the first line was "Like many Presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go whatever I do: Ich hab nocheiren kofferin Berlin. I still have a suitcase in Berlin." This was a line out of a famous German song.

6 The rhetorical devices that Reagan used were Asyndetic listing Rhetorical Questions The use of hyphens to create dramatic pauses Repetition For example "Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor."

8. But the speech would not have been the same without the infamous four word line. Tear Down This Wall. This four word line caused a lot of controversy and almost did not make the speech's final draft. The speech writers were worried that the Deputy National Security Adviser Colin Powell would think that the "tear down this wall" line would upset Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union's leader. That could undermine policies that was already aimed at opening the soviet society.

9. "The fear that it was too provocative and that it was undermining Gorbachev's efforts at Glasnost and Perestroika," (Madison) said Ken Duberstein, the Reagan's Deputy Chief of staff. The speech writers took the line out, but Reagan had another idea. In one of the final seconds before he delivered the speech he slipped in the "tear down this wall" line not caring of other people's opinions or the repercussions. "It's gonna drive the State Department boys crazy, but I'm gonna leave it in."

Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. He was the president from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989. Reagan was responsible for the great American comeback by turning the economy around and restoring the U.S military. 1

Reagan was described as a charismatic man; who, without starting a war, defeated the Soviet Union. 2