Chronicle+of+the+Years+1970-1979

//** Continued American Upheaval **// //** Sustained Cultural Revolution and Growing Backlash in the 1970s **//

** 1970 **


 * President Richard Nixon Signed the //National Environmental Policy Act// into Law**


 * January 1, 1970:**

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon; U.S. Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson, D-Washington**


 * [|HistoryLink.org: Nixon Signs NEPA Into Law, January 1, 1970]**


 * [[file:Nixon-Signs-NEPA-Into-Law-1JAN1970-Summary.pdf]] HistoryLink.org Summary of NEPA's impact**


 * [|President Richard Nixon's Remarks About Signing the National Environmental Policy Act, January 1,1970]**


 * [|President Richard Nixon's Statement, January 1, 1970]**


 * "It is particularly fitting that my first official act in this new decade is to approve the National Environmental Policy Act." **


 * ---President Richard M. Nixon, January 1, 1970 **

Above: //**Time**// **cover (February 2, 1970 issue) featuring Ecologist Barry Commoner, a prominent figure in the growing environmental movement**


 * Super Bowl IV: The Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL Defeated the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, 23 to 7**


 * January 11, 1970:**

Above: **Kansas City Chiefs players celebrate the results of a play; Kansas City quarterback Len Dawson in the process of throwing a pass**


 * [|New York Daily News: Chiefs Defeat Vikings, 23 to 7]**


 * Release of //ABC// by The Jackson Five**


 * February 24, 1970:**

Above: **Record cover for //ABC// by The Jackson Five**


 * The Weather Underground: Accidental Bomb Detonation in Greenwich Village Townhouse Kills Three Members**


 * March 6, 1970:**

Above: **The townhouse in Greenwich Village (New York City) that was destroyed by the accidental detonation of a Weathermen-constructed bomb, a blast that killed three members of the radical leftist group on March 6, 1970; AP photo of actor Dustin Hoffman near the Greenwich Village townhouse that was destroyed by the Weathermen bomb on March 6, 1970**

Above: **Weathermen member Diana Oughton who was killed in the Greenwich Village bomb blast on March 6, 1970**


 * [|New York Times: Memories of the March 6, 1970 Explosion]**


 * [|PeoplesGuideToNYC: The Weather Underground House Explosion in Greenwich Village, March 6, 1970]**

Above: **Book cover of //Days of Rage: America's Radical U//****//underground, The FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence// by Bryan Burrough**


 * [|Vanity Fair: Excerpt from "Days of Rage" by Bryan Burrough]**


 * "Ever since 9/11, the threat of terrorist bombs on U.S. soil has become a major concern, drawing the attention of hordes of federal investigators and journalists. What few Americans remember clearly today is that barely 40 years ago, during the tumultuous 70s, such bombings were more or less routine, carried out by a half-dozen significant groups of underground radicals, from the Symbionese Liberation Army (best known for kidnapping the heiress Patricia Hearst in 1974) to lesser-known outfits like the F.A.L.N., a Puerto Rican independence group that bombed a Wall Street–area restaurant, Fraunces Tavern, killing four people in January 1975. Amazingly, during an 18-month period in 1971 and 1972, the F.B.I. counted more than 1,800 domestic bombings, almost five a day. **


 * By far the best known of the radical underground groups was Weatherman, later known as the Weather Underground, which detonated dozens of bombs across the country from 1970 until it dissolved in late 1976. A splinter faction of the 60s-era protest group Students for a Democratic Society, Weather has been the subject of a dozen books, memoirs, and documentary films; its best-known leaders, Bernardine Dohrn and her husband, Bill Ayers, remain icons on the radical left to this day. Yet despite all the attention, very little has ever been revealed about the group’s internal dynamics, even less about its bombing tactics and strategies, a topic that few Weather alumni, mostly now in their 60s, have ever been eager to discuss publicly." **


 * ---//Days of Rage// by Bryan Burrough, excerpted in //Vanity Fair// **


 * Coup d'Etat in Cambodia: Pro-Western Regime Takes Power**


 * March 18, 1970**

Above: **Map of southeastern Asia with Cambodia highlighted in green**


 * [|Cambodian Coup, March 18, 1970]**


 * The 1970 U.S. Census **

**April 1, 1970:** The U.S. Census Bureau conducted the 1970 Census. Per the Census Bureau, the **population** of the **United States of America** was **203,302,031** in 1970, a **population increase** of **13.4%** since 1960.




 * Launch of //Apollo 13//**


 * April 11, 1970:** From the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, **//Apollo 13//** launched en route to the moon.

Above: **The Launch of //Apollo 13//** **on a Saturn V Rocket; The //Apollo 13// crew, Lovell, Swigert, and Haise;** **//Apollo 13// insignia**


 * Explosion of an //Apollo 13// Oxygen Tank**


 * April 13, 1970:** While en route to the moon, an **oxygen tank exploded** on the **//Apollo 13// Service Module**. The explosion necessitated the cancellation of a moon landing. The rest of the mission involved devising and carrying out a plan to bring the three astronauts safely back to earth.


 * //Apollo 13//** did, however, **circumnavigate the moon**, a move that helped slingshot the damaged spacecraft back to earth.

Above: **P****hoto of the damaged Service Module of the //Apollo 13// mission**


 * [|NASA: The Apollo 13 Accident]**


 * [|History.com: The Apollo 13 Oxygen Tank Explosion]**


 * [|Space.com: "Houston, we've had a problem."]**


 * The Successful Return of //Apollo 13//**


 * April 17, 1970: //Apollo 13//** successfully re-entered the earth's atmosphere, and safely splashed into the Pacific Ocean. They three astronauts were later brought aboard the //USS Iwo Jima.//

While the mission was unable to conduct a moon landing, it was one of NASA's finest hours. They had brought the crew home safely under very difficult circumstances.

Above: //**Apollo 13**// **splashes down successfully; The //Apollo 13// crew safely aboard the //USS Iwo Jima//**


 * [|History.com: The Return of Apollo 13]**


 * The First Earth Day**


 * April 22, 1970:**

Above: **U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, Democrat, founder of Earth Day; //New York Times// front page of April 23, 1970 featuring Earth Day activities**




 * [|EarthDay.org: Earth Day History]**


 * The Vietnam War: Nixon Invades Cambodia **

**April 29, 1970 to July 22, 1970:** In an effort to subvert **supply lines** and **sanctuary bases** of the **North Vietnamese** and **Viet Cong communist forces**, President **Richard Nixon** ordered American forces into ** Cambodia **, a nation bordering South Vietnam from which North Vietnam and the Viet Cong attacked South Vietnam.

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of Nixon's invasion of Cambodia;** ** President Richard Nixon, in a televised presentation, announces and explains the U.S. invasion of Cambodia; U.S. military helicopters in flight over Cambodia. **


 * Kent State and The Vietnam War: Four Dead in Ohio **

**May 4, 1970:** During an antiwar demonstration on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio, members of the ** Ohio National Guard ** shot into a crowd of demonstrators killing four.

Above: **An iconic photo of Mary Ann Vecchio, a 14 year old runaway, grieving over the body of an antiwar protester who had been shot. The photo was taken by John Filo. He won a Pulitzer Prize for the photograph; //Time// coverage of Kent State**

** "WITH an almost manic abruptness, the nation seemed, as Yeats once wrote, 'all changed, changed utterly.' With the killing of four Kent State University students by Ohio National Guardsmen last week, dissent against the U.S. venture into Cambodia suddenly coalesced into a nationwide student strike. Across the country 441 colleges and universities were affected, many of them shut down entirely. Antiwar fever, which President Richard Nixon had skillfully reduced to a tolerable level last fall, surged upward again to a point unequaled since Lyndon Johnson was driven from the White House." **


 * ---//Time//, May 18, 1970 issue **


 * [|Slate.com: 43-year retrospective look at the Kent State Shootings]**

Above: **Record cover to the single, //Ohio,// a protest song by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, written and recorded in the wake of the Kent State shootings, and released in June 1970; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, circa 1970**


 * "Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'. **
 * We're finally on our own. **
 * This summer I hear the drummin'. **
 * Four dead in Ohio. **


 * Gotta get down to it. **
 * Soldiers are gunning us down. **
 * Should have been done long ago. **
 * What if you knew her and **
 * Found her dead on the ground? **
 * How can you run when you know?" **


 * - //Ohio//, By Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young **


 * Culture War: The Silent Majority Strikes Back in the Hard Hat Riot in Lower Manhattan of New York City**


 * May 8, 1970:**

Above: **The so-called Hard Hat Riot in New York City on May 8, 1970**


 * [|The Hard Hat Riot] [|2009 Article on the Hard Hat Riot of May 8, 1970] [|Daily Kos: The Hard Hat Riot]**


 * Campus Shooting at Jackson State in Mississippi**


 * May 14-15, 1970:**


 * American Culture War: President Richard Nixon Speaks at a Billy Graham Crusade**


 * May 28, 1970:**




 * [|Richard Nixon's Remarks at the Billy Graham Crusade, May 28, 1970]**


 * "And also I am proud to say that the great majority of America's young people do not approve of violence; the great majority of America's young people, as I do, do approve of dissent. But they say they want the right to be heard and when they speak they think other people should be silent so that they can be heard. **


 * And so it is a generation that is not the lost generation, as some Americans think. It isn't the beat generation. It isn't the beat-up generation. It can be and it will become the great young generation. That is what I believe and that is what you are going to make it become. **


 * ---President Richard M. Nixon, Billy Graham Crusade, University of Tennessee, May 28, 1970 **


 * [|DailyKos.com: 40th Anniversary of the Nixon & Graham Visit]**


 * A Nixon Appointee on the U.S. Supreme Court: Harry Blackmun **

**June 9, 1970:** After being nominated by **President Ricard M. Nixon**, and after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, **Harry Blackmun** became an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

Above: **Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun**


 * Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Union Win Concessions**


 * July 29, 1970:**


 * [|Progressive.org: Cesar Chavez and His Victory]**


 * Women's Liberation Movement: "Don't Iron While the Strike is Hot."**


 * August 26, 1970:** In various American venues, thousands marched in the **Women's Strike for Equality** protest on behalf of women's rights.

Above: **Participants in the Women's Strike for Equality demonstration in New York City march down a city street; Marchers in New York City**

Above: **Betty Friedan, author of //The Feminist Mystique//,** **played a key role in the August 26, 1970 protest**


 * [|New York Times: Betty Friedan and the Women's Strike for Equality]**

Above: **Women's Liberation author and theorist Kate Millett on the August 31, 1970 cover of //Time;// Book cover of //Sexual Politics// by Kate Millett**

** "THESE are the times that try men's souls, and they are likely to get much worse before they get better. It was not so long ago that the battle of the sexes was fought in gentle, rolling Thurber country. Now the din is in earnest, echoing from the streets where pickets gather, the bars where women once were barred, and even connubial beds, where ideology can intrude at the unconscious drop of a male chauvinist epithet. This week, marking the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the 19th Amendment granting women the vote, the diffuse, divided, but grimly determined Women's Liberation movement plans a nationwide protest day against the second sex's once and present oppression... **


 * ...That unfinished business includes a list of goals that nearly all women liberationists agree on. They want equal pay for equal work, and a chance at jobs traditionally reserved for men only. They seek nationwide abortion reform —ideally, free abortions on demand. They desire round-the-clock, state-supported child- care centers in order to cut the apron strings that confine mothers to unpaid domestic servitude at home. The most radical feminists want far more. Their eschatological aim is to topple the patriarchal system in which men by birthright control all of society's levers of power—in government, industry, education, science, the arts." **


 * ---//Time//, August 31, 1970 issue **

** "DON'T iron while the strike is hot," advised the slogan of the Women's Strike for Equality. No one knows how many shirts lay wrinkling in laundry baskets last week as thousands of women across the country turned out for the first big demonstration of the Women's Liberation movement. The strike, on the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the women's suffrage amendment, drew small crowds by antiwar or civil rights standards, yet was easily the largest women's rights rally since the suffrage protests." **


 * ---//Time,// September 7, 1970 issue **


 * Chicano Moratorium**


 * August 29, 1970:**

Above: **Latino journalist Ruben Salazar who was killed during the Chicano Moratorium, August 29, 1970**


 * [|Chicano Moratorium, August 29, 1970]**


 * American Culture War: Neil Young's //Southern Man//**


 * August 31, 1970:** **Neil Young's** solo album, //**After the Gold Rush,**// was released. One of the tracks was//**Southern Man,**// a song that denounced Southern white racism and mistreatment of Blacks.

