Hello, my name's Mr. Williams and I'm going to be your history teacher today.

This lesson is part of a unit about the end of the Cold War and focuses on events from 1970 to 1991.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today, so let's get started.

By the end of today's lesson, you will about to explain why there was a sharp increase in Cold War tensions after Reagan became US president.

There are five keywords essential to understanding today's lesson.

They are, Cold War, a period between 1945 and 1991 of intense rivalry intention between the USA and the USSR.

Doctrine, a set of principles or beliefs.

Deterrent, something that discourages or prevents an action or behaviour by creating fear of the consequences.

Limited nuclear war, a scenario where nuclear weapons are used on a smaller scale than in a full-scale nuclear exchange, and trade union, a group set up to represent and advocate for the rights and interests of workers.

Our lesson today is going to be split into three parts.

In this first part, we're going to be learning about the election of Ronald Reagan as US President in 1980, and how this led to a period of increased tension and hostility that some have referred to as the Second Cold War.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in the US presidential election.

During the election, Reagan argued that Carter had been soft on communism and made it clear that if elected he would take a far tougher line.

He reportedly said to one of his advisors, "Here's my strategy on the Cold War, we win, they lose." After becoming president, Reagan made it clear that fighting communism would be at the heart of his foreign policy, and he would take every opportunity to confront the Soviet Union.

Reagan's tougher approach to the Soviet Union led to a period of increased tension and hostility between the USA and the USSR, which is often referred to as the Second Cold War.

Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

Reagan wanted to adopt the same approach to dealing with communist countries as President Carter.

Is this true or false? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that that was false, but we need to be able to justify that answer.

So on the screen are two justifications.

Justification A says, Reagan believed Carter had been too tough in his dealings with communist countries and wanted to adopt a softer approach.

And justification B says, Reagan believed Carter had been too soft in his dealings with communist countries and wanted to adopt a tougher approach.

Which of these justifications is correct? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you said justification B was correct, Reagan wanted to adopt a approach to communism.

Reagan was determined to restore the USA to the position of power and influence it had enjoyed at the end of the Second World War.

To achieve this, Reagan announced a new programme of military spending that would be implemented between 1981 and 1987 and cost over $1 trillion.

Reagan's programme included the development of new weapons such as stealth bombers, which could not be detected by enemy radar, and six new Trident nuclear submarines.

Alongside this increased military spending, Reagan announced the Reagan Doctrine.

The USA would use its military power to support anti-communist groups trying to overthrow communist governments, for example, in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

In 1983, the US invaded the Caribbean island of Grenada to overthrow its communist government.

Reagan described this as the first rollback of communist influence since 1945.

Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

How much did Reagan commit to spending on the US military between 1981 and 1987? Was it A, $1 billion, B, $10 billion, C, $100 billion, or D $1 trillion? Pause the video now, press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, very well done if you said the correct answer was D.

Reagan committed to spending $1 trillion on the US military between 1981 and 1987.

Let's do another quick check of your understanding.

What was the Reagan Doctrine? I want you to discuss this with your partner and in your discussion you should aim to define the term and give at least one example.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to go through a model response.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope those discussions were useful.

You were asked to define the Reagan Doctrine and give at least one example and in your discussions you could have said the Reagan Doctrine was the idea that the USA would use its military power to support anti-communist groups trying to overthrow communist governments.

For example, the USA supported anti-communist groups in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Very well done if you covered those points in your discussion.

For most of the Cold War, both the USA and the USSR had accepted the theory of Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD, which was the belief that any nuclear conflict would utterly destroy both sides.

A belief in Mutually Assured Destruction made both sides feel more secure because it acted as a deterrent and made nuclear war less likely.

Reagan and some of his advisors rejected the idea of Mutually Assured Destruction and argued that the USA could win a limited nuclear war against the Soviet Union by following a strategy known as NUTS, nuclear utilisation target selection.

This strategy involved destroying the enemy's nuclear weapons capabilities before they could be launched.

Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

Reagan believed that any nuclear war would result in Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD, the complete annihilation of both sides.

Is this true or false? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that was false, but let's see if you can justify your answers so on the screen are two justifications.

A says, Reagan believed that the only possible winner of any nuclear war would be the USSR, and B says, Reagan believed that the US could win a limited nuclear war against the USSR by targeting its nuclear weapons.

