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A3 1970s Rokicki

Page history last edited by Maheen Asghar 13 years, 9 months ago

                                         

MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America? 

 

 

 


 


Business & the Economy 

 

          The economy of the 1970s was much less prosperous than that of the 1960s. The business conditions and the economy dipped from the high economic standards of the post-World War II years. Events such as the two oil crises of 1973-1974 and 1979 caused economic crises that were characterized by increased inflation and slowed economic growth.

          The oil crises, in addition to other events such as the Vietnam War, caused rampant inflation. However, the United States government did little to help the economic situation. President Richard Nixon destroyed the Bretton Woods currency-exchange program, which helped keep inflation in check and was unwilling to curb government spending to cut costs. When inflation rates rose too high, Nixon used wage and price controls to try to decrease it. These actions had little impact on the inflation rate and the economy as a whole. As a result, the American public grew to be cynical about the effectiveness of the United States government.

            The inflation caused a steady deterioration of economic conditions, leading to many businesses struggling to stay in business. This in addition to the increase in oil prices caused the Big Three automobile manufacturers – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, to struggle to stay afloat in the tough economic conditions. The U.S. steel industry and airline industry also faced tough competition and economic conditions, requiring government assistance. During this time, many workers lost their jobs. Even those attached to unions found that the unions were unable to protect them. Because of their ineffectiveness, the size of unions decreased significantly.

            The United States economy was in turmoil, but it was not dying. In fact, it was just going through a transformation from a manufacturing based economy towards a more service-based economy. Companies such as Nike, Wal-Mart and Microsoft grew or started in the 1970s, and the United States became less dependent on large manufacturing companies.

           

 


Education  

              The education policy of the 1970s possessed some significant changed from the education policy of previous decades. Instead of believing that society’s strength laid in the top few achievers, the mindset changed to believing that society’s strength lay in the weakest member. Thus, education was focused on bringing equal educational opportunity to minorities, the handicapped, and immigrants. The efforts to bring about educational equality for mostly successful, but achievement by public school students as a whole suffered as a result.

            The efforts to bring about educational equality were mostly funded by the federal government. More and more federal education programs were created in the 1970s. Some of these addressed the segregation of public schools, and attempted to eliminate it. In 1974, a Department of Health, Education and Welfare report showed that schools in the Northeast were more integrated in 1974 than they were in 1970. This was caused by the location of school-district lines in the Northeast, the Midwest, and the West. Minority students tended to come from inner-city areas and thus attend inner-city schools, while white students tended to attend schools in the suburbs. In the South, however, the school districts would be smaller and more rural. Thus, the schools would be less segregated. To try to further desegregate the schools, a plan for busing children across district attendance lines was devised. However, there were riots against the plan, and many of the busing schemes that were used were abandoned by the end of the decade.

            As people were pushing for less segregated schools, others were pushing for an overhaul of the traditional curriculum. In the early 1970s a more open curriculum was popular. Progressives, who believed that students need time to purse their own interest and that structure sometimes hinders them, took control of many school districts and introduced this type of learning to the American public. However, by the middle of the 1970s the education that American students were getting was beginning to turn more traditional.

            In the 1970s, the enrollment in higher education decreased between 1975 and 1976. The institutes of higher learning themselves, the colleges, were confused on what their role was. They had traditionally turned out graduates with doctorates, but now they found that the job market for those jobs had already been filled. This caused a large sense of social disillusionment among college graduates.

           All in all, the educational quality of the 1970s was marked by dissension. Although more minorities attended school, the overall rate of attendance in higher learning institutions decreased. In addition, the weak job market caused a feeling of bitterness and apathy in regards to schooling and higher education.

 

 

 

                             College graduates in the 1970s faced an uncertain future 


Fashion

 

          The fashion in the 1970’s took a departure from the dress of the previous decade, the 1960s. Although at first similar in style, the fashion style of the 1970s became, in the course of the decade, more diverse and eclectic than ever before.