Young's **//Southern Man//** later provoked backlash in **//Sweet Home Alabama,//** a pro-Southern rock ballad by **Lynyrd** **Skynyrd.**

Above: **Album cover of Neil Young's //After the Gold Rush//**


 * "Southern man **
 * Better keep your head **
 * Don't forget **
 * What your good book said **
 * Southern change **
 * Gonna come at last **
 * Now your crosses **
 * Are burning fast **
 * Southern man **


 * I saw cotton **
 * And I saw black **
 * Tall white mansions **
 * And little shacks. **
 * Southern man **
 * When will you **
 * Pay them back? **
 * I heard screamin' **
 * And bullwhips cracking **
 * How long? How long?" **


 * //Southern Man// by Neil Young, from his album, //After the Gold Rush// **


 * The Weather Underground Helps Timothy Leary Escape from a Prison in California**


 * September 12, 1970**


 * [|Indictment of Timothy Leary]**


 * American Rock Star Jimi Hendrix Dies in Great Britain**


 * September 18, 1970:**

Above: **United States 2014 Postage Stamp Honoring Jimi Hendrix**


 * The Premiere of** **//The Mary Tyler Moore Show//**


 * September 19, 1970:**

Above: **Scene from //The Mary Tyler Moore//** **Show; Title Screen**


 * [|The Mary Tyler Moore Show]**


 * The Dawn of //Monday Night Football//**


 * September 21, 1970:**

Above: **The Cleveland Browns played the New York Jets in the debut of //Monday Night Football;// The original //Monday Night Football// announcers: Don Meredith, Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford**


 * [|ESPN: Monday Night Football] [|Cleveland vs. New York, September 21, 1970]**


 * The Premiere of //The Partridge Family// on ABC**


 * September 25, 1970:**




 * [|History.com: The Premiere of The Partridge Family on ABC, September 25, 1970]**


 * Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, 1918-1970**


 * September 28, 1970:**

Above: **Gamal Abdel Nasser, 1918-1970**


 * The Death of Janis Joplin**


 * October 4, 1970:**

Above: **Janis Joplin, 1943-1970**


 * [|New York Times: The Death of Janis Joplin]**


 * The Baltimore Orioles Win the 1970 World Series**


 * October 15, 1970:**

Above: ** 1970 World Series Programs, Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds **


 * [|1970 World Series: Baltimore Orioles vs. Cincinnati Reds]**


 * The Rise of the Law-and-Order State:** //**The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970**//


 * October 27, 1970:** **President Richard M. Nixon** signed the //**Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970**// into law. **Title II** of the new federal law was the **//Controlled Substance Act of 1970.//**

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon**


 * [|Nixon's statement, October 27, 1970]**


 * "We can provide, as we do, more men. We can provide greater jurisdiction. We can deal with the problem of addiction. But there needs to be public support. And I urge all who may be listening to this signing ceremony to remember that in every home in America, in every school in America, in every church in America, over the television and radio media of this country, in our newspapers, the message needs to get through, that this Nation faces a major crisis in terms of the increasing use of drugs, particularly among our young people. **


 * We can deal with it. We have the laws now. We are going to go out and enforce those laws. But in order for those laws to mean anything they must have public support. **


 * There must be knowledge, knowledge among the parents, knowledge among the children, which can only come from wide public information programs. **** And therefore, I hope that at the time the Federal Government is moving, as we are moving very strongly in this field, that the whole Nation will join with us in a program to stop the rise in the use of drugs and thereby help to stop the rise in crime; and also save the lives of hundreds of thousands of our young people who otherwise would become hooked on drugs and be physically, mentally, and morally destroyed." **


 * ---President Richard M. Nixon, October 27, 1970 **


 * The Integration of Auburn University Football**


 * October 31, 1970**: **James Owens, Auburn's first African-American football player,** also became the first African-American Auburn player to score a touchdown. He did so in Gainesville against the Florida Gators, a 63-14 Auburn victory.

1970 was the season in which sophomore **James Owens** broke the color barrier at Auburn, the season having begun in September. As a freshman, Owens had been a member of the Auburn team, but due to restrictions against freshmen, he did not play until his sophomore season.

During his three playing seasons at Auburn (1970, 1971, 1972), the Tigers won 28 games, defeated arch-rival Alabama twice, and went to three bowl games--winning two.

Above: **James Owens** en route to an **Auburn touchdown;** **James Owens** in the endzone, thus becoming the first African-American player at Auburn to score a touchdown

Above: **James Owens, the first African-American football player at Auburn, and the first to play major college football in the state of Alabama; Ralph "Shug" Jordan, Auburn's head football coach from 1951-1975, and** **the man who presided over the integration of the Tigers**


 * 1970 Midterm Elections: Democratic Control Continues in Both the House and Senate**


 * November 3, 1970:** In the 1970 Midterm Congressional Elections, the **Democratic Party** won majorities in both the **House of Representatives** and **Senate.** In doing so, the Democrats maintained control of Congress just as they had since January 1955.

Above: **Covers of //Time// pertaining to the 1970 Midterms**


 * Charles de Gaulle, 1890-1970**


 * November 9, 1970:**

Above: **French magazine cover bidding farewell to Charles de Gaulle**


 * The Corrective Movement: Ba'athist Hafez al-Assad Seized Power in Syria in a Coup d'Etat**


 * November 12-13, 1970:**

Above: **Hafez al-Assad in 1970**


 * Auburn's First Racially Integrated Football Team Wins the 1970 Iron Bowl**


 * November 28, 1970:** In a thrilling victory for **Auburn's first racially integrated football team**, the **Tigers** defeated **Alabama**, 33 to 28. Auburn quarterback **Pat Sullivan** and wide receiver **Terry Beasley** provided stand-out performances for Auburn's offense. **James Owens**, Auburn's first African-American football player, played linebacker in the **1970 Iron Bowl**.

In terms of social change for the **Heart of Dixie**, the **1970 Iron Bowl** was pivotal in terms of setting the precedent that, in that football-crazy Deep South state, Alabama's most prominent annual sporting event would no longer be played by all-white teams. **In short, Auburn not only won the 1970 Iron Bowl, but it also broke the color barrier for the signature sporting event in the State of Alabama. Racially integrated major college football had come to Alabama, and would subsequently be a permanent part of the sporting landscape.**

In 1970, the University of Alabama had already signed an African-American to a football scholarship, but due to NCAA restrictions for freshmen players, Alabama remained an all-white varsity squad. Alabama's on-field integration of its football squad would happen in the 1971 season.

Above: **James Owens, Auburn's first African-American football player; Auburn's Terry Beasley and Pat Sullivan**


 * [|Recap of the 1970 Iron Bowl]**


 * [|Terry Beasley's Long Struggle]**

**"When Beasley regained his senses after the hit that knocked him out, Auburn head coach Shug Jordan implored him: “Hoss, we need you.” Beasley returned to the game and helped Auburn rally from 17 points down to beat the Tide 33-28.**

**The concussion Beasley suffered in the 1970 Iron Bowl was his first. It wasn’t his last.**

**Beasley suffered multiple concussions over his career at Auburn and later with the San Francisco 49′ers of the NFL. Various sources list the number of concussions at 17, 18, 19 or more.**

**The effects have been personally catastrophic. Beasley spent much of the last 15 years in near constant pain. In a June 13, 1988 article in the Gadsden Times, Beasley described suffering from nausea, headaches, memory loss and acute shortness of breath."**

**Article, //NeverToYieldFoundation.com//**


 * Elvis Visits Nixon at the White House **


 * December 21, 1970: ** In what produced an iconic photograph, **Elvis Presley** made a visit to the **White House,** and met **President Richard M. Nixon.**

Above: **This iconic photo of Elvis and Nixon became one of the most-requested from the National Archives.**

//**Time's**// **1970 Man of the Year: Willy Brandt of West Germany**



** 1971 **


 * Jimmy Carter Inaugurated as the Governor of Georgia**


 * January 12, 1971:** **James E. "Jimmy" Carter** was sworn in as the **Governor of Georgia.** He served one 4 year term.

At the time, Georgia governors were not allowed to serve consecutive terms, thus he did not seek re-election in 1974. But in 1976, Carter sought the Democratic presidential nomination. He prevailed, and then went on to defeat President **Gerald R. Ford** in the general election.

Six years and eight days after Carter became Governor of Georgia, he became President of the United States.

Above: **Jimmy Carter taking the oath of office as Governor of Georgia, January 12, 1971;** **//Time// cover story (May 1971) on Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia**

**Governor Jimmy Carter's 1971 Inaugural Address**

**The World According to Archie Bunker**

**January 12, 1971:** The television sitcom **// All in the Family //**debuted on CBS.

Above: **Title screen for //All in the Family//**

Above: **Michael, Gloria, Edith, and Archie--the main characters of //All in the Family//; Edith and Archie Bunker converse**


 * Super Bowl V: The Baltimore Colts Defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 16 to 13**


 * January 17, 1971:**

Above: **Baltimore quarterback Earl Morrall; Baltimore placekicker Jim O'Brien kicks the winning field goal against Dallas, a kick made in the waning seconds of Super Bowl V**

//**Apollo 14**//


 * January 31, 1971:** From Kennedy Space Center in Florida, **//Apollo 14//** launched en route to the moon.

Above: **The launch of //Apollo 14;// Crew of //Apollo 14;// Insignia of //Apollo 14//**

//**Apollo 14**//


 * January 31, 1971 to February 9, 1971:** NASA's //**Apollo 14**// became the 3rd manned mission to land men on the moon. The crew of **//Apollo 14//** returned safely to the earth on February 9, 1971.

Above: //**Apollo 14**// **Command and Service Modules**; //**Apollo 14**// **Astronaut Edgar Mitchell on surface of the moon**

Above: **The //Apollo 14// Lunar Module on the moon's surface; //Apollo 14// Command Module under parachutes and approaching splash down in the Pacific Ocean on February 9, 1971**


 * [|NASA: Apollo 14]**

Above: **The //Apollo 14// landing site, as seen from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter**


 * Former Texas Congressman George H.W. Bush Became the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations**


 * March 1, 1971:**




 * Joe Frazier Defeats Muhammad Ali**


 * March 8, 1971:**




 * Release of John Lennon's //Power to the People//**


 * March 12, 1971:**

Above: **Record cover for John Lennon's //Power to the People//**


 * Antiwar Movement: Vietnam Veteran John Kerry Testified Against the Vietnam War to a Senate Committee**


 * April 22, 1971:**

Above:


 * Marvin Gaye's //What's Going On//**


 * May 21, 1971: Marvin Gaye's** soulful album, //**What's Going On,**// was released.

Above: **Album cover of //What's Going On// by Marvin Gaye**


 * [|NPR: 40th Anniversary of "What's Going On"]**


 * "Mother, mother **
 * There's too many of you crying **
 * Brother, brother, brother **
 * There's far too many of you dying **
 * You know we've got to find a way **
 * To bring some lovin' here today - Yah **


 * Father, father **
 * We don't need to escalate **
 * You see, war is not the answer **
 * For only love can conquer hate **
 * You know we've got to find a way **
 * To bring some lovin' here today **


 * Picket lines and picket signs **
 * Don't punish me with brutality **
 * Talk to me **
 * So you can see **
 * Oh, what's going on **
 * What's going **
 * Ya, what's going on **
 * Ah, what's going on" **
 * --//What's Going On//, by Marvin Gaye **


 * The Dedication of the LBJ Library in Austin, Texas**


 * May 22, 1971:** In Austin, Texas--on the University of Texas campus--**The Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library** was dedicated. In attendance was both **President Richard Nixon** and naturally, former **President Lyndon Johnson.**

The attendance of both men was meaningful, well beyond the simple courtesy of having the incumbent President attend the opening of a venue dedicated to the legacy of a former President.

Just as the Johnson presidency was intricately interwoven into the truncated Kennedy presidency, the Nixon presidency was inexorably linked to LBJ's five year tenure in the Oval Office.

From LBJ, Nixon inherited the Vietnam War, Great Society social policies, and the American cultural milieu that had burgeoned during the Johnson years (1963-1969). While they were from different political parties, to some extent, the historical legacies of Nixon and Johnson shared some common features.

For one, Lyndon Johnson's political capital was largely depleted by the Vietnam War. In 1968, he decided not to seek re-election. In a sense, LBJ was taken down by Vietnam.

Though it was not evident in the spring of 1971, the social, cultural, and political milieu surrounding the Vietnam War did much to bring down Richard Nixon. Nixon's **Watergate Scandal (1972-1974)** was born, in part, out of his hostility to and paranoia about the antiwar movement.

Thus, to some extent, the Vietnam War ultimately had the consequence of denying LBJ four more years in the presidency, and for Nixon, the full four years of his second term (Nixon resigned the presidency in August 1974 due to his role in the Watergate Scandal).

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon** and **former President Lyndon B. Johnson** at the dedication of the **LBJ Library** in Austin, Texas; Nixon and Johnson, **Lady Bird Johnson** in the background

Above: The **LBJ Library & Museum in Austin, Texas**


 * The Publication of the //Pentagon Papers//**


 * June 13, 1971:** The //**New York Times**// began publishing a leaked **classified government study** of the evolution of American involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The //**Washington Post**// subsequently ran articles based on the **//Pentagon Papers.//**

The person who leaked the so-called //**Pentagon Papers**// was a federal civilian employee named **Daniel Ellsberg.**

The **//Pentagon Papers,//** in the short run, were most damning to the historical legacy of **Lyndon B. Johnson** in that it revealed that **LBJ's** administration was not honest with the American public about the overall situation in Vietnam.

But in the long run, the leaking of the **//Pentagon Papers//** enraged **President Richard Nixon,** and his administration sought to prevent further publication of the leaked classified (i.e. secret) government documents. The case quickly went to the **United States Supreme Court.**

Above: //**New York Times**// **front page on June 13, 1971; //Time// coverage of the Pentagon Papers**


 * [|40th Anniversary of the Publication of the Pentagon Papers]**


 * The Rise of the Law-and-Order State: Richard Nixon Declares a War on Drugs...in so may words**


 * June 17, 1971:** In a special message to the U.S. Congress, **President Richard Nixon** declared the issue of illegal drugs to be of grave concern. As such, **Nixon** called for legislation to combat the growing American drug problem.

Above: **Richard M. Nixon, undated photo**


 * [|PBS: Chronology of the War on Drugs]**


 * [|The Guardian: The 40 Years Drug War]**


 * [|Nixon and the War on Drugs, June 17, 1971]**


 * [|Nixon declares Drug Abuse to be "public enemy number one"]**


 * "America's public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse. In order to fight and defeat this enemy, it is necessary to wage a new all-out offensive."President Richard M. Nixon, June 17, 1971 **

**Cato Institute: A Libertarian 40-year retrospective on the War on Drugs and its impact on Black America**


 * //New York Times v. The United States of America//**


 * June 30, 1971:** In a 6 to 3 decision, the **United States Supreme Court** ruled that the government (i.e. the Nixon Administration) could not use **prior restraint** to prevent publication of the **//Pentagon Papers.//**

Above: //**New York Times**// **front page on July 1, 1971;** **Daniel Ellsberg, undated photo**


 * The Debut of //Shaft// and the Rise of Blaxploitation film genre**


 * July 2, 1971:** In American movie theaters, the movie //**Shaft**// debuted.

Above: **Movie poster for //Shaft//**


 * [|Data regarding the movie, Shaft] [|Release date information regarding Shaft] [|AFI: Information about Shaft]**


 * American Rock Star Jim Morrison (Lead Singer of //The Doors//) Dies in Paris, France**


 * July 3, 1971:** Jim Morrison, the lead singer for //The Doors,// died in Paris, France.

