Historical Dictionary of the 1970s

James S. Olson

Nov 1999 · Greenwood Publishing Group

About this ebook

The 1970s were difficult years for the United States, a time when long-held convictions were challenged and the nation experienced a collective identity crisis. Women and minorities called into question the belief that freedom and equality are the birthright of all Americans. The civil rights movements of the 1970s argued that American history is full of racism and violence against women and people of color. Watergate and related scandals of the Nixon administration damaged the country's faith in politicians and the political system. The Arab oil boycott, the energy crisis, the environmental movement, and years of stagflation raised doubts about the future of the nation's economy, and in the jungles of Vietnam, many Americans began to doubt their ability to protect the world from Communism.

An encyclopedic overview of the era, this book includes entries on the prominent people and significant events, issues and controversies of the decade, and entries on the film, music, and culture of the period. A chronology provides a time line for the events of the 1970s.

About the author

JAMES S. OLSON is Distinguished Professor of History and department chair at Sam Houston State University. He is the author of more than 20 books on U.S. and world history, including Historical Dictionary of the 1920s (Greenwood, 1988) and Historical Dictionary of the 1960s (Greenwood, forthcoming 1999).