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B4 1970s Gallagher

Page history last edited by Michael Estes 13 years, 9 months ago

 

Michael Estes and Sunny Shettigar

 

 

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

 

The 1970s

 

Business & the Economy

 

When the economy had finally left the great depression, one would think that the country would have flourished, however, the decade of the 1970s was actually one of the most difficult times regarding the economy and business of America. Suffering inflation and unemployment again, the economy of the nation had quickly shaken their stance in means of national confidence and business opportunities. There were several problems in the economy that were considered the most significant at the time, however the ones that topped the lot were “federal deficit and trade balances” (The economy 1).

                As for the government, President Nixon had made it clear that his first priority was to bring an end to the war in Vietnam. Though he was successful many people criticized his choices regarding the spending of government money, and wished that he would spend it more consciously and effectively. This also took a major role in the development of business. Meaning that because the economy was struggling so much, many business had to lay off works and small businesses were completely destroyed.

                All in all, the economy in the United States during the time suffered as they hit a wave of recession. At this point many people were becoming extremely anxious due to the fact that they had recently come out of a Great Depression and the way things were looking now, was if they would go down that path again. Businesses were not thriving as many foreign producers were beginning to take advantage of the United States markets due to the fact that they would take sales away from American businesses. The electric, automotive, and steel industries also took at hit during this decade.  

 

 

 

Education

 

At first education had been done in schools like normal, however towards the 1960s and 70s, educational T.V became more and more popular. It was seen to cover information that teachers were able to do during the class period. However, as the 1970s began to progress and we moved deeper into the decade, the concept of educational T.V began to decline until it  was uncommon to learn from these educational programs.

                In addition several changes were made to the technological field and advances in  this aspect helped the education of the nation, however, the process of education was still limited. However, there were microscopic computers available to students. Though television program regarding education declined the younger generation spent an ample amount of time around the television and many people feared and argued that television would mar the social and intellectual development of the younger generation.  

                There were several significant events that transpired in the field of education as well, in fact Congress had now deemed it possible for handicapped citizens to have an equal opportunity. Yet there was on devastating event that transpired in this decade known as The Kent State Massacre. This was when four students were shot down by guards carrying arms in their attempt to stem the anti-war demonstrations. This movement was a popular movement that many colleges and universities had begun to take in.  

                There was much transformation in this decade regarding education.

 

Fashion

The 1970's were basically the birth of many fashions, specifically, bell bottom pants came into style, pictured below. Also, mini-skirts for women became popular during the 1970s. Much of the fashion from that time is generally associated with the "hippie" look. Long hair was popular, as were bell-bottoms and tie-die t-shirts. People's jeans would be frayed, another style that is generally associated with hippies. Another style that became popular during the 1970s was afros, which could have been worn by men or women.

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Film and theater

 

Probably the biggest hit during the 1970s was Star Wars, directed by George Lucas.  This movie used some advanced special effects for the time to create what was then a stunning visual science fiction movie. This movie also helped to bring in the science fiction era of movies. During that time, the books had also began to lean towards a science fiction genre, yet this was one of the very first movies that became a hit from the science fiction genre.

Another '70s film from the comedy genre was Animal House, starring John Belushi. In this movie, there are several people in college who continually challenge the administrators, leading to the comedic aspect of the movie. The 1970s were another era of rebellion against the ideals of the former generation, and this movie is a perfect example of this.

 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail came out during the 70s, in 1975. This movie was also a comedy, which in a way can be interpreted as rebellious. It is basically a satire movie about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, which is obviously a very old event. This movie takes this event, and changes it around completely so that it makes for a great comedy, which is completely different than the original story.

 

 Another comedic genius from the time was well known actor and director, Mel Brooks. He released such popular movies as Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. Other of his movies were also great hits, yet not released during the 1970s. Generally, all of his movies are satiric about some famous story or movie. Young Frankenstein is obviously based upon Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, while Blazing Saddles is a parody of numerous western films.

