The 1970s

 

 

Created By:

 

Alicia 

Mukti 

Sebastian

Stephanie

 

American Studies B3

 

MYP Unit Question: How can the contributions of one person affect the direction of an entire nation?

 

Guiding Question: How did Culture and the Role of the President Shape Post-WWII America?

 

Background Information of the 1970s

 

 

 

• Business & the Economy

     Following the economic boom in the 1960s, the economy of the United States in the 1970s was the worst economic time since the Great Depression. During this decade, costs increased, unemployment soared, and inflation was high. Also, productivity was down, and exports were low, while imports flooded the American market. Foreign goods were sold at lower prices than domestic goods, particularly affecting industries, such as the automobile industry. Because many consumers found foreign cars to be not only cheaper, but also more practical, the import rate rose from 11.4% to 14% while the production of GM, Ford, Chrysler, and AMC plummeted by over one million vehicles. In terms of practicality, foreign energy technology was more advanced, causing them to be able to create smaller cars, which had higher mileage per gallon of fuel. Thus, U.S. carmakers began to create more downsized vehicles to be able to compete in the market.

     Despite the downbeat economy of the 1970s, new companies managed to emerge and advance. Apple was formed in early 1976 by Steve Jobs and Ron Wayne. Similarly, Nike was created in 1970 by Philip Knight, a runner at the University of Oregon. Other companies progress, such as Wal-Mart and Microsoft. By the end of the 1970s, Microsoft was recognized as the leader in software development. Likewise, by 1979, Wal-Mart opened a total of 252 stores, planning to add 60 stores per year.  

• Education

     Like other aspects of the 1970s, education was an aspect that faced both setbacks and growths. One positive aspect of education during the decade was that more minority students started to attend formerly all-white schools, later giving them greater access to higher education. In addition to minority races overcoming social barriers in education, women did so in all levels of academics, as well. This occurred as more females began to attend schools for higher education for the first tim

     On the other hand, some of the setbacks included a decline in performance of students on standardized tests and fewer enrollments. From the years 1965 to 1978, there was a significant decline in the scores on standardized tests. College graduates of the 1970s were entering an economy with fewer jobs prospects due to a postwar period, causing many people to drop out. As a result, college enrollments rose less than two percent between 1972 and 1974, leading to two years of decline in enrollments in 1975 and 1976 after twenty eight consecutive years of increasing enrollments. 

• Fashion

          Fashion is a cultural aspect that is always changing, which is exemplified in the span of the 1970s, as fashion evolved for both men and women. During the beginning of the 1970s, the popularity of the miniskirt continued to grow, just as hot pants, or very short shorts, became a fashion sensation. Also during this time, Ralph Lauren premiered his first design for women, which was a women’s version of a men’s cotton shirt. This decade was a time when a unisex look was very popular as both men and women enjoyed dressing in the unisex T-shirt and jeans look in the high school and college environment. Along with the unisex choice for clothing, the shag haircut becomes the common hairstyle for both men and women. As a result, the weekly haircut for most men ends, and barbers begin to lose business as more men chose to keep their hair long.

            During the final years of the decade, however, there is another turning point in fashion, as men and women’s fashion begins to divert again, away from the unisex style. Platform sandals and high boots become the hot new choices in women’s footwear, as men begin to reroute away from high-platform shoes. The long hair fashion changes for women, as curls turn into the new trendy look, however, the long hair stays fashionable for men. In the late 1970s, a new emphasis is placed on body building, typically for men, so the muscle shirt becomes a unique fashion statement. Lastly, body tattoos become in style among young women as they see celebrities starting to get them. 

 

 

• Film & Theatre

          Despite losing viewers to television in the 1960s, the film industry rebounded and thrived throughout the 1970s, as it told more complicated, violent, or frightening stories that normal television could not. In the 1970s, two trends in movie-making grew more prominent; one being that film began to be viewed as an art, and filmmakers started creating intellectually challenging films; the other being that major studios continued making “spectacular films that drew huge audiences,” which later coined the term “blockbusters.”  The style and mood of film in the 1970s had a more realistic tone than films from earlier eras. Commercial excesses and conceits of the 1950s and 60s were replaced with the gritty, ugly reality of American life.

