Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview
18th C. 1770s 1780s 1790s 19th C. 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines
Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview Overview
20th C. 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1973-74 1980s 1990s 21st C. 2000s
Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines Timelines
arrow grey left   Back to USA menu
arrow grey left   Go to Matrixes

    Categories in This Page:
1. Political 2. Bus & Eco.
3. Sci. & Tech. 4. Mechanical
5. Education 6. Rel. & Spir.
7. Arts & Des. 8. Lit. & Pub.
9. Entertain. 10. Sports
11. Fashion 12. Lifestyles
Summary

go to... History title small for decade
arrow grey left  1970-73 1973-1974 1974-80  arrow grey rightspacer
Timelines - Double Crossover
28y Physical 36y Emotional 44y Intellectual
American Cycles 1973-1974
Kalarhythms logo 110spacer
spacer
    Cycles in this page:
    click to open folders

These Timelines are a detailed look at the time and the influence of Cycles. Significant events of the decade are analyzed through Twelve categories that serve as a kaleidoscopic lens through time, (see the clickable links above), as well as the position of Cycles at the time, (see the clickable folder links in the upper left corner). You can read and link up and down vertically through this Timeline, or, you can go any Category and link horizontally to the same Category in other Timelines (links are provided at the head of each Category). This cross linking is designed to provide a fast and easy way to make reading fun and interesting.

See the go to Overview here link near the top for a brief look at Cycles for this decade.

See the Matrix links above left for navigating through all Overviews and Timelines by Time, Subject, or Cycle as described in Introduction to Part II).


THE CHANGING SEVENTIES:  DOUBLE CROSSOVER YEAR

This was the year of crisis.  Both the Emotional and Intellectual Cycles crossed downward at the same time.  An investigation was ongoing into Watergate that led to the unprecedented resignation of the President and other top officials.  The economy tightened up as the "recession of 1973-1974" began with falling stock prices and business layoffs.  The world wide energy crisis came with an Arab oil embargo that drove prices up and put motorists in long lines for gas.  If a Crossover is a time of crisis, a double Crossover is at least twice as critical.  This happened three times in American history.  To note how bad it can be, the last time this happened was in 1929.  Once in 1901, again in 1929, and in 1973.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

The year began with America in a position of strength and leadership in a brief Three-way High from 1971 - 1973.  Fourteen states restored the death penalty for tougher law enforcement.  Social movements were active and schools were burgeoning, but then times changes.  After the Double Crossover nothing would be the same.  All three branches of government saw castles crumble in the change.  President Nixon would become known as “The last of the big time presidents.”

The Watergate Break-in was uncovered on June 17, 1972 after police apprehended five men for burglary.  At the Democratic Nation Committee headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C.  It was an attempt to obtain political information and plant electronic bugs by members of the Committee to Reelect the President, (CREEP).  They later arrested two other members of the committee and White House aides, G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt.  All seven were charged on September 15 and five pleaded guilty on January 8, 1973 as the Watergate burglary trial began.  James W. McCord, Jr., and G. Gordon Liddy, were found guilty of burglary and wiretapping on January 30th.  The Senate established a Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities on February 2nd to investigate the Watergate conspiracy.  Sam Ervin served as chairman and John J. Sirica was selected as trial judge.

 Public Reaction Was Little or Nil Before the Double Crossover.  Complaints by Democrats during in the 1972 election that President Nixon was involved with the break in were effective.  Nixon won reelection in a landslide.  Then  the double Crossover of the Emotional and Intellectual Cycles began on March 21, 1973.  Two days later on March 19th, a letter written to Judge Sirica by James W. McCord emerged.  It told of testimony under pressure, perjury and implicated others higher than McCord.  The whole "can of worms" broke loose on March 21, 1973.

1. Political  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

1. Political  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

1. Political  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

1. Political  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. Downward Crossover (1973-74)

“Watergate” became a household word.  Judge Sirica disclosed McCord's letter  on March 23, 1973.  Conspiracy and scandal were revealed that involved more key people including CREEP chairman John Mitchell, identified as the “overall boss.”  Now what the press had treated lightly and almost ignored by the public, was a national crisis. 