            The decade started out with a diverse array of clothing that was available to the American public. The fashion innovations of the 1960s allowed for an increase in the number of acceptable styles for women. Many different fabrics were utilized, such as nylon, cotton, polyester, and wool. Patterns such as florals, zig-zags, and paisley were also commonly worn. Pants were no longer just for men, and jeans were popular with people of both genders. Denim blue jeans became “the youth status symbol of the world” (Baughman, "Fashion: Important Events of the 1970s.") Although all styles of blue jeans were popular, denim bell-bottoms were especially in vogue.

Blue jeans shared popularity with mini, midi, and maxi skirts and dresses. The mini’s popularity carried from the 1960’s into the early part of the 1970’s. For those not inclined to wear shorter styles, midi (mid-calf) and maxi lengths were a viable, popular alternative.Hot pants, shorts of an extremely short length, also became a fad in the early 70s. These styles of clothing were often accessorized with knee-length boots named go-go boots.

 

 

A woman sporting typical 1970's fashion

 

          In the middle of the decade, the androgynous look for women became more fashionable. Sportswear became mainstream and accepted everywhere, even in the workplace. Styles such as shirtdresses could be worn at both formal and informal functions. Many young women growing up during the decade rejected the femininity of the females belonging to the previous generation. They were influenced by models such as Twiggy, who was famous for her slim hips and boy-like figure

          The fashion for women became even more varied at the end of the decade. Punk rock, from England influenced the fashion tastes of much of the 1970s youth. Ripped, dyed, and bleached clothes were popular amongst the punk scene. The color black was widely worn, and wild earrings and hair were also commonly sported. In addition, period fashion also became a major trend.

          Punk style was not the only fashion fad of the late 1970s. Styles of the 1920s and 1930s started being widely emulated. Dramatic Edwardian styles also gained a following. These trends pointed to the general movement away from the wild style of the early 1970s and back to relatively conservative fashion. The look of most women moved away from an androgynous style back to a more traditional, feminine one. Long skirts, sundresses, fur coats and elegant eveningwear made a major comeback.

          The decade of fashion was relatively tame for men. The style for men was much more laid back in the past. Ties were not required, and men were often seen without their jackets. Jeans, particularly bell-bottom styles, were popular, and almost everyone owned a pair. Sportswear was also commonly worn to casual functions. Sportswear like jogging suits were particularly popular. Designers like L.L. Bean gained prominence during this time period.

          The 1970s were time of free expression in regards to fashion. The innovations of the previous decade gave men and women a huge variety of fashion choices, from the fabric and pattern they wore to the style and length of the clothes that they chose. During the 1970s, almost nothing was off limits.

 

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Film and Theater

     In the 1970s, Hollywood decided to turn its fate around from a declining for of media. For the past decade, Hollywood had been going downhill as it faced competition from a now wide range television that included the phenomenon known as cable TV. Many Americans saw it easier to watch movies and T.V. shows right at home. Movie theatres were no longer needed. Also, Hollywood had become quite restricted in what it could show earlier in the last few decades but after many movements and the explosion of counter-culture, Hollywood was freer in the 1970s. So, in the 1970s, Hollywood went into two different directions. On one hand, television became seen as an art medium and these “art specific” movies were shown at “art specific” theatres that generally had a small audience. On the other hand, major Hollywood studios stopped making several films with average money spent on each and went into the direction of creating blockbusters that would experiment with different things due to the smaller restriction.

     Blockbusters were movies that studios spent large amounts of time and money on to make it a huge hit among audiences. In the 70s, the amount spent on movies dramatically increased. For example, Superman (1978) had a total of 55 million dollars spent on it which is huge compared to the 4.25 million dollars that was spent on Gone with the Wind (1939) just a couple decades ago. Hollywood also began experimenting with special effects that were no longer as restricted anymore. The special effects that are seen as almost hilarious today attracted and awed many film-goers into believing it to be almost real. Some of the movies using these special effects included the classics The Exorcist (1973), Jaws (1975), and Star Wars (1977). Black involvement also increased during the 70s in all black casted films like The Shaft (1971) and even in “white” films but usually only in minor roles. A few other blockbusters that hit the screens during the 70s are The Godfather (1972), Saturday Night Fever (1977), Rocky (1976), and Grease (1978). 

