Ch 37- The Stormy Sixties
America’s 2nd Longest War
LBJ’s Brand on
the Presidency
1963-1968
Essential Questions:
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What political path led LBJ to the White House?
What were the goals of the Great Society?
What were some of the major programs of the
Great Society?
How did the Supreme Court reflect the wave of
liberal reform that characterized the Great
Society?
How were the rights of the accused expanded?
What was the short term and long term impact
of Great Society programs?
LBJ’s Path to Power
LBJ ran for Congress as a “New Dealer” in
1937
 In 1948 LBJ won a seat in the US Senate
 LBJ was a master of party politics and
behind the scenes political maneuvering
 LBJ efforts helped the Civil Rights Act of
1957 to be passed
 LBJ was JFK running mate in 1960
 After JFK’s assassination LBJ urged
Congress to pass the civil rights and taxcut bills that JFK had sent to Congress

In Feb. 1964 Congress
passed a tax cut which
spurred economic
growth and lowered the
budget deficit
 In July, LBJ pushed
through the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 which
prohibited discrimination
based on race, religion,
sex, and gave the federal
government new powers
of enforcement

The War on Poverty

Early in 1964 LBJ had declared a War on
Poverty
In Aug. 1964 Congress passed the
Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) which
provided $1 billion for youth programs,
antipoverty measures, small-business
loans, and job training
 (EOA) created:

– Job Corps Youth Training Programs
– VISTA –Volunteers in Service to America
– Project Head Start – Ed. For underprivileged
kids
– Community Action Programs (CAPS)
LBJ vs GoldwaterThe Election of
1964

LBJ (D) Vs Barry Goldwater (R)
Goldwater believed the federal
government had no business trying to
right the wrongs of poverty ,
discrimination, and economic opportunity
 Goldwater wanted to make Social
Security voluntary, and sell the TVA
 Goldwater mentioned he might use
nuclear weapons on Cuba and Vietnam
 LBJ won in a landslide and the Democrats
increased their majority in Congress

LBJ- Daisy Girl Campaign
Commercial 1964
LBJ launches The Great Society

LBJ wanted to end poverty and racial
injustice

The Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 provided $1 billion in aid to
help public and parochial schools
 Medicare provided low-cost health
benefits to Americans 65 or older
 Medicaid extended health insurance to
the poor or welfare recipients

Department of Housing and Urban
Development was established (HUD)
240,000 low rent public houses, and $
The Great Society II

The Immigration Act of 1965 opened the
door for many non-European immigrants
to settle in the US by ending the quotas of
the 1920’s based on nationality
 The Water Quality Act of 1965 required
states to clean up rivers, it resulted from
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring about
pesticides, and spurred the environmental
movement
 Congress established safety standards for
cars as a result of Ralph Nadar’s Unsafe
at Any Speed
The Wholesome Meat Act of 1967
 The Truth in Packaging Act of 1966

Other Great Society Programs

The Higher Education Act of 1965 funded
scholarships and low-interest loans for
college students

National Foundation for the Arts and the
Humanities Act of 1965 was created to
assistance to painters, musicians, actors,
and other artists
 Corporation of Public Broadcasting 1967
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
 The Highway Safety Act of 1966
 The Air Quality Act of 1967

Impact of the Great Society
Poverty fell from 21% in 1962 to 11% in
1973
 Spending for the Great Society increased
the growing year to year budget deficit
 Limited $ reached poor people due to
complex programs that were tough to
implement
 Disillusioned inner city residents rioted in
protest
 A Conservative backlash began to take
shape (Reagan Gov. of Ca. 1966)
 Vietnam War overshadowed it and took $
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LBJ-Lobbyist Activity

What is a Lobbyist?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
After JFK was killed LBJ pledged to
continue his work
 On July 2nd, 1964 LBJ signed the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited
discrimination because of race, religion,
national origin, and gender
 It gave all citizens the right to enter
libraries, parks, washrooms, restaurants,
theaters and all public places
 It gave more government power to
desegregate and created the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission

Freedom Summer
In the summer of 1964 CORE and SNCC
members under Bob Moses began voting drives
in the deep South to register African American
voters ( Freedom Summer)
 In June 1964 3 civil rights workers
disappeared, in Miss. they were murdered by
the KKK and local police
 Project workers suffered 1,000 arrests, 80
beatings, 35 shootings, and 30 bombings
 Blacks wanted a voice within the Miss.
Democratic party, so SNCC organized the Miss.
Freedom Democratic Party led by Fannie Lou
Hamer ( They were given only 2 of 68 seats)

The Selma Campaign
In 1965 SNCC organized a voting
campaign in Selma, Alabama
 2,000 African-Americans had been
arrested
 On March 7th, 1965 , 600 protestors
began the march from Selma to
Montgomery, AL
 Police swung pipes, clubs and used teargas
 On March 21, 3,000 members led by MLK
with Federal Protection marched
 The numbers grew to 25,000 marchers

The Voting Rights Act of 1965
That summer LBJ signed the Voting
Rights Act of 1965
 The act eliminated literacy tests, allowed
federal officials to register voters
 The 24th Amendment to the Constitution
eliminated poll taxes

Black Power
In June 1966 march it had become
evident to MLK that CORE and SNCC had
become militant
 “We shall overrun!”
 Stokely Carmichael of SNCC preached the
slogan “Black Power” the battle cry for
militant civil rights

Malcolm X and Black
Consciousness
Malcolm Little joined The Nation of Islam
when he was in prison converted and
changed his name to Malcolm X
 He preached Elijah Muhammad’s views
that whites were the cause of the
problem and black should separate from
society
 Malcolm X preached black supremacy
 Malcolm X got media attention which
resulted in resentment from other Nation
of Islam members
 In March of 1964 Malcolm X broke with
the Nation and went on the pilgrimage to

Malcolm X
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The Problem is still there
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We Didn't Land on Plymouth Rock...
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Assassination Malcolm X Spike Lee Movie
“Ballots or Bullets?”
Malcolm X returned and preached an
extremely moderate message, found a
new tolerant Muslim organization(OAU)
and proposed working with Dr. MLK
 On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm X was
assassinated by members of the Nation of
Islam, FBI?

Violence Erupts in the cities of
the North
Centuries of de facto segregation had
produced social and economic inequalities
 Slums, high unemployment, poor schools
all contributed to desperation
 Aggressive Police was a point of
contention
 In July 1964, a race riot erupted in
Harlem after a 15 year old black student
was killed
 On Aug. 11th, 1965 the worst riot erupted
in Watts, Los Angeles

The Kerner Commission
What caused race riots and the
destruction?
 People suffered in the cities from
heightened expectations from the civil
rights movement and LBJ’s promises in
the Great Society that were not realized
 “White Racism” created an explosive
mixture of poverty, police brutality, and
the commission recommended extensive
public housing, integrated schools, 2
million new jobs, and a national system of
income supplementation

Watts- 34 deaths,
$200 million in
damages
 Detroit 1967 – 43
deaths, $40 million in
property damages
 In 1966 and 67 more
than 100 riots and
violent clashes took
place
 Newark, San
Francisco, Milwaukee,
Phila., Cleveland, and
Dayton

King and the Assassination
On April 3rd, 1968 DR. MLK addressed a
crowd in Memphis
 He was there to support the city striking
garbage workers
 He gave his famous
“Promised Land” Speech
He was assassinated
one day later by James
Earl Ray on his hotel
balcony

Reaction to King’s Death
RFK passionate plea
for non-violence in
Indianapolis
 Over 100 cities
exploded in flames
 Baltimore, Chicago,
KC, and Washington
were the worst
 RFK was killed in
June 1968 by Sirhan
Sirhan

RFK Assassination ,CA June,
1968
Violence and Protest
On April 4th Dr. MLK was assassinated in
Memphis
 Violence ripped through more than 100
US cities (27,000 had been jailed)
 On June 4th, 1968 RFK won the
Democratic Primary on June 5th he was
gunned down by Sirhan Sirhan after
giving a speech in the hotel kitchen
 During the first 6 months of 1968, 40,000
students took part in 200 demonstrations
on 100 campuses ( Columbia University)