      Throughout the 1970s, black performers gained more roles in film. Not only did they star in all-black movies, they starred with major white performers too. Women too, gained more roles, but writers, directors, and producers often found it difficult to depict women outside their traditional roles of wives, mothers, secretaries, nurses, prostitutes, etc. Notable films from the 70s include "A Clockwork Orange," "The Exorcist," "The Godfather," "Jaws," "Rocky," "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," "Saturday Night Fever," "Shaft," and "Star Wars." 

          Unlike film, theater declined in the early 1970s due to the “artistic explosions” that accompanied the 1960s. By the time the 1970s came around, there seemed to be little that had not been tried or seen. Because of this, Off-Broadway theater became the place where unusual and experimental plays were written. A producer, Joseph Papp kept an eye out for potential in Off-Broadway works, and discovered many at the annual “Shakespeare in the Park” Festival he established, including "A Chorus Line," which brought the Broadway musical back to life. Other productions, including "Annie" and "The Elephant Man" became major hits, thus ending the theater crisis of the 1970s.

 

                           

 

• Medicine and Health

          "The medical and health industries grew rapidly during the decade to become second only to the military in size and cost” (Pendergast). Technological advances like the CAT scan and MRIs made their way into the medical field. Despite these advances, many Americans still did not have access to health care, and health problems like heart disease, cancer, and stroke, rising healthcare costs, and philosophical issues of life and death (such as abortion) sprung up throughout the decade. Those philosophical issues are debated up to this day, but the Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that the decision to have an abortion is one between a woman and her doctor in the first three months of pregnancy. To stop the rising healthcare costs, the federal government developed health plans called health maintenance organizations (HMOs). In response to the health problems, many Americans began exercising to improve their personal health.

          Drug abuse and venereal diseases (STDs) such as syphilis also rose in this time, while Lyme disease and Legionnaires' disease appeared for the first time. AIDS also made its first documented appearance in the 1970s and swine flu continued to be an unpredictable epidemic.

• Print Culture/Media Culture

     The Media was largely influenced in the 70s by the changing society.  Television, newspapers, magazines, comic books, and AM and FM radio all began to cater to a variety of audiences about a variety of topics.  For example, a maganine called Ms. was stared in 1972 that is written by women for women about a variety of current, relevant social topics (Phelan).  Additionally, many conservative groups bought up cheap newspapers, radio frequencies, televisions stations, etc. to promote and publish their own ideas and concerns.  More adult media included more sex, drugs, and violence as the social culture changed to be more open and accepting of such activities.  Popular genres for television entertainment included sitcoms and comedy and movies reminescent of past American eras such as Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons.  Comedy and nostalgic series offered relaxing relief form the burdens and depressing realities of the difficult social, political, and economic burdens of the time.  The Media also played an important role in revelaing the politcal corruption of the government during this time.  There was a rise in what was called "Gonzo Journalism," a term used to describe young amibicious journalists'  whose reporting was often very personal and focused on images and celebrities (Phelan).  However, this style of journalism was rather controversial, aggrivated by the drug and alcohol abuse of many of its journalists.  Nonetheless, such journalists and more traditional journalists revealed to the public much of the misuse of power in Washington and oversees in the Vietnam War.  (Unless otherwise noted, all information in this paragraph taken from Harris-Fain.)

• Sports &  Games

       

In the sports section of the 1970’s a big step was taken and the athletes took themselves freedom in case of how much they get paid and they could put themselves free for auction on the trademarket. The owner of the team was not deciding anymore who went where exactly but the highest bidder got the player, this was also deciding how much a player earns, and these number were rising rapidly, more for the top athletes but for everyone overall. In the mid of the decade the players of the NBA earned $109000 on average and at the end of the 1970’s even 50% more and a few earned up to $1 million. Mohammed Ali earned $2.5 million in the 1970’s leading the sports genre in income. In the 1970’s sports was where the entertainment money in television came from. In 1974 the first black person became president of a Baseball team and women were still not fully accepted in the sports. When the male winner of the US open got $25000 the female winner only got $10000 and overall the women sports were not as liked in television as the male athletes. Some women made attempts to compete in male groups, some succeded, but some only partially did.

Violence in the sports became bigger as well in the decade. Players were more aggressive and there were injuries happening. Two examples are in the NBA when the captain from the Houston was knocked out with several injuries to his head and a blow that made a heavyweight boxer proud, he could not play for the rest of the season and in a football game where during a legal play a wide receiver was tackled to the floor so badly that his neck bones fractured and dislocated that he was paralized for the rest of his life. There were even books written about the violence acts in the sports to give the american people a different view on it.

