POLITICAL HISTORY OF 1985 events, terrorism, reagan, gorbachev, summit, apartheid

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political history, 1985

Introduction

A Zeitgeist is the “spirit of the time or the taste and outlook characteristic of a period or generation.”¹ Others have used Zeitgeist in a different context. One editor of the New Criterion said that Anita Hill was tried by Zeitgeist, but one can only speculate exactly what the editor meant.² An Internet search revealed that Zeitgeists often relate to decades. George Will said Margaret Thatcher used “Zeitgeist politics.”³ She can be considered a type of political Zeitgeist, because Prime Minister Thatcher served more than ten years. One editor for New York Magazine was assailed for his creating a “Zeitgeist of the Week.”⁴

This paper is a single-year Zeitgeist. One-year Zeitgeists have been written, but almost none have been written by political scientists.⁵ There is indeed a dearth of political Zeitgeists, but that does not necessarily mean such works are valueless. They are certainly interesting, and, if nothing else, “digging deep into a single year can lead to nifty juxtapositions.”⁶

But why 1985? Upon the publication of his book, Louis Masur liked to think “it would be impossible to travel from 1787 to 1861 without a long station stop at 1831.”⁷ Now it will be good to stop at about midpoint when going from the 1970s to the 2000s.

On face value, nothing screams historical significance from 1985. Ask every-day people what happened nationally in 1985 and the few who can recall anything at all will probably only remember President Ronald Reagan. Although Reagan took the oath for his second term on January 20th, no major elections and no controversial exercises of the American military occurred. Governmental scandals such as the Keagan Five and Iran-Contra were starting to unfold, but none achieved prominence in 1985. Internationally, there were widespread acts of terrorism but none that affected America directly in 1985, although at least eight Americans died in attacks abroad and thirty-seven were held hostage in Beirut.

If this political Zeitgeist were a traditional one that dealt with the entire decade, practically all of 1985 would be disregarded. The main media events of the year, such as hijackings, plane crashes, and an earthquake, were based on death and destruction. What is more, many American events of 1985 were not expected to carry the significance that they eventually carried. Creation of a computer network by academics and the National Science Foundation, for example, led to the contemporary Internet and was given little fanfare. The year 1985 was the forerunner for major episodes in following years, and it was the midpoint of one of the most important international decades. Communism crumbled; democracies formed. Unfortunately for political historians who look at a single year, 1985 seems to be enveloped by more attention-grabbing affairs in the decade, such as the bombing of Libya, Iran-Contra, and the explosion of the space shuttle. Again, that does not mean 1985 is of no value. It only demonstrates one of the problems in reporting political history. In deciding what to exclude from any research—or what events are least important—many valuable matters have to be disregarded.

Something noteworthy can be derived from every year though. The year 1985 is no exception. There were events that did not receive much news coverage or historical analysis, such as America becoming a debtor nation for the first time, a greater loss of employment for blacks than whites, a farm debt crisis, and social protests caused by the nuclear arms race. The trip to 1986 and beyond clearly left numerous political remnants in 1985 that should not be forgotten. Therefore, assessing the political spirit of the times in 1985 is one important theme of this paper. Being a political Zeitgeist, of course, the main objective is to protect 1985 from being discarded in political history because of a possible lack of significant national events. Therefore, part of this paper will be devoted to learning whether events earlier and later in the 1980s have overshadowed many noteworthy, political issues in 1985.

Methodology

Primary materials are used, but not emphasized, in this study. The originality and importance of this research stems from its being a political Zeitgeist and from its comparison of the significance given to the events in 1985 by academicians and the news media. Embodied in this research is the assessment of the political spirit in 1985 and learning whether events earlier and later in the decade have overshadowed many noteworthy, political issues of this year. An adequate, though not flawless, methodology has been designed to address these objectives.

Obviously, some definitions need to be made in order to make the methodology more clear. Defining a political spirit can never be easy and will always be open for revision. For this study, however, being political involves the social relationships between a combination of politicians, citizens, and news organizations. The affairs of the national government and its administration is the crux of these relationships.

It is assumed that the news media is the primary informer of those affairs. The harshest criticism of this paper will come from believing that the news media dictate what is political. However, sometimes merely placing an event on the nightly news or in the print media makes it political. For example, few will consider an earthquake in Mexico political, but the more it appears in the news, the more some citizens will begin to wonder what the American government is doing about it.

In order for this Zeitgeist to be valid, spirit cannot be defined as a natural phenomenon—though the following description makes it sound as such. Spirit is the will, feelings, and vital essence of the politicians, citizens, and journalists created from their interactions. With political and spirit combined, then, it is the general atmosphere of the times. Determining its quality in 1985 is a monumental undertaking.

