What were the major social, economic and technological developments in
the United States in the decade of the 1980’s?

Hi emmalee –

Wow, there are SO many things to choose from!  What I’ve done is
provide you with my view of what the top few 1980’s Developments are
for each category you described.  Below my list are additional links
so that you can read more about each topic.

==================
SOCIAL
==================

School reform movement (“A Nation at Risk”)
AIDS
Fall of communism / The Berlin Wall (although not in the US, this
event had global ramifications)

==================
ECONOMIC
==================

“Reaganomics” (supply-side economics or trickle-down economics)
Deregulation of utilities
Global market reform

==================
TECHNOLOGICAL
==================

Personal Computers – IBM PC
Cable television / VCR’s
Space Shuttle


======================
USEFUL LINKS
======================

IN THE 80’S
http://www.inthe80s.com/

Technological Innovation and Market Reforms – 1980’s
http://www.meister.u-net.com/economics/technological_innovation.htm


1980’s Economics 
http://library.thinkquest.org/17823/data/reaganomics.html?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0920

Education in the 1980's: A Concern for 'Quality'
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=09200009.h09

A Nation at Risk
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/risk.html

Reaganomics
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/12/18/opin/opin.2.html

Personal Computers – History and development
http://www.digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/pc_hd.html

Inventions of the 80’s
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111064/80inventions.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0920

The fall of communism – 10 years after 1989
http://www.rferl.org/nca/special/10years/


Hope that helps you understand the 1980’s!  Thanks for the question
and some interesting flashbacks for those of us who lived it. :-)

--K~

search terms

1980’s
1980’s inventions
1980’s economics
1980’s “social reform”
Reaganomics
Fall of communism
History of computers