“ Arrrrrrr… ”

1. If one person defined America politically in the 1980s, it was Ronald Reagan. A former Cubs radio announcer and grade B movie star, his Hollywood image, eternal optimism, and simplistic view of the world in black and white terms resonated with the public in its desire to regain a sense of America’s greatness.

2. In a sense, Reagan was the last great Cold Warrior. His strong rhetoric about Russia being an “Evil Empire” combined with fears over rising Soviet military strength swept him to a strong victory in 1980 over Jimmy Carter who was still floundering in the Iranian hostage crisis. In fact, after 444 days of being held in Iran, the hostages were released the same day Reagan was sworn in as president.

3. Reagan wasn’t the smartest president the U.S. ever had, having his typed briefings limited to a page and a half (double spaced) in length. Instead, he relied on his gut instincts, which in the end served both sides in the Cold War well as he realized the Russian leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, was as sincere about achieving peace as he was. Although his successor, President George H.W. Bush, would preside over the final demise of Communism in Eastern Europe and Russia, it was Reagan’s presidency that set the stage. Similarly, it would be the Clinton administration in the 1990s that would reap the economic benefits of the end of the Cold War. This cartoon captures the ambivalent feelings many Americans had concerning the Reagan administration.

5. a “Arrrrrrr…”

6. a

7. Terrorist bombings in the 1980s were largely associated with the clash between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Below, British soldiers react to a disturbance in Belfast.

8. The Latin American view of Reagan

9. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Long overdue reforms launched by new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, in mid 1980s: Reforms continue in efforts to stop further deterioration Conditions get even worse before reforms can take effect Steady erosion of public support & ability to control E. Eur Sudden collapse of Communism USSR breaks into Russia & other ind. states (1991) Reduces mil. burden & tensions w/ treaty to reduce nuclear weapons & by pulling divisions from E. Eur. Encourages: more democ. & some free markets Warsaw Pact dissolves (1989) & Germany reunifies Russians & E. Eur’s learn more about W  Want more Soaring mil. budgets Steadily weaker econ. Russians & E. Eur’s frustrated w/Com’s mediocrity Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Encourages free speech Criticism of Comm. system Despite weaker econ, SU tries to keep up w/US OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons Need to spend bigger % of GDP to keep up w/US Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148) Newly indep. states & Russia struggle to adapt to high tech Capitalist world of 1990s (FC.150)

10. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) A

11. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148)

12. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148)

13. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148)

14. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148)

15. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148)

16. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2)

17. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2)

18. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2)

19. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2)

20. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2)

21. Oil and Missiles Since Russia was an oil exporter, higher oil prices in the 1970s made a Soviet arms buildup possible. Conversely, higher oil prices and the anti-military feeling in the US after the Vietnam War allowed the American military to stagnate. Ironically, détente had also added to the problem, because better relations with the Russians gave them access to our high tech targeting technologies. These factors allowed the Soviet Union’s nuclear arsenal, in some people’s opinions, to catch up, or maybe even surpass, that of the US. Added to this, the accelerating pace of technological advancement was producing a whole new generation of expensive weapons that neither side felt it could ignore. The result: a renewed arms race that drained both sides’ economies and terrified virtually everyone.

22. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

23. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

24. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

25. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

26. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

27. Star Wars The arms race in the Reagan era

28. On this and the following slides are artists’ sketches of what some of the new soviet weapons supposedly could do. The silo-launched SS-18 Mod 5 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile was the core of the Soviet Union's modernized ICBM arsenal in the 1980's. The SS-18 featured hard-target-kill capability and ten nuclear warheads on each missile, thus presenting 10 times the threat per missile. Of course, the US had been deploying MIRVs such as this since the late 1960s. www.fas.org/

29. One weapon that scared us in the 1970s was the SS-24 Mod 1 ICBM, which could be launched from mobile railroad cars anywhere in the USSR, thus making it harder to target. The accuracy and survivability of these missiles deployed in the 1980's significantly increased the lethality of the USSR's intercontinental ballistic missile force. Our answer was the MX missile, which could also be launched from mobile railroad cars. What made such weapons feasible was much improved computer programming and GPS satellites. Ironically, better targeting technology made nuclear war seem more winnable, since one could now just target enemy missiles away from cities. Of course, this raised the question of whether such a nuclear exchange could be limited to non-civilian targets. www.fas.org/

30. SOVIET BLACKJACK BOMBER FIRING AS-15 MISSILE - Brian W. McMullin, 1987 The BLACKJACK bomber, developed in the 1980s, could carry nuclear-armed AS-15 cruise missiles for its strike and perform reconnaissance in a nuclear war. The new BLACKJACK along with the AS-15 long-range, air-launched cruise missile significantly increased the Soviet bomber force's weapons delivery capability and survivability.

31. A Soviet DELTA III nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine firing SS-N-18 missiles. The DELTA III submarine was 155 meters long, had 16 missile firing tubes, and carried SS-N-18 nuclear missiles.

32. SOVIET BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE BASE - The USSR's strategic nuclear forces included a growing number of new TYPHOON-class and DELTA IV-class strategic ballistic missile submarines deployed in the 1980s. These advanced submarines, fitted with the latest generations of nuclear missiles, could operate from bases with tunnels for protection.

33. SOVIET TBILISI-CLASS CARRIER AT NIKOLAYEV - The lead ship of the USSR's 65,000-metric ton TBILISI-class aircraft carriers being fitted out in the late 1980s in Nikolayev Shipyard. This carrier marked an evolutionary advance in naval capabilities over 40,000-metric ton KIEV-Class carriers then operating with the Soviet fleet.

