Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations
- Series page
- The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Maps
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The Cold War
- Prelude
- 1 At War’s End
- 2 Origins of the Cold War
- 3 The Korean War and Its Consequences
- 4 New Leaders and New Arenas in the Cold War
- 5 Crisis Resolution
- 6 America’s Longest War
- 7 The Rise and Fall of Détente
- 8 In God’s Country
- 9 America and the World, 1945–1991
- Part II After the Cold War
- Bibliographic Essay
- Index
8 - In God’s Country
from Part I - The Cold War
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2013
Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations
- Series page
- The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Maps
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Acknowledgments
- Part I The Cold War
- Prelude
- 1 At War’s End
- 2 Origins of the Cold War
- 3 The Korean War and Its Consequences
- 4 New Leaders and New Arenas in the Cold War
- 5 Crisis Resolution
- 6 America’s Longest War
- 7 The Rise and Fall of Détente
- 8 In God’s Country
- 9 America and the World, 1945–1991
- Part II After the Cold War
- Bibliographic Essay
- Index
Summary
The events of the 1980s would have been reassuring to anyone who ever doubted that America was God's chosen country. Electing Ronald Reagan, to determine their future in a world of extraordinary complexity, with nuclear holocaust a hair's breadth away, was the ultimate act of faith by the American people. Despite the extraordinary military buildup over which he presided and the confrontational rhetoric for which he was notorious, Reagan had an intense emotional horror of nuclear weapons. The crisis in Poland in 1981 provided another example of Reagan being forced to retreat under pressure from his European allies. Reagan seemed content to accelerate the arms race and bash the Soviets verbally. Reagan, like much of the world, was appalled by Israeli aggression and unmoved by Israel's insistence that it was acting defensively, clearing out terrorists. Reagan and the rest of the world were not quite ready for the extraordinary course Mikhail Gorbachev was about to undertake.
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- The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations , pp. 209 - 234Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2013