* * * * *

What was the political spirit of 1985? In answering this question, the central events of 1985 must be discovered. A content analysis of the following sources was performed: the news headlines stored in the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, the year-in-reviews listed under the periodicals section of the bibliography, the covers of all issues of Newsweek in 1985, and the table of contents for all issues of Congressional Quarterly from January 1985 to February 1986. The general themes of 1985 derived from these sources were US – Soviet relations, African politics, and terrorism. A computer search of the Vanderbilt Archive was then used to select the news event that appeared most often under each theme. The events were the Reagan and Gorbachev summit, apartheid, and the TWA 847 hijacking. All events returned more than two hundred results when the search was conducted for them, but Vanderbilt allows only two hundred search results to be displayed. It should be noted that the Reagan and Gorbachev summit occurred in November. Occurring late in the year, the summit gives more room for other events, relative to US – Soviet relations that happened earlier, to be reported.

The themes and events chosen for this paper were probably very important to society in 1985. This is assuming that a majority of citizens allowed the news media to lead them in a particular direction. Television news stories of the events were extensive. Vanderbilt also stores the “special” news broadcasts of the three major networks. Between the ABC, CBS, and NBC specials, the Reagan and Gorbachev summit consisted of 21.5 hours of air time and the TWA 847 event aired for 12.7 hours. The African politics theme comprised 4.42 hours, although none focused exclusively on apartheid. There were no specials for the US – Soviet relations theme, although there were at least eighty-six regular nightly broadcasts. Vanderbilt listed twenty-two network specials on terrorism and ten on African politics. Considering the diminutive time span of most news broadcasts, the air time for these events was substantial in 1985. In the Newsweek issues, South Africa made the cover six times and was allotted one special issue. The Reagan and Gorbachev summit was awarded six covers. Terrorism was granted four covers and a special issue.

Other primary materials include legislation and committee reports pertinent to each theme or event. Speeches made by President Reagan during 1985 were also studied. The president is well-known for having the capability of setting the agenda for citizens and the news media. It will be very interesting to discover what Reagan had intended to accomplish in 1985. After April, many of the speeches began to correlate with the events that were appearing in the news media. Additionally, four guides that lead to other published primary material are listed in the bibliography. These guides focus specifically on 1985. Other primary materials for the specific events will come from the four archives also listed in the bibliography. All of these archives can be accessed through the Internet. Rounding out the primary material are the three Internet sites. Not many people will consider these sites to be primary sources. However, the main content is pictures, video, and audio relative to the themes used in this paper.

Most of the periodicals, archives, and websites will be used for a primer on the themes and events. To ensure a thorough understanding of the events, though, a broad list of secondary sources has been created. The general books cover the entire 1980s decade. One cannot know the true atmosphere of 1985 without taking a glimpse at the events that led society to 1985 and helped society leave the year behind. These books will also help in the determination of whether 1985 is being eclipsed by other events of the decade. A few of the books and articles also cover culture, especially where it includes rap and MTV. These two topics often divided citizens and some politicians. The two general periodicals and the video of the decade are a type of pictorial history that will provide a better idea of what people in the decade were seeing.

A collection of books, articles from journals and periodicals, a few websites, and some dissertations that focus both on the themes and the events of 1985 have been collected. The list of books is more extensive for the terrorism theme because the media have been so lambasted for their coverage of the subject during the decade. Some of the secondary sources have been selected because they question other coverage of the media, such as the possible over emphasizing of Reagan’s operation for colon cancer. There were other events that did not receive as much coverage, such as America becoming a debtor nation for the first time, a greater loss of employment for blacks than whites, a farm debt crisis, and social protests caused by the nuclear arms race. A few of the secondary sources provide more information about these less-reported events and others. As well, some secondary sources have been gathered to learn what the relationship between the citizen and the government might have been.

It is probably safe to say that most Americans are more concerned about issues that affect them directly. They worry about having jobs, the economy, the closing of military bases, and the like. They could probably care less that the government sales weapons to a foreign country. They could probably care even less about a third-world country. Yet, African politics was a consistent theme in 1985. Apartheid was the cardinal event. Secondary sources have been organized in the attempt to explain the American politics behind the anti-apartheid movement.

The news media seem to be constantly assailed for their news coverage, and it was no different in 1985. Some events seemed to take precedence over events to which most scholars would give more historical significance. For examples, the Sharon v. Time libel suit, Bernard Goetz story, overweight Americans, earthquake in Mexico, and distant plane crashes absent any Americans received more media attention at times than defense spending and reducing the deficit. Therefore, a survey of the fifty events that appeared most in the news media was sent to various professors. These professors were asked to rank the events according to the significance that the news media should have given them, if any. The survey is located in Appendix A.

