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A3 1980s Rokicki

Page history last edited by Clemens Lindenau 13 years, 9 months ago
Business & Economy 
Education 
Fashion 
Film & Theater 
Food & Drink 
Print Culture 
Sports & Games
Music 
"The Way We Lived"
Government & Politics
Leadership
Law & Justice
Religion
Political Cartoons

 

 

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How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

 

Business & Economy

 

 Ronald Reagan delivers his inaugural address in front of the  Capitol on January 20, 1981. APWIDE WORLD PHOTOS. REPRODUCED BY  PERMISSION.

Reagan addressing the U.S. during the inaugural speech promises

to let capitalism lift America out of the recession

 

The ease of life in the 50s and 60s right after WWII lay down the foundation for the belief that one could enjoy a life of consumption without hard work. The newer generations who had not experienced the war and their parents who were unwilling to visit past troubles and educate their children resulted in a feeling of entitlement that turned into a very turbulent 70s. One ofAmerica's big three car companies, the Chrysler foundation had nearly collapsed; after the near collapse, along with oil shortages, the Watergate scandal and other events, people were ready to move on with a new president and higher ambitions in the 80s. Reagan was elected on a base requiring minimal governmental intervention and spending, letting America ease back naturally into growth. His heavy support of capitalism and the free market resulted in proposals to reduce the government and taxes; he let businesses take control of the economy, easing their job through tax cuts and federal support. The 80s had a rocky start, continuing a recession which began in 1979 into 1982. However, Reagan's Republican and capitalist ideology inspired a new hope in the people as they looked towards a brighter future.
 

The new promises of and the people's renewed trust in the economy resulted in a spendthrift culture for both people and businesses. People wanted to fare for themselves, creating a heavily competitive atmosphere. Numerous scandals rocked America and Wall Street ranging from insider trading to outright breaking in and stealing information. Economic emphasis moved from factories to Wall Street and trading, with many of the organization in the form of young, urban, recently graduated M.B.A. holders. Businesses aimed to reduce competition and expand through mergers and expansions. Some of the higher profile expansions in the 80s include: U.S. Steel's purchase of Marathon Oil, a merger which created Santa Fe South Pacific, and TLS's aquisation of Beatrice International Foods. Many argue that the spending high of the 80s did not reflect the actual economy, just the people's perception of the economy which quickly deteriorated after bad performance. Spending decreased inflation from 12.5% in 1980 to 3.2% in 1983, while unemployment remained high, with 11.5 million Americans unemployed.

   

    

The spending shocked America into becoming a debtor nation for the first time since 1914. Debt increased from $269 billion in 1986 to $2.68 trillion in 1988, more than twenty-six times the amount Reagan inherited in 1980. Despite Reagan's numerous efforts to reduce the deficit (including a bill to limit congressional spending), debt continued to increase. A sharp rise in the price of petroleum cut down the plans of many homes and businesses. Even though the price in America was lower than the world average, this only slowed down adjustment and the growth of the GNP. America's priorities were set on increasing economic growth through support of supply-side economics, substantially increasing output and increasing competitiveness in the global economy. However, such goals were impeded by Americans' increasing interest in foreign made products such as cars from Japan. Despite a heavy increase in military orders (51% in 1986), factory orders for durable goods fell 7.5%.

 

     All the focus, interest, and support towards businesses and capitalism left America's agricultural industry unattended. Quickly falling land prices and overproduction of products devastated small, family owned farms. Despite intervention from the government, it was usually too late or not enough. Despite the hits the agriculture industry took and the fraudulent nature of Wall Street, the economy and standard of living continued to grow, as the number of millionaires rose from 574k in 1980 to 1.3 million by 1988. The middle class was also enjoying an increase in their standard of life. However, their "entitled," consumption fueled, attitude resulted in a large debt for America, which continues to accumulate to this day, reaching $13 trillion.

 
 

In the film Wall Street, Michael Douglas, playing the character of  Gordon Gecko, pronounced that greed is good. THE KOBAL COLLECTION20TH  CENTURY FOX. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION. 

In the film Wall Street, Michael Douglas, as Gordon Gekko says "Greed is Good"

 


Education
 

Before the 1980’s education was not many people’s main priority or even goal in achieving to work and get a job. But this all changed during the 1980’s thru 1989. Education was highly looked upon and more people

graduated high school, college and got college degrees. “The percentage of Americans graduating from high school rose from 50 percent in 1950 to 75 percent in 1980” (Baughman Vol 9).

 

During the 1980’s education was taken more seriously and the quality of education increased tremendously. The curriculum was there yet people lacked the basic academic skills needed such as reading and writing.

