The Stalemated Seventies

1. The Stalemated Seventies

2. Nixon’s New Conservatism • Nixon was determined to turn the US into a more conservative direction with a sense of order • The US was intensely divided over Nam • Nixon felt LBJ’s Great Society programs gave the federal gov. too much respons. • Nixon’s plan was New Federalism which was to distribute a portion of federal power to state and local government • Under the Revenue Sharing Plan state and local gov. could spend Fed. $ how they saw fit

3. Nixon’s Southern Strategy • Nixon tried to get support from white southern democrats who were unhappy with federal desegregation policies and a liberal supreme court • Nixon favored slow desegregation, in 1969 he ordered the Dept. of Health, Ed, and Welfare to delay segregation in Miss. and SC ( Overturned by the Supreme Court) • Desegregation though school busing became a civil rights issue ( Whites in Detroit and Boston opposed it) Nixon was opposed to it

4. Two Sides to New Federalism • The Nixon administration increased Social Security, Medicare, Medicare and made food stamps more accessible • Yet Nixon tried to eliminate the Job Corps, and in 1970 he denied funding for (HUD) • By 1973 Nixon had impounded more than $15 billion in funds for housing, health, and education (Courts overturned the impounding) • Nixon abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity

5. Nixon wants to place more conservative on the bench Earl Warren retires Warren E Burger takes over Nixon has total of 4 appointed supreme court judges But judges to push conservative agenda, in some cases more liberal (Roe vs. Wade) The Supreme Court

6. Environmental Protection Agency created in 1970 Influence by Silent Spring- Rachel Carson 1962- exposes poisonous effects of pesticides 4-22 1970 first celebration of earth day 1970 Clean Air Act 1973- Endangered Species Act EPA

7. Law and Order Politics • Nixon pledged to end the war in Vietnam • He pledged to mend American divisions • He played to the “silent majority” • Nixon used the FBI and CIA to investigate American dissidents and political enemies • The IRS was used to audit anti-war and civil rights activists returns • Nixon had a “enemies list” of who to harass • VP Agnew attacked liberals, the media, and anti-war protestors ( Pit-bull)

8. The Imperial Presidency • Nixon expanded the power of the Presidency with little thought of Constitutional Checks • Impoundment of funds for fed. programs • Invading Cambodia without the approval of Congress • Nixon felt the office of the Presidency was above the law

9. On June 17, 1972, five men working for the Republican Committee for the Re-election of the President (CREEP) were caught breaking into the Watergate Hotel (Democratic headqtrs) and planting some bugs in the room. Dirty tricks- forge documents to discredit democrats, use the IRS to harass people on White House “enemy list”, burglarizing office of Pentagon Paper leaker, use FBI and CIA to cover tracks Watergate and Nixon Scandals

10. The Fall of Nixon • In March 1974 a Grand Jury indicted seven presidential aids on charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury • Nixon released 1,254 pages of edited transcripts • In July 1974 The Supreme Court ordered Nixon to give up the unedited tapes “I am not a crook!” • In Aug. Nixon released the tapes with an 18.5 min. gap (Rose Mary Woods accidentally erased the most crucial part)

11. Articles of impeachment are drawn up- obstruction of justice, abuse of presidential powers, contempt of congress Reps see “writing on the wall”- tell Nixon no way he can survive impeachment Watergate and Nixon Scandals

13. Cost- 118 Billion 56,000 dead 300,000 wounded US lost world wide respect US self confidence is hurt Vietnam and its legacy

14. US businesses STRONG during post WWII, no incentive to modernize plans German and Japan, rebuild with modern technology- not beginning to dominate cars, steel, and electronic industries Roots of stagnation

15. Combination of factors 1.Teens and Womens working- less likely to take full time jobs, thus not developing job skills 2.Adjusting to new safety and environmental regulations 3.Shifting to service economy from a manufacturing one 4. Rise in oil prices 5. Vietnam 6. Biggest cause- LBJ’s deficit spending- Fighting V war and Great Society- never raised taxes Cost of living tripled in 12 years after Nixon’s inauguration Roots of stagnation

16. 70’s have no economic boom like 50’s and 60’s. Children could have a standard of living less than their parents—American Dream in question Period of Stagflation- economy is experiencing a recession and inflation at the same time Economy of the 1970’s

18. OPEC and War • During the 1960’s the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised the price of oil • The Six Days War in 1967 impacted prices • The 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt and Syria rose prices • The US sent massive military aid to Israel, Arab OPEC nations cut oil sales to the US (Oil Embargo) By 1974 price increased 4x • Major gas lines and shortages in the US early, mid 1970’s

19. Yom Kippur War- Egypt and Syria try to regain lands lost in Six Day War US supports and saves Israel OPEC announces oil Embargo on US for support of Israel, then cut oil production Gas embargo causes US recession, then spreads to UK and France Oil Embargo and NRG Crisis

20. Congress reaction 1. Oil pipeline in Alaska 2. National speed limit of 55 5 moths of the “blackmail” embargo demonstrates the end of cheap NRG OPEC lifts embargo, and quadrupled crude oil prices Oil Embargo and NRG Crisis

