Sources for America’s History: Printed Page 709
29-1 | | Experiencing America’s Energy Dependence |
WARREN LEFFLE, Long Lines of Cars Waiting for Fuel at a Gas Station, Maryland (1979) |
America’s postwar economic boom slowed by the 1970s when the nation faced a recession as well as global political unrest. The significant oil-producing region of the Middle East further complicated America’s political difficulties, as the Arab-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) embargoed oil shipments in response to the West’s support of Israel. Energy prices spiked, causing a severe recession. The oil crisis highlighted America’s vulnerabilities to foreign oil, a dependency that consumers awoke to when oil shortages caused long lines at the pumps.
READING AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What does this photograph reveal about the impact of global political and economic crises on the lives of ordinary Americans?
How do you think scenes like this one, experienced by Americans living during the 1970s, affected their perspective on America’s role in global affairs?