From the 1960’s to the early 1980’s SAT scores for everyone throughout the country were extremely low and this indicated to the people of America and to the world that America was not as smart as everyone

thought it was. During the early 1980’s, many African Americans as well as a small portion of the white population were considered illiterate and America started to fall back in terms of science and technology compared

to other power houses such as Russia, Japan, and Germany, America was scared that they were going to lose their edge in competition. President Jimmy Carter claimed, " Warning the citizenry that the United States

was behind the Soviet Union, Japan, and West Germany in elementary and secondary science and math, the announcement claimed that the United States was in danger of losing its competitive edge; that while "the

best seem to be learning as much as they ever did—the majority is learning less and less." (Baughman Vol 9).

 

The primary problem was that children that did do well in school were placed in lower math and science classes once they got to college so that indicated that there was a problem with the education system and

not necessarily the children learning the material. There were also problems with the students of course but the primary fault found was the lack of “good” education and the lack of classes. Many students could

not meet college graduation requirements, there was a lack of interest in foreign language percentages, and teachers were not teaching as much, in a day’s time, as they were before, with only 3 hours of fully

incorporated instructional time.

 

Many liberals and conservatives argued that governmental intervention was the starting point of the decline of the education system while others argued that government intervention helped education in areas such

as bilingual and handicap children. The governor of Arizona, Bruce Babbitt, claimed "Federal involvement in education has been counter-productive. I believe it's responsible for some of the decline in quality."

(Baughman Vol 9). Some also argued that the 1960’s and 1970’s influenced the educational in a negative way and was one of the reasons for its decline. In economic terms, many children believed that education

was not important because even with an education, it was hard to find a decent job because of the depressed market and lack of funding towards education.

 

When Ronald Reagan noticed the devastated educational system, he was determined to make a change. First, he changed the curriculum for the entire educational system, all across the United States so that

children could pass the necessary graduation requirements. Second, he changed the way teachers and staffs were hired so that he could get the best possible teachers. And finally, he incorporated businesses

more into the educational system. Such problems existed such as the demand for one major while the extreme decline for other majors. Business was highly in demand while philosophy, history and literature

suffered. People started getting worried when their standard of living started going down. Also, people resented paying taxes for school because they felt that it was not valuable or important enough. These

divisions accentuated the decline of faith in public education that characterized the 1980s. Because of these economic realities, dramatic educational reforms got more press attention than financial support

(Baughman Vol 9).

 

Fashion

 

 

Although the dressing style of the 1970's was mainly leisure intended and informal, men began to put more emphasis on work in their dressing styles by the 1980s. The V-necked, wide lapelled shirts of the previous era began to disappear, and the dressing styles reinforced the traditional gender roles of men in the American Society. Men wore power suits and straighter trousers. The formal ties also became noticeably shorter as compared to the previous era. The easily wearable suits from the 1930s made a comeback, and they were mostly shades of black, dark gray and blue. Men also made their hair much shorter in comparison to the 70's, and were always clean-shaven, thereby making more of a professional and business-minded fashion statement in comparison with the leisure centered appearance of the 70's. The men also dressed in what was called the "preppy" style during the weekends, mainly wearing polos and khaki shorts. The polos also had a wide range of logos, thereby exhibiting its price and quality. This also projected economic differences between the various financial classes of American men.

 

 

 For women living in the 1980s, this eara was an age of complete fusion of elements from many eras, many generations and many traditions in terms of fashion and popular trends. Every new season, fashion designers brought back many dressing styles long gone and revived them with newly textured garments and new colors. Some of the popular attires that went through a revival in this time period included (but are not at all limited to) the drop-waisted chemises of the 1920s, the large shoulders and shirrings of the 1970s, and the Day-Glo minis and other ethnic fabrics of the previous era. Ironically, in comparison with the fashion beliefs of the previous generations and eras, the coming of 1980s brought with it a powerful comeback of makeup and other physical beautification techniques. The women began to apply the latest sun protecting lotions, moisturization creams and began to use methods of silicon enlargement on their breasts, lips, etc., thereby trying to enhance their physical beauty and appearance.

 

 

The youth fashion during the 1980's was a complete reversal of trends in comparison with the previous era. While the so-called 'high-end' fashion was popular during the 70's, the arrival of 1980's meant that the youth went back to the 'punk' or 'street-style' in terms of fashion. Clothes became loose and airy, and it was common around young ladies to cut their hair short and spike it. People also began to get multiple piercings in their ears and lips. This oversized cloth trend also popularized old jeans, thrift store joackets and dark sunglasses. This secondhand trend also encouraged quirky tailoring of dresses- hands too short, collars too long, etc., thereby turning the youth fashion of the previous eras literally upside down and bringing the street style fashion to the popular fashion runways across America.