A String of Resignations Came From a Tumbling Cabinet.  President Nixon announced major developments resulting from his own investigation on April 17, 1973.  FBI director Patrick E. Gray, resigned on April 20th after admitting that he following the advice of Nixon aides to destroy evidence on Watergate.  Other resignations came in on April 30th from: Presidential Chief of Staff, Haldeman; domestic affairs assistant, Ehrlichman; Presidential Counsel, John Dean, and Attorney General, Richard Kleindienst.  President Nixon made a public announcement about the resignations, but still denied any knowledge of a cover-up.  More resignations came from White House associates including: John Mitchell, Maurice Stans, Charles Colson, Jeb Stuart Magruder, Gordon Strachen, Herbert Porter, John Caulfield, Anthony Ulasewicz, Robert Mardian, Donald Segretti, Herbert Kalmbach, and Dwight Chapin.  This kind of turnover was a monumental incident in American history, but then, so is a Double Downward Crossover of the Emotional and Intellectual Cycles. 

Vice-president Spiro Agnew Resigned on October 10, 1973, amid another investigation which brought charges of corruption.  Republican leader of the House, Gerald Ford, was sworn in as vice-president to fill the place of Agnew.  Castles were crumbling.  

The President's Tapes Were Subpoenaed after a former deputy assistant to the president reveled to a Senate Committee on July 16, 1973 that Nixon recorded all conversations in the Oval Office.  A Senate panel subpoenaed the tapes on July 23rd, but Nixon refused the subpoena by claiming "executive privilege."  This turned out to be a significant conflict between the executive and judicial branches of government.  Special prosecutor for the case was Archibald Cox, named by Nixon himself in May, defied the claim that the president could not be overridden by another branch of government.  Cox insisted that Nixon turn over his taped conversations with aides.  Nixon offered that producing a synopsis of the tapes could make a compromise, but Cox  refused.  This classic conflict between the executive and judicial branch was now over power, (Physical High), amid a national crisis, (Emo-Intellectual Crossover). 

“The Saturday Night Massacre” is what many people called Nixon's response to the subpoena by Archibald Cox.  Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox on October 20th.  Rather than comply with this order, both Richardson and his assistant, William Ruchelshaus, resigned.  Solicitor-General Robert Bork therefore fired Cox.  A flurry of protests resulted, 250,000 telegrams came to the White House, and crowds marched onto the White House for a day and a night.  Talk of impeachment began everywhere. Nixon selected Leon Jaworski as the new Watergate prosecutor on November 5th, but the matter grew across the country like wildfire.  It was Crossover time. 

  “I Am Not a Crook” was Nixon's infamous phrase during a nationally televised speech on November 17, 1973.  The president said, "People have to know whether or not their President is a crook.  Well, I'm not a crook."  The fateful speech turned out to have the opposite effect on the public than the president intended,  Nixon would later admit to a "serious act of omission."  The public was too agitated to pacify.  

The Supreme Court Ruled Unanimously Against the President on July 24, 1974, by refuting his claim that the executive office could not be overridden, and deciding instead that executive privilege was limited.  Nixon released the tapes afterward, but they reported that two were nonexistent.  Another tape had an 18 1/2 minute gap in it.  Nixon made 2,100 page transcript of the tapes available to the public in 1974.  The Downward Crossovers brought on Double 3rd Qtr. Reform. 

Watergate Hearings Were Conducted by a Senate Committee as of May 15, 1974, and chaired by Senator Ervin.  Questions arose about how much the president knew, and when.  Former White House counsel, John E. Dean III, admitted to a conspiracy of a cover-up and implicated the president in testimony that said Nixon authorized hush money to the seven Watergate defendants.  Abuses of power became unveiled such as the president's "enemies list" that might target opponents of the administration with a hassling IRS audit.  They uncovered clandestine groups like the "plumbers" who conducted illicit break-ins and wire taping.  James R. Polk also reported in October 1974, that the dairyman's fund paid $5,000 for the Ellsberg break-in by channeling it through an unsuspecting group called People United for Good Government.  The entire scenario became much larger than anyone imagined it would before the Double 3rd Qtr. began. 

