1960 - Present notes



Notes 1960- Present

I. The Kennedy Administration

A. election of 1960

1. Republicans nominate Nixon

a. Eisenhower asker if Nixon has helped make any major policy decisions said “If you give me a week I might think of one.”

b. nevertheless, Nixon is viewed as tough on communism and experienced in politics and foreign affairs

2. Democrats nominate Kennedy after a hard primary fight with Johnson

a. major weaknesses included inexperience, lack of national recognition, Catholic

b. West Virginia primary victory proves he can do well in Protestant state

c. chooses Johnson as running mate - why? - geographic and political balance

3. Republicans campaign on being tough on communism and the experience issue

4. Democrats concentrate on “getting the economy moving again” and falling behind the Russians

5. first televised presidential debates

a. Kennedy looks young and enthusiastic

b. Nixon and the makeup issue - tired and pale

c. Kennedy holds his own which negates experience factor

d. debates pretty much a draw though perception is important

6. outcome one of the closest in history

a. Kennedy - 34.2m - 303 - 49.7%

b. Nixon - 34.1m - 219 - 49.5%

c. Byrd captures 15 EV

d. 118,574 (119,450) votes out of 68m+ determine the outcome

1. California critical

2. Illinois carried by less than 1000 votes

B. The New Frontier

1. Kennedy believed in an aggressive presidency - New Deal in economic orientation

2. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

3. New Frontier wish list

a. extension of unemployment benefits to 39 weeks

b. increase the minimum wage to $1.25 per hour

c. establish the food stamp program as a safety net

d. speed up the letting of government contracts

e. cut FHA mortgage rates to stimulate the economy

f. provide health and medical care for those over sixty-five

g. $5b in federal aid to education

h. tax cut to stimulate the economy

i. establishment of a domestic Peace Corp

j. complete integration

4. successes

a. housing act passed which was aimed primarily at urban renewal

b. extension of social security benefits to 4.4 m

c. Equal Pay Act of 1963 - women’s wages 63.9% of male wages in 1956

d. federal aid to the mentally handicapped

e. space program

1. NASA greatly expanded and more fully funded

2. Kennedy’s commitment to space program - “...this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” Accomplished in 1969.

3. Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space 5-5-61 - sub-orbital flight

4. John Glenn first American to orbit the earth 2-2-62

5. New Frontier failures

a. federal aid to education - due to parochial opposition and civil rights

b. Medicare bill - defeated by major lobby AMA

c. tax cuts - conservatives insist on spending cuts

d. why such a dismal record

1. dissension within the Democratic coalition - combinations of conservative Southern Democrats, Republicans block much legislation

2. lack of commitment - Henretta - “Kennedy failed to provide decisive leadership in other domestic fields. He ignored women’s issues and appointed fewer women to federal positions than either Eisenhower or Truman. Most tellingly, he never made civil rights a top priority. He believed he would need the votes of Southern whites to win reelection in 1964, and he sought to hold them in the Democratic coalition by delaying civil rights reforms he had promised in 1960.”

3. he also believed that they wouldn’t pass - “There is no sense in raising hell and then not being successful.”

4. lacked legislative ability

6. steel controversy antagonizes business

a. government negotiated wage-price guideposts in 1962

b. U.S. Steel raises price above agreed upon limits

c. Kennedy threatens to remove government contracts from companies following U.S. Steel’s lead

d. Kennedy - “My father always told me that all businessmen were sons of bitch, but I never believed it until now.”

e. Kennedy wins the battle but antagonizes business in the process

C. the civil rights movement

1. following Brown v Board , Montgomery boycott, Greensboro sit-ins activists gain control of the movement

a. King – SCLC

b. Stokeley Carmichael - SNCC

2. tout non-violent civil disobedience as the proper course - designed to win support from the middle class for legislative reform

3. Freedom rides (1961) attempt to integrate interstate terminals and rest stops - met by violent reaction in

the South

a. sponsored by CORE – James Farmer

b. Anniston, Alabama

4. Birmingham protests (1963) significance

a. Bull Conner uses water hose, clubs, and police dogs

b. publicity makes it seem as if authorities are the ones out of control - wins sympathy among moderates

c. Kennedy speech in early June supports Civil Rights Act (Medgar Evers killed the same night)

5. 1963 - March on Washington - 250,000 strong to support Civil Rights Act of 1963

6. Southern resistance to the integration of the Universities of Alabama and Mississippi

a. George Wallace and Ross Barnett attempt to physically block the entry of black students (James Meredith)

b. federal troops are eventually sent in to force compliance with the court order

7. Martin Luther King Jr. - “I have a dream that one day in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and sons of former slaveholders will be able to sit down with each other at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice...will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character ... Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last.”