 

 

 

 

Film and theater

 

Film: 1980s was the decade of crating “high concept films” with easily marketable and understandable cinematic plots. The 80s film industry wasn’t experimental as 70s but except for the introduction of CGI special

effects. One of those film directors who understood the valuable CGI technology was Don Simons. His films like the Flash Dance (1984), Thief of Hearts (1984), and Top Gun (1986), contained high quality audio,

graphics, and tightly-structured plot which were described the “summer movies”. These films were not high quality thought provoking films. They were primarily design to attract the teen audiences. One problem

in this industry seemed to frighten the entrepreneurs was the rising of film production cost and declining of ticket costs. In the beginning film production costs were $18 million while the tickets were being sold for

only $3-$4. But, this fear went away with the introduction of advanced technology.

 

Another important factor in this decade was the rise of the blockbuster. The blockbusters were high budget movies with sophisticated sound quality, with high quality special effects, and highly paid actors. They were

the typical summer and Christmas movies, which were very highly anticipated by the audience and were released in those holidays for tremendous profit. Notable directors of the blockbuster era were Francis Ford

Coppola, William Friedkin, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg’s “ET.: Extra Terrestrial (1982) was a science fiction film that was notable for its strong plot to attract both

adults and children with advanced CGI effects. This film was so successful that within six years of its release there were over 15 million copies were sold. Though it might seem like CGI made the decade, it was not

always true. Plot did matter. Lack of good plot and character developments made films such as “Shanghi Surprise” (1986) complete failures. The closing success of the era was the DC comic based film “The Batman”

(1989) starring comedian Michael Keaton in a serious dual role as Bruce Wayne/ Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. Nicholson’s characterization as “the Joker” carried this film to its acme. Another 1989 film,

Indiana Jones had a good success for the performance.

Newly emerging and some preexisting companies such as MGM, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal Studios, and Walt Disney Production started to look for actors and actresses like Tom Cruise, Meryl

Streep, Patrick Swayze, and Eddie Murphy who would guarantee successful films for high pay checks.

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Theater: 1980s was the decade of theater boom. Like the film industry, theaters now produced big budget stage performances. In the beginning of the decade the cost of the production went as high as a million

dollar. By the end of the decade the production cost would rise approximately four to five times high ranging from four million dollars to five million. The spot light of the decade was director Andrew Lloyd Webber

and producer Cameron Mackintosh. They were the leading producers of this decade and won three times Tony Awards for their musicals. These top three productions were “Evita” in 1980, “Cats” in 1983, and

“The Phantom of the Opera” in 1988. Though “Cats” had the recognition for longest running musical, the $8 million budget worthy “The Phantom of the Opera” would set the record of the longest running show

on the Broadway.

 

Food &  Drink

 

 


 

 

In the 1980s, food and drink made the move from homemade, family based cooking to fast food and mass produced, preservative filled consumptions. The

people of the 80s seeking instant gratification moved more and more towards fast food and TV dinners. Snack food items such as Jell-O pudding pops,

Classic Coke, Oscar Mayer hot dogs, and “salad in a bag” were a very quick alternative to easy to make foods. Such items marked the beginning of the

obesity epidemic. Many preservative filled frozen foods were also introduced; however unhealthy, these foods were easy and quick to make. The post WWII

mindset of consumption without work slowly led to the increase in fast food consumption, finally exploding in the 1980s. This created a simultaneous increase

in “healthy diets” leading to many dieting books and foods which claimed to keep you healthy and thin. Things slowly started to become sugar-free and fat-free,

much healthier than their counterparts. Foods such as Lean Cuisine were created to provide a healthier alternative to frozen foods. Tab cola saw a rise due its

sugar-free campaign. Many calorie-less sweeteners were on the rise, leading to many unwanted health risks.

 

 

 

Print Culture

The 1980’s revolutionized the media and its impact on the American society. Smaller companies started to gain ground and eventually turned into some of America’s largest media providers. There was “merger

mania,” which was when everyone was involved in the media such as listening to the radio or watching the news on their television or even just listening to the radio. There were also huge economic struggles

and advancements as many of these companies were earning ridiculously amounts of money. There were many media mediums including magazines, television, radio, movies, books, and newspapers. “The

American public was confronted with a staggering array of new magazines, cable channels, movies, and books, as well as relatively new media such as videotapes and audiocasette recordings of books.”