Above: **Jim Morrison, 1943-1971; //Rolling Stone// cover**


 * [|The Death of Jim Morrison, July 3, 1971]**


 * Launch of //Apollo 15// From Kennedy Space Center**


 * July 26, 1971:**

Above: **Crew of //Apollo 15//**


 * [|alworden.com: Apollo XV]**

//**Apollo 15**//**: Operations on the Lunar Surface**


 * July 30, 1971 to August 2, 1971:**




 * [|NASA.gov: Apollo 15]**


 * Wage and Price Controls, and the End of the Gold Standard **

**August 15, 1971:** President Richard M. Nixon issued ** Executive Order 11615, ** implementing temporary ** wage and price controls **. More importantly, Nixon also proclaimed that the U.S. would ** no longer allow ** foreign governments to redeem U.S. ** dollars ** in ** gold **.

Thus, the U.S. dollar was no longer backed by gold in any fashion. In short, Nixon had ended what was left of the ** gold standard **. The U.S. dollar henceforth completely and definitively existed as ** fiat money **, money that exists by ** government decree **.

Above: **Nixon addressing the nation, August 15, 1971; //Time// coverage of Nixon's changes in policy**


 * [|President Nixon's Executive Order 11615] [|Nixon Takes the U.S. Off the Gold Standard] **


 * [|Nixon's Biggest Gamble] [|Nixon's New Economic Policy] **


 * Nixon's "Plumbers" Burglarize the Office of Daniel Ellsberg's Psychiatrist**


 * September 3, 1971:**

Above: **Daniel Ellsberg;** **President Richard M. Nixon; John Ehrlichman** Above: **Egil "Bud" Krogh; E. Howard Hunt; G. Gordon Liddy**


 * Above: The File Cabinet at Dr. Lewis Fielding's office, an office burglarized by Nixon's "Plumbers" in hope of finding the patient file on Daniel Ellsberg**


 * [|A Watergate Timeline]**


 * [|Smithsonian: A Famous File Cabinet]**


 * [|Nixon's "Plumbers" and the Break-in of the Office of Daniel Ellsberg's Psychiatrist]**


 * [|Washington Post Story by Woodward and Bernstein: June 13, 1973]**


 * John Lennon's Album //Imagine// is Released**


 * September 9, 1971:**

Above: **Album cover for //Imagine// by John Lennon**


 * [|John Lennon Album, Imagine, is Released, September 9, 1971]**


 * Riot at Attica Prison in New York**


 * September 9, 1971:**


 * [|History.com: Riot at Attica Prison]**

**The Integration of University of Alabama Football**

**September 10, 1971:** **John Mitchell**, from Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama, became the **first African-American** football player to play in a game for the **University of Alabama**.

Mitchell later became a football coach himself, and as of 2012, was an assistant coach in the NFL.

Above: **John Mitchell, the first African-American football player for the University of Alabama; Paul "Bear" Bryant, the Alabama head coach who** **presided over the integration of Alabama football**

[|**Bama Upsets USC**]


 * The Suppression of the Attica Riot**


 * September 13, 1971:**

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the Attica Prison Riot;** **Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York**


 * [|Salon: The Attica Prison Riot]**

**"At 9:44 on a drizzly overcast morning last week, a radio loudspeaker snapped out the order to attack. Through the stinging mist of CS pepper gas dropped by Viet Nam-style helicopters, yellow-clad troopers set off a barrage of rifle fire from atop 30-ft. prison walls. More than 500 officers—armed with shotguns, rifles, pistols and clubs —charged into the crowded compound, shooting as they ran. Sporadic firing continued for nearly an hour. When the onesided battle was over, lawmen representing the State of New York had killed 26 convicts and nine of 38 hostages that the inmates had seized in the four-day prison riot. At least 83 prisoners were hurt seriously enough to require surgery.**

**That was Attica. For some time to come in the U.S., that word will not be primarily identified with the plain upon which ancient Athens nurtured philosophy and democracy. Nor will it simply stand for the bucolic little town that gave its name to a turreted prison, mislabeled a 'correctional facility.' Attica will evoke the bloodiest prison rebellion in U.S. history. It will take its place alongside Kent State, Jackson State, My Lai and other traumatic events that have shaken the American conscience and incited searing controversy over the application of force—and the pressures that provoke it."**

**---//Time//, September 27, 1971 issue**


 * The Opening of Walt Disney World**


 * October 1, 1971:** **Walt Disney World** opened near Orlando, Florida.

Above: **Cover of //Life// in October 1971 showing the //Magic Kingdom// //at// Disney World**


 * The Premiere of** //**Soul Train**//


 * October 2, 1971:**




 * [|SoulTrain.com: National Debut of Soul Train, October 2, 1971]**


 * The 1971 World Series: The Pittsburgh Pirates Defeat the Baltimore Orioles in Game 7 to Win the Series**


 * October 17, 1971:**




 * The People's Republic of China and the United Nations **

**October 25, 1971:** The General Assembly of the United Nations, via // Resolution 2758 //, acknowledged the People's Republic of China as the authentic China and granted admission of the People's Republic to the United Nations.

Taiwan (i.e. The Republic of China) was thus expelled as was no longer acknowledged as the government of China. The People's Republic of China, in turn, became one of the five permanent members of the prestigious and powerful // Security Council // of the United Nations. A copy of // Resolution 2758 // is pictured below.



**Auburn's Pat Sullivan, Heisman Trophy Winner**

**November 24, 1971:** **Auburn's Pat Sullivan** won the **Heisman Trophy**, college football's highest individual award

Above: **Auburn University's** ** Pat Sullivan, the 1971 Heisman Trophy ** **winner; Pat Sullivan on the field in an** **undated photo; Pat Sullivan on a magazine cover**


 * [|Pat Sullivan, 1971 Heisman Trophy] **

Above: **Auburn Heisman Trophy Winners Bo Jackson (1985), Cam Newton (2010), and Pat Sullivan (1971)**


 * Alabama's First Racially Integrated Football Team Wins the 1971 Iron Bowl**


 * November 27, 1971:** In a battle of unbeaten intra-state rivals, **Alabama** dominated **Auburn,** 31 to 7. The **1971 Alabama squad** was the Crimson Tide's first racially integrated football team, a team that went undefeated in the regular season. Alabama's only loss was to **Nebraska** in the Orange Bowl weeks later.

Alabama's first African-American football signee was **Wilbur Jackson** of Ozark, Alabama. Junior college transfer **John Mitchelll**--who grew up in Mobile, Alabama--was the first African-American player to take the field for the Crimson Tide.

Above: **A //Sports Illustrated// cover featuring Alabama's I971 Iron Bowl victory; John Mitchell, the first African-American player to take the field for Alabama; Wilbur Jackson, an African-American running back for Alabama in 1971.**


 * Indian-Pakistan War of 1971**


 * December 3, 1971**




 * Stanley Kubrick's //A Clockwork Orange//**


 * December 19, 1971:** **Stanley Kubrick's //A Clockwork Orange//** was released in American movie theaters.

Above: **Theatrical release poster of** **//A Clockwork Orange;// Alex, a devotee of Beethoven and //ultra-violence//**


 * Nationwide Release of //Dirty Harry//**


 * December 23, 1971**

Above: //**Dirty Harry**// **theatrical release poster**


 * [|IMDb: Release Dates for Dirty Harry]**

//**Time's**// **1971 Man of the Year: President Richard Nixon**



** 1972 **


 * Two Nixon Appointees Join the United States Supreme Court **

**January 7, 1972:** Nixon appointees Lewis Powell and William Rehnquist both became Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court

Above: **Supreme Court Justices Lewis Powell (Left) and William Rehnquist (Right).** ** In 1986, Rehnquist would succeed Warren Burger as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; ** //**Time**// **cover on Powell and Rehnquist**

//**Sanford and Son**//


 * January 14, 1972:** On NBC, //**Sanford and Son**// premiered.

Above: **Sign for Sanford and Son Salvage; Lamont and Fred G. Sanford; Aunt Esther and Fred G. Sanford**


 * [|Sanford and Son Episodes]**


 * Super Bowl VI: The Dallas Cowboys Defeat the Miami Dolphins, 24 to 3**


 * January 16, 1972:**

Above: **Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Roger Staubach**


 * The Rise of the Law-and-Order State: Nixon's //Executive Order 11641//**


 * January 28, 1972: President Richard M. Nixon** issued //**Executive Order 11641: Concentration of Law Enforcement Activities Relating to Drug Abuse,**// a presidential order deepening the federal role in what came to be known as the //**War on Drugs.**//

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon**


 * [|Nixon's Actions of January 28, 1972]**


 * [|Nixon: January 28, 1972]**


 * "Drug abuse--as I said 7 months ago--is America's 'public enemy number one.' It is an all-pervasive and yet an elusive enemy. I am convinced that the only effective way to fight this menace is by attacking it on many fronts--through a balanced, comprehensive strategy. **


 * For the past 3 years, this Administration has been working to carry out such a strategy. We have moved to eliminate dangerous drugs at their source, to cut their international flow, to stop them from entering our country, and to intercept them after they do. We have been educating our people to understand the drug problem more completely. We have expanded significantly our efforts to prevent drug addiction and to treat and rehabilitate those who have become drug-dependent." **


 * ---President Richard M. Nixon, January 28, 1972 **


 * Culture War: Richard Nixon, The Ray Conniff Singers, and a Young Woman's Protest**


 * January 28, 1972:**

Above: **Carole Feraci of The Ray Conniff Singers makes a protest against President Nixon; Carole Feraci (dark hair)**

Above: **Feraci's "Stop the Killing" banner**


 * [|A Woman in the Ray Conniff Singers Goes Off-Script]**


 * “President Nixon, stop bombing human beings, animals and vegetation. You go to church on Sunday and pray to Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ was in this room tonight you would not dare to drop another bomb." **


 * ---Carole Feraci of //The Ray Conniff Singers//, White House, January 28, 1972 **


 * Bloody Sunday**


 * January 30, 1972:**


 * Nixon's Oval Office Recordings: The President and Reverend Billy Graham Each Express Anti-Semitic Views**


 * February 1, 1972:**


 * [|New York Times: 2002 Article on the Feb 1, 1972 Nixon-Graham Conversation]**


 * [|Counterpunch.org: Billy Graham's Advice to Nixon About Vietnam, and About Jews in the Media]**


 * Nixon Goes to China: President Nixon in the People's Republic **


 * February 21-28, 1972: ** President **Richard Nixon** traveled to the **People's Republic of China** and visited **Mao Zedong**, the Father of China's Communist Revolution. Nixon's visit paved the way for diplomatic normalization between the United States and Communist China.




 * The Democratization of Travel: Maiden Voyage of the Carnival Cruise Lines Ship,** //**Mardi Gras**//


 * March 7, 1972:**

**Beyond Ships 2007 Article on Carnival Cruise Lines**


 * The 1972 Florida Democratic Primary: A Victory for Alabama Governor George C. Wallace**


 * March 14, 1972:**

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of Alabama Governor George C. Wallace's victory in the 1972 Democratic Presidential Primary**


 * [|George Wallace and the 1972 Florida Democratic Primary]**

** "The Wallace performance in Florida, coupled with President Nixon's own near-demagogy on busing, presents the depressing possibility that the presidential politics of 1972 may be conducted at a dismally low level of discourse. That is the level on which the simplistic Wallace functions best. The lesson offered by Wallace is clear enough: When voters are distressed, either the more orthodox candidates must find convincing ways to attack the causes, or George Corley Wallace will continue to win votes and clobber politicians who 'can't park their bicycles straight.'" **


 * ---//Time//, March 27, 1972 issue **


 * //The Godfather//**


 * March 15, 1972:** The iconic film, **//The Godfather,//** was released in American theaters.

//**The Godfather,**// starring **Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, and Robert Duvall**

//**The Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972**//


 * March 21, 1972: President Richard M. Nixon** signed //**The Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972**// into law.

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon**


 * [|Nixon's statement on signing The Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972]**


 * [|Nixon's remarks on The Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972]**

//**Eisenstadt v. Baird**// **and Reproductive Freedom**


 * March 22, 1972:**

Above: **Justice William J. Brennan**

//**Apollo 16**//


 * April 16, 1972:** //**Apollo 16**// launched from the Kennedy Space Center en route to the moon. The //**Apollo 16**// crew members were **John Young**, **Charles Duke**, and **Ken Mattingly.**


 * Ken Mattingly**, was a graduate of **Auburn University**.

Above: **The Launch of //Apollo 16;// The Crew of //Apollo 16--//Ken Mattingly, John Young, Charles Duke**

Above: **Earth as seen from //Apollo 16// on April 16, 1972; //Apollo 16// insignia;** **Thomas "Ken" Mattingly, //Apollo 16// Command Module Pilot, graduate of Auburn University**

//**Apollo 16**//

**April 16-27, 1972:** NASA's //**Apollo 16**// became the **5th manned mission** to the surface of the moon. //Apollo 16// successfully returned to the earth on April 27, 1972.

Above: **Astronaut Charles Duke salutes the United States Flag; Liftoff phase of the //Apollo 16// Lunar Module**

Above: **Astronaut Ken Mattingly makes a space walk; //Apollo 16// lands in the Pacific Ocean on April 27, 1972**


 * [|NASA: Apollo 16]**


 * The Death of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover**


 * May 2, 1972:**

Above: **FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover**


 * [|FBI.gov: J. Edgar Hoover]**


 * Release of** //**Exile** **on Main St.**//**, a Rolling Stones Album**


 * May 12, 1972:**

Above: **Rolling Stones album cover for //Exile on Main St.//**


 * The Shooting of Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama **

**May 15, 1972:** Alabama **Governor George C. Wallace,** during a Maryland campaign appearance, was shot five times.

Wallace survived the shooting, but suffered from both pain and paralysis for the rest of his life. Due to the paralysis, Wallace was confined to a wheelchair.

In 1974, George Wallace was re-elected as governor, the rules having been changed to allow for an Alabama governor to be elected to consecutive terms. In 1982, he was elected Governor of Alabama for the 4th time. He retired from politics in 1987 after leaving office. Wallace died in 1998.

Above: **//Life// coverage of the shooting of Alabama Governor George C. Wallace**


 * [|Al.com: 41st Anniversary of the Wallace Shooting]**

**The Watergate Break-in**

**June 17, 1972:** **Republican operatives** for the **Richard Nixon** **re-election campaign** were caught **burglarizing** and **wiretapping** the **Democratic Party headquarters** at the **Watergate Hotel** in **Washington, D.C.**

Above: Mugshots of the **five Watergate Burglars** who worked on behalf of President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign; The exterior of the **Watergate Hotel**.