The olympic games of 1972 were making the US proud in some aspects but with a lot of the decisions from the reverees the people and the players were not happy. They felt cheated against. In Basketball and boxing but were happy the major success in swimming where the US won almost every gold medal there was.

In the 1976 Olympic games the US was only second in overall medals behind the soviet union again and only had 34 gold medals. They did not have success in many of the competitions again.

 

• Music

      The 1970’s were full of surprises. After not being expected to bring anything new in the music world, the 70’s innovated disco and punk, next to all of the great aritst and groups that came out big. Then adding to it, the baby boomers that were becoming adults or already were giving the new styles and artists a big audience and a lot of support, as well as making this part of the new lifestyle. Legends like The Beatles, The Who, Abba, The Rolling Stones, The Temptations and many more brought out songs that are said to be wonders in music making. Besides the glorious happenings and the newcomers, there were losses that could not have been prevented. Glamorous artists Jimmi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, tragically also 11 fans at a The Who concert, who were trampled to death when the crowd rushed to unassigned seating. Goerge Harris organizes a concert for victims of starvation in Bangladesh. The NY underground was huge and also the birth place of what was not expected, the disco and punk music. There was not a dominant music genre present but rock with all of its variations to all directions was played by most of the bands. The song Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen is putting genres of classic, rock, pop and a little of many genres together, making this maybe not a song everyone wants to hear every day or at all, but it represents the decade. Overall in the decade the songs were talking about love, political and social protest and against the war and violence. The music by talking about those aspects set the baby boomers that were becoming adults up to be wild and having a set mind about politics and the governement, this was also basically deciding the elections. With the social rage and rage against politics the nation started to party more and also more uncontrolled, this brought up more drugs in the party scene and also the artists were under more pressure and had higher risk of dying of drugs.

• "The Way We Lived"

       In the 70’s there was first of all new freedom coming along the path for women, homosexual, native americans, chicanos, the elderly, the handicapped and other minorities. With the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, along with the Vietnam war and the economic breakdown or more skyrise in costs and interest rates, setting a bad mood, the maturing baby boomers from the 50’s and 60’s were very influenced by what was happening on the street and those were the people that created a lifestyle trend for the american people in the 1970’s with the music and behavior they had. Against the and against the politics, these young adults were representing the future of american. Also the decade was a counter era to the 60’s with back then jobs and ressources the 70’s were an era with less ressources and one of enjoying the freedom they have making this a cultural trend. Even though the whole thing with peace and protest against the governemnt and their politics was very well supported, many of the singers were vanishing, due to the drugs that were on the market or pressure that was on them.

 

• Government & Politics

     Between the Watergate scandal and the misuse of power by Nixon, the CIA, and other government agencies to suppress criticism by wiretapping, montinoring mail, blacklisting, and breaking and enerting into private property in order to ascertain information, and a surge in lobbying in Congress, the American people became very disillusioned with their government in the 1970s.  This lead to only 50% voter participation in the 1976 election and "the lowest voter participation in 36-years" in 1978.  In fact, according to a national survey conducted in 1975 69% of Americans felt they were regularly lied to by their government in the last ten years.  Additional surveys revealed that only 15% of voters trusted Congress in 1978, starkly contrasting the 66% in 1966.  Additionally, due to America's struggling economy, many white middle and upper-class voters felt that the generous welfare programs of the 60s were unfair because they were struggling financially as well as the poor class that was becomming increasingly black and fatherless.  This lead to an overall move towards more conservative legislation in this time (Borden)  This was also a reflection of the racial tensions that still remained, even though the civil rights movement had ended.   

