World Power Status: World Power Status 1920-2000 US Politics and Society


Wilsonian Era: Wilsonian Era Woodrow Wilson presidency reinforces shift toward activist socio-economic policy Wilson wins re-election in 1916 by promising to keep US out of WW1 After war begins, US economy is mobilized Sedition laws severe Allies defeat Germany, but Wilson failure to get Versailles Treaty ratified weakens his legacy Becomes classic balance-of-powers issue where president must pay more heed to Senate


Republican Return: Republican Return The War along with acrimony over the Treaty had tired the people. Republican candidate, Warren G. Harding, promises “not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration” Harding victory in 1920 ushers in Republican rule for 12 years Calvin Coolidge 1923-1928 Herbert Hoover 1928-1932


Election of 1920: Election of 1920


Population Growth in the 19th C: Population Growth in the 19th C


Republican Restoration: Republican Restoration New revival of laissez-faire protectionist tariffs Second industrial revolution: automated production, Model-T, radio, film, air travel Urbanization, consumerism ‘The Roaring 20s’: The Great Gatsby The ‘Red Scare’ vs. communists, anarchists Nativism: reaction vs. immigration


Three major amendments: Three major amendments 1913: Popular election of Senators 1919: Prohibition promoted by rural Anti-Saloon League and urban progressivists laws already passed in many states but attempt to make it national was utopian part of rural—urban clash urban, middle class culture had gone too far


Prohibition: Prohibition


Female Suffrage: Female Suffrage 1920: Women granted right to vote some states had already allowed female suffrage part of early feminist movement as well as liberation from Victorian morals


Female Suffrage: Female Suffrage


Onset of Great Depression: Onset of Great Depression Declining consumer spending and purchasing power Public already lured into credit Stock speculation Crash of stock market, October 1929 Downward spiral exacerbated by poor understanding of economic behavior too much profit paid out in dividends instead of wages wages would have kept consumer spending going By 1932, unemployment = 25% GNP falls to 67% of 1929 level


Soup kitchens of the Depression: Soup kitchens of the Depression


Hoover’s failed response: Hoover’s failed response Believed that voluntary cooperation with business would reverse crisis Reconstruction Finance Corp. to support banks Also preached voluntarism as way of helping poor But resisted direct relief to unemployed as well as massive public works programs Ordered expulsion of WWI veterans who had marched on Washington


Election of 1932: Election of 1932


Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Asst. Sec. of the Navy during WWI Stricken with polio in 1921 Recovers, but mostly in wheelchair Governor of New York, 1929-1933 Promises ‘New Deal’ Brings urban, immigrant workers to Democratic Party Huge majorities: 310-117 in House, 60-35 in Senate


First Hundred Days: First Hundred Days Closes all banks for 4 days to stop panic Gets emergency powers from Congress to save banks Delivers first ‘fireside chat’ over the radio Repeal of prohibition Agricultural Adjustment Act pays farmers to stop production National Recovery Administration to better organize industrial production thru codes Tennessee Valley Authority Act builds dams


National Recovery Administration: National Recovery Administration


Tennessee Valley Authority: Tennessee Valley Authority


Tennessee Valley Authority: Tennessee Valley Authority


From Recovery to Relief to Reform: From Recovery to Relief to Reform Relief Works Progress Administration Civilian Conservation Corps Reform Social Security Act unemployment compensation pension system poor family welfare assistance National Housing Act National Labor Relations Act: creates NLR Board Fair Labor Standards Act: creates minimum wage


Reaction: Reaction FDR wins 1936 election in landslide, further strengthening the ‘New Deal’ coalition b/w South, West and now NE workers, immigrants and blacks Supreme Court last stronghold of opposition nullification of NRA, AAA Roosevelt attempts to stack Court with extra justices Move sours relations with Congress


Overextension ? ?: Overextension ? ?


The New Deal in Perspective: The New Deal in Perspective FDR’s reform, not revolution no direct planning or anti-capitalist moves no nationalization of banks or industry no redistribution of wealth Reforms do, however, transform US economy introduction of ‘Keynesian’ economics, the principle of government stimulus the beginnings of a modest welfare state Not all of the reforms immediately brought effects Actual recovery comes only with WWII


Evolution, not revolution: Evolution, not revolution


Roosevelt Continues On: Roosevelt Continues On Amid war in Europe and recovery at home, FDR announces decision to stand for 3rd term breaks with 150-year G. Washington tradition wins easy victory, 55% war years see few new initiatives, although some New Deal measures curtailed, e.g. union rights FDR elected to 4th term in 1944, but already health is failing Dies 12 April 1945


Harry S. Truman: Harry S. Truman Truman was new VP, not in FDR inner circle, poorly prepared to be president But succeeds in establishing own stature


