Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" Speech (1987)
On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin — with the Berlin Wall at his back — and delivered a direct challenge to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The speech was part of a larger address about freedom and the Cold War, but that single sentence became one of the most iconic lines in modern political history. Two and a half years later, the wall fell.
The Speech That Almost Wasn't
Reagan was visiting West Germany for the G7 summit and scheduled a speech at the Brandenburg Gate to mark the 750th anniversary of Berlin's founding. The speech was written by White House speechwriter Peter Robinson, who had visited West Berlin beforehand and asked local residents what they thought of the wall. One hostess told him plainly: "If this man Gorbachev is serious with his talk of glasnost and perestroika, he can prove it. He can get rid of this wall." Robinson wove the sentiment into the speech. When the draft came back to the White House, it ran into fierce resistance — the State Department and National Security Council objected to the direct challenge to Gorbachev, arguing it was provocative and would embarrass him at a sensitive moment in Cold War diplomacy. Officials requested the "tear down this wall" line be removed at least twice. Reagan refused, reportedly telling one aide: "I think we'll leave it in." It remained through seven drafts.
Did You Know?
The Reagan speech received only modest coverage in the American press at the time — it was largely overshadowed by other news. It was in West Germany that the speech resonated most immediately; West Berliners near the wall heard it through loudspeakers. The line became iconic only in retrospect, after the wall's fall in 1989 made it seem prophetic.
The Address at the Gate
Standing before a bulletproof glass screen, speaking to a crowd of tens of thousands of West Berliners, Reagan began by recalling his earlier visit to Berlin in 1978 and reflecting on the city's division. He praised West Berlin as a demonstration of what freedom could achieve, comparing its economic vibrancy to the poverty of the East. He acknowledged Gorbachev's reform efforts — glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) — while insisting they needed to be tested by concrete actions. "There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace," Reagan said. "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization — come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The crowd roared.
The Wall Falls: Legacy
The Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989 — 29 months after Reagan's speech. The Soviet bloc disintegrated with stunning speed; by 1991, the Soviet Union itself had dissolved. Historians debate the degree to which Reagan's rhetoric versus Gorbachev's reforms versus the internal economic collapse of the Eastern bloc drove the Cold War's end — but there is broad agreement that Reagan's consistent ideological pressure and military buildup raised the costs of Soviet competition. The "tear down this wall" speech is routinely ranked among the greatest presidential addresses of the 20th century. A section of the Berlin Wall is on display at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, where Reagan is buried. The Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of division, became the setting for reunification celebrations and remains a symbol of German reunification and the triumph of freedom over totalitarianism.