The Tumultuous 70s
President Jimmy Carter once said, “We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles.” This quote perfectly describes the tumultuous events that occurred during the 70s. People had to reevaluate their principles and make life changing adjustments. Scandals, massacres, and controversial court hearings are just a few of the many happenings that occurred and this is just a glimpse of the chaos the decade of the 1970s had to bring. The Webster Dictionary defines tumultuous as involving a lot of confusion, violence, and disorder. The tumultuous 70s brought turmoil and discord. Ranging between the Watergate Scandal that resulted in the resignation of President Nixon, to the Supreme Court decision on abortion, and even including the Munich Massacre that killed 11 Israeli Olympians. One journalist described this decade as "the sober, gloomy seventies", and they were just that. This decade was nothing short of a tumultuous few years.
A tumultuous event that still lives on as a debate in our country today was the Roe V. Wade Supreme Court case. It began on January 22, 1973, when the Supreme Court ruled that women have a right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to choose whether they terminate a pregnancy or not. A steamy debate on morals and personal rights spread like wildfire across the country. As explained by Sarah Weddington, “This overturned a Texas law making all abortions (except those performed to save the life of the woman) illegal. . .” (Weddington par. 1).
The spark that ignited this controversy began in the early 1960s. Abortion was a banned and forbidden practice unless the mother’s life was endangered. As a result of abortions being illegal, it led many women to seek black market a...
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...doned Richard Nixon for any of the federal crimes he might have committed in office. (111) It was an effort made by President Ford to help end and move on from the Watergate scandal. After many months of heated debate and investigation, the tumultuous scandal came to a close.
The 70s were a worldwide decade of chaos, violence, and debate. Lives were lost in the Munich Massacre, women gained the right to abort a child, and the controversial Watergate scandal stunned the nation. Moral standards were reevaluated causing a trivial debates across the world. Each event that took place has greatly contributed to where society stands today. Turmoil and tumult have created a platform for this nation to grow on. President Nixon explained it best when he said, “Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.”
The 1960’s was a time society fantasized of a better world. However, the horrors of the Vietnam War soon became evident; the mass amounts of death occurring because of the war became a reality. It created a “movement”, especially in American colleges, in order to stand up for what they believed to be “right”. By 1970, many Americans believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake, however there were also various individuals becoming increasingly critical of the student antiwar movement
The Sixties, by Terry H. Anderson, takes the reader on a journey through one of the most turbulent decades in American life. Beginning with the crew-cut conformity of 1950s Cold War culture and ending with the transition into the uneasy '70s, Anderson notes the rise of an idealistic generation of baby boomers, widespread social activism, and revolutionary counterculture. Anderson explores the rapidly shifting mood of the country with the optimism during the Kennedy years, the liberal advances of Johnson's "Great Society," and the growing conflict over Vietnam that nearly tore America apart. The book also navigates through different themes regarding the decade's different currents of social change; including the anti-war movement, the civil rights struggle, and the liberation movements. From the lunch counter sit-in of Greensboro, N.C. in 1960 and the rise of Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Black Power movement at the decade's end, Anderson illustrates the brutality involved in the reaction against civil rights, the radicalization of some of the movement's youth, and the eventual triumphs that would change America forever. He also discusses women's liberation and the feminist movement, as well as the students' rights, gay rights, and environmental movements.
The 1970’s was an era of political, environmental, and technological awareness. This era provided the American people with information and inventions that would positively shape the future of the United States. Awareness brings about optimistic thinking and change. This is exactly what happened in the 1970’s. Political awareness brought about accountability for the government and politicians. Environmental awareness brought about consumer and governmental accountability in energy usage. Inventions in the 1970’s were the platform for technology age that Americans currently rely on daily.
In the duration of one year, 1968, the American national mood shifted from general confidence and optimism to chaotic confusion. Certainly the most turbulent twelve months of the post-WWII period and arguably one of the most disturbing episodes the country has endured since the Civil War, 1968 offers the world a glimpse into the tumultuous workings of a revolution. Although the entire epoch of the 1960's remains significant in US history, 1968 stands alone as the pivotal year of the decade; it was the moment when all of the nation's urges toward violence, sublimity, diversity, and disorder peaked to produce a transformation great enough to blanket an entire society. While some may superficially disagree, the evidence found in the Tet Offensive, race relations, and the counterculture's music of the period undeniably affirm 1968 as a turning point in American history.
The 1960s was a decade overloaded with signifiant life changing events. From Martin Luther King Jr. to the Vietnam War, the reign of Muhammad Ali and the Beatles reaching to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the moon landing. The result of these history changing events: a new culture emerging at the beginning of the Vietnam war in the early 60s. A radical movement would start to take off called Popular Culture. First witnessed after the Industrial revolution when amusement and entertainment got more and more appealing to society, the 60s was an era when everything changed and nothing would be the same again.
