THE 60S
CHAPTER 25
CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLES/FREEDOM RIDE
• Success of Bus boycott had led to further civil disobedience movements Sit
ins, Boycotts.
• Freedom Ride (organized by CORE congress on racial equality)- would ride
busses, trains etc… in ALL sections. Riders arrested, sometimes beaten. But
that is part of non-violent non cooperation, if you do nothing in the face of
aggression- who looks bad? Would shift the tide of public opinion.
• JFK very silent on civil rights for 2 years, he knows how narrow his margin of
victory was, and is afraid to make south even more mad.
BIRMINGHAM
• Birmingham was violent… even for the deep south. Had been over 50 bombing
s of black homes, and nearly 100 lynchings since end of WWII. MLK, jailed
there in April, wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” an eloquent plea for racial
justice.
• June 1963 Birmingham AL closes all city facilities (parks, pools etc) to avoid
integration. MLK stages a march, deliberately including young peoplechildren/teens. Police of Birmingham (under chief “Bull” Connor) attack; dogs,
fire hoses, cattle prods.
• Events in Birmingham forced Americans to decide if they had more in common
with civil rights workers- or segregationalists. Called JFK to action, he openly
and actively sides with Civil Rights. Used troops again to integrate University of
Alabama (Gov George Wallace stood in the door “Segregation today,
Segregation tomorrow, Segregation forever” )
MEDGAR EVERS
• MLK under death threats after
Birmingham, his motel was
bombed, as was his brother’s
house- showing white
supremacists were not going to
give in
• The day that U of Alabama was
desegregated, Medgar Evers
(NAACP director) was shot in
cold blood (assassinated- and
the person responsible not
brought to trial until 2002)
MARCH ON WASHINGTON
• August 28th 1963- largest protest in nation’s
history (to that point)
• 200,000 come- demand civil rights legislation
(which JFK had already started working on)
• MLKs “I have a Dream Speech” became a
compelling testament – the argument that
African Americans are unfit or unworthy
wasn’t holding water…. That they were seeking
the freedom in 1963 that they had been
promised in 1863
• Show strong degree of black/white
cooperation in support of both racial and
economic justice.
THE KENNEDY YEARS
• JFK’s was a short presidency, which didn’t achieve
many of it’s stated goals- but is idealized as a time of
hope and confidence. “Camelot” was the golden age
of the modern presidency – at least we have
convinced ourselves it was
PRESIDENTIAL RANKINGS: C-SPAN SURVEY, 2009
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7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin Roosevelt
George Washington
Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
John Kennedy
Thomas Jefferson
Dwight Eisenhower
Woodrow Wilson
Ronald Reagan
Lyndon Johnson
James Polk
Andrew Jackson
James Monroe
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Bill Clinton
William McKinley
John Adams
George H.W. Bush
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
Grover Cleveland
Gerald Ford
Ulysses Grant
William Taft
Jimmy Carter
Calvin Coolidge
Richard Nixon
James Garfield
29. Zachary Taylor
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Martin Van Buren
32. Chester Arthur
33. Rutherford Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren Harding
39. William Harrison
40. Franklin Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan
A NEW FRONTIER
• Kennedy calls for a “New Frontier” wanting to increase
military spending, and have further gov’t action on
domestic problems.
Inaugural address was considered a watershed policy statement: “the torch
had been passed to a new generation of Americans who would pay any
price, bear any burden, to assure the success of liberty….Ask not what
your country can do for you….” Urging Americans to move beyond the
self centered consumer culture of the 1950s.
KENNEDY AND THE COLD WAR
• Expanded ties with Latin America- Alliance for Progress, meant to
be the Marshall Plan for the Western Hemisphere. But it is a
failure- b/c we give $$ to dictators (whose main qualification for
our friendship is that they aren’t communists) and then wonder
why they spend it on themselves rather than their people
• Continued Containment, but backed off Brinksmanship to a
certain extent (though ironically the biggest “brink” of all will come
during his presidency) “Flexible Response” to rebuild conventional
as well as nuclear forces (after all- why spend major $$ on
something you don’t want to use..)
PEACE CORPS
• The flip side of tension – sent volunteers (college grads) around
the globe to undeveloped areas to improve living conditions,
health issues and provide education.
