1980’s Terms and Personalities 1

Ronald Reagan

American politician, actor, and 40th president of the US (republican); one of the most prominent conservative figures in history

Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act

Act that put the first binding spending constraints on the federal budget

John Hinckley

American who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1981  as he left the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration

Strategic Defense System (Star Wars)

Proposed missile defense system to protect the US from nuclear weapons  (intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles)

Iran-Contra Affair

Occured during the second term of the Reagan administration where officials secretly facilitated the illegal sale of arms to Iran, which was subject to an arms embargo at the time. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua

Glasnost

Concept of openness and transparency in Russian

Perestroika

Political reform movement in the Soviet Union under Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Last leader of the Soviet Union, known for reforms like perestroika

Yuppies

Young urban professionals working in cities

AIDS

Chronic immune system disease caused by HIV, epidemic in the 80s

George H.W

41st president of the US

Americans with Disabilities Act

Law prohibiting disability-based discrimination

Proposition 13

California amendment limiting property tax increases

Billy Graham

American evangelist and civil rights advocate

Televangelists

Preachers appearing on TV to preach and seek funds

Supply Side vs

Theories on economic growth

Sandra Day O’Connor

Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court

William Rehnquist

Long-serving Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court

Walter Mondale

42nd vice president of the US

Geraldine Ferraro

First woman on a major party national ticket in the US

“Peace Through Strength”

Reagan's phrase emphasizing strong defense

The Reagan Doctrine

US support for anti-communist movements globally

Oliver North

Involved in the Iran-Contra affair during Reagan's administration

Sally Ride

First American woman in space

Boris Yeltsin

President of Russia from 1991 to 1999

Tiananmen Square

Site of 1989 protests and massacre in China

Michael Dukakis

Former governor of Massachusetts, ran for president in 1988

Manuel Noriega

Panamanian ruler overthrown by the US in 1989