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Social Security reform becomes law
The new Act created a social insurance program designed to pay retired workers age 65 or older a continuing income after retirement. -
Water Quality Control Act
The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation -
Soviet grain embargo lifted
The United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union was enacted by Jimmy Carter in January 1980 in response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. It remained in effect until Ronald Reagan ended it in 1981 upon taking the office of president. -
Iran Hostage Crsis
Fifty-two American hostages held in Iran released. -
Ronald Reagan 1981 presidential inauguration
The first inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th president of the United States was held on Tuesday, January 20, 1981, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. -
Reagan shot
Ronald Reagon was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. -
Sandra Day O’Connor nominated to Supreme Court
Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Reagan on August 19, 1981 -
Reagan and air-traffic controllers strike
Reagan fired the 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order, and banned them from federal service for life. -
Tax Equity & Fiscal Responsibility Act
The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, also known as TEFRA, is a United States federal law that rescinded some of the effects of the Kemp-Roth Act passed the year before. -
Reagan addresses Parliament in England
President Reagan will address a joint session of the British Parliament, the first US president to be accorded the honor, when he visits Britain in. -
Strategic Defense Initiative
"Star Wars program", was a proposed missile defense system intended to protect the United States from attack by ballistic strategic nuclear weapons -
1983 Beirut barracks bombings
Two truck bombs struck buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon -
Invasion of Grenada
The U.S. and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, 100 miles north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. -
Farm credit crises (Feb 1985)
A farm crisis describes times of agricultural recession, low crop prices and low farm incomes. -
Embargo on Nicaragua
The United States embargo against Nicaragua was declared by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan on May 1, 1985 and prohibited all trade between the U.S. and Nicaragua. -
U.S. illegally sells arms to Iran (Iran-Contra Affair)
The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras in Nicaragua. -
Reagan, Gorbachev hold summit in Switzerland
Hosted in Geneva, Switzerland, the meeting was the first American-Soviet summit in more than six years. -
Democrats gain seats (Nov 1986)
Democrats gain seats -
Space Shuttle Challenger explosion (Reagan Speech)
“We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God. ' -
Reagan delivers his first State of the Union
The 1986 State of the Union Address was given by the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, on Tuesday, February 4, 1986, at 9 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 99th United States Congress. -
South African sanctions
The law imposed sanctions against South Africa and stated five preconditions for lifting the sanctions that would essentially end the system of apartheid, which the latter was under at the time. -
Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Iceland
The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. president Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev -
Gorbachev, Reagan sign treaty (1987)
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF Treaty. -
Reagan prohibits abortion assistance (1988)
President Reagan will soon announce rules prohibiting abortions and abortion counseling by family planning programs that receive Federal funds. -
Sanctions on Poland
Reagan noted the Polish government had lifted martial law, freed thousands of political prisoners and refrained from mass arrests. -
Tower Commission concludes report (1987)
The Commission's report, published on February 27, 1987, concluded that CIA Director William Casey, who supported the Iran-Contra arrangement, should have taken over the operation and made the president aware of the risks and notified Congress as legally required. -
Berlin Wall Speech in West Berlin (1987)
U.S. President Ronald Reagan spoke near the wall in front of Berlin's famous Brandenburg Gate. -
Reagan visits Soviet Union (1988)
The Moscow Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union -
Reagan says farewell
It's been the honor of my life to be your President. So many of you have written the past few weeks to say thanks, but I could say as much to you.