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 Food & Drink

          Due to the economic crisis that ran through the 70s, Americans found it increasingly difficult to eat extravagantly. Instead, they sought the cheap, packaged ready-to-go foods that were being advertised all around them. New, easy to make food brands arrived like Hamburger Helper, McKorcmick’s “Roast in a Bag Kit”, Cup O’Noodles, Yoplait yogurt, and several others. As you can see, economic effects led to a change in eating styles.                                                                            

          The “fast food culture” that had erupted in previous decades was being increasingly criticized for nutritional value and the mental impact on the public at large. They were criticized for too much fat, cholesterol, and sugars and not enough vitamins and vegetables. Historian David Hogan underscored this point by remarking that "Americans consumed 50 percent more chicken and beef in 1976 than they had in 1960, mainly because the fast-food chains usually served only those two meats." (Woloson 3). Also, the impact influenced everyone erasing family values and ethics. Children were especially targeted and were growing up with this love for fast food.

                                                                                    

            This criticism led to an increase in eating organic foods throughout America making it a fad. Not only did it benefit them, but it brought them closer to nature and to protect the environment as well. Environmentalism was a large factor in American lives in the 70s and influenced the way many Americans ate. This was the food counter culture that was concerned with the amount of additives, chemical preservations, and fertilizers that were being added to the natural plants. They found it healthier for themselves and the environment to eat organic, natural food products.

                                                                                               

            Ethnic food became quite popular as well, with Julia Child ruling many homes with her easy to make French cuisine. Many Americans during the 1970s began to mix foods that enriched the diet and changed the tastes. Ethnic food became quite popular with family run restaurants popping up all over the place. The culture of 1970s began to affect people's, especially girl's, perception of food. A craze that occurred during the 70s was bulimia nervosa which was an eating disorder said to be caused by pursuit for fashionable bodies that led to harm. Jane Fond, a beautiful, slim actress, was said to have suffered from this disorder and turned into an advocate for this problem.

 


Print Culture     

     The 1970s was a time when print culture changed completely. White males were not the dominant writers of the decade anymore, it was the minorities of America that rose in popularity. Irreverence and satire were leading themes of many of the books in the 70s. Demand for popular fiction skyrocketed, and it remained popular throughout the decade. Novels about censorship and government sold quickly, along with autobiographies on political figures of the decade. Much of the classic literature styles also changed from experimental to classic storytelling.

     Books about finding love and being happy with oneself often topped the best-sellers lists. Barbara Cartland and Phyllis Whitney were the leading writers of romance novels. "Trash fiction" and books about relationships were laced with plots full of sex, money, and power. Horror books also came into attention. Stephen King, a former teacher, wrote his first novel, Carrie, in 1974. Following his first release, thousands of writers wrote their own horror stories to add to the mania that had first spread with King's novel.

     Minorities, such as the Black and Jewish communities, produced writers that greatly influenced the print culture of the decade. Alex Haley's book, Roots, became a top-seller, despite the fact that it was a historical account of an enslaved black family. With the increase of writers of different races and gender, print culture evolved greatly from what it had been in the 60s.

 

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Sports &  Games

     In the 1970s, professional sports changed drastically because of large television contracts. Sports on television became a major source of entertainment to Americans. Many professional sports, as well as college football and basketball, were very popular. To accommodate television, rules were changed and seasons were lengthened with play-offs. Players also started getting paid more and demanded more freedom to move to different teams, which began a policy called “free agency” leading to overpaid athletes.

