What Are The Key Events Of The 1980's

The 1980’s had many impacting events which lead to many cultural differences amongst all American citizens. This was an era in which many American lives were transformed. Although many conflicts erupted, the outcome of the eighties has helped to shape American society into present day. During the 80’s, the Reagan election made it possible for a positive shift in the economics of the nation, as well as many influential people like Bill Cosby, events such as the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, a shift in the American Dream and technological advances. The eighties brought about many technological advances, faced political discrepancies and economic dilemmas. In addition, the eighties had many influential people and events which all lead

During the 1980’s there was no stable economy as there were constantly economic recessions, expansions and a constant problem of unemployment. During the 1980’s, “the national debt increased from $9 billion in 1980 to more than $2.8 trillion in 1989” (Trescott, Page 157). With this constant increase in national debt, American citizens began having to pay more money in taxes, in addition to prices skyrocketing. Although the economic recession ended in 1982, followed by an economic boom, there will still a constant fear of spending more money on the country rather than the families needs. After Reagan had been elected president, there was a promise that, “the rate of monetary creation would be slowed to help reduce inflation and interest rates” (Trescott, Page 161). When Reagan promised this, the citizens held him accountable to that and they trusted that he would be able to reduce the national debt and prevent any more money from being spent unnecessarily. This reveals the economy during the 1980’s due to the fact that Americans wanted the cheapest possible lifestyle and Reagan tried to accomplish that. In addition to promising this, Reagan had reduced the income tax from 70% to 28%. Unemployment was a major problem during the 80’s and “had risen to 10% by late 1982” (Trescott, Page 163). Americans wanted to be able to work and earn enough money to still provide for their families as well as buy some of the new products, which had been developed. With high unemployment rates, many Americans began letting go of their hopes of becoming successful with everything they do. The 1980’s economy had changed the overall society into being quite materialistic. Many American citizens had referred to this new system of economics as “Reganomics” due to the fact that Ronald Reagan had transformed the economy. With this