This chart is designed to show the public's sense of trust in government. The X-axis represents the year, from 1958 to 2002; the Y-axis represents percent of trust in government as measured in surveys. The period from the 1950s to the mid-1960s exhibited the highest percentage of the American public's trust in government. Trust dropped radically during the late 1960s until 1980. The percentage slightly increased during the 1980s, but hit its lowest point in mid-1990s. Recent years show some recovery of trust in government.