70s

The 70’s : The 70’s Chapter 31


1969 : 1969 The decade closed with the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King in 1968 The Manson murders in California scared the nation The war in Vietnam was suppose to be ending but it escalated Two American astronauts walked on the moon’s surface Woodstock epitomized the Summer of Love – anti-war movement


Richard Nixon : Richard Nixon Nixon gave his inaugural speech, promising to bring Americans together after the turmoil of the 1960s Suspicious and secretive by nature, Nixon soon began to isolate himself – an “imperial presidency”


Nixon and Vietnam : Nixon and Vietnam When Nixon took office more than half a million soldiers were in Vietnam His objective was find a way to reduce troop levels while avoiding the appearance of conceding defeat His words, “peace with honor”


Vietnamization : Vietnamization The gradual withdrawal of troops while giving S. Vietnam additional money, weapons and training to take over the war Troops levels fell from 540,000 in 1969 to under 30,000 in 1972


Nixon Doctrine : Nixon Doctrine In the future, Asian allies would receive US support but without extensive use of US ground forces


Opposition to Nixon’s Policies : Opposition to Nixon’s Policies The reduction in troops reduced the number of protests In 1970, Nixon expanded the war using US forces to invade Cambodia in an effort to destroy Viet Cong bases in that country


Opposition to Nixon’s Policies : Opposition to Nixon’s Policies Nationwide protests on college campuses resulted in student deaths at the hands of the National Guard troops


Opposition : Opposition


Opposition to Nixon’s Policies : Opposition to Nixon’s Policies Four students were killed at Kent State in Ohio Two students were killed at Jackson State in Mississippi In response, the Senate (not the House) voted to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution


Opposition to Nixon’s Policies : Opposition to Nixon’s Policies In 1970 the American public learned about a 1968 massacre at My Lai Lt. William Calley ordered the killing of women and children in a small village in S. Vietnam


New York Times v. US : New York Times v. US The New York Times published the Pentagon Papers, a secret government history documenting the mistakes and deceptions of government policy makers in dealing with Vietnam Former Defense Dept analyst Daniel Ellsberg “leaked” the papers


Peace Talks : Peace Talks Nixon had Sec. of State Henry Kissinger conduct secret meetings with N. Vietnam’s foreign minister, Le Duc Tho. In 1972 Kissinger announced that “peace is at hand” – which proved to be premature No one was immune to protests


Bombing Continues : Bombing Continues When N. Vietnam failed to compromise, Nixon order a massive bombing of N. Vietnam – the heaviest in the war – to force a settlement After several weeks of B-52 bombing raids, N. Vietnam agreed to an armistice B-52 Carpet bombing


Armistice : Armistice In the agreement, the US would withdraw the last of its troops and get back about 500 POWs The Paris Accords, 1971, also promised free elections and a cease-fire The armistice did not end the war between North and South Vietnam and left tens of thousands of enemy troops in S. Vietnam


The Costs : The Costs 58, 198 American lives $118 billion Began an inflationary cycle that hurt the US economy for years Pvt. 1st Class Michael O’Keefe, Jr. KIA Nov 1969 Age: 20


Détente With China : Détente With China Nixon and Kissinger strengthened the US position in the world by taking advantage of the rift between the two Communist giants – Soviet Union and China Their diplomacy was praised for bringing about détente – a deliberate reduction of Cold War tensions


Détente With China : Détente With China Nixon knew that only an out-spoken critic of Communism could improve relations with “Red” China and Mao Zedong without appearing soft on Communism Nixon visited Beijing in 1972 and met with Chairman Mao leading to US recognition of Communist China in 1979 Nixon at the Great Wall


Arms Control With the USSR : Arms Control With the USSR Nixon used his new relationship with China to pressure the Soviets to sign a treaty limiting antiballistic missiles (ABMs) At the conclusion of the first round of Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT1) the Soviets agreed to freeze the number of ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads It did not end the Cold War but eased tensions


Nixon’s Domestic Policies : Nixon’s Domestic Policies Republican Nixon faced a Democratic controlled Congress and had to compromise Nixon shaped public opinion toward a more conservative agenda, which would happen again in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s


