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Soviets invade Afghanistan
The Soviets sent thousands of troops into Afghanistan and immediately assumed complete military and political control of large portions of the country in support of the Afghan communist government. This would begin a brutal, decade long effort by the Soviets to subdue the anti-communist muslim guerrilas -
Period: to
The 1980s
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Reagan is elected
Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter, the democratic nominee, and John B. Anderson, who ran independantly. He won in a landlslide, recieving the highest number of electoral votes ever won by a non-incumbant nominee. His election signified a conservative shift in national politics. -
Iran releases U.S. hostages
Iran released 52 American hostages who had been held captive for 444 days. They were captured by several hundred islamic militant students in the US embassy in Iran. The hostages were placed on a plane as Reagan gave his innagural address. -
Reagan appoints Sandra O'Connor as a Supreme Court justice
At the time of her nomination, the fifty-one year old O'Connor was a judge in the Arizona Court of Appeals and had a distinguished career. She was moderately conservative, and by appointing her, Reagan fulfilled his promise of appointing the first female Supreme Court Justice. -
AIDS discovered
AIDS stands for aquired immunodeficiency virus. In 1982, this virus was discorvered and released by the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) as "a disease at least moderately predictive of a defect in cell-mediated immunity, occurring in a person with no known case for diminished resistance to that disease." As the virus was researched it was discovered to be transmitted through bodily fluid. During the upcoming portions of the 1980s, the AIDS virus is highly researched and studied. -
Reagan is reelected
After beating Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential election, Reagan had a successful term. In 1984, Ronald Reagan ran for his second term as president of the United States. In the 1984 election, Reagan ran against Jimmy Carter's former runningmate, Walter Mondale. The outcome of the election was a landslide in favor of Reagan and he won the presidential election of 1984. -
Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of Soviet Russia following the death of Konstantin Chernenko. Taking over at the age of 54 he is the youngest man to be general secretary of the Soviet communist party. This radical change took the people by surprise. Another change made by Gorbachev was creating an agreement with the United States on an arms limitation. Under the command of Gorbachev the Berlin Wall also fell. -
Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
The disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, off the coast of Florida, when the NASA Space Shuttle orbiter Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. It lead to the deaths of its seven crew members, including 5 NASA astronauts and 2 Payload Specialists.Approximately 17% of Americans witnessed the launch live because of Payload Specialist Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the fist teacher in space. Media coverage was extensive, as most Americans heard the news within the hour. -
George H.W. Bush is Elected
The election was held on November 8, 1988. George H.W Bush won the republican nomination and chose Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate. He ran an aggressive campaign and capitalized on good economy, a stable international stage and Reagan's popularity. Democratic nominee Dukakis was unable to defend against Bush's attacks. This allowed Bush to win with a substantial margin of popular vote, while winning the Electoral College by a landslide. This was a 3rd consecutive republican win -
Supreme Court Limits Abortion Rights
Webster v. Reproductive Health Services was a Supreme Court decision on July 3, 1989. It upheld a Missouri law that imposed restrictions on the use of state funds, facilities, and employees in assisting with, or counseling on abortions. The Supreme Court in Webster allowed for states to legislate in an area that had previously been thought to be fobidden under Roe v. Wade.