• by 1966 15,000 volunteers will have served in 46 countries.
Alternative to military domination- improve countries and they will
support us as they grow strong
BERLIN WALL
• East Germany is not a fun place to live- and while it is
behind Iron Curtain there is a way out- West Berlin is
right in the middle of East Germany. People flood
from West Berlin to West Germany, which is
frustrating to Soviets
• August 1961- they build a wall separating East and
West Berlin- almost overnight. Purpose: stop East
Germans from “defecting”
• Soviets did not restrict air or land routes into/out of
the city- made it clear they were cutting off refugees.
• Kennedy goes to Berlin to show support “Ich bin ein
Berliner”
• Wall remains until Nov 1989.
CRISIS IN CUBA
• Military dictator (Batista) was overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959.
• At 1st we were ok– If not big fans, but then Castro goes to the left- nationalized all
foreign property, collectivizes agriculture, and begins to make very Anti-American
comments, with help from his new BFF- the USSR.
• JFK tries to retaliate with Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1960 – where CIA troops would land
and trigger a popular uprising to overthrow Castro. Except it doesn’t. We land….no
uprising….instead we get spanked (troops had been ordered not to engage as it
might trigger full war) HUGE embarrassment
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
• Bay of Pigs draws Cuba and USSR even closer- Soviets begin to install
missiles 90 miles off the coast of the US. Full US freak out
• JFK demands missiles removed, and send navy to “quarantine” the
island. (Soviets head their navy that direction- so we have a full scale
game of chicken) For 13 days in October 1962 we are in a standoffHottest moment in cold war- REALLY close to all out war (with military
leaders telling JFK that with a cost of 10 million dead Americans we can
“win” a nuclear war and eliminate the Soviets entirely.
• In the end, it’s Khrushchev who blinks- Soviets agree to withdraw if we
will promise not to interfere Cuba, and remove missiles we have been
installing in Turkey.
EASING COLD WAR TENSIONS
• Upside: both US/USSR realize how close
we came
• Washington/Moscow “Hotline”
installed (red phone) start more summit
meetings- Leads to Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty 1963 (and to Khrushchev being
removed from power- seen as week by
Soviets for compromising)
DOMESTIC POLICIES
• JFK Interested in real change but this is where he will not
accomplish as much has he promised- Congress is not a fan of his ideas.
(LBJ will pass most of them during HIS presidency)
• Surrounded himself with expert advisors, the “best and the brightest” –
though his most controversial advisor was his brother Robert Kennedy
as attorney general (only 35- no gov’t or legal experience)
LEGISLATIVE FAILURES/SUCCESSES
• Southern legislators (in both parties- the switch is starting) are
unhappy about civil rights rhetoric, so they block much of
Kennedy’s agenda. Vote no on aide to education, urban renewal,
medical care for old age etc (again, LBJ will get it done)
• Did raise minimum was from $1 to $1.25. Provided $5 billion for
preservation of urban greenspaces and development of mass
transit
• And of course- got congress to spend $24 billion on NASA
culminating with the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969
THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
• Shot in Dallas TX Nov 22nd 1963. (on a tour of the South with VP
Johnson trying to build support for re-election)
• Lee Harvey Oswald arrested, but killed by Jack Ruby the same dayendless conspiracy theories, no real answers as to who/why etc…
• National tragedy played for the first time live to the nation- changes the
impact, people saw Oswald Murdered, saw the funeral.
• Many historians feel that if Kennedy had lived, he might not have won
re-election, and would certainly not be as well remembered as his is
today. Assassination was the start of a turbulent era in US, and is often
associated with a loss of unity.
LYNDON JOHNSON’ PRESIDENCY
• JFK and LBJ really couldn’t have been more different (and
belonged to the same party) Wealth and Privilege vs Ambition
and Scrap. Smooth and attractive vs plain and folksy (RFK
called LBJ “Uncle Cornpone”) But LBJ will be the guy who doesn’t talk
about things, he gets them done
• Kennedy had an international focus, Johnson much more domestic- Used
the assassination as a political tool (carrying out will of fallen president) to
get legislature passed. LBJ is a master backroom politician (most skilled
since the “little magician”) he knew how to work with groups, and pull
groups together to get things done.
