CHAPTER
32
An Age of Limits
Overview
Time Lines
SECTION
1 The Nixon Administration
SECTION
2 Watergate: Nixon’s Downfall
SECTION
3 The Ford and Carter Years
SECTION
4 Environmental Activism
Chapter Assessment
Transparencies
CHAPTER
32
An Age of Limits
“We have learned . . . even our great nation
has its recognized limits. . . . We cannot afford
to do everything, nor can we afford to lack
boldness as we meet the future.”
President Jimmy Carter, 1977
THEMES IN CHAPTER 32
Economic Opportunity
Science and Technology
Constitutional Concerns
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CHAPTER
32
An Age of Limits
“We have learned . . . even our great nation
has its recognized limits. . . . We cannot afford
to do everything, nor can we afford to lack
boldness as we meet the future.”
President Jimmy Carter, 1977
What do you know?
Read the quote above and answer the following:
• What major foreign policy event of the 1960s
and early 1970s had already revealed the
nation’s limitations?
• In what way did it show the country’s
limitations?
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CHAPTER
32
Time Line
The United States
1969 The U.S. becomes the first nation to put a
person on the moon.
1970 America celebrates the first Earth Day.
1973 Senate begins investigation into the
Watergate break-in.
1977 Andrew Young becomes the first African
American to serve as U.S. ambassador
to the United Nations.
1979 In Iran, 52 Americans are taken hostage.
Israel and Egypt sign peace treaty at
White House.
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CHAPTER
32
Time Line
The World
1969 Golda Meir becomes prime minister of Israel.
1970 Nigeria ends its 2 1/2-year civil war.
1971 U.N. votes to admit China and expel
Taiwan.
1973 A military junta, led by Augusto Pinochet
Ugarte, seizes power in Chile.
1975 South Vietnam surrenders to North Vietnam.
1979 The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.
Ayatollah Khomeini seizes power in Iran.
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SECTION
1
The Nixon Administration
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Learn About
President Nixon’s domestic and foreign policy
initiatives.
To Understand
how Nixon tried to lead the nation in a conservative
direction and ease Cold War tensions throughout the
world.
SECTION
1
The Nixon Administration
Key Idea
President Richard M. Nixon attempts to
move the country in a more conservative
direction and ease Cold War tensions
throughout the world.
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SECTION
1
The Nixon Administration
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Section 1 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What are some of the policies of Richard Nixon that
promoted change and those that slowed it down?
Promoted Change
• started revenue sharing program
• supported Family Assistance Plan
• visited China
• visited Soviet Union
• signed SALT I
Slowed Change
• impounded funds allocated by Congress
• abolished Office of Equal Opportunity
• slowed desegregation efforts
• appointed conservative justices to
the Supreme Court
SECTION
1
The Nixon Administration
Section 1 Assessment
INTERPRETING
Do you think Richard Nixon fulfilled his campaign promise
to mend the divisiveness in the United States?
THINK ABOUT
• his policy of law and order
• his decisions on busing and integration
• his Supreme Court appointments
• his economic reforms
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SECTION
1
The Nixon Administration
Section 1 Assessment
EVALUATING
In your opinion, did Nixon’s foreign policy of détente help
solve the country’s major foreign policy problems?
THINK ABOUT
• the definition and origin of détente
• the effect of détente on U.S. dealings with Communist
countries
• the effect of détente on the American public
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SECTION
2
Watergate: Nixon’s Downfall
Learn About
the events known as the Watergate scandal.
To Understand
why Watergate presented one of the most serious
constitutional crises in U.S. history.
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SECTION
2
Watergate: Nixon’s Downfall
Key Idea
Richard Nixon’s involvement in the coverup of a campaign office burglary forces him
to resign from office—the only president to
do so.
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SECTION
2
Watergate: Nixon’s Downfall
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Section 2 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
Who were the individuals or groups who helped uncover the
Watergate scandal? Who were the people from the government
and media, as well as those on Nixon’s staff who testified?
Uncovering the Watergate Scandal
The Media:
Washington Post
reporters Bob
Woodward and
Carl Bernstein
The Government:
• Attorney General Elliot
Richardson
• Archibald Cox and
Leon Jaworski
• Sam Ervin
• The House Judiciary
Committee
• Judge John Sirica
• The Supreme Court
Nixon’s staff:
• John Dean
• Presidential aide
Alexander Butterfield
SECTION
2
Watergate: Nixon’s Downfall
Section 2 Assessment
ANALYZING
Which events of the Watergate scandal do you think were
most significant?