8. the Civil Right Bill of 1963

a. would have provided equal access to public accommodations

b. instituted federal suits to force desegregation

c. eliminated discrimination in federally funded projects

d. Kennedy’s nationwide televised appeal not enough

e. Congress fails to enact the legislation

D. balance sheet of domestic policy

1. minor successes - Kennedy does set the tone for further enactments

2. accomplished much less than people who lived through the time period perceive

E. Kennedy and foreign policy - “Let us never fear to negotiate, but let us never negotiate out of fear” - “...we shall pay any price, bear any burden, support any friend, oppose any foe to ensure the survival and success of liberty” - BUT the U.S. was “neither omnipotent nor omniscient...there cannot be an American solution to every problem.”

1. supplemented massive retaliation with “flexible response” - special forces designed tofight limited engagements

2. strengthening the free world

a. established the Peace Corp in 1961 - designed to foster good will for the U.S. in Third World nations through humanitarian efforts

b. Alliance for Progress - originally envisioned as a Marshall Plan for Latin America

1. necessary because of communist control in Cuba and general ill-will

2. envisioned sending $10b in aid- actually turns out to be less

3. fear of new “dollar diplomacy” by Latin American nations

4. eventual diversion of attention due to Vietnam

c. increased foreign aid to $3-4b per year

d. support for the Common Market - Trade Expansion Act of 1962 cuts tariff barriers by 50%

e. fails in attempts to strengthen the Atlantic Alliance because of DeGaulle’s opposition

3. relations with the soviet union

a. Berlin Crisis - 1961 Soviets send troops into East Berlin - erect the Berlin Wall - nightly attempts of escape publicized - Kennedy visits Berlin to show support

b. Bay of Pigs invasion - April 1961

1. Kennedy approves plans drawn up during the Eisenhower administration

2. 2000 Cuban exiles attempt to establish a beachhead - U.S. bombers fail to set their watches ahead one hour and arrive an hour early

3. Kennedy accepts full responsibility - “Victory has a hundred fathers. Defeat is an orphan.”

c. Geneva agreement allows the neutralization of Laos

d. Cuban Missile Crisis - 1962

1. aerial photographs show the construction of missile bases in Cuba

2. Kennedy orders the navy to quarantine Cuba until they are withdrawn

3. tenseness as a Russian fleet approaches and then turns back

4. Dean Rusk - “We’re eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked.”

5. subsequent negotiations guarantee no invasion - removal of Russian missiles and the corresponding removal of outdated U.S. missiles from Turkey

6. stimulates a fallout shelter craze in the U.S.

e. Nuclear Test Ban Treaty - 1963 - bans atmospheric testing

f. establishment of a hot line, nuclear research cooperation, and scientific cooperation in 1963

g. Vietnam - Diem becomes impossible to support any longer - U.S. had been sending $200m per year

1. U.S. encourages a coup - Henry Cabot lodge Jr. saying that the U.S. would support a coup that stood a good chance of success

2. Diem falls in 1963, but U.S. has given no thought to who might replace him

3. National Liberation Front steps up the pressure

4. Kennedy increases the number of U.S. “advisors” from 675 to 15,000 by November 1963

5. George Ball warns Kennedy that if ground troops were committed they would number 300,000 in five years - Kennedy - “George, you’re crazier than hell.”

4. balance sheet on foreign policy

a. Kennedy’s foreign policy reflects a basic change in U.S. relations with the Soviets

1. acceptance of the Soviets as adversaries with the recognition that we could not challenge them everywhere on the globe

2. thus we must negotiate and bargain with them

3. coexistence rather than confrontation

4. this will become known as detente under Nixon

b. foreign policy is a mixed bag - a general willingness to ease tension but a reluctance to show weakness

c. may reflect a transition away from the Cold War - but to what/

G. Assassination - November 22, 1963

1. Lee Harvey Oswald - subsequently killed by Jack Ruby on national television

2. Warren Commission investigates conspiracy theory

a. concludes that Oswald acted alone

b. still engenders great debate

3. does Kennedy fit Bailey’s description of Garfield

a. receives more credit than he deserves based on legislation

b. does establish a tone significantly different than the bland leading the bland

II. The Johnson Administration

A. Johnson is basically a New Deal liberal

1. didn’t have the personal popularity of Kennedy

2. he did have the sympathy factor to play on

3. very adroit at working with Congress - Senate Majority leader

4. thus he is able to get many Kennedy programs through Congress

B. attacks on discrimination and poverty

1. the Civil Rights Act of 1964

a. outlawed discrimination in public accommodations, schools, voting, and employment on the basis of

race or gender

b. public accommodations section upheld by the Supreme Court

1. Heart of Atlanta Motel v U.S. 1964

2. Katzenback v McClung 1964 - Ollie’s Barbecue

3. both cases decided on the basis of federal authority to regulate interstate commerce