Vietnam Vexations

Ho Chi Minh had begun a revolutionary
movement against the French in the
1930’s
 Ho Chi Minh was a US ally during WWII
 After WWII the Japanese were forced out
 Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh declared
Vietnam free
 In the late 1945 the French came back to
reclaim their colony
 The US funded $1 Billion towards the
French war effort from 1950-1954
Vietminh Drive out the French
In 1953 IKE and the US viewed Ho as a
communist aggressor
 IKE feared The Domino Theory and
thought it might occur if Vietnam was lost
 In 1954 despite massive US aid the
French are defeated at Dien Bien Phu
 From May through July 1954 seven
countries meet with the Vietminh and the
anti-communist South in Geneva to agree
to peace
 The Geneva Accords divided Vietnam at
the 17th parallel, Free Elections in 1956

Diem Cancels the Elections
Ho Chi Minh was popular in the North by
redistributing land to peasants
 South Vietnam’s anti-communist and
Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem refused
to take part in the Geneva Accord
elections of 1956, supported by the US
 In 1957 the Vietcong or Communist
Guerillas began attacks in the South by
assassinating members of Diem’s
government
 In 1959 the Ho Chi Minh Trail or supply
line to communists in the South was

JFK and Vietnam
Like IKE, JFK chose to “sink or swim”
with Diem in Vietnam
 By the end of 1963 more $ and 16,000 US
military advisors were in South Vietnam
 Diem popularity was plummeting, his
Hamlet Program was unsuccessful
 His attacks on Buddhism and the protest
of Buddhist monks was increasing
 On Nov. 1st 1963 a US supported South
Vietnam military coup was carried out
and Diem was assassinated

Johnson’s War
After Diem death the South was unstable
 LBJ felt US credibility is at stake and he
does not want to give in to communist
aggression
 In August 1964, a North Vietnamese gun
boat fired a torpedo at The USS Maddox
 Two days later the Maddox and another
destroyer opened fire on the North
 LBJ launches limited bombing attacks
 Congress adopted the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution which gave LBJ broad military
powers in Vietnam

USS Maddox
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The public did not know
the US was conducting
secret raids against the
North
The USS Maddox was
collecting information
LBJ had prepared the
resolution months
before hand
In response to the Pleiku
attack Operation Rolling
Thunder was launched
By June of 1965, 50,000
US troops were fighting
in Vietnam
Deeper into the Quagmire

In March 1965 LBJ began sending troops

Sec. of Defense Robert McNamara and
Sec. of State Dean Rusk advised LBJ to
deploy troops
 LBJ went back on his 1964 campaign
promise, but he looked to be containing
communism
 In 1965, 61% supported US policy in Nam
US Troop Buildup Accelerates
By the end of 1965, 180,000 US troops
were sent to Vietnam
 General William Westmoreland continued
to request more US troops
 He was not impressed with the Army of
the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) (South
Vietnam)
 By 1967 there were 500,000 US troops in
Vietnam

 War
of Attrition
 Massive
bombing would
weaken N.
Vietnam
 Defeat of the
Vietcong in
battle
 Used the “body
count” to justify
eventual victory
An Elusive Enemy

The Vietcong used hit-and-run and
ambush tactics
The Vietcong was part of the civilian
population, US troops could not tell friend
from foe
 The Vietcong had a network of tunnels to
launch attacks and disappear quickly
 The jungle was laced with booby traps

and land mines

US troops dealt with jungle terrain, rice
paddies, heat, leeches, and Mekong Rot
Tunnel
Rats
Napalm
strike
“Home
is where
you dig”
The nuclear
powered
aircraft
carrier USS
Enterprise
War of Attrition
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US bombers pounded VC and North
Vietnamese positions
Despite high causalities the VC would not
surrender
The North was receiving supplies from China
and the USSR
The US tried to win ‘Hearts and Minds”
The US used Napalm to set fire to the jungle
The US used the defoliant Agent Orange in
Operation Ranch-Hand
By 1967 there were 4 million refugees due to
US Seek and Destroy missions
Sinking Morale
Guerrilla warfare, brutal jungle, and
failure to make headway, and mounting
causalities frustrated US troops
 Many soldiers turned to alcohol,
marijuana and other drugs to escape the
war
 South Vietnamese civil war within the
civil war made the war tough to manage
 Many US troops fought bravely and POW
fought just to stay alive, even facing
torture and the infamous Hanoi Hilton