Above: **Office door of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Complex; Bob Woodward (sitting on desk) and Carl Bernstein (talking on phone), //Washington Post// reporters who played a major role in exposing the Watergate Scandal**


 * [|Brief Chronology of the Watergate Scandal]**


 * [|Authentichistory.com: Watergate Timeline] [|The Telegraph: Watergate Timeline]**


 * The Smoking Gun: Nixon and Haldeman Discuss Watergate**


 * June 23, 1972:**

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon; Presidential Advisor H.R. Haldeman**

Above: **Nixon Library Photo of President Nixon in the Oval Office, June 23, 1972; AP/National Archives photo of Nixon White House tape and tape recorder**

**Transcript of June 23, 2014 White House Recordings**


 * "When you get in these people when you...get these people in, say: 'Look, the problem is that this will open the whole, the whole Bay of Pigs thing, and the President just feels that' ah, without going into the details... don't, don't lie to them to the extent to say there is no involvement, but just say this is sort of a comedy of errors, bizarre, without getting into it, 'the President believes that it is going to open the whole Bay of Pigs thing up again. And, ah because these people are plugging for, for keeps and that they should call the FBI in and say that we wish for the country, don't go any further into this case', period!" **


 * ---President Richard M. Nixon, White House Recording, June 23, 1972 **


 * [|WhiteHouseTapes.net: The Smoking Gun Tape (partial), June 23, 1972]**


 * The Vietnam War: The Last U.S. Ground Combat Troops Leave Vietnam**


 * August 11, 1972:**

Above: **Map of South Vietnam**


 * [|History.com: The Last U.S. Ground Combat Troops Leave South Vietnam, August 11, 1972]**


 * The Opening of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany**


 * August 26, 1972:**




 * Terrorism at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany **

**September 5-6, 1972:** West Germany hosted the Summer Olympics in Munich, an event marred by terrorism. During the games, Palestinian terrorists murdered several Israeli athletes. Despite the murders, the games continued. Pictured below right is one of the terrorists involved in the murders of the Israeli olympians.



Above: //**Time**// **cover on** **terrorism at the Munich Summer Olympics**


 * [|History.com: Israeli Olympic Athletes Killed by Terrorists at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games, September 5, 1972]**


 * Premiere of //Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids//**


 * September 9, 1972**

Above: **Scene from //Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids//; Bill Cosby, creator of //Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids//, circa 1972**

**The First Starting Black Quarterback in the SEC**

**September 9, 1972:** Condredge Holloway, an Alabama native, became the first African-American starting quarterback in the Southeastern Conference, a game that was a Tennessee triumph over Georgia Tech.

Holloway played for the **University of Tennessee** from 1972-1974.

Above: **Tennessee quarterback Condredge Holloway carries the ball against Auburn in 1973; Condredge Holloway, University of Tennessee quarterback, 1972-1974**


 * [|Times Free Press: Tennessee's Condredge Holloway vs. Georgia Tech, September 9, 1972]**


 * [|Chattanoogan.com: Condredge Holloway, University of Tennessee Quarterback, 1972-1974]**

//**Maude**// **Premieres on CBS**


 * September 12, 1972:** On CBS, the sitcom **Maude** premiered.

Above: **Title screen of //Maude//; Scene from //Maude//**


 * [|Dates of Season 1 Episodes of Maude]**

//**M*A*S*H**// **Debuts on CBS**


 * September 17, 1972:** On CBS, the sitcom **//M*A*S*H//** premiered.

Above: **Title screen for //M*A*S*H;// Early cast members of //M*A*S*H//**


 * Congress Overrides Nixon's Veto and Passes the //Clean Water Act of 1972// into Law**


 * October 18, 1972:** The day after President Nixon vetoed the bill for the //**Clean Water Act,**// the U.S. House and U.S. Senate each passed the returned bill by the necessary two-thirds majority in each chamber, thus overriding the presidential veto and passing the //**Clean Water Act**// into law.

Above: **Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Carl Albert of Oklahoma, Democrat; U.S. Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana, Senate Majority Leader, Democrat**

**Congressional Record: Clean Water Act, October 18, 1972**


 * [|A Legislative History of the Clean Water Act of 1972]**


 * [|Huffington Post: Nixon's Strange History with the Clean Water Act of 1972]**


 * The 1972 World Series: The Oakland A's Defeated the Cincinnati Reds in Game 7 to Win the Series**


 * October 22, 1972:**




 * 1972 Presidential Election: Nixon Wins 49 States in an Unprecedented Landslide Victory **

**November 7, 1972:** President **Richard Nixon** overwhelmingly won re-election **carrying 49 states** in the 1972 presidential election.

Above: **1972 electoral map with the Nixon-Agnew GOP ticket carrying 49 states; Nixon's victory covered by //Time//**

Above: **Nixon Library Photo of the President and his Family on Election Day, November 7, 1972**


 * The 1972 Congressional Elections: The Democrats Maintain Control of Both the House and Senate**


 * November 7, 1972:**


 * For the First Time Ever, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Closed Above 1000**


 * November 14, 1972:**

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon; Drawing of the New York Stock Exchange Building**


 * [|CNN: Dow Milestones] [|FedPrimeRate.com: Dow History]**


 * [|Associated Press: Milestone Closings in the History of the Dow]**


 * "Nov. 14, 1972: First close above 1,000. In Hollywood, police arrest four men for allegedly trying to steal a 2,500-pound brass lion from an antiques store. The week before, President Richard Nixon had won re-election by a landslide, beating George McGovern in 49 states. (Close: 1,003.16)" **


 * ---Associated Press, 2013 **


 * The 1972 Iron Bowl: Auburn Blocks Two Punts and Wins a Thriller**

**December 2, 1972:** Trailing Alabama 16 to 3 in the fourth quarter, Auburn pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in college football history by blocking two Alabama punts, returning both for touchdowns, converting both extra point kicks, and taking a 17 to 16 game-winning lead.

Above: **Photos of the two blocked punts resulting in an Auburn victory over Alabama by a score of 17 to 16**

**Apollo** //**17:**// **The Last Manned Apollo Mission to the Moon**

**December 7, 1972 to December 19, 1972:** Apollo 17 became the last United States manned mission to the surface of the moon. Astronaut Gene Cernan was the last person to have walked on the moon. As of 2012, no manned lunar mission has returned to the moon.

Above: **In the three above photos, a sequence of Apollo 17 events are displayed. At left is the December 7th launch. Next is a shot of Gene Cernan on the moon's surface on December 13, 1971. The photo at right is the recovery of the Apollo 17 capsule that splash-landed at sea on December 19, 1972.**

Above: **NASA photo of Apollo 17 Astronaut Gene Cernan on the surface of the Moon**

Above: **The //Apollo 17// landing site as seen from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter**


 * Operation Linebacker II: The Christmas Bombings of North Vietnam**


 * December 18, 1972:**


 * [|History.com: The Christmas Bombings Begin]**


 * The Death of Harry S. Truman, 1884-1972**


 * December 26, 1972:** Former **President Harry S. Truman** died at 88 years of age.

Above: **Harry S. Truman**


 * [|Harry S. Truman, 1884-1972]**


 * //Time's// 1972 Men of the Year: Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger**



** 1973 **


 * Super Bowl VII: The Miami Dolphins Defeated the Washington Redskins and Completed a Perfect Season**


 * January 14, 1973:**

Above: **Miami running back Larry Csonka; Miami Head Coach Don Shula**


 * [|Sports Illustrated: Super Bowl VII] [|Sports Illustrated: Super Bowl Photos]**


 * President Richard M. Nixon Began his 2nd Term as President of the United States**


 * January 20, 1973:**

//**Roe v. Wade**// **and the Birth of a New Front in the American Culture War**

**January 22, 1973:** In the ** //Roe v. Wade// ** decision, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7 to 2 vote, legalized abortion in the early stages of pregnancy.

Also, on **January 22nd**, former President ** //Lyndon B. Johnson// ** died at his ranch in Stonewall, Texas.

Associate Justice **Harry Blackmun**, a **Richard Nixon appointee**, wrote the majority opinion. Building on the 1965 // **Griswold** // decision, in which the Court held that married couples enjoy a right to privacy, Blackmun argued that a similar right to privacy applied to a women concerning her body and reproduction.

The Court held that a **woman had** **a right to seek and obtain an abortion in the** **first trimester**, with the State having the prerogative to regulate abortions beyond that stage.

In short, **// Roe v. Wade //** triggered a new front in the **American Culture War**.

Above: **Associate Justice Harry Blackmun, author of the majority opinion in** **// Roe v. Wade; // // New York Times // headline announcing the // Rove v. Wade // decision, along with the death of Lyndon B. Johnson. **

As noted above, **// Roe v. Wade //** was decided by a **7 to 2 vote.**

Of the seven justices who voted for the legalization of abortion rights, **five had been appointed by Republican** **Presidents**. They were:

**William Brennan**, an Eisenhower appointee **Potter Stewart**, an Eisenhower appointee **Warren Burger** (the Chief Justice), a Nixon appointee **Harry Blackmun**, a Nixon appointee **Lewis Powell**, a Nixon appointee

Two justices who voted with the majority had been appointed by Democratic Presidents. They were:

**William O. Douglas**, a Franklin Roosevelt appointee **Thurgood Marshall**, a Lyndon Johnson appointee

The two dissenting justices were **Byron White** (a Kennedy appointee) and **William Rehnquist** (a Nixon appointee)

**The Pill, Abortion, Tech Shock, and the Rise of Out of Wedlock Births**


 * The LBJ Funeral **

**January 25, 1973:** Former President ** Lyndon B. Johnson ** died at his home in Texas on January 22nd. He was 64 years of age. He was buried in the family cemetery at the ** LBJ Ranch ** in Stonewall, Texas.

LBJ's wife, ** Lady Bird Johnson, ** lived another 34 years. In 2007, she was buried alongside her husband.


 * Above: LBJ's funeral; The Johnson family cemetery at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, Texas. The headstone at left marks the grave of Lady Bird Johnson (1912-2007), the former First Lady. The headstone at right marks the grave of President Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973). **

Above: **Lyndon Baines Johnson, 1908-1973, President of the United States, November 22, 1963 to January 20, 1969**


 * [|The Johnson Family Cemetery] **


 * The End of the American Military Role in the Vietnam War: The Paris Peace Accords Signed**


 * January 27, 1973:** **The United States**, **South Vietnam**, and **North Vietnam** signed a **cease fire agreement**, a settlement that essentially guaranteed an end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnamese Conflict. The cease-fire went into effect the next day.

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the Peace Agreement;** **Paris Conference where the Peace Accords were signed on January 27, 1973**


 * Culture War Backlash: Nationwide Release of //Walking Tall//**


 * February 22, 1973:**

Above: **Theatrical release poster for //Walking Tall//**


 * [|IMDb: Release Dates for Walking Tall]**


 * The Watergate Tapes: President Richard Nixon and White House Counsel John Dean Discuss Watergate**


 * March 21, 1973:**

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon; White House Counsel John Dean; AP/National Archives photo of Nixon White House tape and tape recorder**


 * [|WhiteHouseTapes.net: John Dean Tells Nixon of a Cancer Near the Presidency, March 21, 1973]**

**Dean**: I think that there's no doubt about the seriousness of the problem we've got. **We have a cancer within-close to the presidency, that's growing. It's growing daily. It's compounding.** It grows geometrically now, because it compounds itself. That'll be clear as I explain, you know, some of the details of why it is, and it basically is because (1) we're being blackmailed; (2) people are going to start perjuring themselves very quickly that have not had to perjure themselves to protect other people and the like. And that is just. . . and there is no assurance-

**President Nixon**: That it won't bust.


 * ---Taped Conversation between President Nixon and White House Counsel John Dean, March 21, 1973 **


 * [|WhiteHouseTapes.net: Nixon and John Dean Discuss Raising a Million Dollars, March 21, 1973]**


 * The Last American Combat Troops Leave Vietnam **

**March 28, 1973:** The United States withdrew its last combat troops from Vietnam, thus ending the major U.S. role in the war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

Above: **A Viet Cong observer counts American servicemen boarding a plane scheduled to leave Vietnam, March 28, 1973**


 * Opening of the World Trade Center in New York City**


 * April 4, 1973:**

Above:


 * Watergate Scandal: Nixon Announces the Resignations of Haldeman and Ehrlichman**


 * April 30, 1973:** In a televised address, **President Richard Nixon** announced the resignations of key presidential aides, **H.R. Haldeman** and **John Ehrlichman** for matters related to the **Watergate Scandal.**

Above: **Nixon announcing the resignations of H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, two of his top presidential aides;** **H.R. Haldeman; John Ehrlichman**


 * The Sears Tower in Chicago Reaches Designed Height, Thus Becoming the Highest Building on Earth**


 * May 3, 1973:**


 * [|MichiganAveMag.com: The Sears Tower at 40]**


 * The Unmanned Launching of //Skylab//****, America's First Space Station**


 * May 14, 1973:**

Above: **The Launch of Skylab aboard a modified //Saturn V// rocket; //Skylab// fully deployed at a later date; //Skylab// insignia**


 * [|NASA.gov: Skylab]**

**Watergate Scandal: The Senate Watergate Committee**

**May 17, 1973:** The Senate Watergate Hearings began on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Senator **Sam Ervin** of North Carolina (Democrat) was **c****hairman** of the committee. The ranking Republican on the Senate Watergate Committee was Senator **Howard Baker** of Tennessee.



Above: **Senate Watergate Committee, 1973;** **Democratic** **Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina (at the microphone), Republican Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee (to Ervin's immediate right), ranking minority party member on the committee, Minority Counsel Fred Thompson (at Baker's right)**


 * [|History.com: Watergate Hearings Begin, May 17, 1973]**


 * First Manned Mission to //Skylab// Launched**


 * May 25, 1973:**




 * [|NASA.gov: Manned Skylab Mission Launched, May 25, 1973]**


 * Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev Hold a Summit in the United States**


 * June 18, 1972**




 * Watergate Scandal: John Dean and the Senate Watergate Committee**


 * June 25, 1973:**

Above: **John Dean (standing) being sworn in** **before the Senate Watergate Committee**


 * Blaxploitation Film Genre: The Debut of //Cleopatra Jones//**


 * July 13, 1973:** The film **//Cleopatra Jones//** debuted in the United States.

