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National Rifle Associate (NRA) Lobbying Begins (1975)
In 1975, it began to focus more on politics and established its lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), with Carter as director. The next year, its political action committee (PAC), the Political Victory Fund, was created in time for the 1976 elections. -
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. Prior to his presidency, he was a Hollywood actor and union leader before serving as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 to 1975. -
Conservative Resurgence (1981)
In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan solidified conservative Republican strength with tax cuts, greatly increased defense spending, deregulation, a policy of rolling back communism rather than just containing it, a greatly strengthened military and appeals to family values and conservative Judeo-Christian morality. -
“Trickle Down Economics” (1981)
The first reference to trickle-down economics came from American comedian and commentator Will Rogers, who used it to derisively describe President Herbert Hoover's stimulus efforts during the Great Depression. More recently, opponents of President Ronald Reagan used the term to attack his income tax cuts. -
War on Drugs (1981)
War on Drugs, the effort in the United States since the 1970s to combat illegal drug use by ... efforts until the presidency of Ronald Reagan, which began in 1981. -
AIDS Epidemic (1981)
- 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.
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Sandra Day O’Connor Appointed to U.S. Supreme Court (1981)
Born in El Paso, Texas, on March 26, 1930, Sandra Day O'Connor was elected to two terms in the Arizona state senate. 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 (1983)
On October 23, 1983, 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 (1985)
The Iran–Contra affair, popularized in Iran as the McFarlane affair, the Iran–Contra scandal, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administration. -
The Oprah Winfrey Show First Airs (1986)
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!” (1987)
"Tear down this wall", also known as the Berlin Wall Speech, was a speech delivered by United States President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin on June 12, 1987. -
End of Cold War (1989)
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.
