1980-1990

1980-1990

The United States had many significant events occur during this 1980’s. In 1980, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter ran against one another for President. A few months later, Reagan won 43 to 35 million votes over Carter (Bondi 464). This began the "Reagan restoration" period, which was supposed to help get Americans to cut down on abortion, violence and racism (Bondi XI). One year later in 1981 President Reagan was shot in the chest in an "attempted assassination" (Bondi 673). In 1986, the Challenger Shuttle exploded seventy-three seconds after it took off, killing all of the astronauts on board. This explosion delayed the next trip to outer space until the "Discovery Orbit" in 1988 (Bondi 718,736). Finally, in 1988 George Bush and Dan Quale ran against each other for President resulting in a 47 to 40 Bush victory (Bondi 736)

Furthermore, throughout the 1980’s, there were several world events that made a mark in history. On July 29, 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in Great Britain on a warm summer day in front of millions of viewers around the world. This glorious day was "formally declared a holiday throughout Great Britain (Burrows 432). Also, during this time period women were demanding to have a larger and more respected role in society. On June 9, 1983, Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Britain, was reelected to an even higher position in the House of Commons. She was granted this position mainly due to her outstanding leadership skills during the Falklands War of 1982 (Burrows 443). Lastly, on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn apart by those who wanted to integrate "the two Germanies." This allowed the Germans to finally be able to travel "through Hungary and into Australia (Burr...

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... in the 1980’s. The University joined the Midwest Collegiate Conference in 1988-89 in hopes to gain a bid to the NCAA games. In 1989, Flyers’ head basketball coach for more than two decades, Don Donoher, was fired from his position. Soon after that, on April 19,1989, the University hired the highly respected, Jim O’Brian (Schweikart).

Cathy Song was an amazing poet of the 1980’s. She often uses her own life experiences in her writing. One of her best works was "Picture Bride." This poem is about a twenty-three year old Korean woman who chose to leave home on her own and move to a foreign country with nothing but a picture of the man she has longed to be with. This poem coincides with the 1980’s era due to the fact that it exemplifies how the women of this decade are starting to become very independent and are willing to try and experience new things for themselves.