US_Ch12_1980s

=**Life in the 1980s:**=

The 1980s saw a booming economy with strong economic growth. This means there was very low unemployment, wages were up, people were buying things…basically good economic times (like the 1920s and 1950s). The baby boomers were in the workforce. Emphasis was on job success in America. Workers wanted to be successful and strived to be the best at their jobs. Yuppies would be a new term in American vocabulary. They were those who were young, ambitious, hard workers who earned wealth in the 1980s. Donald Trump grew in popularity and wealth in real estate, which was a growing job market. Sam Walton and Wal Mart would grow and be a major success. Walton became one of the most wealthiest men in America and was the major discount retailer in the 1980s. There would also be a media revolution in the 1980s with cable TV. Ted Turner began the WTBS radio station. This was the first “superstation” as it had shows, sports, and movies. ESPN became the major cable sports network. HBO was famous for movies. HBO also had pay-per-view boxing fights. The “Thrilla in Manilla” between “Smokin’” Joe Frazier and Mohammad Ali was one of the biggest. CNN would begin and offered 24-hour news coverage. MTV developed with music videos on TV. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was the first major video success and put MTV on the map as well as elevated Jackson’s music career.

In terms of social issues, Nancy Reagan went after the major drug problem in the 1980s – crack cocaine. It was the leading cause of crime increasing and was hurting America. Nancy Reagan aimed to help solve the issue through education. She developed the “Just Say No” to drugs slogan. Schools also began conducting searches around the school for drugs. The Supreme Court ruled in New Jersey v. T.L.O. that schools could search lockers without a warrant since it is school property. Drinking and driving was a growing problem. MADD would become a new interest group to go after the problem. MADD, or Mothers Against Drunk Driving lobbied to get the legal age across America to be 21. They were also successful in getting more police patrols of the roads. The AIDS epidemic, which is caused by HIV was a major concern in the 1980s. It led to more education and awareness of this problem as well as other STDs. A new interest group for senior citizens – AARP – lobbied for more Social Security and Medicare. They are still a major interest group and voting bloc today.

Technology was growing as well in the 1980s. The new space shuttle was developed. The space shuttle is reusable. The first space shuttle was the Columbia. The first female in space road the space shuttle in 1983 – this was Sally Ride. There was a tragedy, however, in the mid-1980s when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. Other technology that was new and wanted by Americans would be the Sony Walkman to play cassette tapes on the go, Nintendo, Gameboy, and Arcade games. In terms of home computers, Commodore 64 was the first major success followed by the Apple Macintosh by the end of the 1980s.

New TV shows included Cheers, The Cosby Show, The A-Team, The Dukes of Hazzard, Different Strokes, ALF, the Golden Girls, Married with Children, The Facts of Life, Unsolved Mysteries, the new game show Wheel of Fortune, and cartoons that included He-Man, the Smurfs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, G.I. Joe, Duck Tales, The Gummy Bears, Transformers, and the Superfriends.

Movies that were big in the 1980s were Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark (Indiana Jones), Star Wars V (The Empire Strikes Back) and VI (Return of the Jedi), Rocky III and IV, as well as E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.

Pop rock was a new style of music with Michael Jackson (starting with Thriller). Rap was starting with M.C. Hammer and Vanilla Ice as new artists along with Milli Vanilli and L.L. Cool J. There would be an issue in the 1980s with heavy metal. Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest were accused of having subliminal messages in their lyrics that was leading teens to commit suicide.

In terms of sports, youth sports were growing in popularity, such as little league baseball. Miracle on Ice took place in 1980 when the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey team defeated the Soviet Union, which hadn’t lost a game in over 15 years prior. In baseball, Pete Rose broke the career hit record that had been set by Ty Cobb. Other famous players were Mike Schmidt, Nolan Ryan, Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn, Roger Clemens, Ozzie Smith, Dwight Gooden, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. In football, the 49ers were the team of the decade. Famous players were Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Eric Dickerson, Walter Payton, Marcus Allen, Ronnie Lott, Reggie White. In basketball, Larry Bird and Erving “Magic” Johnson were the most famous. In hockey, Wayne Gretsky and the Edmonton Oilers won four championships. In boxing, Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion. Professional/studio wrestling was growing in popularity with Hulk Hogan and the WWF as the “Real American.”

Fads and fashion in the 1980s: Blue jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers were the new fashion trend. Toys included action figures (Smurfs, He-Man, E.T., Cabbage Patch Kids, Transformers), Rainbow Brite, and Care Bears. Games included Connect Four and Hungry Hungry Hippo. Nintendo was the major gaming system. The rock n' roller cola wars was when Pepsi hired Michael Jackson and Coke hire Paula Abdul to promote their product in a fierce competition.

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