     America’s international politics during the 1970s were demoralizing as well.  Nixon began his term by improving relations with the Soviet union and China, called Triangular Diplomacy. With the Soviet Union, he negotiated the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) to limit offensive nuclear weaponry, and the Antiballistic Missile Treaty to limit defensive nuclear weaponry, and also negotiated trade agreements. With China by 1971 he had reopened trade, later voted to admit Communist China to the UN, and in February of 1972 he made a diplomatic tour to China. All of these negotiations soothed the tensions between these powers for a majority of the decade.  The major foreign political controversy Nixon had to settle was the Vietnam War. By this time, most of the public wanted the war to end. Knowing that immediate removal of U.S. without a peaceful negotiation would have been disgraceful to the United States, so Nixon began a policy of "Vietnamization" to slowly turn the war over to the South Vietnamese. This failed as well because the South Vietnamese army was disorganized, and although generously armed by the United States, terrible in the field. Afraid that complete failure in Vietnam would damage his chances for re-election, Nixon began a series of intense air-strikes in North Vietnam in 1972, but that did not succeed and only lead to many American pilots being taken as prisoners of war. Nixon also attempted to get the North Vietnamese and the South Vietnamese to agree to some sort of peace agreement, but the South Vietnamese found the North Vietnamese proposal unfair, and the north Vietnamese were reluctant to sign because they knew their success was imminent. Finally in 1973, some sort of agreement was signed, but the Vietnamese ignored such agreements.  Around this same time Nixon found himself deep in the politics of the Watergate scandal. Some men where caught breaking into the Democratic Presidential Nominee and the Democratic National Party Chairman June of 1972. As the trials of these men continued through 1973, witnesses began exposing how the government had abused its power to harass dissenters and critics and spy on them. Towards the end of the trials the Senate and Supreme Court was made known the existence of a recording system in the White House, that ended up proving Nixon's association with the scandals.  At first Nixon suggested only giving to the court prepared manuscripts of the tapes, but finally he released the tapes. Before the Senate could vote to impeach him, Nixon announced on the 8^th of August 1974 in a televised news announcement that he would resign, the first American president to do so. After Nixon resigned in 1974, foreign relations began to take a turn for the worse. In 1975 Congress refused to send additional military to Vietnam, leading to South Vietnam’s defeat. In that same year Ford invaded Cambodia to try to remove the communists from that area, but in the end that was unsuccessful as well due to lack of support.

•  Law & Justice

   Many major, contriversial judicial decisions were made during this time.  Most of them were a reflection of America's changing society and power in the world.  Although the civil rights movement's momentum peaked in the 1960s, many racial divisions still existed (Bondi).  This is exemplified by the dissent expressed by many to desegregate schools and use busing to bring minority groups into schools in areas with a majority of a white population (Merriman).  This was also aggrivated by the fact that most neighborhoods were still either prodominately white or prodominantly some other minority group, and so busing was quite inconvenient (Merriman).  There also was criticism of Affirmative Action due to the "University of California Regents v. Bakke" Supreme Court case in which Allan Bakke argued that my reserving seats in its Medical School for minority groups, his application was unjustly denied even though he had better marks (Merriman).  Out of the civil rights movement came a revival of the women's rights movement, which in this time sought to obtain complete equality for women under the law and the right to choose to have an abortion (Sterett).  They were widely successful and in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court trial, it was determined that  a woman could abort in the first trimester (Sterett).  Towards the end of the 70s there was also a revival or the gay rights movement, especailly in response to gospel vocalist Anita Bryant's crusade to repeal anti-discrimination legislation in some areas for gays and lesbians (Rose).  Additionally, an escalating crime rate during the time lead to a renewed public interest in the rights of the accused and the death penalty (Sterett)  Due to new industries and technologies that were heavily polluting the environment there was also an increased concern for the environment, leading to Nixon's establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which helps enforce government regulations on air and water quality and searches for viable alternative energy options (Merriman).  Many of these contriversial issues debated in the 70s are still major areas of debate today, and therefore political platforms and legislation are chosen carefully.

(Unless otherwise noted, all information contained in these two paragraphs taken from Bondi.)

• Religion

      Membership and influence of Mainline Protestant denominations declined throughout the 1970s, while membership of Evangelical denominations increased. “The public became familiar with the phrase born-again in the presidential election of 1976 when Jimmy Carter...introduced conversion theology to the general public” (Tompkins). The increased number of Evangelicals moved into the public eye as they expressed their anger over social and cultural questions including abortion, gay rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment. Much of this anger was directed toward President Carter. The growth of Evangelicals was partly due to the growing popularity of television ministries.

     After the Arab-Israel War of 1967 American Jews increasingly identified themselves with Israel, and when frontline Arab states attacked Israel on Yom Kippur in 1973, American Jews were disappointed with liberal Protestants and Catholics for not supporting Israel, but accepted support from Evangelicals.

 

     “By the end of the decade some conservative voters had fused their religious and political views into partisan political activism to stop the rush of cultural change and promote the political advancement of their economic and political views” (Tompkins).

