Ronald Wilson Reagan

Birth-Death: (1911 -     ) Term: (1981-1989 )

On the foreign front, President Reagan attempted "peace through strength." He increased defense spending, while meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Reagan declared a war on terrorism, which was slowly becoming a more prominent issue in the United States. The Reagan Doctrine was support for anti-Communist movements around the world.

Foreign Events of Ronald Reagan

    During his presidency, Ronald Reagan encountered many conflicts involving Americans in Central American and the Caribbean. In 1979, the Nicaraguans, aided by Cuban "volunteers," ousted the military dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza and established a Sandinista government. The United States was deeply involved, as Washington was sponsoring anti-Sandinista guerrillas until Congress refused to give support, fearing another Vietnam.

    The United States was sponsoring more action in Latin American countries. Reagan was determined to resist the growth of Communism. There were American troops involved in Grenada and El Salvador. Overall, Reagan succeeded in halting the spread of radical revolutions in the Caribbean and Central America. Yet the the United States made no progress in dealing with the region's social, economic, and political problems.

    The Cold War was getting closer to the end. Mikhail Gorbachev was a new leader in the U.S.S.R. and with perestroika and glasnost the tensions between the U.S.S.R. and the United States seemed to be lessening. Reagan stated that the Soviet Union had abandoned the foal of "one-world Marxist domination" and during the following years, President Bush would continue to explore the possibility of U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations.