President Encyclopedia 1981-2001

President Encyclopedia 1981-2001 — page 1
4 The 1980s and 1990s The 1980s and 1990s In the late 1970s President Jimmy Carter had a particularly tough job He had to get Americans to understand that there were limits There were limits on how much power the United States had in the world and limits on the amount of resources Americans could consume During the presidential campaign of 1980 Carter’s Republican opponent Ronald Reagan disagreed He told Americans that their troubles were over that there was nothing but clear sailing ahead Apparently that was what Americans wanted to hear On November 4 1980 they elected Ronald Reagan by a landslide and thus began a decade that would become associated with greed and lavish displays of wealth Reagan’s Washington D C inauguration celebrations in January 1981 set the lush tone The festivities cost the taxpayers 8 million dollars First Lady Nancy Reagan’s ball gown alone was worth thousands While most Americans could not afford clothes that expensive in the 1980s many nonetheless would pay quite a lot for items with designer labels Jeans sporting the name of a famous designer and a hefty price tag gained enormous popularity in the 1980s Meanwhile ambitious young businesspeople sometimes referred to as yuppies young urban professionals were power-dressing wearing clothes that trumpeted their intent to climb the ladder of success President Reagan and his wife Nancy pose in the White House Red Room prior to an Inaugural Ball in Washington D C President Reagan and the First Lady who both enjoyed entertaining wait at the North portico of the White House to receive their guests the Prime Minister of Australia and his wife