Stephen Feinstein - The 1980s

Published in 2016 by Enslow Publishing, LLC.

101 W. 23rd Street, Suite 240, New York, NY 10011

Copyright 2016 by Enslow Publishing, LLC.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Feinstein, Stephen.

The 1980s / Stephen Feinstein.

pages cm. (Decades of the 20th and 21st centuries)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Summary: Discusses the decade 1980-1989 in the United States in terms of culture, art, science, and politicsProvided by publisher.

Audience: Grade 9 to 12.

ISBN 978-0-7660-6935-0

1. United StatesCivilization1945-Juvenile literature. 2. United StatesPolitics and government1981-1989Juvenile literature. 3. Nineteen eightiesJuvenile literature. I. Title.

E169.12.F4475 2015

973.927dc23

2015010950

Printed in the United States of America

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Photo Credits: ABC Television/Fotos International/Getty Images, p..

Cover Credits: AP Images (AIDS banner); NASA photo (Sally Ride); Ron Galella/WireImage/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images (Michael Jackson); Science & Society Picture Library/SSPL/Getty Images (computer).

Contents

Introduction

Pop Culture, Lifestyles, and Fashion

Entertainment and the Arts

Sports

National and International Politics

Advances in Science, Technology, and Medicine

Conclusion

Timeline

Glossary

Further Reading

Index

Introduction

Compared with the 1960s and 1970s, the decade of the 1980s was a very different time in the United States. During those two earlier decades, many Americans, especially the younger generation, had come to question the values that previous generations had taken for granted. The 1960s had been a time of heroic struggle for civil rights. It had also been a time of urban rioting and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. The social upheavals in the 1960s brought about by the Vietnam War and opposition to it continued into the 1970s. Americans in the 1970s also witnessed the sorry spectacle of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixons resignation from office. And the 1970s ended with the humiliating episode of Americans being held hostage in Iran.

By 1980, it was time for a change. Americans were tired of political protests. They were eager to feel good about themselves and their country again. Sensing their mood, Ronald Reagan campaigned for president on the theme of renewing good feelings about America. Thus began the 1980s.

The 1980s brought changes to everyday life. Personal computers, video games, and music videos were new. Electronics were changing the way people worked and played. Important changes also took place in world affairs. When the decade started, the United States and the Soviet Union were still bitter enemies. Their rivalry would shift in unexpected ways during the 1980s.

For decades, America and the Soviet Union had competed in the Cold War, a worldwide struggle for allies and resources. Both nations wielded great power. More than once, the Cold War nearly exploded into direct military conflict, and the threat of a nuclear war was always present. In 1980, the Winter Olympics became part of the Cold War rivalry when US and Soviet teams faced off for a hockey game later known as the Miracle on Ice.

America seemed to bounce back in the 1980s. The economy improved and unemployment fell. A space shuttle made its very first flight and proved that America was still a leader in technology. Yet the nation also experienced troubles during the decade. The virus HIV emerged, which caused tens of thousands of people to die from AIDS. Crack appeared on city streets and caused suffering and violence. In 1986, a space shuttle flight turned deadly and killed seven astronauts. A year later, the stock market crashed. Meanwhile, wars raged around the globe.

As the 1980s continued, the Cold War began to thaw. In 1985, the Soviet Union gained a new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, who was unhappy with his countrys condition. Gorbachev felt it was time to make changes. He wanted to overhaul the Soviet government and economy and improve relations with the United States. US President Ronald Reagan was a longtime critic of the Soviet Union. However, he welcomed Gorbachevs gestures of peace. For the first time in forty years, the end of the Cold War was in sight. In a single decade, the world had changed dramatically.

Gobachev (left) and Reagan sought peace between their countries.

Pop Culture, Lifestyles, and Fashion

Americas economy steadily improved during the 1980s. This meant people had more money to spend. Suddenly, acquiring possessions and dressing to reflect ones success became important.

Consumer Spending

During the 1980s, shopping malls, which had first become popular in the suburban United States in the 1970s, continued to spread. Americans could now visit shopping malls in cities, as well as in small towns. Banks were eager to distribute credit cards to consumers. By the mid-1980s, the average credit-card holder carried seven cards. The easy credit, of course, resulted in an explosion of consumer debt. People flocked to stores and malls. In one six-year period during the mid-1980s, American consumers bought 62 million microwave ovens, 63 million VCRs, 57 million washers and dryers, 105 million color television sets, 31 million cordless phones, and 30 million telephone answering machines. During these same years, Americans also bought 88 million cars and light trucks.

Going to the mall became the favorite leisure-time activity of many Americans. But shopping did not stop at the mall. When they got home, Americans turned on their televisions. Two of the most popular television channels were all about shoppingQVC and the Home Shopping Network. Now, people did not have to leave their homes to buy the products they wanted. They could call in and purchase items they saw on television, using their credit cards.

Shopping malls were a center of activity in the consumer-driven 1980s.

Yuppies

In order to keep on buying, Americans of the 1980s became more focused than ever on how to make money. Many of those who were in college or about to enter college planned to major in business. The MBA (Masters of Business Administration) degree was seen as the key to a successful career in corporate America. And the big corporations, which offered high starting salaries to new MBAs, were where young people wanted to work.

Young Americans building careers in business or in professions, such as medicine or law, became known as young urban professionals, or yuppies. The yuppie lifestyle involved total dedication to career and a willingness to work many hard hours in order to get ahead. The yuppies goal was to have a successful career and the high standard of living made possible by that career. So many people were drawn to the yuppie lifestyle and yuppie values that