The Years of Turbulence
America, 1965-1980
Economic challenges
By 1965, America was facing
serious challenges in steel,
automobile, and electronic
production from other
countries. Japan and
Germany were among those
who had cut production
costs with the use of
Unimate robotic arms (an
American development).
2
Greater Militancy in civil rights
In 1966, 6 young men in
California formed the Black
Panther Party for SelfDefense. Dissatisfied with the
gradual strategy gaining of
civil rights through nonviolent, the Panthers called for
black neighborhoods to arm
against “government
suppression.” Johnson fond
the Panther’s revolutionary
rhetoric dangerous and
ordered FBI surveillance.
3
New Civil Rights Leaders
Johnson’s “new new deal”
programs for fighting poverty did
not impress a younger, more vocal
group of civil rights leaders.
Malcolm X, leader of a Nation of
Islam splinter group, was
challenging the King-era
leadership, and gaining many
followers. Long before Malcolm's
murder (by rivals in the movement),
the FBI was using wire-taps to gain
information on the Nation of Islam.
4
Racial Tensions
The civil rights movement had created tensions in American
cities. Clashes between police and citizens in black
neighborhoods, like Watts (above, in 1965) and Detroit (in
1967), led to violence and social divisions.
5
The Generation Gap
By the mid-60s, the earliest baby
boomers were twenty years old. They
had in large numbers embraced cultural
values different from their parents. The
most vocal (literally) difference was in
music, where rock-and-roll (which had
been suppressed on AM radio in many
places in the 1950s, now reigned
supreme on FM radio. Rock’s lyrics of
protest (written by Bob Dylan, left, and
others) troubled the Kennedy
generation of the Depression-war era.
6
New Generation, New Technology
Sales for Japanese
electronics were brisk in
the 60s, especially with
the baby boomers, who
wanted to embrace new
music, new ideas, and
new things. The
“generation gap” was
known as the “blue jeans
vs. the geritols” in ad
agencies which pushed
for “youth” TV after 1964.
7
Generation Politics
With the Cold War it was inevitable that
generation differences would enter.
The Students for Democratic Society
(SDS) was founded in 1962. In the SDS
“Port Huron Statement,” the young
authors proclaimed their issues,
criticizing the older generation for
tolerating racial and sexual intolerance,
for supporting “brush fire wars” around
the world, for permitting pollutions and
a nuclear standoff that might “destroy
the planet.”
8
Drugs
The increased use of marijuana
and other narcotics as leisure
drugs among the middle class
was also a divisive issue. In
1965, possession of one joint of
pot could result in a 10-15 year
jail sentence in over half of the
50 states. The invention of
LSD, and its widespread use in
arts, entertainment, and
eventually suburbia, led the
Federal government to create
the DEA.
9
Gender Wars?
Betty Friedan's The
Feminine Mystique,
published in 1963,
expressed the
frustrations of
American women over
the 1950s images of
female domesticity.
With others, she
inspired a women's
liberation movement.
10
Free Speech, Foul Speech
When the University of California at Berkeley refused to allow
Malcolm X and “other radicals” to speak at student sponsored
functions, the students responded with a “free speech protest.” By
the end of the 60s, most “loco parentis” rules were discarded at
public universities and colleges.
11
Johnson’s Idea of a “Great Society”
In 1964, LBJ won the
presidency in his
own right. Choosing
Minnesota Senator
Hubert Humphrey as
his running mate, he
devised a program
of economic reform
that would build
what he called a
"Great Society."
12
Elements of the Great Society
•Carry out the unfinished goals of the New Deal –
universal health care, civil rights protections, etc.
•Enhance American culture through Federal aid to
the arts, sciences, and humanities.
•Show the world that the “American Way” was
superior to the ideas of “world socialism” being
offered by the “Soviet Bloc” of nations.
13
Key Actions of the Program
14
War on Poverty

In his first State of the Union address, on January 8,
1964, President Johnson announced that his
administration "today, here and now, declares
unconditional war on poverty in America, and I urge
this Congress and all Americans to join with me in that
effort.“

His program called for a systematic effort in
"chronically distressed areas" of the country, a youth
employment ("job corps") plan, expansion of the food
stamp and unemployment relief systems, and special
aid to schools, libraries, hospitals, and nursing
homes.
15
War on Poverty:
President Johnson and Mrs. Johnson in Kentucky
16
1965: Title XVIII and XIX of the Social
Security Act

Medicare (Title XVIII) established to provide health
insurance coverage to persons over age 65

Medicaid (Title XIX) established to provide health
insurance coverage to low income women and
children (also, aged, blind and disabled)
17
1965:
Title V Amended, P.L. 89-97

The 1965 amendments (P.L. Law 89-97) amended Title
V of the Social Security Act by providing
comprehensive health care for children and youth.

