Major Events

Chapter 40 · 1980–1992

Ronald Reagan elected president in a landslide

1980

Reagan inaugurated; Iran releases the hostages

1981

Economic Recovery Tax Act launches "Reaganomics"

1981

U.S. invades Grenada

1983

Reagan announces the Strategic Defense Initiative

1983

Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader

1985

Iran-Contra affair is revealed

1986

Reagan and Gorbachev sign the INF Treaty

1987

George H. W. Bush elected president

1988

Fall of the Berlin Wall

1989

Operation Desert Storm liberates Kuwait

1991

The Soviet Union formally dissolves

1991