     One of the most revolutionary sports matches of the seventies was the “Battle of the Sexes”. The “Battle of the Sexes” was a tennis match in 1973 between women’s Billie Jean King and former Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs. The match was for-television and the winner would receive $100,000. Billie Jean King and women’s standings in professional sports rapidly increased.

     Along with women, blacks were gaining equality in professional sports, earning comparable wages and establishing new records. At the end of the 1973 season, Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s record for the most home-runs, and early the next season, set a new all-time home-run record. In 1974, Frank Robinson became the first black manager in baseball. Although there was still discrimination, the basis for color-blind athletics began in the 1970s.

     Americans at home were also still physically active. Millions of Americans adopted jogging and aerobics as hobbies and to improve their fitness levels. These activities spawned industries to provide Americans with equipment, clothing, and videotapes.

     A new source of entertainment in the 1970s were video games. For the first time, Americans could play games in their own home, on their televisions. The Atari game system came out; at first, the only game was “Pong”, but soon many new games would make their entrance onto Americans’ televisions.

 

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Televised sports were extremely popular with Americans.

 

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Ad for Atari from 1978


Music

 

      Music played a big role in the 1970s culture. Various trends competed to be at the top of the decade's best music list. Rock music divided into sub-genres, but remained strong throughout the era. Led Zeppelin led the movement for hard rock in the 70s, while David Bowie influenced glam rock to become one of the most famous types of rock n' roll music at the time. Musicians in the seventies tossed out old standards and produced new types of music such as funk, pop, and salsa. 

     Transitioning into the new decade, technology became much more important to music than ever before. Electronic music, such as techno and disco, became wildly popular in the 70s. Originally stereotyped as being sung by blacks or gay white males, disco music shot up the charts during the later 70s, and dominated clubs all over America. Despite its popularity, disco was also greatly disliked by a large portion of Americans. In turn, they listened to country and prog rock.

     A lot of trends that seemed unpopular before, rose in popularity. KISS, a heavy metal band, attracted mainstream America with their fourth album, Alive!. Other small bands, such as The Doors, began rebelling against the norm and created a national stir in the world of music. Smaller minorities also rose in the music industry. Blacks combined jazz music with pop to create jazz-pop and produce soul music--mixing urban rhythm with the original sounds.  

 

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                         Detroit Rock City - KISS (1976)                                                            I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash (1973) 

 


"The Way We Lived"

     In the 1970s, Americans no longer cared as deeply for the political and social changes that they had pursued in the 1960s. Following the political disillusionment of the 1960s (assassinations of JFK, Malcolm X, and MLK Jr., riots and protests, the resignation of Nixon, and the war in Vietnam) Americans of the seventies retreated into themselves and were happy to focus solely on themselves.

     The slowing economy of the seventies forced people to care less about changing the world and more about providing for their families. Baby boomers were settling down and earning a living. They also reflected on their spiritual lives and sought perfection and balance in their lives.

     Although most causes disappeared, feminism continued on into the seventies. In 1973, women won the right to choose abortion. Another cause that Americans advocated in the seventies was environmentalism. The first Earth Day was in 1970 and throughout the decade, many pieces of legislation were passed to protect the environment.

     Another important aspect of life for Americans in the seventies were fads. Fads included jogging, aerobics, tanning, streaking, which was running around naked in public places, and owning pet rocks and mood rings. Illegal drugs also became fashionable and Americans continued to buy new consumer products, such as color television, stereos, and air-conditioning. Sexual freedom was also quite popular in the seventies but its popularity was diminished by the rising problem of STDs. 


Government & Politics

              The 1970s was wrought with political turmoil. The international influence of the United States decreased, and a series of political gaffes greatly decreased the power of the United States government. Throughout the decade, the limits of American power, especially abroad, were proven again and again.

