Trends of the 1980's

The 80's were a decade often referred to as the Me Decade.  The 1980's brought us MTV, a recession, the years of Reagan and Reaganomics, video games, Valley Girls, Smurfs, Rubik's Cube, The Cabbage Patch kids, and the Garbage Pail Kids.  


The 80's saw many social, economic, and cultural changes.  Around the world countries faced difficulties because of the debt crisis.  The Middle East erupted in war including Iran-Iraq, the Soviet-Afghan war, the war in Lebanon, and the issues in the Gaza strip. Politics played a part in the boycott of the Olympic games by the U.S. of the Moscow Olympics.




POP CULTURE
Dallas was one of the most popular shows on TV in the 80's. Millions tuned in to find out Who Shot JR, it  was the big question on every Americans mind.  


John Lennon was shot outside his New York apartment.








MTV changed the way we listen to music.  They opened up many different genres of music to America.

Michael Jackson was already a star because of the hit group Jackson 5 that he was in with his brothers. Michael Jackson released "Thriller" November 1982 and became the best selling album in the U.S.  He won 8 Grammy Awards in 1984 which was a record breaking.  Michael Jackson helped break down racial barriers, and stereotypes.




Political Culture


Ronald Reagan wanted to enforce the Cold War Policy that was created so many years before him.  The Soviet Union was a large nation that was still practicing communism.  The Reagan Administration created a strategy based on negotiation from a position of strength. Under the leadership of President Reagan and his strategy of "Peace through Strength" he assisted in ending the Cold War.


Under the Reagan Doctrine the U.S. offered financial and logistic support to anti-communist opposition in central Europe.  

Reagan and Gorbachev built a close relationship and contributed greatly to the peaceful end of the Cold War

President Reagan and First Lady paying respect to 17 US victims attacked at the US Embassy in Beirut.

Economic Culture

The nation was in a recession, businesses were going bankrupt.  Export was on the decline which directly affected agriculture.  President Reagan introduced his economic program, a theory of supply side economics.  The theory was to lower tax rates, to encourage people to save and invest more, and encourage more production of goods to stimulate the overall economic growth.  

Military spending and tax cuts overwhelmed the nations spending.  The federal deficit rose from $74 million in 1980 to $221 million by 1986.