PRESIDENTIAL RANKINGS: C-SPAN SURVEY, 2009
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin Roosevelt
George Washington
Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
John Kennedy
Thomas Jefferson
Dwight Eisenhower
Woodrow Wilson
Ronald Reagan
Lyndon Johnson
James Polk
Andrew Jackson
James Monroe
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Bill Clinton
William McKinley
John Adams
George H.W. Bush
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
Grover Cleveland
Gerald Ford
Ulysses Grant
William Taft
Jimmy Carter
Calvin Coolidge
Richard Nixon
James Garfield
29. Zachary Taylor
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Martin Van Buren
32. Chester Arthur
33. Rutherford Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren Harding
39. William Harrison
40. Franklin Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
• South has stood firm to block effective Civil rights legislation since the end of
reconstruction. Truman and Eisenhower had made some progress, but not
with strong laws (1957 law primarily “investigated” rather than “enforced”.
But LBJ was from the south (1st since before war), and he knew how to get
things done.
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: put teeth in policy of Brown- forbid discrimination in
“places of public accommodation” – hotels, restaurants, theaters. Said you
could not deny anyone entry to a public facility based on race….and that your
state won’t get federal funds (for schools, hospitals, highways etc.) if you
don’t follow the law. Also said any business with more than 15 employees
cannot discriminate in hiring. Once hired, all races were to be treated the
same in terms of wages, conditions etc… To enforce, there is the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
FREEDOM SUMMER
• Johnson created the laws, but it was civil rights
groups (CORE, NAACP, SNCC) that worked to
realized the goals.
• Organized college students (of all races – more than half are white) to
go south in summer of 1964 for voting registration drive. Often met
resistance- and violence, the worst of which was 3 volunteers (2 white
Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, 1 black James Chaney) were
kidnapped and murdered in Mississippi (KKK member convicted in 2005
– the three were posthumously awarded the medal of freedom this
year)
• The tricky part is how will the democrats of the “Solid South” take this
change in the election of 1964 –will there be a walkout like there was in
1948 with Truman?
ELECTION OF 1964
• Johnson wants to be elected on his own merits.
• Republicans run Barry Goldwater- who is VERY
conservative. Calls for end to deficit spending (and
eliminating income taxes), opposition to Civil Rights and
“dynamic foreign policy”- aggressive cold war intervention,
which could include using nuclear weapons.
• Democrats call Goldwater and extremist, who will
eliminate new deal reform and destroy the world. TV
Commerical. LBJ spanks Goldwater, but Deep South starts
to turn against Democratic party. Conservatives see that
avoiding racism, but appealing to “law and order, freedom
of association, and the evils of welfare” works
VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965
• January of 1965 MLK begins a voter registration
campaign in Selma Alabama- and a march from Selma to Montgomeryonce again met with horrific police brutality (cattle prods, tear gas,
whips)
• LBJ takes action and proposes new law. Designed to enforce the 15th
Amendment, and break the power of Jim Crow Laws.
• Federal examiners empowered to investigate areas with large #s of
black residents, but not large #s of black voters. Abolished literacy tests
for voting. 740,000 African Americans registered in 3 years
• 24th amendment added to strike down poll tax and prevent that from
being a condition as well.
IMMIGRATION REFORM
• 1965 Hart Celler Act dismantled the National
Origins system (Quotas) of the 1920s, which had prohibited Asian
immigration and limited eastern European immigration. Still limits, but
is “racially neutral”
• Allows 120,000 from Western Hemisphere, and 170,000 from the rest of
the world. Entry based on if you have family here, and if you have skills
needed in US – OR if you are a refugee from communism (in which case
you can be outside the quota)
• Big jump in Latin American (rather than “just” Mexican and Asian
Immigration
THE GREAT SOCIETY
• LBJ took landslide as a mandate to expand his own programs
(rather than seem to be fulfilling Kennedy legacy) Program
often compared to FDR and New Deal- but Great Society was not a
response to crisis, but a reflection of prosperity, and desire to share
it throughout the nation. Wanted to reduce inequality and injustice.
