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Warren Court
This was how long that Earl Warren served as Chief Justice for the U.S. Supreme Court -
New Federalism is Created
A political philosophy established in 1969 by President Richard Nixon to turn over the control of some federal programs to state and local governments and institute block grants, revenue sharing, etc. Political & Economic Event -
Warren Court Ends
A period in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court in which Earl Warren served as Chief Justice. During this time period, the Warren Court effectively ended racial segregation in U.S. public schools, expanded the constitutional rights of defendants, ensured equal representation in state legislatures, outlawed state-sponsored prayer in public schools, and paved the way for the legalization of abortion. They also placed new laws in accordance with the Miranda v. Arizona case. Political Event -
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President Nixon's Vietnamization
A strategy created by the US that aimed to reduce American involvement in the Vietnam War by transferring all military responsibilities to South Vietnam. This was created n hopes of withdrawing US Troops out of the Vietnam war and building up a South Vietnamese defense. A motto created by President Nixon was "peace with honor." Vietnamization was a flawed mess, however, and it ended in January 1973 when the Paris Peace Accords were signed. Political Event -
Pentagon Papers are Released to the Public
The name was given to a top-secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. Military Analyst Daniel Ellsberg, who opposed the Vietnam War, felt the studies should be known by the public, so he photocopied the report and in March 1971 gave the copy to The New York Times, which then published a series of scathing articles based on the report’s most damning secrets. POLITICAL & SOCIAL -
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1970's Important Events
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The Environmentalism Movement Begins
Influenced by Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring, which documented the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides, the movement was created to try to decrease pollution rates. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day, an annual global event, observed on April 22, that celebrates the environmental movement and raises awareness about pollution and ways to maintain a clean habitat. Social & Political Event -
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Invasion of Cambodia
A military campaign done by South Vietnam and the United States in Eastern Cambodia to start the Vietnamization strategy. This move, however, was not liked by Americans, as it resulted in a firestorm of protests and gave the antiwar movement a new rallying point. Political Event -
Kent State Massacre
Protests were going on the Kent State Campus. They had gotten violent, involving lots of vandalism and damaged property. The Ohio National Guard was sent in to stop the protests. Once the guardsmen got to the campus, however, the protestors were still violent, even throwing rocks. The guardsmen were ordered to fire upon the mob; four Kent State University students were killed and nine were injured. Social Event. -
The EPA is Formed
The Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A) was formed in the wake of elevated concern about environmental pollution. The agency conducted a variety of federal research, monitoring, standard-setting, and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection. -
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Detente
This is the name given to a period of improved relations between the United States and the Soviet Union that began tentatively in 1971 and took decisive form when President Richard M. Nixon visited the secretary-general of the Soviet Communist Party, Leonid I. Brezhnev, in Moscow, May 1972. After Summitt III, however, this time of peace between the US and the USSR screeched to a halt, along with Nixon out of office, ended the detente in 1974. Political Event -
26th Amendment is Ratified
This Amendment lowered the legal voting age in the United States from 21 to 18, ending the debate that had been happening since WWII. Political & Social Event -
The S.A.L.T Treaties are Passed
The Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) treaties were signed by the United States and USSR with intentions to restrain the arms race in strategic ballistic missiles armed with nuclear weapons. SALT I was signed in 1972 and SALT II was signed in 1979. Political Event -
President Nixon Visits China
President Nixon made an unexpected visit to Beijing to meet with the communist People’s Republic of China with hopes of re-establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and communist China. The PRC was desirous of another ally in its increasingly tense relationship with the Soviet Union and certainly welcomed the possibility of increased U.S. & China trade. Political Event -
Equal Rights Amendment is Passed
The amendment was to provide for the legal equality of the sexes and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex. Under the leadership of U.S. Representative Bella Abzug of New York and feminists Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, it won the requisite 2/3's vote from the U.S. House of Representatives in October 1971. In March 1972, it was approved by the U.S. Senate and sent to the states. However, some people, such as Phyllis Schlafly, were strongly opposed to the amendment. Political & Social -