 

 

James (Jimmy) Carter

 

Where I Live(ed): 

Plains, Georgia

Website: Official White House Biography

 

Date of Birth:

October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia

Date of Death:

Still alive

 

Political Views:

Democratic party member

 

Religious Views:

Follower of the Baptist faith

 

Years Served as President:

1977-1981

 

Occupations:

Farmer, Humanitarian, Governer and Senator of Georgia, President of the United States

 

Interests/Hobbies:

Carpentry

Writing

Building Houses

Hunting

Fly Fishing

 

Education: 

Graduated from Plains High School in 1941

Graduated from U.S. Naval Academy in 1946

 

Interesting Fact:

Jimmy Carter recieved the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002

 

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (at home) included:

Political

• Reducing Government Spending Waste:  As president he pushed many reforms within the Whitehouse.  He reduced the Whitehouse staff by a third.  He put expensive new military artillary o"n hold."  He "canceled" fourteen unnecessary government projects (called pork-barrels), and he "required cabinet officers to drive their own cars to work."  (Bondi)

•  

  Creating a Government Energy Policy: As the oil shortage crisis escalated during his term, Carter realized that America was too dependent on foreign oil.  In several speeches he encouraged the American public to be more environmentally-minded and energy-efficient, and in Jan 1977 he signed energy proposals to aid the crisis.  (Borden)

  
• He had to Inspire and Uplift Disollutioned America:  During his presidency the poor economy was very disheartening to many Americans (Borden).  In addition, the corrupt political activities of Nixon and others also caused many Ameircans to loose their trust in their government (Bondi).  He needed to unite and encourage the American people (Borden).  He had hoped his speech titled "The Crisis of Confidence" given on July 15, 1979 would do just this, but unfortunately many took his social criticisms as negative and unnecessary (Borden).

 

Social

• The Leadership Crisis: The early 1970s in America was tainted by scandal, one of the most famous being the Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon. Americans grew to distrust its government and leadership. Ending this leadership crisis was one of President Jimmy Carter’s goals, and he dedicated much effort to proving that he was a people’s president. Despite his efforts, in August of 1980, the approval rate for Carter was only 22 percent (he became much more widely admired as a former president, as he worked, and still is working, for human rights and peace around the world).

• Supporting Blacks and the Women's Movement: President Carter was generally sensitive to and supportive of politically active blacks and women. A number of blacks served in the Carter Administration. He also gave considerable support to the women's movement. "He objected to child care centers and abortioni, and Congress, supported by the president, Secretary Califano, and the Supreme Court, restricted the use of public funds for abortions" (Kirkendall).

 

Economic

• reduced number of exports and increased costs and unemployment:
  • Reduced number of exports causes many people to lose jobs, causing the national unemployment rate to soar. This increase in unemployment resulted in increased costs as there was less spending in the market.
• decreased productivity of auto industry:
  • Reduced employment resulted in less people buying cars, causing the major car companies, GM, Ford, Chrysler, and AMC, to decrease their productivity by a significant amount.
• Coal Strike:
  • This strike lasted 110 days by the United Mine Workers of America because destructive competition caused coal operators to cut prices drastically, many declaring bankruptcy. As a result, producers cut wages significantly to save money. To solve this, Carter passed a bill that declared minimum wage to be $3.35. 
  •  
  •   

During my stint as president, the political, social and economic factors and challenges that I had to deal with (abroad) included:

Political

•  

  Creating Peace in Palastine: In 1978 Carter brought together President Anwar as Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, to form an planned agreement for peace. This negotiation, which after much deliberation was signed in March 1979, was successful for many years in keeping peace in Palestine.  (Bondi)

•  

  Maintaining the Peaceful Relations with the Soviet Union and China Established during the Nixon Administration: During Carter's administration new tensions between America and the Soviet Union began to emerge as well as news of the Soviet Union’s inhumane treatment of dissenters and Soviet Jews became known, but triangular diplomacy (the term that describes the peaceful diplomatic alliance between the United States, the Soviet Union, and China) continued to prosper as SALT II was signed and the US "formally recognized the People’s Republic of China." However, after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Carter cancelled the pending approval of SALT II in the Senate, and authorized the production of new military artillery.(Bondi)

