Bookshelf: Maine (Chapter 23)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maine: The Pine Tree State from Prehistory to the Present (Judd, Churchill, and Eastman)

Chapter 23: The Tides of Change, 1967-1988

Dr. Richard H. Condon writes about the shift in Maine from a state outside the mainstream of national norms in the 20-year period after World War II to a state that becomes more aligned with national trends in the 1970s and 1980s.

Thanks in in-migration rates of native Mainers returning to the state after initially moving elsewhere, Maine's 13.2% population growth between 1970 and 1980 actually exceeded the national trend. Likewise, Maine's unemployment rates in the 1980s were lower than the national average, and the gap between the national and state averages for per-capita income narrowed throughout that decade.

Condon also writes about the rise of environmental activism in Maine in the 1970s and 1980s, especially in the areas of regulations for cleaner air and cleaner water before shifting his focus to the Maine political scene in general--especially the administrations of Governor Kenneth Curtis.

And finally, public historian William David Barry surveys the arts and cultural scene in the Pine Tree State during this 20-year stretch.