Nixon’s Economic Policies : Nixon’s Economic Policies The economy faced an unusual combination of economic slowdown and high inflation = Stagflation (stagnation and inflation To slow inflation, Nixon tried to cut federal spending, which contributed to a recession and unemployment He adopted Keynesian economics and deficit spending in order not to alienate the middle and working class


Nixon’s Economic Policies : Nixon’s Economic Policies In Aug 1971, he imposed a 90 day wage and price freeze Next he took the dollar off the gold standard which helped devalue it relative to other currencies A 10% surtax on all imports improved the US balance of trade By the election of 1972, the recession was over


1972 : 1972 Congress approved automatic increases in Social Security based on the annual rise in the cost of living (COLA) Nixon was aware that he won the presidency in 1968 with only 43% of the vote He devised a policy to make the Republican platform more attractive


1972 : 1972 Nixon was aware that millions of voters had become disaffected by antiwar protests, black militants, school busing to achieve racial balance and the excesses of the youth counterculture He called them the “silent majority” Many Democrats: southern whites, Catholics, ethnics, blue-collar workers were dismayed by the liberal drift of their party


1972 : 1972 To help win the South, Nixon asked the courts to delay integration plans and busing orders He nominated 2 southern conservatives to the Supreme Court, thought the Senate refused to confirm them and delay integration His strategy won votes from southerners


1972 : 1972 Nixon authorized his VP, Spiro Agnew, to make verbal assaults against war protesters and the liberal media


The Burger Court : The Burger Court Nixon had the opportunity to nominate 4 Supreme Court justices to replace those who retired Warren Berger replaced Earl Warren Harry Blackmun Lewis Powell William Rehnquist


1972 Election : 1972 Election The Democrats nominated Sen. George McGovern, a very liberal, antiwar, antiestablishment candidate His choice for VP, Thomas Eagleton, was dropped after it was learned he had undergone electroshock treatment for depression


1972 Election : 1972 Election Segregationist George Wallace was paralyzed in an attempted assassination attempt


1972 Election : 1972 Election Republicans re-nominated Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew There re-election was almost assured because of Nixon’s 1. foreign policy successes in China and the Soviet Union 2. Wallace out of the race 3. McGovern’s VP troubles


1972 Election : 1972 Election Nixon took every state except MA and almost 61% of the popular vote Democrats still controlled both houses of Congress


Watergate : Watergate In June 1972, a group of men hired by Nixon’s re-election committee were caught breaking into Democratic national headquarters located in the Watergate Hotel in DC The break-in and attempted bugging were only the beginning of the illegal ‘tricks’ conducted by the Nixon administration and Comm to Re-Elect the Pres. (CREEP) not kidding!


Watergate : Watergate Nixon had ordered wiretaps on govt employees and reporters to stop news leaks such as the one that had exposed the bombing of Cambodia. Nixon’s aids created a group, called ‘the plumbers’ to stop leaks and discredit opponents


Watergate : Watergate Before Watergate, the ‘plumbers’ had burglarized the office of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers, in order to get info to discredit him The White House created an “enemies list” of prominent Americans opposed to Nixon, the Vietnam War or both


Watergate : Watergate These people’s names were given to govt agencies, such as the IRS All of this was under the guise of national security – an objective that was often confused with protecting the Nixon administration from its critics


Watergate Investigation : Watergate Investigation There was no solid proof that Nixon ordered the break-in but after several months of investigations, it was clear that he did engage in cover-up activities A Senate investigating comm., led by Sam Ervin, NC, brought the abuses to the attention of Americans through televised hearings


Watergate Highlights : Watergate Highlights WH lawyer, John Dean, linked Nixon with the cover up Nixon aides, H R Haldeman and John Ehrlichman resigned to protect Nixon, were indicted for obstructing justice Judge John Sirica learned of promises of money and pardons to keep quiet


Watergate and More : Watergate and More It was discovered that there was a taping system in the Oval Office A year-long struggle between Nixon, who claimed executive privilege, and the investigators who wanted the tapes The USSC (packed with Nixon appointees) denied his claims and ordered him to turn over the tapes 13 minutes were missing


