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Nixon promised to bring Americans together in his inaugural speech
Hoped to shift responsibility for social programs from fed to state government
Sought to make government more efficient
Capped welfare payments at $ 2.5 billion per year
Henry Kissinger (refugee from Nazi Germany) designed Nixon’s foreign policy
Saw the US/USSR power struggle as something to be managed, not won
Both sought to withdraw from an arms race, ply the USSR with grain and
technology , and open relations with China to increase USSR/China tensions
Nixon toured China in February of 1972
Brezhnev agree to SALT I in May 1972
Limited each nation to 200 ABMs
Froze production of offensive ballistic missiles for 5 years
3 part plan to end the Vietnam Conflict
1.)Gradual withdrawal of troops + “Vietnamization”
2.)Renewed bombing in Hanoi
The most controversial part of the plan
Air and ground strikes led to US student protests
Kent State (four killed, eleven wounded)
Jackson State (two killed)
Most Americans blamed rioting student for the deaths
Nixon sided with the “silent majority” rather than the “bums”
400+ college campuses reported riots
3.)“Hard-line” negotiations with North Vietnam
Begun in 1969, completed in 1972
Hanoi signs truce after a series of bombing raids
POWs returned in exchange for US withdrawal
N. Vietnam allowed to keep troops in S
A negotiated surrender…
The cover-up was unsuccessful
Nixon disputed turning over the Oval Office tapes
Cliamed executive privelege
Fired Archibald Cox, but LeonJaworski still wanted the tapes
The Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to turn over the tapes
Nixon resigns on August 9, 1974
Showed the independence of the branches of government, the value of checks and balances
Also showed several the inside of a jail cell
Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on October 6, 1973
A result was the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
US gave aid to Israel, OPEC cut production until Israel agreed to give up lands taken in
the Six Day War of 1967
A world-wide oil shortage resulted
Gas prices rose, gas shortages occurred
An energy crisis became apparent; US production and consumption was disproportionate
Cheap energy had been a mainstay of American life (industrial growth, cars,
suburbs, etc)
In the 70s, OPEC raised the price of oil from $3 per barrel to $11.65
GNP dropped 6%, unemployment rose to 9% in 1974
Ford’s tax cut could not offset budget deficits
Inflation and the economy worsened under Carter
Crude oil rose to $30 per barrel by 1979
A short-term energy crisis and gas shortage resulted
US economic reliance on fossil fuels was problematic
EPA passed rules to urge industry to switch to clean burning fuels
Clean Air Act (1970)
Strip mining and off shore drilling were still legal despite protests
Republicans favored expanded supplies, fuel price controls and greater use of nuclear energy
Democrats favored price controls, conservation and rationing
Congress funded the Alaskan pipeline and mandated fuel efficient cars
No real plan developed; energy usage and imports continued to increase
Vietnam/Great Society caused huge budget deficits
Wages fell while prices increased dramatically—many prices doubled
Carter/Fed chair Volcker tightened the money supply
Interest rates achieved record levels
Prime rate reached 20%
Heavy industry (steel, autos, manufacturing) declined
IBM, Transamerica and high-tech industries did well
Industry shifted to the sunbelt—educated but non-union labor
Declines in two parent families and stay at home mom households
Fewer families—by 1990, 30% of households were 1 person
Divorce rates leveled off after doubling through the 60s and 70s
Average age of marriage rises to above 25 (19 in the 50s)
% of children living with only one parent doubled over 20 years
61% of new jobs in the era were filled by women
Women on the Supreme Court, at West Point and Annapolis
Women’s earnings were 73% of men’s in 1999
Increasing #s of women owned businesses
ERA was approved by Congress
“Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged by the United
States or any state on account of sex.”
