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Election of 1980
Ronald Reagan won over Jimmy Carter because of the Iranian hostage crisis and America's stagflation. -
AIDS
AIDS is a disease against immune system.First reported in 1981 in US among small group of gay men in LA; people believed that sharing spaces or touching people with AIDS meant you would get AIDS. Although this was an epidemic, President Reagan avoided spending money on research to cure AIDS. -
Release of the American Hostages by Iran
Mostly women and African Americans hostages were held for 444 days- President Carter worked to get them released, but they were released for President Reagan. -
Assassination attempt on Reagan
While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr.
Reagan was hit on the chest but thankfully recovered in only 12 days. This gained him sympathy, respect, and support -
Trickle-Down Economics
Theory that by loaning money to the banks and high end people in the pyramid of economics with the hopes that it would then 'trickle down' to the lower classes. -
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) AKA Star Wars
President Reagan's SDI proposed the construction of an elaborate computer-controlled, anti-missile defense system capable of destroying enemy missiles in outer space; building a "nuclear umbrella". -
1984 Election
Reagan ran against Walter Mondale , who chose Geraldine Ferraro the 1st woman for VP. Reagan won by a landslide with 525 electoral votes -
The “Reagan Doctrine”
Reagan's policy which supported opponents of communism anywhere in the world, whether or not they had any direct connection to the Soviet Union It meant a new American activism in the Third World. -
The Challenger Disaster
The space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight, killing all aboard. The explosion was caused by a faulty seal in the fuel tank. The shuttle program was halted while investigators and officials drew up new safety regulations, but was resumed in 1988 with the flight of the Discovery. -
Iran-Contra Affair
Scandal that encouraged sale of arms to Iran to secure the release of several US hostages in Lebanon, and to fund the Contras in Nicaragua. -
1988 Election
George Bush (winner) vs. Michael Dukakis. Bush was elected on the strength of his association with Reagan, seemingly poised to confirm the ascendancy of his predecessor's conservative values -
Unraveling of the Soviet Bloc
The unraveling of the SOVIET BLOC began in Poland in June 1989. Despite previous Soviet military interventions in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland itself, Polish voters elected a non-communist opposition government to their legislature. The world watched with anxious eyes, expecting Soviet tanks to roll into Poland preventing the new government from taking power. -
Tiananmen Square Massacre
Students in Beijing held protests in 1989 against a Chinese repressive government which at Tiananmen Square led to violence, some students were even killed. The Bush administration did not intervene because they wanted to keep good ties with the Chinese leaders, so the response to the Chinese leaders was muted and cautious. -
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Thousands of East Berliner began to demonstrate along the wall, and climb it in anticipation of it being opened; eventually the border guards opened the gates. This was an iconic moment that witnessed eastern European revolutions, which rolled back the boarders of communism and ignited a process of reform that affected the entire communist world. -
Gorbachev’s Glasnost and Perestroika
Perestroika - changing economic policies to allow more competition and incentives to produce Goods. Changing the Gov. Controlled economy that had existed since Stalin. Glasnost - openness in Government, Gorbachev thought people should be allowed within reason to say what they believe in with more open debate -
Operation Desert Storm
Encouraged by President George H.W. Bush, the UN condemned Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and gathered an international military force. In February 1991, the U.S. and its allies attacked Iraqi forces in Kuwait. The Iraqi's were driven from Kuwait, but Saddam Hussein remained in power in Iraq. -
Collapse of the U.S.S.R
The Collapse of the Soviet Union is identified as the end of the Cold War. It was brought by the economic crisis in the USSR which led to serious shortages, the introduction of perestroika and Glasnost opening the floodgates for demonstrations and revolutions in the Eastern Bloc.