The Credibility Gap
LBJ’s Great Society Programs suffered
due to lack of funding, $6 billion was cut
from the programs (Taxes went up 10%
as well to curb inflation and pay for the
war)
 The war cost $21 billion every year
 Americans saw the horrific images on TV
 Over 16,000 American troops were killed
between 1961 and 1967
 Many charged that a “creditability gap”
between what the LBJ reported and what
was actually occurring (Fulbright
Hearings)

Vietnam Topples LBJ-1968
What
was the Tet
Offensive? How did it effect
the American public?
What were the domestic
disturbances of 1968?
What led up to the 1968
Presidential Election?
The Tet Offensive
On Jan 30th 1968 during the Vietnamese
New Year celebration the Vietcong
launched massive attacks across Vietnam
 The Tet Offensive lasted for one month,
100 cities and towns were attacked, 12
US air bases, and even the US Embassy in
Saigon ( 40,000 Vietcong deaths)
 The Tet Offensive increased the
creditability gap and shook the public
 Tet changed millions of minds, including
new Sec. of Defense Clark Clifford who
thought the war was unwinnable

LBJ declines to run in 1968
Democrats looked for candidates to run
against LBJ in the primaries
 Senator Eugene McCarthy opposed LBJ
 In the NH Primary LBJ got 48% of the

vote McCarthy 42% ( Peace Candidate)
 RFK sensing weakness entered the race
 On March 31, 1968 LBJ announced the US
would seek negotiations to end the war,
with more involvement from South
Vietnam and he would not run for re-
election in 1968, his VP Hubert Humphrey
will.
The DNC of 1968
In August at the DNC Convention in
Chicago thousands of anti-war and other
protestors “Yippies” converged on the
city (Youth International Party)
 The Democratic nomination was between
Eugene McCarthy and LBJ’s VP Hubert

Humphrey
 Mayor Richard J. Daley mobilized 12,000
Chicago Police officers “…there will be
law and order.”
 On Aug. 28th Rock and bottles met
nightsticks and mace, “The whole world is
Chicago Riots 1968- DNC
The Election of 1968

Richard M. Nixon (R) vowed to restore
law and order, and to end the war in
Vietnam
Hubert H. Humphrey (D) LBJ’s VP
 Former Gov, of Alabama George Wallace

ran as the American Independent Party
candidate
“White Backlash” won 5 Southern states
and middle-class white Northerners tired
of inner-city riots and anti-war protests
Richard Nixon won a close race and
inherited the Quagmire of Vietnam
A Nation Divided-A
Generation in Conflict
 Why
was Vietnam a working
class war?
 What were the roots of
opposition to the war?
 What was the anti- war
movement?
 Why was their growing division
in the US over the war?
The Working Class War-Teenage Soldiers
 Many dogged the draft as Americans
doubted the war (Draft included 18-26
year old males) Average age 19.
Some got medical exemptions
 Some joined the National Guard or Coast
Guard
 Some got a college deferment
 The less economically privileged fought
the war which included lower economic
class whites and minorities
 African Americans made up only 10% of
the population but 20%-30% of the
combat deaths
 Draft lottery was instituted in 1969

Women Join the Ranks
10,000 Us Women served in Vietnam
 Most served as military nurses (China

Beach)
 Thousand more served in the Red Cross
and the USO (United Services
Organizations)
The Cultural Upheaval of the 1960’s-”The Times
They are A-Changing”
College students became more involved
in social protest
 The New Left demanded sweeping
changes in American society