Many of the events can be considered international events. Some people would consider all three themes internationally germane also. A national rather than an international Zeitgeist was intended to be the focus in this paper. However, the events reported widely in the news media make an exclusive, national approach an inaccurate method to examine the spirit of the times. An unexpected result of the many content analyses is that it appears the themes chosen for this paper are actually the themes of the entire decade. That result is not problematic because it actually helps make this paper more like an orthodox Zeitgeist. The focus will nevertheless remain the political history of 1985 in America.

A plethora of literature has been written about US – Soviet relations, African politics, and terrorism of the 1980s. In spite of this, no literature has been provided that takes select events and shows their importance in the single year of 1985. Results from this paper should contribute to the works conducted on the entire decade of the 1980s. The events, the survey, and the single-year study together make this paper intriguing.

Tentative Conclusion

Although it is rather difficult to make even a tentative conclusion with so much reading still to be done, one conclusion can be made almost definitively. The year 1985 was both interesting and important for historical purposes. It had historical consequences in politics and in culture. Both the national and international society were made all the better because of events that either began or finished in 1985. To be sure, there were some exceptions. Few would say that AIDS escalating in 1985 was good for society. The bloodshed and wide-spread death that was caused from the seemingly endless acts of terrorism was not fortuitous either. Enough evidence has been gathered, however, to report that these events and others helped make 1985 a path-breaking year for the entire decade. Although the same could possibly be said for every year within the decade, there is certainly something significant about the events of 1985 that can be brought historically to the forefront.

Research Questions

2) What is the difference, if any, in the significance of the events between academicians and the news media?

a) If the difference is considerable, what does that suggest about the true role of 1985 in the political history of the decade?

b) Do the events suggest that society was politically lackadaisical, as some scholars have suggested?

4) Is the year 1985 being discarded in history due to lack of significant, national events during this year?

a) If so, what are the major events of the 1980s decade that are causing 1985 to be overlooked by scholars?

Committee on Foreign Affairs. “The Reagan-Gorbachev Summit and its Implications for United States-Soviet Relations: Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs,” House of Representatives (October 31, 1985).

Note: Assessment of upcoming Reagan-Gorbachev summit meeting and its implications for US-Soviet relations, an appraisal of probable summit meeting agenda items and priorities, and perspectives on U.S-Soviet relationship and summit issues.

Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Developments on Europe,” House of Representatives (January 1986).

Note: Overview of Geneva summit; examination of post-summit relations with NATO allies; review of initiatives to encourage European cooperation against terrorism, including sanctions against Libya; status of allied agreements to participate in Strategic Defense Initiative research.

Reagan, Ronald. “Second Inaugural Address,” Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, University of Texas #WHCA R2481, 2484 (January 21, 1985).

----. “State of the Union Address,” Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, University of Texas #WHCA R2530, WHTV TWTW (February 6, 1985).

----. “Address to the Nation on the Federal Budget and Deficit Reduction,” Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, University of Texas #WHCA R2633 (April 24, 1985).

----. “Address to the Nation on the Release of the TWA Hostages,” Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, University of Texas #WHCA R2734, WHTV #619 (June 30, 1985).

----. “Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations,” University of Texas #WHCA R2875, WHTV 083 (October 24, 1985).

----. “Address to the Nation on the Upcoming Soviet-United States Summit in Geneva,” University of Texas #WHCA R2900, WHTV TWTW (November 14, 1985).

----. “Address following the Soviet-United States Summit Meeting in Geneva,” University of Texas #R2920, R2922-2923, (November 21, 1985).

-----. “Prohibiting Trade and Certain Other Transactions Involving South Africa,” Executive Order 12532 (September 9, 1985).

Note: Reagan asserts that the policies and actions of the government of South Africa constitute an extraordinary threat to the foreign policy and economy of the United States.

“Report From Vice President Bush’s Task Force on Combating Terrorism,” (January 1987).

Note: Formed in July 1985 shortly after the TWA 847 hijacking, the cabinet-level task force was developed at the behest of President Reagan to review and evaluate United States’ policy concerning terrorism. Released classified report to President Reagan in December 1985 and issued a public report the following February. (http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/find/foia/1999-0137-F.html)

Note: Contains background information on South Africa, intelligence analysis, biographies, policy memoranda, and correspondence between Congress and the Vice President and between the Vice President and his advisors regarding South African sanctions.