Trials of Top Officials Began on October 1, 1973.  Former leader of the White House "plumbers," Egil Krogh Jr. pleaded guilty on November 30th to charges related to the break-in of psychiatrist Daniel Ellsberg's office.  Stans and Kenneth Parkinson were acquitted, charges were dropped against Charles Colson who pleaded guilty in connection with the Ellsberg break-in and Gorde Strachen was tried separately, but the others were convicted and sentenced to prison by Judge Sirica.  G. Gordon Liddy was sentenced to twenty years on November 9th after refusing to cooperate with the investigation.  Hunt received 2 1/2 to 8 years and a fine of $10,000.  Haldeman, Mitchell, Ehrlichman were found guilty of perjury, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice on January 1, 1975.  Ehrlichman had already received 2 1/2 to 5 years for a civil rights violation connected with the break-in of Ellsberg's office.  Mardian was also convicted and Dean received 1 to 4 years for his participation in Watergate.  The wrath of a double crisis as it ushered in double reform was both swift and powerful.  

Vice President Spiro Agnew Resigned on October 10, 1973 after pleading "no contest" to federal court charges that he evaded income taxes and took illegal payments from a contractor while he was governor of Maryland.  The Justice Department in turn dropped all charges and levied a fine of $10,000 and three years probation.  Agnew became the second Vice president to resign from office, after John C. Calhoun who left for political reasons.  Two days later, Nixon nominated House minority leader Gerald R. Ford to fill the position.  

Articles of Impeachment Drew Wide Support.  Public opinion had moved against the president and was growing.  Nine hundred delegates to the AFL-CIO convention in Florida adopted a resolution asking for Impeachment.  Eighty-four members of Congress in the House sponsored twenty-two bills for impeachment on October 23, 1973.  The Senate approved two articles of impeachment on July 27, 1974 and voted of 410-4 to investigate the president. They televised impeachment hearings and the president was left little recourse in the momentum of reform. 

President Nixon Became the First American President in History to Resign from office on August 9, 1974.  Vice-president Ford was sworn in as president, becoming the nation's first appointed president.  Ford's first official act was to grant Nixon a full and absolute pardon.  The momentum of reform directly opposed this and public reaction was filled with anger and suspicion.  It contributed to Ford's defeat in the next election.  Sweeping reforms continued through all levels of government. 

The Democratic National Committee was awarded $775,000 in a civil suit for damages related to the break-in. Democrats increased their majority in the 1974 midterm elections.  Post-Watergate scandals thereafter of any kind were given the suffix -gate, (i.e., Koreagate, Irangate, etc.) and were many more followed in the era of 3rd Qtr. Reforms. 

The President's Campaign Contribution Scandal brought big businesses under reform.  Representatives of the Gulf and Ashland Oil Companies pleaded guilty on November 13, 1973, to charges that they made illegal contributions to President Nixon's reelection campaign fund.  Commerce Secretary, Maurice Stans, admitted the following day that illicit contributions from major corporations were something of a norm.  Testimony came from Braniff International, American Airlines and Goodyear on November 15th that they also made contributions of this type.  Former cabinet members, John Mitchell and Maurice Stans, and financier, Robert Vesco, were indicted on November 15th, on charges that Vesco had illegally contributed $200,000 to Nixon's campaign fund. 

The President's Tax Scandal came after months of investigation by a joint congressional committee on charges that involved the president's tax payments.  Nixon rendered payment on back taxes.  Nixon had released files to the committee and agreed to abide by its decision.  By his own admission, two deductions listed could be controversial.  The public reacted to learning that despite a known income of $200,000 a year, taxes paid by Nixon from 1969 to 1972 were less than $1,000, equal to the taxes what someone would pay making $15,000 a year.  In accordance with the decision of the committee a few days earlier, Nixon announced on April 3, 1974, that he would pay $432,787.13 in back taxes.  

A Viet Nam War Scandal Emerged amid all the controversy.  Hearings began with the Armed Forces Committee on July 16, 1973, amid charges that the US had conducted secret bombings in Cambodia in 1969 and 1970 while Cambodia was regarded as neutral.  Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger stated on July 17th that the 3,000 raids were fully authorized to protect US troops.  Pentagon officials admitted on the July 20th that they falsified reports given to the Senate.  Nixon halted bombing raids into Cambodia on August 14th despite the veto of a congressional bill that would have halted funding for the raids.  The War Powers Act was subsequently passed over the president's veto on November 7, 1973 that  restrained the president's power to send US troops into foreign nations for indefinite periods without approval by Congress.  In 1973, The US officially ended the military draft. 

