1980s

This report is to inform you on the decade of the 1980s. People’s jobs, income, ideas, opinions changed so much from 1980 to 1989.

Fewer Americans belonged to labor unions in the 1980s. In 1980 there were nearly 21 million union members; that number had declined to 17 million by 1985. The most important “aspect” of a job for the majority of Americans was a “feeling of accomplishment, beating out high pay by a better than 2 to 1 margin.” In the mid-Eighties, 88% of Americans said they were satisfied with their jobs. In spite of this, less than 40% expected to remain in their current job for more than five years. Most Americans didn't think it would be difficult to get another job. This “indicated general optimism” about the economy and the job market in the mid- and late-Eighties.

In the late Forties, Americans went to the movies an average of at least twice a month, but by the 1980s, people only went to the movies an average of five times a year. About 67% of Americans attended a play or a live theater performance at least once a year, and 60% attended a concert or other musical performance.

In the 1980s the majority of Americans believed sex education should be taught in public schools. 85% of people who voted were for this. That included 68% of all “born-again Christians”, 80% of Republicans, and 77% of “rural people”. One reason that people wanted sex education in schools was that Aids was causing a sense of panic among the general public. Also they felt that if sex education were not available there would be even more unwanted teenage pregnancies.

A few years after the Supreme Court decision in Roe v Wade, 60% of Americans supported legalized abortions. But by the 1980s that had decreased to 50%. Some Americans compared abortion with murder, and felt that the fetus should have rights. On the other hand, some feared that if abortions weren't legal, more women would die from complications with illegal abortions. But most Americans said they could support a woman's decision to have an abortion if her life or mental health were in danger, or if she had been the victim of incest or rape. And while both Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were opposed to abortion, and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist's “goal” was to overturn Roe v Wade, three-fourths of all Americans were convinced that abortion would never be made illegal

In 1981 there were 2,422,0...

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...xually transmitted diseases, AIDS in particular. Of the 11 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases reported in America in 1987, only 15,000 were AIDS, while there were 500,000 cases of herpes and 1,800,000 cases of gonorrhea. However, since AIDS was 100% fatal, it was the main concern, and by that year, 50,000 Americans had contracted it, with 73% of these being homosexual or bisexual men, 17% intravenous drug users, and 4% heterosexuals. Only 6.6% of AIDS victims were female.

In 1987 there were 63,542,000 children under the age of 18 in this country. Many lived with only one parent. A decade-long National Family Violence Survey revealed that severe violence against children was declining during the 1980s. This was due to tougher penalties against abusers, and the increased likelihood that child abuse would be reported

From 1987 to 1989 statistics showed that there was a slight change in employment rates, personal income, birth and death rates. This year was full of energy with new and exciting invention such as the car phone and better TVs and computer. Although AIDS is still a growing academic, research for finding a cure is still under way.