Theme: US – Soviet Relations

Event: Reagan and Gorbachev Summit

Senator Richard Lugar. “An original joint resolution to commend the people and the sovereign confederation of the neutral nation of Switzerland for their contributions to freedom, international peace, and understanding on the occasion of the meeting between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union on November 19-20, 1985, in Geneva, Switzerland,” S.J.RES.227 (Public Law 99-144, 11/08/85).

Senator John Warner. “A joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of Defense to provide to the Soviet Union, on a reimbursable basis, equipment and services necessary for an improved United States/Soviet Direct Communication Link for crisis control,” S.J.RES108 (Public Law 99-85, 08/08/85).

Theme: South African Politics

Event: Apartheid

Senator Alan Dixon. “A joint resolution to designate May 25, 1986 as “Hands Across America Day”, for the purpose of helping people to help themselves, and commending United Support of Artists for Africa and all participants for their efforts toward combating domestic hunger with a 4000 mile human chain from coast to coast,” S.J.RES.246 (Public Law 99-321, 05/23/86).

Representative William Gray. “A bill to prohibit loans to, other investments in, and certain other activities with respect to, South Africa, and for other purposes,” H.R.4868 (Public Law 99-440,10/02/86).

Senator Richard Lugar. “A bill to authorize appropriations for famine relief and recovery in Africa,” S.689 (Public Law 99-8, 04/02/85).

Representative Jamie Whitten. “A bill making urgent supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1985, for emergency relief and recovery in Africa, and for other purposes,” H.R. 1239 (Public Law 99-10, 04/04/85).

Representative Howard Wolpe. “A joint resolution to make corrections in the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986,” H.J.RES.756 (Public Law 99-631, 11/07/86).

Senator Jeremiah Denton. “A joint resolution to proclaim October 23, 1985, as “A time of remembrance” for all victims of terrorism throughout the world,” S.J.RES.104 (Public Law 99-132, 10/28/85).

Senator Richard Lugar. “An original bill to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Arms Export Control Act and other acts to authorize appropriations for the fiscal year 1986 for international security and development assistance, the Peace Corps, the Inter-American Foundation, and the African Development Foundation, and for other purposes,” S.960 (Public Law 99-83, 08/08/85).

Alali, Odasuo. Terrorism and the News Media: A selected, annotated bibliography (McFarland, 1994).

Note: Provides a comprehensive bibliography of books, reports, articles, and conference papers. References over 400 studies.

Note: Contains nearly 100 primary documents pertaining to foreign affairs, education, the environment, law, science, health, and culture of 1985.

Note: Annotations of 1,070 articles from such magazines as Billboard, Melody Maker, Variety, People Weekly, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Village Voice, and Spin. Entries arranged by author. Includes news stories, reviews, controversies, and other rap-related items published between 1980 and 1990.

Wood, Naomi. Checklist of Bibliographies Appearing in the Bulletin of Bibliography, 1897-1987 (Greenwood Press, 1989).

Note: Cumulative index to every issue of the Bulletin of Bibliography until 1987. Provides an index to every article bibliography, book review, editorial, and biographical note.

Note: Stores the speeches of important public officials concerning important events of the era.

Boston Globe

Scharfenberg, Kirk. “The Year in Review,” (December 29, 1985).

New York Times

Newsday

Anderson, J.P. “A Look Back at 1985 and its Major Events,” (December 29, 1985).

Newsweek

Note: Content analysis performed on the covers of all issues from January 7 to December 30, 1985.

Fuller, Chet. “A Good Year to Say Goodbye to,” Atlanta Journal and Constitution (January 6, 1986).

Note: It is well known that the print media often obtain their news from the same sources. The year-in-reviews, however, are often written by journalists who have different opinions about what was important and how important it should have been. Still, for the most part, the periodicals above do discuss the same events. The year-in-reviews and the content analysis of Newsweek confirm the major themes selected for this bibliography.

Note: Provides a gateway to primary materials relating to the history and culture of the United States, including the 1980s. Division of the Library of Congress. (http://memory.loc.gov/)

Note: Online library of all legislation beginning with the 96th Congress in 1973. Division of the Library of Congress. (http://thomas.loc.gov/)

Note: Maintains a database of a wide array of documents on US foreign policy and Department of State, International Information Programs overseas programs, as well as more general information about US government, society, and culture. One search, using “Reagan Gorbachev 1985,” returned 500 documents. (http://usinfo.state.gov/)

Note: Indexes and preserves network television news for research and review. Contains abstracts of all nightly newscasts from the three major networks in 1985. (http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/)

Note: Stores at least 100 photographs of Reagan and Gorbachev at the first Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. (http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/photos/gorby.htm)

Note: Features a primer on the 1980s, particularly US – Soviet Relations. (http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/chap13.htm)

Note: Maintains a small archive of video, audio, and speeches of Reagan during the 1980s. (http://victorian.fortunecity.com//manet/404/index.htm)

Bell, Coral. The Reagan Paradox: American foreign policy in the 1980s (Rutgers University Press, 1990).

