Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Sunday, September 24
    Trending
    • This Day in History on September 24th
    • History Short: Does God Punish the Faithful?
    • 10 Fascinating Events in History (Our 10 Most Popular Videos)
    • This Day in History on September 23rd
    • History Short: Can You Believe Anybody?
    • This Day in History on September 22nd
    • History Short: Who Was “Uncle Wiggly Wings?”
    • This Day in History on September 21st
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History (articles)
      • This Day in History (categories)
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»March»March 18»March 18, 1974: Arab Oil Embargo
    March 18

    March 18, 1974: Arab Oil Embargo

    Major DanBy Major DanMarch 18, 2016Updated:February 25, 202011 Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp

    A Brief History

    On March 18, 1974, the so called Arab Oil Embargo came to an end, but any celebrations were certainly premature!

    Digging Deeper

    Digging deeper, we find two major factors involved in making this crisis as important as it was and still is.

    The first factor was that it had appeared US production of oil had peaked and the world believed that from about 1970 onward it would continue to decline more or less on a constant basis.

    The other issue at hand was and still is the Arab-Israeli conflict.  The US is pledged to guaranty the continuation of Israel as an independent state and most Arab (and other Muslim countries) countries are determined to see Israel either eradicated or reduced to an even tinier size.

    With this background, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel in October of 1973 during the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

    The Soviet Union poured war materiel into those countries and against demands by Arab countries the US poured war materiel into Israel.

    In retaliation against the US support of Israel, OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) declared a reduction in oil production, an increase in oil prices, and an embargo against imports to the US and any countries supporting Israel.  Oil prices tripled over the next few months and in an economic situation already tumbling toward recession the economy of the US and industrialized nations was rocked.  Gasoline in the US went from about 35 cents a gallon to over 50 cents a gallon and temporary shortages plagued the country.  For the first time, fuel efficiency became an issue and people waited for hours in lines to get their cars gassed up.

    Although the crisis appeared to last only a few months, the ramifications of it are still going on today!  For 13 years the US had imposed a 55 miles per hour speed limit on cars and trucks designed to cruise much faster on roads designed for much higher speeds.  Gasoline taxes on national and state levels went up and are today ten times what they were! Emboldened by the success of raising oil prices oil producing countries have continued to keep prices high, about $100 a barrel compared to $3 a barrel when the crisis started!

    Although the 55 mph limit has been rescinded (it only saved about 1% of gasoline consumption) government mandated requirements for improved fuel efficiency has transformed the US roadscape from huge gas guzzling cars to smaller more economical ones, and ones often made by companies from outside the US.  Trucks have almost completely made the transition to diesel engines and airlines have shrunk the size of seats in airliners to carry more people.

    New relaxed environmental rules have allowed the US to massively increase its production of oil and natural gas, reducing the impact of future problems, such as the 1979 oil crisis precipitated by the Iranian revolution.  The economic crash of 2008 was greatly aggravated by a temporary increase in oil prices to almost $150 a barrel!

    Only time will tell if the industrialized world will conquer its addiction to oil and reap the benefits of security and an improved economic future.  Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think will happen? Will technology take the oil gun from our head?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Rabinovich, Abraham.  The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East.  Schocken, 2007.

    Siniver, Asaf.  The Yom Kippur War: Politics, Diplomacy, Legacy.  Oxford University Press, 2013.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous Article10 People (You Do not Know) Behind the Characters
    Next Article March 19, 1987: Surprise! Jim Bakker, TV Preacher is a Fraud!
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: Can You Believe Anybody?

    September 23, 2023

    History Short: Who Was “Uncle Wiggly Wings?”

    September 22, 2023

    History Short: Are the Irish Vikings? Are You?

    September 21, 2023

    <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1406 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1406">11 Comments

    1. KM on March 18, 2014 9:35 pm

      It is interesting how the US helping Israel in the Yom Kippur war is related to rising gas prices. It is also I interesting how it influenced measures to create fuel efficiency. I think that there will be a gradual shift from oil as other alternatives become more popular and efficient.

      Reply
    2. Judy Lin on March 18, 2014 11:07 pm

      I find it fascinating that sometimes the actions of the United States government would effect us in such a negative way. Although these actions are sometimes for the greater good, it impacts our economy in many different ways. Such as oil increasing, meaning gas prices spike because the government has to choose a side, even if it effects the other side greatly as well.

      Reply
    3. Deanna Nagle on March 19, 2014 9:16 pm

      I understand helping other countries but there has to be a line drawn. I think we need to worry about us and not them so much.

      Reply
    4. Stephan S on March 20, 2014 3:29 am

      This obviously has good and bad effects to the whole situation. Would global warming be even more of an issue if gas was cheaper? This could have had a good effect. Americans became way more gas conscious thanks to rising gas/oil prices. We really care about car fuel efficiency nowadays and some people have switched to electric cars to avoid the hassle all together. Maybe if this crisis never happened no one would care about fuel-efficiency meaning our cars would be gas guzzling still and our icecaps would be significantly smaller than they are now. So the only bad thing in this situation is our skinnier wallets!

      Reply
    5. Ashton Miller on March 20, 2014 11:30 am

      This just proves that every decision the government makes does effect us all, whether it is in a positive or negative way.

      Reply
    6. Todd E. on March 20, 2014 11:35 am

      Well this would be awesome if gas prices dropped to under $3 a gallon, but really it is almost $4 a gallon. Its obviously clear that gas companies are making millions of dollars in income and who is paying for it, all of us drivers.
      I don’t think there is going to be a drop in gas prices, even with the increase in technology.

      Reply
    7. Vickie Christman on March 20, 2014 9:40 pm

      Ultimately everything revolves around money and power and the sad thing is the people and things that are affected by the decisions made by the ones that have the money and power are not taken into consideration. Yes it would be awesome if all vehicles turned to all electric, but what adverse affects will that possibly have in the near or far off future?

      Reply
    8. Kristin Schlabach on March 23, 2014 1:07 pm

      Even with the increase in technology, I don’t think there will be a drop in gas prices. If we look back over the last decade or two, it just continues to slowly rise.

      Reply
    9. Alycia Krosnick on May 5, 2014 11:00 pm

      Gas has too much of a demand for it to result in a significant decrease in price. if anything, will the more efficient cars being produced in the next 10 years, it will become even more expensive to own a inefficient car!

      Reply
    10. maillot equipe de france on August 13, 2014 1:27 pm

      It’s very effortless to find out any matter on web as compared to textbooks, as I found this post at this website.|

      Reply
    11. William Dillon on January 15, 2015 3:13 pm

      I think America will find new ways to extract oil and the price of gasoline will drop like a rock and take OPEC’s high prices with it. Viva la America!!!

      Reply

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on September 24th

    September 24, 2023

    History Short: Does God Punish the Faithful?

    September 24, 2023

    10 Fascinating Events in History (Our 10 Most Popular Videos)

    September 23, 2023

    This Day in History on September 23rd

    September 23, 2023

    History Short: Can You Believe Anybody?

    September 23, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in .

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.