Miami University
The u.s. Banking Debacle of the 1980's
A scholarly paper on the U.S. banking debacle of the 1980s and the lesson it holds on government mismanagement. Provides background on the history of savings and loans and draws the conclusion that the banking debacle was primarily an...
Computer History Museum
Computer History Museum: An Overview of the History of the Software Industry
The software industry is a major part of the world economy. This site traces the relatively short history of the software industry, from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: History of Computing
This narrative from the Wikipedia encyclopedia presents the major developments in the history of computing. It discusses the earliest devices used to perform calculations, the era of modern computing that began during World War II,...
Digital History
Digital History: Collapse of Communism
Overview of the collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev and his reforms.
Steven Kreis, PhD
The History Guide: Perestroika Defined (1987)
Perestroika, as defined by Mikhail Gorbachev. This excerpt includes the many definitions and applications of the concept of perestroika when used to describe the internal reforms of the Soviet Union that occurred during the 1980s.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Emergence of the Aids Crisis
How did Americans and the government respond to the emergence of AIDS in the 1980's? Understand our reaction by reading the following summary, answering questions for analysis, checking the reference list for further reading, and...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Cold War to Culture Wars, 1980 2000: Political and Cultural Fusions
This section outlines political and cultural events of the 1980s, including the ERA movement, government failure to act on HIV/AIDS, the war on drugs and the conservative Christian reach. Questions for discussion and critical thinking,...
OpenStax
Open Stax: From Cold War to Culture Wars, 1980 2000: A New World Order
Page featuring information on a changing order both at home and abroad during the 1980s. Several links to primary source material, glossary and questions for student discussion.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 35: The Melting of the Cold War
As the Cold War evolved over four decades, the end of the world seemed imminent as the nuclear arms race continued to escalate. Popular music, especially in the 1980s, reflected this growing pessimism. By 1989 and 1990, as the Berlin...
A&E Television
History.com: Halloween Timeline: How the Holiday Has Changed Over the Centuries
From pagan rituals to costumes and candy corn, discover how Halloween and its associated traditions has evolved through the ages.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: Period 9: 1980 Present: Reagan and Conservatism
A quick check of comprehension over Reagan and conservatism.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: "Morning in America"
Read about the mood of the United States people in 1980, and see how Ronald Reagan's agenda reflected that mood.
Country Studies US
Country Studies: Lebanon
This is one-stop shopping for everything you want to know about Lebanon from the Library of Congress. Read out the geography, history until the 1980's, ethnography, and more. Click on the topics to pull up the information.
Country Studies US
Country Studies: Bolivia and the United States
Explores the relationship of the United States and Bolivia during the 1980s concentrating mostly on the narcotics industry and their joint fight in the drug wars.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Act Up and the Aids Crisis
This collection uses primary sources to explore AIDS activism during the 1980s.
Duke University
Duke University Libraries: Digital Collections: Ad Views
A record of the times as well as of vintage brands, AdViews provides access to commercials created during the postwar period, 1950s through 1980s.
Curated OER
Cbc.ca: In an Uncertain World New Economic Realities
A brief overview of the 1970-1980's across Canada, economic conditions, fall of the Canadian dollar,inflated oil prices, boom and bust of Alberta, and the coming of free trade between Canada and the USA.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Southeastern Shrew
In spite of its widespread distribution, the Southeastern Shrew remained very poorly known until a new trapping method, the pitfall trap, came into use in the 1970s and 1980s. Pitfall traps are traps sunk into the ground: small mammals...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Washington Ground Squirrel
Since the massive conversion of land in the Columbia Basin to agriculture, the Washington Ground Squirrel has been in decline. During the 1980s, the number of localities where they were known to occur dropped from 179 to 35, all small in...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Reagan Years
A brief overview of the decade of the 1980s dominated by the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
National Geographic
National Geographic: Geostory: The 80s: The Decade That Made Us
Use this interactive Geostory module to relive the political, environmental, and pop cultural moments that made the 1980s an important time in U.S. history.
Immigration and Ethnic History Society
Iehs: Gerson Rosales, Salvadorenos in Michigan
This article focuses on Salvadoran refugees and an offshoot of the Central American Peace and Solidarity Movement (CAPSM) that was devoted to aiding Central American refugees during the 1980s, the Deliverance Movement bailed refugees out...
Digital History
Digital History: Entering a New Century
As the U.S. approached the new century, it was an appropriate time to reflect on the accomplishments and failures of the 1900s both within the country and internationally.
Library of Congress
Loc: Interviews With Today's Immigrants
This site, part of a larger lesson plan about immigration from the Library of Congress, provides interviews that students had with immigrants from around the world.