11.03: Identify other major social movements and evaluate their impact on U.S. society

1. Competency Goal 11: Recovery, Prosperity, and Turmoil (1945-1980), trace economic, political, and social developments and assess their significance for Americans during this period. 11.03: Identify other major social movements and evaluate their impact on U.S. society 11.04: Examine how America’s involvement in Vietnam affected society 11.05: Examine how technological innovations have impacted American life 11.06: Identify significant political events and personalities and assess their social and political effects Competency Goal 12: The United States since the Vietnam War (1973-present), identify and analyze trends in U.S. domestic during this time period 12.02: Evaluate the impact of recent constitutional amendments, court rulings, and federal legislation 12.03: Identify and assess the impact of economic, technological and environmental changes in the U.S. 12.04: Identify and assess the impact of social, political, and cultural changes in the U.S. 12.05: Assess the impact of growing racial and ethnic diversity in American society

2. The Great Society, 1964-1968 Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973): A man of tremendous ambition, Johnson became the greatest legislator of the twentieth century. Born in the hard-scrabble hill country of central Texas, he came to Washington during the New Deal and gained great admiration for Franklin Roosevelt. He eventually measured his own political success against the yardstick of Roosevelt’s presidency. In 1948, Johnson won election to the U.S. Senate and during the 1950s he rose through the ranks of his party and became Senate Majority Leader. He was instrumental in getting the Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed in the Senate over the strong opposition and filibusters of other southern Democrats, notably Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

3. Although they hated each other, Kennedy named Johnson as his running mate in 1960. Among his projects as vice-POTUS was overseeing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Mercury astronaut program. He became POTUS upon JFK’s murder in 1963. He won his own mandate in the election of 1964 with the largest popular vote victory in history, beating Republican Barry Goldwater by 15,000,000 votes. As POTUS, LBJ pursued a reform policy, the Great Society, but got trapped fighting the Vietnam War. With opposition to the war rising after Tet, Johnson chose not to run again in 1968. There is much disagreement among historians about LBJ’s presidency, but he must be recognized as a foremost legislator who brought the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as Medicare and many other important programs into being. He is ranked as a slightly above average POTUS at #17.

6. The Johnson Landslide – 1964

7. New Deal Coalition: Bloc of voters for the Democratic Party created in the landslide 1936 election that led U.S. politics into the 1960s. It included labor, farmers, progressive elites in the Northeast, conservatives in the South, Jews, and blacks. Southerners started leaving the coalition in 1948, but did not vote Republican until the 1972 election. As southern whites left, African Americans joined in greater numbers. Turmoil and violence of the late 1960s killed it as a political force, paving the way for a Conservative resurgence (small government and states’ rights) that led to Ronald Reagan’s election in 1980.

8. Great Society: Johnson’s legislative reform program for 1965. • Johnson wanted to be as important and successful a POTUS as his hero, Franklin Roosevelt. He believed in Liberalism--that the federal government could and should use its resources to protect the weak in society and advance the nation’s health and prosperity. • It funded aid to education (Headstart and the Elementary & Secondary Education Act). • It increased government spending to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to find cures to diseases. • After eighteen years of failure, it enacted a healthcare program for the elderly – Medicare. • It called for a “domestic Peace Corps” – Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). • It sponsored urban renewal, beautification, and conservation programs • It created programs to develop depressed regions, programs to control and prevent crime and delinquency, and laws to remove obstacles to the right to vote (Voting Rights Act of 1965).

9. CONTROLLING U.S. IMMIGRATION • THE NATIONAL ORIGINS ACT OF 1924 • Established a “national origins” quota that allowed a percentage of each ethnic group to immigrate. The percentage was based on the 1920 census for each ethnic group. • 150,000 immigrants could be admitted per year. • There was no quota system, restriction, for immigrants from the Western Hemisphere. • THE IMMIGRATION REFORM ACT OF 1965 • Eliminated the “national origins” quota, which had given preference to northwestern Europeans. • 170,000 immigrants could be admitted per year from the Eastern Hemisphere. • 120,000 immigrants could be admitted per year from the Western Hemisphere. • How did the Immigration Reform Act of 1965 change the immigration policy for people from the Western Hemisphere? • A Neither act controlled immigration from Western Hemisphere. • B The 1965 Act limited the number of immigrants from Western Hemisphere while the 1924 Act did not. • C The 1965 Act did not affect immigrants from Western Hemisphere. • D The 1965 Act increased the number of immigrants admitted from Western Hemisphere.