  
• Maintaing Peace in Latin America:  Carter, the first Spanish-speaking president, began his term with a message of peaceful diplomacy, easing tensions in Latin America by negotiating to have the Panama Canal returned to the Panamanians early.  (Bondi)                                             
• Rescuing the American Hostages in Tehran, Iran Until this time, the Iranian shah was very supportive of Western culture, and the United States had peaceful relations with him. However, fundamentalism Muslims were disgusted with his policies and overthrew and exiled him. Despite warning, the shah, who had cancer, was accepted into the U.S., which prompted the revolutionary Iranians to lay siege to the American Embassy in Iran and take its inhabitants as hostages, violating international law. The UN quickly began an economic embargo, and the United States attempted to rescue the hostages, but failed. In a poor political move that cost him the election, Carter did not pursue the issue for fear of endangering the hostages and further angering the Iranians. 

 

Social

•  

  Soviet Union enters Afghanistan:

  When the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan, Carter needed to figure out a way to deal with it because his elections were coming up.  So, he decided to protest against the 1980 summer olympics that were going to happen in Moscow in order to force the Soviet Union out of the middle east.  But, this failed and the Soviet Union stayed in Afghanistan.  This protest was a very controversial one.   
     

• US hostages in Iran:

  The Iranian military went into the US embassy in Iran and took about 70 hostages.  This was a really big social crisis during Carter’s presidency.  He dedicated the next months to helping them and trying to get them back and he eventually did help them be free.

 

Economic

• increased imports outnumbering exports:
  • as more imports entered the US market, exports decreased significantly due to the quality and price of the imports.
• foreign auto competition:
  • Foreign automakers created cars that were far more inexpensive and fuel efficient, which sold much more easily in the US market.

 

Looking back at my presidential career, I had to wear several "hats."  Wearing these different "hats," these were my most significant achievements and failures:

Commander-in-Chief

Achievements:

     The Vietnam War was a highly unpopular war in the United States, and as a result, many tried to avoid being drafted to fight. When Carter took office in 1977, he pardoned those who evaded the draft. He also kept the US military out, for the most part, of other countries’ disputes and withdrew troops from South Korea.

Failures:

     Failing at stopping the Russians from retreating from Afghanistan was a big failure of Carter during his presidency.  He tried to get them to leave the country by protesting the olympics in Moscow that year, but he was not able to stop the olympics and they carried on and Russia stayed in Afghanistan until they wanted to retreat.

Chief Executive

Achievements:

     Congress passed a law in 1978 that created 117 new federal judgeships on the district court and 35 on the circuit courts of appeal. “Carter filled these new posts and other federal judicial vacancies with more women, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans than any previous president” (The Jimmy Carter Administration), but did not make any appointments to the Supreme Court.

Failures:

     The SALT (Strategic Arms Limit) II was basically a treaty between the USSR and the USA that said that neither of them could create more nuclear weapons and reduce the amount they had at the moment, however it was not backed by the US Congress and this became a very big issue because soon after, the USSR entered Afghanistan.

Chief Diplomat

Achievements:

     President Carter oversaw a peace agreement called the Camp David Accords between Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat. The Camp David Accords ended a 31 year state of war between Israel and Egypt. He also negotiated with opposing sides in Nicaragua, Ethiopia, North Korea, and Haiti, and his Administration improved relations with China, although breaking official ties with Taiwan in the process.

     Like the Johnson, Nixon, and Ford Administrations, Carter encountered difficulties concerning the Panama Canal Treaties. The Treaties aimed to give control of the Panama Canal to Panama by the year 2000. The debate over these Treaties raged for nearly eight months before defenders of the Treaties, including President Carter, won.

     On November 4, 1979, the American embassy in Tehran, Iran was seized and its staff taken hostage. Carter tried to free the hostages without military action; two days before Carter left office, the US and Iran worked out an agreement, and the hostages were freed on January 20, 1981.

Failures:

     Although he was very successful with democracy, he was unable to stop the USSR from going into Afghanistan, which was a very big failure.  He attempted to protest against it but he failed and this was a failure at attempting to spread democracy around the world, not only in the USA.

Ceremonial Head of State

     Carter was well-known in the early days of his presidency as a down-to-earth person. On the day of his inauguration, rather than taking a limousine, Carter and his wife and daughter walked in the inaugural parade to the White House.

Manager of the Economy

Achievements:

     During his time, Carter had to deal with many economic problems including unemployment.  Although this was an issue, he increased the amount of jobs by a large number and decreased the lack of money in the economy.  He also made many efforts to reduce inflation.