Which of these justifications is correct? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you said that the correct answer was justification B, Reagan believed that the US could win a limited nuclear war against the USSR by targeting its nuclear weapons.

We now ready for the first practise task of today's lesson.

Alex has said, "The period after Reagan became president in 1980 is known as the Second Cold War because he adopted a much tougher approach to communism.

For example." What examples could Alex use to support his point? I want you to aim to identify at least three.

So pause the video now.

Think of as many examples as you can, and then press play when you're ready to compare what you've written with a model response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that first practise task.

You were asked to think of some examples that Alex could use to support his point that Reagan took a much tougher approach towards communism, and your answer could include: He summarised his Cold War strategy as, "We win, they lose." Between 1981 and 1987, he spent over $1 trillion on defence.

He introduced the Reagan Doctrine, which led to the US invading Grenada in 1983, and he began to argue that the USA could win a limited nuclear war.

Well done if you included those points in your answer.

We're now ready to move on to the second part of today's lesson in which we'll be learning about the policies that Reagan adopted as president in more detail.

Despite his commitment to taking a hard line against communism, Reagan indicated that he was willing to discuss arms limitations with the USSR.

He knew that their economy was struggling, and he would therefore be entering talks from a position of strength.

From 1976, the USSR had begun to deploy a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile or IRBM in Europe, the SS-20.

Soviet SS-20 missiles had greater range, accuracy, and the ability to carry multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles or MERVs.

In response in November, 1981, Reagan proposed his controversial zero option.

Reagan offered to cancel the US deployment of its own newly developed IRBMS in Western Europe if the Soviet Union dismantled 600 of its SS-20 missiles, Brezhnev refused.

Reagan's proposal was seen as aggressive on one sided.

The Soviet Union viewed SS-20s as essential to their security, and they had deployed them in large numbers, whereas the USA had yet to deploy any of their new IRBMs in Europe.

In the short term, Reagan's aggressive approach to arms limitations discussions worsened existing tensions between the superpowers, and Brezhnev's refusal of the zero option gave Reagan the justification he needed to place more American missiles in Western Europe.

Some people believed that this had been his plan from the beginning.

Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

There's a paragraph on the screen that contains some errors and is incorrect.

I want you to identify and correct the mistakes.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the corrected paragraph.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that task.

The corrected paragraph should read, from 1976, the Soviet Union had begun to deploy SS-20s, a new and more advanced type of IRBM in Europe.

Reagan responded with the zero option proposal.

Reagan offered to cancel the plan deployment of US missiles in Western Europe if the Soviet Union dismantled 600 of its SS-20 missiles, Brezhnev refused.

Let's do another quick check of your understanding.

Why did Brezhnev reject Reagan's zero option proposal concerning US and Soviet missile deployment in Europe? Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see a model answer.

Okay, well done for your hard work on that question, your answer could include: Brezhnev rejected Reagan's zero option proposal because he considered it to be one-sided.

The USSR had already deployed SS-20 missiles in Europe in large numbers, whereas the USA had not yet deployed any similar missiles.

Well done if your answer looks similar to the one on the screen.

Despite the deployment of IRBMS in Europe, US-Soviet arms limitations discussions continued.

In May, 1982, Reagan initiated the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks, or START, however, progress was limited due to events in Poland.

In the early 1980s, Solidarity, a trade union movement, challenged the communist government's authority by demanding workers' rights and more political freedoms. In response, the Polish government, under pressure from the Soviet Union, suppressed solidarity by arresting its leaders.

The Polish government also increased censorship of the media and introduced strict control over public gatherings.

The USA had been providing secret assistance to the trade union movement in Poland and Reagan criticised Brezhnev and the Polish government for their heavy-handed approach.

In response, Reagan imposed economic sanctions on Poland and announced a ban on all high tech trade with the Soviet Union.

On the 8th of March, 1983, Reagan inflamed US-Soviet tensions by describing the Soviet Union as "an evil empire." Reagan portrayed the struggle between the two superpowers as not just a political or military contest, but as a profound moral conflict.

The Soviet Union was the focus of evil in the modern world, while the USA represented the forces of good, the response from Moscow was furious and Reagan was compared to Hitler and repeatedly accused of attempting to provoke war.

US-Soviet relations worsen still further when Reagan announced the Strategic Defence Initiative, SDI, and the Soviet Union walked out of START talks.

Let's do another quick check of your understanding.

