Oil Shock

1. Set Focus
Pose these essential questions: How do political alliances affect trade? How do disruptions to trade affect a society?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see right). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• embargo (p. 19)
• reliance (p. 19)
• commodity (p. 19)
• cartel (p. 20)
• rationing (p. 20)
• contingent (p. 21)

3. Engage
Explain that oil is used to heat many homes and other buildings and to make gasoline, which fuels most cars. Ask students to share their thoughts about how their lives might be affected if there were another severe oil shortage. Then ask: Do you think the price of oil would go up or down during a shortage? Why?

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the 1973 oil embargo. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions:

• What led to the gas shortage in the U.S. in 1973? What ended it? (The gas shortage was a result of an oil embargo put in place by the Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). They decreased production and stopped shipping oil to the U.S. for six months in retaliation for the U.S. supplying Israel with weapons and money to fight Egypt and Syria after they had attacked Israel. OPEC lifted the embargo after the U.S. agreed to negotiate a military disengagement between Syria and Israel.)

• What measures did the government take to conserve oil? How do you think people would react to those measures if they were implemented today? (Speed limits were lowered to force drivers to use less fuel; gas was rationed, with people being allowed to buy gas based on whether they had an even-  or odd-numbered license plate; and gas stations were asked to stop selling fuel from Saturday night through Monday morning. Responses to the opinion question will vary, but students should make well-reasoned points supported by evidence.)

• What long-term effects did the gas shortage have on the U.S.? (One long-term effect is that it awakened citizens to the reality that oil could not be taken for granted. Other long-term effects include the movement toward fuel-efficient cars, greater investment in renewable energy sources, and more drilling for oil domestically. Today, the U.S. is less dependent on oil from OPEC than in the 1970s.)

• What parallels do you see between public and government responses to the oil embargo and to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent rise in inflation in 2022? (Responses will vary, but students should support their ideas with evidence, such as text details about panic buying at gas stations and knowledge about panic buying of paper goods during the pandemic to support ideas about public reaction.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF “We Have an Energy Crisis,” which features excerpts from the speech President Richard Nixon gave on November 7, 1973, in response to the oil embargo. Discuss what makes the speech a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• After he says “Good Evening,” what central ideas does Nixon immediately establish in his first paragraph? (In the first paragraph, Nixon immediately establishes the idea that the energy crisis is a serious national problem. He also introduces the idea that the only way through it is for the nation to face it together. In addition, he establishes the idea that the problem requires short-term and long-term responses.)

• Which of Nixon’s plans were short-term measures? Which were meant for achieving energy independence? (Short-term measures for conserving oil include a reduction in flights, living and working in lower building temperatures, curbing unnecessary lighting, and altering the school year. Long-term measures for achieving energy independence include  developing new sources of energy, including atomic energy.) 

• How does Nixon use appeals to logic (logos) and to emotion (pathos) to try to persuade listeners to support his energy plans? (Nixon appeals to logic when he explains that oil supplies will drop by 2 million barrels a day. Announcing this statistic makes is difficult to refute his subsequent request—that Americans need to reduce their use of fuel. He appeals to emotion—a sense of fairness—when he says we will all have to live and work in lower temperatures so that everyone has some oil. He also appeals to emotion when he refers to the American spirit and the idea of being proud of accomplishing things together.)

• Based on the Upfront article and the excerpts from Nixon’s speech, what fears do you think people had about the energy crisis? How might a speech like Nixon’s calm those fears? (Students’ responses will vary but ideas should be supported with evidence from both texts.)

6. Writing Prompt
Is energy independence a feasible—and desirable—goal? Write one page expressing your point of view. Support your ideas with details from the article and additional research.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Should the U.S. ban cars that are not fully electric?

9. Multimedia Presentations
Have small groups create multimedia presentations about OPEC, with each group focusing on a different era (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, early 2000s). Presentations should feature a variety of primary sources (e.g., photographs, quotes). Have groups present to the class in chronological order.