Note: Analyzes the disparity between the declaratory and operational policies of Reagan’s presidency. Looks at US-Soviet relations, the Atlantic alliance, and Third World conflicts.

Curry, Richard. Freedom at Risk: Secrecy, censorship, and repression in the 1980s (Temple University Press, 1988).

Note: Contains 25 essays on the effects of the Reagan administration on political and civil liberties.

Demac, Donna. Keeping America Uninformed: Government secrecy in the 1980s (Pilgrim Press, 1984).

Note: Analyzes Reagan’s policy on the access to and the dissemination of information. Contends that under the guise of dismantling Federal regulations, the Reagan Administration has made information about workplace hazards and the environment less available.

Demographic and Structural Change: The effects of the 1980s on American society (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996).

Note: Nine essays look at the major social changes that occurred in the United States during the 1980s, the structural and demographic changes that created the social changes, and the consequences and implications for the near future.

Note: Photographs and articles present the history, trivia, and fun of modern life between 1980 and 1989.

Feinstein, Stephen. The 1980s From Ronald Reagan to MTV (Enslow Publishers, 2000).

Note: Covers lifestyle, fashion, arts, and entertainment. Politics, science, and environmental issues are the last third of the book.

Halliday, Fred. From Kabul to Managua: Soviet-American relations in the 1980s (Antheon Books, 1989).

Note: Discusses patterns of the US – Soviet confrontation during the decade. Examines Gorbachev’s thinking, the results of Reagan’s policies, and the consequences for the third world.

Jorstad, Erling. Holding Fast/Pressing On: Religion in America in the 1980s (Greenwood Press, 1990).

Note: Provides an overview of developments of the American religious scene during the decade of the 1980s. Various denominations and their interaction with secular culture, especially politics and the mass media are discussed.

Lofland, John. Polite Protesters: The American peace movement of the 1980s (Syracuse University Press, 1993).

Note: Presents a study of the nuclear freeze movement. Describes the organizations, cultures, and beliefs of the movement participants and explains peace movement processes during the decade.

McKenzie, Richard. What Went Right in the 1980s (Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, 1993).

Note: Critiques the developments in the American economy and economic policy during the 1980s. Refutes the idea that the US faces decline following a decade of Republican-inspired debt, greed, and excess.

Mills, Nicolaus. Culture in an Age of Money: The legacy of the 1980s in America (I.R. Dee, 1990).

Note: Fifteen essays present observations and analyses concerning the mores of the United States during the 1980s.

Nuechterlein, Donald. America Overcommitted: United States national interests in the 1980s (University Press of Kentucky, 1985).

Note: Examines the foreign policy priorities of the United States as it enters the latter half of the 1980s. Assesses the foreign policies of the Reagan administration in light of national interest priorities.

Savigear, Peter. Cold War or Détente in the 1980s (St. Martin’s Press, 1987).

Note: Study of Soviet-American relations in the international political arena during the first half of the 1980s.

Schaller, Michael. Reckoning with Reagan: America and its president in the 1980s (Oxford University Press, 1992).

Note: Focuses on Reagan’s years in the White House. Reviews the political career, ideology, election in 1980, domestic program, various regulatory issues, scandals, foreign and defense policy, and Reagan’s negotiations with Gorbachev leading to the end of the Cold War.

Note: Text and pictures highlight what the author considers to be the main events of the 1980s.

Note: Contains 7-to-10 page essays excerpted from books or reprinted from magazines that cover the defining domestic and international events of the decade. Covers popular culture, science and technology, domestic economy and politics, and international affairs.

Note: Examines the major stories of the 1980s, including war in Iran and Iraq, AIDS, and the opening of the Berlin Wall.

White, Joseph. The Deficit and the Public Interest: The search for responsible budgeting in the 1980s (University of California Press, 1989).

Note: Offers a discussion of the federal budgetary process. Discusses the nuances involved in not being able to solve the deficit problem.

Blank, Rebecca. “Why Were Poverty Rates So High in the 1980s?” Jerome Levy Economics Institute, Working Paper No. 57 (July 1991): http://www.levy.org/.

Note: Explores the unexpectedly slow decline in poverty that occurred over the expansion of the 1980s. Claims the unemployment rate fell more rapidly and earners in the bottom one-fifth of the population increased their work effort more sharply in the 1980s than in the 1960s.

Breyman, Steve. “Were The 1980s’ Anti-Nuclear Weapons Movements New Social Movements?” 22 Peace & Change 3 (1997): 303.

