1970s U.S. History: Civil Rights, Foreign Policy, and Economic Challenges

Affirmative Action

Programs designed to reduce the effects of past discrimination by encouraging the hiring and admission of minorities and women, especially in employment and education, which sparked debates over fairness and equality.

School Busing (1970s)

A desegregation method that transported students across district lines, especially in northern cities, and faced strong resistance from many white communities.

California v. Bakke (1978)

A Supreme Court decision that banned strict racial quotas in college admissions while allowing race to be considered as one factor.

Henry Kissinger

A key foreign policy adviser under Nixon who emphasized practical national interests over ideology and helped shape détente, China relations, and Vietnam negotiations.

Détente

A policy focused on easing Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union through diplomacy and arms control agreements.

Yom Kippur War (1973)

A Middle East conflict in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel, leading the United States to provide military support and increasing global tensions.

OPEC

An organization of oil-producing nations that coordinated oil production and prices, gaining significant economic and political power during the 1970s.

OPEC Oil Embargo

A cutoff of oil exports to the United States in response to American support for Israel that caused gas shortages, inflation, and economic instability.

Philadelphia Plan

A federal policy requiring government contractors to take concrete steps toward hiring minority workers, strengthening civil rights enforcement.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

A federal agency created in 1970 to regulate pollution and enforce environmental laws in response to rising environmental concerns.

Southern Strategy

A political strategy designed to attract white southern voters by appealing to opposition to civil rights reforms and federal intervention.

Rachel Carson

An environmental writer whose book exposed the dangers of pesticides like DDT and inspired the modern environmental movement.

Stagflation

An economic condition marked by high inflation combined with economic stagnation and unemployment that plagued the U.S. economy in the 1970s.

Watergate

A political scandal involving a break-in and a cover-up by the Nixon administration that led to investigations, loss of public trust, and a presidential resignation.

Nixon Tapes (Smoking Gun Tape)

Secret recordings that revealed presidential involvement in obstructing justice and provided decisive evidence during the Watergate scandal.

United States v. Nixon

A Supreme Court ruling that required the president to turn over evidence and limited executive privilege.

Gerald Ford

A president who took office after Nixon resigned, becoming the only unelected president in U.S. history, and who later issued a controversial pardon.

Phyllis Schlafly

A conservative activist who led opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment and helped prevent its ratification.

Jimmy Carter

A former Georgia governor elected as a political outsider who promised honesty after Watergate but struggled with economic and foreign policy crises.

New Right

A conservative political movement that opposed big government, feminism, and liberal social policies, contributing to a rightward shift in politics.

Milton Friedman

An economist who argued that inflation was caused by excessive government control of the money supply and promoted free-market policies.

Malaise Speech

A presidential address warning of a national crisis of confidence caused by economic and energy problems, which many Americans viewed as pessimistic.

Camp David Accords

A peace agreement between Egypt and Israel negotiated by the United States that marked a major diplomatic achievement.

SALT II

An arms control agreement intended to further limit nuclear weapons between the superpowers but never ratified due to renewed Cold War tensions.

Iranian Hostage Crisis

A confrontation in which American diplomats were seized and held for over a year following a revolution, severely damaging U.S. prestige.

Vietnamization

A strategy to withdraw American troops while training allied forces to continue fighting, reducing U.S. casualties but failing to prevent defeat.

Nixon Doctrine

A foreign policy principle stating that the United States would honor current military commitments while avoiding large troop deployments.

Silent Majority

A term describing Americans who supported law and order and opposed protests and social unrest, often invoked to mobilize conservative voters.

My Lai

An incident during the Vietnam War in which American soldiers killed unarmed civilians, intensifying public outrage when exposed.

Kent State University

A campus where National Guard troops killed student protesters during antiwar demonstrations, symbolizing national division.

Pentagon Papers

Leaked government documents showing that U.S. leaders had repeatedly misled the public about the Vietnam War, further eroding trust.

War Powers Act

A law designed to limit the president's ability to deploy troops without congressional approval, passed in response to wartime executive overreach.