This Day In History: 02/22/1980 - Hockey Miracle on Ice - HISTORY

The Miracle on Ice Olympic Winter hockey team coached by Herb Brooks beat the Soviet Union, and the Purple Heart military decoration was reinstituted because of terrorism in This Day in History video. The date is February 22nd. Also, on this date Spain agreed to give Florida to the U.S.

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On this day in 1980, in a strong reaction to the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Jimmy Carter asks the Senate to postpone action on the SALT II nuclear weapons treaty and recalls the U.S. ambassador to Moscow. These actions sent a message that the age of detente and the friendlier diplomatic and economic relations that were established between the United States and Soviet Union during President Richard Nixon's administration (1969-74) had ended. Carter feared that the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in which an estimated 30,000 combat troops entered that nation and established a puppet government, would threaten the stability of strategic neighboring countries such as Iran and Pakistan and could lead to the USSR gaining control over much of the world's oil supplies. The Soviet actions were labeled "a serious threat to peace" by the White House. Carter asked the Senate to shelve ratification talks on SALT II, the nuclear arms treaty that he and Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev had already signed, and the president called U.S. ambassador to Moscow Thomas J. Watson back to Washington for "consultation," in an effort to let the Kremlin know that military intervention in Afghanistan was unacceptable. When the Soviets refused to withdraw from Afghanistan, America halted certain key exports to the USSR, including grain and high technology, and boycotted the 1980 summer Olympics, which were held in Moscow. The United States also began to covertly subsidize anti-Soviet fighters in Afghanistan. During Ronald Reagan's presidency in the 1980s, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars to Afghanistan to arm and train the mujahedeen rebel forces that were battling the Soviets. This tactic was successful in helping to drive out the Soviets, but it also gave rise to the oppressive Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist organization.

The first Ground Hog day introducing Punxsutawney Phil, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Samuel Clemens known as Mark Twain is released and the first GI Joe hits the market in This Day in History video. The date is February 2nd. Willie Nelson is accused of tax evasion and hands over $9 million of the $17 million the IRS says he owes.

Find out what happened on November 21 in our This Day in History video. On November 21, 1783, history was made in the skies over Paris when the first manned un-tethered air balloon flight took place. On November 21, 1877, Thomas Edison had another idea. Edison created a device that could record and playback sound. On November 21, 1973, the Nixon Administration announced that there was an eighteen and a half minute gap on the Watergate tapes. Still no one knows what was said in that gap. Lastly, on November 21, 1980, 350 million people tuned into an episode of Dallas to see who shot J.R. It turned out to be an upset mistress.

Satchel Paige originally from the Negro Baseball League is named to the Baseball Hall of Fame, first Davis Cup tennis tournament is played, the Boeing 727 jet flies, and Princess Margaret dies in This Day in History video. The date is February 9th. Satchel Paige played for 22 years in the Negro League.

The USS Maine explosion started the Spanish American War, Galileo was born, the teddy bear was introduced and inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, and the Canadian flag changed in This Day in History video. The date is February 15th. The USS Maine was blown up in Cuba's Havana harbor.

Birth control in Ireland becomes legal, San Francisco World's Fair debuts the earthquake, John Glenn becomes the first astronaut to orbit the earth, and Ross Perot declares his presidency in This Day in History video. The date is February 20th. John Glenn was part of the Mercury Seven and orbited the earth in the Friendship 7.

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