Students for A Democratic Society (SDS)
charged that large Corporations and large
government institutions had taken over
the US (They wanted democracy and
individual freedom) Anti-WAR
 In 1964 The Free Speech Movement grew
out of a dispute between administrators
and students at Univ. of CA at Berkeley
Free Speech Movement, Berkley
CA - Mario Savio
From Campus to Mass Mobilization
Professors and students used teach-ins to
protest the war ( Sit-In for the campus)
 In April 1965, SDS organized a march on
Washington of 20,000, then 30,000
 By 1969 SDS had chapters on 400
campuses
 In spring of 1967 nearly 500,000
gathered in NYC’s Central Park “Hell no
we won’t go!” “Burn Cards not People!”
 In October 1967 100,000 anti-war
protestors marched from the Lincoln
Memorial to the Pentagon ( 1,500 injured,

War Divides the Nation

Hawks v Doves
In December 1967, 70% of Americans
felt that the protests were “acts of
disloyalty”
 Backlash to the Protestors organized
 “America Love it or Leave It!”
 “Support our men in Vietnam!”
 “College professors, students…don’t love
our country.”
 LBJ was determined with slow escalation
 Sec. of Defense McNamara resigned in the
end of 1967

Songs of Protest and Support
CCR- Fortunate Son
 Bob Dylan –The Times they are a

Changing

Eve of Destruction

The Ballet of the Green Berets
The Counterculture of the
1960’s

Counterculture was a movement made up
of mostly white, middle-class college
young people who were disillusioned with
the war and injustices of society
 They turned their backs on traditional
American and founded a society based on
peace and love
Hippies

25%-30% of college
– Age students
Materialism,
Technology, and war
were hollow
 Harvard Psychology
and counterculture
philosopher Dr.
Timothy Leary urged
the youth to “Tune On,
Turn In, Drop Out!”
 Many left home, work,
and school to create
an ideal community of
peace love and
harmony

Hippie Culture
The Age of Aquarius
 Rock ’n’ Roll Music
 Sexual Revolution (Free Love)
 Marijuana and LSD ( Illegal Drugs)
 Eastern Religions (Zen Buddhism)
 Ragged Jeans, Tie-dye shirts, military
garments, love beads and muslin shirts
 Long hair and beards
 Many joined communes
 Haight-Asbury District of SF

Art of the 1960’s

Pop-Art by Andy
Warhol
Music of the 1960’s
The music was a form of protest that
grew out of African-American rhythm and
blues of the 1950’s (Folk and Rock)
 The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix,

Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, the
Grateful Dead, the Who, Bob Dylan, Joan
Baez and the Rolling Stones
In 1969 the appex of the counterculture
was the music festival Woodstock
 The 1970 Concert at Altamont Speedway
was a disaster and ended the era of peace
and love

The Politics of
Indenity
Continuing Social
Movements
The Politics of Identity -The Black
Panthers
 In October 1966, Huey Newton and
Bobby Seale founded the political party
the Black Panthers
It advocated self-sufficiency, full
employment opportunities, decent
housing and no military service due to the
unfair numbers being drafted and killed in
Vietnam
 Police shootouts occurred and the FBI
conducted many investigations
 Panthers helped out with many
community projects in urban ghettos

The Civil Rights Act of 1968 and
Beyond
 The Civil Rights Act of 1968 targeted
de facto discrimination
 It ended discrimination in housing
 By 1970, 2/3 of African Americans
were registered to vote
 Black elected officials grew from 100
in 1965 to more than 7,000 in 1992
 In the late 1960’s early 1970’s
Affirmative Action programs were
started (Bakke vs CA 1985)
The Gay Liberation Movement
In the 1950’s the Mattachine Society and
the Daughters of Bilitis were campaigning
to reduce discrimination towards G/L
 1960’s The Society for Individual Rights
was founded in Greenwich Village/SF
 June ,1969 the Stonewall Inn Riot in NYC
pitted aggressive police against bar
patrons “Gay Power” appeared
 After Stonewall the Gay Liberation Front
(GLF) was formed (Gay Pride Marches)
 In 1975 the Gov. ended its ban on
employment of G/L

Latinos of Varied Origins
Mexican Americans – 1miilion came in
1910’s following the Mexican Revolution,
some came in the 1940’s and 1950’s as
braceros, and 1 million came in the 60’s
 Puerto Ricans began immigrating after
the Spanish American War of 1898, and
by 1960’s 1miilion in the US (1/2 NYC)
 Cubans fled Castro after 1959 and large
communities formed in NYC, Miami, NJ
 During the 1960’s thousand of Central
and South American emigrated
 Most Latinos lived in barrios

