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| 1983 |
January 1: The official unemployment rate reaches 11.5 million. Hardest hit is "rustbelt." In Milwaukee, 20,000 wait in 20 degree weather to apply for 200 jobs at auto-frame factory.
January: Reagan's approval rating plummets to 35%.
January 31: Reagan submits his fiscal 1984 budget to Congress; $189billion deficit. A combination of the recession, tax cuts, and an increase in defense spending are to blame. Advisors urge Reagan to either raise taxes or cut defense, Reagan rejects the advice and vows to "stay the course."
March 8: In a speech to National Association of Evangelicals meeting in Orlando, Florida, Reagan says that U.S.S.R. is the "focus of evil in the modern world"
March 9: The official Soviet news agency TASS says Reagan is full of "bellicose lunatic anti-communism."
March 23: Reagan unveils his proposal for a Space Defense Initiative (SDI) in a national speech: "I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete." Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrinyn says SDI would "open a new phase in the arms race."
Spring: First signs that the economy is recovering. It will soon take-off with dramatic force. Lasting 93 consecutive months, it will be the biggest peace time economic expansion in U.S. history.
July 4: Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov's letter to Reagan suggests elimination of nuclear threat. Reagan sends cordial reply suggesting that U.S.-Soviet negotiators pursue this goal in Geneva.
September 1: Korean Air Lines jet (KAL 007) downed by Soviet fighter. All of the 269 people aboard perish. Sixty-one are U.S. citizens. Reagan denounces it as a "crime against humanity."
September 28: Andropov accuses Reagan of risking war. "To turn the battle of ideas into military confrontation would be too costly for the whole of mankind."
October 9: James Watt steps down as secretary of interior.
October 13: Reagan appoints William Clark as Secretary of Interior. Deputy National Security Advisor David MacFarlane takes over as National Security Advisor.
October 23: A suicide truck bomber kills 241 members of the U.S. peacekeeping force stationed in Beirut, Lebanon, when he crashes into the Marines barracks.
October 25: To protect against a perceived Communist threat in Grenada, and to protect U.S. medical students from growing unrest, 5,000 U.S. troops invade the island nation.
October 27: Reagan says in a televised address that all the ills of the world are to be blamed on the Soviets.
November 20: One hundred million Americans, including the president, watch the television movie "The Day After," a frightening look at the aftermath of a nuclear war.
November 23: The first Pershing II missiles are deployed in West Germany. U.S.S.R. breaks off International Nuclear Forces (INF)talks in Geneva.
December: "Time" magazine chooses Reagan and Andropov as "Men of the Year."
December 15: The U.S. launches Operation Staunch, advising the international community not to sell weapons to Iran to force a negotiated settlement to Iran-Iraq War. |
| 1984 |
January 11: The Kissinger Commission issues a report on Central America. The report accepts Reagan’s premise that Communism must be resisted in the region.
January 16: Reagan's speech on U.S.-U.S.S.R. relations calls for a return to arms talks and to parallel sets of nuclear arms talks in Geneva and in Vienna on reducing conventional forces in Europe. The speech reflects a considerable shift in tone from his previous statements on the Soviet Union.
January 20: Secretary of State Charles Shultz designates Iran as sponsor of international terrorism.
January 29: Reagan formally announces he will seek reelection.
February 2: Reagan sends 1985 budget to Congress; $180.4b deficit.
February 9: Yuri Andropov dies of kidney failure. A hard-liner himself, he paved the way for more liberal Russian leaders, including Mikhail Gorbachev. He is succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko.
February 9: Poll shows 38% approve Reagan's foreign policy; 49% disapprove.
March 3: High-ranking CIA agent William Buckley is kidnapped by terrorists in Lebanon.
April 16: Reagan signs directive for aggressive posture to terrorism. The new policy is set forth in a document officially designated National Security Decision Directive 138.
May 9: In a televised speech, Reagan makes a case for helping Contras in Nicaragua.
"The Sandinista rule is a Communist reign of terror. Many of those who fought alongside the Sandinistas saw their revolution betrayed. They were denied power in the new government. Some were imprisoned, others exiled. Thousands who fought with the Sandinistas have taken up arms against them and are now called the Contras. They are freedom fighters."
June 1: Shultz meets secretly with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega in Managua. Ortega told Shultz that Nicaragua’s internal affairs not the business of the U.S.
June 6: Reagan delivers a speech at Pointe du Hoc, where he stood on the dramatic rock cliff jutting into sea that U.S. Army rangers had climbed during invasion of Normandy. The veterans of this invasion were his audience.
June 10: Army successfully tests the interceptor missile, the kingpin of a space defense system.
July: Saudis begin paying $1 mil/month secretly to Contras. The money is deposited into Cayman Islands account owned by Contra leader Adolfo Calero.
July 19: Walter Mondale accepts the presidential nomination at the Democratic convention. "I mean business. By the end of my first term, I will cut the deficit by two-thirds. Let’s tell the truth. Mr. Reagan will raise taxes, and so will I. He won’t tell you. I just did."
July 28-August 12: The Soviet Union boycotts the 23rd Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
August 11: During a check prior to a radio broadcast, Reagan jokes into mike that he’s ordered U.S.S.R. bombed. "My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you today that I’ve signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." The gaff cut into Reagan's margin over Mondale by 7 points, signaling that Americans are still uncomfortable with Ronald Reagan’s Soviet hardline.
August 23: At the Republican Convention at Dallas, Reagan’s huge popularity becomes evident. His "Morning in America" celebratory campaign strategy is unveiled. Campaign ads celebrate accomplishments of his 1st term -- the economy is booming and there is a resurgence of patriotic pride. Campaign is seen as lacking focus in terms of a plan for a 2nd term.
