The Late 1960s and Early 1970s - EN111 - College Composition II (Reacting to the Past) - LibGuides at Central Methodist University

Music

Album cover for Don McLean's American Pie album. The cover is a photograph the singer's thumb, which is painted red, white, and blue. His face is in the background.

Don McLean - American Pie (1971)

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - Ohio (1971)

"Ohio" was a protest song written by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young in response to the Kent State Massacre.

The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again (1971)

Album cover for Led Zeppelin IV that has a painting hanging on a cracked floral wallpaper. In the painting, an old man is carrying a bundle of sticks on his back.

Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven (1971)

Helen Reddy - I am Woman (1972)

Album cover for Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon Album featuring a line drawing of a woman

Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow Taxi (1970)

Bill Withers - Lean on Me (1972)

Album cover for Pearl, featuring Janis Joplin sitting on a couch with a feather boa wrapped around her head

Janis Joplin - Me and Bobbie McGee (1971)

Album cover for Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells a Story album

Rod Stewart - Maggie May (1971)

Overview of 1970s Culture

The 1970s
This article from the History Channel overviews the fashion, cars, sports, politics, and social movements of the 1970s

The 1970s: The Vietnam War and Political Turmoil Enter a New Decade

This segment for the PBS Documentary, The Day the '60s Died, addresses the growing political turmoil of the 1970's which was spurred by Nixon's invasion of Cambodia.

Advertising

"Coke’s iconic 'I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke' ad from 1971, called the "Hilltop" ad at the time, is recognized as one of the most beloved commercials in history... It will be housed in the Library of Congress" (Source: The Coca-Cola Co.) See The Origins of the Iconic Hilltop Commercial

The Late 60's and Early 70's in Review

Timeline of the Late 60's and Early 70's

1968

January - The Tet Offensive is launched
February - Beloved television anchor, Walter Cronkite, expresses doubts about the war in Vietnam, signaling decreasing public support for the conflict
March - Robert Kennedy enters the race for the Democratic presidential nomination
April - Martin Luther King Jr. is shot and killed in Memphis
May - The U.S. begins peace talks in Paris with North Vietnam
June - Robert Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles
July - The first Special Olympics is held
August - Riots occur outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention
September - Feminist groups protest the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City
November - Richard Nixon wins the 1968 presidential race

1969

March - John Lennon marries Yoko Ono
May - Police open fire on People's Park in Berkeley
July - Apollo 11 lands on the moon
August - Woodstock Music Festival is held
December - Altamont Speedway Free Festival is held, ending in four deaths and many injuries

1970

April - President Nixon announces the invasion of Cambodia
April - The Beatles announce their breakup
May - The Kent State Massacre occurs, sparking nation-wide protests and unrest
July - The 26th Amendment is ratified, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote
December - The Environmental Protection Agency is created

1971

January - All in the Family premieres on CBS, going on rank as the number one television show for five seasons.
March - Weather Underground claims responsibility for a bomb that explodes within the U.S. Capitol building
March - The first Starbucks is opened in Seattle
July - Jim Morrison, lead singer for The Doors, dies
October - Disney World opens

1972

March - The Equal Rights Amendment is passed by Congress, but falls short of ratification by the states
June - Five men are arrested at the Democratic Party Headquarters, starting the Watergate scandal
November - Richard Nixon is reelected as president
December - LIFE magazine ends publication

1973

January - The Paris Peace Accords are signed, ending the U.S.'s involvement in Vietnam
March - The last U.S. troops withdrawal from Vietnam
September - Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes
October - Spiro Agnew, Vice President under Richard Nixon, resigns. Eight impeachment resolutions are introduced against Nixon

Elvis Presely shaking President Nixon's hand in the Oval Office

Photograph of Richard M. Nixon and Elvis Presley at the White House, 1970 (Source: Library of Congress)

Movies & Television

Television poster for All in the Family with the title in red capital font at the top. Four adults are standing below for a family portrait and a woman in the middle holds a sleeping baby.

All in the Family (1971-1979)

Television poster with The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the top right corner. To the left of the poster are three adults with a woman standing in front and a man and a different woman standing behind.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977)

For more on the legacy of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, see Remembering Mary Tyler Moore, who opened the door for women

Movie poster for Big Jake listing the casts' names and reading

Big Jake (1971)

A movie poster for Dirty Harry, starring Clint Eastwood

Dirty Harry (1971)

The movie poster for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory which features an illustrated version of Wonka with miniature versions of the children standing on his outstreched arms.

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)

A television poster for the Brady Bunch with a bright pink flowered bacground. Pictured are the 8 members of the Brady family and their housekeeper

The Brady Bunch (1969-1974)

An cartoon version of Carol Burnett leaning on a mop. Overhead reads

The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978)

For more, read the Huffington Post article, Carol Burnett is a Feminist Hero Whether She Knows It or Not

A photograph of a U.S. astronaut standing on the moon with a lunar module and an American flag in the background

Apollo 15 space mission photograph, taken in 1971 (Source: TimeLife | LIFE Photograph Collection | Google Arts & Culture)

Products and Trends

40 Things Every House in the 70s Had That No One Sees Today
This gallery from Country Living displays 40 trends and products that were popular in the 1970s.

Celebrities

EN111 - College Composition II (Reacting to the Past): The Late 1960s and Early 1970s