To View the Watergate Affair in Context, on might compare it with a minor controversy from before.  Nixon's integrity was questioned over alleged improprieties regarding some 1950 Senate campaign funds.  In the 1950s, Nixon gave an emotional speech on national television afterward to say he was fit to share the 1952 presidential campaign ticket with Eisenhower.  Nixon admitted to receiving a campaign gift, his dog Checkers.  This, he said, he would not give back. The announcement later became known as the "Checkers speech."  Although they proved nothing against Senator Nixon who successfully defended himself, it is interesting that no Cycle was in the 3rd Quarter at the time and public reaction was light.  

Other Reforms Began at the beginning of the Double 3rd Qtr. began.  The Endangered Species Act in 1973 forbid the government from supporting any projects or activities that could be harmful to endangered species. Airlines began screening passengers for weapons this year in response to hijacking.  Reforms of all type became the trend across the nation after the crisis.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

2. Business & Economy  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

2. Business & Economy  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

2. Business & Economy  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

2. Business & Economy  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. Downward Crossover (1973-74)

The 1973/74 Recession was the deepest we had seen since the last time the nation experienced a double Crossover year, (in 1929).  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell from a 1973 high of 1051 with a low of 788, to a 1974 low of 590 with a high of 950.  The 1974 market had about a 50% drop.  Federal budget deficits climbed to $14.8 billion in 1973.  Two of the three Cycles were low and declining after 1973.  Stock prices did nor rise above the 1973 high for eight years, after the Phyiscal Peak.  In economic changes from 1973 to 1974; the GNP fell went from 12% to 8%, inflation rose from 7.6% to 13.9%, consumer prices rose by 12.2%, electric rates rose 30%, unemployment rose from 4.9% to 5.6% then reached a 33-year high of 9.2% in 1975.  The Double Crossover brought double recession.

 The Energy Crisis came with oil the bloodline of our machine age economy.  American oil companies lost their grip to foreign powers when a group of oil producing nations began an oil embargo on October 20, 1973.  They raised the price of oil and cut production by 10%.  Arab nations then demanded that the US and its Western allies end their support for Israel and that they pressure Israel into withdrawing from occupied Arab territories.  Israel had been at war with its Arab neighbors and the US was Israel's greatest supplier of arms and technology.

OPEC raised crude oil prices 300% over 1971 levels.  America had been accustomed to a 3.7% annual increase in fuel prices since 1964, and was importing almost half its oil.  A worldwide recession followed the embargo however and there was spiraling inflation with near zero economic growth.  Cutbacks came in transportation, heating and industry in America as well as Western Europe and Japan.  We had an additional 100,000 unemployed workers in the US by the end of the year.  We saw the first peace time gas shortage in history and long gas lines formed at service stations across the nation.  Motorists were rationed gas based on their licence plate numbers.  Everything was different from just a year earlier. 

 President Nixon Signed the Alaska Pipeline Bill in November 1973, to provide self-sufficiency for oil in response to the oil crisis.  The 789-mile line was to supply Alaskan oil across Canada and into the contiguous states.  The pipeline itself raised conflict however as it eviromentalists opposed while others who needed the oil favored it. 

A National Speed Limit Lowered Top Speeds to 55 Miles per Hour in 1974 to save fuel.  Daylight-saving time was Observed Year Round to conserve on lighting and heating.  Alternative Means of Energy were Sought, such as geothermal, solar, and nuclear power.  Car Sales Were Down 35% from the year before.  New Home Construction was down 40%.

Huge Profits Increased for Oil Companies Drew Public Ire and Suspicion in January 1974.  All of the major oil companies showed large fourth quarter profits in 1973 and from 50% to 70% in the first half of 1974.  The world's largest oil companies also showed an average profit increase of 93% in the first half of 1974, according to the Chase Manhattan Bank.  Americans suspected that the oil shortage was a falsehood created by profit seeking oil companies.  The mood of the nation was in crisis as well as the economy.  The Arab oil-producing nations met in Vienna in March of 1974, and agreed to end their embargo. On March 18th, the Arab oil embargo ended.