Yes, they WERE crooks : Yes, they WERE crooks In 1973 VP Spiro Agnew was forced to resign after it was discovered that he had taken bribes while governor of MD


And the drama continues : And the drama continues 1973 – News that Nixon authorized 3,500 secret bombing raids in Cambodia, a neutral country Congress passed the War Powers Act to limit the president’s role over the military


October War and Oil : October War and Oil The Syrians and Egyptians launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur to recover lands lost in the Six-Day War of 1967 Nixon ordered the US nuclear forces on alert and airlifted almost $2 billion in arms to Israel and the war was soon over The US paid a high price for supporting Israel


October War and Oil : October War and Oil OPEC placed an oil embargo on countries who supported Israel causing a worldwide oil shortage The US economy, now suffered from runaway inflation, long gas lines, job losses and a lower standard of living for blue-collar workers


October War and Oil : October War and Oil Consumers switched from big US made cars to fuel efficient Japanese cars, which cost automakers 225,000 jobs Congress enacted a 55 mph speed limit and approved a pipeline in Alaska to tap American reserves The economy remained sluggish and inflation high until the end of the 70s


Oil Prices : Oil Prices


Bye, Bye Tricky Dick : Bye, Bye Tricky Dick In 1974, Nixon visited Moscow and Cairo, but his reputation continued to slide In Oct. 1973, Nixon fired the special prosecutor to the Watergate investigation, Archibald Cox and the US attorney general quit in protest


Impeachment Charges : Impeachment Charges The House began impeachment hearings, encouraging Nixon to reveal some transcripts of the Watergate tapes in Apr 1974 but it took the USSC order to force him to turn over the tapes. The House voted on 3 articles of impeachment: obstruction of justice abuse of power contempt of Congress


Impeachment Charges : Impeachment Charges People were shocked by the contents of the tapes when it was learned that Nixon taped friends and enemies One transcript clearly implicated Nixon in the cover-up only 2 days after the Watergate break in Nixon chose to resign on Aug 9, 1974


Impeachment Charges : Impeachment Charges Nixon appointed (with Senate confirmation) Gerald Ford to replace disgraced VP Spiro Agnew With Nixon’s resignation, Ford became the first person to serve as President and Vice President but never elected to either position Watergate shifted America’s opinion towards not trusting their government


Ford’s Administration : Ford’s Administration In Ford’s first week as president, he insulted many American’s by giving Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he may have committed He was accused of having a “corrupt bargain” with Nixon Ford explained that it was time to end the “national nightmare” It did not protect Nixon’s aides who when to prison for their crimes


Ford’s Foreign Policy : Ford’s Foreign Policy Ford was not able to get additional funds from Congress for the S. Vietnamese, now under strong attack from the Communists In April 1975, the US supported government in Saigon fell and Vietnam became one country under the rule of Communist Hanoi The US was unable to evacuate about 150,000 who were loyal to America and faced certain persecution


Ford’s Foreign Policy : Ford’s Foreign Policy The fall of Vietnam marked a low point of American prestige overseas and at home Also in 1975, the US supported government in Cambodia fell to the Khmer Rouge, a radical Communist faction that conducted genocide against over 1 million of its own people


Ford’s Foreign Policy : Ford’s Foreign Policy In an attempt to compensate for the failure of US policy in SE Asia, Pres. Ford ordered an attack on a Cambodian naval base that had captured the US merchant ship, Mayaquez. This freed 39 crewmen, but 38 marines died in the assault The fall of SE Asia seemed to fulfilled DDE’s domino theory


Ford’s Foreign Policy : Ford’s Foreign Policy All of SE Asia did not fall to communism Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia remained free Some say that US intervention in SE Asia gave those countries the time to develop and resist communism


Economy : Economy Ford’s tactic to bring inflation under control was the slogan WIN – Whip Inflation Now The button didn’t help, inflation was out of control, the economy sank into a deeper recession and unemployment rose to 9% Ford finally agreed to a Dem. Package but vetoed 30 other Dem. bills


1776-1976 : 1776-1976 The nation’s bi-centennial helped Americans to join together once again to celebrate our country’s 200th birthday