The Chicano Rebellion

In 1966 Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta
merged their new unions to form the
United Farm Workers Organizing
Committee
 *Chavez believed in non-violence in
dealing with California’s large fruit and
vegetable companies (Ex. Boycotts/Fast)
 In the 1960’s the Chicano Movement took
off, “Brown Power” and the “Brown
Berets” demanded Spanish speaking
classes and Chicano studies programs at
universities (Bilingual ED. Act of 1968)
Latino Political Power
During the 1960’s eight Hispanic Americans
served in the House and Joseph was elected to
the Senate
 In the 1940’s and 1950’s the League of United
Latin American Citizens -LULAC fought in the
courts for school desegregation and gov.
funding
 *In the 1970’s La Raza Unida ( Mexican
Americans United/Brown Power) ran Mexican
Candidates in many local elections
 In 1963 the more radical Alianza Federal de
Mercedes seized a Texas courthouse

Native Americans Fight For Equality
 Native
Americans suffered the
highest unemployment rates,
alcoholism, infant mortality rates
and suicides
 In
1954 Native Americans had to
deal with the government’s
Termination Policy
 In
1961 reps from 61 tribes drafted
the Declaration of Indian Purpose
 In 1968 LBJ established the National
Council on Indian Opportunity

RED Power -Voices of Protests
In 1968 the AIM (American Indian
Movement) was formed to demand lands,
burial grounds, fishing/ timber rights,
and a respect of their culture (George
Mitchell and Dennis Banks)
 In 1972, AIM leader Russell Means
organized “The Trail of Broken Treaties”
march on DC ( Occupied the BIA building)
 In 1973, the AIM led 200 Sioux to occupy
Wounded Knee, SD where a massacre of
Sioux had occurred in 1890
 After negotiations a shootout with FBI
“Red Power”

Russell Means
Dennis Banks
Native American Victories
In 1975 Congress passed the Indian-SelfDetermination and Education Act which
gave tribes control to govern their own
affairs including education
 In 1970 the Pueblos Taos, NM regained
sacred Blue Lake Land
 In 1971 the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act gave 40million acres and
$962 million
 Political Representation improved by
working through the system (Ex. Senator
Ben Nighthorse Campbell)

The Asian American Movement
*In 1968 the Asian American Political
Alliance (AAPA) was founded at Berkley
which unified Chinese, Japanese, Korean
and Filipino activists
 Protested the Vietnam War and racism
directed at Asians
 1969 “Shut it Down” strikes at Berkley
 “Yellow Power” Conference to learn of
Asian American history and destiny
 1968 San Francisco’s Chinatown
Grievances (Housing and Medicine)
 Japanese American Citizens League(JACL)
brought forth the issue of internment

The Nixon
Administration
1969-1974
Man Walks on the Moon!

Nixon’s Vietnamization
*Sec. of State Henry Kissinger opted for
Vietnamization which was a reduction in
US troops by turning active combat
operations over to the South Vietnamese
while negations continued
 By August 1969 25,000 troops came
home
 Between 1969 - 1972 the # of US troops
dropped from over 543,000 to  25,000
 Nixon spoke of “peace with honor” while
the US continued bombing campaigns
into Laos and Cambodia to cut supply lines
Trouble on the Battlefront
Nixon appealed to the “silent majority”
 In Nov. 1969 Americans learned of the My
Lai Massacre ( 100 innocent Vietnamese
civilians mostly old men women and
children were gunned down by a US
Platoon)
 Out of 25 officers only Lt. William Caley
Jr. was convicted and imprisoned
10 year sentence
(House arrest 3yrs.)

