1970s Chapter 39
Jan 04, 2016
1970s
Chapter 39
I can…
• I can analyze the causes and the consequences of the Watergate scandal and the OPEC Oil Embargo.
Stagnant Economy
• The economy had rapid gains since WWII.• The standard of living in the US had increased
225% since 1945.• By the 1970s, the economy slowed.
Factors in 70s Economy
• Baby boomers entering workforce
• Women and teens working
• Shift from manufacturing to service
• Vietnam War
• Rising oil prices• More government
programs without a tax increase
• Foreign competition• Failure to modernize to
more efficient methods• Inflation (prices tripled)
Vietnamization
• Nixon very experienced in foreign affairs.
• Vietnamization = slow withdrawal of US troops, increase in commitment of SV troops.
• Path to victory through other means, will not quit
• Nixon appealed to the “silent majority” of Americans that worked, paid taxes, but did not protest the war.
• The draft caused problems, poor and AA disproportionately drafted.
Vietnam
• The Vietcong disguised themselves as civilians; became difficult for troops to distinguish between friend and foe.
• Drug use and fragging (murder of a commanding officer) were problems for Army.
• My Lai Massacre– 1968– US troops investigating a
village are ordered to kill over 200, many women and children.
– Did not become public until 1970; public outraged; protests increase.
Expansion of the War
• Nixon talked of a troop withdrawal, but secretly sent troops into Cambodia and Laos to search for communist bases.
• The Vietminh had been smuggling supplies into SV through their neighbors for years.
• Protests erupt throughout the nation.
• Kent St: Protesters burn the ROTC building, Ohio Nat. Guard provoked into firing; killing 4 students.
• Jackson St: 2 die in Mississippi
More Trouble
• 1971: Pentagon Papers publish the truth about Gulf of Tonkin (1964).
• Showed that Kennedy and Johnson had lied about our reasons for entering the war.
• Results of Pentagon Papers, My Lai, and Cambodia =– Less trust in government
officials.– 26th Amendment
• 18 year olds can vote
Detente
• Henry Kissinger: Nixon’s Sec. of State
• 1970s: USSR and China have border clashes, US sees split as an opportunity
• Triangular Diplomacy: US hoped to appeal to China and USSR to end their support of North Vietnam
• 1971: Nixon visits China– Meet Zedong– US/China normalize
trade relations– Result = Everything you
own now comes from China
• 1972: Nixon visits USSR– US sells food to USSR
How ya like me, Mao?
Détente
• SALT: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty– 1972– USSR and US agree to
limit the number of missiles they each have
– US develops MIRVs (multiple warhead missiles) to get around the new limit
• Chile Revolution– US backs dictator
Pinochet over pro-communist elected official
– Pinochet goes on to massacre thousands, but at least he isn’t commie
– 70s Latin America weather report: Chile today, hot tamale
The Supremes
• Chief Justice Earl Warren presided over an era of civil rights and expansion of rights of those accused of crimes
• Griswold v. Connecticut: right to privacy
• Gideon v. Wainwright: right to an attorney
• Miranda v. Arizona: right to remain silent
• Engel v. Vitale: prohibition of required school prayers
• Reynolds v. Sims: fairness in House reapportionment
Roe v. Wade
• Nixon hated Warren because he had a “loose interpretation” of the Constitution.
• Replaced retiring Warren with Warren Burger.
• The Burger court shocked conservatives with their next big ruling.
• Many states had laws banning abortions.
• Jane Roe sued, and the SC agreed that a woman does have the right to an abortion.
• Conservatives fumed, and have attempted to overturn the ruling ever since.
The Nixon You Didn’t Know
• Nixon supported the creation of food stamps and increases in Medicaid and Social Security for those in need.
• Expanded affirmative action (programs to hire minorities)
• Outlawed intelligence tests for certain jobs
• Created OSHA to ensure workplace safety
• Supported environmental reforms such as the EPA, Clean Air and Water Acts, and the Endangered Species Act
• Almost single handedly ended the “solid south” by turning the South Republican.
1972 Election
• In 68 Nixon promised to end Vietnam, 4 years later and it was still going.
• Republicans re-nominate Nixon
• Democrats run Senator George McGovern on a platform of immediate withdrawal.
• McGovern appealed to doves and radicals, and minorities, but he drove away many traditional Democrats in 72.
• McGovern lost more support when news that his VP selection had psychiatric problems was leaked.
• Nixon won 520-17
1972 Election
Ending Vietnam
• During the election Nixon increased the bombing of NV while pushing for a peace settlement.
• News came out that Nixon was still bombing Cambodia as well.
• In early 1973 the US and NV agreed to a cease-fire. The US withdrew troops.
• Congress passed the War Powers Act, requiring the Pres. To notify Congress before major military engagements.
Results of Vietnam
• 58,286 American Dead• 1.475 million total dead• War not over, North v.
South will continue without the US.
• Cambodia becomes communist; dictator Paul Pot murders 2 million+
• Laos becomes communist
• US distrust of authority increases
• Reluctance to involve our nation in war
• 26th Amendment
OPEC Oil Embargo
• 1973: Egypt and Syria, backed by the USSR invade Israel (6Days War)
• Israel, backed by US, beat back the invaders, even taking some of their territory.
• In retaliation, the members of OPEC embargoed the sale of oil to the US.
• With oil short, prices went up on everything.
• Long lines/rationing to get gas
• National speed limit set to 55 miles per hour
• US begins to investigate alternate sources of energy, but it will be a slow change.
