American History - 13 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

American History - 13 - Essay Example Reagan actively supported anti-communist struggles in Afghanistan and Central America. In his second term, Reagan softened his stand and negotiated with Gorbachev, agreeing to scale back the arms race. His 1987 speech in West Germany, â€Å"Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall† was a clarion call for the end of the Cold War. A series of summits and treaties, in collaboration with Gorbachev, including the INF, drastically reduced Cold War tensions. Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to power in 1985, attempted to reform the USSR’s failing economy, and repressive political system, through his policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring). Ronald Reagan yielded his hard-line stance largely because of Gorbachev’s overtures He openly promoted a new international order free of Cold War competition. In 1989, Gorbachev signed the START I Treaty, ending the Cold War. His permissive attitude led to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. George H. W. Bush only concluded the process initiated by Reagan and Gorbachev. East-West tensions continued to subside and Bush signed the START I arms control treaty in Moscow in 1989. Following this, Bush, along with Gorbachev, formally announced the end of the Cold War at the Malta Summit. The Berlin Wall, symbol of the Cold War, came down in November 1989, and communist governments in the erstwhile Soviet Union were progressively replaced by democratically elected governments. 1. 30-5. The Supreme Court judgment in Edwards vs. Aguillard (1987) is significant as a testament to the need for a strong judiciary to keep the legislature in check. It demonstrates the attempt made by the Christian Right to impose its belief on impressionable school children and destroy the secular fabric of society, by equating the theory of evolution with the theory of intelligent design as valid theories. It exposes the guise of academic freedom assumed in order to impose religious beliefs. Creationism is unequivocally defined as