• Great Society Programs:
• Medicare/Medicaid: provide healthcare for poor and elderly- which will be offered to ALL
citizens (makes it popular with middle class)
• federal $$ into education – Headstart, and funds for inner city schools
• urban development to reverse blight of inner cities that came with shift in demography to
suburbs. Establish a new cabinet post Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
CULTURE
• LBJ believed that the gov’t should help bring culture and educational
opportunities to citizens
• National Endowment for the Arts: filmed opera, musicals, symphonies etc and
aired them on television to make them more accessible to the population.
Also funded the creation of many types of works
• National Endowment for the Humanities: funded educational tv programs and
documentaries
• National Public Broadcasting (PBS): to ensure that all tv markets had high
quality education programming options
THE WAR ON POVERTY
A bold goal, and a huge task for government-
you can’t just hand out $$ you have to build
a system. Equal Opportunity Act 1964
• Office of Economic Opportunity – creates idea of using
“community action” to involve people IN the community into
programs. Provides job training, childcare. Food stamps most
direct resource- but it isn’t supposed to be about handout, but
equipping the underclass with skills and improved opportunity.
• VISTA- Peace Corps for Inner City.
THE CHANGING CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
• By 1966 45% of African Americans lived outside the South, and were
often experiencing De Facto (in practice) rather than De Jure (by law –
which the movement of the 50s took care of) discrimination. Often lived
in disadvantaged urban areas (“ghettos” or “inner city”) where there
were disproportionate amounts of crime and poverty
• Affirmative Action: Civil Rights Activists argued that
employers, schools etc should actively recruit
African Americans, shifting standards if necessary
so they would qualify, to create a more fair “balance”
URBAN RIOTS
• Poverty and discrimination created anger outside the south (where
there was not the history of retaliation – and sit in movements didn’t
work) and during the 60s that anger could often explode.
• Watts Riots 1965- South side of LA. Sparked when white police officers
arrested a black man in a white area (for “drunk driving”) 5 days of
rioting, 35 dead, 900 hospitalized and $30 million in damages. Worst
during the “Long Hot Summer” of 1967, when there will be riots in 8
cities. Detroit (43 dead) and Newark (23 dead) being the worst
• Kerner Report: Said the country was in danger of being torn apartAfrican American unemployment 2x whites, and more than ½ live in
poverty
BLACK POWER
• MLK advocated civil disobedience and Passive Resistance.
(based on ideas of Thoreau and Gandhi) saying that behaving
justly in the face of injustice was the most important thing.
• As the 60s continue, other African American leaders advocate
changing tactics.
• Black Power: Achieve an equal place in society through
whatever means necessary- including Violence. Most famously
advocated by Malcom X, a Black Muslim leader. Black Power
(and Black Panthers, an even more violent offshoot) rejected
white society, including Christianity, as having been forced
upon them. Actually hurts movement- b/c it gets scary…..
THE CONTROVERSIAL WARREN COURT
• Earl Warren was chief justice from 1952- 1969 a seminal time in
American legislation. Most “liberal” (meaning decisions generally
favored civil liberties individual rights) court in American History –
including our 1st Black justice; Thurgood Marshall. Under constant fire
from conservatives “Impeach Earl Warren” signs on display around the
country.
• Judicial Activism: tendency for court to challenge existing policies and
create new ones. Prohibited prayer in public school, limited censorship,
protected rights of the accused
IMPORTANT CASES OF WARREN COURT
• Miranda v Arizona : Must inform someone arrested of their rights
• Gideon v Wainright: Counsel for accused
• Baker v Carr : Congressional Districts need to be proportional
• Engel v Vitale : no prayer in public school
• New York v Sullivan: protect newspaper’s right to conceal source
TWO ASSASSINATIONS
• Disagreement signaled divisions in civil rights
movement, which was a contributing factor in the
riots and racial violence at the end of the decade.
• 1968 both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinated
within two months of each other. MLK killed by a white
supremacist (James Earl Ray) RFK running for president, advocated
improving race relations as a major cornerstone of his campaign.
Killed by Sirhan Sirhan a Christian Palestinian (motive unclear)
THE VIETNAM WAR
• Began as a French Colonial conflict. “Indochina” was a part
of French empire seeking independence after the war. But
the leader of the rebellion is a communist: Ho Chi Minh, who set
up a gov’t in the north in 1954.
