Printed Page 1001-910-889(cont.)

America’s History: Printed Page 1001

America: A Concise History: Printed Page 910

America’s History: Value Edition: Printed Page 889

Chapter Timeline

CHAPTER REVIEW

TIMELINEAsk yourself why this chapter begins and ends with these dates and then identify the links among related events.
1981

  • Ronald Reagan becomes president

  • Republicans gain control of Senate

  • Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) cuts taxes

  • Military expenditures increase sharply

  • Reagan cuts budgets of regulatory agencies

  • Sandra Day O’Connor appointed to the Supreme Court
1981–1989

  • National debt triples

  • Emergence of New Right think tanks: Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, and the Cato Institute

  • United States assists Iraq in war against Iran (1980–1988)
1985

  • Mikhail Gorbachev takes power in Soviet Union
1986

  • Iran-Contra scandal weakens Reagan presidency

  • William Rehnquist named chief justice
1987

  • United States and USSR agree to limit missiles in Europe
1988

  • George H. W. Bush elected president
1989

  • Destruction of Berlin Wall

  • “Velvet Revolutions” in Eastern Europe

  • Webster v. Reproductive Health Services limits abortion services
1990–1991

  • Persian Gulf War
1991

  • Dissolution of Soviet Union ends Cold War

Question

KEY TURNING POINTS: Identify some of the key moments in the decline and then end of the Cold War. What part did the United States play in these events, and how did this affect the U.S. role in world affairs more broadly?