1970s

Chapter 39

I can…

• I can analyze the causes and the consequences of the Watergate scandal and the OPEC Oil Embargo.

Stagnant Economy

• The economy had rapid gains since WWII.• The standard of living in the US had increased

225% since 1945.• By the 1970s, the economy slowed.

Factors in 70s Economy

• Baby boomers entering workforce

• Women and teens working

• Shift from manufacturing to service

• Vietnam War

• Rising oil prices• More government

programs without a tax increase

• Foreign competition• Failure to modernize to

more efficient methods• Inflation (prices tripled)

Vietnamization

• Nixon very experienced in foreign affairs.

• Vietnamization = slow withdrawal of US troops, increase in commitment of SV troops.

• Path to victory through other means, will not quit

• Nixon appealed to the “silent majority” of Americans that worked, paid taxes, but did not protest the war.

• The draft caused problems, poor and AA disproportionately drafted.

Vietnam

• The Vietcong disguised themselves as civilians; became difficult for troops to distinguish between friend and foe.

• Drug use and fragging (murder of a commanding officer) were problems for Army.

• My Lai Massacre– 1968– US troops investigating a

village are ordered to kill over 200, many women and children.

– Did not become public until 1970; public outraged; protests increase.

Expansion of the War

• Nixon talked of a troop withdrawal, but secretly sent troops into Cambodia and Laos to search for communist bases.

• The Vietminh had been smuggling supplies into SV through their neighbors for years.

• Protests erupt throughout the nation.

• Kent St: Protesters burn the ROTC building, Ohio Nat. Guard provoked into firing; killing 4 students.

• Jackson St: 2 die in Mississippi

More Trouble

• 1971: Pentagon Papers publish the truth about Gulf of Tonkin (1964).

• Showed that Kennedy and Johnson had lied about our reasons for entering the war.

• Results of Pentagon Papers, My Lai, and Cambodia =– Less trust in government

officials.– 26th Amendment

• 18 year olds can vote

Detente

• Henry Kissinger: Nixon’s Sec. of State

• 1970s: USSR and China have border clashes, US sees split as an opportunity

• Triangular Diplomacy: US hoped to appeal to China and USSR to end their support of North Vietnam

• 1971: Nixon visits China– Meet Zedong– US/China normalize

trade relations– Result = Everything you

own now comes from China

• 1972: Nixon visits USSR– US sells food to USSR

How ya like me, Mao?

Détente

• SALT: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty– 1972– USSR and US agree to

limit the number of missiles they each have

– US develops MIRVs (multiple warhead missiles) to get around the new limit

• Chile Revolution– US backs dictator

Pinochet over pro-communist elected official

– Pinochet goes on to massacre thousands, but at least he isn’t commie

– 70s Latin America weather report: Chile today, hot tamale

The Supremes

• Chief Justice Earl Warren presided over an era of civil rights and expansion of rights of those accused of crimes

• Griswold v. Connecticut: right to privacy

• Gideon v. Wainwright: right to an attorney

• Miranda v. Arizona: right to remain silent

• Engel v. Vitale: prohibition of required school prayers

• Reynolds v. Sims: fairness in House reapportionment

Roe v. Wade

• Nixon hated Warren because he had a “loose interpretation” of the Constitution.

• Replaced retiring Warren with Warren Burger.

• The Burger court shocked conservatives with their next big ruling.

• Many states had laws banning abortions.

• Jane Roe sued, and the SC agreed that a woman does have the right to an abortion.

• Conservatives fumed, and have attempted to overturn the ruling ever since.

The Nixon You Didn’t Know

• Nixon supported the creation of food stamps and increases in Medicaid and Social Security for those in need.

• Expanded affirmative action (programs to hire minorities)

• Outlawed intelligence tests for certain jobs

• Created OSHA to ensure workplace safety

• Supported environmental reforms such as the EPA, Clean Air and Water Acts, and the Endangered Species Act

• Almost single handedly ended the “solid south” by turning the South Republican.

1972 Election

• In 68 Nixon promised to end Vietnam, 4 years later and it was still going.

• Republicans re-nominate Nixon

• Democrats run Senator George McGovern on a platform of immediate withdrawal.

• McGovern appealed to doves and radicals, and minorities, but he drove away many traditional Democrats in 72.

• McGovern lost more support when news that his VP selection had psychiatric problems was leaked.

• Nixon won 520-17

1972 Election

Ending Vietnam

• During the election Nixon increased the bombing of NV while pushing for a peace settlement.

• News came out that Nixon was still bombing Cambodia as well.

• In early 1973 the US and NV agreed to a cease-fire. The US withdrew troops.

• Congress passed the War Powers Act, requiring the Pres. To notify Congress before major military engagements.

Results of Vietnam

• 58,286 American Dead• 1.475 million total dead• War not over, North v.

South will continue without the US.

• Cambodia becomes communist; dictator Paul Pot murders 2 million+

• Laos becomes communist

• US distrust of authority increases

• Reluctance to involve our nation in war

• 26th Amendment

OPEC Oil Embargo

• 1973: Egypt and Syria, backed by the USSR invade Israel (6Days War)

• Israel, backed by US, beat back the invaders, even taking some of their territory.

• In retaliation, the members of OPEC embargoed the sale of oil to the US.

• With oil short, prices went up on everything.

• Long lines/rationing to get gas

• National speed limit set to 55 miles per hour

• US begins to investigate alternate sources of energy, but it will be a slow change.