A primary directive was to make these services
accessible, available and appropriate to the
identified low-income neighborhoods

The intent was to provide comprehensive health
care to children and youth including health
supervision, screening, medical care, nutrition,
and social services.
18
1966: Highway Safety Act and the National Traffic and Motor
Vehicle Safety Act

Authorized the federal government to set and regulate
standards for motor vehicles and highways

Vehicles were built with new safety features,
including head rests, energy-absorbing steering
wheels, shatter-resistant windshields, and safety belts

By 1970, motor-vehicle-related death rates were
decreasing
19
1968: School Lunch and Child Nutrition Act
Expanded

In 1968, Congress expanded the School Lunch and
Child Nutrition Act.

A program was created to provide food for school-age
children during the summer.

Additionally, a year-round program was initiated to
provide food to low-income children, as well as
children in day-care centers and Head Start programs.
20
Expanding Voting Rights
In August 1965, Johnson
signed the Voting Rights Act,
a measure he had pushed
through Congress. The act
outlawed literacy tests as a
way of limiting the right to
vote. It also provided Federal
resources to investigate
actions to prevent people
from voting
21
Money for Culture
Johnson also supported bills to
establish the National
Endowment for Humanities and
the National Endowment for the
Arts. Both the NEA and the NEH,
created in 1965, would be the
focus of controversy for the
Federal money given to support
projects that some found
offensive.
22
Controversial Social Issues
The 1960s and 1970s were a
time when Americans divided
over many issues: race, taxes,
foreign policy, and social
questions. One of the most
divisive issues was school
prayer. In Engle vs. Vitale, the
US Supreme ruled against
school prayer in any public,
tax-supported school. The
issue has remained divisive
since.
23
Whose Bodies?
Perhaps no issue of this era has
generated more division that Roe Vs.
Wade, a Supreme Court decision in
1973 that made abortions legal in all
states.
From 1973 on, anti-abortion groups
have tended to support the more
conservative tenets of the Republican
Party, the membership in which began
to grow rapidly in the 1970s.
24
Money Trouble
Several of the Great Society programs
were quite successful, including VISTA,
Head Start, and other parts of the “War
on Poverty.” But, when coupled with the
expenses of the Vietnam conflict, the
cost of these programs forced Johnson
to increase taxes. Tax payers soon
complained and Johnson was
increasingly forced to consider the issue
of “guns vs. butter” – reduce his Great
Society costs or reduce his commitment
in Vietnam.
25
Vietnam
Vietnam became a major US
commitment in 1965, when
Johnson claimed that two US
warships had been attacked late
one night by North Vietnamese
craft in the Tonkin Gulf. It was
unlikely that this actually
happened, but in passing the
“Tonkin Gulf Resolution,”
Congress gave the president
power to send US troops to
Vietnam. The number of troops
grew to over 500,000 by 1968
LBJ meets with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to
discuss troop strength in Vietnam.
26
Large Scale Warfare
American efforts in Vietnam
included heavy use of
bombers to attack enemy
troops and North
Vietnamese industry,
ground troop sweeps into
areas under guerilla
control, use of chemicals to
destroy jungle vegetation
(to expose enemy camps.
Everything short of atomic
weapons were used.
Agent Orange, a chemical used to kill jungle vegetation,
was later found to be a major contributor to cancer in
soldiers who served in Vietnam.
27
Stalemate
American troops won virtually
every battle in Vietnam, but the
war went on and American
casualties continued to
increase. A frustrated Johnson
began to argue with General
William Westmoreland, his
commander in Vietnam. As
Westmoreland called for more
troops, the American press
began to call the Vietnam a
“quagmire.”
28
War at Home
Vietnam divided the
American public. Protests
by draft-age students,
mothers, and veterans of
previous wars became more
frequent. Television news
heightened the violence of
these protests and support
for Johnson’s presidency
began to decline.
Because a college student could obtain a “deferment”
from being drafted, college enrollment grew to