Oil Crisis
Watergate• 1973: Nixon’s VP Spiro
Agnew is forced to resign after taking bribes.
• Nixon and the Senate select Congressman Gerald Ford as the new VP
• In 1972, during the election, 5 men were arrested for burglary in the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate building
• At 1st it just seemed that these men were zealous supporters of Nixon, as no clear connection was made.
• Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post began to investigate. Eventually their stories got the attention of Congress, whom also investigated.
• Remember Pentagon Papers, My Lai, Cambodia!
Watergate
Watergate
• Nixon denied all knowledge of the incident.
• As Congress began it’s interviews a former Nixon aide, John Dean, implicated Nixon, saying that he tried to cover-up the break-in, but he had no evidence.
• Another White House staffer told Congress that the President records all conversations in the Oval Office.
• Congress asks for the tapes, Nixon refuses stating “Executive Privilege”
Richard Nixon
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh163n1lJ4M
Watergate
• Nixon suddenly fires his Att. General along with other officials (“Saturday Night Massacre”)
• US v. Nixon: The SC gets involved; rules that Nixon must hand over tapes
• Nixon complies, but large portions of the tapes are missing
• Nixon claims that his secretary accidently hit delete.
Watergate
Watergate
• Public = mad• Supreme Court = mad• Congress = mad• Democrats = mad• Republicans = mad
• House begins impeachment process.
• Republican Congressmen inform Nixon that they will no longer support him
• August 8, 1974: Nixon resigns
Watergate
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOGJJ7UKFM
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3U4MhKDxcw
Lessons of Watergate
• Rule of Law: no one is above the law, not even the president
• The nation will no longer trust it’s leaders blindly
• Checks and balances work
38th: Gerald Ford
• Ford Timeline• 1974– Ford Pardons Nixon
• 1975– Helsinki Accords– South Vietnam Falls
Ford’s Troubles
• Nixon could not be impeached after resignation, but he still could be charged as a criminal.
• The nation debated the options: should a former president go to jail? What would the rest of the world think?
• At every press conference Ford was bombarded with questions about Nixon’s guilt.
• Ford finally issues Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he “may” have committed.
Pardon Me
• Many upset, but the nation moved on to other matters quickly.• Doomed Ford’s hopes of election in 1976
The Finale in Vietnam
• 1975: North Vietnam unleashes an all out invasion of South Vietnam.
• Ford goes to Congress and asks to help SV; they say no.
• Without US, SV is doomed.
• The military does rescue 140,000 South Vietnamese that would have been executed for working with the US.
• Containment failed; Vietnam united under communism
• How far was US really willing to go to stop communism?
Fall of Saigon
Feminism
• Aside from Roe v. Wade, feminists had some victories and defeats in the 70s.
• Divorce rates tripled. • Title IX: law that
requires equality among the sexes in education– Girl’s athletic teams
• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)– Proposed and ratified by
35 states (38 needed)– Would have eliminated
any discrimination based on sex.
– Conservatives fought against it; felt it would be bad for families and would draft women.
Civil Rights
• Affirmative action laws were questioned in the 70s.
• Bakke v. Univ. of California: race cannot be the only consideration in hiring and school admissions
• School integration slowly dragged on 20 years after Brown v. Board
• American Indian Movement (AIM)
• Inspired by AA movements, AI united to push for rights.
• Practiced civil disobedience by seizing Alcatraz and Wounded Knee
• Courts eventually agree that AI tribes can be ruled by Congress, but not states.
AIM
1976 Presidential Election
• Republicans nominate Ford despite strong opposition from Ronald Reagan
• Democrats nominate Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter
• Carter used a “Washington Outsider” campaign against “big government”
• Played on the memories of Watergate; “I’ll never lie to you.”
• His down home southern charm worked, won 297-240
1976 Election
39th James “Jimmy” Carter
• 1978– Camp David peace
Accords
• 1979– Iranian revolution– Iran Hostage Crisis– SALT II– USSR invades
Afghanistan
America Under Carter
• Carter pardoned 10,000 draft dodgers
• Economic woes continue– Inflation was at 13%,
very high– US was unable to
dominate foreign trade– Huge budget deficits
• Carter attempts to battle the economy:– Creates Department of
Energy– Urged US to conserve
energy and convert to renewable forms
– America and Congress ignored him
Carter’s Diplomacy
• Carter focused on improving human rights worldwide.
• Camp David Peace Accords: Got Israel and Egypt to sign a peace treaty (Egypt got land back and would respect Israel’s sovereignty)
• Won Nobel Peace Prize
• Brought attention to apartheid in South Africa and Zimbabwe
• Gave Panama Canal to Panama
• Signed SALT II with USSR- Senate didn’t ratify
• Did little to stop communist incursions in Afghanistan and Africa.
Iran
• 1953: CIA helps the Shah of Iran gain power (Liked him because he wasn’t commie)
• Many Iranians didn’t like the Shah because he tried to modernize Iran into a secular nation.
• 1979: Muslim fundamentalists take over Iran, Shah flees to US
• US Embassy gets taken by Iranian rebels; 66 hostages were taken.
Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran Hostage Crisis
• The Iranians demanded that the US turn over the Shah in exchange for the hostages.
• Carter refused• For two years the TV
networks constantly covered the situation
• Carter orders on rescue attempt, but sandstorms doom the crew of two planes.
• The entire crisis made Carter seem inept; doomed any chance of reelection.
• In 1980 America would turn to someone that promised to be tough on our enemies……
Ronald Reagan