TIMELINE

1970

  • Earth Day first observed

  • Environmental Protection Agency established

1972

  • Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress

  • Phyllis Schlafly founds STOP ERA

  • Furman v. Georgia outlaws death penalty

  • Watergate break-in (June)

1973

  • Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion

  • Endangered Species Act

  • OPEC oil embargo; gas shortages

  • Period of high inflation begins

  • War Powers Act

1974

  • Nixon resigns over Watergate

  • Congress imposes 55 miles-per-hour speed limit

1975

  • New York nears bankruptcy

  • “Watergate babies” begin congressional reform

1976

  • Jimmy Carter elected president

1978

  • Proposition 13 reduces California property taxes

  • Bakke v. University of California limits affirmative action

  • Harvey Milk assassinated in San Francisco

1979

  • Three Mile Island nuclear accident