unprecedented levels from 1965-1973.
29
Tet Offensive
In the early days of 1968,
the Vietcong launched a
series of unexpected
attacks on American bases
in Vietnam. At one point
insurgents controlled part
of the American embassy
in Saigon. Because
Johnson had recently
announced that America
was “clearly winning” the
war, this seriously
damaged his support.
The 1969 Vietcong attacks were called the Tet Offensive
because the began during the Tet (lunar new year) holidays.
30
1968 Elections
His presidency under attack,
Johnson chose not to run for reelection in 1968. The 1968
Democratic convention chose
Hubert Humphrey as the
presidential candidate. But the
convention was also the site of
the most violent anti-war protests
yet.
Chicago police suppressed the anti-war demonstrations
with particular brutality, with hundreds injured.
Harmed by his connection to
Johnson, Humphrey lost the
election to Richard Nixon
31
Nixon’s Turn
Nixon tried to solve the Vietnam
issue by expanding the war –
sending US troops into
neighboring Cambodia (where
Vietcong kept sanctuaries). This
led to new protests. One, at
Kent State in Ohio, led to tragedy
in May 1970 when National
Guardsmen fired on students
and killed four.
32
“Only Nixon Could Go to China”
Nixon now turned to
diplomacy. The sight of a
veteran anti-communist
visiting China in 1971 was
strange, but he managed
to create better relations
with China. While this did
not help with Vietnam, it
did help Nixon by opening
the door to disarmament
talks with Russia.
33
Detente
A French word for the lessening
of tension, détente became the
label for Nixon’s policy of
obtaining an agreement with the
Soviet Union for reducing the
number of nuclear missiles
each side had aimed at one
another. Nixon’s visit to Russia
in 1972 also helped open the
door to American troop
reductions in Vietnam.
34
Dirty Tricks
Believing that anti-war groups
were being influenced by the USSR
or communist groups, the White
House authorized a group (known
as the “White House Plumbers” –
to stop leaks) to search homes and
plant microphones. When this
group was caught breaking into
the Democratic Party national
headquarters office at the
Watergate Building in 1972, no one
guessed that this incident would
destroy a presidency.
Former CIA agent Howard Hunt testifies before Congress
in 1973. Hunt controlled the men to had broken in the
Watergate Democratic Office.
35
The Watergate Scandal
The Watergate scandal grew as
more and more White House
officials (including the Attorney
General and the Chief of Staff) were
implicated in the attempts to cover
up the White connections to the
“plumbers.” In 1973, it was
discovered that Nixon’s own office
conversations had been recorded
and that he may had ordered the
CIA to block the FBI’s investigation
of Watergate. If true, Nixon would
be guilty of obstruction of justice.
36
Resignation
In 1974, the US Supreme
Court ordered the White to
give up its tapes to the
Congress investigation.
When these confirmed that
Nixon had tried to stop a
criminal investigation,
Nixon resigned to avoid an
impeachment.
Gerald Ford, his successor,
pardoned Nixon two
months later.
37
The Carter Presidency
Jimmy Carter, president from 1977-1981,
made numerous proposals for energy
savings, reduced alliance on foreign oil,
and environmental preservation. His
biggest foreign policy achievement was
to persuade Israel and Egypt to agree (in
the Camp David Accord) to end 30 years
of intermittent warfare. This put the
leadership of the anti-Israel alliance into
the hands of Iraq and Iran. Carter’s
failure to solve a crisis with Iran, holding
US hostages, cost him the 1980 election.
38
Hostage Crisis
Progress toward peace in the
Middle East was derailed in
November 1979, when Shiite
Muslims in Iran seized 66 US
hostages and held them in
Tehran. Carter’s inability to gain
the release of the hostages made
his defeat in the 1980 election
almost a certainty.
The national mood was also
moving toward a more
conservative point of view.
39
The National Swing Away From Reform
Ronald Reagan’s victory in 1980
marked the moment that the
national mood moved away from
the Depression-motivated ideas
of government toward the pre1933 ideas of government. The
Reagan years were marked by a
more aggressive form of anticommunism and a rejection of
most Great Society programs.
40