• Containment, the Truman Doctrine, and the Domino Theory (if one
country becomes communist, others around it will too) lead US to
offer help to the French, 1st $$, then “advisors”. French officially
pull out after defeat at Dien Bien Phu
THE GENEVA ACCORDS
• Vietnam divided at 17th parallel (like Korea) with Communism in
the North, and a Democratic gov’t in the south at Saigon. Then in
1956 elections would be held to est one gov’t for entire nation
• US and “our” South Vietnamese gov’t refused to sign, or hold
elections (b/c Ho Chi Min would have won) We back repressive
Ngo Dinh Diem instead.
KENNEDY AND VIETNAM
• Vietnam was never a popular conflict- (possibly
b/c we were never on the right side- we were
forcing people to accept a gov’t they didn’t want) But Kennedy
continued to send $$ and troops (still small scale- and “advising”
rather than full ground troops)
• June of 1963 Protests begin IN Vietnam against US presenceBuddhist suicides (Diem persecutes Buddhists) November 1st South
Vietnamese gov’t overthrown, but Kennedy killed before he can
respond
JOHNSON AND VIETNAM
• LBJ inherits a small conflict, and decides to go bigger to put an end to things.
Justification is N Vietnamese boats firing on US ships patrolling in Gulf of Tonkin (we
were there to provoke)
• Asked congress for unlimited funds – and got them: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
• By 1966 there are 365,000 American Troops in Vietnam…. And we have spent $2
billion…but are no closer to suppressing the Viet Cong (who are fighting on their
own- Guerilla style, w/o significant help from USSR or China) “underground”
movement (both in terms of secrecy and actually in tunnels etc..
• We spent a fortune going all over the country to convince people the Viet Cong are
the bad guys….and don’t make much progress, “In Country” is Cong territory
TET OFFENSIVE
• The war in on television every night- reports from the
field - where things are rarely going well- though gov’t
does a lot of propaganda to make it look like they are
• Vietnamese launch an offensive campaign into the South in
January of 1968- which is very successful in penetrating land supposedly
“controlled” by US.
• US pouring $$ in, dropping more bombs every DAY than we had on
Germany in the entire war- and getting NO WHERE
ANTI WAR PROTESTS
• Other than hardliners, this was never a “popular”
war. Many people weren’t sure why we were there
in the 1st place- it was a civil war on the other side
of the world.
• South Vietnamese gov’t clearly corrupt- we don’t look good being their friends
• Draft seems unfair and racially biased, in an age where that is an issue (esp for
Black Power/Black Panther leaders
• Protesting the war will become focus of counterculture movement
ELECTION OF 1968
• Johnson had won by a landslide in 1964, but now he had lowest
popularity on record, so he decides not to run again “I shall not seek,
nor shall I accept the nomination of my party for another term in office”
• Robert Kennedy decides to run, gaining strength in the primaries when
assassinated in June of 1968. Hubert Humphrey the eventual Democratic
candidate- but not all democrats (esp young ones) like him, and there are
protests and riots outside the democratic convention in Chicago, which gave
him little hope of winning
• Richard Nixon is back for a 2nd run, claiming to speak for the “silent majority”
who want stability rather than activism. Promised “peace with honor” in
“Vietnam. Courted southern conservatives to bring them in to the Republican
party
1968- A HINGE YEAR
• Full of “shocking” events, will make the world
seem a much less more uncertain place again…..
• Tet Offensive Vietnam
• MLK assassinated
• RFK assassinated
• Riots at Dem Convention in Chicago
• Rise of the Black Panthers
THE NEW LEFT AND COUNTERCULTURE
• The young people of the 1950s had embraced conformity- so it is time for the
pendulum to swing to the “New Left”: who challenge the notions of the
establishment. Began on college campuses (led to criticisms as centers of
radical thinking)
• Did not approve of intervention in foreign countries, Vietnam, Iran,
Guatemala etc… saw US as a Bully.