Note: Discusses the peace movements in Western Europe and the United States during the 1980s.

Brown, Martin and Arnold Potosky. “The Presidential Effect: The public health response to media coverage about Ronald Reagan’s colon cancer episode,” 54 Public Opinion Quarterly 3 (Autumn, 1990): 317.

Note: Examines the public interest of President Reagan’s colon cancer episode of July, 1985.

Fairlie, Robert and Lori Kletzer. “Why Did So Many African-American Men Lose Their Jobs in the 1980s? An analysis of black/white differences in job displacement,” Social Science Research Network (June 16, 1998): http://www.ssrn.com/.

Note: Asserts that black men fared much worse than white men at every stage of job displacement. Claims black men experienced rates of job displacement that were 30 percent higher, reemployment rates that were 30 percent lower, and average earnings losses conditional on reemployment that were 3.4 percentage points larger than the average for white men.

Farley, Reynolds. “Changes in the Segregation of Whites From Blacks During the 1980s: Small steps toward a more integrated society,”59 American Sociological Review 1 (1994): 23.

Note: Evaluates trends in segregation between 1980 and 1990 for the 232 United States metropolitan areas with substantial black populations. Results suggest that the modest declines in segregation during the 1970s continued through the 1980s.

Fite, Gilbert. “The Farm Debt Crisis of the 1980s: A review essay,”51 Annals of Iowa 3 (1992): 288.

Note: Reviews Neil Harl’s The Farm Debt Crisis of the 1980s (1990), Ben Sunbury’s The Fall of the Farm Credit Empire (1990), and Paul Rosenblatt’s Farming Is in Our Blood: Farm families in economic crisis (1990). These books discuss the economic difficulties of farmers throughout the 1980’s.

Miller, Arthur. “Confidence in Government During the 1980s,” 19 American Politics Quarterly 2 (1991): 147.

Note: Shows a substantial growth in trust in government during the first half of the 1980s, followed by plummeting confidence in government at the end of the decade. Analysis reveals that the downturn in trust after 1984 reflected the emerging perception that Reagan lacked compassion, as well as growing dissatisfaction with foreign and domestic policies.

Poe, Steven. “US Military Aid in the 1980s: A global analysis,” 32 Journal of Peace Research 4 (1995): 399.

Note: Studies United States decisionmaking regarding the dispensing of military aid to foreign countries during 1983-88.

Pratt, William. “Using History to Make History? Progressive farm organizing during the farm revolt of the 1980s,” 55 Annals of Iowa 1 (1996): 24.

Note: Explores rural activism in Iowa during the 1980’s farm crisis. Shows that certain groups borrowed protest tactics from the 1930s.

Starr, Jerold. “American Youth in the 1980s,” 17 Youth & Society 4 (1986): 323.

Note: States that the transition to adulthood is difficult for youth in the 1980s because of inadequate schooling, poor employment opportunities, and the prevalence of drugs, teenage pregnancy, and crime among them.

Steeh, Charlotte and Howard Schuman. “Young White Adults: Did racial attitudes change in the 1980s?” 98 American Journal of Sociology 2. (September 1992): 340.

Note: Argues against the widespread belief that racism among white adults increased in the 1980s. Offers evidence that there was no change at all in racial liberalism throughout the decade.

Travis, Rick. “US Security Assistance Policy and Democracy: A look at the 1980s,” 29 Journal of Developing Areas 4 (1995): 541.

Note: Examines the relationship between democratic standards and United States security assistance during the 1980s. Claims that during the Cold War atmosphere of the 1980s, concern for democracy played essentially no role in military assistance decisions while this same concern was important in determining economic support fund assistance.

White, John. “What To Do? The Democratic party in the 1980s,” 21 Polity 3 (1989): 619.

Note: Reviews Caroline Arden’s Getting the Donkey Out of the Ditch: The Democratic party in search of itself (1988), Thomas Ferguson and Joel Rogers’s Right Turn: The decline of the Democrats and the future of American politics (1986), and Robert Kuttner’s The Life of the Party: Democratic prospects in 1988 and beyond (1987). These articles chronicle and attempt to explain the decline of the Democratic party during the 1970s-80s.

Note: Photos of the major events of 1985, including the Geneva summit, Mideast terrorism, the volcanic eruption in Colombia, and the catastrophic earthquake in Mexico.

Note: Online almanac that provides national and world events, with detailed abstracts and links to more information, from the year 1985. (http://www.infoplease.com/)

Note: Explores the rise of Reagan’s America, the boom of VCRs, PCs, and CDs, and AIDS.