Above: **Movie poster for //Cleopatra Jones//**


 * [|Release date of Cleopatra Jones]**


 * Watergate Scandal: Alexander Butterfield and Nixon's Tapes**


 * July 16, 1973:**

Above: **Alexander** ** Butterfield giving testimony, July 16, 1973 **

Above: //**Time**// **cover referencing the recent discovery of a taping system in the Oval Office; AP/National Archives photo of Nixon White House tape and tape recorder**


 * Second Manned //Skylab Mission// Launched**


 * July 28, 1973:**




 * [|NASA.gov: Skylab Flights]**


 * Right-Wing Coup in Chile Against Socialist Salvador Allende**


 * September 11, 1973:**




 * [|Slate: The Coup that Overthrew Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973] [|Foreign Affairs: An Account of the Coup Against Allende]**


 * The Feminist Movement: Billie Jean King Defeats Bobby Riggs in a Tennis Match**


 * September 20, 1973:**

Above: **Battle of the Sexes Tennis Match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.**

**The Yom Kippur War of October 1973**

**October 6-25, 1973**:

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the Yom Kippur War**

Above: **Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir; President of Egypt Anwar Sadat; President of Syria Hafez al-Assad**


 * [|The Yom Kippur War, October 6-25, 1973] [|U.S. State Department: The 1973 Arab-Israeli War]**


 * [|History.com: The Yom Kippur War of October 1973]**


 * "On October 6, 1973, hoping to win back territory lost to Israel during the third Arab-Israeli war, in 1967, Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Taking the Israeli Defense Forces by surprise, Egyptian troops swept deep into the Sinai Peninsula, while Syria struggled to throw occupying Israeli troops out of the Golan Heights. Israel counterattacked and recaptured the Golan Heights. A cease-fire went into effect on October 25, 1973." -//History.com// **


 * [|Salon: October 1973 and What it Did to America]**


 * The Resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew**


 * October 10, 1973:**

Above: //**New York Times**// **front page coverage of the Agnew resignation;** **Vice President Spiro T. Agnew who resigned on October 10, 1973**


 * [|New York Times: The Resignation of Spiro Agnew]**

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the fall of Vice President Spiro Agnew and the nomination of Congressman Gerald R. Ford to the office of Vice President**


 * Operation Nickel Grass: Nixon Announced an Initiative to Supply Israel**


 * October 12, 1973:**

Above: **President Richard Nixon; Military equipment associated with Operation Nickel Grass**


 * The OPEC Oil Embargo**


 * October 16, 1973:**


 * [|U.S. State Department: The OPEC Oil Embargo, 1973-1974]**


 * "During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an embargo against the United States in retaliation for the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military and to gain leverage in the post-war peace negotiations. Arab OPEC members also extended the embargo to other countries that supported Israel including the Netherlands, Portugal, and South Africa. The embargo both banned petroleum exports to the targeted nations and introduced cuts in oil production. Several years of negotiations between oil-producing nations and oil companies had already destabilized a decades-old pricing system, which exacerbated the embargo’s effects." **


 * ---Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State **


 * Watergate Scandal: The Saturday Night Massacre**


 * October 20, 1973:**

Above: //**New York Times**// **front page coverage of Nixon's firing of Archibald Cox; Solicitor General Robert Bork, the federal official who carried out the Saturday Night Massacre; //Time// coverage of the firing of Archibald Cox**


 * [|New York Times: The Saturday Night Massacre]**


 * "On Oct. 20, 1973, in the so-called 'Saturday Night Massacre,' President Richard M. Nixon abolished the office of special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox, and accepted the resignation of Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and fired Deputy Attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus for their refusal to fire Mr. Cox. **


 * The president took the action to prevent Mr. Cox from obtaining audiotapes of White House conversations implicating Mr. Nixon in the attempted cover-up of the Watergate break-in (in 1972, five Nixon campaigners were caught trying to place recording devices inside Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate complex). Solicitor General Robert Bork, the acting attorney general, followed the president’s order to fire Mr. Cox." **


 * ---//New York Times//, October 20, 2011 **


 * The 1973 World Series: The Oakland A's Defeated the New York Mets in Game 7 to Win their Second Consecutive World Series**


 * October 21, 1973:**




 * Third Manned Mission to //Skylab// launched**


 * November 16, 1973:**




 * [|NASA.gov: Skylab Flights]**


 * Watergate Scandal: Richard Nixon declares, "I am not a crook."**


 * November 17, 1973:**

Above: **President Richard Nixon declaring, "I am not a crook."**


 * [|Washington Post on Nixon: "I am not a crook."]**


 * American Presbyterians Split Over Theology: The Birth of the Presbyterian Church in America **


 * December 4, 1973: **


 * [|Briarwood.org: The Birth of the Presbyterian Church in America]**


 * Gerald R. Ford Sworn in as Vice President of the United States**


 * December 6, 1973:**

Above: **Gerald R. Ford of Michigan being sworn in as Vice President of the United States**


 * [|Gerald R. Ford becomes Vice President]**


 * Buffalo Bills Running Back O.J. Simpson Gains 2,000 Yards Rushing in a 14 Game Regular Season**


 * December 16, 1973:**

Above: **Buffalo Bills Running Back O.J. Simpson carrying the ball in Shea Stadium against the New York Jets, December 16, 1973**


 * [|FoxSports.com: 40 Years After O.J. Simpson Broke the 2,000 Yards Season Rushing Barrier]**


 * Notre Dame Edges Past Alabama in a Sugar Bowl Thriller**


 * December 31, 1973:** In a classic college football game, **Notre Dame** defeated **Alabama** in the **Sugar Bowl** by a **24 to 23** score.

Above: **Notre Dame quarterback Tom Clements throws a pivotal 3rd down pass completion that sealed a one-point win for the Fighting Irish over the Crimson Tide**


 * [|Article on the December 31, 1973 Sugar Bowl]**

//**Time's**// **1973 Man of the Year: Judge John Sirica**



** 1974 **


 * Coleman Young Became Mayor of Detroit**


 * January 1, 1974:**

Above: **Coleman Young**


 * Super Bowl VIII: The Miami Dolphins Defeated the Minnesota Vikings**


 * January 13, 1974:**

Above: **Miami Dolphins runner Mercury Morris carries the ball against the Minnesota Vikings**


 * Debut of //Happy Days// on ABC**


 * January 15, 1974:** On ABC, TV sitcom **//Happy Days//** premiered.




 * Patty Hearst Kidnapped**


 * February 4, 1974:**


 * [|History.com: Patty Hearst Kidnapped, February 4, 1974]**


 * Debut of //Good Times// on CBS**


 * February 8, 1974:** On CBS, //**Good Times**// premiered.

Above: **Title screen of //Good Times;//** ** Cast of //Good Times// **

Above: **The Cast of //Good Times// on the cover of //TV Guide//**

**Hank Aaron hits Home Run 715 and passes Babe Ruth**

**April 8, 1974:** Hank Aaron, Mobile, Alabama native, hit his **715th home run** to break Babe Ruth's record.

Above: **Hank Aaron** hits **Home Run 715**


 * While Kidnapped, Patty Hearst Becomes Radicalized**


 * April 15, 1974:**




 * The Carnation Revolution in Portugal**


 * April 25, 1974:**


 * [|NBC News: The Carnation Revolution in Portugal, April 25, 1974]**


 * Richard Nixon Addresses the Nation on His Release of Transcripts of the Watergate Tapes**


 * April 29, 1974:**

Above: **President Richard M. Nixon with transcripts of Watergate Tapes, April 29, 1974; //Time// coverage of Nixon's transcripts**


 * [|Nixon and the Tapes] [|Nixon's Address to the Nation, April 29, 1974]**


 * Film Noir: National Release of //Chinatown//, Starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway**


 * June 20, 1974:**

Above: **Movie release poster for //Chinatown//**


 * [|IMDb: Release Dates for Chinatown]**


 * Alberta Williams King, the Mother of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Murdered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia**


 * June 30, 1974**



// **The United States v. Nixon** //** : In an 8-0 Unanimous Decision, the U.S. Supreme Court Orders Nixon to Surrender the Tapes **


 * July 24, 1974: **


 * [|ConstitutionCenter.org: United States v. Nixon, July 24, 1974]**

//**Milliken v. Bradley**// **and the Busing Controversy**


 * July 25, 1974:**

Above: **Chief Justice Warren E. Burger**


 * [|Milliken v. Bradley, July 25, 1974]**


 * Watergate Scandal: The Resignation of Richard M. Nixon **

**August 9, 1974:** **Richard M. Nixon** resigned the Presidency of the United States

Due to the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon became the first American president to resign the office. Vice President Gerald R. Ford thus became president and served the remainder of Nixon's second term.




 * [|President Gerald R. Ford's Remarks After Taking the Presidential Oath of Office, August 9, 1974] **


 * The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford **

**August 9, 1974**: Gerald R. Ford became President of the United States

Gerald R. Ford (Republican), 38th American President. Years in Office: 1974-1977

Above: **President Gerald R. Ford**

Gerald R. Ford (Republican) became President of the United States in August 1974. He served out the remainder of Richard Nixon's term and left office on January 20, 1977. He lost the 1976 Presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.


 * Watergate Scandal: Ford Pardons Nixon**


 * September 8, 1974: President Gerald R. Ford** granted recently-resigned **Richard M. Nixon** a full and complete pardon for any and all federal crimes the former president might have committed in the **Watergate Scandal.**

Above: **President Gerald R. Ford announcing his pardon of Richard Nixon;** // **Time** // ** cover featuring Ford's pardon Richard M. Nixon **


 * [|Politico: Fords pardon of Nixon]**


 * The 1974 World Series: The Oakland A's Defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 to Win Their 3rd Consecutive World Series**


 * October 17, 1974:**

Above: **The 1974 World Series Program**


 * 1974 Midterm Elections: Democrats Win Big in the Rise of the "Watergate Babies"**


 * November 4, 1974:**




 * PLO Leader Yasser Arafat Spoke to the United Nations General Assembly**


 * November 13, 1974:**


 * President Gerald R. Ford Signed the //Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974// into Law**


 * December 17, 1974:**

Above: **President Gerald R. Ford**


 * [|Ford's Statement Regarding the Signing of the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, December 17, 1974]**


 * "I am pleased to have signed the Safe Drinking Water Act (S. 433). Much effort has gone into the development of this legislation as much as for any enacted in this session of Congress. **


 * This Administration proposed a Safe Drinking Water Act, and several others were introduced by Members of Congress. All of these bills had the same objectives: to increase protection of the public's health. Many compromises had to be made before this bill reached my desk. Yet it is a strong bill, reflecting the combined efforts of the Congress and the Administration. **


 * This legislation will enhance the safety of public drinking water supplies in this country through the establishment and enforcement of national drinking water standards. The Environmental Protection Agency has the primary responsibility for establishing our national standards. The States have the primary responsibility of enforcing them and for otherwise ensuring the quality of drinking water." **


 * ---President Gerald R. Ford, December 17, 1974 **


 * [|University of Texas: President Gerald R. Ford's Statement, December 17, 1974]**


 * Nelson A. Rockefeller Became Vice President of the United States of America**


 * December 19, 1974:**

Above: **Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller**


 * [[file:Rockarch.org-Nelson-A-Rockefeller-Chronology.pdf]] Chronology of the Life of Nelson A. Rockefeller**


 * [|GeraldFordFoundation.org: Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller]**

//**The Godfather, Part II**//


 * December 20, 1974:** **//The//** //**Godfather, Part II,**// the sequel to **//The Godfather,//** was released in American theaters.

Above: **Movie release poster for //The Godfather, Part II//**




 * December 22, 1974:**



//**Times's**// **1974 Man of the Year: King of Faisal of Saudi Arabia**



** 1975 **


 * The Vietnam War: North Vietnam Launches Offensive Against South Vietnam**


 * January 6, 1975**


 * [|PBS.org: Vietnam War Timeline]**


 * Jerry Brown Became Governor of California, Succeeding Ronald Reagan, a Conservative Republican**


 * January 6, 1975:**

Above: **Jerry Brown (at right) taking the oath of office as Governor of California, January 6, 2014**


 * Super Bowl IX: The Pittsburgh Steelers Defeated the Minnesota Vikings**


 * January 12, 1975:**

Above: **Pittsburgh defenders wrap up a Minnesota ball carrier; Pittsburgh running back Franco Harris carries against the Vikings**


 * President Gerald R. Ford Declares, "The State of the Union is not Good"**


 * January 15, 1975**


 * [|President Gerald R. Ford's 1975 SOTU Address]**


 * FALN, a Radical Puerto Rican Independence Group, Carries out Deadly Bombing in NYC**


 * January 24, 1975**


 * [|New York Daily News: FALN Bombing of January 24, 1975]**


 * The Premiere of //Monty Python And The Holy Grail//**


 * March 14, 1975:**





media type="file" key="Dennis The Constitutional Peasant.mp4" width="300" height="300"


 * [|Release Dates for Monty Python And The Holy Grail]**


 * The Birth of Microsoft **

**April 4, 1975:** Bill Gates and associates founded ** Microsoft **, a pioneering computer software company. In time, Microsoft received a contract to provide the ** operating system ** for ** IBM personal computers **.

In providing the operating system (the ** software ** ) to much of the growing computer market, Microsoft emerged in the 1980s as one of the most important companies in the world. ** Bill Gates **, in turn, became one of the wealthiest men in the world by the end of the 20th century.

Above: Paul Allen and ** Bill Gates ** in 1981, and the modern ** Microsoft ** logo


 * The Fall of Cambodia to the Khmer Rouge**


 * April 17, 1975:** **Phnom Penh,** the capital city of **Cambodia,** fell to the **Khmer Rouge,** a **communist** force. In short order, the **Khmer Rouge** established a **social revolution** that **killed millions** of **Cambodians**.