Backed by NOW, opposed by Phyllis Schlafly
Roe v Wade decided in 1973
Protected a right to abortion in the first trimester with limited rights after
Limited by the Hyde Amendment (1978)—no federal funds for abortions
Folks began coming out of the closet, especially in major cities
A gay rights plank added to the 1980 Democrat Platform
AIDS led to greater activism in the 1980s
Clinton enacted “Don’t ask, don’t tell”—not exactly a bold move
Gay marriage became an “issue” in the late 90s
1998 Matthew Shepard murder gained national attention
Gays became a disproportionately powerful minority group by 2000
Americans generally oppose discrimination against gays
Ford pardoned Nixon on September 8, 1974
His attempt to end Watergate backlash failed badly
Ford appointed Bush to the CIA to fix its rogue tendencies
Ford was far more conservative than Nixon on social programs Vetoed 39 bills
Carter Nearly squandered a 30 point lead in the polls
Won a narrow victory in 1976
No discernable political philosophy
A millionaire populist
Advised by a combination of outsiders and establishment
Deficits continued, reform attempts failed
Carter blamed the voters—an interesting strategy
His “national malaise” speech noted a “crisis of confidence”
Noted a weakened national will to face our country’s problems
The misery index (inflation + unemployment) was above 20 in 1980
Carter was renominated despite Ted Kennedy’s challenge
Reagan focused on the economy
Carter said Reagan was a reckless warmonger
Reagan responded in a debate, noting his devotion to peace
He then asked, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”
Reagan won decisively
50.5 % of blue-collar vote
46 % of Jewish vote
15% of the African-American vote
GOP also gained control of the Senate; 33 new seats in the house
“Government is the problem, not the solution”
A shift to supply-side economics
The private sector would improve when freed of taxation
$41 billion + cut from social programs
Reagan was able to gain support from conservative Democrats
Both houses passed huge income tax reductions
Reagan focused on government deregulation
James Watt (Interior) opened govt lands for coal and timber
production
Drew Lewis (Transportation) relaxed environmental regulation on the auto industry
Convinced Japan to limit auto imports
Also opposed the air traffic controllers union/strike
Reagan fired all striking PATCO members
Gradually raised retirement ages to combat Social Security problems
Reagan made no effort to court minority voters
A recession beginning fall ’81 led to 10% unemployment
Kept tax cuts, moderated defense spending
Recovery began in spring of 1983
Consumer spending increased
Inflation remained under control
Interest rates, energy and food prices fell
The Gramm-Rudman Bill set budgetary limits
Defense spending was frozen
The deficit peaked at $221 billion in 1986
$155 billion by 1988
American exports fell; the trade deficit grew
The value of the dollar increased
The standard of living increased along with personal and national debt
Inflation fell to 4% by 1982; oil prices also dropped dramatically
Blue-collar jobs declined as labor-intensive industries manufactured abroad
Some women made gains in fields like law and accounting
Union membership dropped to 15.5% by 1992
The poorest 20% saw a decline in mean income; all others
Economic restructuring primarily benefited the wealthy
The top tax rate declined form 70% to 20%
55% of the gain in assets went to .5% of the population
16 million new job, plummeting interest rates
lower unemployment 6%
1984 opponent was (D) Walter Mondale
Mondale promised to raise taxes to lower the deficit
Also pressed Reagan on the issue of his age
Many traditionally D constituencies voted for Reagan
Except for African Americans
Working poor favored D party
GOP did not make huge gains in the House or Senate
Reagan believed that the USSR was the mortal enemy of the US
He abandoned detente and sought military supremacy
US put weapons in bases in GB and Germany
USSR broke off disarmament talks in Geneva
US stepped up research for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Lasers and particle beams would be used to destroy missiles
Sometimes called “star wars”
Nuclear arsenals totaled 50,000 combined warheads
Israel invaded S Lebanon in June 1982 to destroy the PLO
Reagan said we were there to protect Lebanon from USSR backed Syria
Terrorists killed 239 marines in Lebanon before US withdrawl
US backed dictatorships faced leftist rebels in Nicaragua
Sandinista rebels overthrew the Somoza regime (1979)
Reagan withdrew aid to Nicaragua
Nicaragua became more dependent on Cuba
CIA began supplying the Contras
US supported Jose Napoleon Duarte in El Salvador
Duarte won election in ’84 and began some reform
Boland Amendment in 1984 prohibited US agencies from spending $ in Central America
2000 US Marines defeated leftist rebels in Granada
The US traded arms to Iran for six hostages held in Lebanon
A chance to soften relations with the anticipated new Iranian regime
Oliver North and William Casey (CIA) were most involved
The profits for arms sales were used to fund the Contras
This violated the Boland Amendment
North, Casey and Poindexter knew of this arrangement
North destroyed most of the documents…
Congressional hearings garnered sympathy for North
Reagan’s popularity dropped a bit.
Mikhail Gorbachev of the USSR had new plans
Perestroika—the restructuring of the Soviet economy
Glasnost—political openness
Four summits between Gorbachev and Reagan led to improved relations and some disarmament
Reagan’s poll numbers rose again
Reagan challenged Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall
A growing problem in the early 1980’s
C Everett Koop spoke with great openness and boldness about sex education and condoms
Critics said the government spent too much on education and not enough on research
500,000 reported cases by 1996 (up to a 14 year gestation period)
Expensive but effective treatments are now available
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