34. Soviet ground-based laser - The Soviet Strategic Defense Program involved extensive research on advanced technologies in the 1980s. The USSR already had ground-based lasers, conceptually illustrated here, supposedly capable of interfering with some US satellites. www.fas.org/

35. SOVIET SPACE-BASED STRATEGIC DEFENSES -While publicly opposed to the US Strategic Defense Initiative, the Soviet Union forged ahead with research and development of land-, air-, and space-based ballistic missile defenses. The Soviets had already deployed and tested ground-based lasers. www.fas.org/

36. Ronald Reagan had won election to the White House in 1980 largely on a platform of getting tough with Communism. In a sense he was the last great Cold Warrior, labeling the USSR the “Evil Empire”. In 1983, maybe after watching Star Wars one too many times he announced a new defense program named the Space Defense Initiative, but popularly referred to as Star Wars after the popular science fiction movie. The basic concept was to create a space and land based defense system to protect us from Soviet attack. SDI was denounced by the scientific community as technologically unfeasible at that time, failing if there was a single mistake in the million lines of code needed to program one of these weapons. One of the early experiments in 1983-4 was the Homing Overlay Experiment (HOE), basically a giant pinwheel 13’ in diameter that would physically knock out an incoming missile-- if it could find it.

37. Artists’ concepts of what these high-tech systems in space would look like were effective in exciting and/or scaring the public, but gave no realistic idea of what it would cost to make something like this work. While we never put an operational space defense system in place during the Reagan years, the program has continued ever since and, with increasingly sophisticated technology may bear fruit. Currently the U.S. is testing a scaled down version of SDI which could intercept a few rogue missiles launched by a terrorist state such as North Korea or Iran. Such a scenario is very unlikely, since we could trace the origins of such a missile & respond with overwhelming force. A more likely nuclear threat is that of a suit case bomb smuggled into a US city which would be much harder to detect or trace.

38. In the 1980s, as the nuclear arms race picked up again, Ronald Reagan and British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, found in each other a kindred soul in the fight to stop Communism.

39. No this isn’t today’s news headline.

40. No this isn’t today’s news headline. Rather, it’s the scenario envisioned in 1984 by a movie produced by BBC called Threads. Basically Threads is an update of 1965 film, The War Game, also produced by BBC. However, in this case, they decided to air this shocker to the public.

41. Threads was even more horrifying and realistic than The War Game. After all, since 1965 nuclear stockpiles, and with them, public fears about Nuclear War had multiplied several times over. So had the ability of special effects studios to portray such horrors realistically.

42. As with most nuclear war films, Threads is mostly about the aftermath and its effects on the survivors. At the end of the film, the main character gives birth in a rundown “hospital” where there are no beds, only bed springs. In the last shot, she is shown her baby (which we never see), she screams in terror, and then the movie ends. In my experience this is the most depressing and frightening movie ever made.

43. Not that the Russians didn’t understand what sort of threat nuclear war was. In 1986, Konstantin Lopushansky released Letters from a Dead Man, a more surreal post-apocalyptic film. Among the chosen few who get to survive in an underground bunker is a Nobel prize winning scientist who writes letters to his son who had died in the blast. Blaming himself for the accident that triggered Armageddon, he takes care of a group of children who are mute, either from radiation or psychological trauma. When he dies they go up above into the raging blizzard of a continuous nuclear winter. If threads is the most depressing and scary movie I’ve ever seen, Letters from a Dead Man runs a close second.

44. Compared to Threads and Letters From A Dead Man, the American made-for-TV film, The Day After, seemed like a sunny day. In fact, unlike the other two films, it was mostly filmed in sunny weather, thus softening the effect a bit. However, it was scary enough that ABC warned against allowing children under the age of 11 to watch it. One note of interest, The Day After was based on Charlottesville: A Fictional Account by Nan Randall, which was part of a wider series of government studies on the probable effects of various nuclear scenarios on the United States and Russia. In this case, the scenario concerned the effects of a nuclear war on a college town just out of the blast zone that demolished a major city. In the study, it looked at the impact of an attack on Washington, D.C. on Charlottesville, Virginia. In the movie, the two cities were Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City.

47. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Need to spend bigger % of GDP to keep up w/US Soaring mil. budgets Steadily weaker econ. Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons Despite weaker econ, SU tries to keep up w/US Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

48. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Need to spend bigger % of GDP to keep up w/US Soaring mil. budgets Steadily weaker econ. Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons Despite weaker econ, SU tries to keep up w/US Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

49. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Need to spend bigger % of GDP to keep up w/US Soaring mil. budgets Steadily weaker econ. Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Different Effects on US & USSR: Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ US applies high tech to its weapons Despite weaker econ, SU tries to keep up w/US Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)

50. FC .149 THE END OF THE COLD WAR (1981-91) Aggressive rearmament under Pres. Reagan in 1980s: US applies high tech to its weapons Less oil expenses for US, an oil importer Helps Econ Less oil revenue for USSR, an oil exporter Hurts Econ. Different Effects on US & USSR: OPEC members break ranks & lower oil prices Proposes Space Defense Initiative (SDI)  Though unfeasible, scares Sov’s who think US can do it Despite weaker econ, SU tries to keep up w/US Using them  Pop. can learn about world outside SU Sov. Dilemma over using computers: Soaring mil. budgets Steadily weaker econ. Need to spend bigger % of GDP to keep up w/US Expanding sophistic. & use of computers Builds up both conventional & nuclear forces Not using them Sov. tech. falls more behind A Computer microchip in 1970s (FC.148) OPEC cuts oil prod. & raises prices (FC.146.2) Apparent milit. Strength of USSR & weakness of US in late 1970s (FC.148)