Chapter 39
The Stalemated Seventies, 1968–1980
CHAPTER THEMES
Theme: As the war in Vietnam finally came to a disastrous conclusion, the United States struggled to create a more stable
international climate. Détente with the two communist powers temporarily reduced Cold War tensions, but trouble in the
Middle East threatened America’s energy supplies and economic stability.
Theme: Weakened by political difficulties of their own and others’ making, the administrations of the 1970s had trouble
coping with America’s growing economic problems. The public also had trouble facing up to a sharp sense of limits and a
general disillusionment with society. With the notable exception of the highly successful feminist movement, the social
reform efforts of the 1960s fractured and stalled, as the country settled into a frustrating and politically divisive stalemate.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Nixon’s “Vietnamization” policy reduced American ground participation in the war, but his Cambodia invasion sparked
massive protest. Nixon’s journeys to Communist Moscow and Beijing (Peking) established a new rapprochement with
these powers. In domestic policy, Nixon and the Supreme Court promoted affirmative action and environmental
protection.
The 1972 election victory and the cease-fire in Vietnam were negated when Nixon became bogged down in the Watergate
scandal and congressional protest over the secret bombing of Cambodia, which led to the War Powers Act. The Middle
East War of 1973 and the Arab oil embargo created energy and economic difficulties that lasted through the decade.
Americans gradually awoke to their costly and dangerous dependence on Middle Eastern oil, and began to take tentative
steps toward conservation and alternative energy sources.
Non-elected Gerald Ford took over after Watergate forced Nixon to resign. The Communist Vietnamese finally overran
the South Vietnamese government in 1975. The defeat in Vietnam added to a general sense of disillusionment with
society and a new sense of limits on American power. The civil rights movement fractured, and divisive issues of busing
and affirmative action enhanced racial tensions. The most successful social movement was feminism, which achieved
widespread social breakthroughs though failing to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.
Campaigning against Washington and Watergate, outsider Jimmy Carter proved unable to master Congress or the
economy once he took office. The Camp David agreement brought peace between Egypt and Israel, but the Iranian
revolution led to new energy troubles. The invasion of Afghanistan and the holding of American hostages in Iran added to
Carter’s woes.
Extra Credit Opportunities: 1) Note Cards: Analyze the following terms; include historical context,
chronology, drawing conclusions, and cause/effect where appropriate. Each note card you complete is worth
one extra credit point; pick the terms you need the most help with to understand.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
stagnation
inflationary cycle
Vietnamization
Nixon Doctrine
silent majority
My Lai
Cambodia
Kent State University
Jackson State College
Twenty-sixth Amendment
Pentagon Papers
Henry A. Kissinger
Détente
ABM Treaty
SALT
MIRVs
judicial activism
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Griswold v. Connecticut
Gideon v. Wainright
Escobedo v. Illinois
Miranda v. Arizona
New York Times v.
Sullivan
Engel v. Vitale
School District of
Abington Township v.
Schempp
Reynolds v. Sims
Roe v. Wade
Aid to Families with
Dependent Children
SSI
Indexing
Philadelphia Plan
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
EPA
OSHA
Rachel Carson
Clean Air Act of 1970
southern strategy
George McGovern
peace with honor
Cambodia Bombing
War Powers Act
Pol Pot
War Powers Act
New Isolationism
Oil embargo
Energy Crisis
Watergate
CREEP
John Dean III
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
Executive privilege
Twenty-fifth Amendment
Gerald Ford
Saturday Night Massacre
pardon
Helsinki Accords
Title IX of the Education
Amendments
55. ERA
56. Phylis Schlafly
57. Milliken v. Bradley
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
reverse discrimination
Thurgood Marshall
Alcatraz
Wounded Knee
First Wave
Second Wave
NOW
WITCH
James Earl Carter, Jr.
Department of Energy
Camp David
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
Anwar Sadat
Menachem Begin
Panama Canal
prime rate
Iranian Crisis
Malaise Speech
Leonid Brezhnev
SALT II
Iranian Hostages
Afghanistan
Embargo
Homework Directions: Read the chapter and complete the following:
1. Complete American Pageant Study Guide.
Chapter 39 Study Guide
Sources of Stagnation
1.
Describe the economic problems faced by the United States in the 1970s.
Nixon "Vietnamizes" the War
2.
What was President Nixon’s plan for getting the US out of Vietnam?
Cambodianizing the Vietnam War
3.
What developments caused many people to become even more critical of the war in 1970 and 1971?
Nixon's Detente with Beijing (Peking) and Moscow
4.
What was the “China Card,” and how did Nixon use it?
A New Team on the Supreme Bench
5.
Why was Nixon unhappy with the Supreme Court?
Nixon on the Home Front
6.
How conservative was President Nixon? Explain.
The Nixon Landslide of 1972
7.
How did the situation in Vietnam help Nixon win a landslide in the 1972 election?
8.
"The shaky `peace' was in reality little more than a thinly disguised American retreat." Explain
The Secret Bombing of Cambodia and the War Powers Act
9.
What did Cambodia have to do with the War Powers Act?
. The Arab Oil Embargo and the Energy Crisis
10.
Explain the cause and effects of the Arab Oil Embargo.
Watergate and the Unmaking of a President
11.
Of what wrongdoing was the Nixon administration guilty?
The First Unelected President
12.
Did President do the right thing when he pardoned Nixon? Explain.
Defeat in Vietnam
13.
What was the cost (not in just money) of the Vietnam War?
Feminist Victories and Defeats
14.
Why did the Equal Rights Amendment fail?
Makers of America: The Vietnamese
15.
What difficulties did Vietnamese immigrants experience when they came to America?
The Seventies in Black and White
16.
Explain the significance of the Bakke case.
The Bicentennial Campaign and the Carter Victory
17.
Why did Jimmy Carter win the presidency in 1976?
Makers of America: The Feminists
18.
Compare and contrast the first and second feminist waves.
Carter's Humanitarian Diplomacy
19.
Describe Carter's foreign policy achievements.
Economic and Energy Woes
20.
How did Carter react to the renewed energy crisis?
Foreign Affairs and the Iranian Imbroglio
21.
What foreign policy problems plagued the second half of Carter's presidency?
HISTORIC NOTES

