Source: Narrated by Zach Lamb
[MUSIC PLAYING] The 1970s, often known as the forgotten decade, are difficult for historians to categorize. On the one hand, a recession and political scandals shook Americans confidence in their institutions. On the other hand, American culture was vibrant, but occasionally divisive as Americans continued to engage in the politics of identity.
In the early 1970s, the United States remained involved in the Vietnam War. Through his policy of Vietnamization, President Richard Nixon attempted to decrease the number of American soldiers in South Vietnam. But he escalated the conflict in Southeast Asia further by bombing and invading Cambodia.
Throughout the 1970s, the American economy became stagnant and many consumer goods prices increased dramatically. The oil crisis and rising gas prices further contributed to the sense that the American economy was running out of steam. This combination of stagnation and inflation introduced the word stagflation into the American vernacular.
The Watergate scandal and President Nixon's resignation contributed to a constitutional crisis and pessimism towards America's political institutions. These examples make the 1970s seem like a decade in which Americans hopes and optimism for the future steadily eroded. Meanwhile, looking at American society and culture during the 1970s reveals new forms of cultural expression and continued battles over identity politics. The celebration of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 and the creation of environmental agencies and regulations has led some to refer to the 1970s as the environmental decade.
Identity politics also played a role in the busing controversies, which displayed the limits of court mandated desegregation and revealed the inability of the civil rights movement to overcome patterns of residential segregation in American cities. As you continue in the unit, see if you can trace the conflicts over race, gender, the economy, and foreign policy that began in the 1970s. By doing so, you'll see that many Americans were similar to Bill Lawrence. Bill forged his political philosophy amidst growing frustration towards Vietnam and Watergate.
As a politician, he listened to Americans who lost their jobs or faced declining wages. He also had to address fears that the United States was losing its international influence in the wake of the Vietnam War. You might already have an idea about what happens next in American history with the rise of President Ronald Reagan and the culture wars of the late 20th century. The fact that both trends emerge from the conflicts and failures of the 1970s has caused historians to pay closer attention to the forgotten decade.
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