(Baughman Vol 9).Newspapers really started to impact the media age a lot when USA Today was able to attract more than 1 million daily readers, more than any other newspaper in the United States. Not

only were the existing newspapers becoming very successful but more newspapers, in general, were created across cities and towns. Blockbuster Syndrome was when books were being published, not

necessarily on the quality of it but rather how much it could sell according to a publishing company. Magazines grew considerably because they were directed towards a certain audience and also because

there were so many genres involved that everyone, no matter their age, could enjoy the luxury of reading a magazine or simply looking at the pictures present. Radio was a very effective way of communicating

with the American public due to the fact that 99% of American households had a radio. Also, there was a more distinct difference now approaching between FM and AM in that FM was used mostly for music

while AM was being used for talk-shows and news broadcasts. National Public Radio, NPR, also began to become more popular. T.V was also becoming much more relevant and used by Americans. Cable

companies started to attract more customers by making their prices cheaper and people were able to watch whatever shows or movies they wanted right in their homes.

 

                                                                                                                                               

 


Sports &  Games

Sports and games in the 1980's were the biggest mass-entertainment in terms of both entertainment and the economy. This popularity and monetary prosperity was even said to have eclipsed the 'sports crazy' of the 1920s in terms of numbers and money. Since the television's popularity was at its peak compared to any of the previous eras, television contracts and broadcasting rights for sporting events became big business. Many sports organizations such as the NFL received $14 million dollars of their revenue from television contracts, and networks such as NBC threw in $600 million in order to broadcast the NBA basketball games for a mere four years. As historian Benjamin Reader states, not a single thing was more "central to the history of organized sports" in this era than televisions.

By the arrival of the 1980's, professional athletes became some of the richest people in America. Many athletes like Dave Winfield and "Magic" Johnson signed record breaking contracts that range from $200 million dollars for ten years to $1 million dollars per year for 25 years. With their new payrolls and their new fame, American atheletes earned themselves a high place in the nation both socially and economically. Many athletes were considered to be heroes and gods, and people had high expectations about their athletic, and even personal values and virtues.


 

 

The sudden boom of sports and gaming in America was not more favorable to anyone than the racially supressed groups in America. By the arrival of this era, many African American athletes such as Magic Johnson and Mike Tyson enjoyed equal or even greater popularity than much of the white athletes in America. However, many also believed that the sports industry was as much segregated in this era as the American society itself. Many people and historians observed that blacks were never given the oppurtunities to play quarterbacks or linbacker positions in sports, and were only given cornerback and safety positions to play in professional sports.

One of the few qualities of the sports industry in the 1980's which were less pleasing was the still unachievable status of gender equity within American athletics. Even though an amendment called 'Title IX' of the Education Amendments caused almost two million girls to come in to the field of varsity sports, a feat unachievable in the previous times, gender equity was still a far fetched prospect. Professional athletics and games were still dominated by men, and recieved significantly more funding and prize money as compared to women athletes.

 

 

    

 

Music

 

 1980s would best be described as the peak decade of pop, rock, hip hop and rap. In 1981, MTV (Music Television), a special cable channel, went on the air. MTV revolutionized pop and rap. Individual singers like Michael Jackson and Madonna were at the peak of their career. Michael Jackson’s unique vocal style brought out the new generation of pop and R&B.  He recorded his single best album in 1983 called “Thriller” with his other popular hits “Beat it” and “Billie Jean”. MTV recognized his $1.5 million dollar hit “Thriller.” This Grammy winning album made him the richest performer in America. He also had his own unique dance styles such as the “Moonwalk” and “Robot”. Not only his songs and dances but also his royal sense of fashion made him more applicable to the world.  In the time period between1982-86, he released his singles such as “Somebody Watching Me”, “Say Say Say” with Paul McCartney of the Beatles, and “We are the World” with Lionel Richie. Later, another one of his successes was the album “Bad” on 1987. On 1989, Michael Jackson was announced as the Artist of the Decade by the Billboard Artist of the Decade award community. Like Jackson, Madonna was the other famous artist of the decade. Her songs were both praised and criticized for having controversial themes. In 1984, her both albums “Like a Virgin” and “Let’s Dance” were on the top lists. Over the time period, she exploited herself in her music videos which caused controversy on her sexuality. She was able to predict what would attract the audience for which she became more successful. She was described as “wild” and her music videos showed some anti-catholic themes which caused even more controversies about her. 
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Rap was created during the 60s by prisoners who did not have the musical instruments to create the rhythm. But MTV would integrate mainstream rap into the popular culture. Rap was mostly influenced by James

Brown, who was known as the “Godfather of Soul”. Most rappers were from the Hispanic and African-American society. They used beat-boxing, a musical rhythm produced by the mouth, with their rapping. These

rappers, who would call them “Gangsta Rappers” had statements to make about the social conflicts they suffered in their life or prison. Their political stance influenced many people on many different topics, including

the racial mistreatment towards minorities. Famous rappers of 80s were LL Cool J, Tone Loc, and some females such as Queen Latifah and Salt-N-Pepa, The Public Enemy.