Election of 1776 : Election of 1776 The nation did not forget that ford pardoned Nixon without an investigation into crimes he may have committed The Republicans nominated Ford The Democrats nominated a little-known governor and peanut farmer from GA, Jimmy Carter Carter ran as an outsider against corruption


Election of 1776 : Election of 1776 Carter began the election with a huge lead, which shrank considerably as election day grew closer He won, 287-241 by carrying most of the southern states and 97% of the African-America vote Democrats also won strong majorities in both houses of Congress


Election 1976 : Election 1976


Carter’s Administration : Carter’s Administration Carter had an informal style, walking toward the White House on inauguration day, with his wife Rosalyn He was an outsider, not accustomed to deal with Congress He relied on other outsiders from GA for advise


Carter’s Foreign Policy : Carter’s Foreign Policy Highly intelligent, Carter paid close attention to all the details of government operations Critics observed that, when it came to distinguishing between the forest and the trees, Carter was a “leaf man” The focus of Carter’s foreign policy was human rights around the world


Carter’s Foreign Policy : Carter’s Foreign Policy Carter appointed Andrew Young as the US ambassador to the United Nations Young denounced the oppression of the black majority in S. Africa and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) In Latin America, human rights violations by military govts in Argentina and Chile led to America cutting of their aid Carter tried to correct the inequities in the Panama Canal treaty of 1903. the Senate approved the treaty to return the canal to Panama by 2000 Critics vowed to remember this in the election of 1980


Carter’s Foreign Policy : Carter’s Foreign Policy Carter’s greatest achievement may be the peace between Egypt and Israel Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, visited Israeli Prime Minister, Menachem Begin in Jerusalem They met again at Camp David where Carter negotiated a peace settlement Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel. In return, Israel agreed to take their troops from the Sinai Peninsula, which they captured during the Six Day War The PLO and other Arab countries opposed


Carter’s Foreign Policy : Carter’s Foreign Policy The Middle East was also the site of Carter’s most humiliating event In 1979, Islamic fundamentalists in Iran, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the shah’s dictatorial government. The shah had kept the oil flowing to the west during the 1970s but his autocratic rule and policy of westernization alienated a large part of the Iranian population


Carter’s Foreign Policy : Carter’s Foreign Policy With the ayatollah and fundamentalists in power, Iranian oil production stopped, causing a second world-wide oil shortage and price increases In Nov 1979, Iranian militants seized the US embassy in Tehran and held more than 50 members of the American staff as prisoners and hostages The hostage crisis dragged out throughout the remainder of Carter’s presidency In April 1980, Carter approved a rescue mission but our helicopters broke down in the desert forcing the US to abort


Carter’s Foreign Policy : Carter’s Foreign Policy To many Americans, Carter’s failed attempt to rescue the hostages mirrored his failed attempt at the presidency Carter attempted to continue the Nixon-ford policy of détente with China and the Soviet Union In 1979, the US ended its official recognition of the Nationalist govt in Taiwan and completed the first exchange of ambassadors with China The Soviet Union signed the SALT II treaty in 1979


Carter’s Foreign Policy : Carter’s Foreign Policy The Senate refused to ratify the treaty because of the renewal of Cold War tensions over Russians in Afghanistan The invasion ended a decade of improving relations with the USSR The US feared that the invasion might lead to a Soviet move to control the oil-rich Persian Gulf Carter reacted by *placing an embargo on grain exports and the sale of high technology to the USSR *boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow


Carter’s Domestic Policy : Carter’s Domestic Policy Inflation continued unabated Carter tried to conserve energy and revive the coal industry The compromises that came out of Congress failed to reduce consumption or check inflation By 1979-1980, inflation seemed completely out of control and reached 13% Inflation slowed economic growth as consumers and business could not afford high interest rates and high prices


Carter’s Domestic Policy : Carter’s Domestic Policy The chairman of the FED, Paul Volcker hoped to break inflation by increasing interest rates to 20% It killed the auto and construction industries who laid off thousands of workers Inflation pushed middle income earners into a higher tax bracket, leading to a taxpayers revolt The deficit was pushed to almost $60 billion and Americans saw their standard of living decline