 

Food &  Drink

 

 

During the 1970s, American families would take in meals on a regular basis  (of course), however what they chose to intake depended on several factors including their religious and ethnic, where they lived, and how much money they made. Rich people would tend to travel to restaurants or cocktail buffets on a regular basis when they found it convenient. Poorer/Middle Class citizens would go out occasionally in order to get a treat but it was done in scare intervals as the economy of the time was not so high, so most of the time families would intake classic home-made meals consisting of things like sausages, soups, sandwiches, and Italian make ups as a major piece of the population were immigrants from other countries.   

 

Print Culture

 

Many books that were based around action were written during the 1970s. The 1970s brought in new genres of writing that interested people and captured their imagination. Some comics that started during the 1970s included Garfield, Doonesbury, Howard the Duck, For Better or For Worse, and others that were huge hits during the time. Many famous authors also began to write during this time. These authors included Frederick Forsyth, Peter Benchley, and Steven King. Frederick Forsyth is well known for his books such as Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, and The Dogs of War. Peter Benchley is probably most known for his book, and later film, Jaws. He also had some other best sellers during the 1970s such as The Deep. Steven King had just begun his road to fame during the late 1970s, with one of his better known books being The Dead Zone. Other famous books from the 1970s included The Exorcist, The Third World War: August 1985, and The Silmarillion.

 

Sports &  Games

In the 1970s three world cups (soccer) took place, one in 1970, 1974, and one in 1978. Now though soccer in the US was not extremely popular, the sport did begin to take seed in the states during this time frame. With a new world cup trophy modeled, Americans seemed to finally begin to turn their heads to the sport that was receiving massive amount of support around the globe. In fact, the US would later go on to host a world up in the 90s, however at the time, the 1970s, soccer was beginning to be introduced to the United States as a noble sport and it was during this era that it really began to flourish. However, at the time, the United States would not qualify to even play in the World Cup once more until 1990. This inability to perform on the world stage heated up the Americans, urging them to fight harder in the sport to gain a worldwide reputation.

                From a gaming standpoint, the early 70s served as the golden age for arcade gaming, at the time arcade centers would be filled with people eager to test their skills, and have a good time, one such console that was widely used was the Atari console. Later on in the decade, the first generation of gaming consoles had finally took root, it was here that the true seed of video gaming had begun. One console known as the Odyssey, was able to play several games on the same console, this was significant because this is where the Xbox 360s and Nintendo Wii’s originated from.

 

    

Music

 

Music during the 1970s went through massive changes from the previous generation's music. This was the time that rock and roll really started to become popular.  Bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Grateful Dead, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, and numerous other bands began to usher in the era of rock and roll. Although the only two bands listed that are actually from the United States are Aerosmith and the Grateful Dead, music from all of these bands was widely listened to and loved throughout the world, especially the United States. The music from the 1970s is one of the major things that people use to characterize the decade. When people think of the 1970s, one of the first things that come to the minds of most people is the music that was developed during that era. One of the most famous songs from the decade was Stairway to Heaven, written by Led Zeppelin and first recorded in 1970. There is

 

 

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"The Way We Lived"

 

 

The time where a person was either extremely rich or poor were passing and the people of America were usually in the middle class. They had begun to take a more “fun” and “open” perspective of life and they were all focused on one, have enough money to sustain a living, and also it was a time where fashion played a much more important role that it had before. A lot of people were also addicted to video games/ arcades and spent a majority of their time going to arcades to fulfill their video gaming desires. In addition, a lot of people were becoming more interested into the new era of music that was upon the nation; they would attend these parties and dance with a new style developed to be known as “disco”.

 

 

 

Government & Politics

Beginning in 1969, Richard Nixon took office. His term in office ended short-lived in 1974, after he was found to be involved in a scandal later named Watergate. This is widely regarded to be one of the most significant political events during the 1970s. Nixon's administration was attempting to spy on the Democratic party previous to the election of 1973, in an attempt to gain an advantage over them in the election. Nixon later attempted to cover up the situation which resulted in his impeachment, and eventually, Gerald Ford pardoned him. During the Nixon administration, one thing that Nixon did that was mainly viewed as a good action was the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam.The Vietnam War had turned into a war that served no purpose in the eyes of many Americans.