A huge wave of reforms swept through industry as the shake up of the Double Crossover began a Double 3rd Qtr. of Reform.  As the double Crossover of 1973 began, a series of reforms swept through industry.  More than just the oil companies felt the change as the end came to one era, and an era of reform began.

 The Antitrust Suit Against AT&T, Western Electric, and Bell Labs in 1974 was reminiscent of the “muckraker days,” at the turn of the century, (a previous double Third Quarter).  It broke one of America's Huge conglomerates.

 Former United Mine Workers Pres. W.A. “Tony” Boyle was Charged w/Murder in September 1973.  The victims were Boyle's main opponent in the UMW, Joseph A. Yablonski, his wife, and his daughter.  This was an isolated event, but its timing preceded the decline of labor unions everywhere.  Unions have seen declining membership and a loss of influence throughout the Cyclic decline of 1973 - 1992.  The power machine of labor, the control of big industry, the affluence of the consumer, the framework of a presidency, and mediators everywhere were at the end of an era, an end that began in 1973.

Price Boycotts came in 1973 as 25% of all consumers participated in them to oppose food producers.  Groups like "Operation Pocketbook" were set up and picket lines formed as consumers boycotted items from sugar to beef.

 The AFL-CIO Called for President Nixon's Impeachment in response to the Watergate scandal, as nine hundred of its delegates adopted a resolution at a Florida convention in 1973.  Not only was government seeking reform in business, business was seeking reform in government.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

3. Science & Technology  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

Physical High (1971 - 1978)

The Technological Initiative in 1973 was in Defense.  The multiple accurate reentry vehicle, (MARV), which allowed accurate multiple-missile guidance.  As the Physical Cycle rose and the Emotional and Intellectual Cycles fell, we shifted more toward defending space and less toward just exploring the wonders of the heavens.

3. Science & Technology  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

3. Science & Technology  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

3. Science & Technology  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Emo-Intellectual Low (1973 - 1991)

The Manned Lunar Program Came to an End in December 1972,  the  last year of an Emo-Intellectual High.  Other projects remained active in 1973, however.  Pioneer X, approached Jupiter and sent back detailed pictures from within 81,000 miles of the planet's surface.  Pioneer XI was then launched in 1973 to fly by Jupiter and Saturn. The unmanned "Skylab I," launched this year but it had problems when its heat shield was ripped away and its solar panels did not extend fully.  "Skylab II" put aeronauts in space for 28 days and docked with Skylab I to make repairs.   Skylab III put men in space for 59 ½ days.  Nonetheless the push toward the moon came to an end.  Unmanned space launches received more of the attention after 1973.  Mariner X was also launched to fly by Venus and Mercury.

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd Qtr. Review (1973 - 1982)

A 12-Point Patient Bill of Rights Brought Reform to Medicine after the American Hospital Association published it in 1973.  A humanistic shift of 3rd Qtr. Reform spread throughout.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

4. Mechanical  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

4. Mechanical  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

4. Mechanical  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

4. Mechanical  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd Qtr. Review (1973 - 1982)

Ford Motor Co. was Fined $7 million for Violating the Clean Air Act in 1973.  Ford was charged with improper service on 1973 cars during emission control tests.  This  was just at the beginning of the Double 3rd Qtr. That would bring a trend of industrial reform.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

5. Education  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

5. Education  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

5. Education  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

5. Education  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Physical High with
     Emotional Low
(1973 -1985)

The U. Of Miami Was the First College to Offer Women Athletic Scholarships in 1973.  As the low Emotional Cycle declined (yin), and the high Physical Cycle rose, (yang),  many women focused less on "feminine" values, and pursued what had been traditionally male roles.  Women made advances in business, military, and sporting careers.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

After the downward Emo-Intellectual Crossover in 1973, religious enthusiasm slowed.  People were becoming more Physical, and more secular.

