The 1980s

CRyan WHistory

1981 Ronald Reagan elected president.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Solidarnosc.png

The first space shuttle, Columbia, flew into theEarth’s orbit April, 1981

“Star Wars”

American Invasion of GrenadaOperation Urgent Fury

Iran-Contra Affair

Iran = sold American arms to Iran; took money and gave it to support the Contra Rebels fighting to overthrow the gov’t in Nicaragua

Challenger exploded.On January 28, 1986 theship exploded soon aftertakeoff, killing all sevencrew members, including ateacher, Christa McAuliffe.

Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the new leader of the Soviet Union in 1985.

PerestroikaStagnant command economy tomarket-oriented economy.

Glasnost