A CRISIS IN CONFIDENCE, 1969-1980

America: Past and Present

Chapter 22

Nixon in Power

• Apparent success in first term • Triumphs in foreign affairs• Nixon cuts himself off from Congress,

his own cabinet, and the nation

Reshaping the Great Society

• Nixon and the Great Society• more efficient administration• shift responsibility to the states• shift school desegregation to the courts

• Shift to conservative Supreme Court• appointment of conservatives and

moderates• Burger Court similar to Warren Court

• Pace of change slows but continues

Nixonomics

• Nixon and inflation• inflation spurred by Vietnam • federal spending cuts• interest rates forced up

• 1970--Nixon-induced recession • 1971--wage and price controls• Economy revives

Building a Republican Majority

• Nixon obsessed about reelection • Inactive on desegregation to win South • Attack cultural revolution to win “middle

America”• Democrats retain majority by joining

crusade against drugs, crime

In Search of Détente

• Foreign-policy assumptions• Cold War to be managed, not won• America must make a strategic retreat• improve relations with China to neutralize

Russia• February 1972--Nixon visits China

In Search of Détente:Outcome of China Visit

• February 1972--U.S. recognition of Communist China set in motion

• May 1972--Russians sign SALT I• Apparent mutual desire to reduce Cold

War tensions

Ending the Vietnam War

• Nixon’s plan• gradual reduction of American troops• intensify American bombing • hard line at the peace talks

• 1970--invasion of Cambodia• January, 1973--peace talks conclude

with disguised American surrender

The Crisis of Democracy

• June, 1972--Nixon agents arrested for attempted Watergate break-in

• Nixon stonewalled the press about White House involvement• even instructed aides to lie under oath

The Election of 1972

• Nixon’s opponents• American Independent George Wallace--

shot and disabled, followers vote for Nixon• Democrat George McGovern--nomination

alienates middle class• Nixon landslide suggests new alignment

• middle class shifting to Republicans• African Americans, Jews, the poor remain

strongly Democratic

The Watergate Scandal

• Summer 1973--Senate investigation• damaging Senate hearings on cover-up• White House tapes discovered

• Summer 1974• Nixon must relinquish tapes• House Judiciary committee recommends

impeachment • August 9, 1974--Nixon resigns

The Watergate Scandal: Consequences

• Demonstrates growing power of the executive branch

• Illustrates vitality of institutions• the press• the federal judiciary• Congress

Energy and the Economy

• U.S. way of life based on cheap energy• 1970s energy crisis sparks inflation

The October War

• October, 1973--Yom Kippur War pits Egypt, Syria against Israel

• U.S. supplies weapons to Israel • Arab oil nations retaliate with boycott

• prices of gasoline and home heating fuel rose sharply

The Oil Shocks

• Effects of soaring oil prices • consumer spending plunges• recession by 1974• inflation persists through 1970s

• Tax cut aids recovery• 1979--Iranian Revolution causes

second surge in oil prices

The Oil Shocks: Price Increases of Crude Oil and Gasoline, 1973-1985

The Search for an Energy Policy

• Ford tries to encourage production• Carter tries to encourage conservation• Congressional legislation to

• encourage production, e.g. Alaska pipeline• encourage conservation, e.g. gas rationing

• Energy problem persists

The Great Inflation

• Oil prices drive inflation• price of goods soars• real income declines

• Attempted government controls result in record high interest rates

The Shifting American Economy

• U.S. share of world markets declines• U.S. heavy industry declines• High technology prospers• Businesses tend to diversify

Private Lives—Public Issues

• Traditional American family gives way to more diverse living arrangements

• Number of working women increases sharply

• Gay rights movement emerges

The Changing American Family: Family Life by 1990

• 21% of women solely in childrearing• 30% of married coupes without children• 25% of households consist of one adult• Birthrate begins to climb after 15-year

fall• Divorce rate levels and drops slightly

The Changing American Family: New Family Structure

• Many never marry or postpone marriage

• Most mothers work outside the home• Proportion of single-parent households

doubled• Women without partners head 1/3 of

impoverished families • Children comprise 40% of the poor

Types of Households in the United States, 2000

Gains and Setbacks for Women

• Rapid movement of women into work force• Breakthroughs for women

• leaders in industry, higher education• Roe v. Wade strengthens reproductive rights• women appointed to Supreme Court

• Resistance• most women remain in female-dominated jobs• wages only 77.5% of men’s earnings• Equal Rights Amendment fails • abortion widely stigmatized

Voting on the Equal Rights Amendment

The Gay Liberation Movement

• 1969--Stonewall Riot sparks gay rights movement• 1980--Democrats include gay rights plank• 1980s--AIDS activism• 1987--600,000 march on Washington• 1993--“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy a setback• 1996--Defense of Marriage Act prohibits state

recognition of same-sex unions• 2000--Vermont legalizes same-sex “civil unions”

Politics After Watergate

• Watergate erodes public trust• Confrontation leaves nation leaderless

The Ford Administration

• Pardon of Nixon unpopular• Democratic Congress alienated

• disclosure of illegal CIA activities under Kennedy and Johnson

• opposes Democratic bills protecting the environment and civil rights

The 1976 Campaign

• Ford damaged by Watergate• Democrat Jimmy Carter wins close vote

• former governor of Georgia• campaigns as outsider• calls for decency, morality in government

Disenchantment with Carter

• Carter displays lack of political vision• Outsider status hampers effectiveness• 1979--Carter blames American people

for "national malaise"

From Détente to Renewed Cold War

• U.S. international dominance declined sharply in the 1970s

• Internal and external events weakened foreign policy

Retreat in Asia

• April 1975--North Vietnam captures Saigon

• U.S. response--evacuation, no aid • Subsequent incidents met with caution,

restraint

Accommodation in Latin America

• 1977--treaty returns Panama Canal to Panama

• 1979--U.S. refuses aid to Nicaraguan government against Sandinistas

• Carter assists El Salvador against Marxist rebels

The Quest for Peace in the Middle East

• Carter’s success• 1978--Camp David Accords • 1979--Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty

• Carter’s failure• 1979--Iranian Revolution • November--U.S. embassy in Teheran

invaded, 58 Americans taken hostage• Carter fails to secure hostages’ release

The Cold War Resumes

• Carter, Brzezinski shift from Détente• condemn Soviet human rights abuses• new missile systems deployed• increased aid to China

• December, 1979--Russians invade Afghanistan

A Failed Presidency

• Carter lost public confidence during the Iranian hostage crisis

• Double-digit inflation also contributed to voter disappointment