1970s+(Late)-+1980s+(Early)-+Recession

Jobs and salaries in the 70s and 80s Inflation and the oil crisis in the 70s and 80s caused major damage to the economy. Inflation happened at a rapid rate and the unemployment rate raised too. Many people lost their jobs, which made them move back to more blue-collar jobs for work. Also from the low salaries women started to work more. Not many jobs in the 70s and 80s had a high enough salary to support a whole family on just one. So many families needed 2 incomes in order to comfortably live. Since the unemployment rate was high finding jobs was more difficult, especially white collar jobs, so a lot of people acquired more blue collar jobs.

Dress and Fads of the late 70s early 80s

During these time periods, clothing styles reflected the state of the economy in several different ways. The economy was in a state of recession and people tended to wear clothes that lifted their spirits. Many people wore clothing of various bright colors. Females would match up the same color pants and shirts. Both articles loud colors. Teenagers and young adults were rebellious during this time period. Because of this, they opted to wear clothes that were ill fitting, baggy or just not approved by adults overall. Parachute pants, punk hairstyles, and painted hair were all very popular.

During the 80s, Guess jeans were one of the most popular brands of jeans out. Later one throughout the years, profit sales went down due to the bad economy. They were the first company to come up with designer jeans. Although the economy went through a bad time, these clothing styles are still popular today.

Conspiracies of the 70s-80s
The 1970s and 1980s had rougher economic times than that of the 50s. The conspiracies were also more serious and caused much more fear. The Watergate Scandal was by far the most notable conspiracy by a president up to that point. It was much more serious than any of the conspiracies from the 50s. This is an indicator of how more serious conspiracies come out of hard economic times.

Another conspiracy of the 70s-80s time period is that the AIDS virus was man made. AIDS is serious and any assumption that it was created purposefully is also serious. A third conspiracy of that time period is about a contraband red mercury. According to the myth, red mercury is a substance traded by terrorists and used in the production of nuclear weapons. This conspiracy, if true, could be extremely dangerous. All thre e of these examples show how tension in the economy can, and often does, lead to more serious conspiracies.

Kyler Jelonek
 * Sports and Leisure**

Unlike the 1950s, the late 1970s were not remembered as being a prosperous time economically. The Vietnam War had just come to an end and money was more difficult to come by. As a result, the sports and activities were cheaper to participate in. Some of the cheaper leisure activities included dancing to disco music, rock em sock em robots, watching television shows such as Charlie’s Angels and Saturday Night Fever, and playing with mood rings or pet rocks. The problem with the 1970s was that there was a high demand and low supply of things such as jobs, houses, and cars. Also, inflation was going up at a very fast rate. Gas, bread, and other necessities more than doubled in price from the beginning of the 1970s to the mid 1980s.

Professional sports also had it tough through the late 70s to mid 80s. New sports were becoming popular due to economic struggles but current sports that were once strong began to struggle. Some of the new professional sports of the 70s included the North American Soccer League, the World Hockey Association, the World Series of Cricket, and Women’s Tennis Leagues. The Olympics of the 70s were slowed due to terrorism threats of the Cold War and boycotts from several countries. As years went by, the economy went back up and continued the cycle.


