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Period: to
1980's
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Summer Olympics held At Moscow
The Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow, USSR and were boycotted by 65 countrires including the United States of America. The boycott was the result of USSR's Soviet War in Afghanistan that was part of the Cold War and maintained tension between the United States of America and the United Soviet Socialist Republic. -
Iran-Iraq War begins
The Iran-Iraq war began when Iraq invaded Iran and lasted 8 years before ending on August 20, 1988. The war included France and the Soviet Union who were providing weapons and supplies to Iraq and Israel who was providing weapons to Iran. The U.S.'s involvement was on the basis that if a hostile power took control of the valauble amount of oil in the region then the threat would turn towards the U.S. This war was the beginning of conflict that was to last in the region for many years after. -
Ronald Reagan elected U.S. president
Ronald Reagan was the governor of California who beat Jimmy Carter in the race for the presidency and instituted what was known as the "Reagan Revolution". He was able to improve the poor economy and decrease the Soviet Union's status as a world power. His presidency came at a much needed time in a United States that was suffering from the effects of the Vietnam War such as inflation and unemployment. -
Iran releases 52 American hostages
On this day Iran released 52 hostages who had been held captive fro 444 days and happened to occur as the presidency passed from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan. The Americans were taken prisoner as a result of the Iran Hostage Crisis initiated by Islamic Students who entered the U.S. Embassy in Iran and took Americans hostage. This event and the release would lead to tense relations between the U.S. and Iran for many years to come. -
Reagan's nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan and was the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. This event contributed to women's acheivements in social and federal positions as time went on in the United States. -
The 1982 Recession in the United States of America
As Reagan's Economic Tax Recovery Act had been passed, the economy took a turn for the worse when interest rates were inevitably raised by the Federal Reserve Board due to high inflation. In Novemeber 1982 unemployment nine million and 17,000 businesses had failed. Reagan has a low approval rating of 35% before in 1984 the economy began to improve slowly on its own. -
Vietnam Memorial Opened in D.C.
On November 10. 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened in Washington D.C. and was the first memorial in Washington D.C. to be dedicated to a single war. The opening of the memorial generated some criticism because of the results of the war, the controversial war as a whole and the division it had caused the American people amongst each other. -
U.S. Marines' barracks hit by massive car bomb in Beirut
In Beirut at the international airport, a suicide bomber drove a car filled with 2000 pounds of explisves into marines' barracks thus killing 220 marines, 18 sailors, and 3 soldiers. This event was not followed with retaliation by the U.S. because Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger convinced President Ronald Reagan that retaliation would strain relations with oil-producing Arab nations. -
U.S. invades Grenada
Under President Ronald Reagan the United States invaded Grenada with the justification of rescuing 800 American students enrolled at St. George's School of Medicine. The country had recently undergone a coup in which Prime Miinister Maurice Bishop was deposed and murdered. Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard assumed control with the military and martial law was in effect. Prime Minister Coard was a communist which gave the U.S. reason for invading Grenada and thus continued the Communist fight. -
President Reagan orders the withdraw of Marines from Lebanon
The withdraw of the 1700 Marines stationed in Lebanon as part of the Multinational Force, came after man deaths and violence had occured between the U.S. marines and Shiite and Druze factions. These attacks were in conjucntion with the U.S. Embassy bombing that had occurred recently and the U.S. Marines' barracks bombing. This event was the result of American interest in Middle Eastern affairs and oil producing Arab countries. -
Cause of the AIDS virus discovered and announced.
Dr. Robert Gallo announced the discovery of HIV at a press conference after information concerning the virus had been leaked. The discovery came at a time when AIDS would begin to establish itself as a dominant sickness in the United States and around the world. -
Two Lebanese Shia hijack TWA flight 847
Two Shia members of Hezbollah hijack a plane with the majority of passengers being American. They beat and kill a U.S. Navy member and leave his body on the tarmac once they land in Beirut. The event shows the strained relations between the U.S. and Lebanese extremst groups. -
Reagan and Gorbachev meeting at Geneva Summit
The meeting resulted in no agreements that would have a profound impact on the world but still saw an improvement in the relationship between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Ronald Reagan tried to reassure Gorbachev that the Strategic Defense Initiative was not a threat to the U.S.S.R. and was instead a defense system. This conference showed that both countries wanted to improve relations during the nuclear arms race. -
International Court of Justice votes U.S. is in breach of Int. Law
By a vote of 12 to 3, the court votes that the U.S.'s supply of training and arms to Contra forces in Nicaragua is a breach of customary international law in which it is stated as an obligation to not intervene in the affairs of another state. This vote shows how 12 countries were not in favor of the U.S.'s intervention in Nicaragua which were against the wishes of the Republic of Nicaragua. The 3 countries that voted the U.S. were not in violation of the law were Japan, Britain and the U.S. -
Tax Reform Act of 1986
The bi-partisan bill was designed to simplify tax code, broaden the tax base and eliminate tax shelters and preferences. The bill was signed in by Reagan and lowered the tax rate from 50% to 28% for the more wealthy. People at the bottom of the tax rate see a raise in the tax rate from 11 % to 15%. This was part of Reagan's tax reform and was the second bill to affect taxes. -
Black Monday stock market drop
The largest stock market drop in U.S. history occurred on Black Monday when the Dow Jones Industrial Avergae lost 22.6% of its total value, which constituted a higher loss than the one that occurred in 1929 as part of the Great Depression. This event would contribute to the economic downturn that would progessively increase as U.S. economics continued. -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
A treaty between the USSR and the US that called for the termination of ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles that could reach distances of 5,500 km. This treaty was part of the reason the Cold War would tone down and mutually assured destruction would become less prominent. -
William R. Higgins is captured by Hezbollah group and dies in captivity.
U.S. Lieutenant Colonel William R. Higgins is captured by a lebanese group suspected of having relations with the militant group in Lebanon named Hezbollah. He would be tortured and die in captivity. He was part of the United Nations and their mission of montitoring a truce in Lebanon. The imprisonment of Higgins would contribute to the conflict that existed between Hezbollah and the U.S. and maintain the tension in the Middle East. -
George H.W. Bush wins U.S. presidency
George H.W. Bush would beat democratic nominee Michael Dukakis by gaining 53.4% of the popular vote. This signaled the change of the presidency from Reagan to Bush although Bush was Reagan's vice president. The presidency would witness the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. -
President George H.W. Bush travels to Poland and Hungary
The president speaks to Poland by glorifying democracy and stating that may need to make sacrifices in order to acheive it, while promising to open commerce with Hungary. This visit portrays the U.S. presidents' desire to maintain friendly relations with European countries. -
Gorbachev and Bush meet at Malta
The meeting that took place off the coast of Malta included statements from both parties saying that the Cold War would soon be coming to an end. The long conflict full of tense relations and multiple proxy wars would end with the fall of the USSR in 1991.