Sources for First Theme: US – Soviet Relations

Caldwell, Lawrence. Soviet-American Relations in the 1980s: Superpower politics and East-West trade (McGraw-Hill, 1981).

Note: Details foreign relations between the Soviet Union and the United States starting in 1945 and concluding in 1991.

English, Robert. Russia and the Idea of the West: Gorbachev, intellectuals, and the end of the Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2000).

Note: Reveals the important role of new leaders like Gorbachev. Also explores the eventual end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union.

Note: Details selected biographies of past Soviet leaders and a chronology of prominent events from 1900 to 1992.

Al-Hajji, Bader. Agenda-Setting Power of the Audience: Effect of public opinion polls on the coverage of the Reagan-Gorbachev summits by three major newsweeklies. 57 Dissertation Abstracts International 6 (1996): 2251-A. DA9633005.

Davis, Barbara. “A Content Analysis of the Coverage Given the 1985, 1986, and 1987 Summits between President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail S. Gorbachev,” 49 Dissertation Abstracts International 9 (1989): 2433-A. DA8822213.

Note: Graduate students are often more specific and narrow in their research. The titles above are self-explanatory.

Azrael, Jeremy and Stephen Sestanovich. “Superpower Balancing Acts,” 64 Foreign Affairs 3 (1986): 479.

Note: Asserts that the 1985 Geneva summit between Reagan and Gorbachev not substantive. States that Reagan remained adamant in his push for the Strategic Defense Initiative and in his support for the Nicaraguan contras, while Gorbachev indicated that Soviet interests in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, and Angola would continue.

Blacker, Coit. “Lessons From US – Soviet Summits,” 41 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 10 (1985): 14.

Note: Stresses that the 1985 Geneva summit with Reagan and Gorbachev offers little hope for discernible arms control improvement.

Hulett, Louisa. “Containment Revisited: US-Soviet relations in the 1980s,” 14 Parameters 3 (1984): 51.

Note: Claims that Reagan’s foreign policy toward the USSR attempted to preserve United States security by showing a willingness to match Soviet threats and arms escalations.

Nacos, Brigitte. “Terrorism and the Print Media: The 1985 TWA hostage crisis,” 12 Terrorism 2 (1989): 107.

Note: Discusses newspaper coverage of the 1985 hostage crisis involving TWA flight 847. Describes the controversy about Robert Stethem, who was killed, and the 37 Americans who were held captive in Beirut for 16 days.

So, Clement. “The Summit As War: How journalists use metaphors,” 64 Journalism Quarterly 2-3 (1987): 623.

Note: Examines the metaphors American journalists used to depict the 1985 US-Soviet summit meeting held in Geneva, using the New York Times, Time, and Newsweek.

Drew, Elizabeth. “Summing Up the Summit,” New Yorker (December 9, 1985): 130.

Note: States that Reagan’s summit success was another testimony to his capacity for setting the terms for his ability to connect with the American people.

Note: Asserts that Reagan and Gorbachev failed to achieve major agreement on any issues that dominated their agenda, but the apparently genuine personal rapport the two men established transcended that failure.

Smith, Hedrick. “Setting the Post-Summit Tone,” New York Times Magazine (December 8, 1985): 70.

Note: Shows that the Geneva summit was only a prelude to US – Soviet talks next summer from which the public will expect more substantive accomplishments.

Note: Discusses the events that began in the 1980s between the US and the USSR. Briefly describes the attitudes of Americans by the time Reagan held his first summit with Gorbachev.

Sources for Second Theme: African Politics

Berry, Ian and Chris Boot. Living Apart: South Africa under apartheid (Phaidon-Press, 1996).

Brewer, John. Can South Africa Survive? Five minutes to midnight (St.Martin’s Press, 1989).

Note: Contends that the survival of Africa depends on international pressure, the fragility of the domestic economy, the hostility of neighboring black states, and the dynamics of international politics.

Note: Accounts the political situation of South Africa and focuses on the events from the early decade to the middle decade.

Murray, Martin. South Africa: Times of agony, time of destiny (Verso Editors, 1987).

Note: Presents the positions, activities, and leaders of the many sub-groups in the protest movement in South Africa. Details the uprisings of 1984-86.

Note: Traces the sociopolitical history of contemporary South Africa and the course of the anti-apartheid struggle. Contains chronicles of economic and social histories, including the institutionalization of racism and the legacies of opposition to that policy. Includes profiles of activists and analyses of organizations and issues.

Price, Robert. The Apartheid State in Crisis: Political transformation in South Africa, 1975-1990 (Oxford University Press, 1991).

Note: Describes the stagnant economy and political insurrection that South Africa experienced in the 1980s. Analyzes the contemporary political developments in South Africa.

