ronald reagan, president reagan, tampico, Illinois, 1911

Hands Across America, Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

North Korean agent Kim Hyun-Hee, responsible for the Korean Air Flight 858 bombing in 1987 which killed 115 people, being escorted by South Korean investigators. (Credit: Sunkyu Im/AFP/Getty Images)

1980s

1980s Archives | HISTORY

Home

HISTORY

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

1985

During the 1980s, conservative politics and Reaganomics held sway as the Berlin Wall crumbled, new computer technologies emerged, AIDS ravaged the United States, especially the gay male community, and blockbuster movies and MTV reshaped pop culture.

The 1980s was an era defined by conservative politics, the rise of computer technology, the AIDS crisis and the end of the Cold War, as well as 1980s fashion and music.

1980s

Topics

Ronald Reagan

Stories

How the US Ended Up With Warehouses Full of ‘Government Cheese’

The Terrorist Attack That Failed to Derail the 1988 Seoul Olympics

Big Bird Nearly Rode on the Disastrous Challenger Mission

Remembering Hands Across America

This Day in History

Music stars gather to record “We Are the World”