--- title: The Americans Season 3 Finale and Ronald Reagan's 'Evil Empire' Speech description: The episode title — "March 8, 1983" — is a clue canonical: https://time.com/3831400/ronald-reagan-the-americans-speech/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-23T03:15:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:26.988Z article:section: History og:title: This Is the Reagan Speech That Just Showed Up on 'The Americans' og:description: The episode title — "March 8, 1983" — is a clue. og:url: https://time.com/3831400/ronald-reagan-the-americans-speech/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c237d5325cfce7f/6987ec4be53aba8ba34db731/reagan.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Ronald Reagan addressing the National As og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is the Reagan Speech That Just Showed Up on 'The Americans' twitter:description: The episode title — "March 8, 1983" — is a clue. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c237d5325cfce7f/6987ec4be53aba8ba34db731/reagan.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is the Ronald Reagan Speech That Just Showed Up on _The Americans_ > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=334b8c0d-a130-4e62-b1bd-35284b483f20&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=334b8c0d-a130-4e62-b1bd-35284b483f20&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1)  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 23, 2015 3:15 AM UTC  President Ronald Reagan addressing the National Association of Evangelicals in a speech calling the Soviet Union an evil empire, on March 8, 1983 President Ronald Reagan addressing the National Association of Evangelicals in a speech calling the Soviet Union an evil empire, on March 8, 1983 Diana Walker—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 23, 2015 3:15 AM UTC **_Contains a spoiler for the third-season finale of FX’s_** **The Americans** Anyone who knew the title of Wednesday night’s season finale of _The Americans_ might have guessed that a particular Ronald Reagan speech might make an appearance. After all, “March 8, 1983” — the title of the episode — was also named by TIME, in 2003, to a list of the 80 days that changed the world. That was the day on which President Reagan, speaking before the National Association of Evangelicals, delivered what is known as the evil-empire speech. It was a time of potential change in the history of the Cold War, as advocates of a nuclear freeze or of nonintervention in countries like El Salvador, where a civil war was under way, were turning away from some of Reagan’s hard-line policies. The President took the opportunity of speaking in front of a religious audience to reiterate his belief in the existence of good and evil in the world, and that the U.S. and the Soviet Union were firmly located on opposite sides of that line. The USSR was the evil empire, and in that context, no hard line was hard enough. At first the speech seemed to have backfired. That April, TIME [noted](http://time.com/vault/issue/1983-04-18/page/24/), “Public-opinion polls showed that confidence in Reagan’s handling of foreign and defense policies had actually fallen during his monthlong hard-sell campaign on behalf of those policies” and that some White House officials called it his “Darth Vader speech.” But, in the end, Reagan got what he wanted: the end of the empire in question. In an earlier draft of the speech, [noted](http://time.com/vault/issue/2003-03-31/page/140/) TIME’s Romesh Ratnesar in explaining the speech’s inclusion on that 2003 list, Reagan had distanced himself from the strong language of good and evil. The version he ended up delivering, however, did anything but hedge — and that made all the difference: --- > “” --- **_Read original March 1983 coverage of the speech, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Hardening the Line](http://time.com/vault/issue/1983-03-21/page/18/) ### Front Row Seat at the Reagan White House  Cheers "After Walter Cronkite's last interview with the President as the anchor of the CBS Evening News, there was a little celebration in the room off the Oval Office," recounts photographer Diana Walker. "White House staffers, including Vice President Bush, enjoyed a good laugh over a joke that has never become public." Diana Walker for TIME  Tickled Pink The British Queen makes a joke at a 1983 state dinner. "I came without a tripod that evening," recalls Walker. "I remember borrowing a monopod, which I promptly broke. I could only get it halfway up, so I took this picture almost sideways and doubled over — and not from laughter." Diana Walker for TIME  Always the Gentleman "I always felt the President had old-fashioned manners, as in this photo, where he leans over to ask his First Lady to dance at one of the balls held in their honor during the 1985 Inauguration." Diana Walker for TIME  Positive Sign "A pool of photographers stood vigil in the driveway of the hospital for days after President Reagan's cancer surgery in 1985\. Suddenly, two windows opened. Using very long telephoto lenses, we were able to shoot this picture of the upbeat President, indicating everything was A-O.K. — a very reassuring image for the front pages of newspapers around the world." Diana Walker for TIME  Ever the Showman "Reagan still had that Hollywood touch, always completely comfortable in front of a crowd. Here, he looks like he's about to break into an old soft-shoe at Rickman High School, where he was made an honorary Kewpie, the school's mascot." Diana Walker for TIME  Pledge of Allegiance "This was such a perfect photo op of the President and First Lady under the guns of the U.S.S. Iowa during a Fourth of July celebration — it looked much like a Busby Berkeley musical! I thought everyone would break into a dance any moment!" Diana Walker for TIME  Hail Fellow "Look at the way Reagan holds Mikhail Gorbachev's hand during the U.S.S.R. leader's first visit to the White House, in 1987\. You could tell they were going to be friends." Diana Walker for TIME  Well WIsher "Mrs. Reagan had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had been successfully operated on. There seemed something so poignant to me about this image of the President heading to the helicopter to visit the First Lady, carrying an enormous get-well card from the staff under one arm and a small basket of cookies in the other." Diana Walker for TIME  Crowd Pleaser "Reagan was the only politician I've ever known who dared take a hat, oblivious to its size, cock it to the side and charm everyone. Here, he's seen speaking before the National Law Enforcement Council, where he dons a trooper's hat presented to him by the association." 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