Ford, Carter, and the Economic Malaise: Crash Course US History #42

In which John Green teaches you about the economic malaise that beset the United States in the 1970s. A sort of perfect storm of events, it combined the continuing decline of America's manufacturing base with the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 and brought about a stagnant economy, paired with high inflation. Economists with a flair for neologisms and portmanteau words called this "stagflation," and it made people miserable. Two presidential administrations were scuttled at least in part by these economic woes; both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter are considered failed presidents for many reasons, but largely because of an inability to improve the economy. (hint: In reality, no one person can materially change something as big as the world economy, even if they are president, but one person sure can make a handy scapegoat!) So, by and large, the 70s were a pretty terrible time in America economically, but at least the decade gave us Mr. Green.
Crash Course is no longer available on DVD, sorry to disappoint.
Chapters:
Introduction: The 1970s 00:00
Economics in the 1970s 1:02
The End of the Gold Standard 2:32
The Decline of American Manufacturing 2:54
Oil Shocks 4:12
Stagflation and the Misery Index 5:16
Gerald Ford's Presidency 5:49
Jimmy Carter's Presidency 6:52
Mystery Document 7:15
Nuclear Power 8:51
Carter's Foreign Policy 9:17
The Economic Crisis of the 1970s 11:18
Credits 12:44
--
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[@cristinalopez8710]

Shout out to John Green for keeping my history grade up

[@glenwaterman1390]

same

[@thegrayquillarc2740]

He just makes me look smart

[@somecuriosities]

"More, More, Always More, More For You. More. More. More. I Promise." - _John_ _Green_, _on_ _Presidential_ _Election_ _Strategy_, _2013_

[@skele1personal666]

Some Curiosities I am sharing this

[@robinchesterfield42]

I would've voted for him.

[@ryannicholls3662]

_Trump_ >:(

[@MrWhangdoodles]

Well, it worked for Trump.

[@528Dolphin]

Does anybody else think that they should do a Crash Course on Economics? A lot of the Keynesian economics, inflation, and stagflation discussed in these videos are hard to understand.

[@bambibethebestyoucanbe2658]

omg yes!! John Green, Stan, please, here us here!! Crash Course on Economics is such a good idea and you would do it perfectly as always. You're awsome!

[@imagaintwonkabar4384]

they are now!

[@vaishaliu3242]

BowtiesExist I was thinking the exact same thing!

[@vaishaliu3242]

BowtiesExist And Finance!! :)

[@Daylan_S]

BowtiesExist Totally! I am trying to understand macroeconomics and the theories would be so much easier to understand with crash course. Please Crash Course add an Economics section! :)

[@theonlyguyontheleft]

What a fool Carter was, telling the truth and trying to do the right thing. That's not what we do around here!

[@GoFartherPodcast]

Super underrated too: restrained the budget, pursued peace in the world, and appointed Volcker to the Fed in '79 (tanking his chances for re-election, but saving the country from inflation in the following years). Not great; but a good man, and a good president.

[@schris413]

@@GoFartherPodcast Jimmy Carter failed Iran and the US.

[@honkhonkler7732]

He was weak and ineffectual. He lost to Reagan in a landslide as a result.

[@heyyou7881]

@@GoFartherPodcast wtf, what saved the US from inflation was Reagan making interest rates higher. Not Carter.

[@GoFartherPodcast]

@@heyyou7881 yes, but it began under Carter in 1979 and 1980 with his appointment of Volcker at the Fed. Reagan kept Volcker on at the Fed and rightly left him to do his job properly as he should've. They both get credit

[@Joorum]

I think Carter would be a more fitting president for today rather than for the late 1970s. He got a raw deal with the timing of his term. Sure, he made misjudgements, especially in domestic policy, and bad PR didn't help, but that period of American history would've been rather bleak with or without him in my opinion.

[@cOmAtOrAn]

But he did teach us all an important lesson: If you're the president, you have to sugarcoat EVERYTHING.

[@Imagine-Baggins]

Joorum Reminds me of Nikola Tesla

[@dasaunmcclinton68]

His policy was that in if Americans want his economic plan to work, they should live less comfortably. That's a horrible outlook no matter the time period.

