ACT College Arlington Post World War II Economic Boom Discussion Discuss the 1970s. How did this decade compare and/or contrast to the previous two decades

ACT College Arlington Post World War II Economic Boom Discussion Discuss the 1970s. How did this decade compare and/or contrast to the previous two decades? What “unravelled?” Danae Aguilar
Monday
Compared to the 1950s and 1960s, the 1970s was a remarkably peculiar decade in the United States. The
1950s was a decade defined by the post-World War II economic boom. The US had emerged from the war as
the world’s strongest military power, and the economy was booming. In particularity, consumer goods were
more available to the public than ever before. Like the 1950s, the 1960s started as the dawn of a golden age.
However, this promise became short-lived towards the mid-1960s. As the Civil Rights Movement gained
momentum, the decade became that of social and political turbulence. When the next decade came knocking,
two issues were apparent.
First, the sociocultural legacies of the 1950s and 1960s would be mainstreamed in the 1970s. By way of
demonstration, an increasing number of Southerners became more aware of the evils of segregation. The
“exclusively White, male-dominated, and conservative” popular American culture had been shattered into
“smaller segmented subcultures” (Locke and Wright 347). Secondly, rebellion against institutions of authority
would be normalized as more Americans sought individualism and new outlooks when it came to subjects
such as religion and sexuality.
It was evident that the 1950s and 1960s images of America were not representative of the entire American
experience. Not every American enjoyed the post-World War II economic boom. With the assassination of
Martin Luther King in the late 1960s and the public’s fatigue over the Vietnam War, a sense of anger swept
over the country. Riots were witnessed across the country, with cities such as Chicago deploying National
Guard troops and heavily armed police officers to counter the protestors (Locke and Wright 352). While the
1950s and 1960s America was filled with hope and promise, the 1970s was a decade of disillusionment and
chaos.
Wendong Cui
Monday
When students were protesting against the Vietnam War, six students were shot and killed by the
national guard. Nixon was re-elected in 1972. The Vietnam War was ended. After the Watergate
Scandal, Nixon was resigned. In 1970, socialist Salvador Allende became the president of Chile. Nixon
told his C.I.A. chief “make the economy scream.” The C.1.A urged its chilean agents to act. Allende’s
government was overthrown by military leader Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet established a military
dictatorship. America felt confused. What kind of country were we? During this time, real wages not
only stagnated, they would actually decline for the next 30 years as the middle and working classes’
standard of living eroded.
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