Reagan Challenges Wall: 'Tear Down This Barrier' at Berlin
President Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12, 1987, and delivered the most famous line of his presidency: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The State Department and National Security Council had repeatedly tried to remove the line from the speech, arguing it was provocative and would embarrass Gorbachev. Reagan overruled them. Soviet media dismissed the speech as "openly provocative." At the time, few expected the wall to fall. It came down just 29 months later, on November 9, 1989. Reagan's speech has been credited with boosting the morale of East German dissidents and signaling American support for change. However, the wall's fall was ultimately driven by East German citizens who demanded freedom, Gorbachev's refusal to use force, and the broader collapse of Soviet authority.
June 12, 1987
39 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on June 12
The Hungarians were running away. That's what Louis the Child's army thought. They chased the retreating Magyar horsemen straight into a trap — and the East Fra…
Qutb ud-Din Aibak established the Delhi Sultanate after the assassination of his predecessor, Muhammad Ghori, shifting the center of Islamic political power fro…
A Christian monk walked into a debate he was guaranteed to win. Nicholas Donin had converted from Judaism and handed the Church a list of 35 charges against the…
Thousands of armed peasants converged on Blackheath, demanding an end to serfdom and the abolition of poll taxes that crippled the rural poor. This massive mobi…
The gates of Paris swung open from the inside. That's the part people miss — nobody stormed the city. A group of Burgundian sympathizers, led by agents of John …
The prisoners never had a chance. On a single night in 1418, Parisian mobs tore through the city targeting anyone connected to Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac — …
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.