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National Rifle Association (NRA) Lobbying Begins
On February 7, 1872, the NRA created a committee to lobby for legislation in the interest of the organization. Its first lobbying effort was to petition the New York State legislature for $25,000 to purchase land to set up a range. -
Conservative Resurgence
Beginning in 1979, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) experienced an intense struggle for control of the organization. Its initiators called it the Conservative Resurgence while its detractors labeled it the Fundamentalist Takeover.It was launched with the charge that the seminaries and denominational agencies were dominated by liberals. The movement was primarily aimed at reorienting the denomination away from a liberal trajectory. -
“Trickle Down Economics”
Trickle-down economics, or “trickle-down theory,” states that tax breaks and benefits for corporations and the wealthy will trickle down to everyone else. It argues for income and capital gains tax breaks or other financial benefits to large businesses, investors, and entrepreneurs to stimulate economic growth. -
War on Drugs
In 1973 the Drug Enforcement Agency was created out of the merger of the Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, and the Office of Narcotics Intelligence to consolidate federal efforts to control drug abuse. -
AIDS Epidemic
AIDS is detected in California and New York. The first cases are among gay men, then injection drug users. UCLA's Michael Gottlieb, MD, authored the first report to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention on June 5 identifying the virus that would be known as AIDS. -
Sandra Day O’Connor Appointed to U.S. Supreme Court
In 1981 Ronald Reagan nominated her to the U.S. Supreme Court. She received unanimous Senate approval, and made history as the first woman justice to serve on the nation's highest court. -
Marines in Lebanon
Two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon, a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. -
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran-Contra Affair was a secret U.S. arms deal that traded missiles and other arms to free some Americans held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, but also used funds from the arms deal to support armed conflict in Nicaragua. The controversial deal—and the ensuing political scandal—threatened to bring down the presidency of Ronald Reagan. -
The Oprah Winfrey Show First Airs
The topic for the premiere show was "How to Marry the Man or Woman of Your Choice". Oprah was one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. -
“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall!”
The Berlin Wall was erected by communist East Germany and the Soviet Union in 1961 to keep skilled East German workers and intellectuals from fleeing to West Berlin (an urban enclave administered by the United States, Great Britain, and France). By the 1980s it had become a symbol of the tense relationship between East and West during the Cold War as well as an enduring symbol of Soviet oppression. -
End of Cold War
During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end. -
Ronald Reagan (1981- 1989)
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and became a highly influential voice of modern conservatism.
