A Decade of Disappointment From the world wars to the reunification of the nation, social, political, economic, and international events in the United States always seem to be in a state of flux. A very important period in the history of America was the decade of 1980, a very hostile and unpleasant time. From the discovery of AIDS to the total boycott of the Olympics by the United States and Russia to the national tragedy caused by the Challenger space shuttle disaster, these social events have caused great changes for millions of people spread across many nations. The prominence of AIDS was the most socially significant event of the 1980s as this lethal virus is still a huge problem not only in the United States, but throughout the world.IntroductionI. Discovery of AIDSA. The discovery of the disease in 1981B. First AIDS blood tests and the beginning of AIDSC awareness. Progress made on AIDS1985II. Olympic boycotts of 1980 and 84A. Advancement of the Soviet Union into AfghanistanB. The rotation of Olympic boycotts by the United States and the Soviet UnionC. The end of the Olympic feudIII. Space Shuttle ChallengerA disaster. NASA's development of the Space CraftB. The launch and the disastrous explosionC. Ronald Reagan's announcement and the aftermathIV. The beginning of the AIDS epidemic is the most significant conclusionA decade of disappointmentsFrom the world wars to the reunification of the nation, the social, political, economic and international events of the United States always seem to be in a state of flux. A very important period in the history of America was the decade of the 80s, a very hostile and unpleasant time. From the discovery of AIDS to the total boycott of the Olympics by the United States and Russia to the national tragedy caused by the Challenger space shuttle disaster, these social events have caused great changes for millions of people spread across many nations. The prominence of AIDS was the most socially significant event of the 1980s as this lethal virus is still a huge problem, not only in the United States, but throughout the world. In 1981, doctors in New York and San Francisco began seeing male patients who had begun to develop rare opportunistic infections and cancers. These diseases were not affected by treatment and the patients appeared to have a common link, a common blood condition. This condition is now known as AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, but was not named until 1983 by the journal Science (Pasteur Institute).