After Nixon, Ford became president. He continued to remove troops from Vietnam. After a peace treaty had been signed though, North Vietnam made the decision to invade Phuoc Long, thereby prolonging the war.

When Jimmy Carter took office, the Vietnam War was officially over. The main crisis during that time was the energy crisis. Being stereotypically democratic, Carter urged people to conserve energy, and showed that he was doing it too, by doing things like installing solar panels in the White House. During this time, Carter had to bail out Chrysler. Another major issue that Carter ended up having to deal with was the rising inflation rates during the time.

 

 

Leadership

 

As stated before, the first president in office during the 1970s was Richard Nixon. After his impeachment, Gerald ford took office for three years, from 1974 to 1977. During this time, a large majority of the public viewed him as a bad president, the main reason being the fact that he pardoned Nixon. During Ford's term in office, he faced two assasination attempts, both of which failed. He ran again for election in 1976, but was defeated. This was partially due to the fact that as Nixon had been, Ford was also a republican, and the Watergate scandal was still fresh in their minds. Jimmy Carter ran against Ford, most likely winning due to the fact that he campaigned as a person who had nothing to do with Watergate, and promised reform to the country. Carter was a democrat from Georgia, who served as president from 1977 to 1981, concluding the 1970s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Law &  Justice

 

During the 1970s, the courts, lawyers, and lawsuits began to play a much larger role than previously. One of the major issues was the rising crime rate as well as increasing populations in prisons. People were unable to agree about policies regarding the death penalty, and therefore the prison rates continued to rise. Another controversial topic that was heavily discussed in the supreme court was the desegregation of schools. Separate but equal was constantly being discussed, ever since the end of slavery. Therefore, when they brought up the idea of desegregation, it was highly supported, yet also highly disliked by many people. Also, Watergate was a major topic in law and justice. People were constantly debating whether or not Ford should have pardoned Nixon, as well as whether or not what Nixon did was legal or morally right. Woman's rights

 

Religion

 

 

Many Mainline Churches in the United States were beginning to adapt to the times of the nation which was significantly swayed by the Vietnam War. Many people were questioning the point of the war and the benefit we got out of it. The Mainline Churches were also beginning to experiences many cultural changes as well, people were beginning to question the government and this argument played a role on religion. In addition, the question of gender was still in the air and churches had many debates regarding the female populous and what they were able to do in the churches and what they would not be able to do in these churches.  The final and most controversial topic at the time was the sexual alignment of the people of the country. This is because the concept of homosexuality was beginning to take place in the U.S and the fact whether or not this could be allowed because our rights allowed us to pursue happiness, or if it was a morally wrong and against religion. This argument would be in the air of religion for quite some time in the country.

 

 

 

 

 

Political Cartoon

 

Negative Cartoon

 

This political cartoon challenges the course of education at the time. As stated in the Business and Economy section, unemployment at the time was quite high. In addition, college was very expensive at the time and many citizens saw it as a waste of sending their children to college as it costed a lot of money and they would stilll have a difficult time in trying to get a job. So all in all, people challenged both the purpose and effectivness of college education at the time, this of course was partially due to the unemployment numbers at the time.

 

 Positive Cartoon

 

 

This political cartoon, may not necessarily be considered as positive, however it is a good demonstration of the life style of many Americans. During this time, as stated earlier, many people liked to party at Discos, older generations saw this a little vile, however, in the end this cartoon really furthered fact that this dance was extremely addictive and, most importantly resulted in just having a good time.   

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

     The 1970s brought a new face to many aspects of the United States. After World War II, the United States was able to get out of the Great Depression. Suffering terrible unemployment rates beforehand, the war sparked industrial production with in the Untied States once more. The war brought both progress and hope to the people of the United States. From then on, the U.S felt as if they were on top of things once more,however, when the U.S reached the 1970s, there were several factors such as culture, events and leadership that began to reflect the post-WWII America. 

