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1980–1989 Lesson 9

Teacher’s Guide

LESSON 9Decade of 1980–1989

LESSON ASSIGNMENTSYou are encouraged to be very attentive while viewing the video program. Reviewthe video objectives and be prepared to record possible answers, in abbreviatedform, as you view the video. The topics and time periods may differ from thechapters of the textbook your school system is using. Each video programchronicles a wide array of events and personalities during a specific decade of the20th century. Keep in mind that one of the overarching goals of each lesson is tohelp you understand how past historical events and actions by historicalpersonalities did not occur in a vacuum, and that they are inextricably interwovenin your society today.

Video:

“The Decade of 1980–1989” from the series, The Remarkable 20th Century.

Activities:

Your teacher may assign one or more activities for each lesson.

OVERVIEWThe 1980s was the decade of the “me” generation of status seekers. Watchwordssuch as “If you’ve got it, flaunt it” and “You can have it all!” defined the decade. TomWolfe dubbed the baby boomers as the “splurge” generation. Binge buying andcredit were a way of life in the United States. “Shop ’Til you Drop” was the mottofor the decade.

Mega mergers spawned a new breed of billionaires and the meteoric rise of therich and famous. Forbes’ list of the 400 richest people was the “Holy Grail.” A 1980study by UCLA and the American Council on Education indicated that collegefreshmen were more interested in status, power, and money than any time duringthe past fifteen years. Business management was the most popular major.

The spendthrift ’80s also saw the rise of AIDS. The sexual revolution encountereda major adversary. Rock Hudson, the popular movie star, died of AIDS in 1985. Themost frequent American victims were gay men or intravenous drug users; although,infected blood transfusions claimed many, including tennis star Arthur Ashe.

Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman presidential candidate and Jesse Jacksonwas the first black candidate. Jimmy Carter was out and Ronald Reagan was in.Nancy Reagan said “just say no to drugs” and newly elected President Bush calledfor a “kinder, gentler nation.”

On June 1, 1989, Cable News Network (CNN) gave television viewers their firstchance to watch news coverage twenty-four hours a day. Fourteen months later,Music Television (MTV) joined CNN as a round-the-clock programming of music

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videos. Cable television exposed the population to vast quantities of informationthat was easily available. It was also a reminder of the powerful connectionbetween the United States and the rest of the world.

The world community was also undergoing dramatic changes. The Berlin Wall fellin 1989 and the Cold War was beginning to thaw. Shades of Watergate appearedwith the Iran-Contra affair. Cable television enabled the world community toview international events instantaneously in living color.

LESSON GOALSTo reflect on the implications of a “me” mentality.

To ascertain the repercussions of AIDS, materialism, and CNN cable television.

VIDEO OBJECTIVESThe following objectives are designed to assist the viewer in identifying the mostsignificant aspects of the video segment of this lesson. You should take succinctnotes while viewing the video.

Video: “The Decade of 1980–1989”

1. Analyze President Reagan’s political philosophy with reference to domesticissues.

2. Assess the impact of the following on the world community:

AIDS

cable television and computers

“firsts” for women

“materialism”

3. Evaluate the ramifications of the following on the Cold War:

Tiananmen Square

“solidarity”

glasnost and perestroika

Iran-Contra affair

Berlin Wall

“Star Wars”

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TIME CODESTime Code Year Topic Description00 :00 Opening Opening00 :30 1980 Overview Howard K. Smith intros the

decade02 :15 Title Episode IX: 1980s02 :19 1980 World Politics War in Afghanistan; Iran

Hostages: US commando mission fails, Iran/Iraq War

03 :46 1980 Natural Phenomena Mount St. Helens erupts04 :10 1980 World Politics

/EntertainmentCarter boycotts Olympics

04 :44 1980 US Politics Reagan beats Carter06 :40 1980 World Politics Solidarity in Poland & Lech

Walesa07 :18 1980 Social Issues

/EntertainmentJohn Lennon is killed

07 :34 1981 US Politics /World Politics

Reagan inaugurated & Iran hostages freed

08 :16 1981 US Politics Reagan shot08 :43 1981 World Politics Assassination attempt on Pope;

Sadat is killed09 :35 1981 Discoveries & Technology Columbia Space Shuttle10 :52 1982 World Politics Prince Charles & Diana wed11 :52 1982 Entertainment Movies: Chariots of Fire, On