10. The centerpiece of the program was the War on Poverty, inspired by Michael Harrington’s The Other America. Johnson pledged to end poverty in the U.S. (among blacks in the rural South and inner-city North, whites in Appalachia, and Hispanics in the Southwest) through expanded welfare programs. The grand scheme cost billions and with the U.S. already spending billions to fight the war in Vietnam inflation took hold of the economy. The U.S. faced growing deficits and eventually a serious economic crisis. Although some important programs were created, notably Medicare, the Great Society broke down into disarray by 1968. With the end of the Great Society came the end of the New Deal Coalition and the election of Richard Nixon by the so-called “silent majority.”

11. “The Summer of Love”: The summer of 1967 – the heyday of the Counterculture and “Hippies.” San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood (home of the Beats) became a Mecca for young people to come, “hang out,” play music, engage in “free love,” and do drugs. Capping the summer were the release of The Beatles’ “concept album,” Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the Monterey Pop Music Festival, where 200,000 young people gathered to listen to the latest bands, including the introduction of audiences to Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding. It was the first of the major rock concerts that culminated in Woodstock. Another element of the “Summer” was Timothy Leary’s emergence as an advocate for experimental drug use—notably LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) —and his catch phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out”: that is, Turn on: Use drugs to obtain a higher state of awareness. Tune in: Learn from the higher state of awareness. Tune in to the “vibes.” Drop out: Drop out of society. Enact changes outside of conventional society.

12. Woodstock The high point of the Counterculture and youth movement of the 1960s. Nearly 500,000 young people came to Max Yasgur’s dairy farm near Bethel, New York, in August 1969, for “three days of peace and music.”

13. Almost all of the leading rock acts and some old anti-war folkies played. Two legendary performers who would soon die from drug overdoses—Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin—were the headliners. Despite the fact that more than twice the number expected showed up, causing massive traffic jams and over-crowded facilities, and despite the fact that it poured rain, causing the field to become a giant mud pit, the event stayed peaceful and the audience stayed happy. Remarkably, while there was widespread illegal drug use there was no real crime and no conflict or violence. There were several deaths (from heroin overdoses, a tractor accident, and natural causes), at least two births, and several marriages. For three days, Woodstock was the second largest city in New York State and one of the largest cities in the U.S. It demonstrated how positive the Counterculture could be when left to its own devises.

14. 1968: a turning point in U.S. history. It was a year of tragedy. Liberals see it as the year the dream of a peaceful, prosperous, racially and sexually tolerant society died. Conservatives see it as when Liberalism spun out of control and when the Liberal tide was stemmed. Lyndon Johnson was expected to run for re-election, but the Tet Offensive ended that thought. At the end of March he declared he would not run because he had to focus on the war in Vietnam. Four days later, King was murdered and the nation’s cities erupted in riot. As summer began, Democrats faced a battle to find a candidate for POTUS. (Republicans nominated Richard Nixon). The two leading Democrats were Vice-POTUS Hubert Humphrey and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Humphrey wanted to “stay the course” in Vietnam, but Kennedy called for immediate withdrawal. In early August, after winning the California primary, Kennedy was murdered by a Palestinian activist named Sirhan Sirhan.