[@nl7837]

Dasaun McClinton True, but there comes a point where less is more. With the money spent on 40% of our food being wasted we could of fed the poor or indulged in other luxuries.

[@kareemwail4495]

+Joorum Exactly.

[@Etx_Chris]

2008: We have the second worst hangover. 2020: Hold my beer

[@AUBREY-ml4ex]

Yes.

[@dcbsmt]

Carter is the absolute BEST ex-president.

[@nolanthiessen895]

Hooray for mentioning energy history. I just love learning about how energy shapes policy, particularly around the oil shocks and the Carter Doctrine.

[@AUBREY-ml4ex]

I love how John is so excited to talk about the 1970's because that's when he was born.

[@louispride7695]

2008: we give you a hangover 2020: hold my virus

[@jliller]

I realize perhaps the weirdest thing about the 1970s (from our 2013 perspective) is that our presidents were a conservative Democrat (Carter) and a moderate-if-not-liberal Republican (Nixon).

[@Paddlegoober]

Gotta love how almost every photo of Nixon is him on the phone.

[@s4ujcd]

Plazmedics Love the picture of him walking on the beach in his shoes.

[@pjg5102]

Jimmy Carter legalized homebrewing; making him the best President in my opinion.

[@6a66y69]

Hahaha

[@PlacidSine]

Hahaha

[@deanc9453]

+

[@nickcosta6399]

ok dude

[@EmperorTigerstar]

10:08 Yay! You fixed the mislabel of Iran! 10:20 ...and you still mislabled Tehran.

[@ItsTheRealJefe]

Thank you, I'd had thought maybe it was me being sick is the reason why this felt like Deja Vu.

[@youtubealert6176]

EmperorTigerstar hey

[@youtubealert6176]

EmperorTigerstar you're one of my favorite KZbinrs

[@evanmoore3114]

You just about called it with your prediction of you tube WW1.

[@fwntxs]

more, more, always more, more for you. More. More. More. I promise. That was exactly perfect.

[@kabukiwookie]

Bag on Carter for that speech if you want, but in essence... HE WAS RIGHT

[@ChrisCucinell]

Except that we don't "hire" our POTUS to be the National Preacher or Scold.

[@pimperish666]

And Reagan was right to lower gov regulations and lower taxes. More government won’t fix an economy, less government will. Regan was and still is right to this day.

[@politicoswaff]

Carter was a coward and had no business being in a position of power. He's the type of individual that holds the trump card, refuses to play it, then brags about how he refused to play it after getting the shaft. Awful leader.

[@thomasw4422]

It's almost as if having an economy linked so strongly to one finite resource is a bad idea

[@imironbatmanjaredmontaug4477]

"More, more, always more, more for you. More. More. More. I promise" This should sound familiar in 2016 and 2017, John Green from 4 years in the past. Thank you for your history videos! I am a history major and you always inspire me! :)

[@biteme434]

This is me studying for my APUSH Exam instead of rereading the entire book. So much more interesting and helpful :)

[@swimming_ninja6151]

I think this may be my favorite crash course video yet! :) Keep it up John Green and Crash Course staff! You guys are awesome! Your videos both entertain and teach. They have become a great way to take a few minutes to relax during even my busiest days.

[@codybeasenburg6275]

Carter is still one of the best, most-grounded presidents we've had some of y'all just don't want to admit it

[@lukpisimoh]

Americans: *panicking because annual inflation reached 10%* Me: *laughs in Argentinian*

[@11ellie7]

For those taking APUSH, we're almost done with history! Hang in there and best of luck on your final exam :)

[@sammypotatosalad8656]

+11ellie7 I have mine tomorrow. I'm pretty confident.

[@11ellie7]

You'll do fine, it was super easy. I miss APUSH lol, I took my AP government final exam today and I'm pretty sure I nailed it.

[@maricelabitterdark2706]

taking it tommorow, i had a shitty teacher so literally im teaching myself, i have a slim to none chance of passing son but im still studying

[@11ellie7]

Maricela bitterdark how'd it go?

