Download Supporting Standard (10)

Supporting standards comprise
35% of the U. S. History Test
10 (F)
Supporting Standard (10)
The student understands the impact of political,
economic, & social factors in the U. S. role in the
world from the 1970s through 1990.
The Student is expected to:
(F) Describe significant issues of this time
period: inflation, stagflation, resignation, &
environmentalism
Supporting Standard (10)
The student understands the impact of political,
economic, & social factors in the U. S. role in the
world from the 1970s through 1990.
The Student is expected to:
(F) 1 Describe significant issues of this time
period: inflation
In economics, inflation is a persistent increase in the general price
level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.
When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer
goods and services. Consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in
the purchasing power per unit of money – a loss of real value in the
medium of exchange and unit of account within the economy. A chief
measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized
percentage change in a general price index (normally the consumer
price index) over time.
Economists generally believe that
high rates of inflation and
hyperinflation are caused by an
excessive growth of the money supply.
And still today, the economy
presents its challenges
Inflation Rate from 1990-2013
The more things
x
change
...
the more then
remain the same.
A fundamental concept in inflation analysis is
the relationship between inflation and
unemployment, called the Phillips curve. This
model suggests that there is a trade-off between
price stability and employment. Therefore, some
level of inflation could be considered desirable
in order to minimize unemployment. The
Phillips curve model described the U.S.
experience well in the 1960s but failed to
describe the combination of rising inflation and
economic stagnation (sometimes referred to as
stagflation) experienced in the 1970s.
The Phillips
Curve
The 1970s
witnessed a
“new”
phenomenon:
Stagflation
Supporting Standard (10)
The student understands the impact of political,
economic, & social factors in the U. S. role in the
world from the 1970s through 1990.
The Student is expected to:
(F) 2 Describe significant issues of this time
period: stagflation
Stagflation, a portmanteau of stagnation and inflation, is a
term used in economics to describe a situation where the
inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows
down, and unemployment remains steadily high. It raises a
dilemma for economic policy since actions designed to
lower inflation may exacerbate unemployment, and vice
versa.
In the version of Keynesian macroeconomic theory which
was dominant between the end of World War II and the
late-1970s, inflation and recession were regarded as
mutually exclusive, the relationship between the two being
described by the Phillips curve. Stagflation is very costly
and difficult to eradicate once it starts, in human terms as
well as in budget deficits.
In the political arena, one measure of stagflation, termed
the Misery Index (derived by the simple addition of the
inflation rate to the unemployment rate), was used to
swing presidential elections in the United States in 1976
and 1980.
Following Richard
Following
Richard Nixon’s imposition of wage and price controls on
on
August 15, 1971, an initial wave of cost-push shocks in commodities
was blamed for causing spiraling prices. Perhaps the most notorious
factor cited at that time was the failure of the Peruvian anchovy
fishery in 1972, a major source of livestock feed. The second major
shock was the 1973 oil crisis, when the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) constrained the worldwide supply of
oil. Both events, combined with the overall energy shortage that
characterized the 1970s, resulted in actual or relative scarcity of raw
materials. The price controls resulted in shortages at the point of
purchase, causing, for example, queues of consumers at fuelling
stations and increased production costs for industry.
Under this set of theories, the solution to
stagflation is to restore the supply of materials. In
the case of a physical scarcity, stagflation is
mitigated either by finding a replacement for the
missing resources or by developing ways to
increase economic productivity and energy
efficiency so that more output is produced with
less input. For example, in the late 1970s and
early 1980s, the scarcity of oil was relieved by
increases in both energy efficiency and global oil
production. This factor, along with adjustments in
monetary policies, helped end stagflation.
Supporting Standard (10)
The student understands the impact of political,
economic, & social factors in the U. S. role in the
world from the 1970s through 1990.
The Student is expected to:
(F) 3 Describe significant issues of this time
period: resignation
Double entendre?
An epoch during which the
president resigns in relative
disgrace before being
impeached . . .
while the general public gives
up in the face of overwhelming
economic distress
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or
quitting one’s office or position. A
A
resignation can occur when a person holding
a position gained by election or appointment
steps down, but leaving a position upon the
expiration of a term is not considered
resignation. When an employee chooses to
leave a position it is considered a resignation,
as opposed to termination, which occurs
when the employee involuntarily loses a job.
A resignation is a personal decision to exit a
position, though outside pressure exists in many
cases. For example, Richard Nixon resigned from
the office of President of the United States in
August 1974 following the Watergate scandal,
when he was almost certain to have been
impeached by the United States Congress.
At a more personal or individual level,
resignation is an accepting, unresisting
attitude, a state of submission or
acquiescence.
Supporting Standard (10)
The student understands the impact of political,
economic, & social factors in the U. S. role in the
world from the 1970s through 1990.
The Student is expected to:
(F) 4 Describe significant issues of this time
period: environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy,
ideology and social movement regarding
concerns for environmental conservation and
improvement of the health of the environment,
particularly as the measure for this health seeks
to incorporate the concerns of non-human
elements. Environmentalism advocates the
preservation, restoration and/or improvement
of—stewardship—of the natural environment,
and may be referred to as a movement to
control pollution or protect plant and animal
diversity.
At its crux, environmentalism is an attempt
to balance relations between humans and the
various natural systems on which they
depend in such a way that all the components
are accorded a proper degree of
sustainability. The exact measures and
outcomes of this balance is controversial and
there are many different ways for
environmental concerns to be expressed in
practice. Environmentalism and
environmental concerns are often
represented by the color green.
Due to its large membership, varying and strong beliefs, and
occasionally speculative nature, the environmental movement is not
always united in its goals. At its broadest, the movement includes
private citizens, professionals, religious devotees, politicians,
scientists, nonprofit organizations and individual advocates.
Noteworthy
Environmental Landmarks
1969- National Environmental Policy Act
1970- First Earth Day- April 22
1970- Clean Air Act
1970- Environmental Protection Agency
1971- Greenpeace
1972- Clean Water Act
1973- Endangered Species Act
1980- Earth First!
1992- UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro
Since the 1970s, public awareness,
environmental sciences, sciences,
ecology, and technology have advanced
to include modern focus points like ozone
depletion, global climate change, acid
rain, and the potentially harmful
genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
In the 1970s, the environmental
movement gained rapid speed around
the world as a productive outgrowth of
the counterculture movement.
By the mid-1970s, many felt that people were on
the edge of environmental catastrophe. The Backto-the-land movement started to form and ideas of
environmental ethics joined with anti-Vietnam War
sentiments and other political issues. These
individuals lived outside normal society and started
to take on some of the more radical environmental
theories such as deep ecology. Around this time
more mainstream environmentalism was starting to
show force with the signing of the Endangered
Species Act in 1973 and the formation of CITES in
1975. Significant amendments were also enacted to
the United States Clean Air Act and Clean Water
Act.
During the 1980s the growing awareness of global warming and
other climate change issues brought environmentalism into
greater public debate. In 1986 the international conservation
organization the World Wildlife Fund renamed itself the
Worldwide Fund for Nature to reflect a shift to a more strategic
approach. Still known as WWF, however, the organization
brought together religious authorities representing the five
major world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism,
Islam, and Judaism) to prepare the 1986 Assisi Declarations.
These theological statements, published by the WWF and
UNEP, identified the responsibilities towards the care of nature
expected of followers of each religion thus providing spiritual
motivation for environmental action. The full texts, with
additional similar declarations from Bahá’ísm, Jainism,
Shintoism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism were later included in
the 2003 World Bank publication “Faith In Conservation.”
Fini