Above: **The Khmer Rouge in triumph in Phnom Penh, Cambodia**


 * [|The Rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia]**


 * The Resignation of Nguyen Van Thieu, the President of South Vietnam**


 * April 21, 1975:**

Above: **Nguyen Van Thieu, President of South Vietnam, 1965-1975**


 * [|BBC: President of South Vietnam Resigns, April 21, 1975]**


 * The Final Triumph of North Vietnam **


 * April 30, 1975: **** Saigon, **the capital city of **South Vietnam,** fell to **communist** Pro-Soviet **North Vietnam.**

Above: **An iconic photo of the evacuation of the American Embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam**

Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam, fell to the Communists of North Vietnam. Pictured above is an American helicopter evacuating personnel and refugees. After the Communist takeover, Saigon was renamed "Ho Chi Minh City," in honor of the deceased Vietnamese revolutionary leader. North and South Vietnam were also united into one country, and as of 2012, remains under the rule of the Vietnamese communist party.

Above: **Covers of //Time// in the wake of the North Vietnamese triumph**


 * [|Salon: Richard Nixon Cynically Stabbed the U.S. in the Back]**


 * The Premiere of //Jaws// **


 * June 20, 1975: // Jaws //** debuted in American movie theaters.

Above: **Movie poster for //Jaws//**


 * [|Data about Jaws]**


 * Detente in Space: The Apollo-Soyuz Space-Docking Mission**


 * July 17-19, 1975:**

Above: **Soyuz 19 launched; Apollo launched; American-Soviet in-orbit handshake**

Above: **Apollo** as seen from **Soyuz; Soyuz** as seen from **Apollo;** **Soyuz close-up taken from Apollo**

Above: **The Apollo-Soyuz Crew; Soviet commemorative stamp for Apollo-Soyuz; //Time// coverage of Apollo-Soyuz**

[|The Apollo-Soyuz Docking Mission, July 1975]

Above: **Insignias for Apollo-Soyuz; United States commemorative stamps for Apollo-Soyuz**


 * The Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa**


 * July 30, 1975:**

Above: **Jimmy Hoffa in 1975 (Tony Spina photo)**


 * Debut of a Cult Movie: The London Premiere of //The Rocky Horror Picture Show//**


 * August 14, 1975:**

Above: **Movie Poster for //The Rocky Horror Picture Show//, a film that premiered in London on August 14, 1975**


 * [|IMDb: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, London Premiere, August 14, 1975]**


 * Bruce Springsteen, The Boss**

**August 25, 1975:** Bruce Springsteen's **// Born To Run //** album was released

Above: **Album cover for Bruce Springsteen's //Born to Run;// Bruce Springsteen on an October 1975 issue of //Time//**


 * Failed Assassination Attempt Against President Gerald R. Ford**


 * September 5, 1975:**

Above: //**Time**// **cover featuring Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, the woman who attempted to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford on September 5, 1975**

//**Time**// **article on Squeaky Fromme's attempt to assassinate President Gerald R. Ford**


 * [|History.com: Squeaky Fromme Attempts to Assassinate President Gerald R. Ford, September 5, 1975]**


 * Patty Hearst Captured and Arrested**


 * September 18, 1975:**




 * [|FBI: The Patty Hearst Case]**


 * President Gerald R. Ford Survives Second Assassination Attempt in September 1975**


 * September 22, 1975:**

Above: **Gerald R. Ford Library photo of President Ford reacting to the sound of a gunshot in San Francisco, California, September 22, 1975**


 * The Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali Defeats Joe Frazier**


 * October 1, 1975**

Above: **AP Photo (via the //Washington Post// ) of the boxing match between Muhammad Ali (right) vs. Joe Frazier in Manila, Philippines on October 1, 1975**

**"Live from New York…It's Saturday Night!"**

**October 11, 1975:** On NBC, a sketch comedy show entitled, //**Saturday Night Live**// premiered.

Above: **Early cast members on //Saturday Night Live//**

// Saturday Night Live // debuted on NBC in October 1975. Rather quickly, SNL became a routine source of American satire and comedy. Certain cast members through the years became major stars. Examples include Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Akyroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Eddie Murphy, Michael Myers, Dana Carvey, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Tinal Fey, and Will Ferrill.


 * President Ford's Limousine Involved in a Car Accident**


 * October 14, 1975:**

Above: **President Gerald R. Ford**


 * The 1975 World Series: The Boston Red Sox Win Game Six Over the Cincinnati Reds in a Classic**


 * October 21, 1975:**

Above: **The 1975 World Series Program**


 * The 1975 World Series: The Cincinnati Reds Win Game Seven, thus Becoming World Series Champions**


 * October 22, 1975**

Above: **1975 World Series Program**


 * The Halloween Massacre: President Ford Elevates Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush, and Richard Cheney, Dumps Nelson Rockefeller from Ticket**


 * November 3, 1975:**

Above: //**Time**// **cover for the November 17, 1975 issue featuring, in cartoon caricature, President Ford and "Halloween Massacre" figures Donald Rumsfeld, George H.W. Bush, and Henry Kissinger; President Gerald R. Ford; Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller who declared that he would not seek the Vice Presidency in the 1976 election**

Above: **Donald Rumsfeld; George H.W. Bush; Richard B. Cheney; Lt. General Brent Scowcroft**


 * [[file:FordLibraryMuseum.gov-Nelson-Rockefeller-Letter-to-POTUS-3November1975.pdf]] Vice President Nelson Rockefeller's November 3, 1975 Letter to President Gerald Ford**


 * [[file:Rockarch.org-Nelson-A-Rockefeller-Chronology.pdf]] Chronology of the life of Nelson A. Rockefeller**


 * [|GeraldFordFoundation.org: Senior Staffers]**


 * [|GeraldFordFoundation.org: Gerald R. Ford Timeline]**


 * [|SmithsonianMag.com: The Halloween Massacre, November 3, 1975]**


 * [|Transcript of President Ford's November 3, 1975 Press Conference]**


 * [[file:Time-Article-17Nov1975-Issue-Ford's-Purge-of-His-Administration.pdf]] //Time// December 17, 1975 issue article on Ford's purging of his administration**


 * "Ford's reasons for firing CIA Director William Colby were clearer. A fresh figure, preferably someone from outside the intelligence community, was needed to restore public confidence in the agency. Moreover, in the Administration's view, Colby had been too forthcoming in releasing secret information about the CIA's past misdeeds to the congressional investigating committees. But Ford's timing in dismissing Colby was odd indeed. Many political leaders wondered why the President had not waited until the investigations were over. **


 * At the same time, many liberal and moderate Republicans were disturbed by Nelson Rockefeller's announcement that he was withdrawing from consideration as Ford's Vice President in 1976. Despite Ford's denials, the consensus in Washington was that the President had got the word to Rocky to jump before he was pushed. Ford's purpose: to keep conservative Republicans from deserting to Reagan. **


 * In general, Congressmen of both parties felt that Ford had blundered, not only because of some bad timing and a lack of usual courtesies, but, more important, because of the questionable caliber of a couple of the replacements. As successors to Schlesinger and Colby, Ford chose two ambitious and heatedly partisan Republicans: for Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, the White House chief of staff; for CIA director, George Bush, the chief of the U.S. liaison office in Peking." **


 * ---//Time//, November 17, 1975 issue **


 * The Death of Spanish Dictator Francisco Franco**


 * November 20, 1975:**


 * Donald Rumsfeld Became Secretary of Defense**


 * November 20, 1975:**

Above: **Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, November 20, 1975 to January 20, 1977**


 * [|Defense.gov: Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, 1975-1977]**


 * Ford Challenged from the Right: Former California Governor Ronald Reagan Announced his Candidacy for the GOP Nomination**


 * November 20, 1975:**

Above: //**Time**// **cover (November 24, 1975 issue) featuring former California Governor Ronald Reagan**

**Gerald Ford Foundation Document: Ronald Reagan's Statement Announcing his Candidacy, November 20, 1975**


 * Debut of //One Day at a Time// **


 * December 16, 1975:** On CBS, //**One Day at a Time**// premiered.

Above: **Title screen of //One Day at a Time;// Scene from //One Day at a Time//**


 * [|Dates of Episodes of One Day at a Time]**

//**Time's**// **1975 Women of the Year: American Women**



** 1976 **


 * Super Bowl X: The Pittsburgh Steelers Defeated the Dallas Cowboys**


 * January 18, 1976:**

Above: **Pittsburgh wide receiver Lynn Swann goes for a pass against Dallas; Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach hit by a Pittsburgh defender**


 * The 1976** **Iowa Caucuses: Democrat Jimmy Carter Knocks Off Birch Bayh and Mo Udall, Two Noteworthy Democratic Liberals**


 * January 19, 1976:**

Above: **Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter;** **U.S.** **Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana; U.S. Representative Mo Udall of Arizona**


 * Concorde Supersonic Aircraft Enter Commercial Service**


 * January 21, 1976:**

Above: **AP photo of a** **British Airways supersonic //Concorde// aircraft** **taking flight in 1976**


 * [|SmithsonianMag.com: 2011 Article Marking the 35th Anniversary of Concorde Commercial Flights]**


 * Former Texas Congressman and Ambassador to the UN George H.W. Bush Became Director of the CIA**


 * January 30, 1976:**

Above: **George H. W. Bush, Director of the CIA, January 30, 1976 to January 20, 1977**


 * The Premiere of //Taxi Driver//**


 * February 8, 1976:**

Above: **Movie Poster for //Taxi Driver;// Robert De Niro in //Taxi Driver//**


 * [|IMDB: Taxi Driver, Release Dates]**


 * The 1976 New Hampshire Primary: Democrat Jimmy Carter Narrowly Triumphs Over Mo Udall**


 * February 24, 1976:**

Above: **Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter; U.S. Representative Mo Udall of Arizona**


 * The 1976 Florida Presidential Primary: Democrat Jimmy Carter Continues Winning**


 * March 9, 1976:**




 * [|PBS: Jimmy Carter Timeline]**

Above: **Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter; Governor of Alabama George C. Wallace**


 * The Birth of Apple Computer **


 * April 1, 1976: Steve Jobs ** and ** Steve Wozniak ** founded ** Apple Computer **, a company that, along with Microsoft, would bring a technological, economic, and cultural revolution to the world by putting computers in the hands of regular people.

Above: **Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and (at right) the** ** Apple I. **


 * Culture War: A Boston Anti-Busing Protest and //The Soiling of Old Glory//**


 * April 5, 1976:**

Above: **"The Soiling of Old Glory" photograph by Stanley Foreman; Book cover for //The Soiling of Old Glory// by Louis P. Masur**


 * [|The Story Behind the Photograph]**


 * //All The President's Men//**


 * April 9, 1976:** **//All The President's Men,//** the story of how **//Washington Post//** reporters **Bob Woodward** and **Carl Bernstein** uncovered much of the **Watergate Scandal,** was released in American theater's.

Above: **Theatrical release poster of //All the President's Men//**


 * The 1976 Pennsylvania Primary: Jimmy Carter Prevails Over Scoop Jackson and Mo Udall**


 * April 27, 1976:**

Above: **Democratic Party Front-runner Jimmy Carter of Georgia**

** "The 1976 script called for the longest, most grueling run of Democratic primaries and caucuses in U.S. history. In an effort to make the selection system more open, the Democrats had rewritten their ground rules for campaigning and Congress drastically tightened the laws on financing. Nearly a dozen serious candidates, some household names and others almost unknown, had formally entered the fray. On the sidelines hovered two of the party's most formidable figures. According to all the conventional wisdom, the process was going to be a marathon shambles, producing nearly five months of furious activity but probably settling nothing. **


 * Suddenly, only a third of the way through the obstacle course, the race was all but over. Starting out 17 months ago with no national political base, name recognition or backing from powerful interest groups, onetime Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter had carved out on his own a broad constituency of smalltown and rural voters, blue-collar ethnics, white-collar suburbanites, inner-city blacks. Week after week, winning primaries in the North, South and Midwest, he steadily thinned the ranks of his rivals. Last week by triumphing decisively and against formidable odds in Pennsylvania's pivotal primary, he all but crushed his remaining opposition, including Democratic Senior Statesman Hubert Humphrey." **

Above: **Front-runner Jimmy Carter; U.S. Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington; U.S. Representative Mo Udall of Arizona**
 * ---//Time//, May 10, 1976 issue **


 * The 1976 Italian General Election**


 * June 20, 1976**

Above: //**Time**// **cover, in the days leading up to the 1976 Italian General Election, featuring Italian Communist Party Leader Enrico Berlinguer; General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party Enrico Berlinguer**

//**Time**// **article about Italian Communist Leader Enrico Berlinguer, June 14, 1976 issue**


 * "It was not only the Italians who were deeply concerned about the outcome. In the capitals of Western Europe, in Washington and Moscow, politicians and diplomats were anxiously waiting to learn what the voters will decide when they line up at the polls on June 20 and 21. Reason: the central and overriding issue of the campaign—crucial not just for Italy but for all of Western Europe—is whether or not the huge, superbly organized Communist Party, led by Enrico Berlinguer, will finally come to a share in power after nearly 30 years in opposition. In the wake of World War II, Italy's Communists —then led by the late Palmiro Togliatti —were turned back. But now once again a Red threat looms over Italy, although it is a very different Communist Party that is bidding to enter the government. " **


 * ---//Time//, June 14, 1976 issue, published days prior to the 1976 Italian Election **


 * The American Bicentennial, 1776-1976 **

**July 4, 1976:** The United States celebrated its 200th birthday.



Above Right: **President Gerald Ford rings a facsimile of the Liberty Bell**


 * The 1976 Democratic Convention: Jimmy Carter Becomes the Presidential Nominee**


 * July 12-15, 1976:**

Above: **The Carter-Mondale 1976 Democratic ticket**


 * Major 1976 presidential candidates of the Democratic Party (Left to Right): Jimmy Carter of Georgia, Mo Udall of Arizona, Jerry Brown of California, George Wallace of Alabama, Scoop Jackson of Washington, and Frank Church of Idaho**


 * The Opening of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada**


 * July 17, 1976:**

//**Viking I**// **Lands on the Surface of Mars**


 * July 20, 1976:**

Above: **Photo taken on the surface of Mars by the //Viking I// lander on July 20, 1976**


 * [|Viking I on Mars, July 20, 1976] [|NASA.gov: Viking 1 and 2]**


 * U.S. Olympian Bruce Jenner Wins the Gold Medal in the Decathlon**


 * July 30, 1976:**




 * [|History.com: American Bruce Jenner Wins the Decathlon at Montreal Olympics, July 30, 1976]**


 * The 1976 Republican Convention**


 * August 16-19, 1976:**




 * Mao Zedong: 1893-1976 **

**September 9, 1976:** Mao Zedong, leader of the Communist Revolution in China, architect of the People's Republic of China, and longtime ruler of the world's most populous nation, died. He was 82 years of age.

