-
1970
1970 - Kent State and Jackson State shootings occur during student protests which grow violent -
1970
1970 - The first Earth Day is observed -
1970
1970 - Environmental Protection Agency created -
1970
1970 - American Top 40- hosted by radio personality Casey Kasem, becomes the first successful nationally syndicated radio program featuring a weekly countdown -
1970
1970 - The PBS begins operations, succeeding National Educational Television -
1970
1970 - The Occupational Safety and Health Act -
1971
1971 - Nixon ends the United States Gold standard monetary policy known as the Nixon Shock -
1971
1971 - A ban on radio and television cigarette advertisements goes into effect in the United States -
1971
1971 - The landmark situation comedy, All in the Family, premieres on CBS -
1971
1971 - 26th Amendment ratified, allowing 18 year olds to vote. -
1971
1971 - In New York Times Co. v. United States, The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Pentagon Papers may be published, rejecting government injunctions a -
1972
1972 - Nixon visits China, an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and China -
1972
1972 - Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed with USSR -
1972
1972 - Watergate scandal: Five men arrested for the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. -
1972
1972 - U.S. presidential election, 1972 (President Nixon re-elected) -
1972
1972 - Apollo 17 flies to the Moon, and becomes the last manned mission there -
1973
1973 - Paris Peace Accords ends direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War -
1973
1973 - Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling overturns state laws against abortion -
1973
1973 - The Senate Watergate hearings begin, highlighted by Fred Thompson's discovery of Nixon's secret tapes -
1973
1973 - Skylab launched as the USA's first space station -
1973-1974
1973–1974 - The United States is affected by the Arab Oil Embargo; gasoline prices skyrocket as supplies of gasoline and heating oil are in short supply. In response, Daylight Savings Time is started in January, and the national speed limit is lowered to 55 mph. -
1974
1974 - The Super Outbreak, the largest series of tornadoes in history, hits 13 U.S. states and one Canadian province; 315 people are killed and more than 5,000 are injured. -
1974
1974 - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves breaks Babe Ruth's home run record by hitting his 715th career home run. -
1974
1974 - Watergate scandal: The House Judiciary Committee votes to impeach the President -
1974
1974 - President Nixon resigns, becoming the first (and as of 2011, the only) President to step down. -
1974
1974 - Watergate scandal: Ford pardons Nixon for any crimes he may have committed against the United States while President, believing it to be in the "best interests of the country" -
1974
1974 - Restrictions removed on holding private gold within the United States -
1975
1975 - Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins. -
1975
1975 - Fall of Saigon -
1975
1975 - Bill Gates founds Microsoft, which in time will dominate the home computer operating system market. -
1975
1975 - The Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, where an American Apollo and Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock in orbit, marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations. -
1975
1975 - President Ford survives two assassination attempts in a 17-day time span. -
1976
1976 - The Copyright Act of 1976 makes sweeping changes to United States copyright law -
1976
1976 - Americans celebrate the Bicentennial -
1976
1976 - U.S. presidential election, 1976 (Jimmy Carter of Georgia defeats President Ford) -
1977
1977 - Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as President -
1977
1977 - The first home personal computer, Commodore PET, released for retail sale -
1977
1977 - The television miniseries Roots is aired on ABC, to critical acclaim and gaining record audiences -
1977
1977 - The New York City blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours, resulting in looting and other disorder -
1977
1977 - Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll dies in his home in Graceland at age 42. 75,000 fans lined the streets of Memphis for this funeral -
1977
1977 - Atari 2600 -
1978
1978 - Volkswagen becomes the second (after Rolls-Royce) non-American automobile manufacturer to open a plant in the United States, commencing production of the Rabbit -
1978
1978 - Camp David Accords, where Menachem Begin (Israel) and Anwar Sadat (Egypt) begin the peace process at Camp David, Maryland. -
1978
1978 - Humphrey Hawkins Full Employment Act signed into law, adjusting the government's economic goals to include full employment, growth in production, price stability, and balance of trade and budget -
1979
1979 - Three Mile Island nuclear accident, which is America's most serious nuclear power plant accident in its history. -
1979
1979 - Iran hostage crisis begins. In the aftermath, a second energy crisis develops, tripling the price of oil and sending gasoline prices over $1 per gallon for the first time. -
1979
1979 - American Airlines Flight 191 crashes after takeoff from O'Hare International Airport killing all 271 aboard and 2 on the ground, making it the deadliest aviation incident on U.S. soil