AIDS Crisis

In 1981, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was discovered by physicians. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), a virus that attacks white blood cells and T4 lymphocytes, causes AIDS by weakening the body's immune system, leaving it vulnerable to infection. In the early 1980s, the infection was consistently appearing in homosexuals or intravenous drug users. Many felt that the disease was in fact a "gay" disease, sparking misdirected moral attacks on the homosexual community. Sadly, President Reagan failed to respond to the epidemic, and the disease would take countless numbers of victims before AIDS activists raised public awareness almost a decade later.

The Berlin Wall

The Reagan Presidency signaled the end of the cold war. Some credit the collapse of the Soviet Union to President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative program and his pressure tactics, while others attribute the nation's demise to financial strain. Many attribute Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika (economic...