Culverson, Donald. “The Politics of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the United States, 1969-1986,” 111 Political Science Quarterly 1 (1996): 127.

Note: Demonstrates how the public paid little attention to Reagan’s foreign policy toward South Africa during his first term and half of his second. Describes how the antiapartheid movement had developed into an effective grassroots campaign in order to change the policies of state and local governments, colleges and universities, and other institutions—thereby getting Congress to change Reagan’s initiatives.

Schroth,Evelyn. “Nadine Gordimer’s ‘A Chip of Glass Ruby: A commentary on apartheid society’ ”17Journal of Black Studies 1 (September, 1986): 85.

Note: Presents views from a historical context on using political commentary to oppose apartheid.

Solop, Frederic. “Public Protest and Public Policy: The anti-apartheid movement and political innovation,” 9 Policy Studies Review 2 (1990): 307.

Note:. Author uses agenda-setting literature to examine the relationship between the antiapartheid movement in the United States and the adoption of economic sanctions against South Africa, which was a complete reversal of foreign policy towards Africa. Analysis is based on a data set consisting of 1,353 events appearing in the New York Times between 1960 and 1986, interviews with activists and legislators, and archival materials.

Note: Says the TransAfrica lobby’s protests started one of the longest demonstrations in United States history, with Picketing arrests every weekday in front of the S. African embassy igniting protests in other United States cities.

“Reagan’s Abrupt Reversal on South Africa,” Time (September 16, 1985): 42.

Note: Announces Reagan’s executive actions to reverse his rejection of sanctions against South Africa. The continuing problems of South Africa are discussed.

Note: Describes the worst wave of violence to sweep the country in eight years, caused by the new constitution that granted no power to the black population.

“US Policy Toward South Africa,” Congressional Digest (October 1985): 225.

Note: Features a summary of the situation in South Africa, basic United States policy, action in Congress, and Reagan’s executive order. Also a debate on the soundness of the proposed Anti-Apartheid Act of 1985.

Note: Contains speech and press archives and many other primary papers dealing with the political changes in Africa during the 1980s. (http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/)

Sources for Third Theme: Terrorism

Note: Uses articles of scholars and journalists to provide introductory surveys and analyses of a variety of terrorist groups and actions. Presents a chronology of terrorism since 1945.

Guelke, Adrian. The Age of Terrorism and the International Political System (Tauris Academy Studies, 1995).

Note: Focus is on European terrorism, with some attention to South Africa and the Third World since the 1960s.

Martin, David. Best Laid Plans: The inside story of America’s war against terrorism (Harper and Row, 1988).

Note: Gives an examination of Reagan’s handling of international terrorism and the kidnapping of American hostages.

Nacos, Brigitte. Terrorism and the Media: From the Iran hostage crisis to the World Trade Center bombing (Columbia University Press, 1994).

Note: Asserts that much of the terrorism experienced by the United States is manipulated by the terrorists themselves for media recognition of their causes. Claims that past terrorists sought to command media attention in order to limit the policy options with which the American government could respond.

Picard, Robert. Media Portrayals of Terrorism (Iowa State University Press, 1993).

Schaffert, Richard. Media Coverage and Political Terrorists: A quantitative analysis (Praeger, 1992).

Note: Criticizes leading newspapers in the United States, Britain, and Germany for their coverage of 49 international terrorism events from 1978 to 1981.

Thackrah, John. Encyclopedia of Terrorism and Political Violence (Routledge and Kegan, 1987).

Note: Presents two hundred entries on specific events, individuals, groups, and nations that relate to terrorism.

Aruri, Naseer and John Carroll. “US Policy and Terrorism,” 7 Journal for Arab and Islamic Studies (1986): 29.

Note: Discusses Reagan’s policy of antiterrorism and its support for Israel, showing that the United States has accepted a double standard in its approach to terrorism.

El-Sherbini, Magda. “Terrorism: Current readings,” 18 Reference Services Review 4 (1990): 49.

Note: Presents selected current readings on the subject of terrorism. Includes books, periodicals, encyclopedias and dictionaries, directories, bibliographies, and database files beginning in 1985.

Friedlander, Robert. “So Proudly They Failed: The Reagan Administration and the gradual disintegration of US counter-terror policy,” 31 German Yearbook of International Law (1988): 415.

Note: Uses the examples of TWA 847, the Achille Lauro, the Libyan raid, and the Iran-Contra scandal to show that the Reagan administration’s counter-terrorism policy was largely ineffective due to rhetoric, undelivered promises, and bad judgment.

Kupperman, Robert. “Terrorism - What Should We Do?” 12 This World (1985): 31.