6. Religion & Spirituality  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

Physical High (1971 - 1985)

Yoga Spread Across the Nation in the high and rising Physical Cycle.  Although Yoga involves ancient methods of meditation, spiritual awakening, and teachings of divine forces, the physical aspects of Hatha Yoga are what became popular.  Yoga became synonymous with stretching exercises.  The practice of yoga first caught on in California, then moved East as the nation shaped up in the coming fitness craze of the 1970s and 1980s.

6. Religion & Spirituality  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

6. Religion & Spirituality  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

6. Religion & Spirituality  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

7. Arts & Design  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

7. Arts & Design  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

7. Arts & Design  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

7. Arts & Design  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Physical High with
Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd Qtr. Review
(1973 - 1982)

Nostalgia Came with the Double 3rd Qtr. Review that began in 1973.  We were looking back with nostalgia, amid the period of reform.  We cherished anything that reminded us of for better times.  We brought out old clothes, old furniture, and old trinkets of the closets and attics and became part of the new craze.  The Music industry featured all of our favorite "golden oldies" on new releases of old recordings in special collection sets heard on radio stations nationwide.  What was old, was new.  As the Physical Cycle was high, we valued objects more, and material things brought in more money.  To kick off this  new trend in 1973, Jackson Pollock's painting, "Blue Poles," sold for a record $2 million this year.  Even greater prices followed in the 3rd Qtr.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

8. Literature & Pub.  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

8. Literature & Pub.  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

8. Literature & Pub.  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

8. Literature & Pub.  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd Qtr. Review (1973-82)

Literature was Nostalgic in the Double 3rd Qtr.  The critic's choice this year selected "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Launching the New Deal," by Frank Feidel; and, "Marilyn," by Norman Mailer. Soon, a plethora of publications would follow to review the past.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

9. Entertainment  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

Physical High (1971 - 1985)

Music Changed in 1973.  The sixties ended, and the seventies began, this year.  While a sixties style Rock concert at Watkins Glen drew 600,000 fans this year, emerging forms of Rock was of a genre that reflected the new Physical High.

A New Machismo Came Rock in the Physical High.  A leader of macho rock stars, Bruce Springsteen, released his hit album "Greetings from Asbury Park," in 1973  This blockbuster release from "The Boss," marked the rising trend more than any other.  While fifty rock stars were earning $2 to 6 million a year at this time, earnings were shifting to new stars.  Bruce Springsteen went on to be a sensation in as the most masculine genre in Rock since Elvis.  Goodbye Tiny Tim.

 Both Country Music and Western Music Rose with the Physical Cycle.  By 1973, most of the single records sold were Country and Western.  This was the biggest success for these types of music since the 1950s, (previous Physical High).

Horror Became Popular in Cinema, (Horror is Physical, suspense is Emotional, and mystery is Intellectual).  With the rise of the Physical Cycle after 1971, horror films, as well as disaster films, were on the rise. The biggest moneymaking horror film of its genre to date came in 1973 with, "The Exorcist," starring Linda Blair.  This horrific dealing with the dark world of demonic possession may have been boosted by an Emotional Low.

9. Entertainment  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

9. Entertainment  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

9. Entertainment  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. Downward Crossover (1973-74)

New York Philharmonic Orchestra Members Refused to Perform at the Inauguration for Nixon's in 1973 because of their contention against his politics.  Many other entertainers used the stage to criticize the president during the Crossover.

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd Qtr. Review (1973-74)

Top Films of the Time Looked Back as review and reform came to cinema.  “The Godfather” won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 1973.  Marlon Brando was awarded Best Actor in this blockbuster film that reviewed organized crime in America.  “Cabaret” was another huge success set in the past, for which Liza Minelli won Best Actress.  "American Graffiti," directed by George Lucas, was released this year with a look at the 1950s and 1960s.  Many in the film industry have called it the film that began the 1950s and 1960s nostalgia craze.

Popular Television Programs also Looked Back in the Double 3rd Qtr.   Among the top ten in 1973 was "M*A*S*H," a comedy-drama about our involvement in the Korean War.  "The Waltons," looked at family life in rural America during the Great Depression and was also in the top ten.

Prosaic Realism Accompanied the Emotional Low as a surprise hit came to PBS in 1973.  "An American Family" was a real family, with cameras in their home, showing the daily life and arguments in a disintegrating union.

