Muhammad Ali, Attica prison riot poem!

On This Day: Attica Prison Uprising Begins

On This Day: Attica Prison Uprising Begins

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POP culture

Pop Culture of the 70s was all about fun. Movies like Star Wars had visuals the people had never seen before. People enjoyed watching music, dancing, movies, and video games. Clubbing was popular in all subcultures.



Andy Warhol popularized Pop Art and revolutionized many ideas about Art, and what it took to be an artist. He pioneered the use of screen printing in art and his dance and art club, Studio 54 is still famous today, 30 years later.

Liberals vs. Conservatives

CONSERVATIVES - believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.

Conservative Stance on Major issues in the 1970s

Keep death penalty
Against gay marriage
Against abortion
Against affirmative action
Lower taxes, smaller government
Free market system, competitive capitalism

LIBERALS - believe in governmental action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all, and that it is the duty of the State to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. Believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. Believe that people are basically good. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve people's problems.

Liberal Stance on Major Issues in the 1970s

Replace death penalty with life sentence

Mother's choice to have an abortion

Marriage should be legal for gays to ensure equal rights

Support affirmative action based on the belief that America is still a racist society

Higher taxes and a larger government

A market system in which the government regulates the economy

Environmentalism: A new movement

Thanks to the environmental issues and the moon landing, the 70s people expanded their views on preserving nature. Earth Day began on April 22, 1970, and the day marked a beginning of the growth of the environmental movement.

Earth Day was first established through Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin. As an environmental activist, Nelson was influenced for the event in Santa Barbara, right after the horrific oil spill in 1969. Angered by the lack of the interest from the general public for concern of the environment and devastation it caused, Nelson proposed a national awareness on the environment yearly.

The results were tremendous as New York City alone, one million citizens shut down Fifth Avenue in acknowledgment of the environment. In Philadelphia they created Earth Week.




Senator Nelson wrote of the first Earth Day -

“Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.”






Environmental Effects?
-Nixon's Clean Air Act (1970)
-Nixon's Clean Water Act (1972)
-Nixon's Pesticide Control Act (1972)
-Geothermal Energy Research
-National Energy Act (1978)
-Development and Demonstration Act (1974)
-Solar Heating and Cooling -Demonstration Act (1974)

Key People?
-Senator Gaylord Nelson
-President Jimmy Carter
-Rachel Carson

Video: 70s Feminists & Gays vs Men and 'The Family' - #1 of 4

The Fight For and Success of Legal Abortion

In the early 70s abortion was illegal in the United States. During this time many underground abortions took place, and the majority of them were unsafe, unsanitary, and often unfairly priced. Many women died or had injuries that lasting up to an entire lifetime from these kinds of abortions. If a woman wanted to get an abortion at this point in history she could potentially obtain a legal abortion if she was raped, or succeeded in claiming to be raped, but this was often only legal if the rape was documented and proven legally, she could obtain an abortion from an illegal source, reputable or not, she could attempt it herself, she could attempt get a very expensive one in another country, or she could not have an abortion even if she wished to have one, often the most likely case. Of course, many people were very anti-abortion at this time, mostly reasoning with religion, and moral opinion. It is rough political territory because you are trying to fight for the rights of two human beings, the mother and the baby. You essentially have to choose one over the other to determine a solution.

After a long history of dangerous, illegal abortions a group of women in Chicago decided that they needed to satisfy the great public need that they saw for safe, clean, affordable, and comfortable abortions. They decided that picketing, marching, and sit ins were not going to work. They decided that direct action would work, and as medical professionals, they had the tools and knowledge they needed to help and so they did. JANE collective was formed in 1969 and operated until 1973, the year that Roe v. Wade legally changed abortion laws in the united states. The group performed 12,000 abortions for around 25.00 apiece. And the most incredible fact? No one died.The group eventually disbanded after being raided and officially disappeared after abortion became legal and the need for their work was no longer there.

The case of Roe v. Wade changed the face of abortions in American dramatically, giving women much more freedom and control over their own bodies, lifestyles, and future. The drama began in 1969 when a woman named Norma McCorvey, alias Jane Roe, discovered she was pregnant, and decided that she did not want a child. She tried to claim it was rape and obtain a legal abortion but she failed. She decided to continue fighting and brought her case to court with legal backing, and the case eventually reached supreme court upon repeal. Here the court deemed abortion a fundamental right under the United States Constitution, and thereby subjecting all laws attempting to restrict it to strict scrutiny in a court of law. Interestingly, Norma McCorvey is now a Christian pro-life activist.