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1970’s The Stagnant Seventies

1970’s The Stagnant Seventies. Presidency of Richard Nixon. 1968 a very violent year. MLK and RFK assasinated George Wallace leaves Democratic Party and creates a 3 rd party. Legacy of Vietnam at home. Counter-Culture/Hippie Movement. Generation Gap

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1970’s The Stagnant Seventies

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  1. 1970’s The Stagnant Seventies Presidency of Richard Nixon

  2. 1968 a very violent year • MLK and RFK assasinated • George Wallace leaves Democratic Party and creates a 3rd party

  3. Legacy of Vietnam at home

  4. Counter-Culture/Hippie Movement • Generation Gap many hippies indulged in behavior intended to shock older Americans (nudity, profanity, etc.) many engaged in promiscuous sexual behavior and drugs • Woodstock Festival 1969 Gathering in NY state of 400,000 youth Flower children Folk and rock music iconic event of counter-culture movement Pivotal moment in pop culture history

  5. Parents of Boomers/hippies • Lived frugally • Lived through hard economic times • Valued loyalty and authority, respect for their elders • Listened to same music • Against premarital sex • Boomers/hippies • Grew up in times of prosperity • Embraced activism • Distrust for Tradition and Authority • Listened to Rock n Roll • OK with premarital sex

  6. New Left • Coalition of younger members of the Democratic party and radical student groups. Believed in participatory democracy, free speech, civil rights and racial brotherhood, and opposed the war in Vietnam.

  7. Kent State Tragedy, 1970 • Student protest over President Nixon's bombing of Cambodia in 1970 • ended in tragedy when several were killed by National Guardsmen trying to break up their protests.

  8. Rebirth • Charles Reich, The Greening of America, 1970 -predicted a coming revolution with no violence. -offers an interpretation of how the U.S. went wrong and -predicts a rebirth of human values through a "new" generation.

  9. Scandal around Vietnam • Pentagon Papers, 1971 • Dept of Defense document on US political-military involvement in Vietnam 45-67, released by Daniel Ellsberg to public and published in the NY Times • Demonstrated that the Johnson Administration "systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress”.

  10. Led to the War Powers Act, 1973 • Passed over President Nixon's veto • increases congressional control over the executive branch in foreign policy matters • military actions short of formally declared war • prohibited the President from engaging in military actions ≥ 60 days, unless Congress voted approval

  11. Nixon and the Imperial Presidency

  12. Nixon's Domestic Policy • Notable Legislation or Presidential Action • Expansion of • Food Stamps • Medicaid • Aid to Families of with Dependent Children (AFDC) • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) • Automatic Social Security cost of living increases • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1970 • Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), 1970 • Clean Air Act, 1970 • Endangered Species Act, 1973

  13. Federal vs. State Powers • “New Federalism” • Nixon's policy of giving the states greater responsibility for controlling welfare and other government programs • 5 yr plan - $30 billion to states • "Revenue Sharing"1972 - A Nixon program that returned federal funds to the states to use as they saw fit.

  14. The Economy under Nixon • Stagflation A term used to describe the economy during Nixon's presidency because business was not growing and inflation was rising out of control Possible explanations for inflation: • Rise of women & youth in workforce (less skilled) • Cost of compliance • Lack of investment in new technology • Shift from manufacturing to service oriented economy • Dollar • Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard and devalued the dollar (to improve trade balance)

  15. Watergate Scandal (1972) • Nixon: very paranoid (enemies list) • Nixon associates (CREEP) caught spying at Headquarters of Democratic Party • Nixon assisted in the cover up • Ordered CIA to aid in cover up • Lied about any knowledge of break-in • “Hush money” paid to those who were caught • Saturday Night Massacre • Nixon fired Cox (special investigator) • White House Tapes and the Smoking Gun • Nixon forced to resign, disgraced Presidency

  16. Aftermath of Watergate • Nation had survived a constitutional crisis • proved that impeachment machinery forged by Founding Fathers could work when public opinion overwhelmingly demanded that it be implemented • Executive power held in check by system of checks and balances (executive/legislative/judicial branches)

  17. Nixon’s Legacy • Most known for improving relations with China and the USSR détente: relaxation of strained political relations and Cold War tensions between the superpowers

  18. Ford Presidency 1974-1977 • No public mandate • Ford became VP under Nixon after VP Spiro Agnew resigned (bribery) • Not elected Vice President or President by the Electoral College (25th Amendment, 1967) • Pardoned Nixon after his resignation • Growing inflation and recession under his tenure

  19. Reading Assignments • Unfinished Nation, Chapter 32: Crisis of Authority pp. 842-859/866-875 • Youth Culture • Mobilization of Minorities • New Feminism • Environmentalism • Nixon: Politics & Economics • Election 1972 – Troubled Economy • Watergate • Link to Chapter 40 on wikispace • Content-based test November 27th (JFK, LBJ,Nixon)

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