Reagan’s Speech in West Berlin

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This source is the audio of Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12th, 1987. This speech delivered by Reagan is one of the most powerful and critical Cold War moments. Raegan speaks to how much he respects Germany and their economic and social strides made in the last decade. Reagan continues to point out how there has been clear progress made in the West, but that there has been nothing but failure and negativity in the communist world. Reagan challenges the Russian people to understand the importance of freedom and independence, and then directs his command towards Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union, and says, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” The act of Reagan confronting Gorbachev and getting involved in this area of foreign affairs truly shows that the U.S. was a prominent global power at this time. American exceptionalism is shown in this example as Raegan and the US government get involved in global issues. This example only furthers Dr. King’s message in his acceptance speech about the US being a part of world development.