Did Reagen Win The Cold War?

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

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Dumb Luck or Sophisticated Strategy? The Soviet Union, no doubt, was on its decline during the 1980s, and eventually dissolved and collapsed in 1990. President Ronald Reagan is attributed with bringing the cold war to an end, but the critic's say that it really had nothing to do with his administration, and that the Soviet Union was bound to fall regardless of his foreign policy.

The problem that I find with historians is that most of them, all to often allow their passions to influence their judgment. This happens in case where a historian tries to interpret what exactly a person was thinking, or what the person's actual goals were, in cases where the evidence is insufficient. John Gaddis, author of "The Unexpected Ronald Reagan" says "because we lack access to the archives ... (what I will say) is preliminary, incomplete, and almost certainly in several places dead wrong. Those are the hazards of working with contemporary history ...

if historians are not willing to run these risks, political scientists and journalists surely will. That prospect is itself provides ample justification for plunging ahead." I highly disapprove of this logic. Just because someone else will take your place in the speculation spotlight does not mean that it is right to speculate; in some cases, the phrase, "only time will tell" is a more practical method. Of course I will fall victim to my own criticism, but I still do not approve of it.

Looking at the case of Ronald Reagan, without allowing passions to influence beliefs, and making a decision based upon the evidence that is present, I would make the assumption that it Reagan is responsible for bring the Cold War to an end; however, this does not imply either winning or losing.

Setting aside all biases, and looking...