History 143 Assignment Guide, April 28-30, 2009

Reading: Henretta, America: A Concise History, 885-901; McSeveney, Selected Historical Documents, 422-431, 436-437; Story and Laurie, Rise of Conservatism, 103-107

Background information: After reading this assignment, you should know the following:

1. Details of the environmental and consumer movements of the 1970s.

2. Details of women’s increasing political mobilization, the Roe v. Wade decision, and the ERA.

3. What the 1970s “rights revolution” and the “politics of resentment” were.

4. The “sex-based myths” described by Gloria Steinem and the problems they created.

Discussion: In class, you should be able to provide detailed answers to these questions:

1. What did Americans believe were the most important problems facing the nation in the 1970s? How did this list change during the decade?

2. How did “deindustrialization” affect Homestead, Pa., during the 1970s & 1980s?

3. Why do you think there were so many movements during the 1970s?

4. Why did Phyllis Schlafly oppose the ERA?

Personal connection: In class, you should be able to provide answers to the following questions:

• From today’s perspective, how successful were the women’s movements of the 1970s?

• Do you think the U.S. now faces a “national crisis of confidence” like the one described by Jimmy Carter in 1979? Why or why not?