Life in the 1980's

1. The 1980s became the Me! Me! Me! generation of status seekers. PRESIDENTS 1981 Ronald Reagan 1984 Ronald Reagan 1989 George Bush FACTS about this decade. Population: 226,546,000 Unemployed in 1980: National Debt: 1980 - $914,000,000,000 National Debt: 1986 - $2,000,000,000,000 Average salary: $15,757 Life Expectancy: Male 69.9 Female 77.6 Minimum Wage: $3.10 BMW was $12,000; Mercedes 280 E was $14,800 Attendance: Movies 20 million/week Large numbers of Americans began using personal computers in their homes, offices, and schools. A sad day in our history was January 28, 1986, when space shuttle Challenger exploded 74 seconds after liftoff at Cape Canavaral, Florida killing all seven astronauts, During this decade Wayne Williams was arrested in Atlanta for the murders of 23 black children, Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman presidential candidate, Jesse Jackson was the first black candidate, and televangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced to 45 years for selling bogus lifetime vacations. Families changed drastically during these years. The 80s continued the trends of the 60s and 70s - more divorces, more unmarrieds living together, more single parent families. American education came under fire during the 1980s. Liberals cried out against budget cuts and rising student costs Efforts to censor books tripled in the eighties. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , The Grapes of Wrath, and Catcher in the Rye were among books banned in New York State. Cable was born and MTV, orginally intended to be promos for albums, had an enormous impact on music and young people. The digital compact disc (cd) revolutionized the music industry. Dances learned on MTV included slam dancing, lambada, and break dancing. Pop, rock, new wave, punk, country, and especially rap or hip hop became popular in the 80s. Rap was new in the late 80s and 90s. In 1981, VCR sales rose 72% in 12 months. By 1989, 60 percent of American households with televisions received cable service. Huge or memorable movies of the decade included On Golden Pond, Tootsie, Arthur, Stephen Spielberg Movies like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, The Big Chill, Flashdance, Beverly Hills Cop, Out of Africa, Back to the Future, Cocoon, The Breakfast Club,Platoon,Star Trek, Good Morning Vietnam, Fatal Attraction, Rain Man, and Driving Miss Daisy.