15. You say you want a revolutionWell you knowWe'd all want to change the worldYou tell me that it's evolutionWell you knowWe'd all want to change the worldBut when you talk about destructionDon't you know that you can count me outDon't you know it's gonna be alright [x3]You say you got a real solutionWell you knowWe'd all want to see the planYou ask me for a contributionWell you knowWe're all doing what we canBut if you want money for people with minds that hateAll I can tell you is brother you have to waitDon't you know it's gonna be alright [x4] You say you'll change the constitutionWell you knowWe'd all want to change your headYou tell me it's the institutionWell you knowYou better free your mind insteadBut if you go carrying pictures of Chairman MaoYou ain't going to make it with anyone anyhowDon't you know know it's gonna be alright [x3]Alright [x7] “Revolution” By John Lennon and Paul McCartney

16. The Democratic Party Convention was held in Chicago in late August. Protesters of all stripes descended on the city. One group, known as the Yippies (Youth International Party), mocked the convention. They released a live pig, Pigasus, in the convention hall to demonstrate how politicians were just pigs at the trough. Many protesters belonged to the Students of a Democratic Society.

17. On one of the nights protestors spread into the street. Chicago police went in at them in full riot gear. Television cameras filmed the scene of a police riot, police beating up on middle-class white student protesters. It sent shock waves through the country. Several of the protestors were indicted for causing the disturbance. The Chicago Seven included members of the SDS, the Yippies, and the Black Panthers.

18. Many Americans who had remained quiet throughout the turmoil of the civil rights movement and anti-war protests feared that the country was on the brink of civil war and destruction. In the November election, the so-called “Silent Majority” spoke—they voted for Nixon.

19. The 1968 Presidential Election: With the end of the Great Society came the end of the New Deal Coalition and the election of Richard Nixon by the so-called “Silent Majority.” America seemed to be coming apart. The streets were filled with protests and violence: blacks fought whites, young fought old, doves fought hawks, liberals fought conservatives. Political assassination seemed a matter of course. Riots turned American inner cities into burned-out shells of despair and rage. Nixon tapped into concerns about the unraveling of American society by asserting a “law and order” message in the campaign. He decried the “permissiveness” of the Democratic administration, notably Attorney General Ramsey Clark. He focused the nation’s attention on street crime, general lawlessness, and disorder, arguing that it was time to take back the cities from the muggers, drug pushers, and more violent criminals. Promising to clean up the streets and to find “a peace with  honor” in Vietnam, he won a resounding victory in the Electoral College (301 votes to Democratic candidate Vice-POTUS Hubert Humphrey 191).

20. But equally essential to Nixon’s victory, was the candidacy of Independent Democrat George Wallace of Alabama. Stripping southern votes from Humphrey, he won 46 electoral votes. On the popular vote level, the election was extremely close. For many, Nixon was still “Tricky Dick Nixon” the man the Left most loved to hate. Nixon won only 43.4% of the vote; Humphrey took 42.7%; and Wallace took 13.5% (highest total of any “Third Party” candidate to that time).

22. Economic Stagnation and Recovery, 1968-1986 The Gold Crisis: Economic crack-up resulting from the massive government spending on the war in Vietnam and War on Poverty. After WWII, the economic powers agreed to set the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency--the Bretton Woods Agreement. It set the conversion rate for gold at $35 U.S. per ounce. With the U.S. restricting the number of U.S. dollars in the world economy, through its worldwide trade surplus, the dollar remained stable. But spending during the 1960s, without tax increases, put the U.S. government deeply in debt. With too many U.S. dollars in currency markets, Europe pressured the Johnson administration of devalue the dollar. Inflation began to wrack the economy and investors looked for more stable investments. They started dumping their U.S. dollars in exchange for gold. Pressure built. On March 14th, 1968, the U.S. lost $372 million in gold trading. On March 17th, the world economic leaders forced Johnson to abandon control of gold prices and ever since the price of gold has floated with currency markets, leading to increased inflation, deficits, debt, and interest payments. By the early 1970s, the U.S. began printing more and more dollars to keep up with debts, beginning a period of runaway inflation. By 1973, the Bretton Woods system collapsed. Since abandoning the gold price, U.S. dollars remain the world’s reserve currency, but are now based solely on the world’s faith in the U.S. government and economy—a potentially precarious place to put one’s faith given the crises that caused the change and our current trade deficit and national debt.