The Invasion of Cambodia
and Kent State





In April 1970 Nixon announced the US invaded
Cambodia to clear out VC and North Vietnam
supply centers
Colleges burst out in protests, 1.5 million
students closed more than 1,200 campuses
On May 4th, 1970 at Kent State after the ROTC
building was burned down and rocks were
thrown at the National Guard, they opened fire
on protestors
4 were killed nine wounded at Kent State
At Jackson State 2 were killed, 12 wounded
Kent State 1970
The Hardhats
Americans supported the National Guard
and according to polls the students “got
what they deserved.”
 In May of 1970, 100,000 members of the
building and Construction Trades Council
held a rally supporting the government in

NYC, they broke up an anti-war rally

These were construction workers and
blue collar Americans, “the Hardhats”
The Pentagon Papers
Congress was angry with the extension of
the war into Cambodia, and in Dec. 1970
they repealed the Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution
 In June 1971,Former Defense Dept.
worker Daniel Ellsberg released the
*Pentagon Papers to the press
 The papers stated that the government
had drawn up plans for entering the war
as early as 1964, and they showed their
was never any plan to end the war even if
it was unsuccessful.

Nixon’s Foreign Policy
 Kissinger
promoted the idea of the
“realpolitik” which was political
realism (Foreign policy is based on
consolidation of power)
 US should confront and deal with the
powerful nations
(Negotiations/Militarily)
 Nixon and Kissinger had a flexible
approach in dealing with Comm.
 They pushed for “détente” or a
relaxing of Cold War tensions
Nixon Visits China
Since 1949 the US had not recognized the
Communist Chinese Government
 *“Ping-pong” diplomacy began in 1971
 Nixon wanted to play the “China Card”
and take advantage of the rift between
the China and the USSR
 Nixon’s visit to China was symbolic and it
opened up diplomatic and economic
relations
 Both would cooperate and participate in
scientific and cultural exchanges

Nixon and Premier Zhou En-lai
 In
Nixon Visits the USSR
May 1972, three months after
visiting China, Nixon became the first
President to visit Moscow
 Nixon met with Soviet leader Leonid
Brezhnev
 They signed the Strategic Arms
Limitation Treaty (SALT I)
 It
limited ICBM’s and sub missiles to
1972 levels
 Nixon offered to sell $ 1 billion in
End of the Vietnam War
In March of 1972 the North Vietnamese
launched their largest attack since Tet
 Pres. Nixon ordered a massive bombing
campaign on Hanoi and other cities, and
mined Haiphong Harbor
 National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger
had been secret negotiating with Le Duc
Tho of North Vietnam
 On Oct. 26th, 1972 just days before the
election

Kissinger announced “Peace is at Hand!”
Talks stalled due to
South Vietnamese
rejection of the
Kissinger Plan
 Nixon unleashed the
“Christmas

Bombings” of Hanoi
and Haiphong,
100,000 bombs over
11 days
Jan 27, 1973 an
agreement was
reached
 On March 29, 1973
the last US troops left
for home

The Fall of Saigon
With-in months of the US departure the
cease fire-was broken
 In March 1975 North Vietnamese
launched a full scale invasion

The US sent $ to South Vietnam but no
troops
 Pres. Ford did not want another

nightmare
 On April 30th, 1975 North Vietnamese
tanks rolled into Saigon and the South
fell, it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City
Fall of Saigon 1975
Painful Legacy of Vietnam
There were no victory parades for Vietnam Vets
 Many faced bitterness and hostility



15% or 3.3 million soldiers developed post
traumatic stress disorder
58,000 US troops were killed

1 Million Vietnamese were killed, and chemicals
like agent orange have polluted the
environment and caused birth defects and
cancer, 400,000 re-educated by the
communists

The Communists forced 1.5 million people out
of Vietnam , 50,000 boat people perished
Cambodia’s civil war in which Khmer Rouge led
by Pol Pot killed 1 million Cambodians

Lasting Legacies of Vietnam
 The
US abolished the draft
 *In Nov. 1973 Congress passed The
War Powers Act in which the
President must inform Congress
within 48 hrs. of sending forces
 Troops
cannot remain longer than 90
days without authorization from
Congress
In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial was unveiled in
Washington DC
The Warren Court