September 28: Reagan meets with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko at White House. Talk lasts for three and a half hours. Little progress is made, but Reagan demonstrates that U.S.-Soviet relations had his personal attention and high priority.
October 7: The Reagan-Mondale debate in Louisville. Reagan’s performance is so bad that press questions his ability to continue serving. Raises the "age issue."
October 10: Congress passes the 2nd Boland Amendment which outlaws solicitation of 3rd-party countries to support Contras. The amendment bars the use of funds available to C.I.A., defense, or intelligence agencies for "supporting, directly or indirectly, military or paramilitary operations in Nicaragua by any nation, group, organization or individual."
October 21: The second debate between Reagan and Mondale. Answers age question with a quip "I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience."
November 4: Reagan defeats Mondale in landslide. Reagan carries 49 states -- 525 electoral votes to Mondale's 10, and 59% of the popular vote. One fourth of registered Democrats voted for Reagan.
November 29: German Chancellor HelmutKohl arrives in Washington for a 2-day visit; he suggests Reagan visit a cemeteryin Germany. This is the beginning of the "Bitburg affair." |
| 1985 |
January 7: Changes in White House Staff. Chief of Staff James Baker swaps jobs with Treasury Secretary Donald Regan. Edwin Meese becomes Attorney General. Deputy Chief of Staff Mike Deaver will resign soon thereafter. Reagan's "troika" which helped him govern in his first term is gone.
 January 20: Reagan is sworn in for a second term. At 73 years of age, he is the oldest president ever to be sworn in. In surprise announcement he says he will meet with Konstantin Chernenko.
February 3: Gallup poll shows Reagan’s approval rating 62%, disapproval 29%.
March 11: Konstantin Chernenko dies and is succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev, 54 years old, and referred to by Andrei Gromyko as "decisive, intelligent and capable in foreign affairs."
May 5: Reagan visits Bitburg Cemetery and Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The visit is intended to honor the victims of World War II and the Holocaust, and to celebrate the reconciliation between the U.S. and West Germany. A great deal of controversy surrounds Reagan's visit to the German military camp at Bitburg, which contains graves of Nazi soldiers of the Waffen SS. On the same day, the Reagan Administration admits policy of sponsoring armed insurgencies against Soviet-backed governments in the Third World, which is called the "Reagan doctrine."
June 3: William Buckley, who has been held hostage in Lebanon since March of 1984, dies of medical neglect. His death is kept secret.
June 6: The Senate authorizes nonmilitary aid to Contras. A 55-42 vote authorizes $38 million over two years.
June 14: TWA Flight 847 from Athens is hijacked by terrorists. There are 153 passengers aboard, including 135 Americas. The pilot is forced to fly to Beirut, where hijackers beat and kill Navy diver Robert Dean Stethem, then dump his body on thr tarmac. The plane is flown back to Algiers then back to Beirut again. Most passengers are released; 39 are held captive in Lebanon.
June 18: At a press conference dominated by the hostage crisis, Reagan vows that the U.S. will never give in to terrorists' demands.
June 30: The thirty-nine hostages who were aboard the hijacked TWA jet are freed after 17 days.
July 1: Gorbachev agrees to meet with Ronald Reagan at a summit. Reagan had issued the invitation earlier in the year to Konstantin Chernenko.
July 13: Reagan has cancer surgery on large intestine.
July 18: From his hospital bed, Reagan approves National Security Advisor William McFarlane's plan to reach out to Iranian Foreign Minister Ghorbanifar. MacFarlane is interested in an opening with Iran through influence with moderates by helping Iran in war against Iraq. Reagan is more interested in using any influence gained through better relations to free hostages being held in Beirut by extremist Iranian terrorists.
July 20: Reagan checks out of Bethesda Navy Medical Center.
July 25: Israeli representatives meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Ghorbanifar for first time on arms deal. Israel will sell arms to Iran, U.S. will replace Israeli stocks.
August 20: 96 anti-tank missiles are sent to Iran by Israel. No hostages are released in return.
August 30: Israel ships 508 anti-tank missiles to Iran.
October 2: Rock Hudson, a friend of the Reagans, dies of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Since the virus was first identified in 1983, Reagan has largely ignored the growing epidemic. After Hudson's death, Reagan called AIDS research a "top priority" for his administration; however, he immediately proposed spending levels that would cut funds for this research.
 November 15: "The Washington Post" prints a letter by Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger to Reagan urging him not to compromise SDI at the upcoming Geneva Summit with Gorbachev. The letter exposes a growing rift between "moderates" and "hardliners" in the Reagan Administration.
November 16: Reagan arrives in Geneva for summit with Mikhail Gorbachev.
November 17: Colonel Oliver North is put in charge of the shipment of HAWK anti-aircraft missiles to Iran.
November 19: Geneva Summit. A scheduled 15-minute private meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan turns into a one-hour conversation, a "fireside chat" by the lake. In afternoon, the two leaders argued about SDI -- Reagan reassured Gorbachev that SDI would not be used to launch a first strike against the U.S.S.R. Gorbachev reponds, "It’s not convincing.... It opens up an arms race in space." The meeting ends with disagreement on SDI, but with mutual invitations to Washington and Moscow, a pledge to seek a 50% reduction in nuclear arms, and a statement that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought."
November 25: Reagan receives a hero’s welcome in Congress when he comes to report about Geneva.
December 2: McFarlane quits his post as National Security Advisor. His deputy, John Poindexter, steps up to the position.
December 7: Shultz, Weinberger, and Donald Regan advise Reagan to stop Iran arms sales.
December 10: The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a coalition of Soviet and American doctors, wins the Nobel Peace Prize |
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