Major Political Events [24]
January 20th, 1980 --> American hostages released from Iran after more than a year in captivity, also the day of Reagan's first term inauguration
August 1981 --> A series of tax reform bills are passed by congress that together reduce taxes by 25% over three years
Recession of 1982 --> An economic low point that was even more extreme than the Great Depression, with Reagan being forced to loan the Pentagon over $2 trillion to reduce inflation that started in the late 1970s at the end of Jimmy Carter's term
March 1983 --> Reagan announces his "Star Wars" (no, not the movie!) plan for a high-tech defense system to protect America from Russian missiles
January 1984 --> Reagan wins the presidential election again as a republican
December 1985 --> Reagan and Soviet chairman Mikhail Gorbachev sign the IFN treaty, banning all intermediate-range missiles from Europe
November 1986 --> The Iran-Contra Affair gives Reagan bad publicity, as secret dealings were made to give money intended for arms for Iranians to rebels in Nicaragua. A congressional ban on military aid to Nicaraguan rebels had already been established, so it became an international scandal.
January 20th, 1989 --> George H. W. Bush is elected also as a republican
August 1981 --> A series of tax reform bills are passed by congress that together reduce taxes by 25% over three years
Recession of 1982 --> An economic low point that was even more extreme than the Great Depression, with Reagan being forced to loan the Pentagon over $2 trillion to reduce inflation that started in the late 1970s at the end of Jimmy Carter's term
March 1983 --> Reagan announces his "Star Wars" (no, not the movie!) plan for a high-tech defense system to protect America from Russian missiles
January 1984 --> Reagan wins the presidential election again as a republican
December 1985 --> Reagan and Soviet chairman Mikhail Gorbachev sign the IFN treaty, banning all intermediate-range missiles from Europe
November 1986 --> The Iran-Contra Affair gives Reagan bad publicity, as secret dealings were made to give money intended for arms for Iranians to rebels in Nicaragua. A congressional ban on military aid to Nicaraguan rebels had already been established, so it became an international scandal.
January 20th, 1989 --> George H. W. Bush is elected also as a republican
Reagan and Bush Sr. Defining the Politics of the 80s
Ronald Reagan was the major political figure of the 1980s as president for two terms from 1980 to 1988. George H. W. Bush was president for the remaining two years of this decade, but we'll focus on Reagan first.
Reagan can be categorized politically as a "neoconservative" which basically means he was a conservative republican, but more on the extremely conservative side of that spectrum [8]. Technically speaking, neoconservatives were strong advocates for capitalism and the free market, as well as the importance of the family and induviduality, while questioning the policy of affirmative action and liberal welfare programs.
His tactics which are labeled simply as 'neoconservative' may well have plunged America into an economic depression that rivaled the events of the 1930s, but it outlined his main objective and the main priority of Americans: ensuring the welfare of the country.
An example of Reagan's foreign policy
Q: So, what does this speech have to do with the culture of the 1980s?
A: Reagan offers an optimistic update of America's relationship with the USSR at what was really the conclusion of the Cold War, and this along with the abscence of the worry that came with the Vietnam War let Americans focus on home-front issues. This explains why there was an economic boom in the late 80s, with generally carefree people buying goods for themselves because they felt they deserved it. More importantly, the Baby Boom genertation was just beginning to have their own children and took advantage of this economic growth by spending more on them as parents, to say the least. Also, Reagan's mentioning of "the advance of human liberty" and "profound changes in the Soviet state" [35] helped to raise the spirits of Americans (including Reagan's own generation) whose faith had been tested in three previous wars within the last century, as well as the internal strife rooted in the Civil Rights Movement.
Bush Sr. at the end of the 1980s
He was president for one year in this decade (the last one), but he's just as important!
Q: What did Bush Sr. being president mean for the culture of the (late) 1980s?
A: Because Bush Sr. was Reagan's Vice President, he had technically been in a position of power since the very beginning of the 1980s, and Americans were generally comfortable with the very conservative, traditional policies that had were continued in this presidential transition [24]. This is where juxtaposition comes into play once again because of the very liberal, revolutionary trends the culture exhibited simultameously with neoconservative foreign policy. So, Bush Sr. being president after Reagan meant consistency for Americans, though he does make a daring statement that "the day of the dictator is over" because its validity can be challenged; even today [34]. Still, this would be a high point for Americans at the time because it would be refreshing to hear that the future of their country was clear for once; unclouded by major international conflict, like the fading Cold War. Given this viewpoint would be challenged, mocked, etc. in many ways, it nevertheless provided the leeway for the vibrant expression exhibited in the 80s that has become its trademark.