Chief Justice Earl Warren

Brown vs. The Board of Education – 1954
Banned Segregation in public schools
 Banned state sanctioned prayer in public
schools
 Declared Loyalty Oaths unconstitutional
 Baker Vs Carr 1962 and Reynolds Vs
Simms 1964 stated that Federal Courts
could tell states to re-divide their districts
for more equal representation
(Reapportionment – the drawing of
election districts) “One Person, one Vote.”
Rights of the Accused

Mapp Vs Ohio (1961) Evidence seized
illegally could not be used in state courts
 Gideon Vs Wainwright ( 1963) Free legal
council to those who cannot afford it
 Escobedo Vs Illinois (1964) Accused
person has the right for a lawyer to be
present during questioning
 Miranda Vs Arizona ( 1966) All suspects
must have their rights read to them
 Liberals praised the decisions,
Conservatives hated the decisions
because they impeded police officers
Nixon’s New Conservatism
Nixon was determined to turn the US into
a more conservative direction with a
sense of order
 The US was intensely divided over Nam
 Nixon felt LBJ’s Great Society programs
gave the federal gov. too much respons.
 Nixon’s plan was New Federalism which
was to distribute a portion of federal
power to state and local government
 Under the Revenue Sharing Plan state
and local gov. could spend Fed. $ how
they saw fit ( Block Grant)

Two Sides to New Federalism
The Nixon administration increased Social
Security, Medicare, Medicare and made
food stamps more accessible
 Yet Nixon tried to eliminate the Job
Corps, and in 1970 he denied funding for
(HUD)
 By 1973 Nixon had impounded more than
$15 billion in funds for housing, health,
and education (Courts overturned the
impounding)
 Nixon abolished the Office of Economic
Opportunity

Law and Order Politics
Nixon pledged to end the war in Vietnam
 He pledged to mend American divisions
 He played to the “silent majority”
 Nixon used the FBI and CIA to investigate
American dissidents and political enemies
 The IRS was used to audit anti-war and
civil rights activists tax returns
 Nixon had a “enemies list” of who to
harass
 VP Agnew attacked liberals, the media,
and anti-war protestors ( Pit-bull)

Nixon and the Environment

Nixon supported the creation of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Nixon improved the Clean Air Act of 1963
 Nixon supported the Water Quality
Improvement Act of 1970
 In 1973 the Endangered Species Act was
passed
 Membership in the Sierra Club took off
due to new concerns over the
environment
 On April 2nd, 1970 the first Earth Day was

The 1972 Election
Nixon ran a successful negative campaign
against Senator George McGovern (D)
 They let the press know that McGovern’s
VP candidate Senator Thomas Eagleton
had undergone shock therapy for
depression
 Voter turnout was an all time low
 With promises of peace in Vietnam Nixon
won in a landslide

**Causes of Stagflation

Between 1967-1973 the US faced high
unemployment and high inflation
(Stagflation)
High Inflation was caused by LBJ funding
the war and the Great Society through
deficit spending
 Increased International Competition in
trade Ex. Japan & West Germany
 Floods of new workers (Domestic Baby
Boomers and Foreign)
 Falling productivity/US Complacency
 Heavy dependence of foreign oil (OPEC)

Nixon Battles Stagflation
To reverse deficit spending Nixon raised
taxes and cut the budget (Congress
opposed)
 Nixon tried to reduce the amount of $ in
circulation by pushing for higher interest
rates
 Nixon took the US off the gold standard
 In 1971 Nixon froze wages, rents, fees
and prices for 90 days it helped in the
short term but the recession continued


**OPEC and War
During the 1960’s the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
raised the price of oil
 The Six Days War in 1967 impacted prices
 The 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel
and Egypt and Syria rose prices
 The US sent massive military aid to Israel,
Arab OPEC nations cut oil sales to the US
(Oil Embargo) By 1974 price increased 4x
Major gas lines and shortages in the US
early, mid 1970’s
 ’74,’75 worst econ. Downturn since the
GD

“Shuttle Diplomacy Yom Kippur War”

Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger
traveled back and
forth between Middle
Eastern countries
 Kissinger’s efforts
paid off
 In January 1974
Egypt and Israel
signed a peace accord
 In May Israel signed a
cease fire with Syria