[@jahara118]

Mines on Friday, pray for me 😂

[@logansipe5273]

I, and I'm sure many others, would absolutely love to see a Crash Course: Economics out of you in the future, John

[@shirleykeeldar9662]

Thank you so much for this video, Crash Course guys! The economic theory of the 1970s has been physically painful to learn - and you just made a nice, understandable video with colourful cartoons explaining it all.

[@FranticCashew]

There are people watching crash course who weren't alive in the 1900s? OMG, 2000 was 13 years ago....Why did you have to say that John?! You popped my geriatric bubble of ignorant bliss!

[@karleen_twiiiiin]

i watched these in high school for APUSH because my teacher made us..... now I'm watching them again on my own because I'm taking history 2 in college, they go along with my class in order and it's amazing.

[@sarty]

I love this series. Thanks for it!

[@nathalieescarra6483]

Thank you SO much for these videos, they are super helpful!

[@melgreacen5113]

Hey John, love your video's, love that you don't only tell the european version of events. I live in Australia & was given the worst possible information on the history of Australia, especially what occurred with the British & the aboriginals, the true owners of this continent. Was wondering if you could please do a video on the subject? Please. Just subscribed to Crash Course as well as Hanks Scishow. Keep up the good work & I'll keep supporting you!

[@JwittenN082]

Thanks for the great videos! I am able to maintain an A in my 1302 American History class because of them. Please don't stop.

[@brumagemm]

If anyone wants to learn more about Iran ~1978 - ~1993, I highly suggest Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It's autobio, but there's a lot you can learn about the social situation in Iran under Islamic law. There's also a movie version.

[@xeagaort]

brumagemm nobody cares about Iran

[@zeinazebra123]

i have been watching crash course as a way of studying for my usa history final tomorrow.

[@frozenfeet4534]

+Zeina R you're cute lol

[@emiliobatres9581]

this guy should be your cue to end t from this particular comment

[@ericdaniel323]

The book would probably have been more helpful...

[@testbenchdude]

I think you need to go back and do an episode on just the last few minutes of this. An understanding of the breakdown of the Philips Curve and how it relates to current economics would be very education, I think. Thanks!

[@HeavenlyMakeUp]

john where were you when i was in 9th grade social studies?

[@Gufberg]

For the close-call bankruptcy of New York in the 70's i recommend Professor David Harvey's "The Neoliberal City" talk on youtube(he is an old-school marxist btw and teaches classes on Marx's 'Capital') It outlines how the financial sector strong-armed the government into not lending New York money and instead engineered a deal in which New York HAD to cut social spending and various public subsidies to qualify for a loan. This, naturally, meant that the bankers could buy up cheap, vacant property to create artificial scarcity and drive up prices to make a huge profit.

[@livingonaprayer959]

I love Jimmy Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech.

[@torisolomon4455]

Jimmy Carter is one of the most underrated presidents in American History. His character contrasted with the age of persona (today's presidents) presidents should be noted.

[@FalconFastest123]

Great vid. I love this channel.

[@spyder141343]

Now that you're done with World History, and US History, can you guys do a series on the Cold War? I absolutely love learning about history, and especially the Cold War, and your show just makes me love history even more! Please do it!!!

[@saman9291]

*Strong with the Force, this channel is.*

[@quinnellful]

love this show

[@Casey5693]

I love this series!

[@gayanekaligian747]

AP exam on Friday...thank goodness for Crash Course.

[@Oakwizard1111]

Me too

[@mesrtabrha2262]

Always the best location compared to all youtube channels.

[@104snowstorm]

Thank you for this! My own history education petered out around the 60's. My Dad is heavily conservative in every way and this helps me better understand why.

[@mazharsoufi5270]

EXCELLENT REVIEW!! so nicely and honestly put.. I am from Syria and I am a big fan of you since your summery about the war in the country and now big fan of u

[@louisiananlord17]

Thank you so much John Green for using the amazing word, malaise, in a great way!

