In 1971, a significant event in American history was the ratification of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. Nixon's visit to China and the signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) with the Soviet Union were also notable diplomatic events. In addition, the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the My Lai massacre trial, and the end of the gold standard also marked this year.
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Ratified in July, this amendment granted 18-year-olds the right to vote, expanding the electorate and reflecting a growing youth movement.
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President Nixon's historic visit to China in February marked a major step in normalizing relations between the two countries.
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SALT I:
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, signed in May, was an important arms control agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union.
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The New York Times began publishing classified documents related to the Vietnam War, revealing government deception and escalating anti-war sentiment.
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My Lai Massacre Trial:
Lieutenant William Calley was found guilty of murdering civilians in the My Lai massacre, highlighting the brutality of the Vietnam War.
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Nixon Shock:
President Nixon ended the convertibility of the US dollar to gold, marking a significant shift in the global monetary system and contributing to inflation.
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Other Notable Events:
This year also saw the premiere of the TV show "All in the Family", the release of the first Intel microprocessor, and the first use of the @ sign in email addresses.
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What happened in music in 1971?
The month of March felt like deep midwinter in Media, Pennsylvania, to a group of young students who scurried silently beneath a pitch-black sky. The strange darkness that night was perfect for the youngsters as their hearts pounded like angry prisoners against the bars of their ribcages. It all seemed eerily easy as they pried open the door to an FBI office that fateful night in 1971, and stuffed as many documents as they could into school satchels, bin bags, and duffel coat pockets.
They escaped into the twilight without a trace, leaving an unsolved crime for the authorities to fail to figure out. But that was the least of the FBI’s worries. The activists who had looted the offices that evening had one simple goal: “It seemed that no one else was going to stand up to [J Edgar] Hoover’s FBI at that time, and we knew what Hoover’s FBI was doing in Philadelphia in terms of illegal surveillance and intimidation,” Bonnie Raines who first came forward 42 years on from the crime decreed.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/was-1971-the-greatest-year-in-music-histor…