United States Presidential Election of 1980
American presidential election held on Nov. 4, 1980
Republican Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democratic Pres.
Jimmy Carter.
In the electoral college, the scale of Reagan’s victory was dramatic--
489 to 49. Carter became the first elected incumbent to be defeated
for reelection as president since Herbert Hoover lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. (Britannica)
On the eve of the gala opening ceremony for the 1996 Summer Olympics, former President Jimmy Carter, who was once accused of trying to wreck the Games, is hovering gingerly at the fringes of the hoopla. (Smothers) Many of the athletes that were prevented from competing in the 1980 Summer Olympics were still resentful in 1996 about what had happened. Carter has declined interviews about the 1996 Olympics and his 1980 decision. At a news briefing tonight at the Carter Center, Carter, in his sole public appearance leading up to the Games, defended his boycott decision in light of the "tragic" events of the Afghanistan invasion. (Smothers)
The Soviet Union wasn't dissolved until December 26, 1991, more than eleven years after the United States boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games. Mikhail Gorbachev took control of a Soviet Union that had a stagnant economy and a political structure that made reform all but impossible. These issues coupled with pressure from the new Soviet Republics, who eventually decided to no longer be a part of the Soviet Union, caused the Soviet Flag above the Kremlin to be replaced with the pre-Revolutionary and modern Russian flag. (History.com)
As for the Olympic boycott, "It really had no impact on the Soviet Union in any way." (Kaufman)
Inner turmoil ultimately caused the end of the Soviet Union, which had little to nothing to do with the U.S. boycott.
American presidential election held on Nov. 4, 1980
Republican Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democratic Pres.
Jimmy Carter.
In the electoral college, the scale of Reagan’s victory was dramatic--
489 to 49. Carter became the first elected incumbent to be defeated
for reelection as president since Herbert Hoover lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. (Britannica)
On the eve of the gala opening ceremony for the 1996 Summer Olympics, former President Jimmy Carter, who was once accused of trying to wreck the Games, is hovering gingerly at the fringes of the hoopla. (Smothers) Many of the athletes that were prevented from competing in the 1980 Summer Olympics were still resentful in 1996 about what had happened. Carter has declined interviews about the 1996 Olympics and his 1980 decision. At a news briefing tonight at the Carter Center, Carter, in his sole public appearance leading up to the Games, defended his boycott decision in light of the "tragic" events of the Afghanistan invasion. (Smothers)
The Soviet Union wasn't dissolved until December 26, 1991, more than eleven years after the United States boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games. Mikhail Gorbachev took control of a Soviet Union that had a stagnant economy and a political structure that made reform all but impossible. These issues coupled with pressure from the new Soviet Republics, who eventually decided to no longer be a part of the Soviet Union, caused the Soviet Flag above the Kremlin to be replaced with the pre-Revolutionary and modern Russian flag. (History.com)
As for the Olympic boycott, "It really had no impact on the Soviet Union in any way." (Kaufman)
Inner turmoil ultimately caused the end of the Soviet Union, which had little to nothing to do with the U.S. boycott.
The boycott "never had a chance, even a remote chance, of working because of the way the Carter administration handled it."
-Nicholas Sarantakes
1. Reagan Library
2. CNN
2. CNN