Golden Pond; TV: "Dallas"13 :25 1981 US Politics Sandra Day O’Connor first

woman Supreme Court Justice13 :45 1981/82 World Politics Soviets ban Solidarity in Poland;

Falkland Islands War; Prince William born in Britain

16 :37 1982 Entertainment Theater: Andrew Lloyd Weber & "Cats"; Movies: E.T., Gandhi

17 :54 1982/83 World Politics War in Lebanon: Marine headquarters blown up

20 :15 1983 US Politics "Star Wars" defense program20:58 1983 Discoveries & Technology Challenger & Sally K. Ride21 :30 1983 World Politics Thatcher re-elected; first free

Argentina election; Invasion of Grenada

23 :35 1984 Social Issues /Economy Yuppies24 :00 1984 Transportation Imported cars are top sellers24 :29 1984 US Politics Geraldine Ferraro first woman

nominated as VP, but Reagan wins

25 :15 1984 Entertainment Music: Michael Jackson & "Thriller"; break dancing & rap; Prince, Madonna

26 :53 1984 World Politics Indira Gandhi assassinated; Desmond Tutu awarded Nobel Peace Prize; Apartheid in South Africa & Nelson Mandela

28 :50 1984 Overview Howard K. Smith segues between 1st and 2nd half of 1980 decade: Hi Tech – laptop computers; CDs replace vinyl records

29 :30 1985 World Politics Gorbachev in Soviet Union30 :27 1985 Discoveries & Technology Titanic remains found30 :45 1985 Social Issues/

EntertainmentRock Hudson & AIDS/HIV; Famine in Ethiopia & Live Aid

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WEB ACTIVITIESThese activities are not required unless your teacher assigns them. They areoffered as suggestions to help you learn more about the material presented inthis lesson.

Activity 1—AIDS

Access the following Web sites for background information:

NOVA Surviving AIDShttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2603aids.html

NOVA Teachers Guidehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachersguide/aids/

Centers for Disease Control and Preventionhttp://www.cdc.gov/hiv/index.htm

Time Code Year Topic Description33 :55 1985 Entertainment Sports: baseball & Pete Rose34 :24 1985 World Politics Reagan & Gorbachev meet in

Geneva; PLO attack on Rome airport

35 :02 1986 US Politics Martin Luther King, Jr. Day35 :27 1986 Discoveries & Technology Challenger explodes36 :57 1986 World Politics Corazon Aquino in Philippines37 :31 1986 Entertainment Movies: Platoon; TV: "The Cosby

Show"38 :05 1986 Discoveries &

Technology/ Natural Phenomena

Halley’s Comet & Soviets

38 :32 1986 World Politics Chernobyl Meltdown39 :02 1987 World Politics Oliver North & Iran Contra;

Thatcher re-elected41 :42 1987 Economy Stock market plummets42 :10 1987 Entertainment Movies: The Last Emperor43 :06 1987/88 World Politics Reagan & Gorbachev sign INF

Treaty; Perestroika; Reagan goes to Moscow; End of Afghanistan War & Iran/Iraq War; Benazir Bhutto first woman Prime Minister of Pakistan

46 :38 1988 Discoveries & Technology B2 Stealth Bomber47 :04 1988 US Politics Bush beats Dukakis47 :55 1989 World Politics Free Elections in Soviet Union &

Poland; Tiananmen Square Massacre; Democratic Reform in Hungary; Czechoslovakia & Vaclav Havel; Berlin Wall knocked down; Invasion of Panama – Capture of Noriega; Romanian Communism ends

52 :43 1989 Overview Howard K. Smith talks about computers’ impact on fall of Soviet Union

54 :16 Closing Closing Credits

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Access the two maps at the following Web sites:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/aids/perspf.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/aids/perspective.html

Answer the following questions:

1. How does the information provided by the two maps differ?

2. What are the three main ways HIV/AIDS is transmitted by adults?

3. What are the two main ways HIV/AIDS is spread in Africa?

4. What are the three main ways HIV/AIDS is spread in North America?

5. How many people in the world have been infected with HIV that causesAIDS? How many have died of the disease?

6. What percent of the HIV-infected people now live in the“developing” world?

7. In what decades did the AIDS epidemic begin in North America?

Access the “AIDS in Perspective” chart at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/aids/perspg.html and answer the following questions:

1. What continent has the greatest number of adults and children living withHIV/AIDS?

2. What percent of HIV-positive adults are women in North America?

3. What are the main modes of transmission for adults living with HIV/AIDS inWestern Europe?

Access three or more of the links indicated on the following Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/index.htm and do one of the following activities:

1. Compare international statistics on HIV and AIDS cases with U.S. statistics.

2. Explain the role culture may play in HIV transmission and mortality.

3. Compare and contrast public health policy worldwide.

Activity 2—Tiananmen Square, 1989

Access the following Web sites for background information:

Tiananmen Square: The Declassified Historyhttp://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/documents/index.html

China, Free Enterprise, and Tiananmen Squarehttp://www.fsmitha.com/h2/ch31.htm

China and the U.S. from Hostility to Engagement, 1960–1998http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/publications/china-us/

Access Tiananmen Square, 1989 The Declassified History at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/documents/index.html.

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Then access the summary of and actual text for document 9, “Secretary ofState’s Morning Summary for June 3, 1989” at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/documents/09-01.htm.

Answer the following questions:

1. Why was part of the text missing?

2. What was the main message of the summary?

3. For whom was the message prepared?

4. Were there any examples of the author’s bias?

Access one of the other 35 documents found at the following Web site, http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB16/documents/index.html and use theNational Archives “Written Document Analysis Worksheet” located at http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/analysis/write.html as a guide to analyze thedocument you choose.

PRACTICE TESTAfter watching the video and reviewing the objectives, you should be able tocomplete the following Practice Test. When you have completed the PracticeTest, turn to the Answer Key to score your answers.

Multiple-choice

Select the single best answer. If more than one answer is required, it will be soindicated.

1. Ronald Reagan’s major goal as president was to:

A. slash military spending.

B. expand federally funded social programs.

C. reduce the size of the federal government.

D. increase the federal budget.

2. “Solidarity” was:

A. the nickname for southern Democrats who supported Reagan.

B. a massive working class labor union of Polish dissidents.

C. the mutual pledge by the United States and European nations to resistany Soviet efforts to divide their alliance.

D. the slogan of the Moral Majority.

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3. The first woman to receive the vice-president nomination of a majorpolitical party was:

A. Elizabeth Dole.

B. Sandra Day O’Connor.

C. Jeanne Kirkpatrick.

D. Geraldine Ferraro.

4. For the Soviet Union’s new policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika(restructuring) to work, it was essential that the:

A. Soviets keep control of Eastern Europe.

B. Cold War end.

C. Middle East oil fields be controlled by Soviet allies.

D. United States send aid to Russia.

5. The first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court was:

A. Elizabeth Dole.

B. Sandra Day O’Connor.

C. Jeanne Kirkpatrick.

D. Geraldine Ferraro.

6. Which of the following is an inaccurate statement about AIDS:

A. African nations suffered some of the largest numbers of deathdue to AIDS.

B. film star Rock Hudson died of complications of AIDS.

C. the most frequent victims of AIDS in the United States were gay men.

D. AIDS cannot be contacted through blood transfusions.

7. President Reagan’s new “Star Wars” program altered the decades-long trendof thinking about nuclear weapons because it:

A. called for a preemptive first strike when nuclear war seemed likely.

B. proposed massive retaliation against Soviet cities in the eventof nuclear war.

C. emphasized defense against a nuclear attack as the most effective form ofnuclear capability.

D. effectively reduced the costs of the nuclear arms race.

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Essay/Problem Questions

8. What do you think were the three most important world events during the1980s? Assess America’s public reaction and presidential leadership inrelation to these events.

9. What do you think were the two most significant American domestic issuesin the 1980s? Do you agree or disagree with the presidential leadershipexhibited with reference to these issues? Why or why not?

ANSWER KEYMultiple Choice Essay/Problem Questions

1. C Ref. V 1 8. Ref. V 1; 2; 3

2. B Ref. V 3 9. Ref. V 1

3. D Ref. V 2

4. B Ref. V 3

5. B Ref. V 2

6. D Ref. V 2

7. C Ref. V 3