 

     Prince, the funk-rock artist, became famous for his song, “Purple Rain”. He also brought out his masculine and feminine traits in the culture. 1986-89 was the peak of Heavy Metal and Rock bands like Aerosmith,

Queen, Guns N’ Roses, U2, Alice Cooper, Men at work, Styx, Metallica, Survivor, and Journey. These bands were able to communicate with the crowds’ emotion. Guitar and Bass was very evident in these genres.

Hard Metal and Rock were not only popular in America, but achieved worldwide recognition. Some of the foreign bands like U2, an Irish band, and Men at Work, and Australian band, were more welcomed in America

than in their home country.

 

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 Unlike other genres, Alternative Rock did not have mainstream success. They were critiqued for “losing their edge”. But the 1980s brought up artists like Wilco, Level 42 Gillian Welch, Uncle Tuelpo, and Son Volt who

had unique vocals and music style.

 

 

 

"The Way We Lived"

    

Television was a major hit during the 1980’s because American’s could watch whatever shows they wanted whether it was sports or shows for kids. MTV, or music television, was huge in that it helped revolutionize the recording industry and artists were able to be more commercially popular. VCR’s also became very popular because people did not have to adjust their schedules to watch their favorite shows and they could just watch movies in their own homes. Finally, the personal computer in the homes of everyday Americans helped many people doing various tasks right in the comfort of their own home.

In chronological order, Ronald Reagan is elected president of the United States. Next, in 1981, AIDS starts to gain ground and people only expect homosexual men and people who share needles as the only way of getting AIDS. Those who sought to raise public awareness of the AIDS crisis, to evoke a serious governmental response, and to elicit funding for AIDS research fought an uphill battle.” (Baughman Vol 9). In 1982, the Rubik’s cube is introduced and it is a worldwide phenomena. Unemployment is also very high and Reebok overtakes Nike in sales for the first time. A board game, Trivial Pursuit, originally created by a Canadian businessman, is now the most famous board game in the U.S. In 1985, crack is introduced and would forever scare the United States in the years to come. In 1986, video games take ground, especially the Nintendo and sales reach an astounding number, more than $300 million sales are made in a single year.


 

 

 

Government & Politics

 

 

The following paragraphs will describe the circumstances and important decisions of the U.S. Government during the 1980s, as well as the political acts and decisions which were made during that time period. To get a general overview of that decade, it is important to know that Ronald Reagan’s two presidential terms both laid in the 1980s. He was the successor of President Jimmy Carter and served from 1981 to 1989 before George H. W. Bush took office.

     During the election year of 1980 Reagan campaigned for making federal procedures less bureaucratic and for creating a more simple working government. As part of this policy Reagan planned to eliminate the Department of Energy and the Department of Education but this was turned down by bipartisan opposition. His goal of reducing bureaucracy was hindered by the unwillingness of government workers to change their work habits. Additionally some federal workers kept their positions by using their connections in the political system. Besides these attempted changes in the government, Reagan was a supporter of the reduction of federal taxes and the regulation of the economy by the federal government. His goal with these measures was to positively stimulate the economy of the United States and a continuing economic growth seemed to prove to the public that he was doing the right things, but only up to the stock market fall of 1987.

     As mentioned above President Reagan had problems with transforming the government. His goal with this policy had been to reduce federal expenditure but in effect the number of government workers gradually increased with which didn’t allow a cost reduction in this way. In addition to this domestic issue there was a great foreign issue with which Reagan had to deal, the Cold War. When he took office Reagan was confronted with deciding how to deal with the nuclear arms race and the space race. His response to these foreign policy issues was to extend the military massively which caused the yearly federal deficit to rise during the 1980s.

 
 

Here Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev are signing the INF treaty

 

Beginning in 1985 the USA and the USSR began to negotiate about partial missile disarmament. In advance to the first meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, Mikhail Gorbachev had become the Soviet leader in 1985. Even though Reagan and Gorbachev were not able to reach an agreement in 1985, it was still a crucial step towards the tendency of reducing the armories of the USA and the USSR which gradually decreased the tensions between the two countries. In 1986, at a meeting in Reykjavík, Reagan and Gorbachev nearly succeeded in negotiating a treaty which could have obligated both the USA and the USSR to reduce the number of their strategic weapons up to 50%. But the disagreements about the USA’s SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) caused the two countries not to sign a treaty in Reykjavík. The next important instance in the Cold War negotiations came with a meeting of President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in Washington, D.C., from the 8th to the 10th of December, 1987. Here the they signed the INF treaty which obligated both countries to take all their nuclear missiles out of Europe and to destroy them. This was the end of the Cold War between the USA and the USSR which had been based on the mutual threat of using nuclear weapons in case the other country attacked. Therefore this was one of the most important political achievements of the 1980s due to the prevention of direct war between the two most powerful countries of the world.

