Violence, Scandal, and the End of the Cold War 301nomic activities. That meant lessening the tension and bitterness be-
tween the Soviet Union and the free world—in short, to end the Cold
War. Moreover, the arms buildup of the United States under Reagan
placed a heavy strain on the Soviet economy and the ability of the Rus-
sians to maintain an equal balance of military power. So Gorbachev
extended a welcoming hand to Reagan by offering to cease the deploy-
ment of intermediate-range nuclear forces aimed at Europe. The Presi-
dent responded favorably, and after several meetings the two leaders
agreed in Washington in December 1987 to the INF Treaty banning all
intermediate-range missiles targeted on western Europe. In effect, this
treaty marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of friendlier
relations between the Soviet Union and the West.
Not only did the Iran-Contra scandal mar the Reagan legacy, but the
allegedly improper behavior of many of his administrative aides also
brought a degree of shame. The Environmental Protection Agency lost
several of its most important chiefs, who resigned in disgrace because
of their mishandling of funds. A presidential aide was convicted of
perjury, and the secretary of labor was indicted on charges of fraud and
was obliged to resign, although he was later acquitted. Moreover, the
attorney general was investigated for infl uence-peddling; and the sec-
retary of housing and urban development was also investigated for im-
proper behavior in the awarding of housing grants.
Democrats made good use of these scandals to win back control of
the Senate whereby they defeated the nomination of Robert Bork, a
highly conservative Reagan appointee, to the Supreme Court. And the
ever-mounting deficit and trade imbalance, the decline of the real estate
market, and the resulting damage to savings and loan institutions ap-
peared to indicate a general nationwide economic collapse. In fact the
savings and loan disaster was so extensive that it required federal as-
sistance, to the tune of more than $ 500 billion. There had never been so
many banks and savings and loan operations go bankrupt since the
Great Depression. Then, on October 19 , 1987 , the stock market plunged
508 points, the largest one- day decline in its history.
So sure were Democrats of victory in the presidential contest of 1988
that a great many candidates threw their hats into the ring. The