[@BobSmith-uz8vv]

On the oil embargoes: my grandfather owned a gas station and would take my uncle over to pup gas at five in the morning, when they showed up there would often be a line down the block waiting to get their tanks filled. When the station ran out of gas the rest of the line was sent home to come back another day.

[@amcc666]

10:52 IS HE DRINKING BILLY BEER??? CAUSE THAT WOULD BE BRILLIANT AND HILARIOUS

[@matthewdentistry2814]

"more more, more for you. more more more, I promise" haha love it

[@Xbill117]

more, more, always more, more for you. more, more, more. I promise.

[@mesrtabrha2262]

Yah that statement.

[@9mmklr]

I love it when I guess the mystery document correctly!!!

[@starfinder14]

There Mile Island is in my hometown. I feel semi honored that John Green talked about this even if it wad the worst domestic nuclear accident

[@powerstrokecobra]

I just want to thank you guys for making these. Accessible to the world, sorry China, and free for the people in need of it. Its awesome

[@Venusc0res]

Imagine having him as a history teacher

[@warnerparedes7629]

Watching our country's past leaders is depressing

[@TheArcticRabbit]

Watching our country's current leader is sometimes depressing

[@stephenlu8397]

alex Your statement still stands 3 years later.

[@Justanotherconsumer]

Stephen Lu "sometimes" is no longer accurate. People either worship the ground he walks on or hate his guts.

[@judek1170]

Justanotherconsumer he was talking about obama but i guessits the same

[@AlanNadeauIII]

6-2 for the Mystery Document season. Great job John

[@undolf4097]

Very pleasurable balanced take.

[@Jeremiah90526]

Yeah, watching John Green now with a book by John Green next to me (yes my copy) so yeah, good job John. I am a self admitted military buff, and you talk about military action about as in depth as I talk about fashion, if not less, but I still love it. Good job and DFTBA.

[@bigautisimo1310]

wow this video was so good,i almost wanted to cry but being the man i am i did not i pulled through and at the tears but what i learned from this it is life changing and i would 10 out of 10 recomend this to someon.

[@necropolis1303]

This Is like a gift for us who study Economics haha xD thanks

[@robinchesterfield42]

Haha. I love when you said "something terribly important was born" in the intro...and as a joke, I yelled "ME!"...and then you basically said that too!, so...now I know that John Green and I are equally ancient. :P That aside, the '70s were actually an interesting time, if you look past the cliches...a LOT was going on then. Including some great music! :)

[@jacksonsanders7930]

John I know you’ll never see this but I’m saying it anyways. My grandmother is also a frequent QVC shopper. I just busted out into hysterical laughter at that line. Shoutout from Ragland, Alabama.

[@RitaBogoodlove]

Huge thanks for that video, It helped me to write an academic essay, got 90% ! (I study in a University outside the US) 10/10

[@AtticusAmericanus]

For the inevitable second incarnation of Crash Course Literature (Can not wait), may I make my recommendations of Beowulf, The Divine Comedy, and Dune. Also, good work on the correction. DFTBA.

[@feralboy13]

if it ends without lovecraft im going to be really disapointed

[@AtticusAmericanus]

I agree. I wont be dissapointed, but a little saddened. Also: _ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn_

[@eviltwinzak]

If that will be the case I honestly hope Mr. Green will do a better job than my former literature teacher did with the Divine Comedy.

[@genteelsatyr]

I second the request for the Divine Comedy.

[@dguy02]

I was hoping he would do some Charles Dickens, or maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey? Although some of Clarke's other books are not that good.

[@jeffersonlam2969]

"Let me tell you a lesson from history ... you get re-elected by telling Americans 'More, more, always more. More for you. More. More. More. I promise." Yup, that sounds a lot like our current president elect.

[@ThirdWaveCrave]

eh. Acceptable. Don't fret about the Iran/Iraq thing Crash Course, we all make mistakes. Don't lose your marbles over there at CC headquarters. You are providing a free and valuable service to the world. Thank you.

[@lleigh1981]

Yeah billy idol "rebel yell" reference!!! I love behind old enough to get these references!!!

