1970-2000
Overview:
The three decades of the 20th century were shaped by three fundamental challenges that arose in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The first was a crisis of political leadership. Public cynicism toward politicians intensified, political party discipline declined, and lobbies and special interest groups grew in power. The second challenge involved wrenching economic transformations. Economic growth slowed, productivity flagged, inflation and oil prices soared, family income stagnated, and major industries faltered in the face of foreign competition. The third challenge involved growing uncertainty over America's proper role in the world. A major challenge facing policymakers was how to preserve the nation's international prestige and influence in the face of mounting public opposition to direct overseas interventions.
The 1970s & 1980s
Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter attempted to strengthen the United States' influence in foreign affairs through détente and arms control negotiations. President Reagan emphasized sharply increased military spending and an assertive foreign policy. President Reagan addressed economic stagnation and inflation through deregulation, tax cuts, reductions in government budget deficits, and the development of new computer and communication technologies. The collapse of East European Communism and the Soviet Union made the United States the only superpower.
The 1990s
During the last decade of the twentieth century, the United States became the world's sole superpower. It possessed the world's most productive economy and most mighty military. It dominated global trade and banking and its popular culture was influential across much of the globe. During the 1990s, the U.S. economy grew rapidly due to a sharp fall in interest rates and the price of oil, the growth of new computer and communication technologies, and globalization, and the expansion of international trade, finance, and entertainment. The end of the Cold War unleashed violent ethnic, religious, national conflicts, especially in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Africa. The first important foreign policy crisis of the post-Cold War era involved Panama, which the United States invaded in 1989 to safeguard American lives and protect the Canal Zone. This was followed in 1990 by Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait, which was reversed by the Gulf War. The breakup of the former Yugoslavia resulted in U.S. intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Our Online Textbook
Newspaper Articles
Car Bomb Destroys Oklahoma City Federal Building
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Bomb Explodes at New York's World Trade Center
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Speeches
1970
Vice President Spiro Agnew, Address on the Vietnam War, Republican Dinner, Houston, Texas, May 22, 1970 (2:12)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/agnew70.asx
1971
Gloria Steinem, Address to the Women of America, National Women's Political Caucus, Washington D.C., July 10, 1971 (:28)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/steinem71.asx
1973
President Richard M. Nixon, The End of The Vietnam War, White House, January 23, 1973 (3:37)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/nixendviet74.asx
Vice President Spiro Agnew, Resignation Address, Washington D.C., October 15, 1973 (1:59)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/agnewresig.asx
President Richard M. Nixon, On Releasing the Watergate Tapes, Orlando, Florida, November 17, 1973 (1:26)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/nixcrook73.asx
1974
Hank Aaron, Address to Congress, June 18, 1974 (:16)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/aaron74.asx
President Richard M. Nixon. Resignation Address. White House, Washington, D.C., August 8, 1974 (3:36)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/nixres.asx
1976
Governor Jimmy Carter, Excerpt from Democratic Convention Acceptance Speech. Madison Square Garden, New York, July 15, 1976 (1:31)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/carter76.asx
1981
President Ronald Reagan, Inaugural Address. Washington, D.C., January 20, 1981 (2:26)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reagan81.asx
Clip 2 (1:02)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reaganinaug.asx
Reagan announces the release of American hostages in Iran (:27)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reaganiran.asx
Reagan discusses his 1981 assassination attempt (:41)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reaganonshooting.asx
Reagan on inflation (:25)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reaganinflation.asx
Reagan jokes into a microphone he thinks is off, announces the bombing of Russia in 5 minutes (:09)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reaganbomb.asx
Reagan on Senior Citizens (:32)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reaganelderly.asx
Reagan at Nashville, TN (:33)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reagannashville.asx
1987
President Ronald Reagan, Address to the Nation on The Berlin Wall, West Berlin, Germany, June 12, 1987 (1:56)
Lt. Col. Oliver North, Testimony at The Iran-Contra Hearings, Washington D.C., July 8, 1987 (9:56)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/north87.asx
1988
Republican presidential candidate Geoge H.W. Bush pledges to accept no new taxes.
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/bushtax88.asx
1991
President George Bush, On Commencement of the Bombing of Iraq, White House, Washington D.C., January 16, 1991 (6:33)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/bushiraq91.asx
1998
President William Clinton, Denial of an Affair With White House Aide Monica Lewinsky, Washington, D.C., January 1998 (:11)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/clinton198.asx
President William Clinton, Acknowledgment of Affair With Monica Lewinsky, Washington, D.C., August 1998 (:07)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/clinton898.asx
News Broadcasts
Apollo 13 crisis, April, 1970 (1:06)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/apollo13-1970.asx
Sounds related to the shootings at Kent State Univeristy , in which 4 college students were shot to death by members of the National Guard during a Vietnam War protest. (:51)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/kentstate70.asx
Terrorists kill 11 Israeli atheletes at Olympic village at the 1972 Munich Olympics (1:02)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/municholym72.asx
South Vietnamese capital Saigon falls to the Communists, April 30, 1975 (:50)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/saigonfalls75.asx
Elvis Presley dies at Graceland, August 16, 1977 (1:16)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/elvisdies77.asx
Sounds related to the Iran Hostage crisis of 1979 (1:43)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1970s/asx/iranhostage79.asx
Former Beatle John Lennon is shot and killed by a fan in New York, December 8, 1980 (1:29)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/lennonkilled80.asx
President Ronald Reagan is shot on his way out of a hotel in Washington on March 30, 1981. (1:16)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/reaganshot81.asx
The space shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986. A medley of sounds (:59)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/challenger86.asx
The Berlin Wall falls, November 9, 1989 (1:27)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1980s/asx/berlinwall89.asx
Operation Desert Storm begins, January 29, 1991 (:54)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/desertstorm91.asx
The acquittal of white police officers charged in the beating of Rodney King, a black Los Angeles motorist, which had been caught on video tape, sparks riots in Los Angeles, April 29, 1991 (1:16)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/raceriot92.asx
The standoff between federal law enforcement personnel and religious Branch Dividian cult leader David Koresh and his followers ends in disaster in Waco Texas, April 19, 1993 (1:09)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/waco93.asx
Sounds related to the O.J. Simpson arrest and criminal trial, 1994-1997 (2:20)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/ojtrial.asx
Sounds related to the Oklahoma City bombing, 1995, including the sound of the blast itself (1:22)
http://www.authentichistory.com/audio/1990s/asx/okcity95.asx
Films
Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Film version of novelist Tom Wolfe's satirical novel about the 1980s, in which a wealthy Wall Street "master of the universe" becomes involved in an auto accident in which a black youth is killed.
Primary Colors (1998)
A fictionalized account of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign based on the best-selling novel by journalist Joe Klein.
Startup.Com (2001)
A documentary on the rise and fall of an Internet firm, Govworks.com.