A Life in the Theatre Historical Context

A Life in the Theatre Historical Context

The 1970s were known as the "me" decade in the United States. Americans were generally passive and self-absorbed. There was much apathy about, if not backlash against, government and social issues (save the burgeoning environmental movement). The federal government was seen as untrustworthy because of the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s, which led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon in 1974. Nixon and his senior aides had abused the powers of their offices for their political gain. Nixon was succeeded by his vice president, Gerald Ford, who could not win the presidency on his own in the 1976 general election. Instead, Jimmy Carter, a Democrat from Georgia, won, taking office with his vice president, Walter Mondale, in early 1977. Like Ford, Carter was seen as a weak president.

The United States was troubled in other ways as well. The country had not fully recovered from the...
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