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Watergate Scandal
The scandal began when several burglars were arrested for breaking into the Democrat’s Watergate building. A few days after the break-in, for instance, he arranged to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in “hush money” to the burglars. Once other people in the government started figuring out about Nixon’s plot, he would fire them in hopes of covering his own back. Political Event -
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Watergate Scandal Part 2
Finally, on August 5, President Nixon released the tapes, which provided undeniable evidence of his complicity in the Watergate crimes. In the face of almost certain impeachment by Congress, Nixon resigned in disgrace on August 8, and left office the following day. Gerald Ford replaced Nixon in office, becoming the 38th president. Political Event -
Title IX and the Education Amendments of 1972 are Enacted
Part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, Title IX provides that: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. -
Roe v. Wade Case Finalized
This was a landmark legal decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute banning abortion, effectively legalizing the procedure across the United States. Social & Political Event -
Three Mile Island Incident (Environmental Event)
at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, suffered a cooling malfunction, which caused part of the core to melt in the #2 reactor. The TMI-2 reactor was destroyed. Some radioactive gas was released a couple of days after the accident, but not enough to cause any dose above background levels to local residents. There were no injuries or adverse health effects from the Three Mile Island accident. It's considered to be one of the largest nuclear disasters in US History. -
The OPEC Oil Embargo
The Arab-ran OPEC placed an oil embargo on all countries that supported Israel. The United States also supported Israel, and this was one of the causes of Stagflation, a combination of stagnant economic growth, high unemployment, and high inflation while also starting a nationwide energy crisis since the nation relied heavily on oil. Economic Event -
War Powers Act is Effective
This is a congressional resolution designed to limit the U.S. president’s ability to initiate or escalate military actions abroad, requiring the President to notify Congress after deploying armed forces, and limited how long units can remain engaged without congressional approval. -
The Endangered Species Act is Enacted
The act provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the habitats in which they are found while also prohibiting any action that causes a "taking" of any listed species of endangered fish or wildlife. Environmental & Social -
Microsoft is Founded
Childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the computer software company in Albuquerque, Nex Mexico. -
The National Organization of Women forms a Political Action Committee
This organization was made up of small group of feminists who were dedicated to actively challenging sex discrimination in all areas of American society. Betty Freidan was one of the co-founders. The National Organization of Women (N.O.W) created a political action committee that supports politicians who share the organization’s goals. Social & Political Event -
Saturday Night Fever Releases, Making Disco Culture Popular
The American drama film helped make the Disco culture go from a New York City urban gay culture thing to mainstream culture. Saturday Night Fever's soundtrack produced numerous Top 10 hits and the album sold over 15 million copies. The vibrant sound and energetic dance moves of Disco provided young people with an escape from what film critic Roger Ebert called “the general depression and drabness of the political and musical atmosphere of the seventies.” Social Event -
Love Canal Crisis
It was a small neighborhood in Niagra Falls, New York, that was discovered to be sitting atop 21,000 tons of toxic industrial waste that had been buried underground in the 1940s and '50s by a local company. By 1978, the toxic waste affected properties, and many families had to sell their homes and move elsewhere. It’s considered to be one of the worst environmental tragedies of all time. -
Camp David Accords are Signed
A series of agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin following nearly two weeks of secret negotiations at Camp David, the historic country retreat of the president of the United States. 39th U.S.President Jimmy Carter brought the two sides together and the accords were signed, stabilizing the fractious relations between Israel and Egypt. Political Event -
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Iranian Hostage Crisis (Political Event)
a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. It was an effort to end America’s interference in Iranian affairs and to raise anti-American revolutionary leader Ayatollah Rulloh Khomeini’s international profile. The students set their hostages free on January 21, 1981, just hours after President Ronald Reagan delivered his inaugural address. Many historians believe that the hostage crisis cost Jimmy Carter a second term as president.