• Challenged cultural traditions in clothing, language, behavior. Become
“hippies” with long hair, jeans, sex, drugs and rock n roll
• Sought “alternative” lifestyles, lived communally, trying to find harmonious
existence
WOMEN’S LIBERATION
• Again, 50s conformity kept women at home for an idealized
sit-com family life. But civil rights movement led other groups
(like American Indians) and women to demand full social and economic equality
• Betty Friedan: The Feminine Mystique: said suburban motherhood traps women, and
stifles them. (“is this all?”) Founded NOW designed to create equality between the
sexes. Gloria Steinem another important thinker/leader
• Affirmative action expanded to include women. Title IX (part of civil rights act of 1964)
prohibited discrimination based on sex as well as race in employment
• Equal Rights Amendment to constitution- 1st proposed by Alice Paul in the 20s brought
up again, but not ratified
• Roe v Wade 1973- legalized abortion (probably most divisive decision of the modern
age, helped solidify growing divisions between liberals and conservatives)
FEMINISTS
• Like many moments, there were splits in ideology- those who
thought women should work slowly, and those who demanded extreme
change
• Liberal Feminists: said individuals should be free to choose their own path.
And if that path is traditional family life- so be it. Supported “reproductive
freedom” (birth control)
• Radical Feminists: believed that existing social and econ system exploited
women, and needed to be completely overturned for women to be free
(rather like “pure” communists and the proletariat) Said “love” was
oppression, and marriage should be outlawed.
THE PRESIDENCY OF RICHARD NIXON
• Politics is a pendulum, so after a decade of
democrats, we swing right. Nixon condemned
counterculture protest, saying that they were
good at complaining, but bad a proposing real
solutions (he had a point). Results oriented rather
than ideologically oriented, would have been a
great Realpolitik with Bismarck.
PRESIDENTIAL RANKINGS: C-SPAN SURVEY, 2009
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin Roosevelt
George Washington
Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
John Kennedy
Thomas Jefferson
Dwight Eisenhower
Woodrow Wilson
Ronald Reagan
Lyndon Johnson
James Polk
Andrew Jackson
James Monroe
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Bill Clinton
William McKinley
John Adams
George H.W. Bush
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
Grover Cleveland
Gerald Ford
Ulysses Grant
William Taft
Jimmy Carter
Calvin Coolidge
Richard Nixon
James Garfield
29. Zachary Taylor
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Martin Van Buren
32. Chester Arthur
33. Rutherford Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren Harding
39. William Harrison
40. Franklin Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan
DOMESTIC POLICY UNDER NIXON
• Did not move to dismantle, or even change, Great Society programs (recognized that
democratic congress would not allow)
• New Federalism: offered states Block Grants- fund to spend how they saw fit (which
conservatives and states rights people like) Also created new environment restrictions
and regulatory agencies: EPA, Clean Air Act etc…
• Revamped foodstamps, social security and Aid to Families with Dependent children so
that benefits rose with inflation (which would be a big problem in the 70s)
ENVIRONMENTALISM
• Industry overall still had very few regulations on waste etc… and it was taking
a toll. 1969 the Cuyahoga RIVER caught fire from oil residue on/in water
• Love Canal NY (near a toxic waste dump)- soil and groundwater declared to be so
dangerous that all residents had to move- community sealed off
• 3 Mile Island: Nuclear energy plant was releasing radioactive waste into water,
100,000 people evacuated
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created in 1970
• Clean Air Act also passed in 1970- required industry to
“scrub” emissions to eliminate smog. Clean Water Act 1972,
cannot dump biohazards into water.
• Endangered species act 1973
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
• Econ growth had been strong through 50s and 60s (fueled by
consumerism and military spending) But 70s were rough- and NOT
b/c of things Nixon had created.
• LBJ had tried to pay for Vietnam and Great Society w/o raising taxes. Econ strain landed in Nixon’s
lap.
• OPEC oil embargo on US (retaliation for US support of Israel in Yom Kippur war of 1973) which
severely limited our supply (and changed the automobile industry) even after it ended- oil MUCH
more expensive
• Stagflation: economic growth slowed, AND there was significant inflation (normally the two
are inverse)
• Nixon freezes wages, prices and rents, and lowered interest rates to try to get a hold of
economy. Works (to an extent) but inflation a significant factor of the 70s.
THE BURGER COURT
• Nixon is a conservative- and not a fan of the Warren Court. Earl Warren retired
in 1969, Nixon appointed Warren Burger, a much more conservative justice, to
try to shift the direction of the court. (also appt another conservative justice)
• BUT: court did not shift as much as conservatives would have liked- two
significant cases upheld liberal ideals
• Roe v Wade (1973) says there cannot be laws forbidding
abortion b/c that violated the right to privacy
• Bakke v Regents of CA (1978) Upheld Affirmative Action
(though banned specific racial quotas)
NIXON AND VIETNAM
• Nixon had promised “peace with honor” in 1968 election,
saying he had a plan.