 * Home Life and Housing**
 * by Devin Groat**

During the late 70s, the Vietnam War took place leaving the U.S. and its economy, in shambles. Due to this sad state, paneling and ceramic tiles were found in most homes, because they were cheap. As an attempt to brighten the dreary moods, furniture was often made with…unique patterns. They were bright and clashing and obnoxious. But they most definitely brought a special touch to the rooms. In the 80s, the unemployment rate was at 7.5%. This was believed to have occurred as a result on a concretionary monetary policy that had been established by the Federal Reserve System to control high inflation. Also during the 70s and 80s time period, the family life was different. The baby boom in the 80s was in and contraceptives were out. This resulted in a rapid succession of births. However, babies are expensive. Many families ended up in nasty apartments and small homes. More and more unmarried couples began living together to help support each other and divorces were getting more and more frequent. In conclusion, the poor living conditions and expensive prices meant a lot of homelessness. **Art and Written Expression** **Gabi Stilwell** 
 *  Michael Craig-Martin was an influential artist in the 1970s. Most of his artwork was conceptual, which is a type of art in which the “concepts take precedence over traditional and material concerns”. He is known for his piece, An Oak Tree, which was created in 1973. The 1980s began the era of excess. Designer name brands and celebrities were important to people, and they wanted to show off their money. Pop art became popular because it focused on celebrities, who were a big part of the American culture. Andy Warhol’s art was very popular because of the celebrity focus, as was Richard Avedon, who was a famous photographer. Avedon is known for his Versace advertisements and for photographing Brooke Shields Calvin Klein advertisements. ** **Writing was very prominent in the 1970s and 1980s. Some famous authors at the time were Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, Judith Krantz, Graham Greene, and Alvin Toffler. Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses” was published in 1988, and brought much controversy for giving a false depiction of the prophet Muhammad. Rushdie’s book was banned in many Islamic countries. Alvin Toffler is a futurist who wrote “The Third Wave”, which explains the three types of societies, or waves. He has been acclaimed as “the third most influential voice among business leade **rs”, and is one of the most famous futurologists.

**Inventions and Firsts of the late 1970s and early 1980s ** Olga Ambartsumyan  During the late 1970s and early 1980s the country was in a state of economic recession. People did not want to think about the economy, so they made things to keep their mind off of it. For example, the cell phone was invented in 1979. Also, the Walkman and roller blades were invented. They all served the purpose of keeping peoples minds off the economy.

Apple also made the Macintosh computer. Windows programing was also invented. The government did not want people thinking that the economy was bad, so they made sure that things like the computer and other new tecnology was being made to lift the peoples spirits. Auriana Anderson
 * Music/Dance in the late 1970s early 1980s**

This is the time period where the economy was miserable. There was a lot going on such as an oil crisis. Money was being lost and prices needed to go up for things. At the end of the 70s, rap music was on the rise. It was tough because people didn’t have much money, so music and dance was done on the streets to make money. In the 1970s there were economic slides. “An Arab oil embargo starved the nation of energy, and the early 1980s, unemployment and inflation soared.” This time period was very unfortunate. The 1980s were full of high interest rates. Americans were going out of work. “In 1975, the unemployment rate peaked at 9 percent. In 1982, it jumped to 10.8 percent.” With a slow and down falling economy, people were poor.“

=Common Causes of an Economic Recession=

During the 1970's and 1980's, the presidents were Jimmy Carer and Ronald Reagen. During Carter's presidency, he passed the Superfund law which would clean up hazardous substances that were harmful to the environment. Because of that, many people were evacuated so that houses would be destroyed to clean up those substances and rebuild new houses afterward which would use the governments money. Also, during Carter's presidency, there would be a lot of international conflicts were other countries such as Iran and the soviet union. Because of the Iran Hostage crisis of 1980, Reagen would become the next president of the U.S. beating Carter. During Reagen's terms, the recession began. To answer to the recession that started Reagen started Reagenomics which would be an attempt to get America out of recession. The results were the increase of many economical bases such as money from income tax and employment.
 * Politics of the 1970's and 1980's**

Movies/Television late 70s early 80s Paige Gentry

In the 1970s and 1980s the economy was recessive. Hollywood experienced finical and artistic depression during this time. The movie industry was booming during this time because people wanted cheap entertainment. The 70s and 80s films were memorable for reflecting the spirit and truth of times. In the 1970s and 1980s Saturday morning cartoons became huge. Saturday morning cartoons were an uplifting part of this time. Money was scarce during this time so it was easier to sit home and watch a cartoon, then to go to the movies. Cable television became popular in the 1980s. People started relying more and more on their televisions.