Echoes Among the Stars: The Original Website
Echoes Among the Stars — Chapter Eleven
The 1970s: Journeys Without and Within
“In its final flight, the Apollo program had given the country one last gift that, in its hope for the future, may have been the series’ most idealistic accomplishment of all. The joint mission... was a great symbolic epitaph for Apollo and for the cycle of American history that was the 1960s and early 1970s.” -- page 140
• Topics Covered in This Chapter
• Topics for Discussion
• Historical Context
• Possible Writing Assignments
Topics Covered in This Chapter
• NASA’s Course as a Mirror of American Society
• Vietnam War Aftermath
• Watergate Scandal and President Nixon’s Resignation
• Media Coverage of the U.S. Space Program
• The Space Program’s “Dormant” Years, 1975-1981
Topics for Discussion
The late ‘70s provide some grist for discussion of the theory that U.S. history generally unfolds in cycles, alternating periods of intense activity, change, and unrest with times of relative calm, bordering on stagnation or “malaise.” It’s often interesting to see how different groups of individuals might characterize the current moment, and try to determine what they envision for the future.
Historical Context
The Carter Administration
U.S. Bicentennial Celebration
Iranian hostage crisis
Possible Writing Assignments
College
Based on your research of significant events that occurred during each decade, write an essay comparing the 1960s and the 1970s in America.
High School
Just two years before America celebrated its Bicentennial, President Nixon became the first U.S. President to resign from office. Calling upon your knowledge and research about how the U.S. government is structured, write an essay describing the “checks and balances” that make it difficult for a President to be recalled or impeached.
K-8
Write a short essay describing what you think life will be like twenty years from today.
The late ‘70s provide some grist for discussion of the theory that U.S. history generally unfolds in cycles, alternating periods of intense activity, change, and unrest with times of relative calm, bordering on stagnation or “malaise.” It’s often interesting to see how different groups of individuals might characterize the current moment, and try to determine what they envision for the future.
Historical Context
The Carter Administration
U.S. Bicentennial Celebration
Iranian hostage crisis
Possible Writing Assignments
College
Based on your research of significant events that occurred during each decade, write an essay comparing the 1960s and the 1970s in America.
High School
Just two years before America celebrated its Bicentennial, President Nixon became the first U.S. President to resign from office. Calling upon your knowledge and research about how the U.S. government is structured, write an essay describing the “checks and balances” that make it difficult for a President to be recalled or impeached.
K-8
Write a short essay describing what you think life will be like twenty years from today.
