U.S. History II: 1980-2001

By ElijahH
  • Reagan's election

    In 1980, Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter and became president of the United States. He would then become admirably one of the greatest presidents of U.S. history in his fight against Communism and return to conservatism within the nation.
  • Period: to

    Reagan Revolution

    After Ronald Reagan's election, he brought sweeping conservative change across the control in almost all regions. Economically, he practiced supply-side economics and Laissez-faire which meant lower taxes and less government intervention in the economy. In foreign affairs, he took a more stern approach pushing for more military power to deter the Soviet Union as opposed to simply giving in. There are many other conservative changes he brought and resulted in the uprising of the nation.
  • Strategic Defense Initiative

    As Reagan had to handle issues within the country, he also needed to take care of foreign affairs, particularly the Soviet Union and its nuclear arsenal. To counteract this, one of the programs he began was the Strategic Defense Initiative, dubbed later as Star Wars, which was a laser system in space that would destroy any nuclear launches before they reached the U.S. This at the time was impossible due to faulty technology, but it showed Reagan's aspirations for what the country could do.
  • Summit Conference in Geneva

    In 1985, for the first time in around six years, the heads of the United States and Soviet Union met physically. Though tensions were high Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan were able to meet in Geneva Switzerland for five hours setting precedent for a more diplomatic relationship though still strong in force.
  • Berlin Wall falls

    After World War II, both Germany and its capital Berlin were broken into free and Communist halves. Well, people from the East, Communist side, tried to flee to the West for freedom. To stop this happening in Berlin, the Soviet government established the Berlin Wall not allowing anyone to crossover. Decades later after bombardments of pressure put on Mikhail Gorbachev, West Berliners began tearing apart the wall until its collapse allowing those under Communist control to flee their bondage.
  • Operation Desert Storm

    Shortly after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait for its oil reserves, the United States launched an attack on Iraq after several attempts to demand its retreat. Very shortly after with only a few days worth of fighting occurring, the Iraqi government surrendered giving up many of its resources and setting up for the eventual dismantling of Saddam Hussein.
  • NAFTA

    In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement was put into affect initiating free trade between Mexico, Canada, and the United States. This would basically eliminate many of the restrictions put in place for other countries allowing for more flexible agreements.
  • Iraq Liberation Act

    In 1998, United States passed the Iraq Liberation Act stating its intent to remove Saddam Hussain from power in Iraq and replace him with a more democratic government as opposed to his totalitarian-dictatorship. This would lead to the Iraqi people's freedom from the bondage given by Hussain and gave them a chance to have a free nation.
  • 9/11 attack

    On September 11, 2001, the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil occurred when several planes crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, in total resulting in the death of roughly 3,000 people, outraging the American public. The terrorist group Al-Qaeda took credit for the scheme and it was not long until President George W. Bush called for a War on Terror across the world which has gone on to this very day.