2. The War on Poverty - Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

a. designed to provide aid for Appalachia

b. establishes a domestic Peace Corp - VISTA

c. attempts at early intervention - Neighborhood Youth Corp - Job Corp - Head Start programs

3. other measures

a. Food Stamp plan established in 1964

b. Urban Mass Transportation Bill 1964

c. conservation acts withdrawing 9.1m acres from development

4. $11.5b tax cut

C. foreign policy during Johnson’s reign as successor to Kennedy - 1963-1964

1. U.S. and U.S.S.R. agree to mutual reductions in military spending 1964

2. acceleration of the war in Vietnam - 22,000 troops committed by the end of 1964

a. the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution - 1964 - granted the president authority to protect U.S. troops after alleged attack on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin - serves as the primary means of escalating the war in Vietnam

b. in effect , a blank check for the president - “Grandma’s nightshirt” - it covered everything

c. “priddly little piss-ant countries”

d. air raids launched against targets in North Vietnam - 3 times all the bombs dropped in WW II - Operation Rolling Thunder

D. the election of 1964 - Johnson v Goldwater

1. Goldwater - ultra conservative hawk - “In your heart you know he’s right,” “extremism in defense of liberty is no vice.”

2. concerns over the use of nuclear weapon use

3. outcome - Johnson - 42.6m - 486 - Goldwater - 26.8m - 52

E. the launching of the Great Society program

1. wish list

a. Medicare for elderly

b. repeal of the Taft-Hartley right to work section

c. federal aid to education

d. extension of the minimum wage to 2.2m workers

e. revised immigration laws

f. aid to Appalachia

g. air and water pollution standards

h. creation of Urban Affairs cabinet position

i. highway beautification, national foundation for the arts, tax cut, high speed rail development

2. accomplishments

a. Appalachia Bill $1.1b - largely unsuccessful

b. Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1965 - $1.3b

c. Higher Education Act 1965

d. National foundation for the Arts established

e. Medicare Act - 1965

f. Housing Act - 1965

g. immigration revision - eliminates the quota system - 20,000 yearly from any one country

h. Highway Beautification Act - 1965

i. cabinet position - Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Robert Weaver named as the first black cabinet member

j. cabinet level position - Secretary of Transportation

F. in 1966 a change in emphasis - quality of life issues - protection of citizens from industry

1. Water Quality Act 1965

2. Auto Emissions Act 1965

3. Automobile Road and Safety Act (Unsafe At Any Speed – Nadar)

4. Truth in Packaging Act

5. Cold War G.I. Bill of rights

6. Demonstrations Cities act

7. this movement was caused by growing unpopularity with the war in Vietnam

G. elections of 1966 influenced by inflation and the war in Vietnam

1. Democrats maintain control of Congress

2. Republicans make significant gains in states

3. Republican-conservative Democrat coalition is able to block legislation

H. changing focus in civil rights

1. Voting rights Act of 1965

a. suspends literacy tests for voters

b. authorizes federal registration of voters in districts with a history of discrimination

2. increasing militancy on the part of blacks

a. CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) - outgrowth of the southern Christian Leadership Conference - though significantly more militant

b. black power movement - Malcolm X - assassinated in 1965

c. Black Panthers - Huey Newton - Bobby Seale (1965)

d. SNCC (Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee - Stokely Carmichael and H. Rapp Brown - sponsors “Freedom Summer” - 1964

3. these movements were an outgrowth of dissatisfaction with the pace on change

4. they represent two emerging ideas

a. pride in separation - “black is beautiful”

b. fight racism by any means necessary - including violence

c. to a degree it hurts the cause of civil rights - creates significant “white backlash” - disaffection by moderate whites who see more accomplished than blacks

5. rioting grips Northern cities from 1965-67 - Watts, Detroit, Newark

6. 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated

a. difficult to overestimate the importance of his death on the movement

b. civil rights movement remains largely leaderless, or at least factionalized

c. King had won the trust of many moderate whites who now felt threatened

7. Civil Rights Act of 1968 - passed largely out of sympathy for King - focused on eliminating discrimination

in housing

I. the emerging law and order issue

1. the Warren and Burger courts become activist in criminal rights area

a. Gideon v Wainwright - 1963 - state must provide free counsel for those who cannot afford it

b. Escobedo v Illinois - 1964 - right to have a lawyer present during questioning

c. Miranda v Arizona - 1966 - suspects must be informed of their rights

d. to conservatives the court seems far too liberal - equated the violence of their society with the court decisions