 

 

     Another major political aspect of the 1980s was embodied by the wars President Reagan fought against countries lead by communists. Despite of the experience in Vietnam, the President still believed in the “

domino theory” and he was determined to help any anti-communism movement with overthrowing communistic government. Even though some of the anti-communism movements and governments were corrupt

Reagan valued the destroying of communism too high to refrain from helping such movements. An example of this policy is given by the invasion of the Caribbean island Grenada in 1983. In Grenada the left wing

had taken over the government and there had been evidence of the building of an airfield in Grenada with the aid of Cuban workers. Despite of the official reasoning of having to aid American medical students

the real goal was to keep make Grenada a neutral country because Reagan feared that Grenada could act as a military base for the Soviet Union and Cuba. Besides Grenada there were a similar incidents in Nicaragua

and El Salvador.

     In addition to the conflicts were communism played a role there were conflicts in the Middle East during the 1980s. The anti-American government in Iran attacked its neighbor Iraq and the war between the two

countries reached the dimension of World War One. In order to protect the oil transport from Kuwait to the USA, the United States sent navy ships into the Arabian Gulf. Besides this conflict the USA also got involved

in a conflict which took place in the Lebanon. In the summer of 1982 Reagan sent 800 U.S. Marines into the Lebanon as part of the United Nations troops, intending to restore order. But this action eventually turned

out to be a disaster for the USA when 241 of the 800 Marines were killed by a suicide bomber at October 23, 1983.

 

     Looking at the decade of the 1980’s, it can clearly be said that Ronald Reagan was one of the most influential, if not the most influential American. His policies reflected the American post World War II fear

of expanding communism. This is shown through the conflicts where Reagan supported anti-communists. The yearly expenditure the United States paid for the expansion of the military due to the Cold War reached

a peak during Reagan’s presidential terms, giving additional evidence for Reagan‘s anti-communistic intentions. But Reagan was also the U.S. President who, together with Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the USSR

from 1985 to 1991, succeeded in negotiating the end of the Cold War.

 

Leadership


 

America, in the 1980's, was largely influenced by the leadership of none other than Ronald Raegan, the president of the nation himself. Raegan aimed, through his leadership, to improve the conditions of the businesses

in America. Although he was largely criticized for not taking the welfare of the working class into account in his plans for government, he defended himself by saying that since the big businesses and corporations were

given allowances and new oppurtunities to grow, their prosperity would 'trickle down' into the working class in terms of raised pay allowances, better job security, more oppurtunities in employment, etc. Under his leadership,

Raegan created the National Commision on Excellence in Education (NCEE), a group of business organizations, social leaders and reformers who aimed to improve equity and quality schooling for students all across America.

 

The Civil Rights Movemtn of the 1980s also had numerous leaders who fought for many individual counties, cities and organizations that favored segregation. Andrew Young, the first black congressman after reconstruction,

was elected during this era, thereby strengthening the civil rights feelings of anti-segregation and racial equity of America.

 

 

 

Law &  Justice

     When looking at the 1980’s in terms of law and justice it is important to connect to the political conditions of the decade. President Ronald Reagan, who served from 1981 to 1989, was a conservative and he disagreed

with several decisions the Supreme Court had made prior to the 1980’s. That included the legalization of abortion and the abolishment of prayer in public schools. Therefore Reagan was determined to bring conservative

judges in the Supreme, believing that they would help him to carry out his legislative plans. He had three opportunities to appoint new judges to the Supreme Court. In September of 1981 Reagan followed his election promise

of appointing a woman to the Supreme Court and she became the first female judge ever to join the Supreme Court. The other two judges who joined the Supreme Court during Reagan’s presidential terms were Antonin

Scalia in 1986 and Anthony Kennedy in 1988. Even though President Reagan appointed conservative judges, his plans of influencing legislation in this way did work out as he had intended. The Supreme Court did not make

abortion illegal and it did not reverse the decision of banning school prayer.

 

     One of the important legislation attempts of the 1980s was the Gramm-Rudman-Hullings Act of 1985. Congress devised it as a response to high yearly deficit in the federal budget of the United States. This act would

have led to spending reductions measures, with the goal to achieve a balanced budget in 1991. But it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because it wouldn’t have maintained the separation of executive and

legislative powers. A second version of the Gramm-Rudman-Hullings Act eventually received approval from the Supreme Court but it was not strong enough to actually reduce the deficit as the first version could have

done it. Therefore the increase in national debt continued unhindered, rising from $834 billion in 1981 to $2.3 trillion in 1989. This is evidence for the expensive policies of President Reagan, especially the massive extension

of the military during his terms.

