This chapter describes the continuing upheaval that shook American society in the 1970s. It shows the ongoing impact of global events as the Nixon administration struggled to find a way of ending the devastating struggle in Vietnam. Its effort to extricate American soldiers eased domestic protest, but then its decision to widen the war with incursions into other parts of Southeast Asia created further chaos in the United States. The chapter chronicles the most serious political scandal in American history, which led the president to resign. It records the growing agitation of environmental and consumer activists as they learned how to make their voices heard. And it describes the ongoing effort to provide liberty and equality in racial, gender, and social relations. While political challenges came from middle-class activists, social complaints came from often marginalized Americans who finally spoke out in an attempt to make the nation live up to its professed values. This chapter highlights the diverse voices that continued to echo throughout the 1970s in a heated debate about the distribution of social, political, and economic power in the United States.
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