            Many American foreign policy failures occurred during this decade. One such example is the end of the Vietnam War. The war, the longest that the United States had ever been in, was catastrophic to the reputation of the American government. The United States had spent millions of dollars waging war against the Vietcong, to no avail. During 1973, they were forced to sign a peace treaty that was nothing more than a symbol of the failure of the United States. Over 50,000 American troops lost their lives in the war, and America’s failure was apparent to everyone. More foreign policy failures continued throughout the decade. President Jimmy Carter’s human-rights policy undermined American economic interests abroad. He was also unable to halt the Soviet Union’s advance into Africa and Asia, damaging the United State’s relations with many other countries.

            As these events were occurring, the situation between the Soviet Union and the United States was also rapidly changing. President Richard Nixon recognized that the expenditures caused by the United States rivalry with the Soviet Union were quickly bankrupting the United States. He acted by negotiating an arms-control agreement with the Soviet Union with his foreign-policy adviser Henry Kissinger. The presidents that followed him, Presidents Ford and Carter, continued expanding the arms-control agreement and reaching out and establishing diplomatic dialogue with major communist countries. However, the temporary peace between the Soviet Union and the United States would not last. The Soviet Union continued to operate in Africa and Latin America, causing the ire of those countries, many of which were the allies of the United States. In addition violations of human rights by the Soviet Union were discovered and emphasized by American conservatives. As a result, President Carter moved to push for increased defense spending, and the Cold War had returned yet again.

            The actions of the Presidents during the thaw in the Cold War show the shift of influence in American politics. In the 1970s, foreign policy became the exclusive province of the president. The National Security Act of 1947 further expanded executive control over foreign affairs.

            As the influence of the executive branch of government increased, so did the influence of the judicial branch. Courts became influential in changing major domestic policies. For example, the Roe v. Wade (1973) case greatly influenced the lives of numerous Americans during and after the 1970s.

            Although both the influence of the executive branch and the judicial branch of government increased during the 1970s, the power wielded by the legislative branch decreased during the decade. This is apparent during the handling of the Watergate Scandal. Although Congress had the power to remove the president, they consistently put off holding hearings until the last possible moment. However, the inbalance of power soon became apparent, and Congress moved to insert its own authority. Congress rejected two of Nixon’s Supreme Court nominees, and passed the Equal Rights Amendment, a piece of legislation that promoted equality among people of all races and both genders, and had a huge impact on life in the 1970s. 


Leadership

 President Nixon (1969-1974)

In the 1969 elections, I had won by promising America to peacefully end the war. My plan to end the war in Vietnam became known as vietnamization. I slowly removed American men from the war while continuing to act tough on North Vietnam. But, my efforts were for the most part a failure as North Vietnam continued to get stronger. My invasion efforts in Cambodia and Laos drew up major anti-war protests forcing me to sign a peace treaty in 1973 officially ending the Vietnam War. I was also a major environment advocate passing several acts in favor of the Earth. Although I was conservative, I managed to meet liberals half way and was able to keep many people happy with me which helped me win the 1973 elections by a landslide. However, reports of the Watergate scandal began to leak out and I was caught for being involved in it. Through public protest and possible impeachment, I knew the best thing was to resign from my seat which made me the first of the presidents to do so. I hope that I will be remembered for my efforts and successes instead of my mistakes.   

President Ford (1974-1977)

I had replaced the vice president for Nixon in 1973 and then became the first unelected President when Nixon resigned in 1974. I entered presidency during a difficult time for Americans whose trust for the government had declined tremendously. I tried to regain trust in my country but by pardoning President Nixon and all those who had fled from the Vietnam War draft, I did not gain popularity at first. However, I persisted. The issues I was faced with were inflation, unemployment, and the energy crisis. I tried to stay open and remain with integrity which gained me much popularity. I tried to curb inflation but our economy had hit a recession. Also, I managed to keep peace between Israel and Egypt. I had begun to renew hope in my country and in 1976; I lost my second elections barely to Carter. I am glad to have helped my country in anyway and I had hoped only for her happiness and prosperity. 