Oil Crisis

Watergate• 1973: Nixon’s VP Spiro

Agnew is forced to resign after taking bribes.

• Nixon and the Senate select Congressman Gerald Ford as the new VP

• In 1972, during the election, 5 men were arrested for burglary in the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate building

• At 1st it just seemed that these men were zealous supporters of Nixon, as no clear connection was made.

• Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of the Washington Post began to investigate. Eventually their stories got the attention of Congress, whom also investigated.

• Remember Pentagon Papers, My Lai, Cambodia!

Watergate

Watergate

• Nixon denied all knowledge of the incident.

• As Congress began it’s interviews a former Nixon aide, John Dean, implicated Nixon, saying that he tried to cover-up the break-in, but he had no evidence.

• Another White House staffer told Congress that the President records all conversations in the Oval Office.

• Congress asks for the tapes, Nixon refuses stating “Executive Privilege”

Richard Nixon

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh163n1lJ4M

Watergate

• Nixon suddenly fires his Att. General along with other officials (“Saturday Night Massacre”)

• US v. Nixon: The SC gets involved; rules that Nixon must hand over tapes

• Nixon complies, but large portions of the tapes are missing

• Nixon claims that his secretary accidently hit delete.

Watergate

Watergate

• Public = mad• Supreme Court = mad• Congress = mad• Democrats = mad• Republicans = mad

• House begins impeachment process.

• Republican Congressmen inform Nixon that they will no longer support him

• August 8, 1974: Nixon resigns

Watergate

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOGJJ7UKFM

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3U4MhKDxcw

Lessons of Watergate

• Rule of Law: no one is above the law, not even the president

• The nation will no longer trust it’s leaders blindly

• Checks and balances work

38th: Gerald Ford

• Ford Timeline• 1974– Ford Pardons Nixon

• 1975– Helsinki Accords– South Vietnam Falls

Ford’s Troubles

• Nixon could not be impeached after resignation, but he still could be charged as a criminal.

• The nation debated the options: should a former president go to jail? What would the rest of the world think?

• At every press conference Ford was bombarded with questions about Nixon’s guilt.

• Ford finally issues Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he “may” have committed.

Pardon Me

• Many upset, but the nation moved on to other matters quickly.• Doomed Ford’s hopes of election in 1976

The Finale in Vietnam

• 1975: North Vietnam unleashes an all out invasion of South Vietnam.

• Ford goes to Congress and asks to help SV; they say no.

• Without US, SV is doomed.

• The military does rescue 140,000 South Vietnamese that would have been executed for working with the US.

• Containment failed; Vietnam united under communism

• How far was US really willing to go to stop communism?

Fall of Saigon

Feminism

• Aside from Roe v. Wade, feminists had some victories and defeats in the 70s.

• Divorce rates tripled. • Title IX: law that

requires equality among the sexes in education– Girl’s athletic teams

• Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)– Proposed and ratified by

35 states (38 needed)– Would have eliminated

any discrimination based on sex.

– Conservatives fought against it; felt it would be bad for families and would draft women.

Civil Rights

• Affirmative action laws were questioned in the 70s.

• Bakke v. Univ. of California: race cannot be the only consideration in hiring and school admissions

• School integration slowly dragged on 20 years after Brown v. Board

• American Indian Movement (AIM)

• Inspired by AA movements, AI united to push for rights.

• Practiced civil disobedience by seizing Alcatraz and Wounded Knee

• Courts eventually agree that AI tribes can be ruled by Congress, but not states.

AIM

1976 Presidential Election

• Republicans nominate Ford despite strong opposition from Ronald Reagan

• Democrats nominate Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter

• Carter used a “Washington Outsider” campaign against “big government”

• Played on the memories of Watergate; “I’ll never lie to you.”

• His down home southern charm worked, won 297-240

1976 Election

39th James “Jimmy” Carter

• 1978– Camp David peace

Accords

• 1979– Iranian revolution– Iran Hostage Crisis– SALT II– USSR invades

Afghanistan

America Under Carter

• Carter pardoned 10,000 draft dodgers

• Economic woes continue– Inflation was at 13%,

very high– US was unable to

dominate foreign trade– Huge budget deficits

• Carter attempts to battle the economy:– Creates Department of

Energy– Urged US to conserve

energy and convert to renewable forms

– America and Congress ignored him

Carter’s Diplomacy

• Carter focused on improving human rights worldwide.

• Camp David Peace Accords: Got Israel and Egypt to sign a peace treaty (Egypt got land back and would respect Israel’s sovereignty)

• Won Nobel Peace Prize

• Brought attention to apartheid in South Africa and Zimbabwe

• Gave Panama Canal to Panama

• Signed SALT II with USSR- Senate didn’t ratify

• Did little to stop communist incursions in Afghanistan and Africa.

Iran

• 1953: CIA helps the Shah of Iran gain power (Liked him because he wasn’t commie)

• Many Iranians didn’t like the Shah because he tried to modernize Iran into a secular nation.

• 1979: Muslim fundamentalists take over Iran, Shah flees to US

• US Embassy gets taken by Iranian rebels; 66 hostages were taken.

Iran Hostage Crisis

Iran Hostage Crisis

• The Iranians demanded that the US turn over the Shah in exchange for the hostages.

• Carter refused• For two years the TV

networks constantly covered the situation

• Carter orders on rescue attempt, but sandstorms doom the crew of two planes.

• The entire crisis made Carter seem inept; doomed any chance of reelection.

• In 1980 America would turn to someone that promised to be tough on our enemies……

Ronald Reagan