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"The Feminist Mystique"
Betty Friedan writes her book "the Feminist Mystique" after polling around and finding out that many women are miserable in the role that they are forced to play. -
"American Women"
JFK published his book the same year as Betty Friedan telling of the gender discrimination in the nation. -
Congressmen try to sink the Civil Rights Act
They though that by adding women's equality to the Civil Rights Act, they would sink the bill. It passed anyways and gave women legal protections. -
NOW is created
Friedan and other activists created the National Organization for Women (NOW) and fought for education, easier birth control access, and maternity leave. They did not satisfy the younger generations. -
Boston Marathon
In 1967 Kathy Switzer signed up for the male-only Boston marathon to prove that women are physically capable. The event manager raced out onto the track and tried to get her out. With the help of a male friend Kathy completed the race in 4 hours and 20 minutes -
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Richard Nixon President
Nixon was a fairly conservative president who did not approve of the civil rights movements, student movements, or the countercultural movements of the 1960s. He respresented Middle America. -
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Nixon didn't care about environmental issues but told an aide to keep him out of trouble
In 1969 he signed the Endangered Species Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
In 1970 he signed the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution. In 1972 He vetoed the Clean Water Act but Congress overrode him. -
January- California pipe burst
A pipe on the offshore drilling platform in California burst, dumping 100,000 barrels of oil into the ocean and onto the beaches over a 10 day period -
Stonewall Raid
The police raided a gay nightclub called the Stonewall Inn. Police did this often in hopes of closing them down but this time the patrons fought back. They created the Gay Liberation Front in an effort to gain equal rights. By 1973 there were over 800 gay organization across America and every major city had a visible gay community and cultural life. The movement slowly died out because of conservative moralist attacks against what they called “the gay agenda.” -
July- Cuyahoga River Fire
The Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught on fire. Companies regularly dumped chemical waste into the river and when the river burst into flames public pressure mounted to do something about protecting the environment. -
Nixon freezes wages and prices for 90 days
Nixon’s response to stagflation was erratic and proved to be ineffective. He tried to raise the taxes and cut the budget but Democrats refused to go along so he tried to get the Federal Reserve to reduce the money supply and increase interest rates but that caused an immediate stock market crash. Nixon then froze wages and prices for 90 days but it did not help. -
Equal Rights Amendment, Title 9, and Roe v. Wade
ERA ended gender discrimination. It eventually died because of not enough support. Title 9 was also put in place for women in education. A year later the Supreme Court gave women more control over their bodies by ruling in Roe v. Wade (1973) that women had the right to have abortions during the first 3 months of pregnancy -
Watergate Scandal
A group called the committee to re-elect the president (CREEP) worked for the Republican party to raise money to re-elect Nixon and committed numerous illegal operations against their candidate George McGovern. Several members broke into the National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in DC and planned to steal information on McGovern’s anti-war message. They were caught and the Nixon party committee started to cover up their involvement in the crime. -
Yom Kippur War
Syria and Egypt attacked Israel in Yom Kippur War. The US sent in an enormous amount of aid to Israel. In retaliation toward the US, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised the price of a barrel of oil by 400%. -
The senate created a committee to look into the Watergate scandal
Nixon had cameras in his office recording all of his conversations so the Senate requested the tapes. Nixon refused to hand over the tapes making everyone suspicious. He was forced to turn over the tapes but there were 18 minutes missing. They proved he was involved anyways. -
Nixon Resigns
Gerald Ford took Nixon's place