2. student protests against the war in Vietnam will also turn more violent in the mid-60s - several college campuses are taken over by students

3. increasing black militancy and rioting in major Northern urban centers also raises the law and order concern

4. attempts are made to introduce gun control legislation - generally blocked by the NRA

5. law and order issue continues to be a major dividing line between liberals and conservatives

J. the Johnson legislative record - 1966-1969

1. cutbacks in both the volume and tone of legislation

2. due largely to increased concerns over inflation and Vietnam

3. 1967 - tax surcharge of 10% added to eliminate deficit

4. in order to get it passed Johnson had to agree to spending cuts

5. result was a $3.4b surplus

K. Johnson and the war in Vietnam - “No single act in American history doomed a president to mounting criticism than did President Johnson’s decision to commit the nation’s military forces to a victory in South Vietnam.”

1. growing concern over the issue of war greatly polarizes society - hawks and doves, young and old, liberal and conservative

2. reversed a trend toward global rather than regional commitment

3. why did Johnson commit U.S. forces

a. attempt to lift South Vietnamese morale

b. believe that bombing the North would break their will

c. force Hanoi to a negotiated settlement

d. vital to U.S. security - the domino theory still operative

e. undue faith in the nation building ability of the U.S. (concept that democracy will be readily embraced by all exposed to it)

f. bad advice about what it would take to win

4. Johnson greatly escalates troop commitments to South Vietnam

a. 1965 - 190,000

b. 1966 - 380,000

c. 1967 - 480,000

d. 1968 - 525,000

e. U.S. public is knowingly misled about the U.S. commitment

5. increasing hostility to the war

a. U.S. defoliation - agent orange

b. increased abuses of civilian population My Lai Massacre 1968 (350 killed - though it is not yet public)

c. “It became necessary to destroy the town in order to save it.”

d. major anti-war protests in 1967

6. Tet offensive - January-February 1968

a. Viet Cong launch major raids against U.S. positions regaining most ground that they had lost earlier

b. when it was over it appeared to the American public that five years of fighting and one-half million troops had made no difference

c. increasingly society is polarized into hawks and doves

d. Tet offensive significantly increases opposition to the war

1. before Tet - 56% hawks 28% doves

2. after Tet - 41% hawks 42% doves

7. March 31, 1968 Johnson announces an end to the bombing of North Vietnam - paves the way for a negotiated settlement to begin

a. February - New Hampshire primary - Eugene McCarthy’s victory sends shock waves Johnson’s way

b. on March 31, 1968, Johnson announces he will not seek reelection

c. sees his presidency ended by a “raggedy-ass little fourth-rate country”

L. the balance sheet of the Johnson administration

1. remarkable legislative record - at least for sheer volume

2. significant gains in the quality of life, civil rights, education

3. questionable success in overcoming poverty

a. conservatives attack it as too much emphasis on disadvantaged

b. radicals attack it as unsuccessful - Michael Harrington - “What was supposed to be a social war turned out to be a skirmish and, in any case, poverty won.”

4. the nagging issue of Vietnam is the Johnson administrations undoing

M. why were the 60s such a turbulent time?

III. The Nixon administration

A. the election of 1968

1. candidates - Humphrey is the heir apparent Democrat, Nixon sheds his loser image and offers a more moderate approach, Wallace campaigns as a third party semi-racist

2. Democratic problems

a. assassination of Robert Kennedy eliminated a front-runner

b. McCarthy candidacy a problem because he is viewed as a flake yet still wields power among young voters

c. Democratic National Convention turns into an embarrassment

1. Chicago (Democratic city) police engage anti-war demonstrators in a major confrontation

2. what ensues is generally referred to as a police riot

3. Chicago police beat protesters before a national television audience

4. Abraham Ribicoff - “If George McGovern were president police wouldn’t be using Gestapo tactics on the streets of Chicago (Mayor Richard Daley can be seen mouthing obscenities at Ribicoff)

5. net effect was that the Democrats were badly divided

6. Wallace candidacy may have hurt the Democrats as well

3. Hubert Humphrey nominated - liberal with a Cold War perception of the world

4. Richard Nixon nominated by the Republicans

a. runs a law and order campaign

b. claims he has a secret plan to end the war

c. espouses a believe in the silent majority (the great mass of Americans who were patriotic and did not support the unrest of the sixties

