Actually the dollar was still pretty strong in the 70s. It was in the 80s where the dollar started losing strength, especially with coming of "the rock star" Greenspan.
It's funny how most of the critics of the dollar are actually ultra-liberal who like the ideas of maximum freedom in markets and the private sector in general. While it was exactly that thing that started to weaken the dollar. Greenspan was the type of guy who really wanted for people to like him. He set the rules that dictated low interest rates and low regulations, where the private sector didn't have much responsibility anymore. Take as many risks as you want and do it however you want, and if things won't work out then there will be a bail-out. It's not hard to see why Greenspan was very popular among the private sector and was considered as the man of the people during the height of his reign His ultra-liberal views presumed, that people are generally decent at heart and wouldn't exploit the freedom that is given to them. It's funny because most of the bitcoin enthusiasts here share the same ultra-liberal world view, while being critics of the Fed at the same time After Greenspan there came Bernanke and he was just Greenspan vol.2, having no balls or vision to do anything differently.
Most of the regular folks who read a lot of conspiracy theory books, think that those in power are these evil geniuses with complex plans. The joke is that actually most of them are just schmucks with avarage intelligence and who got their power or money through inheritance. The main thing that they work on, is the act that they actually have a clue on what they're doing. And most of them actually like those conspiracy books that make them sound like scary evil geniuses It's like the same with Freemasons, the biggest secret they have is that actually there is no secret All smoke and mirrors, so people would stay humble and submissive.