Timeline of the history of the United States (1970–1989)

This timeline outlines significant events in the history of the United States from 1970 to 1989, covering political, social, economic, and cultural milestones.

1970

• January 14: The Super Bowl IV takes place; the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Minnesota Vikings.
• April 22: The first Earth Day is celebrated, marking the beginning of the modern environmental movement.
• May 4: The Kent State shootings occur, where National Guard members kill four unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War.
• June: Loving v. Virginia, which invalidated laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the United States, reaches its three-year anniversary and is upheld by the Supreme Court.
• October: Congress passes the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act.

1971

• January: Cigarette advertising is banned on television and radio.
• March 29: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of murdering 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai Massacre.
• August 15: President Richard Nixon announces the "Nixon Shock," ending the convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold, effectively ending the Bretton Woods system.

1972

• February: President Richard Nixon visits China, a historic step in normalizing relations between the two countries.
• March 22: Congress approves the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), sending it to the states for ratification.
• May 15: Governor George Wallace is shot and seriously wounded while campaigning for president.
• June 17: The Watergate break-in occurs at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, marking the beginning of the Watergate scandal.
• November: Richard Nixon is re-elected in a landslide victory.

1973

• January 22: The Supreme Court issues its decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion nationwide.
• January 27: The Paris Peace Accords are signed, officially ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
• October: The Yom Kippur War leads to an oil embargo by OPEC, causing a major energy crisis in the United States.
• October 20: The "Saturday Night Massacre" occurs as President Nixon orders the firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox.

1974

• August 9: Richard Nixon resigns from the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal; Gerald Ford becomes president.
• September 8: President Ford pardons Richard Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office.

1975

• April: Saigon falls to North Vietnamese forces, marking the end of the Vietnam War.
• May 12-15: The Mayaguez incident occurs, involving the capture of an American cargo ship by Cambodian Khmer Rouge forces and the subsequent U.S. military response.

1976

• July 4: The United States celebrates its bicentennial.
• November: Jimmy Carter is elected president.

1977

• January: Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as president.
• November 18: The National Women's Conference convenes in Houston, Texas.

1978

• September 17: The Camp David Accords are signed by Egypt and Israel, brokered by President Carter.

1979

• March 28: The Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurs in Pennsylvania.
• November 4: Iranian students seize the U.S. embassy in Tehran, beginning the Iran hostage crisis.
• December: The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

1980

• May 18: The eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state.
• November: Ronald Reagan is elected president.

1981

• January 20: Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as president; the Iran hostage crisis ends after 444 days.
• March 30: President Reagan is shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr.
• August 13: MTV (Music Television) begins broadcasting.

1982

• January: Unemployment reaches double digits.
• June 30: The Equal Rights Amendment fails to be ratified by the states.

1983

• March 8: President Reagan calls the Soviet Union an "evil empire."
• October 23: A suicide bomber attacks the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 241 American servicemen.
• October: The U.S. invades Grenada.

1984

• July 18: Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first female vice-presidential candidate for a major U.S. political party.
• November: Ronald Reagan is re-elected in a landslide victory.

1985

• September: The Plaza Accord is signed, devaluing the U.S. dollar against other major currencies.

1986

• January 28: The Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board.
• November: The Iran-Contra affair becomes public.

1987

• October 19: "Black Monday" - the stock market crashes, experiencing the largest single-day percentage drop in history.

1988

• December 21: Pan Am Flight 103 is bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, including 189 Americans.
• November: George H.W. Bush is elected president.

1989

• January: George H.W. Bush is inaugurated as president.
• November 9: The Berlin Wall falls, a symbolic event marking the end of the Cold War.
• December: The United States invades Panama.