     The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was one of the most significant and long-lasting legislation accomplishments of the U.S. distraction under President Reagan. It was designed to reduce the tax burden for the poor and increase

the revenue from taxing the rich. When it was made law the Tax Reform Act reduced the personal income tax from 50% to 28% and put the maximum business rate from 48% down to 34%. During the early 1980s there

\was also the question of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The first deadline for the ratification had been in 1979 but it was extended to 1982. By 1982 it would have taken three more states for the ratification of

the amendment but it had been indicated earlier that the amendment had low chances to be added to the constitution. In 1980 presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and the Republican party ceased to support the Equal Rights

Amendment. This was fatal for the amendment because Republicans had supported it for forty years before stopping to do so in 1980. In addition to the important legislative features of the 1980s which are mentioned above

there was also a series of acts which were concerned with environmental problems in the United States. In 1980 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was passed. Because

of this act the cleaning up of toxic waste sites had to be paid be the polluters who had created them. In addition to this act there was the Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act which made it illegal to throw plastic waste in

the ocean.

 

 

Religion

   

The 1980s marked the beginning of a liberalization of religion in the U.S.A. As the years went on people started to realize how much religions and various sects clashed with the constitution of the United States, and churches and branches of many religions, make amendments to make sure they were accepted. Religious austerity was in decline as fewer and fewer of the younger generations were knowledgeable about religion and their faith. A nationwide survey reported that 1/4th of U.S. teenagers had never read the Bible and that only 1 in 10 read it daily. With the beginning of a new culture centered on individuality, cultural influences such as rock ‘n roll and the national drug scene essentially cast out religion.

 

Traditional religious views were waning, with the American public evenly divided on the topic of Darwinism vs. Creationism. The women’s rights moment led to many religious organizations such as the Episcopal Church, the U.S. Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the United Methodist Church changing their views, accepting, or allowing female priests and remodeling any sexist tones in scripture. Many other organizations took a more relaxed approach; the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America adopted a neutral stance on abortion, for example.

 

The older generation however, held hard and steady to their roots, with continued and increased support for Christianity and Judaism. Reagan had heavy support from many prominent Christian organizations. He was given the Humanitarian Award by the National Organizations of Christians and Jews. He also supported a constitutional amendment that allowed voluntary group prayer in public schools. A large pro-Christian movement was growing among the older generation with the North American Congress on the Holy Spirit set a goal to covert half of the world’s population to Christianity.

 

The 1980s were especially heavy in scandals involving religious authorities. An Indian guru was arrested in Oregon after making his followers pay him so he could indulge in multiple Rolls Royces. Revered Jim Bakker resigned from his position after an adultery and burglary incident. Religion in the 1980s was extremely divided in terms of religious faith. Many were turning out extremely liberal, with just as many turning away from the new culture and embracing orthodox ways. The Post-WWII culture gave people relative freedom of choice and equality, leading to many new and liberal ideas regarding religion. Many prominent figures also faced economic and social corruption, setting a bad example for their peers. Some religions still supported racism while many condemned it. Faith was turbulent.

 

 

 

Positive Political Cartoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This a picture where an artist has added the face of Ronald Reagan to Mount Rushmore.

With this picture the artist wanted to give Reagan credit for his achievements.

 

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 

On this cartoon the Senate's foreign Relations Commitee is shown while approving the

plans of the State Department because President Reagan has given his blessing. 

 

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America?

 

The America that came out of the WW II was an America that was radically different and changed in comparison with the America that existed before the war. Not anymore existed the America that was a developing nation that struggled under its crumbling economy and sky high unemployment.It was now a superpower that had the competency and the potential to negotiate deals and treaties with other major players in the international politics such as the USSR and the UK. Although the national spending was relatively low in the first few years after the war, it exponentially increased as time went by, and by the 1980's the national spending was at an all time high. These events not only helped improve the national confidence, but also helped foster economic growth and social well-being. However, one of the negatives of coming out a war as impacting as WWII, was that Americans, in order to forget the tortures of war, put aside past traditions and cultures, and America slowly started developing into a nation of consumption without hard work. Old traditions of working hard before enjoying oneself changed into mindless mass consumption. People, realizing the fragility of life, wanted more things out of it quicker. This attitude embodied itself in many aspects of culture and life, such as mass consumption and fast service such as fast food and music.

