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Social Issues of the Seventies Essay

Decent Essays

The 1970s can be best understood as a transitional period in America. Starting in the 1950s, the power of the youth was on the rise, through civil rights activism and anti-war protests. This decade’s ideal citizen seemed to be the person helping others. Then the 1980s are more financially centered and individualistic. This decade’s ideal citizen is the one who measured success by how much money they made. The 1970s proved to be a time of bitterness, cynicism, and increased interest in one’s self for most of the people in America. Some of the events that contributed to this were the Kent State Massacre, Roe v. Wade, and the economic stagflation that happened in the latter part of the decade. President Richard Nixon announced on April …show more content…

The events at Kent State were a catalyst that helped strengthened the American Citizens’ hatred of the Vietnam War and distrust in the Government that promised to end the war. The case of Roe vs. Wade was an example of an individual’s rights and privacy against long held doctrines based on religious beliefs. In 1973, a woman by the name of Norma L. McCorvey, using an alias of Jane Roe, was single and living in Texas. She got pregnant and wanted an abortion, but it was illegal. The case eventually made its way to the United States Supreme Court. The Court recognized in a 7 to 2 decision that the Constitutional right to privacy should include a person’s choice to terminate their pregnancy. This case became not known as one of a person’s right to privacy, but rather the case that legalized abortion (Roe v. Wade). This case, in some ways, is not only about abortion, but it also illustrates the effects of the feminist movements throughout the country. After this landmark decision of the Supreme Court, a woman could now choose if and when to have children. No longer was sex only socially acceptable for married couples ready to procreate. Another event that made a woman’s position in American society more independent was the economic recession, sometimes referred to as a stagflation, which occurred during the middle to late part of the 1970s. Stagflation is a term in economics that describes a condition

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