President Carter (1977-1981)

I thanked President Ford for renewing our country and I continued his efforts to bring our country out of the recession, deal with the energy crisis, and sustain world peace. I created an energy policy to control the energy crisis, tried to improve the environment, sustain social reforms by aiding in our education program, helped bring peace between Egypt and Israel, and I kept good relations with China and the Soviet Union. During the 1980s elections, the consequences of 52 Americans being held hostage and the continuing inflation and unemployment rates led to my defeat to President Reagan. I hoped to have served as a good President to my country.  


Law & Justice

 

     The 1970s were an important turning point for law and justice. The government was in political turmoil, confirmed by the actions that occurred throughout the decade.

Crime rates in the 1970s rose significantly, so much, that it was an all time high. Prisons were crowded and courts were full of criminals, crack heads, and thieves. Due to riots in prisons, stricter punishments were handed out, but were unheeded by most of the population. Divorce rates also increased tremendously. The 1970s involved a lot of sexual behavior and drug use, causing divorces and creating single parents.

     During the 70s, Women rights movements rose in recognition. The right to abort was under a lot of debate during the decade. In 1973, a woman was given to right to abort her pregnancy in the first trimester. Then, when women fought for their rights to be equally treated, the Equal Rights Amendment was passed in Congress, but was not ratified in time. It was, however, a step in the direction of improving women’s rights in society. The 1970s was also a decade that supported the protection of the environment. President Nixon and Congress supported all environmental acts passed throughout the decade.

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Women Promoting Abortion Rights                                 Women Protesting for Equality   

 

 

     The Watergate Scandal occurred in 1972, when five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters. The FBI investigated and realized that it was under President Nixon's orders that the men had broken into the building. Since Nixon recorded all conversations in the White House, there was plenty of evidence that he had covered it up and was, in fact, guilty. The American public were greatly shaken by this fact, and were in favor of his impeachment. Nixon resigned soon afterward due to the pressures of impeachment. 

     The Kent State Massacre occurred on May 4th, 1970. A large group of college students were protesting the American invasion of Cambodia, which was what President Nixon had voted in favor of. The Ohio National Guard was called in to shoot at the crowd, causing four students to be killed and nine to be injured. Hundreds of students around the world shut down to protest the government's actions. It did not put the government, or President Nixon, in a better position with the public. 

 

Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller, who was shot by Ohio National Guard

 


Religion

     In the 1970s, there was a steady decline of membership in Mainline Protestant denominations. Because the younger generation of the seventies had looser morals, the church seemed out-dated and irrelevant. Many left to find different religions and be “born-again”. Mainline Protestant denominations had to come to terms with evolving times such as the rise of feminism and the new, relaxed standards of sexual morality, such as sex before marriage and abortions.

     The open, relaxed cultural climate of the seventies lent itself to many new religions. There were many religions brought in from Asia by immigrants. Many young Americans were attracted to this new, different way of thinking and drawn into a different faith than the ones they grew up with in their families. With these changes came a fear of new religions and cults for older Americans who grew up in their traditional faiths. To combat the rise of these cults, older Americans increasingly combined religion and politics. Many parties in the seventies were formed to halt cultural change in America and promote traditional religions.   

 


Positive Political Cartoon


Sadly, the 1970s was not a very a positive decade. From the government scandals to the economy crisis, Americans were tired of all the struggles they had fought for in the 1960s, that they decided to just give up. This decade was about reinventing themselves. Unable to solve external problems, they started to solve internal problems. They looked for therapy and used drugs, sex, and dance for coping mechanisms. This is probably why it was pretty much impossible to find a positive political cartoon.

 

Negative Political Cartoon

 

This cartoon was printed in 1971 to protest the United States attempts at censoring newspapers. The New York Times began to publish documents about American involvement in Indochina. Nixon and his administration tried to stop the newspapers from printing these documents. The Attorney General, John Mitchell gained a temporary injunction against the New York Times, but it was removed shortly after. This cartoon was printed to show how President Nixon and his administration were trying to control the flow of information the public received. Nixon wanted to make sure the support stayed with him--and the way he perceived it to be possible was through censorship.   