‘Fair Deal’: ‘Fair Deal’ Successful transition from war to civilian economy including G.I. Bill of Rights offering veterans extensive opportunities and benefits Full Employment Act Baby boom; New housing: ‘Levittown’, suburbia Stymied, however, by Republican takeover of Congress in 1946 Major initiatives fail, incl. natl. health care service, federal aid to education Wins narrow re-election in 1948, but attn consumed thereafter by Korean War


Narrow Election of 1948: Narrow Election of 1948


‘McCarthyism’: ‘McCarthyism’ Second ‘red scare’: onset of Cold War raises fear of Soviet spy rings House Un-American Activities Cmte. Truman forced to start Loyalty program: 1000s of govt workers reviewed Famous trials vs. Alger Hiss, Ethel & Julius Rosenberg February 1950 Sen. Joseph McCarthy claims 205 communists in State Department hearings, accusations, sweeping charges part of isolationist, populist streak


Joseph McCarthy: Joseph McCarthy


Republican Return: Republican Return 1952 Election of ex-general Dwight D. Eisenhower, ‘Ike’ goal is moderation, ‘modern Republicanism’ quells McCarthy fervor; McCarthy is finally censured in Senate in 1954 Ike focuses little on domestic policy believed that FDR and HT had oversized the presidency already economic prosperity continues television boom


Election of 1952: Election of 1952


Comfortable 1950s life: Comfortable 1950s life


Beginnings of Civil Rights Mvmnt: Beginnings of Civil Rights Mvmnt Truman desegregates armed forces Southern Democrats oppose other moves leads to States Rights (Dixiecrat) ticket in 1948, Strom Thurmond NAACP lawyers take fight to Supreme Court 1954: victory in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ends ‘separate, but equal principle’ Eisenhower uses troops to integrate Little Rock high school, as most local authorities obstruct implementation Passive resistance movement


Segregation and Protest: Segregation and Protest


Passive Resistance: Passive Resistance


Showdown of 1960: Showdown of 1960 Nixon vs. Kennedy Eisenhower Vice-Pres. vs. Massachusetts senator and political dynasty


Television Democracy: Television Democracy Television debate impacts millions youthful, energetic, sharp-minded Kennedy overcomes negative image of inexperienced, Catholic northeasterner


Election of 1960: Election of 1960


The Camelot Years: The Camelot Years Devotes early attn to foreign policy Bay of Pigs defense of Berlin first deployments to Vietnam expanded defense spending Cuban Missile Crisis Domestic program: New Frontier economic prosperity through massive tax cut


Civil Rights: Civil Rights Freedom riders challenge transportation segregation ML King leads march on Washington ‘I have a dream’


The Dream Cut Short: The Dream Cut Short


Lyndon Johnson sworn in: Lyndon Johnson sworn in


Johnson: the Climax of Liberalism: Johnson: the Climax of Liberalism Great Society: ‘war on poverty’ Office of Economic Opportunity Medicare Federal education aid Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Civil Rights Act & Voting Rights Act 55-day filibuster overcome


1964: Johnson vs. Goldwater: 1964: Johnson vs. Goldwater Goldwater rhetoric scares voters Famous LBJ ad raising prospect of nuclear war with Goldwater


Election of 1964: Election of 1964


Mounting engagement in Vietnam: Mounting engagement in Vietnam


Turbulent election of 1968: Turbulent election of 1968 Anguished Johnson bows out Election favorite Robert Kennedy assassinated after CA primary, June Hubert Humphrey struggles against anti-war protests at convention George Wallace, AL segregationist saps votes Nixon promises ‘peace with honor’ and a return to calm Nixon victory, albeit narrow, seen as the ‘silent majority’ worried about stability


Election of 1968: Election of 1968


Nixon era: Nixon era Pledges ‘New Federalism’ economic recession caused by war devaluation of the dollar 90-day wage and price freeze continued social tension shrewd courting of conservative southern whites and middle class with denunciations of liberal permissiveness, counter-culture, hippies, sexual revolution


Nixon’s paranoia: Nixon’s paranoia Leaks to the press about Cambodia bombings in 1969 prompt Nixon to order wire taps of press and govt phones ‘Plumbers’ unit set up in WH to discredit Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked ‘Pentagon Papers’ Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) in 1972 thinks up ‘dirty tricks’, including bugging Democratic HQ at Watergate complex on June 17


Nixon and his henchmen: Nixon and his henchmen


Victory before defeat: Victory before defeat Watergate break-in barely noticed by the press Nixon goes on to landslide victory