21. 1st man to be president without being elected Illegitimacy hung over head LBJ- Jerry lacks brainpower, can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. Ford pardon’s Nixon, Democrats are pissed (Buddy Deal) Ford continues with Détente Helsinki Accords which recognized Soviet boundaries, guaranteed human rights, and eased the U.S.—Soviet situation. West Germans love it Critics- détente was making the U.S. lose grain and technology while gaining nothing from the Soviets. 1st un-elected President

22. North Vietnam crushes the South, after congress wouldn’t allow more aid to the South Fall of Saigon happens fast, remaining Americans have to flee fast Defeat in Vietnam

23. During the 1970s, the feminist movement became energized and took a decidedly aggressive tone. 1972- Title IX prohibited sex discrimination in any federally funded education program (big in female sports) Supreme Court aids feminism movement Roe v. Wade case legalized abortion, arguing that ending a pregnancy was protected under a right to privacy. Feminist Victories and Defeats

24. Even more ambitious was the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) to the Constitution. 1972- Nixon vetoed proposal to set up nationwide day care, because it would weaken the family Anti feminists blame divorce rate on feminists, churches start movements to oppose abortion Conservative ultra anti feminists- Phyllis Schlafly- said ERA would deprive a woman’s right to be a wife and It would require women to serve in combat. 1982- ERA dies, 3 states short of success Feminist Victories and Defeats

25. 1974 Milliken v. Bradley case, the Supreme Court ruled that desegregation plans could not require students to move across school-district lines. This reinforced the “white flight” to the suburbs that pitted the poorest whites and blacks against each other, often with explosively violent results. 70’s Black and White

26. Affirmative Action- whites still screaming reverse discrimination In the Bakke case of 1978, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that Allan Bakke (a white applicant claiming reverse discrimination) should be admitted to U.C.—Davis med school. The decision was ambiguous saying (1) admission preference based on any race was not allowed, but conversely that (2) race could be factored into the admission policy. The Supreme Court’s only black justice, Thurgood Marshall, warned that the denial of racial preferences might sweep away the progress gained by the civil rights movement. 70’s Black and White

27. Get inspiration from civil rights movement Focus- assert status of separate semi-sovereign peoples Capture Alcatraz in 1970, Wounded Knee in 1972 US v. Wheeler- Native tribes possessed a “unique and limited” sovereignty, subject to will of Congress, but not individual states Native Americans in the 70’s

28. Bicentennial Reps- Gerald Ford Demos- Jimmy Carter JC almost running against memory of Watergate, rather than Ford – JC- “I’ll never lie to you” 97% of African Americans vote for JC Election of 1976

29. Carter wins Democratic majority in both houses Creates new cabinet- Dept. of NRG Pardons ten thousand Vietnam draft dodgers Popularity was high early on, but campaigned as an outside, usually rubbed congress the wrong way Election of 1976

30. “Human Rights” dominated Carter’s foreign policy- Rhodesia and South Africa Camp David Accords- Biggest Success- Anwar Sadat (Egypt) and Menachem Begin(Israel) Israel agreed to withdraw from territory gained in the 1967 war, while Egypt would respect Israel’s territories. Carter the Humanitarian

31. Resumes diplomatic relations with China at 3 year interruption Pushes through treaties that give Panama Canal back to Panamanians Despite these successes cold war still hangs over US head Cubans, supported by USSR, appeared in Angola, Ethiopia, and other areas in Africa Carter the Humanitarian

32. Inherits Ford’s recession, inflation rate at 13% in1980 Americans would learn that they could no longer hide behind their ocean moats and live happily insulated from foreign affairs Carter diagnosed America’s problems as stemming primarily from the nation’s costly dependence on foreign oil JC and the Economy

33. CIA placed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi gets overthrown in 1979 Muslim fundamentalists resent Reza’s attempt to Westernize Iran Iran’s oil production is stalled during rebellion, OPEC hike up crude oil prices – another gas crisis The US and Iran

34. Chides US citizens for falling into a “moral and spiritual crisis” and being too concerned with “material goods” Then, a few days later, he fired four cabinet secretaries and tightened the circle around his Georgian advisors even more tightly. Malaise Speech

35. 1979- Leonid Brezhnev and Carter meet to discuss SALT II Senate won’t ratify the treaty Nov 4, 79- Iranian militants take over US embassy in Iran, takes all as hostages Rebels want the US to ship back the former Shah for trial Carter and foreign affairs

36. Dec 1979- Soviets invade Afghanistan(next to Iran) Carter embargos USSR, called for boycott of Olympic games in Moscow Carter says US will us any means necessary, including force to protect Persian Gulf Carter admits to being fooled by the Soviets and SALT II Soviets busy in “Russia’s Vietnam” Carter and foreign affairs

37. Kills US moral- nightly news broadcasts show anti-American mobs in Iran Economic sanctions applied, US is waiting for a stable government US plans rescue mission, fails mainly due to weather, two helicopters crash into each other US now looks helpless and incompetent 444 days Iranian Hostage Crisis