University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: The Economy in the 1980s
Overview of the domestic economic policies of the Reagan administration during the 1980s.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Rise of Conservatism in the 1980s
This collection uses primary sources to explore the rise of conservatism in the United States in the 1980s.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Conservative Resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s
Given information about social issues throughout U.S. history, students will describe the causes and effects of significant societal issues.
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Wilson Center: Soviet Nuclear History
A digital archive of documents from the 1940s-1980s that relate to the nuclear weapons race in the Soviet Union. Included in archive are notes from the head of the Soviet atomic bomb project, Igor Kurchatov and documents related to...
Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago Architects Oral History: Mary Ann E. Crawford
This interview is by Betty J. Blum and the interviewee is Mary Ann Elizabeth Crawford (1901-1988 CE) who practiced architecture from 1941 into the 1980's. The entire transcript of the interview can be viewed here.
International Institute of Social History
International Institute of Social History:better Birth, Better Upbringing, Glory
From the International Institute of Social History this is "Better birth, better upbringing, glory, happiness" a Chinese political propaganda poster by Lin Chenghan, 1980s.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Scapegoating Asian Americans During the 1980s
Analyze primary sources in the media gallery and create an illustrated poem to learn how Asian Americans were scapegoated for the downturn of the U.S. economy and American auto industry during the 1980s.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: Period 9: 1980 Present
This Khan Academy resource provides a table of contents with notes for several sections of AP US History: Period 9: 1980-present.
Country Studies US
Country Studies: The Economy in the 1980s
This web-article discusses how the economy of the 1980s was largely influenced by the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, who was president from 1980 until 1988.
A&E Television
History.com: How Aids Activists Used "Die Ins" to Demand Attention to the Growing Epidemic
As the AIDS crisis took hold in the 1980s, killing thousands of Americans and ravaging gay communities, the deadly epidemic went unaddressed by U.S. public health agencies -- and unacknowledged by President Ronald Reagan -- for years. In...
A&E Television
History.com: A Timeline of Us Cuba Relations
The United States and Cuba share a long, complex history -- first as allies and trade partners, and later as bitter ideological enemies. This timeline shows how closely entwined America and Cuba have been over the last two centuries.
A&E Television
History.com: When New Seat Belt Laws Drew Fire as a Violation of Personal Freedom
The 1980s battle over safety belt laws reflected widespread ambivalence over the role and value of government regulation. Drivers and passengers complained that seat belts were uncomfortable and restrictive, but the uproar over mandatory...
Digital History
Digital History: Reaganomics
This on "Reaganomics," President Reagan's economic policy during his two presidential terms in the 1980s, discusses his laissez-faire approach and tax-cutting, which contributed to the economic recovery of that period.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Life in the 1980s
Read about the advent of cable television in the 1980s and the many stations that spawned. It was also the time of drug wars, the idea that greed was good, and the beginning of the scourge of AIDS.
Steven Kreis, PhD
The History Guide: Lech Walesa
A brief biography of Lech Walesa and the independent labor movement in Poland. Describes how labor used strikes to improve their working conditions and qualities of life. Their struggles have been an inspiration to labor movements all...
Miami University
The u.s. Banking Debacle of the 1980's
A scholarly paper on the U.S. banking debacle of the 1980s and the lesson it holds on government mismanagement. Provides background on the history of savings and loans and draws the conclusion that the banking debacle was primarily an...
Computer History Museum
Computer History Museum: An Overview of the History of the Software Industry
The software industry is a major part of the world economy. This site traces the relatively short history of the software industry, from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: History of Computing
This narrative from the Wikipedia encyclopedia presents the major developments in the history of computing. It discusses the earliest devices used to perform calculations, the era of modern computing that began during World War II,...
Digital History
Digital History: Collapse of Communism
Overview of the collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev and his reforms.
Steven Kreis, PhD
The History Guide: Perestroika Defined (1987)
Perestroika, as defined by Mikhail Gorbachev. This excerpt includes the many definitions and applications of the concept of perestroika when used to describe the internal reforms of the Soviet Union that occurred during the 1980s.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Emergence of the Aids Crisis
How did Americans and the government respond to the emergence of AIDS in the 1980's? Understand our reaction by reading the following summary, answering questions for analysis, checking the reference list for further reading, and...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Cold War to Culture Wars, 1980 2000: Political and Cultural Fusions
This section outlines political and cultural events of the 1980s, including the ERA movement, government failure to act on HIV/AIDS, the war on drugs and the conservative Christian reach. Questions for discussion and critical thinking,...
OpenStax
Open Stax: From Cold War to Culture Wars, 1980 2000: A New World Order
Page featuring information on a changing order both at home and abroad during the 1980s. Several links to primary source material, glossary and questions for student discussion.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 35: The Melting of the Cold War
As the Cold War evolved over four decades, the end of the world seemed imminent as the nuclear arms race continued to escalate. Popular music, especially in the 1980s, reflected this growing pessimism. By 1989 and 1990, as the Berlin...