In the 1970s the Us economy slumps, although economists still do not agree on the causes.

Responding to anti-war protests, Nixon puts forth a plan called Vietnamization, to gradually withdraw US forces
while preparing the South Vietnamese to carry out the fight. With US involvement in Vietnam seemingly coming to
an end, Nixon wins reelection handily against Senator George Mc Govern. In 1974, Nixon is the first president ever
to resign – he faced impeachment for covering up a burglary by his campaign committee.

Nixon visits China, a surprise to many. He later visits the USSR, and is able to work out with the Soviet leadership
agreements to reduce nuclear arms.

Economic opportunities for minorities is a major national concern.

It is revealed that while Nixon claimed to be winding down the Vietnam War he had secretly expanded it by
ordering the bombing of neutral Cambodia to attack North Vietnamese troops that had taken refuge there. Even
after the 1973 cease-fire with N. Vietnam, Nixon continued attacks on communist positions despite Congressional
calls for cessation of the bombing.

Outraged by US support of Israel, Arab nations retaliate by imposing an oil embargo on the US.

An attempt to add an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution is defeated.

Looking at a fresh political face, an outsider untainted by Washington politics, the Democrats nominate GA
Governor Jimmy Carter, who wins the presidency in 1976. The crowning achievement of Carter’s administration is
the Camp David Agreement, which offers hope for peace in the Mideast. But economic problems, energy concerns,
huge federal and trade deficits, and what critics see as an amateurish foreign policy sap support for the
administration.

In 1971, the Spreme Court handed down one of its most controversial decisions in the case Roe v. Wade, which
legalized abortion.

The War Powers Act of 1973 became a congressional imperative given the undeclared war in Vietnam and President
Nixon’s decision to bomb Cambodia, a neutral nation.
Advanced Placement United States History Topic Outline
24. The 1950s
A. Emergence of the modern civil rights movement
B. The affluent society and "the other America"
C. Consensus and conformity: suburbia and middle-class America
D. Social critics, nonconformists, and cultural rebels
E. Impact of changes in science, technology, and medicine
25. The Turbulent 1960s
A. From the New Frontier to the Great Society
B. Expanding movements for civil rights
C. Cold War confrontations: Asia, Latin America, and Europe
D. Beginning of Détente
E. The antiwar movement and the counterculture