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of Mao Zedong's death;** **Mao's body on display days after his death**


 * The General Convention of the Episcopal Church Approved the Ordination of Women as Priests**


 * September 16, 1976:**




 * Debut of TV Series //Charlie's Angels// **


 * September 22, 1976:** On ABC, the TV series //**Charlie's Angels**// premiered. The pilot episode had run several months earlier, but as a series, the show began at this point.

Above: **Title screen for //Charlie's Angels;// The Original Three Angels**

Above: **//Time's// November 1976 coverage of //Charlie's Angels//**


 * [|Info on Charlie's Angels]**


 * 1976 Presidential Debate: President Ford vs. Jimmy Carter**


 * September 23, 1976:**


 * [|1976 Presidential Debates]**


 * Presidential Debate on Foreign Policy: President Ford vs. Jimmy Carter**


 * October 6, 1976:**




 * [|Presidential Debate Transcript: October 6, 1976]**


 * The 1976 World Series: The Cincinnati Reds Defeated the New York Yankees in a Four Game Sweep**


 * October 21, 1976:**




 * 1976 Presidential Election **

**November 2, 1976:** Jimmy Carter (Democrat) won the Presidential Election of 1976.

Above: **Democrat Jimmy Carter, at left, and Republican Gerald R. Ford at right**

Above: **The 1976 presidential electoral map;** **//Time// cover pertaining on the election of Jimmy Carter as President of the United States**


 * [|Key Facts Regarding the 1976 Presidential Election]**

//**Rocky**//


 * December 3, 1976:** **//Rocky,//** starring **Sylvester Stallone,** debuted in American movie theaters across the nation.

Above: **Theatrical release poster of //Rocky;// Fight scene in //Rocky//**


 * The Release of the Eagles' //Hotel California//**


 * December 8, 1976:**

Above: **Album cover for //Hotel California// by the Eagles**


 * [|Release of Hotel California]**


 * The Death of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley**


 * December 20, 1976:**

Above: **Mayor of Chicago Richard J. Daley; //Chicago Tribune// photo of Mayor Richard J. Daley, wife Eleanor, and grandson, December 9, 1976, eleven days before the Mayor's death**


 * The Dow at the End of 1976**


 * December 31, 1976:** The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 1004.


 * [|Dow Jones History]**


 * Time's 1976 Man of the Year: Jimmy Carter**



** 1977 **


 * Congressman Tip O'Neill Became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives**


 * January 4, 1977:**

**Super Bowl XI: The Oakland Raiders Defeated the Minnesota Vikings**

**January 9, 1977:** Quarterback Kenny Stabler, Foley High School alumnus and former University of Alabama quarterback, became a Super Bowl Champion in leading the Oakland to a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.

Above: **Super Bowl XI: Former Foley High School and Alabama quarterback, Kenny Stabler leads the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl championship over the Minnesota Vikings; Oakland Raider defender Otis Sistrunk tackles Minnesota quarterback Fran Tarkenton; //Time// coverage of Super Bowl XI**


 * The Presidency of Jimmy Carter **

**January 20, 1977:** Jimmy Carter became President of the United States

Jimmy Carter (Democrat), 39th American President. Years in Office: 1977-1981

Above: **President James E. Carter, portrait; Jimmy Carter taking the Presidential Oath of Office, January 20, 1977**

November 1976: Jimmy Carter (Democrat) elected President of the United States, defeating Republican President Gerald R. Ford. He served as president from January 20, 1977 to January 20,1981.

//**Roots**// **Airs on ABC**


 * January 23-30, 1977:**

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of Alex Haley's //Roots//**


 * "Searching For My Lost Shaker of Salt" **

**February 14, 1977:** Jimmy Buffett's iconic song, **// Margaritaville //**, was released. Buffett spent much of his early life in the Mobile-Baldwin area.

Above: **Jimmy Buffett**


 * Debut of //Three's Company//**


 * March 15, 1977:**




 * [|TV Guide: Data on Three's Company]**


 * The Age of Disco: The Opening of Studio 54 in New York City**


 * April 26, 1977:**


 * [|History.com: The Opening of Studio 54 in NYC, April 26, 1977]**


 * [|Vanity Fair: The 33 Months of Studio 54]**


 * The Broadcast of the Nixon-Frost Interviews: Episode 1**


 * May 4, 1977:**

Above: //**Time**// **cover featuring the Nixon-Frost Interviews**


 * [|History.com: The Nixon-Frost Interviews, First Episode, May 4, 1977]**


 * [|WGBH.org: Nixon-Frost Interviews, 1977]**

**The Premiere of //Star Wars//**

**May 25, 1977:** **// Star Wars //** debuted and, in time, became a signature American film.

The **// Stars Wars //** saga became a worldwide phenomenon, and in a way, become one of the most-cited fictional stories known by Americans from the late 1970s to the present day. Characters such as Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Obi Wan Kenobi, R2D2, C3PO, Yoda, Jabba the Hut, and others became household names by the time the series was completed. The 1977 movie was, in fact, episode four ( // A New Hope // ) in a six-part story. Episodes five ( **// The Empire Strikes Back //** ) and six ( **// Return of the Jedi //** ) followed in the early 1980s. Beginning in the late 1990s, // Star Wars // creator, **George Lucas**, brought forth episodes one, two, and three as a prequel.

Above: **//Star Wars// movie posters**


 * The New York City Blackout of 1977**


 * July 13-14, 1977:**

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the NYC Blackout; Looting in NYC during the Blackout**


 * [|New York Times: The NYC Blackout of July 13-14, 1977]**


 * David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam" Killer, was Arrested**


 * August 10, 1977:**

Above: **August 11, 1977 issue of //Newsday//; David Berkowitz mugshot, August 11, 1977**


 * [|New York Times: David Berkowitz, the "Son of Sam Killer, Arrested, August 10, 1977]**


 * "On Aug. 10, 1977, David Berkowitz, the serial killer who signed his letters 'Son of Sam,' was captured. **


 * Also known as the .44-caliber killer, he terrorized New York City for over a year, killing six and wounding many others in a series of eight attacks. Using his .44-caliber Charter Arms Bulldog, a distinctive, high-caliber gun, he looked for young brunette women or couples late at night, often near bars and nightclubs." **


 * ---//New York Times//, The Learning Network, August 10, 2011 **


 * Elvis Presley: 1935-1977 **

**August 16, 1977:** Elvis Presley died in Memphis, Tennessee of a heart attack. He was 42 years old.

Above: **Elvis in 1977**


 * The Launch of U.S. Space Probe //Voyager 1//**


 * September 5, 1977:**

Above: **//Voyager 1//**


 * [|NASA: The Voyager Space Probes]**


 * Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos Sign the Treaties that Established a U.S. Handover of the Panama Canal to Panama**


 * September 7, 1977:**

Above: **The August 22, 1977 issue of //Time// featuring the Panama Canal diplomacy efforts between the U.S. and Panama; President Jimmy Carter and Maximum Leader of Panama Omar Torrijos shaking hands after signing the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, September 7, 1977**


 * [|History.com: The Signing of the Panama Canal Treaties, September 7, 1977]**


 * [|State.gov: The Panama Canal Treaties]**

//**Soap**// **debuts on ABC**


 * September 13, 1977:** On ABC, the controversial groundbreaking comedy **//Soap//** premiered.

Above: ** Title screen for the television comedy //Soap// **


 * Black Monday in Youngstown, Ohio**


 * September 19, 1977:**


 * The New York Yankees Win the 1977 World Series**


 * October 18, 1977:** Behind the hitting of Reggie Jackson, the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games, thus winning its first World Series championship since 1962.

Above: **1977 World Series Program, Yankees vs. Dodgers; Reggie Jackson of the New York Yankees hit 3 Home Runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series**


 * [|The 1977 World Series: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers]**


 * [|Reggie Jackson hits 3 home runs in Game 6]**


 * President Jimmy Carter Signs Bill into Law that Deregulated the Air Cargo Industry**


 * November 9, 1977:**

Above: **President Jimmy Carter**




 * Women's Movement**


 * November 18-21, 1977:**

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the National Women's Conference, 1977 in Houston, Texas; Three First Ladies--Lady Bird Johnson, Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford--and Bella Abzug at the National Women's Conference, 1977**


 * [|PBS: Women's Movement in 1977] [|Summary and Photos: National Women's Conference, 1977]**

**"Over and over, the convention was described as 'a rainbow of women.' No previous women's gathering could begin to match its diversity of age, income, race, occupation or opinion. There were 1,442 delegates who had been elected at 56 state and territorial meetings that were open to the public; 400 more had been appointed at large by an overseeing national commission. They were white, black, yellow, Hispanic and Indian—and four were Eskimo. They were rich, poor, radical, conservative, Democratic, Republican and politically noninvolved. Three Presidents' wives were guests: Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford and Lady Bird Johnson. (Jackie Onassis turned down an invitation; Pat Nixon was ill.) One step removed from Houston, but hardly less actively involved, were the roughly 130,000 women who had participated in the long delegate-selection process leading up to the conference—part of America's real majority: the 110 million women who make up 51.3% of the nation's population.**

**By the end of the Houston conference, the women's movement had armed itself with a 25-point, revised National Plan of Action, mainly based on proposals drafted by the commission. By convincing majorities the delegates called for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment; free choice on abortion, along with federal and state funds for those who cannot afford it; a national health insurance plan with special provisions for women; extension of Social Security benefits to housewives; elimination of job, housing and credit discrimination against lesbians, and their right to have custody of their children; an expansion of bilingual education for minority women; a federal campaign to educate women on their right to credit; federally and state-funded programs for victims of child abuse and for education in rape prevention; state-supported shelters for wives who are physically abused by their husbands; and a federal rural program designed to overcome 'isolation, poverty and underemployment.'"**

**//Time//, December 5, 1977 issue**

**Thirty Years Retrospective on the National Women's Conference of 1977**

//**Saturday Night Fever**// **Hits American Theaters**


 * December 16, 1977:** Two days after its New York City premiere, //**Saturday Night Fever**// (a film about New York City disco life) was released. Like **//Star Wars//,** this film proved to be a signature cultural moment. In the coming year, disco would prove to be a dominant force in American music and nightlife.

Above: **Movie Poster for //Saturday Night Fever//**

//**Time's**// **1977** **Man of the Year: Anwar Sadat of Egypt**



** 1978 **


 * Ed Koch Became the Mayor of New York City**


 * January 1, 1978:**

Above: **Photo (CNN source) of New York City Mayor Ed Koch riding the subway, circa 1978****; Photo (CNN source) of NYC Mayor Ed Koch reading the //Washington Post// in 1978**

**The Age of Disco**


 * January 8, 1978: // Saturday Night Fever //** starring John Travolta was the most popular movie in the United States. **// Saturday Night Fever //** became a cultural phenomenon and popularized Disco music and culture to a wider American audience.

Above: **//Saturday Night Fever// scene; Soundtrack from //Saturday Night Fever//**


 * Super Bowl XII: The Dallas Cowboys Defeated the Denver Broncos**


 * January 15, 1978:**

Above: //**Time**// **cover featuring Super Bowl XII, a game played indoors in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans**

Above: **Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett carries the ball against Denver;** **Dallas defenders put pressure on Denver's quarterback**


 * Heavyweight Boxing Championship Match: Leon Spinks Defeats Muhammad Ali**


 * February 15, 1978:**




 * Release of //Some Girls//, an Album by The Rolling Stones**


 * June 9, 1978:**

Above: **C****over for //Some Girls// by The Rolling Stones, an album released on June 9, 1978**


 * [|UltimateClassicRock.com: Some Girls by The Rolling Stones]**


 * President Jimmy Carter Visits Panama**


 * June 17, 1978:**


 * [|President Carter's Toast in Panama, June 17, 1978]**


 * The Premiere of //Animal House//**


 * July 27-28, 1978:**




 * The Death of Pope Paul VI **

**August 6, 1978:** Pope Paul VI died. He had served as Pope since 1963, and had presided over much of the work of Vatican II (The Second Vatican Council).


 * Pope Paul VI, reigned from 1963-1978 **


 * The Short Reign of Pope John Paul I **

**August 26, 1978:** Albino Luciani was elected Pope, and took the name John Paul I.

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the election of Pope John Paul I; Portrait of Pope John Paul I**

**The //Camp David Accords//**

**September 17, 1978:** After several days of intense negotiations, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the ** Camp David Accords **, agreements establishing peace between the predominantly Muslim nation of Egypt and the predominantly Jewish nation of Israel.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter provided a great deal of mediating help in bringing Sadat and Begin to terms. The ** Camp David Accords ** was one of the high points of the Carter presidency.

Above: **Sadat, Carter, and Begin in a show of unity in March 1979**

President Carter helped negotiate a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the first between an Islamic country with Jewish Israel. President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin reached agreements at Camp David that resulted in a 1979 peace treaty.




 * The Death of Pope John Paul I **

**September 28, 1978:** Pope John Paul I died having served for one month and two days.

Above: The body of Pope John Paul I


 * The Catholic Church under John Paul II **

**October 16, 1978:** Karol Josef Wojtyla was elected Pope, and took the name John Paul II.



John Paul II reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from October 1978 to his death in April 2005. John Paul II was the third pope to have reigned over the Church in calendar year 1978. John Paul II was from Poland, and upon becoming Pope he was the first to do so since the 1500s.


