1970s



John Vesce, Billy Flagg, Dylan Prucker  1970's Decade **

-** The events of the 1960’s carried over to the 1970’s **, these events included war and social change. Major trends included a growing disillusionment of government, advancements in civil rights, increased influence of the women's movement, a heightened concern for the environment, and increased space exploration. Many of the radical ideas of the 1960's gained wider acceptance in the new decade, and were mainstreamed into American life and culture. Amid war, social realignment and presidential impeachment proceedings, American culture flourished. Indeed, the events of the times were reflected in and became the inspiration for much of the music, literature, entertainment, and even fashion of the decade. **__Facts about this decade__** Population: 204,879,000 Unemployed in 1970: 4,088,000 National Debt: $382 billion Average salary: $7,564 Food prices: milk, 33 cents a qt.; bread, 24 cents a loaf; round steak, $1.30 a pound Life Expectancy: Male, 67.1; Female, 74.8 __ American Diversity:  __ Women: - The 1970’s were seen as the womens turn to get there chance, many of the feminists incorporated civil rights ideals into their movement. A courageous feminist who had support from her husband, C oretta Scott King, as leader of the black movement, called for an end to all discrimination, helping and encouraging the Woman’s Liberation movement, and other movements as well. At the National Women's Conferance in 1977 a minority women's resolution, promoted by King and others, passed to ensure racial equality in the movement's goals, after which, in one of the most emotional moments of the Conference, women of all races joined hands and sung //"// We Shall Overcome //"//. - The Feminist Movement in the United States which began in the 1960s carried over to the 1970s, and took a prominent role within society. The fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1970 was commemorated by the Women's Strike for Equality and other protests African Americans: - The African American Civil Rights Movement was still around in the 1970’s and had achieved its main goals, but had also lost much passion with the murders of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator Bobby Kennedy and backed into the shadows, largely to make way for the feminist revolution which it itself had overshadowed for most of the 1960s. Gays and Lesbians: - The gay movement made a huge step forward in the 1970s with the election of political figures such as Harvey Milk to public office and the onslaught of anti-gay legislations passed and not passed during the decade. Many celebrities, including Freddie Mercury and Andy Warhol, also " came out " during this decade, bringing gay culture further into the limelight.
 * __ American Identity:  __**
 * __Culture:__**

The society in the 1970's was truly corrupt and out of control. The nation was dealing with foreign issues and a war with vietnam. People spoke out aggressively toward the war. Women were interested in achieving rights, and people wanted to use their civil rights to speak out against the government and strike about uprising issues in America. Not only that, but the United States was dealing with oil demands from foreign countries. The society had its ups and its downs. Many good things evolved in the seventies culture. For example there was art, religion, music, movies, books, politics, fashion, etc. Art was used to reflect the earth and the environment around it. “Environmental Art or Earthworks, is primarily a sculptural movement encompassing creative work that integrates physical or conceptual elements of the landscape into the finished piece (Seeley).” Some famous artists of the time were Andy Warhol, James Turrel, and Alice Aycock. Music saw a huge transformation in the seventies. There wasn't just rock n' roll, but music evolved into different genres such as, punk rock, soft rock, country rock, and disco. This music changed what people would listen to for the rest of theirs lives. Many noteable bands and people that marked the 1970's was Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Eagles, Elton John, Billy Joel, Black Sabbath, Michael Jackson, etc. Much of the music was used to describe the way people felt about foreign relations and economy issues. Other entertainment in the 70's was film. The nation saw some of the most popular movies ever created. "The Godfather", "Jaws", "Star Wars", "Exorcist". Popular film directors consisted of Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, etc. Literature was taken seriously by many authors in the 70's because it protrayed feelings of society. "Many of the books published in the 70's revolved around a general theme of man's alienation from his spiritual roots."(5) Some authors were Neil Simon, John Updike, and Joyce Carol Oates. The 1970's were also defined by the fashion. Also known as the disco era, the 70's brought along new unique types of clothing. For example, there were flared trousers, bell bottoms, tank tops, trouser suits, and platform shoes.



