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The 1973 Oil Crisis was an impetus for changing American energy ideals. Accelerated by federal programs seeking to curtail inflation, the cultural perception of energy shifted the onus of responsibility from large-scale energy infrastructure onto individual citizens. This chapter seeks to demonstrate how through different lenses—particularly through the presentation of American domesticity, household, and garden—1970s post-oil paradigms of energy were entangled with economic concerns and government measures. After inheriting the presidency from Nixon immediately after the 1973 Oil Crisis, Gerald Ford conflated inflation with energy, calling for Americans to be “inflation fighters and energy savers”. He established the Whip Inflation Now (WIN) program to push for citizens to take responsibility for their share of energy consumption. While addressing the Future Farmers of America, Ford introduced strategies to combat inflation and featured “do it yourself” gardens as a featured method, even in the inner city. In fact, the administration facilitated the distribution of seed packets to encourage homeowners to grow produce to save money, an explicit way to reshape the domestic landscape. This myopic agenda also assigned gendered responsibilities. A White House Liaison at the time, Dick Krolick, proposed gardening be “a big project for the First Lady,” and Betty Ford came to be known as fond of gardening (Krolick, 1974, [Letter to Sheila Weidenfeld]. Sheila Weidenfeld Files, Box 46, folder “White House – WIN Garden”, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, MI, United States). In fact, the gardening agenda was revisited throughout Ford’s presidency, even after the WIN program was dissolved; the Ford administration pushed for—but never realized—a White House garden. The research engages archival research at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and a comparative review of circumambient sentiments from White House staff surrounding the WIN program and presidential initiatives in response to the 1973 Oil Crisis. Archival materials reveal that the response to the Oil Crisis pushed for action “at home.” The establishment of new federal programs and the advertisement and promotion of new attitudes toward energy through media fueled a new relationship to domesticity.

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Shifting Ideals: Energy and the American Dream After the 1973 Oil Crisis

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Benjamin Akhavan

摘要

The 1973 Oil Crisis was an impetus for changing American energy ideals. Accelerated by federal programs seeking to curtail inflation, the cultural perception of energy shifted the onus of responsibility from large-scale energy infrastructure onto individual citizens. This chapter seeks to demonstrate how through different lenses—particularly through the presentation of American domesticity, household, and garden—1970s post-oil paradigms of energy were entangled with economic concerns and government measures. After inheriting the presidency from Nixon immediately after the 1973 Oil Crisis, Gerald Ford conflated inflation with energy, calling for Americans to be “inflation fighters and energy savers”. He established the Whip Inflation Now (WIN) program to push for citizens to take responsibility for their share of energy consumption. While addressing the Future Farmers of America, Ford introduced strategies to combat inflation and featured “do it yourself” gardens as a featured method, even in the inner city. In fact, the administration facilitated the distribution of seed packets to encourage homeowners to grow produce to save money, an explicit way to reshape the domestic landscape. This myopic agenda also assigned gendered responsibilities. A White House Liaison at the time, Dick Krolick, proposed gardening be “a big project for the First Lady,” and Betty Ford came to be known as fond of gardening (Krolick, 1974, [Letter to Sheila Weidenfeld]. Sheila Weidenfeld Files, Box 46, folder “White House – WIN Garden”, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library, Ann Arbor, MI, United States). In fact, the gardening agenda was revisited throughout Ford’s presidency, even after the WIN program was dissolved; the Ford administration pushed for—but never realized—a White House garden. The research engages archival research at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and a comparative review of circumambient sentiments from White House staff surrounding the WIN program and presidential initiatives in response to the 1973 Oil Crisis. Archival materials reveal that the response to the Oil Crisis pushed for action “at home.” The establishment of new federal programs and the advertisement and promotion of new attitudes toward energy through media fueled a new relationship to domesticity.