U.S. President Ronald Reagan speaking in front of the Brandenburg Gate at the Berlin Wall.

"Tear down this wall" was the famous challenge from United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall. Speaking in front of the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987 Ronald Reagan challenged reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall. ... Speaking in front of the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987 Ronald Reagan challenged reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... “Reagan” redirects here. ... The Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin, Germany. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... “Reagan” redirects here. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (Russian: ), surname more accurately romanized as Gorbachyov; (born 2 March 1931) is a Russian politician. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ...

In a speech at the Brandenburg Gate, by the Berlin Wall, on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Gorbachev, then the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to tear it down as a symbol of his desire for increasing freedom in the Soviet bloc. The Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin, Germany. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... The term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations. ... The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: Коммунисти́ческая Па́ртия Сове́тского Сою́за = КПСС) was the name used by the successors of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party from 1952 to 1991, but the wording Communist Party was present in the partys name since 1918 when the Bolsheviks became the Russian... During the Cold War, the Eastern Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) comprised the following Central and Eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Albania (until the early 1960s, see below), the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia. ...

Background

President Reagan's 1987 visit was his second within five years. It came at a time of heightened East-West tensions, caused in particular by the debate over the stationing of short range American missiles in Europe. Officially organized as part of Berlin's 750th birthday celebration, Administration officials planned carefully over the preceding six months in order to provide the event with a special political focus as a means of counteracting the Soviet peace offensive in Europe. The Brandenburg Gate site was chosen to highlight the President's conviction that Western democracy offered the best hope to open the Berlin Wall. His speech focused on a series of political initiatives to achieve this end. The famous "tear down this wall" phrase was intended as the logical conclusion of the President's proposals. As the speech was being drafted, inclusion of the historic words became a source of considerable controversy within the Reagan Administration. Several senior advisors and aides advised against saying anything which might cause further East-West tensions or potential embarrassment to the Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, with whom President Reagan had built a good relationship. . American officials in Germany and presidential speechwriters including Peter Robinson thought otherwise. Despite getting little support, Robinson included a phrase about the wall in the text, and met with President Reagan soon afterward. Reagan responded to the speech by saying, "I thought it was a good, solid draft." Reagan's then-Chief of Staff Howard Baker objected, saying it sounded "unpresidential" and "extreme," and Deputy National Security Advisor (and future Secretary of State) Colin Powell agreed.^[1][2][3] Nevertheless, Reagan said he liked the passage and said, "I think we'll leave it in."^[4] Peter Robinson was a speechwriter for US President Ronald Reagan who authored the sentence, Mr. ... The term Chief of Staff can refer to: The White House Chief of Staff, the highest-ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. ... Howard Henry Baker, Jr. ... The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor, serves as the chief advisor to the President of the United States on national security issues. ... Seal of the United States Department of State. ... General Colin Luther Powell, United States Army (Ret. ...

So, on the dramatic June afternoon, Reagan spoke the following:

Two years later, Gorbachev allowed Berliners to destroy the wall, and the Soviet Union collapsed soon afterward. Although there is some disagreement over how much influence, if any, Reagan's words had on the destruction of the wall,^[5] the speech is remembered as one of the finest in world history.^[4]

Cultural references

• In the Family Guy episode "Peter's Got Woods", during a flashback, Reagan is shown at a wall saying the phrase, and then turns around and begins punching the wall while saying, "Reagan smash!" The camera pans out to show he is standing outside of a McDonald's restaurant.
• In the South Park episode "Child Abduction Is Not Funny", the mayor tells the Mr. Lu Kim to "tear down this wall!" that they had made him build.
• During the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner, celebrity impersonator, Steve Bridges gave a line "Mr. President, tear down this wall", suggesting the Chinese bring down Great Wall of China to "eliminate barrier."[1]
• Stephen Colbert celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the speech on his show The Colbert Report on June 12, 2007.
• In the webcomic Shortpacked! (where Ronald Reagan has a recurring role), he confronts Ethan (who supposedly has emotional troubles) and orders him to "tear down this wall," the "wall" being his mental defenses.

Family Guy is an Emmy award winning American animated television series about a nuclear family in the fictional town of Quahog (IPA or ), Rhode Island. ... “Peter’s Got Woods” is an episode from the fourth season of the FOX animated television series Family Guy. ... McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, french fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. ... This article is about the TV series. ... Child Abduction Is Not Funny is episode 611 of the Comedy Central series South Park. ... The White House Correspondents Association is an organization of journalists who cover the President of the United States. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Steve Bridges is an American comedian, impressionist, and actor who developed himself as a master impressionist as a member of the comedy group The Groundlings. ... “Great Wall” redirects here. ... This article is about Stephen Colbert, the actor. ... The Colbert Report (IPA: ) is an American satirical television program that airs from 11:30 p. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Webcomics, also known as online comics and internet comics, are comics that are available to read on the Internet. ... Shortpacked! is a webcomic by David Willis set in a toy store. ... “Reagan” redirects here. ... Recurring can refer to several different things: A recurring decimal (or repeating decimal) is an expression representing a real number in the decimal numeral system, in which after some point the same sequence of digits repeats infinitely. ... In psychology and common terminology, emotion is the language of a persons internal state of being, normally based in or tied to their internal (physical) and external (social) sensory feeling. ...

Footnotes

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

Peter Robinson, It's My Party: A Republican's Messy Love Affair with the GOP, 2000, hardcover, Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-52665-7 Peter Robinson was a speechwriter for US President Ronald Reagan who authored the sentence, Mr. ...

Ambassador John Kornblum "Reagan's Brandenburg Concerto", The American Interest, May-June, 2007.

James Mann, "Tear Down that Myth," New York Times, June 10, 2007

See also

• Berlin Wall
• Ich bin ein Berliner

East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, November 20, 1961. ... Ich bin ein Berliner (I am a citizen of Berlin) is a famous quotation from a June 26, 1963 speech of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in West Berlin. ...

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Ronald Reagan's Berlin Wall Speech

• Full text and audio MP3 of the speech
• Media met its match - obituary crediting Reagan with getting rid of the Berlin Wall