Introduction

Political Events

Scientific-Technical Developments

Military Developments

Economic Changes and Conditions

Social Conditions and Developments

Books, Movies, Art and the Media

The year was 1975 and it was considered the year when détente officially ended (détente was considered to have been a time of relative "peace" between the two world superpowers the United States and the Soviet Union and is listed as lasting from 1969 until 1975). This was a time when Gerald R. Ford was president of the United States, filling in for disgraced Nixon. Lenoid Ilyich Brezhnev was the Soviet Premier. Willy Brandy was the West German Chancellor and the German Henry Alfred Kissinger, who had also served under Nixon, was now serving under President Ford as Secretary of State and the US National Security Advisor (among his many feats as Secretary of State was negotiating a brief peace accord in Vietnam in 1973, thus when the war ended with the US in humiliating defeat, Kissinger took it personally).

1975 saw the end of a gruesome war in Southeast Asia and the collaboration between two enemies in space. Cuba began to reach overseas in an effort to help spread Soviet influence and in India, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a police state. President Ford had two attempts on his life, both in California and the final chapter in the Watergate scandal was closed as four involved members were convicted of helping with the cover-up. Unemployment is the highest since 1941 and the Soviet Union is in desperation as grain crops fail, forcing the Soviets to rely on the United States for aid. A call for a universal and equal education system is made in the United States while more women were entering the workforce and fighting for equality. Polyester and leisure suits were the thing to wear, Jaws made a splash and millions of dollars for future ET director Steven Spielberg, and "All in the Family" is the number one sitcom for the years 1974-1975 and 1975-1976. Disco is in with bellbottoms and drug usage is on the rise. Vietnam vets come home unwelcome and for many, their return home was highlighted by horrific flashbacks and other severe mental problems.

This section of the webpage will further explore the subjects touched on in this brief introductory paragraph. All you have to do is click on a link and begin.