• Peace negotiations are underway in Paris: and Nixon proposes both US and Viet
Cong withdraw from South Vietnam and allow them to hold free elections (N
Vietnamese refuse…they’re winning and they know it)
• Next Plan: Vietnamization- US will gradually back out and allow the South to fight
their own war (US hoping to be gone before the end comes) We start pulling out
troops, there were 500,000 in 1969 - 50,000 in 1972
• We also start to fight pretty dirty. This is when we put in Napalm and Agent Orange
(which we know is poisonous, but use anyway). Start raiding Laos and Cambodia
looking to cut Viet Cong supply lines- so now we are engaging new groups
PENTAGON PAPERS
• 1971. Former defense dept analyst leaked classified papers that showed the
executive office (primarily LBJ) deliberately misleading the Congress and the
public about the purpose of fighting in Vietnam. We were no longer really
containing a threat- but avoiding a defeat. Nixon tried to block publication,
couldn’t. Big blow to credibility of gov’t.
• Costs of Vietnam: 58k Americans dead, 300k wounded, 2500 MIA. 2 million
Vietnamese Dead, 300K MIA. Cost $150 Billion dollars- helped create the
“stagflation” of the 70s.
• Led many Americans to mistrust gov’t and military.
• Also led to 26th Amendment lowering voting age to 18- if you can be drafted,
you should be able to vote.
MY LAI MASSACRE
• 1969 story broke at a US officer (Lt William Calley) had ordered the entire
population of the village of My Lai – over 200 people, put to death.
Charged as a war crime (convicted of murder) but paroled by Nixon. Again,
makes US involvement in Vietnam look really bad….
• Paris Accords: Treaty between N Vietnam and US signed 1973. We agree to
pull out, and North agrees to give back POWs. But we continue to support
gov’t of south (a dictator named Nguyen Van Thieu) through our embassy
• 1975 Viet Cong overrun the border and take Saigon (we evacuate via
helicopter, leaving those who had supported us behind) Vietnam becomes
a single country. No diplomatic relation between US and Vietnam 1975 - 95
CHINA AND THE SOVIET UNION
• Here is the area where Nixon is most successful as a
president. He wanted Détente, and to exploit tensions
in relation to the two communist superpowers of USSR and China (which we have
never recognized)
• 1971 1st Americans go to China- the US ping pong team (Go Forrest!). Then Nixon
announced we would no longer block China’s entry into the UN, and finally, in
1972 Nixon himself goes to China
• All this recognition for China makes the Soviets nervous… and more likely to be
“friendly” (Though Brezhnev not a “snuggly” guy…) Nixon also visited Moscow in
1972, and SALT talks in Helsinki Finland led to arms reduction
THE ELECTION OF 1972
AND WATERGATE
• Nixon was in good shape for re-election in 1972. George Wallace
(who would draw conservative votes) was shot and forced to
withdraw, and Dem nominee George McGovern was seen as far
TOO liberal. Landslide Victory…
WATERGATE….
• Nixon wasn’t content to just win, he wanted a slam dunk
(which he got) CREEP and Plumbers set out to use “dirty tricks” to discredit
McGovern and control information given to press
• After a gov’t worker leaked Pentagon Papers (which contained a wide variety
of unpleasant facts) Plumbers broke in his psychiatrist’s office to prove he was
getting treatment (and therefore should not be credible)
• Summer of 1972 a group of burglars caught breaking into Democratic National
Headquarters in Watergate complex in Washington DC. Seemed like no big
deal, but journalists (Woodward and Berstein) discovered that the “burglars”
were actually part of CREEP/Plumbers
COVER UP AND RESIGNATION
• It was a long train of events, but eventually it was proved that the
president and other high ranking officials had known about and helped
plan the break-in. And worse, as soon as the men were caught- they
had covered up their actions, shredding documents, pressuring witnesses etc…
• Nixon protests “I am not a crook”, but America gets more and more suspicious as
top aides are indicted. Then it comes to light that Nixon has recording devices in the
oval office- and there are recordings of conversations. Tapes subpoenaed, Nixon
claims executive privilege and refuses
• US v Nixon: supreme court rules President must surrender the tapes. Knowing they
will incriminate him- Nixon resigns August 9th 1974 rather than face impeachment
and almost certain conviction
EFFECTS OF WATERGATE
• People already “down” of gov’t b/c of Vietnam… this make things much
worse. We have never fully recovered assumption that gov’t operates in our
best interests (which had been typical before 1960s)
• Modern American have an innate distrust of government as a whole- and
particularly of politicians, whom we see as working for their own gain or
power (when in reality it is an incredibly self-sacrificing career)
IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
• Presidents have been gaining power since FDR and the New Deal- taking a lot of
legislating power from Congress.
