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“Silent Spring” and the EPA
The environmental movement took root in the 1960s with the publication of Rachel Carson’s famous book Silent Spring, warning against the ecological impacts of pesticides and calling for greater protection. American public opinion rapidly changed to support greater regulation of harmful chemicals and industrial practices, resulting in the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, which sought to enforce pollution standards. The Endangered Species Act protecting animals facing extinction was passed soon after. Despite these efforts, a series of crises such as the Love Canal disaster in 1978, in which toxic chemicals leaked from a landfill and led to the deaths of hundreds near Niagara Falls, New York, continued to show the importance of the EPA’s ongoing efforts.
Lack of Public Faith
By the 1970s, the efforts of civil rights leaders to highlight American inequality helped wear away public indifference but were resisted by many in white communities. The Watergate Scandal during Richard Nixon’s presidency—where he unsuccessfully tried to cover up his own complicity in a burglary of his political rivals, resulting in his resignation from office—drove more Americans to distrust their public officials. The legacy of the failed war in Vietnam, the cycles of riots and protests, and a cooling American economy all led to widespread dissatisfaction. The high tide of post-World War II economic prosperity was ending due to a variety of factors: a decline in manufacturing work, overseas competition, and an energy crisis brought on by an OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil embargo in 1973. Regardless of the causes, the faith in the American government’s honesty and ability to improve the lives of the American public was shaken by the end of the 1970s.
The Rise of Conservatism
The era of post-World War II liberalism’s push for more government involvement in solving the problems of society had shown a mixed track record of success. By the middle of the 1960s, a new conservative philosophy grew in opposition to the long reign of the Democrats in Congress. (Democrats held majorities in the House and Senate for most of the 40 years after World War II.) Republican Senator Barry Goldwater is often considered the beginning of this turn toward “New Right” conservatism (as opposed to the political “left” orientation of the Democrats), focusing on opposing anti-discrimination laws, promoting school prayer, and generally promoting greater individual and state freedom from the power of the federal government.
