Ronald Reagan: Two Speeches that Changed History
In two powerful speeches that took place twenty-seven years ago this March, President Ronald Reagan dealt what would ultimately prove to be lethal blows to the moral and material foundations of the Soviet Union. On March 8, 1983, Reagan described the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” and as “the focus of evil in the modern world,” and fifteen days later, on March 23, Reagan unveiled his vision for the research, development, and ultimate deployment of a missile defense shield that would one day end the vulnerability of America and her allies to Soviet nuclear attack.
While both speeches were widely ridiculed at the time, they are today rightly hailed as having made decisive contributions to bringing about the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union a little less than nine years later.
Watch: (Full Lesson) Newt describes the historic impact of Reagan's two speeches
(Clip) The application of ideas that can change the world (3:03)
(Clip) The principles of Reagan's bold vision to dismantle the Soviet Empire (1:23)
Listen: Reagan's Original "Evil Empire" and SDI speeches