Carter’s Domestic Policy : Carter’s Domestic Policy Carter’s intelligence, effort, humanity and integrity were not enough to keep him popular and his approval rating sank to 23% Then he blamed America for its problems – a “moral and spiritual crisis” America blamed Carter The Dems nominated him in 1980 to run against Republican nominee George H W Bush


Immigration : Immigration Before the 1960’s, most immigrants came from Europe or Canada By 1980, 47% of immigrants came from Latin America; 37% from Asia; and less than 13% from Europe Huge numbers came from Cuba and Vietnam escaping Communism The Immigration Act of 1965 (LBJ) ended the ethnic quota act and opened the US to immigrants from all parts of the world


Illegal Immigration : Illegal Immigration By the mid-1970s it was estimated that up to 12 million were illegally in the US The illegals came mainly from Latin America and Asia leading to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which was suppose to penalize employers for hiring illegal immigrants while granting amnesty to all illegals who had arrived by 1982 Most Americans concluded that the US could not control their borders This is still a major issue as we speak


Demand for Minority Rights : Demand for Minority Rights One aspect of the protest movements of the 1960s continued with other groups seeking relief from discrimination and recognition for their contributions to society. Mexican Americans Native Americans Women African Americans Asian Americans Gay liberation


Mexican Americans : Mexican Americans Deported during the Great Depression, were encouraged to come to the US to take low-paying agricultural jobs They were exploited before a long series of boycotts, led by Cesar Chaves and the United Farm Workers Organ. Gained collective bargaining rights Chaves opposed illegal immigration as it drove down wages Federal laws mandated bilingual education Henry Cisneros – appt Sec. of Housing and Urban Dev under Clinton


Native Americans : Native Americans The Eisenhower administration encouraged Indians to move from reservations to urban centers and assimilate into American Culture Tribal leaders feared losing their culture American Indian Movement – AIM, 1968 – tried to revive tribal traditions Militant AIM members took over Alcatraz in 1969 and occupied Wounded Knee in 1973


Native Americans : Native Americans Congress passed the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 – gave reservations and tribal lands greater control over internal programs, education and law enforcement Native Americans used courts to regain property or compensation for treaty violations Widespread unemployment on reservations attacked with better education Dances With Wolves, 1990 – brought attention to historic oppression


Asian Americans : Asian Americans Asians were the larges growing ethnic minority group in the 1980s, mostly made up of Chinese A strong dedication to education resulted in Asian Americans being well represented in the best colleges and universities In some areas of the country, Asian Americans suffered from discrimination, envy and Japan-bashing while the less educated earned well below the national average


Asian Americans : Asian Americans Asians were the larges growing ethnic minority group in the 1980s, mostly made up of Chinese A strong dedication to education resulted in Asian Americans being well represented in the best colleges and universities In some areas of the country, Asian Americans suffered from discrimination, envy and Japan-bashing while the less educated earned well below the national average


Gay Movement : Gay Movement 1969--Stonewall Riot sparks gay rights movement 1980—Democrats include gay rights plank 1980s—AIDS activism 1987—600,000 march on Washington 1993—“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy a setback 1996—Defense of Marriage Act prohibits state recognition of same-sex unions 2000—Vermont legalizes same-sex “civil unions”


Changing Family : Changing Family 21% of women solely in childrearing 30% of married couples without children 25% of households consist of one adult Birthrate begins to climb after 15-year fall Divorce rate levels and drops slightly


Changing Family : Changing Family Many never marry or postpone marriage Most mothers work outside the home Proportion of single-parent households doubled Women without partners head 1/3 of impoverished families Children comprise 40% of the poor


Changing Family : Changing Family Many never marry or postpone marriage Most mothers work outside the home Proportion of single-parent households doubled Women without partners head 1/3 of impoverished families Children comprise 40% of the poor


Environmental Awareness : Environmental Awareness In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act and created the Environmental Protection Agency In 1980, a superfund was created to clean up toxic dumps like Love Canal


Love Canal : Love Canal A housing development was built on a former dump site (Hooker Chemical) Its residents developed high rates of cancers and birth defects 800 families were relocated Their DNA showed chromosomal damage