 


MYP Unit Question: How did culture, events and leadership shape and reflect post-WWII America? 

 

    The 1970s were a rebellious decade: culture was nonconformist, the younger generation became more free-spirited, and the people began to lose faith in the government. People in the 70s became more concerned about themselves instead of social and political justice. All this stemmed from important cultural, political, and economic events that occurred in the 1970s.

    Culturally, the 1970s was known as “The Me Decade”. People became more self absorbed and fads and crazes dominated the seventies. America became a country of declining morals. Fads such as hot pants and drugs reflected and further shaped American culture. Unable to solve any social or political problems or make an impact, the younger generation of Americans became selfish and focused on personal fulfillment, using sex and drugs as coping mechanisms. Associated with the sex and drugs was the music scene. People wanted someplace to get away and express themselves through disco. Because of the frustration of their inability to make a change, people degenerated and became self-obsessed, which led to America regressing morally.

    Politically, America and its people were more critical and losing faith in their government after their unpopular decision for the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal.  The Vietnam War was a detested remnant from the 60s. Americans became more open in protesting against it in the 70s. This reflected the idea that the 70s was “The Me Decade” because Americans did not care or want to feel responsible for global events. The Watergate Scandal further deteriorated our trust and faith in the government. The Watergate Scandal exposed the public to the new dark side of politics that was unknown to them. Not only did it affect Nixon’s presidency, but it also created distrust towards the government and future presidents. Even though Ford and Carter helped to move the country beyond Watergate, the scandal still left a lingering distrust among the American people.

    After a long period of post-war prosperity, the American economy began its descent and transformation to a new type of economy. Since the 1940s, the United States had the longest extended period of growth in economy, but after 1970, it came to a screeching halt. The Oil Crisis in 1973-1974 and 1979 caused rampant inflation and slow economic growth. Although there was increased federal involvement in an attempt to re-stabilize the economy, these policies did not work. This further enforced the public opinion of the government’s inability to help. Because big manufacturing companies such as GM, Ford, and Chrysler also suffered, people hired by the manufacturing companies were laid off. Along with these people, the industries linked to car production, such as steel and rubber also lost business. American manufacturers were being beat by countries that were finally catching up after their losses from WWII, such as the European and Japanese manufacturers. Because Americans were unemployed, they were depressed, and turned to drugs and sex to manage. America, because of the problems of this decade, began to move from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy.

    The seventies were all about re-invention. The concerns of most people had mainly shifted from social and political injustice to a more self-centered focus on the individual well-being.Most Americans decided to settle, leaving less time for protests against government and war; instead, they started focusing on inner development. Overall, the culture of the 1970s was shaped by several key events and the changing social attitudes of the younger generation.   


 

WORKS CITED

 

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"The Food Timeline: Popular American Decade Foods, Menus, Products & Party Planningtips." Food Timeline: Food History & Historic Recipes. Web. 07 June 2010. <http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades.html>.

 

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"1970s: Music." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: 1960s-1970s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 981-982. Gale Virtual Reference Library.      Web. 8 June 2010.

 

"The 1970s: Law and Justice: Headline Makers." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 8: 1970-1979. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.  

 

"1970s: Print Culture." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: 1960s-1970s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 997. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

  

"1970s: The Me Decade." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: 1960s-1970s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 947-953. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL. 7 June 2010 <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=lom_inac>. 

   

"1970s: The Way We Lived." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th Century  America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: 1960s-1970s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 1069-1070. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 June 2010. 

 

"1970s: Sports and Games." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: 1960s-1970s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 1009-1010. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 June 2010.

  

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Woloson, Wendy. "Fast Food." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 2. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 71-74. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 7 June 2010.

  

  

 

 

 

"1970s: Print Culture." Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th-Century America. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Vol. 4: 1960s-1970s. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 997. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010.

Barbara Cartland (1901–2000) and Phyllis A. Whitney

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