America in the 1970s

Mukti Patel

Stephanie Gnewuch

Alicia Shiue

Sebastian Kahlstatt

Buisness and Economy

Worst economic time since Great Depression inflation and unemployment increased exports plummeted, imports soared

Productivity of GM, Ford, Chrysler, AMC went down by over 1 million vehicles

Foreign cars were cheaper and smaller when gas was expensive

New companies still emerged Apple – 1976 Nike – 1970

Education

Positive Aspects Overcoming social barriers

more minority students attending formerly all-white schools - greater access to higher education

More women began attending schools for higher education

Negative Aspects Decline in performance of students on standardized tests Decline in number of enrollments after 28 consecutive years of

increase in enrollments

Fashion

Popular fashions for women Miniskirts and very short shorts Ralph Lauren created his 1st design for women – version of

men’s cotton shirt Body tattoos

Popular fashions for men Muscle t-shirt Cotton shirts – tight fitting

Men and Women Preferred unisex look Long, shaggy hair

Film and Theater film industry thrived

more complicated, violent, or frightening stories that normal television could not.

style and mood more realistic tone than films from earlier eras to reflect the

gritty reality of American life.

time when black and women performers gained more roles in film

theater declined Productions including "A Chorus Line," "Annie," and "The

Elephant Man" became major hits in the late 1970s, ending the theater crisis of the 1970s.

Medicine & Health

•The medical and health industries grew rapid

•Technological advances - CAT scan and MRIs

•many Americans still did not have access to health care

•the Supreme Court ruled in 1973 - decision to have an abortion is between a woman and her doctor in the first three months of pregnancy.

•To stop the rising healthcare costs, the federal government developed health plans called health maintenance organizations (HMOs).

•Drug abuse and venereal diseases (STDs) rose while

•AIDS also made its first documented appearance

Print and Media CultureAll forms of Media (Magazines, Newspapers, Comic Books, Television, AM and FM radio, etc.) diversified to appeal to more specific audiences.

Political Scandals such as the Watergate Trials were widely publicized and greatly affected public opinion.

MUSIC

music is oriented against war and violence Disco and Punk were developed in the New York

Underground Punk bands let everyone hear their political

feelings the low expectations were opposed by the 1970’s

booming artists

Sports

Basketball, Football, Baseball, Boxing, Racing, Tennis and Golf brought in the sports entertainment money

Toward the end of the 70’s top athletes demanded as much as $1 Million a year

American people distracted themselves with sports from the major problems in the world

“The Way We lived”

Homosexuals, women, native Americans, elderly and other minorities, received more freedom

The important people, Malcolm X, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated

The baby boomers were growing to adults and had huge influence on the whole country, and their tastes and fads became trends of the decade

Government and Politics

Vietnam War

Triangular Diplomacy

Nixon’s Resignation

Law and JusticeWomen's Rights

Affirmative Action

Gay Rights

Desegregation of Schools and Busing

Religion

•Membership and influence of Mainline Protestant denominations declined, while membership of Evangelical denominations increased

•expressed their anger (much of it toward President Jimmy Carter) over social and cultural questions

•American Jews were disappointed with liberal Protestants and Catholics for not supporting Israel

•“By the end of the decade some conservative voters had fused their religious and political views into partisan political activism to stop the rush of cultural change and promote the political advancement of their economic and political views” (Tompkins).