What was old, was new, as America looked back again with review and  reform.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

10. Sports  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

Physical High (1971 - 1985)

Sports Heros Took Center Stage in America during the Physical High.  When George Foreman scored a technical knockout against Joe Frazier in 1973 to win the heavyweight boxing champion title, America stood by their television sets. When the Boston Bruins' center, Phil Esposito, won the National Hockey League scoring title for the third straight year by totaling 130 points with 55 goals and 75 assists, also in 1973 also, he became a hero. Halfback O. J. Simpson set a one-year rushing record of 2,002 yards this year and became a national star. Even the horse, "Secretariat," became the first triple crown winner since "Citation," a previous Physical high in 1948, (perhaps a coincidence).

Athletic Interests Grew across the nation in the Physical High.  Baseball Added a 10th Player in 1973, called the "designated hitter," that could bat in place of the pitcher.  Hang Gliding Became Popular this year as people jumped off cliffs.  Roller Skating and Skate Boarding caught on big in urban and suburban areas everywhere.

 Sensational Sports Events Were Successful during the Physical High. Perhaps one of the most memorable events this year was when tennis stars, Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King challenged each other in an event called  the "battle of the sexes."  The prize was $100,000 for the winner as they played in the Astrodome.  Some 30,000 spectators attended and forty million watched on TV as Billie Jean arrived on top of an elephant, and Bobby came by rickshaw.  Billie Jean was the victor.  A Double Crossover in the other two Cycles at the time doubtless added to the appeal of the shake up.

10. Sports  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

10. Sports  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

10. Sports  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

11. Fashion  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

Physical High (1971 - 1985)

The Physical Look was Coming in Style in 1973.  Macho-like mustaches came in.  Men were wearing sport shirts and jeans.  Appearances were generally casual.

11. Fashion  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

11. Fashion  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

11. Fashion  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd Qtr. Review (1973-82)

A Return to the 1950s Came in Began in 1973.  Older hair styles came back, leather jackets reappeared and straight leg jeans returned.  A secondary influence in clothing came from the 1940's with the return of wide brim hats and high rise baggy pants.  Even a Twenties-style golf shoe returned with the flopping tongue.  This was the start of a long review.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

The population rose 1.6 million in 1972 to reach 210 million in 1973. The nation as a whole was changing.

12. Lifestyles  1973-74 Physical Cycle top    

Physical High (1971 - 1985)

Physically-based Trends Came in all types.   "Pet Rocks" became a fad in 1973.  CB Radios became a craze as motorists sported in cars and trucks and filled the air waves as though they truck drivers in a caravan.  Martial Arts became widely popular throughout the High.  Hot Tubs came onto the scene around this time.  It was becoming a Physical Time.

12. Lifestyles  1973-74 Emotional Cycle top    

12. Lifestyles  1973-74 Intellectual Cycle top    

12. Lifestyles  1973-74 Polyrhythms top    

Physical High with
     Emotional Low
(1973 - 1985)

Society Gave More Acceptance to Homosexuality.  The “Gay Movement” focused more on homosexual men than on lesbians, although it represented both.  With a high and rising Physical Cycle, (yang), and a low and declining Emotional Cycle, (yin), masculinization prevailed.  Newer homosexuals were less flamboyant and effeminate than their previous stereotypes.  They were macho gays who wore muscle shirts, sported mustaches, and carried manly demeanors.  The American Psychiatric Association shifted its view on homosexuality in December 1973, and no longer listed it as a mental disorder.

 Women Assumed More Masculine Rolls in Many Jobs.  In 1973, the first woman prison guard in a maximum security prison for men came to Iowa State Penitentiary in 1973. Many jobs would see gender changes in times to follow.

spacer spacer spacer spacer
top arrow grey down arrow transparent     drop down to navigate category in other decades:     arrow grey down arrow transparent
      prev. next        

The end of an era came crashing to an end.  The combined effect of both the Emotional and Intellectual Cycles crossing downward was to send shock waves throughout the nation.  This time of double chaos came with a public outrage, (Emotional), over a political issue, (Intellectual).  Our leaders were changing hard and fast with a Physical High and Emo-Intellectual Cycles Low.  Soon the strong would move in to reign over the romantics and the intellectuals in times ahead.

============

top