The Origins of Environmentalism

US History – The Environment and Natural Resources, 1968-80

In this course, Professor Patrick Allitt (Emory University) explores how the issue of the Environment and Natural Resources were dealt with during the period 1968-1980. In the first module, we will examine how in the late 1960s environmentalism became a mass movement in the United States. We will then turn to see how politicians responded to this movement. In the third module, we will see how American views on the environment changed when the economy began to slow in the 1970s. We will then turn to look at the history of nuclear power in the US and how it’s growth slowed after the Three Mile Island accident. After this we turn to the issue of natural resources and examine how academics disagreed over this issue. In the penultimate module, we will explore how Republican and Democrat views on the environment began to splinter in the 1970s. In the final module, we will explore the policies of Ronald Reagan towards the environment.

The Origins of Environmentalism

In this module, we will examine how in the late 1960s environmentalism became a mass movement in the United States. This was a period of great citizen activism. The Civil Rights, anti-Vietnam-War and Women’s movements, all showed that public activism could have positive political effects. This coupled with growing concern about the indiscriminate use of pesticides and herbicides, worries about air pollution, and disasters involving the use of oil, led to the first “Earth Day,” (April 22, 1970). These were demonstrations nationwide on behalf of improved environmental stewardship and were the biggest demonstrations in US history.