America in the 1970s – The Documerica Legacy

Documerica was a project which ran from 1971 – 1977.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked a group of hired freelance photographers to capture America in terms of both the environmental problems it was facing then and everyday life.  Now, thanks to the US National Archives you can see many more of these pictures – this is simply a selection of the ones which we really, really liked.

Although it is only forty years since the project began many of these pictures seem much older, as if from an earlier time. Yet the various strands of seventies culture come together in a vivid snapshot of what life in all its diversity was like in the USA in the 1970s.

The US National Archives has digitized thousands of these photographs.  You can see hundreds of them on their Flickr page which also gives details about how you can see the rest. Or, if you want more details about any picture here, simply click on it for a broader description.

Viral video by ebuzzing