The Major Events and Breakthroughs of the Nineteen Seventies
Jamarha Montgomery
Mrs. Hill
ENG _____
6 March 2009
The Major Events and Breakthroughs of the Nineteen Seventies
The nineteen seventies was a decade that experienced economic crisis, political struggle, feminism, and a rise of subcultures such as the hippies. These events reflected the rising power of baby boomers, which are babies who were born during the post WWII years, who have become adults and made up the majority of the population. Because of this, the decade became a reflection of baby boomers’ power that set the latest trends and influenced every aspect of the society. During the nineteen seventies, there were many events that took place. One major event that took place in 1973 was the oil crisis. It was caused by Arab members of OPEC (organization of the petroleum exporting countries) who announced that they would no longer ship petroleum to the United States and its allies in West Europe and that the price of oil would increase drastically. Because the U.S was now dependent on oil and the prices quadrupled the need for rations, our country went into a recession and suffered massive inflation. (People History par.1) This was a very stressful time for our country because the cost of living had highly increased in such a short amount of time. It was also a reason for prices increasing as much as they have in the present day. Not only did the oil crisis occur, but 1973 was also the year the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War. This was an important time for our country because it had been almost ten years that we had troops in Vietnam and everyone was eager to finally have peace again. Another significant factor of the nineteen seventies was the growth of feminism. Women gained the right to choose when, where, and if they wanted to have children. They gained this right through the famous case of Roe versus Wade, which centered around legalizing abortion (Drucker 77). Women also expanded their involvement in politics and even surpassed men in
Mrs. Hill
ENG _____
6 March 2009
The Major Events and Breakthroughs of the Nineteen Seventies
The nineteen seventies was a decade that experienced economic crisis, political struggle, feminism, and a rise of subcultures such as the hippies. These events reflected the rising power of baby boomers, which are babies who were born during the post WWII years, who have become adults and made up the majority of the population. Because of this, the decade became a reflection of baby boomers’ power that set the latest trends and influenced every aspect of the society. During the nineteen seventies, there were many events that took place. One major event that took place in 1973 was the oil crisis. It was caused by Arab members of OPEC (organization of the petroleum exporting countries) who announced that they would no longer ship petroleum to the United States and its allies in West Europe and that the price of oil would increase drastically. Because the U.S was now dependent on oil and the prices quadrupled the need for rations, our country went into a recession and suffered massive inflation. (People History par.1) This was a very stressful time for our country because the cost of living had highly increased in such a short amount of time. It was also a reason for prices increasing as much as they have in the present day. Not only did the oil crisis occur, but 1973 was also the year the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War. This was an important time for our country because it had been almost ten years that we had troops in Vietnam and everyone was eager to finally have peace again. Another significant factor of the nineteen seventies was the growth of feminism. Women gained the right to choose when, where, and if they wanted to have children. They gained this right through the famous case of Roe versus Wade, which centered around legalizing abortion (Drucker 77). Women also expanded their involvement in politics and even surpassed men in