Essay On The 1970s

The 1970s could not be more different from the 1960s. The 1960s was dominated by liberalism, which meant social and political movements in civil rights, women’s rights, constitutional rights and revolutions against government actions, like in Vietnam. Social welfare programs were expanded and government continued to involve itself in everyday life. Then, Nixon opened up the 1970s with a “revival of conservatism.” His election set the course for the rest of the decade, a decade of limits. Economic hardships, foreign policy scares and a lack of faith in government led to people turning to Ronald Reagan’s ideas; ideas that would not continue past his presidency.

The 1970s is generally characterized by conservatism. Conservatism dominated social

He expressed optimism for the American future and proposed solutions to problems. Reagan focused on solving problems in foreign policy and the economy. Reagan was determined to end the Cold War. Issues in other parts of the world, especially the Middle East with the Iran Hostage Crisis showed Reagan that he needed to focus on ending the conflict with the Soviet Union. He increased funding for the arms race so much that the Soviet Union’s economy could not keep up and eventually collapsed. This and a combination of a new leadership under Mikhail Gorbachev led to the end of the Cold War. What affected the American people more was “Reaganomics” or supply-side economics. This new economic venture created by Reagan was intended to restore the struggling 1970s economy. The main idea was to cut taxes on the wealthy and on large corporations. This would lead to more consumer activity because they had more spending money, thus boosting the economy. The goal was that these improved economic benefits would “trickle down” to help the lower classes. At first, this strategy was ineffective. However, by the end of the 1980s, the economy was beginning to turn around. These positive changes were apparent in people’s lives and led to more support for Reagan and his policies. However, the stock market plunge at the end of his second term made his successor, George H.W Bush take a new