Failures:

     Carter inherited many domestic issues from Ford when he took office. Unemployment and inflation were two of the biggest problems. When Carter took office, 7.5% of the American workforce was unemployed. In an effort to stimulate the economy and provide more jobs, he proposed a $23 to $30 billion stimulus package, which Congress passed. But Carter had difficulties deciding whether employment or inflation was a bigger problem, and different programs of this stimulus package were often dropped or created. Many Americans were unsatisfied with his performance.

Party Leader

Achievements:

     He debated with Gerald R. Ford frequently and continued to demonstrate his democratic believes, such as looking at ecology, wanting a well working government, and wanting the racial issue to decrease. He also protected many civil rights during his time as president.

Failures:

     In the presidential election of 1980, Carter struggled to gain a second nomination by his own party in his campaign for reelection. Senator Edward Kennedy challenged him, but Carter was ultimately chosen as the Democratic nominee because there seemed to be no better contenders, though without enthusiasm or optimism.

National Leader

Achievements:

     Carter not only led the country through hard times with Iran and Russia, but also helped the environment during his time as president.  He helped exapand the parks and helped to protect land.  And he helped with the engergy crisis by making a national energy policy.  He also dedicated a lot of his time and energy to helping the hostages when the crisis occured and became a leader in this hard time.

Failures:

     Carter’s life was marked by hard work and integrity, but he was often depicted as a somewhat naïve (yet well-intentioned) president. He had inherited many problems from his predecessors—problems that led to a “leadership crisis” (lack of confidence in leaders)—but failed to end the leadership crisis. He lost the presidency to Ronald Reagan in 1980.

 

Famous Quote by Me

 

 

"We must adjust to changing times, and still hold on to unchanging principles."  --James Carter, Inaugural Address

 

Favorite Quote by Another Historian About Me

 "Perhaps the most representative figure of the decade, James Earl Carter symbolized a new type of American politician, one who fused the traditional values of small-town America to the new global realities of the 1970s."  -- Victor Bondi

Positive Political Cartoon

Due to copyright laws, this political cartoon could not be posted in this wiki, however below is a link to it.

http://cdm.lib.usm.edu/cdm_usm/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/cartoon&CISOPTR=310&CISOBOX=1&REC=1

The cartoon is titled "Going to Grin the Bear to Death" and depicts Carter wearing a raccon-skin hat with a big, toothy, grin in front of a giant grizzly bear with a nuclear weapons symbol on its back.  Behind them is another confused man who considers, "Well, Davy Crockett did it..."  The contemplative man is reflective of how for a brief period of time the American public was hopeful that perhaps such a man of good virtue could in a friendly, peaceful manner effectively fight the great terrors of the world.  Unfortunately this optimism did not last.

Negative Political Cartoon

The cracked eggs in this political cartoon refer to the mess Carter added to in the Middle East. In Iraq, when Hussein was paying the families of Palestinian terrorists $25,000 every time they committed a suicide bombing againts innocent Israeli citizens, Carter responded by not only defending Hussein, but also by fighting to get rid of the sanctions imposed on Iraq by the United Nations. Likewise, in Afghanistan in 1976, Carter signed the approval of funding for anticommunits guerrillas, becoming a cause of many deaths.

 

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/4/5257360_1e08c6d8e8.jpg

 

This political cartoon is of a U.S. military submarine with hippie peace grafitti painted all over it.  In the background, a military officer questions President Carter, "But sir, on an attack sub?"  to which the president replies, "Think of it as camouflage."  This cartoon symbolizes the criticism many felt at the time for Carter's foreign diplomatic policies, while at the same time depicting how rediculous many felt it to be.  

 

Concluding Essay

 

     The 70s was a very trying time for Americans. The country was in recession. Controversial social topics from abortion to desegregation to gay rights were hotly debated. The media was revealing the corruption in the government. The country was fighting the unpopular Vietnam War. Foreign relations were poor. In short, america from a domestic and international perspective was trialsome. Yet out of the turmoil of the 70s modern America was born. The culture and role of the president in this trying time has molded the American culture, values, politics, and day-to-day life into the modern America of today.

