Ronald Reagan: Berlin Wall Speech

By: Roxie Hager

History Post-World WarII after the

defeat of the Germans Berlin was divided among the major powers of the time

The Soviet union was given East Berlin

Since the rest of Berlin was made up of Democratic countries and the Soviet Union was communist they had different policies

Because of this they built the wall

Speaker

The speaker is Ronald Reagan

He was the 40th president of the

United States

He was 75 years old when he gave the speech

OccasionThe speech was delivered in front of

the Brandenburg Gate in GermanyIt was delivered on June 12, 1987It was delivered on the 750th

anniversary of Berlin This speech was written in order to

try and convince the Soviet Union to “tear down this wall!”

Brandenburg Gate After World WarII the Brandenburg

Gate was heavy monitored by Soviet guards and one of the few parts where you could cross over from East to West Berlin

Reagan picked this location for his speech because of this

The gate still stands today and was opened when the wall fell

Audience His audience was

to East and West Germany

He was speaking to the Soviet Union mainly

He directly was specking to “Mr.  Gorbachev” leader of the U.S.S.R.

Mr. Gorbachev He was the 8th

leader of the Soviet Union and the last

Did not wan the wall to come down and East Berlin be exposed to “the West”

Purpose The purpose of the

speech was to get the people in Germany and the rest of the world to get them riled up

Also he was trying to convince the Soviet union and more specially “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

Subject The subject is the

desire for “German unity”

Also the U.S. did not wanted East Germany to be apart of the communist Soviet Union

“The wall cannot withstand freedom”

Tone

The tone is very strong and confident

He is very swift with his diction and is very passionate about what he is saying

Pathos

Reagan’s speech appealed to many people's emotions

He focused on things like how people were being denied freedom

“Something that speaks with a powerful voice of affirmation, that says yes to this city, yes to the future, yes to freedom.”

Ethos Reagan uses ethos by providing examples and

facts throughout his speech

Also he acknowledges alternative views and provides and effective argument regarding these alternative views

“In The 1950's, Khrushchev predicted: ‘We will bury you.’ But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind-too little food.”

Logos

He uses logic throughout his speechYou can see this when he says “

From 1950 to 1960 alonc, the standard of living in West Germany and Berlin doubled……today in West Berlin there is the greatest industrial output of any city in Germany…”

Conclusion In conclusion about 2

years later on November 9,1989 the wall came down

This was because of the collapse of the Soviet Union

People gathered around the Brandenburg Gate where Regan Gave his speech just 2 years ago