[@Ricobirch]

Glad to see you're committed to getting it right.

[@dylancrist2591]

I liked the hangovers I thought they were hilarious...🤣

[@greerww2]

@crash course Hey man you should do a video on the history & science of the fire service

[@pw11299]

Wow. I found this Crash Course episode in particular incredibly enlightening (even more so than the rest). I've been quite "angsty" since returning from living in Denmark in 2010: Among many things, I learned about how in 1973, the Danish reacted to the oil crisis by removing their dependance on oil and the automobile, shifting towards cycling. Now Denmark it is one of the best bike cities.. and cities in the world. I had always wondered why Canadians / Americans (besides being someone ignorant) did not adapt accordingly to this oil crisis as well (Maybe because we have oil reserves of our own?) Anyways, The final words of this episode make it ...more... clear. In the past episodes we see how the government gains the responsibility to aid the people in a time of crisis (top down) and here it seems as if, after the crisis, and at the end of the 70s the opposite was understood. That each individual's actions affect the whole. I think this is a very powerful lesson that continues to be incredibly relevant today, given the use of the internet and the ability for a single voice to be heard and shared. I could go on and on about what this episode has made me realize but I'll keep it to myself until I develop it in more clarity / detail. Thanks Crash Course! Seriously. This is a big deal for me!

[@charleslarue792]

If I may, the biggest reason why America hasn't abandoned cars in favor of things like bicycles and more public transportation is because America NEEDS cars. The United States is more than 200 times larger than Denmark, nearly 10 million square kilometers. I grew up in the western United States, where cities are spread far apart. For example, if we needed to go see a doctor, we would need to travel some 150 miles. Heck, I was born 150 miles from my hometown because it was the nearest hospital. Now, extrapolate that to long haul-truckers, who are constantly driving across the country. That's going to burn up a lot of gas.

[@pw11299]

It's an easy excuse. Cities here were designed around cars, not people. The technology fuels sprawl and other lifestyles from it. As far as population goes, Its proportional. In Denmark, I can ride my bike to the metro, easily jump on the train and be in the airport / another country super fast - 60% of others use the bike to commute or work or school. The car is here to stay, of course - it should just be used for what it is good at. If everyone is converging towards the city than transit makes more sense. Cars are more efficient for outward travel where you are going to a unique point. In the end we have put too much towards one technology, placing all of of our eggs in one basket, designing our cities primarily around cars. This doesn't allow for the city and its inhabitants to evolve as easy. Then we wonder why sprawl and congestion / pollution happens / making unpleasant environments. What's needed is a more balanced approach, where each transit solution is understood for its benefits, to establish redundancy. There is not one perfect solution.

[@charleslarue792]

Oh, goodness. Well, I don't want to go around starting some kind of internet slugfest with someone who hasn't posted in a week, but my gum I'm willing to risk it! When I say that the nearest hospital is 150 miles away, I don't mean that there are a whole bunch of delightful towns with tragically insufficient infrastructure that could be solved with good urban planning. My school district back in the day, for instance, was probably the size of a small country, with some students needing to ride the bus for an hour or more to get to school. So why don't they build schools at the towns they live in, I hear some ask? Because there aren't "towns" out there. Around half of the students live in family houses that are quite literally 5, 10, 15 miles from the nearest house. How exactly could public transportation handle that? I'm not saying I think public transportation can't work EVERYWHERE in America. You're right about public transportation being the correct option in many situations. But there will always be more cars than bicycles in America when there are truly vast expanses with population densities measuring in less than 10 people per mile.

[@joshbobst1629]

Charles Larue I also grew up in the United States, and I was also born a long way from my hometown because it didn't have a hospital. In cases like this, It's important to ask why. Why did so many of us grow up in such sparsely populated places? Most of my neighbours weren't farmers or ranchers; in fact many of them drove insanely long commutes to one of the nearer big cities. How did we end up in such remote exurbs? Racism. Our grandfathers did not want to send their kids to black schools, which was a thing that was mandated by the federal government in the sixties. It was no accident that the school I went to had exactly one black kid the whole time I went there. Of course, we can't discount the convenience and glamour of having your own car, as opposed to using public transport, but for a lot of blue collar workers, the cost (where I live, it costs $15000 annually to own and operate your own car, while the average annual income is only $42000) of that puts nearer suburbs out of their financial reach.