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 * __Religion:__**

The 1970's had many issues revolving around the economy and foreign relations, so people focused more on that than religion and church. Protestant religious followings slowly declined in this decade of confusion. "Their leaders and many of their members had become outspoken opponents of American involvement in the Vietnam War."(3)


 * __Globalization:__**

Globalization is known as the growth of society to a global scale. Many factors in the 70's decade influenced and also hurt the United States globalization. Some factors that damaged the U.S. was the recession in the economy. The economy was slowed because there were foreign relations being improved. "Oversea wars were ended and relations with the European powers were improved. Other problems were the Arab oil embargo of 73, the water gate scandal, and Nixon's presidency." Even though Nixion was framed and resigned for spying on other politicians in the 70's, (water gate scandal) President Lyndon B. Johnson established good living by creating the "Great Society" program. This proposal was made to help benefit people in need of medicare, education, housing, and voting rights. Also a positive spin on globalization was women's movements. This became a large part of American culture. The National Organization for Women bacame a popular way to acheive equality in society. "...the membership in NOW, one of the largest and most mainstream organizations of the Women's Movement, increased its number from 1,200 in 1967 to 48,000 in 1970."(1) The United States also globalized positively with technology. The first computers were developed in the 70's and other technology that was introduced was the floppy disc, Atari (video game), Videocassette recorders, and many more. The 1970's decade helped make America what it became today.


 * __Economic Transformations in the 1970's__**

There were three main situations during the 1970's which negatively shaped the economic situation that everyone was in, but there. During this decade, there were not one, but two oil crisis.
 * 1) The first oil crisis was in 1973, and to be exact it started on October 15. Members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) proclaimed an oil embargo on the United States. They declared that it would no longer supply the United States with oil if the united states continued to support Israel. Things eventually got so bad in the U.S that it was said that this oil crisis along with the stock market collapse in '74 have been regarded as the first events since the Great Depression to have a persistent economic effect.
 * 2) The '73-'74 stock market crash also had a negative effect upon the public. The crash put many people in a bad situation. The New York Stock Exchange and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped to 45% of their initial value, which is a huge loss. This resulted in another chaotic period during the 1970's.
 * 3) The other oil crisis occurred in 1979. This time, the oil crisis took place during the peak of the Iranian Revolution. There were multiple protests which happened during this time, and protesters and rioters basically took over, and they shattered the oil sector. Now, when the oil was to be exported, it was in much lower volumes, causing the prices to increase.


 * __Politics and Citizenship__**

There were some substantial occurrences in the 1970's which impacted the citizens of the United States in a big way. For one, feminism was still growing rapidly coming over from the 1960's and it was still going strong. There was a notable strike that occurred by feminists, and it is now known as the Woman's Strike for Equality. This was huge, and it was just another step in the process for women to be treated as equals. Some notable names in the Feminist movement were Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and Betty Ford. They really pushed for equality among both men and women. Another notable thing that occurred in the 1970's was the National Woman's Conference. In that conference laws passed to ensure racial equality in the movement's goals, and now March 8 is celebrated as International Woman's Day. This was really when women were finally making a name for themselves in politics, and it would be a precursor for multiple movements with women in politics.

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1970's Questions

1. In what years were there two gas crisis's in the United States? a. 1970 & 1973 b. 1973 & 1974 c. 1973 & 1979 d. 1978 & 1979

2. Our oil supply was cut off in 1973 because we chose to side with... a. Russia b. Israel c. Pakistan d. Iran

3. How Many Women were a part of the National Organization for Women in 1970? a. 48,000 b. 1,200 c. 32,000 d. 6,000

4. What Was the name of Lyndon B. Johnson's plan? a. Watergate b. Reconstruction c. Great Society d. U.S. recovery

5. Which of the following people added to the 1970's culture? a. Steven Spielberg b. Elton John c. John Turrel d. F. Scott Fitzgerald

SHORT ANSWER: What happened to Nixon during his presidency, and how did Lyndon B. Johnson restore the nation?

Works Cited: John Vesce

1.) Phillips, Edie. "Anatomy Need Not Be Destiny." 28 April 2009. [|http://www.otal.umd.edu].

2.) "What Was Watergate?." 27 April 2009. [].

3.) "America 1970-1979: Religion." 27 April 2009. [].

4.) "US History." 28 April 2009. [].

5.) Gillis, Charles. Whitley, Peggy. "American Culture History." 27 April 2009. []

6.) "The 70s Disco Fashion 1970s Costume History." 28 April 2009. [|www.fashion-era.com/1970's.htm]

7.) __AP United States History.__ New Jersey: Research & Education Association, 2006