Chapter 30 The Crisis of Authority
Youth Culture
Campus Unrest
personal Liberation
Free Speech Movement
SDS
Opposition to the Draft
Counterculture
Woodstock
Mobilization of Minorities
Termination
Occupation of Alcatraz
Indian Civil Rights Movement
AIM
Wounded Knee Occupation Latino Activism
UFW
La Raza Unida
Caesar Chavez
Stonewall Riot
Gay Liberation Front
“don’t ask, don’t tell”
New Feminism
NOW
ERA
Roe vs. Wade
Exxon Valdez
EPA
Henry Kissinger
Pentagon Papers
Easter Offensive
Christmas bombing
Vietnam War
SALT I
Nixon Doctrine
Arab Oil Embargo
Engel vs. Vitale
Roth vs. US
OPEC
Watergate
US vs. Richard Nixon
Objectives
1. The reasons for the rise of the New Left and the counterculture, their essential
concepts and social criticisms
2. The social and economic conditions facing various American minority groups in the
1960s and the nature of their social activism
3. The origins, meaning, and conduct of the women’s rights movement
4. The Nixon-Kissinger policy for ending the Vietnam War and the Paris peace
settlement
5. The changes in American foreign policy necessitated by the new perception of the
world as multipolar
6. The reasons for the decline of the American economy in the early 1970s and
President Nixon’s reaction to this decline
7. The increasing attention to social reform by the Supreme Court and the effects of
Court rulings on American society
8. The nature of the Watergate affair and its significance
9. The reasons for a “crisis in spirit” in America by the mid-1970s
Questions to Consider
1. Analyze the several cultural movements that arose in the 1960s and early 1970s to challenge
traditional white, male-dominated American society. How did more conservative forces
respond? How extensive and lasting were the changes?
2. What factors produced the multiple “liberation” movements among minority groups and
women? Were there significant differences among these groups? Discuss the philosophies,
achievements, and limitations of each.
3. The Nixon administration’s plan to end the conflict in Vietnam has been described as
“widening down the war.” How was this so? What fears did President Nixon have in ending
the war? How did the administration actually achieve peace? Was it “peace with honor”?
4. Compare the Watergate scandal to other presidential scandals. Was it the worst? Why or why
not? Did it cause lasting damage to the American political system? Did any good come from it?