As the 1960s dawned on America, the bald eagle faced unprecedented threats from afar while facing a new internal struggle. As America continued their battle with the Soviet Union, it also saw a clash amongst its people. Terror was brought to the hearts of many as America was on the brink of a Nuclear Holocaust. The 60s conveyed an exploration of the universe beyond earth. A race between Superpowers America and the Soviet Union, led to the first man to ever walk the moon. Not all was bad in the 60s, people would rejoice in many new dance styles that were on the rise. With technology becoming more advance, many TV shows that portrayed American life were being aired. Life in America seemed great as it was disciplined by a great leader, John F. Kennedy. Sadly, with the loss of a great leader Americans became distraught. During the 1960s in cultural and political movements and musical movements, Americans were rebellious, enterprising, and impulsive.
Although 1969, was the end of a significant decade, it held possibilities and hope for a new prosperous 10 years. Still in the midst of what was seen to many as the most pointless American war, the young generation especially was desperate to enforce a change. Change was a common theme of the 1960’s, deriving from movements such as the civil rights movements, the second feminist wave, a social revolution, and the anti-war movement. In addition, technology in America was at one of its highest peaks. Events such as the Space Race against the Sov...
It seems impossible that I have lived through so many decades! I have lived through decades from the thirties to the sixties, and there are many similarities between the two decades. In both decades democrats gained control in the political arena. Both decades were a time of rapid change, socially, economically, politically, and culturally. The population in the United States greatly increased by about fifty-four million people between the thirties and the sixties. Both decades were affected by a war; the 1930’s was greatly affected by WWII, and the sixties was greatly affected by the Viet Nam war. It seems like just yesterday that we began the roller coaster ride of the 1930’s. Why the twenties ended so horribly with the stock market crash, it didn’t seem like the thirties could get any worse, after Black Thursday, but the Great Depression proved that theory wrong.,
No other element of the Women’s Rights Movement has generated as much controversy as the debate over reproductive rights. As the movement gained momentum so did the demand for birth control, sex education, family planning and the repeal of all abortion laws. On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision which declared abortion "fundamental right.” The ruling recognized the right of the individual “to be free from unwanted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the right of a woman to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.” (US Supreme Court, 1973) This federal-level ruling took effect, legalizing abortion for all women nationwide.
The 1970’s are a decade of finding your self. In this decade, there were scandals, sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. The years between 1970 and 1979 were very crazy. In this paper are people that helped shape the 1970’s
Abortion may be one of the most controversial topics in America today. Abortion is defined as “the termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus” (cite dictionary). There are really only two sides on people’s opinion on abortion; pro-life which means abortion should be outlawed and pro-choice which means a woman should be able to decide whether she wants to keep her baby. Thousands of protests and riots have begun due to the fact pro-life activists believe abortion should become illegal. Both sides bring valid points to support their decision that could sway any person’s thoughts. The Roe v. Wade law has allowed abortion to be legal in the U.S since 1973 (Chittom & Newton, 2015). The law “gives women total control over first trimester abortions and grants state legislative control over second and third trimester abortions” (Chittom & Newton, 2015). Ever since the law was put in place, millions of people have tried to overturn it and still
Over the course of the last century, abortion in the Western hemisphere has become a largely controversial topic that affects every human being. In the United States, at current rates, one in three women will have had an abortion by the time they reach the age of 45. The questions surrounding the laws are of moral, social, and medical dilemmas that rely upon the most fundamental principles of ethics and philosophy. At the center of the argument is the not so clear cut lines dictating what life is, or is not, and where a fetus finds itself amongst its meaning. In an effort to answer the question, lawmakers are establishing public policies dictating what a woman may or may not do with regard to her reproductive rights.
Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays, lesbians, and other marginalized people continued their fight for equality (“The 1970’s”). Many Americans, particularly the working and middle class whites responded to the turbulence of the late 1960s-the urban riots, the anti-war protests (“The 1970’s”). This working and middle class whites was tired of being called spoiled hippies and whining protesters they wanted a change (“The 1970’s”). The wars of the 1970s were bloody and brutal some of these wars were, The Cold War, The Vietnam War, The Soviet War in Afghanistan, The 1971 Bangladesh Genocide, The Arab-Israeli Conflict, and many more (“The
In All the President’s Men, 1970’s are portrayed as boisterous times. The 70’s could be described as a continuation of the 1960’s, women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and other marginalized people continued their fight for equality, and the behavior of president Nixon threaten many people’s trust in the good circumstances of the federal government, which can be argued continues to be present till this decade. The country was embroiled in the Vietnam war, which clearly divided the U.S.A. This movie main focus is not just the Watergate scandal but it centers more on the reporters who are trying to get information from the administration. This movie shows scenes such as the working space that really helps you understand these times work environment, with the great sense of urgency, typewriters, and the young secretaries.
Abortion has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)