Medical Breakthroughs In The 1950's

The 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s are commonly regarded as America’s “glory years,” when the country was essentially a global superpower. Medical breakthroughs were happening frequently, unemployment levels were at their lowest, and America was respected globally. The birth rate was skyrocketing, and during every year in the 1950s, approximately 4 million babies were born, which was partly due to the nation’s financial success. America was first to land a human on the moon in 1969, which only strengthened popular opinions of America’s superiority. The country’s greatness began to falter after this period of prominence due to both domestic and foreign occurrences, ushering in the time that would become known as the ”Era of Malaise.”

From the perspective

This caused the amount of oil the U.S. received from the OPEC to decline materially, causing widespread panic. From 1970 to 1980, the price of a single barrel of oil increased by over 1,000%. At gas stations, people in cars would line up for hours and hours just to purchase their gas, which was limited to 10 gallons per car. American cars were typically huge and required large amounts of gas to function, which is what lead to foreign cars becoming popular. Hondas, Nissans, Mazdas, and other Japanese cars began showing up on American roads. These cars were generally smaller, faster, and consumed less gas compared to American car brands. Not only were American automobile companies being surpassed by foreign competitors, but also the U.S. was being outpaced by foreign countries financially. In 1973, the United States GDP Per Capita was $16,607, while Japan’s was only $11,017. Seven years later, those numbers changed to roughly $27,000 and $30,000, respectively. This brought people to the realization that the U.S. was not always going to be on top. The oil embargo had similar reactions, and all though it officially ended in March 1974, the effects of the embargo would live on to shake many Americans of the belief that their country could not be

In attempts to halt and reverse this perceived decline of America, many people began to alter and change their political and religious actions or beliefs. During the election of 1980, Democratic President Jimmy Carter lost to his Republican opponent Ronald Reagan by an electoral-vote landslide. Reagan’s victory was most-likely fueled by the country’s dissatisfaction with Carter, who was blamed for many of the ill-fated occurrences during the Malaise Era. When drug use increased during the 1970s, President Richard Nixon (who served from January 1969 to August 1974) initiated the ‘War on Drugs,’ which was essentially the government’s attempts to cut down the amount of drugs being brought to and used within America. Reagan further enforced the War on Drugs with his wife, Nancy Reagan, who began a movement called “Just Say No” with the hope to educate young people about the dangers of drug use. As well as being against drugs, President Reagan was also strongly against welfare. Many Americans agreed with Reagan’s welfare views, and funding for welfare organizations, such as the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was reduced. The 1970’s were not America’s finest time, and it was believed by many that the country had commenced on an irreversible downward spiral. Today, however, America is one of the most powerful and prominent countries in the world, despite its low