Archives shows rarely seen Reagan documents in DC

[January 06, 2011]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ronald Reagan's handwritten changes to the text of his "Evil Empire" speech, his correspondence with Mikhail Gorbachev and a bronze cast of Moscow's Kremlin from the one-time Soviet leader are going on rare public display at the National Archives.

The small collection unveiled Wednesday will be part of a rotating exhibit of the former president's documents and items to mark the 100th anniversary of Reagan's birth on Feb. 6. The exhibition starts Friday.

Reagan first declared the Soviet Union an "evil empire" in a 1983 speech before the National Association of Evangelicals in Florida. It became one of his best-known speeches.

Other items document Reagan's personal diplomacy with Gorbachev and other leaders of the since-disbanded Soviet Union.

[Associated Press; By BRETT ZONGKER]

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