1970's+World+Events

=__1970s World Events__=

===The 1970s was a memorable decade highlighted by landmark events that changed the world, and not always for the better. These 10 years were marked by the end of a very controversial war, the first US president resignition, wars raging on in the Middle East, resulting in an oil crisis for industrialized countries.===

=__End of the Vietnam War__= On April 30, 1975, the capital city of South Vietnam, Saigon, falls to Communist hands, thus ending the conflict that lasted nearly 20 years long. The US saw their involvement in the war as a way to stop Communism from spreading to the southwest parts of Asia. The war was very controversial, sparking debates over the US involvement. Most people opted for peace but others saw the war as a necessity. Nevertheless, on January 15, 1973, US President Nixon calls for a ceasefire in Vietnam. Two months later, on March 29th, the last of US troops left Vietnam. Saigon surrendered 2 years later, resulting in a bitter loss for the United States.

=__1972 Nicaragua Earthquake__= On December 23, 1972 at 12:29 am local time, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua .Two aftershocks occured after the main shock, one of 5.0 magnitude and the other 5.2. This natural disaster caused widespread damage. The earthquake destroyed 80% of the city, and an estimated 5,000 were killed, 20,000 injured, and a quarter million were left homeless. This was the worst earthquake in terms of destruction in South America's history.

=__The Watergate Scandal and Nixon's Resignation__= Nixon's resignation was caused by the Watergate scandal he tried to cover up. It all started when 5 men were arrested for breaking and entering the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in D.C. on June,17,1972. The FBI traced back the payments given to the men to the Committee for the Re-election of the President, a fundraising group for Nixon's campaign. It turns out that Nixon had recorded some conversations involving the scandal, revealing that he tried to cover up the event. Knowing he will be impeached, Nixon announced his resignation on August 9, 1974, being the first US president, and hopefully the last, to ever resign from office.

=__1973 Oil Crisis__= The 1973 Oil Crisis started in October of that year when the [|OAPEC]( an oil company) proclaimed an embargo. This was a response to the US aiding the Israeli military in the Yom Kippur war. This embargo caused the stock market to crash, beginning a recession in countries that depended on oil trade, especially the United States as well as the UK. This crash was the first event since the Great Depression to have a persistent economic effect. In an effort to create peace, the Nixon Administration began some parallel negotiations with Arab oil producers to end the embargo. A compromise was finally achieved sufficient to convince the oil companies to lift the embargo in March 1974. Nine months later though, the stock market crash ended.

__Citations__
Bondi, Victor. American Decades 1970-197. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995. Print.

U.S. Army Military History Institute (USAMHI). "Dead North Vietnamese Soldiers". Photograph. Wikimedia Commons, 27 March 2011. 13 January 2012.

NOAA. "Managua earthquake aerial view". Photograph. Wikimedia Commons, 12 January 2009. 13 January 2012.

Courtesy Richard Nixon Presidential Library. "Richard Nixon's resignation speech." Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. 22 December 2008. 13 January 2012.

"FLAG POLICY DURING THE 1973 OIL CRISIS." Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. 18 February 2008. 13 January 2012.

By: Duong Vu and Nancy Nguyen