I want you to identify and correct the mistakes in the paragraph on the screen.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to go through the corrected paragraph.

Okay, well done for your hard work, you were asked to go through and identify and correct the mistakes in the paragraph, and the corrected paragraph should read as follows.

In May, 1982, the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks, or START, were disrupted by events in Poland.

The USA had been secretly supporting the Polish trade union movement, which was campaigning for workers' rights and more political freedom.

Encouraged by the Soviet Union, the Polish government responded by suppressing the trade union movement and arresting its leaders, this increased tension between the USA and the Soviet Union.

Well done if you found and corrected all of those mistakes.

Let's do one final check for your understanding.

How did the USA respond to the suppression of the Polish trade union movement? A, they launched missiles against Warsaw, the Polish capital.

B, they introduced economic sanctions against Poland.

C, they banned all high-tech trade with USSR.

D, they expelled all Polish and Soviet citizens from the USA.

You can choose more than one option.

Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, well done if you selected options B and C in response to the suppression of the Polish trade union movement, the USA introduced economic sanctions against Poland and they banned all high-tech trade with the USSR.

Well done if you got that correct.

Let's do another quick check of you're understanding.

How did Reagan describe the Soviet Union in his 1983 speech? Was it A, "a demonic empire," B, "a wicked empire," C, "an evil empire," or D, "a murderous empire?" Pause the video now and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, the correct answer was C, Reagan described the Soviet Union as "an evil empire." Well done if you got that correct.

You're now ready for the second practise task of today's lesson.

I'd like you to complete the table by briefly explaining how each of the events increased US-Soviet tensions.

Pause the video now, complete the table, and press play when you're ready to go through a model response.

Okay, well done for all of your hard work on that second practise task.

You were asked to complete the table by briefly explaining how each of the events increased tension between the USA and the Soviet Union.

So for Reagan's zero option proposal, you could have written, it was viewed as aggressive and one-sided by the Soviet Union.

Brezhnev's rejection of the proposal led Reagan to deploy more American missiles in Western Europe.

For US support for the Polish trade union movement, you could have written, US support for the Polish trade union movement meant Reagan heavily criticised Brezhnev and the Polish government when they suppressed it, US sanctions further increased tensions.

And finally, for Reagan's evil empire speech, you could have written, by betraying the Cold War as a moral conflict between good and evil, Reagan provoked a furious response from the Soviet Union who accused him of trying to start a war.

Well done for all of your hard work on that second practise task, and well done if your completed table looks similar to the one on the screen, we're now ready to move on to the third and final part of today's lesson.

And in this last part of the lesson, we're going to be learning about "Star Wars," or the Strategic Defence Initiative to give it its proper name.

We're gonna be learning about why it alarmed the Soviet Union, and the increased US-Soviet tensions, and we're also gonna be learning about why it marked a turning point in the arms race between the two superpowers.

On the 23rd of March, 1983, Reagan announced the Strategic Defence Initiative or SDI, which was quickly nicknamed "Star Wars," after the 1977 film.

The Strategic Defence Initiative involved launching a series of satellites into space, which would be armed with powerful lasers that, in the event of a nuclear conflict, could shoot down Soviet missiles and prevent them from harming the USA.

When Reagan announced the Strategic Defence Initiative, he spoke of the system as a reality and did not admit to the world that the technology required was years from being ready.

Consequently, the news of SDI was greeted with shock in the Soviet Union.

For years, the Soviet Union had spent huge amounts of money attempting to compete with advances in American missile technology.

If SDI works, their missiles would be useless.

Four days after Reagan's announcement, the new Soviet president, Yuri Andropov, gave a speech in which he sharply criticised the new development.

Andropov accused the USA of preparing for nuclear war against the Soviet Union.

He recognised that SDI would give the USA a huge advantage in any conflict, and made it more likely that they would consider a limited nuclear war.

Andropov bitterly denounced Reagan and claimed that he was "inventing new plans on how to unleash a nuclear war in the best way in the hope of winning it." Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

I want you to discuss this question with a partner.

What was the Strategic Defence Initiative? So pause the video, talk to your partner and press play when you're ready to see a model answer.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope that conversation was useful.

Your answer could include: The Strategic Defence Initiative, or SDI, nicknamed, "Star Wars," was a plan to launch a series of satellites into space which would be armed with powerful lasers capable of shooting down Soviet missiles.