 * The New York Yankees Win the 1978 World Series**


 * October 17, 1978:**

Above: **1978 World Series Program, New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers**


 * [|1978 World Series: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers]**


 * Airline Deregulation Act Signed Into Law by President Jimmy Carter**


 * October 24, 1978:**

Above: **President Jimmy Carter**


 * [|President Carter's Remarks, October 24, 1978]**


 * 1978 Midterm Elections**


 * November 7, 1978:**




 * The Jonestown Massacre:**


 * November 1978:**




 * President Jimmy Carter Issues Executive Order Setting Aside Alaskan Wilderness Areas for Conservation**


 * December 1, 1978:**




 * [|Presidency.UCSB.edu: President Carter's Statement, December 1, 1978]**


 * [|ADN.com: 35th Anniversary of Jimmy Carter's Executive Actions Regarding Alaska]**


 * The United States Grants Full Diplomatic Recognition to the People's Republic of China **

**December 15, 1978:** President **Jimmy Carter** announced that the **United States of America** would grant full diplomatic relations to the **People's Republic of China** (Communist China), effective **January 1, 1979**.

**Early in 1979**, the head of state of the People's Republic of China, **Deng Xiaoping**, visited Washington, D.C. and signed a round of accords further strengthening ties between the United States and the **People's Republic of** **China.**

President Carter's granting of full diplomatic recognition to the **People's Republic of China** was also a declaration that the **PRC** was the true and legitimate ruler of China. In doing so, the U.S. withdrew its recognition of **Taiwan** as the true China. **Nationalist China**, since the **1949 Communist takeover of mainland China**, had been relegated to the island of **Taiwan**, off the **east coast of mainland China**. As of 2014, however, Taiwan remains effectively independent of the People's Republic, despite its lack of formal recognition in much of the community of nations.

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the U.S. recognition of China**

**"It was the most momentous foreign policy announcement of Jimmy Carter's two-year-old presidency, and one of the most important in recent U.S. history. At precisely 9:01 Friday evening, the President, seated at his gleaming wooden desk in the Oval Office, looked gravely into the TV cameras and in a calm, steady voice revealed that the U.S. and Communist China had secretly and suddenly decided to end nearly 30 years of bellicose estrangement. The two countries would establish normal diplomatic relations on Jan. 1.**

**Under the agreement, the U.S. would terminate formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, cancel the 1954 mutual defense treaty that committed the U.S. to guarantee Taiwan's military security and withdraw the 700 U.S. troops now on the island. On March 1, the U.S. and Peking would exchange ambassadors. Moreover, said Carter, Chinese Vice Premier Teng Hsiao-p'ing, 74, the shrewd and pragmatic chief architect of Peking's remarkable Great Leap Outward to the West, would visit Washington at the end of January for an unprecedented series of summit talks."**

**---//Time//, December 25, 1978 issue**


 * [|U.S. State Dept: China Policy During the Carter Years] **

**Richard Holbrook's 30 Year Retrospective on Jimmy Carter's Recognition of the People's Republic of China**


 * Time's 1978 Man of the Year: Deng Xiaoping**



** 1979 **

**Alabama Wins an AP National Championship**

**January 1, 1979:** Alabama defeated Penn State in the Sugar Bowl, going 11 and 1, and winning the A.P. Poll National Championship for the 1978 season.

In 1979, Alabama went undefeated and won a second consecutive national title, Bear Bryant's last. All total, Paul "Bear Bryant coached 25 seasons at the University of Alabama, winning 232 games. Prior to his years at Tuscaloosa, Bryant coached college football at Maryland, Kentucky, and Texas A&M. The 1958 season was Bryant's first at Alabama. His last was 1982. Bryant died in January 1983, weeks after coaching his last game, the 1982 Liberty Bowl. All total, Bryant won 323 games during his 38 year career.

Above: **Alabama linebacker Barry Krauss stops a Penn State runner on a key fourth-and-goal play**


 * Vietnam's Invasion of Cambodia**


 * January 7, 1979: Vietnamese troops** entered **Phnom Penh**, thus toppling the **Khmer Rouge regime** in **Cambodia**.

Above: **Vietnamese troops in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia**


 * Bill Clinton Became Governor of Arkansas**


 * January 9, 1979:**

Above: **Bill Clinton taking the oath of office as Governor of Arkansas, January 9, 1979**


 * Revolution in Iran: The Shah Flees Iran**


 * January 16, 1979:**

Above: **The Shah of Iran, who reigned from 1941 to 1979**


 * [|History.com: The Fall of the Shah of Iran] [|The Guardian: Jan 16, 1979 Article on the Shah's Exit]**


 * Janet Maslin of the** //**New York Times**// **Reviews //The Late Great Planet Earth//, an Evangelical Protestant Apocalyptic Film**


 * January 18, 1979:**

Above: **Movie poster for //The Late Great Planet Earth//; Book cover for //The Late Great Planet Earth//, first published in 1970, and again in 1973 by a secular publishing house**


 * [|New York Times: Review of The Late Great Planet Earth, January 18, 1979]**


 * "WELL, our goose is cooked. According to the Bible, all manner of pestilence and destruction are due to come our way. And according to Orson Welles, who narrates most of 'The Late Great Planet Earth,' Armageddon may just possibly be right around the corner. As Mr. Welles explains it, with a wordiness meant to give us all a good scare, man is besieged by 'perils that threaten to send him into the dark abyss of silence known as extinction.' **


 * What are these perils? You name it, and it's howling right outside the door. Atomic holocausts. Earthquakes. Floods. Famine. Killer bees. According to the film, the Bible cites every one of these things as part of the beginning of the end. You have to read between the lines, perhaps, but the movie is willing and eager to help you out on that score. **


 * So the list of prophesied ills is expanded to include environmental pollution, a military crisis in the Middle East, transcendental meditation and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. A number of scientists, many of them quite distinguished, are interviewed. They all agree that our prospects aren't good." **


 * ---Janet Maslin, //New York Times//, January 18, 1979 **

//**New York Times**// **January 18, 1979 Movie Review of //The Late Great Planet Earth//**

//**Time**// **article on "Disastermania," March 5, 1979 issue**


 * " **** Hal Lindsey's book The Late Great Planet Earth sold more than 10 million copies. The semidocumentary movie made from it, with Narrator Orson Welles rumbling warnings that the world may be coming to an end, is currently among the top ten moneymakers out of Hollywood. Why the success of an apocalyptic message? 'Storm warnings, portents, hints of catastrophe haunt our times,' says Historian Christopher Lasch. 'Impending disaster has become an everyday concern.' **


 * Indeed, Armageddon is something of a growth industry. In an avalanche of recent books, polar caps melt, a new ice age begins, the oceans disappear, the ozone level is destroyed, terrorists touch off a nuclear war, astronauts bring back a deadly Andromeda Strain. Destruction may also come from a maddened god (Gore Vidal's Kalki). Or in an unending snowstorm (George Stone's Blizzard). Or from the scorching 'greenhouse effect' of too much CO2 in the atmosphere (Arthur Herzog's Heat)." ---Time, March 5, 1979 issue **


 * Super Bowl XIII: The Pittsburgh Steelers Defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 35 to 31**


 * January 21, 1979:**

Above:**Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw scrambles against Dallas;** **//Sports Illustrated// coverage of Super Bowl XIII**


 * The Death of Former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller**


 * January 26, 1979:**

Above: **Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1908-1979**

**Chronology of the Life of Nelson A. Rockefeller**


 * Revolution in Iran: The Ayatollah Khomeini Returns to Iran**


 * February 1, 1979:**

Above: //**Time**// **cover featuring the Ayatollah Khomeini's return to Iran; The Ayatollah Khomeini departing an Air France airliner upon his return to Iran**


 * [|History.com: The Return of the Ayatollah Khomeini]**


 * //Voyager 1//** **Photographs Jupiter**


 * February 5, 1979:**

Above: **A photograph of Jupiter taken by //Voyager 1//**


 * [|NASA: Voyager 1 and Jupiter]**


 * The U.S. Release of //The Deer Hunter//**


 * February 23, 1979:**

Above: **Movie poster for //The Deer Hunter//**


 * The Signing of the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty**


 * March 26, 1979:**




 * [|New York Times: President Carter Hosts the Signing of the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty]**


 * NCAA Basketball Final: Michigan State Defeats Indiana State in an Iconic Match-up of Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird**


 * March 26, 1979:**

Above: //**Sports Illustrated**// **coverage of the showdown between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, two college players who would go on to become legendary professional players in the National Basketball Association.**


 * [|Washington: Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird]**


 * Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Accident**


 * March 28, 1979:**

Above: //**Time**// **coverage of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant accident**


 * [|World-Nuclear.org: Three Mile Island Accident]**


 * The Establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran**


 * April 1, 1979:**


 * [|Iran Chamber: The Creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran]**


 * British Politics and a Shift to the Right **

**May 4, 1979:** Conservative Party leader, Margaret Thatcher, became Prime Minister of Great Britain, and thus became the first woman to do so.

Above: **Margaret Thatcher**


 * The Religious Right in American Politics **

**June 1979:** **Jerry Falwell**, a Baptist fundamentalist preacher/TV Evangelist, and other conservative activists formed the // **Moral Majority**, // an organization devoted to promoting "Christian values" in American politics and government.

Above: **Rev. Jerry Falwell**


 * Falwell's // Moral Majority //** did much to mobilize political activism among American evangelicals and fundamentalists. The Moral Majority was disbanded in 1989, but other such organizations have carried on in its wake. Jerry Falwell died in 2007.


 * [|The Roots of Jerry Falwell's Rise] **


 * Disco Demolition Night at Chicago's Comiskey Park**


 * July 12, 1979:**


 * [|New York Times: A Look Back at Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park, July 12, 1979]**


 * President Carter and the Crisis of Confidence**


 * July 15, 1979:** In a nationally televised address, **President Jimmy Carter** spoke on the decline of confidence in American life. The address later became known as the **//Malaise Speech.//**

Above: **Present Jimmy Carter addressing the nation on July 15, 1979**


 * "I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy. **


 * I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might. **


 * The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. **


 * The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. **
 * The confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or a proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the Fourth of July. **


 * It is the idea which founded our nation and has guided our development as a people. Confidence in the future has supported everything else -- public institutions and private enterprise, our own families, and the very Constitution of the United States. Confidence has defined our course and has served as a link between generations. We've always believed in something called progress. We've always had a faith that the days of our children would be better than our own. **


 * Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy." **


 * ---President Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979 **


 * [|PBS: Carter's Crisis of Confidence Speech]**


 * Saddam Hussein, a Ba'athist, Becomes the Dictatorial President of Iraq**


 * July 16, 1979:**

Above: **Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq from 1979 to 2003**


 * [|Guardian: Timeline on Iraq]**


 * Somoza Regime Falls in Nicaragua to the Sandinistas**


 * July 17, 1979:**


 * Paul Volcker (appointed by President Jimmy Carter) Became Chairman of the Federal Reserve System**


 * August 6, 1979:**

Above: **Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve System, August 1979 to August 1987; President Jimmy Carter who first appointed Paul Volcker as Fed Chairman**


 * [|Federal Reserve History: Paul Volcker, 1979-1987]**


 * "Following a sharp rise in inflation between 1978 and 1979, President Jimmy Carter shuffled his economic policy team and nominated Volcker to become chairman of the Board of Governors. **


 * In his first term, Volcker focused on reducing inflation and conveying to the public that increased interest rates were the result of market pressures and not Board actions. He raised the discount rate by 0.5 percent shortly after taking office. Volcker also monitored the debt crisis in developing countries and supported the expansion of the International Monetary Fund’s reserve fund. **


 * During his second term, Volcker made expanding the money supply without increasing inflation his priority. He also gave greater attention to structural reform of the Board of Governors, which involved protecting the Federal Reserve’s regulatory authority and restricting commercial banks’ activities that were considered risky. Volcker opposed giving commercial banks the ability to underwrite corporate securities and take part in real estate development." **


 * ---FederalReserveHistory.org **

//**Apocalypse Now**//


 * August 15, 1979:** **Francis Ford Coppola's //Apocalypse Now//** debuted in American movie theaters.

Above: **Theatrical release poster for //Apocalypse Now//**


 * The Premiere of Monty Python's //Life of Brian//**


 * August 17, 1979:**

Above: **Movie poster for //Life of Brian//**


 * [|Movie Release Dates for Life of Brian]**


 * The Birth of ESPN and 24/7 Sports **


 * September 7, 1979: Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ** --otherwise known as ** ESPN ** --debuted as an ** all-sports cable channel. **

Above: **An early broadcasting of** ** SportsCenter on ESPN **


 * Hurricane Frederic **

**September 12, 1979:** Hurricane Frederic devastates Mobile and Baldwin Counties




 * Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker Announces a Tight Money Policy to Combat Inflation**


 * October 6, 1979:**

Above: **Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, 1979-1987**


 * [|Federal Reserve History: Inflation and Recession]**


 * The Pittsburgh Pirates Win the 1979 World Series**


 * October 17, 1979:**

Above: **1979 World Series Program, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles; Pittsburgh newspaper celebrating the triumph of the Pirates**


 * [|1979 World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Baltimore Orioles]**


 * President Jimmy Carter Submits Trade Agreement with China for Approval by Congress**


 * October 23, 1979:**

Above: **President Jimmy Carter**


 * [|President Carter's October 23, 1979 Letter to the Speaker of the House]**








 * The Iranian Hostage Crisis and the Carter Presidency **

**November 4, 1979:** In Tehran, Iran, militants stormed the U.S. Embassy, taking hostages.

Iranian Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981

Above: An American Hostage in Iran

In the wake of the Islamic fundamentalist Iranian Revolution, an upheaval that deposed the Shah of Iran, militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran. Moreover, the Iranian militants took several Americans as hostages and held them for 444 days. The Iranian Hostage Crisis undermined the credibility of Jimmy Carter's presidency, and undoubtedly helped Ronald Reagan win the Presidential Election of 1980.


 * [|The Iranian Hostage Crisis and President Carter] **


 * //Kramer vs. Kramer// and the American Divorce Phenomenon**


 * December 19, 1979:** The movie //**Kramer vs. Kramer**// debuted.

Above: **Movie poster for //Kramer vs. Kramer//**


 * The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan **

**December 25, 1979:** In an effort to bolster a pro-Soviet government in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union sent in troops, beginning a 10-year occupation of Afghanistan, an occupation that ultimately resisted by Islamic forces.




 * Time's 1979 Man of the Year: Ayatullah Khomeini**



** Chronicle of the Years 1980-1989 **