[@daedra40]

Great mystery document, I must say.

[@toonbat]

Pffffhah! The Billy Beer gag was brilliant!

[@tasteless397]

toonbat I wasn't sure that was what that was. Thanks for the confirmation.

[@heavytransit]

3:22 made my day the old man peeing himself hahahahaha

[@6a66y69]

Lol same

[@rachelgrindstaff9644]

More, more, always more, more for you, I promise! -- classic!

[@freedomsglory1]

This makes me happy to support crash course

[@joemaia5236]

History is all about individuals, it just remembers those that have the will to change it, and only some have that within them, it's something you are born with.

[@paz9iffy]

The Vietnam War is not mentioned, but I have to think it had a hand in wrecking the economy.

[@migrainejane]

Whoa, vault boy at 8:10!

[@ImmortalNature777]

I wish that they would make a Australian History playlist.

[@dad2569]

I laughed more than I needed to at the 9 ppl joke lol

[@lunchboxsandwich9971]

I’m getting sick and tired of these videos ugh but it’s better than having an essay ig

[@PirateFrodoPotter]

This was the first mystery document I've gotten since John Winthrop :P

[@Duessa2000]

I was also born in the late 70s. It was a truly awesome time.

[@1998awest]

Pretty good summation of the 70s, nice work. The problems with inflation started with the Guns and Butter policies of LBJ, which were continued by Nixon. You can only run huge deficits so long before there are negative consequences. Nixon's closure of the gold window (aka, a default of obligations from the Bretton Woods agreement of 1944) wasn't to devalue the dollar to boost exports, but to prevent redemption of gold by foreign holders of dollars. The outflows of gold were significant, so Nixon stopped it by executive fiat, an egregiously criminal action, IMO. This is why I roll my eyes every time someone says the US has never defaulted on its debt obligations.

[@chickenpermission6597]

APUSH test on Wednesday........

[@Kbwtor19]

Best of luck!

[@Dutchbag1402]

Saw this coming a mile away.

[@elwin38]

I remember most of the things in this segment. The 70's....my childhood. :D

[@LyssandraNorton]

What happened to the music trill when John moves to the mustard chair for the mystery document?

[@waffle2434]

"More, More, Always More, More For You. More. More. More. I Promise." *Flashback to the 2016 election* - Yep Trump getting elected makes sense now.

[@gamiezion]

first off i really like the series; i've watched the whole lot in less than 2 weeks! thats why i'm wondering, could you guys make series like these on other continents as well? in western histografy i notice a very destinct tendency towards europe and america (it's a culture trip, so no offence intended). so it would be nice if crash course were (among) the first to break through that stalemate and open up the european minds to alternative tellings off history. with focus on what actually happend on continents; rather than watching them through the eyes off europe and the USA. china for example has a rich history, which i imagine to be available too those allready engaged in their research.

[@jasonharmon9138]

What do we want!? A NEW EPISODE OF CRASH COURSE US HISTORY! When do we want it? NOW!! :D Please?

[@Andophonic]

Dear John Green; You and your team have a lot of neat photos shown during Crash Course videos. While fascinating, It'd be really great to have a small caption in the corner, eh? Date, person/thing, short description of the person/thing. Good idea, yea? Yours truly, Curious Ando

[@liammulcahy9843]

Who else on here is on here in a HIS 104 college class with a Eric Foner textbook. This man is helping me keeping my grades up

[@brianthefanboy9019]

The 1970's was also the decade of disco. Unless of course you are wait for it. The Mongols.

[@timcampo]

Glad to see my Subbable money is used for important stuff like pictures of Gerald Ford!

[@sabrinacz]

thank u

[@Ancor3]

Imma buy dat CC world history dvd set.

[@Super165i]

wow uore also doing a lot of advertising john... ill think about buying the crash course world history DVD set