Dominating Factors

1978: -Vietnam and Soviet Union sign a 25 year peace treaty

1980: United States loses control of oil prices

-1983: President Raegan announces the Strategic Defense Initiative, which involves new state-of-the-art technology that has capabilities of shooting down incoming Soviet missiles

-1985: Gorbachev becomes leader of Soviet Union and is willing to negotiate with President Raegan about nuclear weapons.

-Gas prices were at its highest from 1980 to 1983

-Increase of women in office

-Major Chrysler bailout



Hidden Factors

-Reoccurring trends in oil prices go up

-Reoccurring trends in bailouts

-Rise of oil prices lead U.S. into recession

-"Reagan sought to achieve "peace through strength." During his two terms he increased defense spending 35 percent, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union." This increase of military spending could have something to do with why the Cold War was as long as it was.
Quote: Author unknown
(http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan/)



Bad Ideas

-1980: Fidel Castro allowed would be Cuban refugees to enter the ground of Peruvian Embassy in Havana, resulting in the transfer of almost 120,000 Cubans to South Florida. A lasting stigma remains attached to the Marielitos because Castro expelled criminals and the mentally ill, as well as genuine political refugees.

Congress 1978-1988

Women Vs. Men in Congress

•1978

•Women 21

•Men 414

•1979

•Women 17

•Men 418

•1981

•Women 23

•Men 411

•1983

•Women 24

•Men 411

•1985

•Women 25

•Men 410

•1987

•Women 25

•Men 410

Date Sandra O’Connor becomes first woman Supreme Court Judge: September 15, 1981

Democrats Vs. Republicans

•1978

•Democrats 292

•Republicans 143

•1979

•Democrats 277

•Republicans 158

•1981

•Democrats 242

•Republicans 192

•1983

•Democrats 269

•Republicans 166

•1985

•Democrats 253

•Republicans 182

•1987

•Democrats 258

•Republicans 177

Date Reagan enters office: January 20, 1981

Citations:

American Decades: Primary Sources 1980-1989. “ Government and Politics” 2008. Pgs 210-214 & 237.Office of the Clerk: U.S. House of Representatives: House History. 6 October 2009. http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html

Office of the Clerk: Women in Congress. 6 October 2009.

http://womenincongress.house.gov/historical-data/representatives-senators-by-congress.html?congress=100

Postwar America: An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural and Economic Hisory. Vol 1. 2007. Pgs 274-280.

The White House: About the Whitehouse Presidents. 8 October 2009.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan/

Dominating Factors of Oil & Gas

· 1979: Carter brings about a program to remove oil price controls and asks congress for a windfall profits tax on oil companies.

· May 26, 1979: retail gas price rises an average of .15 cents a gallon

· Oil shock from 1978-1980 that lead to increased crude prices by 110%, which lead to a recession in the U.S.

· 1978-1983: oil consumption declined. Started at 18.9 MMbbl/d to 15.2 MMbbl/d (20% decline)

· 1979: Iranian revolution broke out and leads the oil markets being savaged. This lead to another recession in the U.S. within a year.

· 1979: Energy Department accuses nine major oil companies of going over the federal price ceilings

· Price control caused consumers to pay 50% more for imported oils.

· OPEC raised oil prices in 1979

· Oil prices were at their highest from 1980 to 1983

· Oil prices doubled from $14 million in 1978 to $35 million a barrel in 1981

· 1980: U.S. loses control of oil prices. U.S. expects to collect $227 billion in revenues in next 10 years.

· With all of the prices raising it lead to a cut-back on consumer spending.



Sources

Historical Crude Oil Prices (Table). 4 October 2009.http://www.inflationdata.com/ /inflation/Inflation_Rate/Historical_Oil_Prices_Table.asp

American Decades: Primary Sources 1970-1979. “Government and Politics” (pp.211-212) Thomson Gale


American Decades: Primary Sources 1980-1989. “Government and Policts” (pp. 210-214). Thomson Gale


Encyclopedia of War and American Soceity Volume 3. “Chronology” (pp. 984-985) Peter Karsten

What Oil Price Can America Really Afford?. “The burden of oil consumption.”. 5 October 2009. http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=11440


Leonard, Thomas, and Crippen, Cynthia, and Aronson, Marc.Day By Day: The Seventies. Volume 2. “U.S. Government & Environment” (pp. 928-1131)


Meltzer, Ellen, and Aronson, Marc. Day By Day: The Eighties.Volume 1. “U.S. Government & Enviroment”.

1978-1988 Cold War Dominating Factors

Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan

(Photo by: pastorsteveweaver.wordpress.com/)

1978 Vietnam and the Soviet Union sign a 25 year peace treaty.

1979 Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

1980 Fidel Castro allowed would be Cuban refugees to enter the ground of Peruvian Embassy in Havana, resulting in the transfer of almost 120,000 cuban to South Florida. A lasting stigma remains attached to the marielitos because Castro expelled criminals and the mentally ill, as well as genuine political refugees.

1981 Ronald Reagan becomes the 40th president of the United States of America.

1982 Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev dies.

1983 President Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, which involves new state-of-the-art technology that has the capabilities of shooting down incoming Soviet missiles.

1983 Cold War tensions intensified when United States troops invaded the island nation of Grenada to overthrow its Marxist government.

1983 The Soviet Union shot down Korean Air Lines flight 007 on September 1 because it strayed into Soviet airspace. The incident killed all 269 people on the flight, including a U.S. Congressman. This increased the negative perception of the Soviet Union with the American people.

1983 From December 8th to December 10th during the summit meeting in Washington DC Co-president Reagan and premier Gorbachev signed the intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty agreeing to eliminate intermediate range weapons from their nuclear arsenals....

1984 Ronald Reagan won the presidential election and began his second term as President of the United States of America. While in office Reagan continued to grow military strength.

1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was the reformer who wanted to improve his country’s relations with the United States and who would address the Soviet Union’s human rights problems. This was a dominant factor to gain closer ties with the United States.

1989 Soviet Union withdraws troops from Afghanistan.

Citations:

Chris Trueman BA (Hons), MA, (n.d.) Retrieved October 1, 1009, from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cold%20war%20chronology.htm

James Ciment. edited by.

Postwar America, An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural and Economic History. 2007. Volume 2. Fidel Castro, pg 775-76 paragraph 8.

James Ciment, edited by.

Postwar America, An Encyclopedia of Social, Political, Cultural and Economic History Volume 1. Gorbachev; pg 42, paragraph 4

Holloran Peter C.1947-

Social History of the United States: The 1980s/Peter C. Holloran and Andrew Hunt; pg 50-53

American Decades: Primary sources 1970-1979, Cynthia Rose, project editor

Government and Politics: “Vietnamization” pg. 213

American Decades: Primary sources 1980:1989 Editor Thompson Gale

Government and Politics; Ronald Reagan

Author unknown

http://www.library.thinkquest.org/10826/timeline.htm