The first serious government shutdowns (in the modern sense) happened in the late 1970s, under President Jimmy Carter, and lawmakers were mainly stuck on two big fights: how to fund abortion and how much to spend on defense projects like a nuclear aircraft carrier and federal water works.

What a “shutdown” meant back then

Before the 1980s, the government didn’t fully shut down when funding expired; agencies usually kept running on the assumption that money would come later. The shift came when Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti issued opinions in 1980–1981 that agencies had to stop most non‑essential operations if Congress didn’t pass appropriations, turning funding gaps into real shutdowns.

But the groundwork for these clashes was laid earlier, as Congress began tying annual spending bills to controversial policy riders, especially on abortion and school desegregation.

The 1977–1978 shutdowns

The first notable shutdown under this new reality was in 1977, when Congress and the Carter administration fought over whether Medicaid could pay for abortions. Some Democrats and pro‑choice lawmakers wanted to maintain existing compromise language (allowing Medicaid funds for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or to protect the woman’s life), while others pushed to restrict or eliminate that funding, which threatened the overall spending bill.

A similar showdown happened in 1978, when Carter vetoed a defense and public‑works spending bill that included funding for a nuclear‑powered aircraft carrier and several big federal water projects. Carter argued those projects were wasteful, while many lawmakers in both parties saw them as important for jobs and infrastructure.

What lawmakers couldn’t agree on

In those early shutdowns, the core sticking points were:

  • Abortion funding : How much federal money (especially through Medicaid) could be used for abortion, and under what conditions.
  • Defense spending : Whether to include money for a large nuclear aircraft carrier that Carter considered too expensive.
  • Public works projects : Funding for water projects, dams, and other infrastructure that lawmakers back home wanted, but the President deemed excessive.

Carter ultimately agreed to reopen the government after Congress passed a version of the spending bill that left out the aircraft carrier and the water projects he opposed, while keeping the existing compromise on abortion funding.

Why this mattered

These battles in the late 1970s showed that shutdowns weren’t just about abstract budgets—they had become a tool for forcing big policy fights, especially on emotionally charged issues. That pattern of tying appropriations to hot-button social and budget issues has continued in most major shutdowns ever since.