Nixon gets vengeful: Nixon gets vengeful I want the most comprehensive notes on all of those that had tried to do us in…they are asking for it and they are going to get it… We have not use the power in these first four years, as you know. We have never used it. We haven’t used the Bureau [FBI] and we haven’t used the Justice Department, but things are going to change, and they’re going to get it right. --Richard Nixon, 15 September 1972 --


Watergate begins to unravel: Watergate begins to unravel February 1973: Ervin Commission set up in Senate Nixon aides admit obstruction of justice hearings carried live on television May: Federal prosecutor named July: Discovery of Nixon tapes Oval office recordings from 1970 tapes could reveal answer to famous question: ‘What did the President know and when did he know it?’ Nixon defends ‘executive privilege’, but defeated in appellate courts


Nixon Besieged: Nixon Besieged


The scandal spirals: The scandal spirals ‘Saturday Night Massacre’, Oct. 20: Nixon fires Dep. Attorney General and Special Prosecutor; Attorney General resigns VP Spiro Agnew resigns over tax evasion; Gerald Ford becomes first appointed VP December: impeachment proceedings begin in the House Spring 1974: battle over tapes continues new prosecutor presents charges against 7 Nixon aides; Nixon rebuked indirectly Nixon releases transcripts, but these simply reveal the extent of his vulgarity, racism and paranoia


Missing tape segment: Missing tape segment 18 minutes disappeared from June 20, 1972 recording, when Nixon known to have met with aides Secretary claims she inadvertently erased the section while transcribing Nixon tries one more time in Supreme Court but is unanimously defeated New tape segments show Nixon talking about paying off Watergate intruders, “Yes, I can get it, I know where it can be gotten.” Impeachment charges pass House cmte. Senate conviction seems guaranteed


Nixon resignation: Nixon resignation


Gerald Ford: Gerald Ford First unelected president “Our long national nightmare is over.”


Return of Democrats: Return of Democrats Oil shocks, economic malaise and Watergate scandal sets up 1976 victory for Washington outsider, Jimmy Carter


Carter Ups and Downs: Carter Ups and Downs Economic malaise continues Carter too much a manager and not enough a leader; lacked insider knowledge More successful in foreign policy Iran hostage crisis saps energy, November 1979-January 1981 Carter challenged by Edward Kennedy Ronald Reagan emerges as forceful Republican, able to sway blue-collar workers—the ‘Reagan democrats’


Election of 1980: Election of 1980


Reagan Era: Reagan Era Oldest president to take office Adopts massive tax cuts along with sharp defense spending increases ‘Supply-side’ economics Staggering budget deficits: $250 billion/year growing rich/poor disparities But recovering economy by 1984 brings massive re-election vs Mondale Moral conservatism reveals its appeal among blue-collar voters Anti-Communist foreign policy credited with speeding collapse of USSR but Iran-Contra scandal leaves out-of-touch image


George HW Bush: George HW Bush Successful handover to VP extremely experienced in govt and diplomacy Bush seen as ‘kindler, gentler’ struggles with aftermath of Reagan deficits, finally agreeing to break campaign promise and raise taxes Clearly preferred foreign policy Persian Gulf war leads to extraordinary popularity But squandered in 1992 when Democrats stress “It’s the economy, stupid!” Clinton brings Kennedy-like youth Ross Perot sparks support w/ $ campaign


Election of 1992: Election of 1992


Clinton Era: Clinton Era Altho minority president, Clinton attempts major initiatives: economic stimulus package gays in the military national health care system wins approval of NAFTA Backlash in 1994 elections brings 1st Republican maj. in House since 1952 Newt Gingrich, ‘Contract with America’ Agrees to Welfare reform, July 1996 Secures balanced budget deal, May 1997 Easy re-election in 1996; economy booms


The Hormonal President: The Hormonal President Allegations of marital infidelity raised already in 1992 primary campaign Paula Corbin Jones, Gennifer Flowers Revelation of relationship w/ Monica Lewinsky (WH intern) leads to new investigations by Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr August 1998: Clinton admits ‘inappropriate relationship’, but not sex December: Clinton impeached by House on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice


Senate trial: Senate trial Only second in history January 7: 13 House ‘managers’ present case Depositions played again Final vote coincides with Serbia bombing Clinton acquitted on both counts perjury: 45-55 obstruction of justice: 50-50


Election 2000: Election 2000 Lively nomination contests Gore vs. Bradley; GW Bush vs. John McCain Consumer advocate Ralph Nader runs for the Greens Both final candidates seen as lackluster: Gore is dry, technocrat, intellectual Bush is Texan cowboy, primitive, supported by Repub. establishment because of family connection VP choices revealing: Lieberman: first Jewish nominee; Gore avoids Clinton Cheney: fmr. defense secretary and Congressman. Major issues: Social Security; spending surplus, tax cuts, WH scandals, ‘nation-building’ abroad