• After Watergate- Congress worked hard to get that power BACK:
• War Powers Act: Says president can only send troop into a conflict area for 90 days before
seeking congressional approval.
• Congressional Budget Control Act: Gives Congress oversight with funds being spent by
President.
• Federal Election Campaign Act: sets limits on campaign contributions (later changed)
• Freedom of Information Act: allowed citizens access to files- gov’ts have to prove WHY
they should stay classified after a set time.
AN UN ELECTED PRESIDENT
• Gerald Ford had only been VP for a few months when Nixon resigned. The former VP
(Spiro Agnew- what a name!) had been forced to resign, Ford had been appointed by
Nixon (it was after Watergate had started, he was “clean” and uninvolved)
• Ford took power through provisions of the 25th Amendment (up until then a president
could only lose power if dead or impeached) but no one had ever voted for him (or for
HIS vp, Nelson Rockefeller)
• Ford was a really nice guy….and a good choice- he helped restore faith in gov’t, but he
never inspired great confidence. Pardoned Nixon almost immediately (justification was
to spare nation seeing a former president on trial) which was controversial.
• Tough time to be president. Oil crisis, econ problems, and our final withdrawal from
Vietnam…..
PRESIDENT CARTER AND THE LAST
YEARS OF THE DECADE
• Jimmy Carter ran as a Washington “outsider” in 1976- which
helped him win the election. People liked him (he’s a likable guy)
but that wasn’t enough to solve the problems of the 70s.
• Worked hard on the economy- raised federal spending to stimulate
the economy and cut taxes so people had more $$ - which leads to
increasing debt. Unemployment went down, but inflation stayed
high, mainly because of OPEC
HUMANITARIAN DIPLOMACY
• Carter sought to base foreign policy on human rights, but was
criticized for inconsistency and a lack of attention to US interests .
Ultimately ineffective….
• Cut foreign aid to Uganda and Ethiopia b/c of human rights
violations- which led to widespread famine in the area
• Denounced Apartheid in S. Africa- but continued trade. Spoke
against child labor in the Philippines, but continued aide
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
• Carter stepped away from cold war thinking and tried to bring
sides together. Created treaty which gave control of panama canal
TO Panama, signed SALT II treaty with Soviets, which reduced
nuclear arsenal. Ended recognition of Taiwan- formally recognized
People’s Republic of China
• Most famous for Camp David Accords- a treaty in 1979 between
Egypt and Israel which was the 1st time an Arab nation recognized
Israel’s right to exist. Carter won Nobel Peace Prize
PRESIDENTIAL RANKINGS: C-SPAN SURVEY, 2009
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Abraham Lincoln
Franklin Roosevelt
George Washington
Theodore Roosevelt
Harry Truman
John Kennedy
Thomas Jefferson
Dwight Eisenhower
Woodrow Wilson
Ronald Reagan
Lyndon Johnson
James Polk
Andrew Jackson
James Monroe
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
Bill Clinton
William McKinley
John Adams
George H.W. Bush
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
Grover Cleveland
Gerald Ford
Ulysses Grant
William Taft
Jimmy Carter
Calvin Coolidge
Richard Nixon
James Garfield
29. Zachary Taylor
30. Benjamin Harrison
31. Martin Van Buren
32. Chester Arthur
33. Rutherford Hayes
34. Herbert Hoover
35. John Tyler
36. George W. Bush
37. Millard Fillmore
38. Warren Harding
39. William Harrison
40. Franklin Pierce
41. Andrew Johnson
42. James Buchanan