Chapter 22
Section 3
Life in the 1980s
Yuppies
• The American economy had
revived by 1983.
• Many young brokers,
speculators, and investors
made multimillion-dollar
deals buying and selling
companies.
• The value of real estate and
stocks soared.
• Journalists referred to these
young moneymakers as
yuppies, short for “young
urban professionals.”
Baby Boomers Building Wealth
• The rapid economic
growth and emphasis on
accumulating wealth in
the 1980s was partly
caused by the baby boom
(generation of people
born between 1945 –
1960).
• Many baby boomers were
focused on getting ahead
in their jobs and acquiring
goods.
Top Heavy Wealth
• The strong economic
growth, however,
mostly benefited
middle- and upper-class
Americans.
• By the mid-1990s, the
top 5 percent of
Americans earned well
over 21 percent of the
nation’s income.
Discount Retailing
• Businesses also found a
new way to sell goods
to customers.
• Discount retailing, or
the practice of selling
large quantities of
goods at low prices, had
a major impact on the
economy in the 1980s.
• They created millions of
new jobs in the 1980s.
Cable T.V.
• Technology changed news
and entertainment.
• Cable television became
available in homes across
the country.
• Entrepreneurs helped to
change broadcasting by
spreading cable television
and specialty channels
across the country.
I want my MTV
• In 1981 music and
technology merged, and
Music Television (MTV)
went on the air.
Rap Music
• A new style of music,
called rap was
introduced as a new
sound during the ‘80s.
• Rap offered rhythmic
lyrics that often focused
on the African American
experience in the inner
city.
Video Games, Tape Players, & VCR
• Early video games grew
out of military
computer technology.
• Cassette tapes and the
Sony Walkman made
music portable.
• VCRs allowed people to
watch movies at home.
Arcades
• Video arcades became
the new spot for young
people to meet.
Drug Problem
• The United States dealt
with many social
problems during the
1980s.
• Drug abuse made many
city neighborhoods
violent and dangerous.
Spreading of Drugs
• Drug use also spread
from cities to small
towns and rural areas.
• First Lady, Nancy
Reagan started the,
“Just Say No” campaign.
• Some schools even
began searching
student lockers and
bags for hidden drugs.
MADD
• Alcohol abuse,
particularly by teenagers,
was another serious
problem.
• Young people were
involved in thousands of
alcohol-related accidents.
• In 1980 Mothers Against
Drunk Driving (MADD)
was founded to find
solutions to the problems
of underage drinking and
drunk driving.
Raising the age to 21
• In 1984 Congress cut highway funds to any
state that did not raise the legal drinking age
to 21.
– All states complied.
New disease…AIDS
• In 1981 researchers
identified a disease that
caused healthy young
people to get sick and
die.
• The disease was called
AIDS, or “Acquired
Immune Deficiency
Syndrome.”
• It weakens the immune
system.
How the disease was spread…
• HIV is the virus that causes
AIDS.
• It is spread through body
fluids.
• In the United States, AIDS was
first seen among homosexual
men, but it soon was seen in
heterosexual men and women.
– Some got it from blood
transfusions.
– Some were drug users who
shared needles with infected
blood.
– Others were infected by sexual
partners.
Gay Community
• AIDS increased awareness
of the gay and lesbian
community in the United
States.
• Some homosexuals had
been involved in
defending their civil rights
since the 1960s. On June
27, 1969, New York City
police raided the
Stonewall Inn, a
nightclub.
Stonewall Riots
• The police had often
raided the club because
of its clients’ sexuality.
• On this night, gays’ and
lesbians’ frustration
with the police actions
peaked. They rioted.
Start of the Gay Liberation Movement
• The Stonewall riot was
the beginning of the
Gay Liberation
Movement.
• The movement tried to
increase acceptance of
homosexuality.
Band Aid
• In the 1980s, many
singers and other
entertainers took up
social causes.
• In 1984 Irish musician
Bob Geldof organized
musicians in England to
put on benefit concerts
called “Band Aid” to
help starving people in
Ethiopia.
Farm Aid
• Country singer Willie
Nelson organized Farm
Aid, benefit concerts to
help American farmers
going through hard
times.
Older Voting Group
• Senior citizens became an influential interest
group in the 1980s because they tended to
vote in large numbers.
• With new medical technology, more
Americans were living to an older age.
• The birthrate had also declined.
• That meant younger people made up a
smaller proportion of the population.
What Seniors were fighting for
• More Americans were receiving Social Security
payments, which created budget pressures for
the government.
• Older Americans became more active in
politics.
• They opposed cuts by the government to
Social Security or Medicare.
• Because they voted in large numbers, they
were an influential group.
AARP
• An organization that was formed in 1958 with
the goal of fighting for the rights of people
over the age of 50 was the American
Association of Retired Persons (AARP).