THINK ABOUT
• the purpose of each event
• the legal implications of each event
• the charges in the articles of impeachment
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SECTION
2
Watergate: Nixon’s Downfall
Section 2 Assessment
HYPOTHESIZING
Imagine that Nixon had admitted to and apologized for the
Watergate break-in immediately after it occurred. How might
subsequent events have been different?
THINK ABOUT
• the extent of the cover-up
• the impact of the cover-up on the nation
• the effect of the cover-up on Nixon’s image
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SECTION
3
The Ford and Carter Years
Learn About
the domestic and foreign policies of the Ford and
Carter administrations.
To Understand
how each man attempted to solve the country’s
worsening economic crisis and deal with an
increasingly complex world.
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SECTION
3
The Ford and Carter Years
Key Idea
In the wake of Watergate, Presidents Ford and
Carter try to restore faith in America’s
leadership as they battle the worst economic
crisis in decades.
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SECTION
3
The Ford and Carter Years
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Section 3 Assessment
3
SEQUENCING HISTORY
What were some of the major events of the Ford and Carter
administrations?
September 8, 1974
Ford pardons Nixon.
1977
U.S. and Panama
sign treaty.
1975
Helsinki Accords
signed.
November 4, 1979
Iranians seize U.S.
hostages.
March 1979
Sadat and Begin sign
peace treaty.
1980
14 percent inflation.
December 1979
Soviets invade
Afghanistan.
SECTION
3
The Ford and Carter Years
Section 3 Assessment
3
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING
How were the actions taken by Presidents Ford and Carter to
address the country’s economic downturn similar? How did
they differ?
THINK ABOUT
• Ford’s “Whip Inflation Now” policy
• Carter’s “moral equivalent of a war” speech
• Carter’s legislative agenda
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SECTION
3
The Ford and Carter Years
Section 3 Assessment
3
FORMING OPINIONS
Do you agree with President Carter that human rights
concerns should steer U.S. foreign policy? Why or why not?
THINK ABOUT
• the responsibility of promoting human rights
• the loss of certain ally countries
• the collapse of détente with the Soviet Union
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SECTION
4
Environmental Activism
HOME
Learn About
America’s efforts during the 1970s to address its
environmental problems.
To Understand
how the nation attempted to strike a balance between
environmental concerns and continued industrial
growth.
SECTION
4
Environmental Activism
Key Idea
Americans, struck by their sense of
limitations, begin to address a growing
number of environmental concerns.
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SECTION
4
Environmental Activism
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Section 4 Assessment
SUMMARIZING
What were some events that illustrate the growing concern
for the environment in the United States?
People struggle to balance
environmental and economic
concerns.
Rachel Carson publishes
Silent Spring.
Concern for the environment
grew in the United States.
In 1970, the first
Earth Day is held.
Nixon organizes the EPA.
Three Mile Island raises concerns
about nuclear power.
SECTION
4
Environmental Activism
Section 4 Assessment
ANALYZING CAUSES
Why do you think Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring had such an
impact when it was published?
THINK ABOUT
• environmental awareness before the 1960s
• the message of Silent Spring
• the domestic agendas of the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon
administrations
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SECTION
4
Environmental Activism
Section 4 Assessment
FORMING OPINIONS
How much should the United States rely on nuclear power as
a source of energy?
THINK ABOUT
• the safety of nuclear power
• the alternatives to nuclear power
• U.S. energy demands
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Chapter
32
Assessment
1. In what ways did President Nixon attempt to reform the
federal government?
2. How did Nixon try to combat stagflation?
3. Describe Nixon’s philosophy in foreign policy and the
results of this philosophy.
4. In what ways did the participants in Watergate try to
cover up the scandal?
5. What were the results of the Watergate scandal?
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Chapter
32
Assessment
6. What were President Ford’s greatest successes as
president?
7. How did President Carter attempt to solve the energy
crisis?
8. Describe Carter’s foreign policy, using examples to
show its impact.
9. What were factors that increased Americans’ concerns
about environmental issues?
10. What was the impact of the Three Mile Island
incident?
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