1980s

At the beginning of the 1980s, a general feeling of “gloom” was present throughout America because many people died in Vietnam, there was a lot of economic problems, and Anti-Americanism sentiment was spreading in the Middle East. Reagan was appealing to many Americans because he said he would help the country get over the humiliation from Vietnam and become the economic, military and moral leaders once again. Although he was appealing, reduction in welfare programs under President Reagan had negative effects. Homelessness became a prominent feature in urban areas. In the urban areas, the influx of “crack” cocaine magnified bad effects. Cocaine was cheap and the effects were strong. Because the effects only lasted a few minutes, it was super addictive. Reaganomics got rid of government regulations and cut corporate taxes so corporates could get rich quicker because it increased corporate profits. The people around Reagan were conservative and people who got AIDS got it by doing things other people didn’t approve of and wouldn’t do.” They thought it was something that only homosexuals were affected by. Once a few celebrities got AIDS, the public realized it wasn’t just for lowly people. Gorbachev made changes and allowed others to make changes. He wanted to be more accepting of other viewpoints and that allowed people to speak out. People said they didn't like communism and started to rebel peacefully, which led to eventual demise of communism. Reagan is anti-communist and that speeds up the end of communism in Europe.