* The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II), which limits the number of nuclear weapons each country can possess.
* The United States boycotts the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan.
* Ronald Reagan is elected president of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.
* The United States deregulates many industries, including the airline, telecommunications, and trucking industries.
* The United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, is taken over by Iranian students, beginning the Iran hostage crisis. The crisis lasts for 444 days.
1981
* The United States and Iran reach an agreement to end the Iran hostage crisis. The hostages are released in exchange for the United States unfreezing Iranian assets and not interfering in Iran's internal affairs.
* The United States invades Grenada, a small island nation in the Caribbean, to overthrow a Marxist government.
* The United States begins to provide military aid to the Contras, a rebel group fighting against the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
* The United States experiences a recession, with unemployment reaching nearly 11%.
1982
* The United States and the Soviet Union begin negotiations on the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
* The United States invades Lebanon in an attempt to stop the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian guerrillas.
* The United States experiences a severe drought, which causes crop failures and water shortages in many parts of the country.
1983
* The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which reduces the number of nuclear weapons each country can possess.
* The United States invades Grenada, a small island nation in the Caribbean, to overthrow a Marxist government.
* The United States begins to provide military aid to the Contras, a rebel group fighting against the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
* The United States experiences a severe drought, which causes crop failures and water shortages in many parts of the country.
1984
* Ronald Reagan is re-elected president of the United States, defeating Walter Mondale.
* The United States and the Soviet Union begin negotiations on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
* The United States experiences a period of economic growth, with unemployment falling below 5%.
* The world experiences a famine, with an estimated 35 million people dying from starvation.
1985
* Mikhail Gorbachev becomes general secretary of the Soviet Union, beginning a period of reform and openness.
* The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which eliminates all intermediate-range nuclear weapons from both countries.
* The United States experiences a period of economic growth, with unemployment falling below 5%.
* The United States and the United Kingdom invade Panama to overthrow Manuel Noriega, a dictator who is accused of drug trafficking and corruption.
1986
* The United States and the Soviet Union hold a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, but are unable to reach an agreement on further nuclear arms reductions.
* The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurs in the Soviet Union, releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere and causing widespread contamination.
* The United States experiences a period of economic growth, with unemployment falling below 5%.
1987
* The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which eliminates all intermediate-range nuclear weapons from both countries.
* The world experiences a stock market crash, which leads to a recession in the United States and other countries.
* The United States experiences a period of economic growth, with unemployment falling below 5%.
* The United States and the Soviet Union sign a treaty to eliminate all nuclear weapons by the year 2000.
1988
* George H. W. Bush is elected president of the United States, defeating Michael Dukakis.
* The United States and the Soviet Union agree to withdraw all of their troops from Afghanistan.
* The United States experiences a period of economic growth, with unemployment falling below 5%.
* The world experiences a series of natural disasters, including