23. Stagflation: The economy that Nixon inherited from Johnson was not only overcome by inflation, but paradoxically by unemployment, as well. Baby boomers began entering the employment market in 1965, and over the next fifteen years nearly 30 million new workers needed jobs. The economy could not keep up: the Gross Domestic Product fell. Productivity declined, fueling further inflation. The economic phenomenon was given a new name, “stagflation,” reflecting stagnant employment amid rising prices and general inflation.

24. Richard M. Nixon, 1913-1994

25. Wage and Price Controls: Nixon tried to solve the debt and inflation issue by raising taxes and cutting spending, but Democrats in Congress blocked the spending cuts. Nixon then employed the power of “impoundment,” simply not spending the money Congress had appropriated. This controlled spending, but was a precarious political tactic. Nixon then pressured the Federal Reserve Board to slow the economy by raising interest rates, but that led to the politically damaging “Nixon Recession of 1969.” Finally, though he had pledged never to do it, Nixon imposed wage and price controls. He froze wages and prices for ninety days in August 1971. The controls were extended through 1972 and made voluntary in 1973. The economy did not recover.

27. Arab Oil Embargo: In 1973, OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) refused to sell oil to any country supporting Israel. The embargo devastated a U.S. economy reeling from the Vietnam War and Great Society. Inflation already wracked the economy, but the embargo made matters worse. Government responded by expanding alternative fuel programs, notably natural gas and ethanol, and by reducing speed limits on federal highways. Americans responded by buying more economical cars, particularly the new compact cars from Japan, such as the Honda CVCC (Civic). Competition from Japan caught the American auto makers flatfooted as their gas-guzzling land yachts lost market share, throwing more workers out of jobs and bringing Chrysler to the brink of bankruptcy. The oil embargo led to the “energy crisis” and “gas lines” of the Carter years.

28. Watergate: Named for a building in Washington, it refers to the Nixon campaign’s plot to burglarize the Democratic National Committee's campaign headquarters and the subsequent cover-up. Nixon’s staff hired a group of burglars, called “plumbers,” to do various “dirty tricks.” When the burglars were caught breaking into DNC headquarters, an investigation traced payment of the burglars back to the Committee to Re-Elect the President (“CREEP”) and to the White House. Nixon did not know about the plot, but when he found out he decided to cover it up. An investigation by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein led to a whistle-blower, FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt, known as “Deep Throat.” The most critical piece of information Felt told the reporters was to talk to John Dean, White House Counsel. When they did, Dean told them that he and Nixon had discussed the issue and alleged cover-up on many occasions.

29. As news accounts exposed the plot, Congress began hearings and “discovered” that Nixon had secretly taped all conversations in the Oval Office (for the historical record). It demanded that the Nixon administration turn over the tapes. Nixon refused, claiming Executive Privilege. Congress sued Nixon for not responding to a subpoena. The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Nixon, ruled that Nixon had to turn over the tapes.

30. As Congress got closer, the administration also began an investigation through the Office of the Special Prosecutor. Archibald Cox, the liberal Democrat lawyer who had served as Solicitor General under JFK, was named chief investigator. Cox’s investigators proved more dogged than Nixon had hoped. So on October 20th, 1973, Nixon ordered the Attorney General to fire Cox. The AG Elliot Richardson refused and resigned. The Deputy AG also refused and resigned. Finally, Nixon’s Solicitor General Robert Bork carried out Nixon’s order. When it all came public, it became known as the Saturday Night Massacre.

31. With his impeachment imminent and his conviction almost assured, Nixon resigned the presidency in August 1974. Shortly after Nixon left office, claiming the “our national nightmare is over,” President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon.

32. President Gerald Ford:From Michigan, he became the 37th POTUS, but is the only president never elected to any national office. In 1973, Nixon’s first Vice-POTUS (Spiro Agnew) resigned in the face of corruption charges; so under the 25th Amendment, Nixon nominated and Congress approved Ford to replace him. When Nixon resigned, Ford became POTUS. Although many Americans criticized him for it at the time, historians now suggest that the pardon of Nixon (Ford’s most important act as president) was the right thing to do. It put Watergate behinds us and kept it from dragging through the courts and continuing to cause political upheaval. In retrospect, Ford was an important stabilizing figure.

