2. Moral Majority
Moral Majority was a U.S. political
action group composed of conservative,
fundamentalist Christians.
It was founded in 1979 and led by
evangelist Rev. Jerry Falwell. The group
played a significant role in the 1980
elections through its strong support of
conservative candidates.
It lobbied for prayer and the teaching of
creationism in public schools, while
opposing the Equal Rights Amendment,
homosexual rights, abortion, and the
U.S.-Soviet SALT treaties. The Moral
Majority was dissolved in 1989.
3. Détente
Between the late 1960s and the late
1970s, there was a thawing of the
ongoing Cold War between the
United States and the Soviet Union.
This détente took several
forms, including increased
discussion on arms control.
Although the decade began with
vast improvements in bilateral
relations, by the end of the decade
events had brought the two
superpowers back to the brink of
confrontation.
4. Kent State Protest
The events which occurred at Kent
State University in Ohio on May
4, 1970 have been listed as one of
the catalysts that helped turn U.S.
public opinion against the Vietnam
War.
What started out as a peaceful
protest, culminated into 4 days of
unrest that ended in
tragedy. During the Kent State
Massacre, 4 college students were
killed and 9 others wounded when
the Ohio National Guard fired
shots into a crowd during an anti-
war protest on campus grounds.
5. Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political
scandal that occurred in the United States in
the 1970s as a result of the June
17, 1972, break-in at the Democratic
National Committee headquarters at the
Watergate office complex in
Washington, D.C., and the Nixon
administration's attempted cover-up of its
involvement.
The scandal eventually led to the
resignation of Richard Nixon, the President
of the United States, on August 9, 1974 —
the only resignation of a U.S. President to
date.
The scandal also resulted in the
indictment, trial, conviction, and
incarceration of forty-three persons, dozens
of whom were Nixon's top administration
officials.
6. OPEC Oil Embargo
The OPEC Oil Embargo, which lasted from October
1973 to March 1974, posed a major threat to the U.S.
economy.
Moreover, the Nixon Administration's efforts to
address the effects of the embargo ultimately
presented the United States with many foreign policy
challenges.
7. Stagflation
Stagflation is characterized by a
rising inflation rate and a rising
unemployment rate, a
paradoxical conjunction of
events for which economic
theory did not seem to have a
ready explanation.
President Jimmy Carter and the
Fed tried numerous tactics to
stabilize the economy,
including wage and price
guidelines and large
government spending both of
which only seemed to
exacerbate the problem.
8. Camp David Accords
After twelve days of secret negotiations at
Camp David , the Israeli-Egyptian
negotiations were concluded by the
signing at the White House of two
agreements.
The first dealt with the future of the Sinai
and peace between Israel and Egypt, to
be concluded within three months.
The second was a framework agreement
establishing a format for the conduct of
negotiations for the establishment of an
autonomy regime in the West Bank and
Gaza .
President Jimmy Carter of the USA
witnessed the accords which were signed
by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
9. Iranian Hostage Crisis
On November 4, 1979, an angry mob of young
Islamic revolutionaries overran the U.S. Embassy in
Tehran, taking more than 60 Americans hostage.
They were held captive for 444 days.