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In 1971, as a response to the forming of the National Women’s Caucus, a united, multi-partisan group aimed at equal political representation for women in political offices and the championing of women’s issues in legislation, many cities and states began to form their own caucuses, including the Manhattan Women’s Caucus. The Manhattan Women’s Caucus met and elected council members in March, 1972. Under the banner of, “Make Policy, Not Coffee,” the group’s original aim was to fight for equal representation. They were urging for 50% of political delegate seats and an equal chance at appointed and elected offices. To this end, they trained women for running as delegates, as women lawyers within the group prepared a legal team in case of discrimination attempts. In addition to political equality, the group also took on women’s issues including abortion rights. One of the group’s founding members, Tanya Melich, a former Republican turned Independent, left the Republican party over women’s issues. She was later responsible for coining the phrase, “The Republican War against Women.” In 1973, after the historic Roe Vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling, the Manhattan Women’s Caucus joined up with New York Radical Feminists, The Feminist Coalition, and the NYC branch of the National Organization for Women to create a statewide “Women’s Lobby.” The group’s wishlist included: credit cards for women without reference to marital status, no-fault divorces, the designation of pregnancy and childbirth as a “temporary disability,” and removing restrictions on contraceptives.

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The diaphragm is one of humanity's oldest methods of contraception. The basic concept of the diaphragm has been used for centuries: Ancient Egyptians are said to have inventively used lemon halves or sponges to prohibit insemination. The diaphragm we know today was patented in 1882 by a German doctor Wilhelm Mesigna, and brought to America illegally by Margaret Sanger. 

In 1916, Sanger opened the first birth control clinic through which she gave the women of Brooklyn, NY access to the diaphragm. Her clinic was only open ten days before it was shut down, and Sanger was arrested for committing the illegal act of disseminating “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” information as outlined by the Comstock Law of 1873. 

Due to her influence and her legal battle, this law was later amended to exclude contraceptives. Thus, the diaphragm became one of the most common contraceptives for several decades in the 20th century. Popularity of the diaphragm began to wane in the 1960s with the introduction of oral contraception and the IUD, which were seen by many as simpler and easier methods of birth control.

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Women for Racial and Economic Equality, also known as WREE, was an organization founded by the Communist Party USA. The Communist Party USA is the oldest Marxist-Leninist organization in the United States. The organization put out a bi-monthly bulletin called “The WREE-VIEW,” which was published in New York. While some did include names, many contributors chose to remain a sense of anonymity when published in the newspaper. WREE put out statements that catered to female audiences, especially female racial minority groups. The organization’s appeal was held in the inclusivity of the group as coupled with the logical and emotional draw to audiences. Publishing poetry, articles in multiple languages, and topics relevant to women, the “WREE View of Women for Racial and Economic Equality” also published articles against the Reagan administration and calls to boycott specific companies. Alongside all of these are sometimes well-hidden pieces of Communist propaganda that praised the party and their ideals.

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"Free all undocumented workers" may promote the rights of undocumented workers and their history of past discrimination. Undocumented workers are foreign-born people who are not permanent residents of the U.S. and not U.S. citizens. Because their immigration status is unresolved, they are ineligible to work in the United States. Federal law states that it is illegal to discriminate against any workers regardless of immigration status. The Immigration and Nationality Act was enacted by federal law to protect undocumented workers. It prohibits discrimination based on immigration status. Federal law is helping all undocumented workers have employment rights and get protected as much as all other workers.

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The Parents’ Aid Society, an abortion clinic, was established by William Baird in Hempstead, New York, in 1964. The Parents’ Aid Society advertised the availability of birth control information and devices. This organization went to poor neighborhoods in Nassau County, New York, to educate and distribute all methods of birth control to people of all ages in the community. The birth control was provided for free.

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The Little Engine that Could is possibly the most popular American children's story. Originally published in 1930, it tells the story of a tiny engine that perseveres to pull a train up a mountain. The engine repeats "I think I can" until it ultimately succeeds. Since its first telling, the little engine has been gendered as a "she." The tale has thus been read by feminists as an optimistic lesson in fighting for justice.

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Women USA was a grassroots women’s rights organization created in 1980 by Bella Abzug that advocated equality, women’s rights, and—what some might now call—ecofeminism. Abzug, also known as “Battling Bella,” was a pioneering Jewish feminist and political leader and one of the first women to earn a law degree from Columbia University. Prior to founding Women USA, Abzug was one of the United States’ first Congress members to support gay rights, helping to introduce the Equality Act of 1974 as well as helping to start the Women Strike for Peace (WSP) movement in the 1960s in opposition to the nuclear arms race.

In 1977, President Carter appointed Abzug to head the National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year, leading to her later co-chair position for the National Advisory Committee for Women. In 1979, after openly criticizing the economic policies of the Carter administration, Abzug was fired, causing tension between the Carter administration and the feminist movement. Abzug went on to co-found Women USA the next year. Women USA eventually led to a successor program called WEDO (Women’s Environment and Development Organization) in 1990, and the first World Women’s Congress for a Healthy Planet in 1991. 

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On December 1st, 1969, Esquire published an articled entitled, "The Challenge of the Seventies," in which they asked a number of "distinguished Americans" about what they thought our biggest challenges would be in the new decade. As the publisher's note pointed out, most wrote their responses shortly after the Apollo 11 trip to the moon, and consequently, the biggest theme among them is that of change and continued technological development. Long John Nebel predicted that by the end of the 1970's, there would be no more books or magazines because the broadcast industry will have made them obsolete. Several others pointed to the disillusionment that young Americans felt with the Vietnam War, sending a man to Mars, and the continued push for desegregation as America's next challenges. After the Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon, many felt that the 1970's would be the test of whether the U.S. could continue to innovate or whether it would instead collapse into unrest. As Wernher Van Braun wrote, "We are the generation that will be remembered as having made the space beginning. All that is necessary now is the desire to continue."

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In 1976, presidential candidate Jimmy Carter conducted an interview with Playboy, an adult entertainment magazine. The interview went into his views of religion and world events going on at the time in the 1970's. President Carter was seen as a traditional evangelical, so this interview was shocking to many Americans.

Carter was a Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 14th district from 1963 to 1967, and the Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. He became the 39th president of the United States of America in 1977.

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The Apollo era exploration and decades of study of lunar samples laid a foundation of knowledge about Earth’s nearest neighbor and provided a cornerstone for planetary science. Apollo investigated the moon through its missions. From study of samples brought back to Earth by Apollo, scientists have used the data to construct much of the information we know about the moon such as size, age, and former life.