Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev had long discussed resolving the Cold War, to no avail. Mikhail Gorbachev partially agreed to resolve the Cold War if Reagan stopped his SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) project. SDI was a missile defense system that would use strategic ballistic missiles to combat possible Soviet attacks. The Berlin Wall was built because during the early years of the Cold War, West Berlin was a geographic fault line through which thousands of East Germans fled to the democratic West. . In response, East German communist authorities built a wall that surrounded West Berlin. The wall was built overnight and was heavily guarded to prevent other Germans from fleeing to the west. 47,000 soldiers stood guard near the wall and were responsible for many of the deaths that occurred there. Throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s, thousands of people from East Berlin crossed the border into West Berlin to reunite with their families and escape communist repression. In an effort to stop this influx, the East German government began, on the night of August 12, 1961, to close all entry points into West Berlin from East Berlin by installing barbed wire. and posting sentries. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In the days and weeks to come, construction began on a concrete block wall, complete with guard towers and minefields all around. The Berlin Wall succeeded in completely isolating the two districts of Berlin. The US government reacted angrily. Commanders of American troops in West Berlin even began to consider bulldozing the wall, but abandoned the idea when the Soviets placed armored units in position to protect it. The West German government was furious at the United States' lack of action, but President John F. Kennedy believed that "a wall is better than a war." In an attempt to reassure West Germans that the United States would not abandon them, Kennedy visited the Berlin Wall in June 1963 and declared: "Ich bin ein Berliner!" » (“I’m from Berlin!”). Since the word "Berliner" was commonly referred to as a jelly donut in most of Germany, Kennedy's inappropriate use of German grammar was also translated as "I am a jelly donut". However, due to the context of his speech, the German people understood that Kennedy meant that he stood with West Berlin in its rivalry with communist East Berlin and the German Democratic Republic. Reagan and Gorbachev had established a mutual friendship. but he also had frequent disagreements. Gorbachev wanted Reagan to end the SDI or Strategic Defense Initiative, designed to protect the United States from strategic ballistic nuclear weapons. Reagan and Gorbachev's agreement ended the Cold War. Reagan and Gorbachev had a series of meetings and conferences, but after one meeting in which Reagan refused to end the SDI program, they left on bad terms, both very disappointed. After this disappointing meeting, Reagan gave a speech at the Brandenburg Gate demanding that Gorbachev tear down the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was built by the communists to hold back the Germans and remained in place even after that date. Gorbachev then began to adopt Reagan's view and agreed to sign a peace treaty between Russia and the United States..