From the Vietnam War, to Watergate, to the nation's bicentennial, the 1970s was a decade filled with highs and lows.
From the Vietnam War, to Watergate, to the nation's bicentennial, the 1970s was a decade filled with highs and lows.
Living through the 1970s meant living through protests and conflicts, but also some of the best times this country has ever seen.
Although there's plenty we didn't get to here, check out these 20 highlight, (and lowlight) reel moments from the 1970s.
1
The Twin Towers, well underway in 1971.
2
Kent State activist Alan Canfora confronts National Guardsmen just before the deadly shooting in 1970.
3
A black U.S. soldier reads a message left by the Việt Cộng during the Vietnam War. The message reads, "U.S. [black] armymen, you are committing the same ignominious crimes in South Vietnam that the KKK clique is perpetrating against your family at home." 1970.
4
William Behrle, the first man to enter the Three Mile Island reactor containment building following its accident on March 28th, 1979.
5
Woodward and Bernstein watching Nixon’s first TV speech on Watergate in 1973. The two journalists did much of the initial reporting that brought the presidential scandal to light.
6
Richard Nixon waves goodbye as he boards a helicopter after resigning the presidency earlier that day. August 9, 1974.
7
Photographers gather after the Munich Massacre, during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. West Germany, 1972.
8
People wait in line to see the original Star Wars in 1977.
9
A female IRA volunteer on active service in West Belfast. 1970s.
10
Elvis performs his last show on June 26, 1977.
11
Roger Sharpe demonstrating to the NYC council that pinball is a game of skill, not luck, by calling a shot. This lifted the ban on pinball, saving it throughout the country. 1976.
12
A South Korean soldier forcibly cuts a young man's hair in front of others during a nationwide crackdown on men with long hair and women wearing short skirts in South Korea.
13
Franco Columbu doing his bat act while Arnold Schwarzenegger looks on.
14
Members of the Japanese "Marxist Youth League" in a protest, 1970s.
15
Lt. Col. Robert Stirm, is greeted by his family, returning home after more than five years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. 1973.
17
Imam's Line activists invade the U.S. Embassy, beginning the hostage crisis. Tehran, Iran. November 4, 1979.
18
Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in a tennis “Battle of the Sexes.”
19
A Soviet bomber crewman takes a photo of an F-4 Phantom with its RIO taking a picture of the Tu-142 Bear F over the Atlantic, 1970s.
![A black U.S. soldier reads a message left by the Việt Cộng during the Vietnam War. The message reads, "U.S. [black] armymen, you are committing the same ignominious crimes in South Vietnam that the KKK clique is perpetrating against your family at home." 1970.](https://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/2025/01/17/124631/87658683/70s15.jpeg)