33. Whip Inflation Now (WIN): With the U.S. economy reeling from inflation in 1974, it seems that the best Gerald Ford could do was come up with a slogan: Whip Inflation Now. He asked people to wear WIN buttons and control spending habits. Not only did it not stop inflation (because the high cost of fuel caused everything else to go up) it may have helped lead the country into a mild recession of 1975. The Tumbling President

34. Carter (D) E.C. Vote - 297 Pop. Vote - 40.8 million Ford (R) E.C. Vote – 240 Pop. Vote – 39.1 million Voter Participation (Based on Registered Voters) 53%

35. Betty Friedan: Started the modern women’s liberation movement when she published The Feminine Mystique in 1963. The book shook American culture by declaring that women were dissatisfied being “just” wives and mothers: “the problem that has no name.” She became an activist for women’s rights and was co-founder of the National Organization for Women in 1966. In 1969, she co-founded the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) which became a leading advocate in the case known as Roe v. Wade. "The problem that has no name — which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities — is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease."

36. Roe v. Wade (1973): Controversial case involving the legal right to abortion. It grew out Norma L. McCorvey’s (Jane Roe) challenge to a Texas law banning abortion. Building on the 1964 case, Griswold v. Connecticut, which established a constitutional “right to privacy,” the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that abortion was a constitutional right. The 7-2 decision argued to a three-part policy based on the trimester pregnancy. In the first trimester, before “quickening” or “viability” of the fetus, abortion was absolutely legal; the second trimester was a gray area, dependent on doctor-patient agreement; in the third trimester abortion was not legal except to save the life of the mother. The trimester system has been significantly refined by later decisions, notably Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). The case made a national issue of abortion as Americans divided into two camps – Pro-Choice and Pro-Life. The political parties also divided on the issue: the Republican Party calling for a constitutional amendment to restrict abortion, and the Democratic Party calling for expanded abortion rights. This created a “gender gap” that defined American politics from the 1970s to 2001.

37. Equal Rights Amendment: Having won the vote, women’s rights advocates, as early as the 1920s,began calling for a constitutional amendment that would prohibit discrimination on account of gender. They wanted to guarantee women access to jobs, to equal pay for those jobs, as well as rights of contract and any other area of public life. With the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s, led by such figures as Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and the National Organization for Women (NOW), Congress finally passed the proposed amendment and it went to the states for ratification. Three-quarters of states (38 states) had to approve the amendment by 1979 (later extended to 1982) for it to take effect. The ratification process became complex and somewhat convoluted because several states initially ratified it only to revoke their approval upon further study. A counter-movement, named Stop-ERA, led by Phyllis Schlafly, arose to challenge the amendment. Schlafly argued that it would eliminate several gender-based benefits that women enjoy in America. And as a strong conservative advocate of family values, she contended that it would lead to tax-payer funded abortions, same-sex marriages, and women in combat. Stop-ERA successfully blocked the advance of the amendment and by 1982 its time had run out. The Equal Rights Amendment failed. Interestingly, those policies which Schlafly feared came to pass even without the ERA.

38. The Equal Rights Amendment Pros – According to NOW • Gives women greater educational opportunities • Gives equal pay for equal work • Stops the “exclusion” of women from certain professions and most levels of government Cons – According to Stop-ERA • Destroys traditional American values and social patterns • Takes away legal rights of wives, especially in divorce cases • Takes away the right of single-gender colleges

40. César Chávez and the Migrant Farm Workers Movement César Chávez was born in Yuma, Arizona, and had worked as a migrant farm worker in California in his youth. Farm workers had few rights and were not treated fairly. After facing segregation while in the Navy in WWII, he became an advocate for civil rights of Hispanics. In 1956, he founded the National Farm Workers Association with Delores Huerta.Later called the United Farm Workers,the union organized a national boycott of grapes during the late 1960s and early 1970s that forced California growers to raise the wages of farm workers.