 

The culture of America went through an incredible transition, and music and art became much more socially accepted and popular. In stark contrast with the culture of the 70's where the typical American life was centered around the homestead, the 1980's meant that the culture became much more economically conscious and the clothing became centered around formality and workplace etiquette. The newer generations however, decided to lash out, leading into a unique counterculture centered on rock, hip-hop, dressing fashionably and scantily. The gap between the older and newer generations Post-WWII was continued in the 1980s. Stark contrasts between the older and newer generation was found everywhere, for example, in religion. The older generation was heavily religious and orthodox while 1/4th of teenagers had never even read the Bible. Newer music artists were heavily supported and liked by the younger generations, despite how much they were loathed by their parents. The older generation saw the music as anti-Christian and going against core moral values. They believed that the music was a bad influence on their children, and many sought to have it censored.

 

The major governmental reforms in the United States during the 1980's was passed under the leadership of President Raegan not only dramatically increased national spending, but also made the United States become one of the biggest consumer nations of the world, thereby resulting in a nation of global consumers. Unlike his predecessor, Reagan supported a completely capitalist economy. He believed in laissez-faire economics, letting the businesses and companies take care of themselves, letting the market control its own growth and fall. And after the failures of the Democrat before him, the people were glad to accept his philosophy and changes, leading America into one of the quickest periods of growth . And despite numerous attempts to contain it, the debt kept growing out of proportion, changing America from a non-debtor nation into having one of the biggest debts in the world, which continues to grow, reaching a high of $13 trillion.

 

Thereby, the events that changed the economical and the social conditions of the nation, the transformations that radically changed the culture of the era, and the major governmental reforms that changed the market structure and the educational system shaped the post WW II condition of America.

 

 

Works Cited

 

“1980s: Music." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 1135-1136. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2010.

 

"Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union.." The American Presidency Project. 2009. University of California. Web. 17 Jun. 2009 .

 

Berg, Timothy. "Alternative Country Music." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 5: 1980s-1990s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 1252-1253. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 31 May 2010.

 

Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Eds. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 3: 1940s-1950s. Detroit: U*X*L, 2002. Print.

 

"Business and the Economy: Important Events of the 1980s."American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001.Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"Cold War Tensions Ease in 1980s." DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

 

Cooke, Jacob E. "Washington, George." Presidents: A Reference History. Ed. Henry F. Graff. 3rd ed. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002. 1- 21. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Farmington Hills: Gale. Web. 30 Apr. 2008.

 

"Equal Rights Amendment Fails to be Ratified, March 22, 1972-June 30, 1982." DISCovering U.S. History. Gale Research, 1997. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

 

"Europe Divided on Familiar Lines To Two Speeches." Prescott Evening Courier 54(1948): 6. Print.

 

"Film History of the 1980s." Greatest Films - The Best Movies in Cinematic History. Web. 09 June 2010. <http://www.filmsite.org/80sintro.html>.

 

Lean Cuisine. Digital image. The Quick and Dirty. Web. 8 June 2010. <http://thequickanddirtydirty.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/lean-cuisine-artwork1.jpg>.

 

"Michael Jackson Achievements | The Official Michael Jackson Site." Michael Jackson | The Official Michael Jackson Site. Web. 06 June 2010. <http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/michael-jackson-achievements>.

 

"Pop-Music Stars." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

"President Ronald Reagan's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981."American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 77-80.Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"Rap Music." Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. Ed. John Hartwell Moore. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 482-485. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 6 June 2010.

 

Reagan. Digital image. About.com. Web. 9 June 2010. <http://z.about.com/d/history1900s/1/0/m/1/reagan24.jpg>.

 

Reagan on Rushmore. Web. 08 June 2010. http://www.reaganrushmore.com/.

 

"Religion: Important Events of the 1980s." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"Restoring Economic Growth and Stability in the Eighties."American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 80-85.Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The 1980s Businessand the Economy: Overview."UXL American Decades. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 32-33.Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The 1980s Government, Politics, and Law." UXL American Decades. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 67. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The 1980s Sports." UXL American Decades. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 167. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The 1980s: Business and the Economy: Overview."American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001.Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The 1980s: Religion: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 9: 1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The Ronald Reagan Administrations." Presidential Administration Profiles for Students. Online Edition. Gale Group, 2002. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/HistRC/

 

"Theater in the 1980s - by Holly Huffstutler - Helium." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 09 June 2010. <http://www.helium.com/items/1417099-broadway-in-the-80s-andrew-lloyd-webber-cameron-mackintosh>.

 

Thriller Album Cover. Digital image. Muzikal Mafia. Web. 8 June 2010. <http://www.muzikalmafia.com/images/michael-jackson-thriller1.jpg>.

 

National Debt plug-in modified from www.defeatthedebt.com 

 

Videos from Youtube.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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