     

     For starters, American culture at the time was very important. Coming out of the war, many things had changed, and I think that the fashion statement really marked the changes culture had taken after World War II. Meaning, that people began to dress more "hippie" and older generations who had lived during the war, frowned upon these trends. Music had also taken a strong swerve and people moved in to more faster paced music such as the music provided by Elvis Presley. Younger people saw this and wanted to imitate him. In addition to culture, events and leadership took a major role. President Nixon was the first president in history to be impeached due to his lack of leadership and this demonstrated the lack of leadership from the World War on. It made Nixon look weak in comparison to FDR who had braved through the war and became extremely renown. The United States was also suffering some hard times in the Economy as well, which made people feel extremely uneasy. After coming out of the war people hoped that they would never, ever return to the darkness of depression, however in the 70s the United States was suffering increased unemployment rates as they began to enter a recession. This entrance showed how post -WWII was run by children who had been alive during the war and depression and probably did not have the best education resulting in the poor results of the countries economy and business. Major events like the World Cup showed how international sport not only helped the relations between other countries but also introduced post-WWII America to the riches of foreign sports such as soccer.

 

     All in all, culture, events, and leadership during the 1970s really represented the post World War II society. Things such as fashion and music changes as well as the state of the economy kind of showed how the young generation during the world war was now having trouble upholding the past reputation of the country.

 

-Sunny Shettigar    

 

 

Culture in the 1970s was a huge influence in the was a large influence in America during the 1970s. People began to think about what they were doing, and began to realize that the Vietnam War was serving no purpose. They questioned the actions of their government and whether or not these actions were morally right or beneficial to the country. These questions are what ultimately led to the rebellious youth of the 1970's. This rebellious youth created books and movies, as well as games and other products, that in a way, were also rebellious and touched on important political topics during the time. The fashion from that time was also a symbol of the rebellious youth. If the ideals of that generation, especially those that were considered hippies, are examined, it is simple to see that all of these ideals were rebellious, and so were the clothes that people wore. Instead of having very professional clothes, people wore skinny jeans, bell bottoms, mini skirts, and other things that would be considered vulgar by the previous generation.

 

Events such as Watergate also added to the strong feelings from this rebellious culture. These events made it easy to see that obviously, the government was doing something wrong, and this is what helped to strengthen the negative feelings against it. Again, people began to question the competence of the Amercian government.

 

Leadership also goes along with the events. Everyone of the Nixon Administration up to the president was involved in this in someway or another, and therefore, people began to think that the whole administration was incompetent. Thankfully, Nixon resigned and left the position to Gerald Ford, who ultimately ended the war in Vietnam, yet still left the economy in bad condition. This further led to resentment of the youth culture. When Jimmy Carter took office, he was smart to aim his campain at the youth generation. He realized that he needed their support to win, and this was the point that the views of this generation started to lean back towards the government.

 

After looking at evidence, it seems obvious that the culture, events, and leadership were heavy influencing factors in the shape of America during the 1970s. With the birth of a completely new culture, ideas, politics, and viewpoints all were changed significantly and were influenced very heavily by this new culture.

 

-Michael Estes

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

"The 1970s: Business and the Economy: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 8: 1970-1979. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010. 

 

Miller, Mary and Teresa Cruce. A 20th Century Timeline: Classroom Use of Instructional Film, Radio, and Television. //http://www.arches.uga.edu/~mlmiller/timeline/1970s.html. 8 June 8, 2010.

 

"The 1970s Education: Overview." UXL American Decades. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, et al. Vol. 8: 1970-1979. Detroit: UXL, 2003. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 June 2010. 

 

"Food Timline ." Popular 20th Centuray Foods . Lynne Olver , 7 March 2010. Web. 8 Jun 2010. http://www.foodtimeline.org/fooddecades.html#1970s.

 

Bone, Martyn. "Soccer." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 7. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 410-411. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 June 2010.

 

Ennis, Lisa A. "Video Games." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 8. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003.     327. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 June 2010.  

 

"The 1970s: Religion: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Vol. 8: 1970-1979. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 June 2010.

 

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