Picturing the Presidency: President Reagan and the Cold War

In these classroom-ready teaching resources, themes emerge, such as the role of leadership and diplomacy in ending the Cold War and a focus on the special relationship between President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev. Key foreign policy concepts such as “Peace Through Strength”, President Reagan’s emphasis on building up the American military in order to negotiate from a position of power, come to life as well. We have included copies of primary source documents from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Archives to add further depth and research potential to the basic information. These documents include copies of hand written and typed letters from President Reagan and Soviet leaders, Memoranda of Conversation from summit meetings, copies and drafts of presidential speeches, among other resources.

Hard copies along with a DVD containing relevent clips during the Reagan years are available upon request. In addition, free teacher workshops on using these materials are available.

The Great Communicator Files

President Reagan was known as the Great Communicator. But what goes on behind the scenes in making a great speech? In the Great Communicator Files, students can explore the primary sources from the speech files from three of President Reagan's most famous speeches: Pointe du Hoc and Remarks at Omaha Beach, both World War II commemorative speeches and his address to the nation after the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. These files focus on the speech making and speech writing process and as well as give educators and students a glimpse at what is available in the National Archives.

Hard copies along with a DVD of President Reagan giving the speeches are available upon request. In addition, free teacher workshops on using these materials are available.