1980s: Unemployment reaches 10.8 percent in 1982, and high inflation rates seriously depress the house market. New home sales and sales of existing homes are down dramatically.

Today: The post—September 11, 2001 economic downturn results in rising unemployment rates, although not to the level of the 1980s. Low inflation, however, keeps mortgage rates historically low, resulting in a strong housing market.

1980s: Pregnant young women are permitted to remain in public school by the 1980s, a marked change from the 1960s and early 1970s when girls were often sent away during the time of their pregnancies.

Today: Public school districts permit pregnant young women in classes and also often provide special classes or schools, sometimes with daycare, to assist these young women with their education.

1980s: With the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision permitting legal abortion, abortion rates rise through the 1980s.

Today: Abortion rates...