42. CIVIL RIGHTS FOR MINORITY GROUPS HISPANIC AMERICANS United Farm Workers Fought for: • Increased wages • Benefits • Job security La Raza Unida • Mobilized Hispanic American voters • Called for job-training programs • Promoted greater access to financial institutions • NATIVE AMERICANS • Declaration of Indian Purpose • Create greater economic • opportunities on • reservations • American Indian Movement • Demanded: • • Changes in the administration of reservations • • Government to honor treaty obligations • • Native American self-determination • • Land and water rights AFRICAN AMERICANS People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) Led by Jesse Jackson Worked to: • Register African American voters • Develop African American businesses • Broaden educational opportunities Congressional Black Caucus Promoted: • Health care • Economic development • Crime reduction

43. Jimmy Carter: Given Watergate, Gerald Ford’s unpopular pardon of Nixon, and a tanking economy (unemployment at 9%), the 1976 election was much closer than one might expect, but the Democrat Jimmy Carter won. A major story of the election was low voter turnout. Carter, former Georgia Governor, campaigned as an outsider. That, and his lack of a mandate, left him unable to control the sizeable Democratic majority in Congress and led to conflict that made resolving the problems that ailed America nearly impossible. As the economy remained stagnant, Carter lost credibility.

44. Energy Crisis II: The lingering effects of the Arab Oil Embargo and the new shock of the Iranian Hostage Crisis led to a second energy crisis in the late 1970s. The Blizzard of 1977 made that winter the hardest in memory; heating oil prices sky-rocketed. Then the strife in Iran caused oil prices to go up. Oil had cost less than $5 a barrel in 1969, but by 1979 the price had risen to near $40; a year later it climbed to $50 per barrel. To end the inflationary spiral, the Federal Reserve boosted interest rates to 20%, which slowed the economy and through more people out of work. Carter’s popularity in polls dropped to 26% (lower than Nixon’s rating at the depth of Watergate.)

45. Three Mile Island: In the midst of the energy crisis, many hoped that nuclear power would offer a safe and sustainable alternative to oil. Others feared nuclear power. In 1979, a partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in central Pennsylvania fed fears of a nuclear catastrophe. The station had a “loss of coolant accident” which caused the reactor core to overheat. To relieve pressure, the steam was released into the atmosphere. Many feared the spread nuclear radiation into an area inhabited by more than 25,000 people. The entire region was evacuated. In the end, no one was hurt in the accident, but fears of nuclear disaster remained and construction of new nuclear energy facilities stopped. Making the whole situation seem worse was the fact that Hollywood had just released a movie about a meltdown at a nuclear reactor. The China Syndrome starred Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda and told the story of what could happen if there were a real meltdown. According to the movie, it would cause an explosion so big that it would push downward through the Earth “all the way to China.” Although nothing really happed at Three Mile Island, a real nuclear disaster did occur in the Soviet Union in 1986. That event killed 31 people immediately and contaminated the air and water of the Chernobyl region for a decade.

46. “Malaise”:On July 15th, 1979, Carter made a political mistake that plagued the rest of his time in office. “It's clear that the true problems of our nation are much deeper,” he declared in a televised speech, “deeper than gasoline lines of energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession.” He said a crisis of the American spirit, a malaise, had overcome the country. Then he offered his solution: a reduction of oil imports and an increase in taxes. Leaving aside the statement's validity, the speech’s negative tone further alienated the citizenry. By 1980, unemployment stood at 7.5%, inflation was 12%, and the prime interest rate was 20%.

47. When dramatic failures in foreign policy overtook Carter a few months later and Senator Edward Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination, Carter was all but guaranteed to lose the 1980 election. He won only 41 percent of the vote and Ronald Reagan won an overwhelming electoral victory, 489 to 49. Although more had voted than in the previous election, only 53 percent of eligible voters actually cast ballots.