What was anticipated to be a throw-away speech of very little importance ended up turning into one of the most iconic moments of the late 20th Century. Most people are unaware of the amount of back and forth over the text of the speech that went on between the speechwriters, the State Department, the National Security Advisor’s office, and the President himself. Up until the last minute, people were still trying to change the words of the speech and in particular, President Reagan’s call to “tear down this wall”. In the end, President Reagan went with his gut and ended up making one of the most memorable speeches of his career.
