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American Hostages Held In Iran
Fifty-two U.S. diplomats and citizens were held hostage after being sized by Iran militants at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. They were finally released after 444 days -
Farming Credit Rises
A grain contract with the Soviet Union lead to agricultural prosperity and high economic inflation. Followed by the Federal Reserves response, this resulted in the highest interest rates in history -
Reagan Inauguration
Held on the West front of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. on a Tuesday. Also the first inauguration held on the West side of the Capitol -
Spending Speech
A outlined plan for the United States economic recovery, which called for large cuts to taxes and federal spending. A 4,445 word speech that had been described as one of the most comprehensive economic proposals since FDR had announced his New Deal -
Reagan Assassination Attempt
John Hinckley Jr. shot at Reagan in Washington D.C as he returned to his limousine. The assassination was planned after Hinckley had watched the movie, 'Taxi Driver', and wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster -
Soviet Grain Embargo Lifted
The embargo was enacted by Jimmy Carter in January of 1980 in response to the Afghanistan invasion of 1979, which remained in effect until Reagan ended the embargo upon taking office -
Air Traffic Strike
11,345 air traffic controllers were fired after refusing to return to work, and were banned from federal service for life -
Sandra Day O'Connor Nominated To Supreme Court
The first woman to be nominated into the Supreme Court. Nominated by Reagan, and fulfilling his campaign promise to appoint a woman to the highest court in the United States -
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act
AKA TEFRA, a United States federal law that had rescinded the effects of the Kemp-Roth Act that had been passed during the previous year -
Reagan Addresses English Parliament
Reagan suggested that that Soviet bloc had been weakening from within itself, addresses British Parliament at the Royal Gallery in the Palace of Westminster, London -
Reagan Prohibits Abortion Assistance
Reagan endorsed a bill that prohibited the use of federal funding for the poor trying to pay for Medicaid abortions or abortion coverage -
Strategic Defense Initiative
A proposed missile defense system that had been nicknamed the "Star Wars Program", and was intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic missiles, and the ones launched from submarines -
Social Security Reform Becomes Law
Comprehensive changes in social security coverage, financing, and benefit structure had been made, passed by Congress and signed into law by Reagan -
Suicide Bombers in Beirut, Lebanon
A housing complex that held American and French service members was struck by two truck bombs, whose detonation destroyed the foundation of the building and killed 241 military personnel -
Invasion Of Grenada
Code named Operation Urgent Fury, the U.S. and six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, resulting in military operation within a few days -
Nicaragua Embargo
US embargo against Nicaragua implemented by Reagan, prohibiting trade between the two. Intended to undermine the Sandanista government that had come into power in 1979 -
Gorbachev Summit Switzerland
Cold war era meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, where Reagan and Gorbachev met for the first time to discuss international diplomatic relations and the arms race -
Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion
Fatal incident of the U.S space program, where the missile had broken apart 73 seconds into its flight, absolutely decimating all members onboard -
Reagan Delivers First State Of The Union
The State of the Union address was given in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives -
South African Sanctions
Reagan vetoed legislation that would have imposed economic sanctions against Pretoria. -
Reagan And Gorbachev Meet In Iceland
A meeting held in Iceland that almost resulted in a nuclear arms control agreement where both parties would have their weapons dismantled -
Water Quality Control Act
The House of Representatives voted to override Reagan s veto of a bill aimed towards the cleanup of the nations water, at the cost of $20 billion -
Sanctions on Poland
Reagan had lifted the sanctions on Poland, restoring the economic privileges taken away in December 1981, after the Polish government suppressed the solidarity movement -
Tower Commission Report
Concluded that the CIA Director William Casey, who had supported the Iran-Contra arrangement, Should have taken order of the operation, and made the president aware of the risks, notifying Congress as legally required -
Iran-Contra Affair
Also known as the Iran-Contra scandal, the McFarlane affair, or the Iran-Contra, was a political scandal of the United States that had occurred during Reagan's second term. It was a secret arms deal that traded missiles and more in order to free some Americans held hostage -
West Berlin Wall Speech
Reagan stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin to make his famous speech, challenging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin wall -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
An arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed by President Reagan and General Gorbachev -
Reagan Visits the Soviet Union
Reagan visited the Soviet Union and attended a meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev, known as the Moscow Summit. He is the first American president to visit the Soviet Union since Nixon, 14 years prior -
Military Build Up
Reagan presided over the largest defense buildup during peacetime in history, an 180 billion dollar expansion over 6 years. This included the B-1 bomber, the B-2 stealth bomber, and various conventional weapon programs -
Reagan Leaves office
Reagan left office while holding an approval rating of 68%, and handed over the presidency to George W. Bush. He eventually died of Alzheimer's