     The economy and advancements in technology was particularly important in in shaping modern culture in that it affected the everyday life of the average American, most of whom are still alive today. In terms of business and the economy, the US progressed in that carmakers strived to create more fuel efficient cars and cars of higher quality that could be purchased at cheaper prices because of the destructive foreign competition. Today, there is a great emphasis placed on fuel efficiency of cars, which essentially began in the 1970s. Yet on the other hand healthcare issues escalated in the 1970s, despite huge technological advances like CAT scans and MRIs, and more self-awareness about sickness. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, & rising healthcare costs sprung up in the 70s. It was during this time that the federal government created HMOs to help Americans with healthcare problems—a system that is still used today. Additionally, all forms of the media including magazines, newspapers, television, and AM and FM radio underwent a radical transformation as each station, newspaper, and magazine began to attract a particular audience, so instead, for example of a family sitting down and watching the television, the parents would watch one station in one room and the children another. Drugs, sex, and alcohol also became more openly discussed, often tainted public opinion of politicians and other important figures such as rockstars. 

     In opposition to the materialistic glitz and glamour of the 1950s and 60s, the 70s media, arts, and music were full of the hard, gritty, down-to-earth reality of American life after World War II. This hard life was relacted in many major films. As the film industry grew, it had an increasingly large impact on American culture, depicted with disaster films of the 70s, including The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. These disaster films reflected the horrors of World War II, yet relayed an optimistic message that it is possible to survive with self-belief and right, moral choices—a theme we carried over into our culture today. Music also impacted American culture in that almost every artist or band was singing or screaming about their hate of war and violence or on the other hand about love and peace. Some artists even had charity concerts to benefit organisations or victims of hunger, poverty and war. However, the rage in the many songs inherently promoted illegal drug use and crime. Many judicial controversies erupted at this time because of this such as the rights of the accused, overcrowding of prisons, and even the death penalty. Due to the rising crime on the streets, in many ways the increased broadcasting of sporting events was very popular. The rise in brutality of the professional sports genre represented the thoughts of the american people about their country and its internactions with other countries. The Vietnam war was not liked with its brutality and unhumanity. Also the cold war which seemed to never end and the people grew tired of it. 

     The Media was also very influenceial in revealing the political corruption of the time, particularly in the Nixon administration. Watergate and other illegal activities by politicians were broadcasted and written about despite the Nixon administration's also illegal efforts to smite criticism. This to a great extent made the American people loose confidence and trust in their government. In this way Carter was a hopeful image for many of a true, honest American, but since his charisma and peaceful intentions could not solve the international dilemas of the day, particularly the crisis with the American hostages in Tehran, by the end of his term he was very unpopular. Similarily he also was not successful in helping solve the economic isssues of the time. Although he embodied the democratic party's chief interests by bringing more minority groups into the governemnt, taking environmental measures to help aid the energy crisis, and avoided military conflict, in the end his indecision on how to handle such issues often portryaed him as naive and ill-equipted to be the president. After such a president, Americans became more conservative for a while, voting in Reagen, a republican, over Carter with his extremely peaceful-minded foreign policy.

     The 70s were also marked by a renewed interest in social issues. More philosophical issues were brought to attention with the rise of Evangelical denominations in the 70s. Many Evangelicals expressed anger over debates of gay rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and abortion. President Jimmy Carter, a devout Christian himself, was often caught in the middle of such issues because he generally supported the women's movement, yet also adhered to his own Christian beliefs. Gay rights are still widely debated in our culture today, but it was the 70s that gave this debate nationwide recognition. Similarily whether or not a woman has the right to have an abortion was greatly debated then with the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling that a woman could have an abortion in her first trimester, and still is today. However, the Equal Rights Amendment debate to ensure equal rights reguardless of gender was also widely publicized in the 70s, but has since lost public attention. Also, the debate over affirmative action that still continues today had its roots in the 70s with the Supreme Court trial in which Allan Blakke sued the University of California for giving less-qualified minorities admission to its medical school. Similarily education as a whole was transformed as it started to open up to other races and women in the 1970s, and with the desegregation of schools they became more interracial. Also, more women started to attend higher education, or college, in hopes of becoming more independent. As a whole, education became more accessible, as it is today.

     The trialsome 70s touched every aspect of American life, leaving behind a legacy of the importance of individual thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. As the teens from this era have matured into adults, their memories and experiences during this decade have come with them, emphasizing individuality. Due to these values, many modern historians now refer to America as more of a fruit salad intead of the traditional "melting pot," for modern American's value on the individual, instead of mindless uniformity.

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