The 1970s Business and the Economy: Chronology

1970:     January 19 Inflation reaches 6.1 percent, the highest rate since the Korean War (1950–53).

1970:     March 25 The first major postal workers' strike in American history ends after seven days.

1970:     October 26 The federal government mandates the use of unleaded gasoline in federal vehicles.

1970:     December 4 The federal government announces that unemployment has risen to 5.8 percent. In response, officials reduce interest rates.

1971:     February 6 Time magazine reaches an agreement regarding job discrimination with 140 female employees.

1971:     March 8 The U.S. Supreme Court prohibits employers from using job tests that discriminate against African Americans.

1971:     June 10 President Richard M. Nixon ends a twenty-year trade embargo against Communist China.

1971:     December 10 President Richard M. Nixon signs a $25-billion tax cut.

1972:      The Dow-Jones average hits 1,000 for the first time in history.

1972:     August 15 A U.S. federal court lifts an April 1970 injunction banning the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

1972:     November 16 PepsiCo announces a deal to sell its products in the Soviet Union.

1973:     January 11 The Nixon administration ends mandatory wage and price controls, except in the food, construction, and health-care industries.

1973:     May 3 A court order directs Delta Air Lines to open more positions to women and African Americans.

1973:     October Following the beginning of the war between Israel and several Arab states, some members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) begin an embargo of oil exports to the United States and other Western nations.

1973:     December 22 To conserve gasoline and improve driving safety, the U.S. Congress orders states to reduce interstate highway speed limits to fifty-five miles per hour.

1974:     March 18 Members of OPEC, except Libya and Syria, end their oil embargo of the West.

1974:     April 30 President Richard M. Nixon's authority to impose wage and price controls on the American economy ends with the expiration of the 1970 Economic Wage Stabilization Act.

1974:     October 8 President Gerald Ford announces his program to control inflation, called Whip Inflation Now (WIN). Despite a denial by President Ford, Federal Reserve Chairman Arthur Burns states that a recession has begun.

1975:      Exxon Corporation replaces General Motors as the nation's wealthiest company.

1975:     February 7 The federal government reports January unemployment at 8.2 percent, the highest level since 1941.

1975:     November 7 The U.S. Supreme Court rules unconstitutional a Utah law denying unemployment benefits to women in the third trimester of pregnancy.

1976:     March 26 The federal government accuses the Encyclopaedia Britannica company of deceptive selling and other practices.

1976:     September 15 American Bank and Trust Company fails, the fourth largest banking default in history.

1976:     December 18 More than 175 U.S. companies admit to offering over $300 million in bribes since 1970.

1977:      The United States posts the highest trade deficit in history: $31.1 billion.

1977:      Many consumers respond to high coffee prices by switching to tea.

1977:     September 26 Freddie Laker begins his no-frills New York-to-London Sky-train airline service.

1977:     October 3 Three hundred American Airlines female flight attendants, fired for becoming pregnant between 1965 and 1970, receive a $2.7-million civil rights settlement.

1978:      Due to inflation, goods costing $100.00 in 1967 now cost $200.09.

1978:     March 25 A 110-day coal miners' strike, the longest in U.S. history, ends with the signing of a new three-year contract.

1979:      The Islamic revolution in Iran cuts off Iranian oil exports and leads to widespread oil shortages and soaring energy costs.

1979:      The federal government deregulates long-distance phone service.

1979:     May 9 California begins gas rationing due to continued scarce supply.

1979:     July 31 The Chrysler Corporation, the third largest automaker in the United States, requests a $1-billion federal loan to prevent bankruptcy. On November 1, the federal government guarantees a $1.5-billion loan to Chrysler.