Showing posts with label 1980s. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1980s. Show all posts

Falklands War


  • war was between Argentina and Britain
  • it was in the Falklands Islands
  • resutled in the Argentine invasion of the Falklands islands
  • Argentine forces landed in the Falklands, capturing the islands
  • the British dispatched a naval to the area
  • it was designed to draw attention away from human rights and economic issues at home
  • minister Thatcher ordered the naval essembly to take back the islands\
  • Britain was commanded by John Fieldhouse
  • In mid-April, Fieldhouse and the fleet moved south
  • They took tankers and cargo ships full of supplies since they were far from home

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The Fall of the Berlin Wall

  • The Fall of the Berlin Wall occurred because of the Germans
  • It took place in Berlin
  • It started when communism began to collapse in Poland
  • Gunter Schabowski announced that the borders were open
  • Many people didn't believe him so they went to see if it was true
  • When they got to the borders, guards were letting people across
  • Peopl began chipping at the wall from both sides with hammers
  • Everyone began to celebrate
  • After all the chipping away, the wall got weak and collapsed
  • After the wall fell, East and West Germany reunited into one German state

Poland Becomes Independent


  • 1989 was said to be a year with many revolutions
  • As result of those revolutions, many countries with a communism government fell
  • Poland began an independent trade union
  • It developed into a larger campaign for political change 
  • Its job was to inspire opposition to communist regimes in Europe
  • They called this trade union Solidarity
  • It became legal in 1989 and helped to influence parliamentary elections
  • Solidarity candidates took part in both Sejm and Senate
  • The loss of communism made it easier for Poland to establish itself as a country
  • As a result, Poland became a free and independent country

U.S. Boycotts Moscow Olympics


  • This involved the United States and many other countries
  • It took place in Moscow during 1986
  • There was a meeting held at the end of April discussing if they should have the Olympics or not
  • On January 26th, 1980, the U.S Olympic Committee approved a resolution asking to cancel or move the coming Olympic games
  • President Carter said the if the Soviets didn't disengage from
    Afghanistan by February 20th, the the U.S would not be participating in the Moscow Olympics
  • Many potential Olympic athletes criticized the committee's and Carter's opinion 
  • The athletes believed that this sports competition shouldn't be used for their political statements
  • The Soviets ignored Carter's statement and the games were boycotted
  • This was the first time in history that the United States refused to participate
  • U.S. was joined in the boycott by other countries
  • France and Austria supported the boycott but still let their athletes compete

The Strategic Defense Initiative


  • The SDI was proposed by President Ronald Reagan on March 23rd, 1983
  • Its purpose was to ground and space-based systems for protection from nuclear missiles
  • It focused on strategic defense instead of strategic offense
  • A Strategic Defense Organization was set up in 1984 to oversee the Strategic Defense Initiative
  • Many criticized this as being unrealistic and unscientific
  • Since part of the defense system advocated by Reagan would be based in space, this proposed system was called "Star Wars."
  • In 1993, under the leadership of Bill Clinton, its name was changed to Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
  • Its purpose changed from national missile defense to theater missile defense
  • Some aspects of the SDI guided research for anti-ballistic missile systems
  • The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization was then renamed the Missile Defense Agency

1980's Map


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