Well done if you covered those points in your discussion.

Let's do another quick check of your understanding and again I want you to discuss this question with a partner.

Why was the Soviet Union so concerned about the announcement of the Strategic Defence Initiative? Pause the video, talk to your partner and press play when you're ready to see a model response.

Okay, welcome back.

I hope that was a useful conversation.

You were asked to discuss why was the Soviet Union so concerned about the announcement of the Strategic Defence Initiative? And your answer could include: The announcement of SDI concerned the Soviet Union because if it worked it would mean that Soviet missiles were useless.

This would give the USA a huge advantage and make them more likely to consider a limited nuclear war.

Well done if you covered those points in your discussion.

The development of SDI marked an important turning point in the arms race and the Cold War.

It presented huge problems for the USSR 'cause it meant that to continue to compete with the USA, they would have to spend even more money on armaments.

SDI was only possible because of American advances in computer technology which by 1983 had greatly surpassed Soviet capabilities.

The Soviet economy had been experiencing serious problems for decades, and the pressure to increase military spending to develop their own version of SDI could destroy it completely.

Indeed, part of Reagan's motivation for announcing SDI was the hope that the pressure to compete with the USA would cause the Soviet economy to collapse.

This was one of the challenges that Mikhail Gorbachev faced when he became leader of the Soviet Union in March, 1985.

Let's take a moment to check your understanding.

You've got three sentences on the screen and each of them are incorrect.

I want you to correct each sentence by changing one word.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and press play when you're ready to see the correct answers.

Okay, welcome back.

You were asked to correct the sentences by changing one word in each of them, and your answer could include: Number 1, by 1983, the Soviet economy was weak.

Number 2, the announcement of SDI by the USA put on the Soviet Union to increase military spending.

And number 3, Soviet leaders were concerned that pressure to compete with the USA could cause the Soviet's economy to collapse.

Well done if you successfully corrected those sentences.

We are now ready to move on to the third and final practise task of today's lesson.

And in this final practise task, I want you to answer the following question.

Explain the importance of Reagan becoming president for the development of the Cold War.

You should identify two reasons why Reagan becoming president was important for the development of the Cold War, and you should explain each reason in a separate paragraph.

Pause the video now, have a go at the question, and press play when you're ready to go through a model response.

Okay, welcome back.

You are asked to explain the importance of Reagan becoming president for the development of the Cold War, and your answer may include: One reason why Reagan becoming president was important for the development of the Cold War is 'cause it led to a sharp increase in tensions.

Reagan was strongly anti-communist and he placed fighting communism at the heart of his foreign policy.

This led to Reagan increasing military spending and announcing the Reagan Doctrine, which was used to justify support for anti-communist groups in Central America, as well as the US invasion of Grenada.

Reagan's portrayal of the USSR as "an evil empire" and his deployment of US missiles in Western Europe, further inflamed tensions and led to a period of increased hostility that is often called the Second Cold War.

You might have gone on to write: Another reason why Reagan becoming president was important for the development of the Cold War is because it led to an escalation in the arms race.

After becoming president, Reagan significantly escalated the arms race by announcing an extensive programme of military spending, including the development of advanced weapons like stealth bombers and Trident nuclear submarines.

In 1983, the introduction of the Strategic Defence Initiative, SDI, or "Star Wars," aimed to create a space-based missile defence system.

This intensified the arms race and put pressure on the USSR to compete, which added to the considerable strain on the already struggling Soviet economy.

Very well done for all of your hard work on that final task, and well done if your answer looks similar to the model answer that we've just gone through.

We're near the end of our lesson now so it's a really good opportunity for us to stop and just recap our key learning points.

In 1980, the strongly anti-communist Ronald Reagan became president of the USA and made it clear that he would place fighting communism at the heart of his approach to foreign policy.

Reagan's tougher approach led to a period of increased tension, known as the Second Cold War.

Reagan described the Soviet Union as "an evil empire" and his aggressive approach to US-Soviet negotiations inflamed tensions.

In 1983, Reagan's announcement of the Strategic Defence Initiative caused great alarm in the Soviet Union.

Reagan hoped that the strain of attempting to match American military spending would cause the Soviet's economy to collapse.

Very well done for all of your hard work in today's lesson.

It's been a real pleasure to teach you.

I hope you've enjoyed the lesson and I look forward to teaching you again soon.