4. George Wallace runs of the American Independent party

a. runs a law and order campaign, attacking liberal Supreme Court

b. slogan - Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever

5. outcome - Nixon - 31,7m - 302 - Humphrey - 31.2m - 191 - Wallace - 9.9m - 45

a. thus Nixon is a minority president with the smallest % since 1912

b. Republicans fail to carry either house in the election

B. Nixon’s first administration

1. while he lack a major mandate for reform, there was definitive movement toward the right

2. anti-civil rights (particularly busing

3. hard on law and order theme - believed the silent majority did not favor continued civil disobedience

4. attempts to decrease federal government role

a. revenue sharing proposed

b. return of federal revenue to states with increased responsibilities - particularly in welfare

5. attempts to cool down the economy - mildly recessionary policies

6. attempted to undermine judicial activism

7. attacks on the press which he viewed as liberal

8. Vietnamization of the war effort

C. Vietnam

1. introduces the Guam or Nixon Doctrine - Southeast Asia would have to fight its own wars without future

U.S. troop commitments

2. massive demonstrations against the war on “moratorium day” - generally peaceful – 10-15, 1969 – two

weeks later 250,00 demonstrate in DC

a. buses surround the White House

b. Nixon watches a football game on TV

1. referred to protestors as “bums”

2. Spiro Agnew – “the nattering nabobs of negativism.”

c. spurred on by revelations that the U.S. public had been deceived

1. two Defense Department computers - one with actual troop figures, the other with slanted troop figures

2. My Lai Massacre revelation demonstrated the U.S. was guilty of atrocities - William Calley

d. Nixon appeals to the silent majority for support

3. March 1969 Nixon begins bombing of Viet Cong bases in Cambodia

4. 1970 - U.S. troops invade Cambodia without Congressional authorization - this led to feelings that the war was actually being escalated

5. violent protests occur on college campuses - ROTC building attacked

a. 5-14-70 at Kent State 4 killed and 9 wounded during demonstration

b. at Jackson State 2 killed and 3 wounded

6. 1971 - the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution is repealed

7. 1971 - Pentagon Papers published - secret Defense Department documents which revealed deception on the part of the government early in the war

a. publication challenged in court

b. New York Times v Sullivan, New York Times v U.S. - 1971

c. court rules they may be published - opposed to prior restraint

8. subsequent government breakin to the offices of the psychiatrist of Daniel Ellsberg

9. bombing of North Vietnam resumed to force them to the peace table

10. January 23, 1973 cease fire agreements worked out

11. 1973 - secret bombing of Cambodia made public

a. calls into question the authority of the President to wage war without Congressional authorization

b. War Powers Act passed in November 1973

1. stipulated that the president must notify Congress of the commitment of American troops within 48 hours

2. troops could be committed for a maximum of 60 days without further Congressional authorization

12. South Vietnam falls to communists in 1975

D. other Nixon foreign policy

1. normalization of relations with China - Nixon visits China (Ping-pong diplomacy)

a. made possible by Sino-Soviet conflict

b. also made possible by the demise of the China lobby (of which Nixon was a part)

c. formal diplomatic relations resumed in 1979

2. relations with the Soviet Union - detente

a. Sino-Soviet conflict helps here too

b. 1972 - SALT I signed

c. ABM treaty signed

3. Kissinger and the role of shuttle diplomacy

4. support given to Israel in the October war with Arab states

a. results in Arab oil embargo - 1973 - cut off supplies to the West

b. energy crisis results from OPEC action

c. leads to the construction of the Alaskan pipeline

d. also causes serious inflation

E. on balance, foreign affairs seems to be the realm of greatest impact for Nixon

1. made part because of activist role in part

2. in part, by the world situation

F. further domestic policy

1. changes on the Supreme Court designed to retard activist role of the court

a. disadvantaged may find the courts as the only remedy - judicial advocacy

b. decided conservative shift as Nixon appoints 4 of 9 justices

2. major economic concern was inflation

a. traditional Keynesian models do not work

b. unemployment increases but inflation (largely war generated) does not abate

c. result comes to be known as stagflation (a stagnant economy with continued inflation)

d. August of 1971 Nixon announces new economic policy

1. wage-price controls established for ninety days

2. economy and inflation worsen with the energy crisis

3. labor complains of unfair treatment (tax breaks to business)

e. chnaging economic structure – manufacturing to service (“Rust Belt”)

3. impoundment - since Congress is Democratically controlled, Nixon adopts the policy of not spending

monies allocated - debate is largely a liberal-conservative one - social welfare spending v defense

spending (Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act 1974)

4. revenue sharing returns $30.2b to the states - reduces federal power

5. EPA established 1970

6. OSHA established 1972

7. Freedom of Information Act 1974

G. election of 1972 - Nixon v McGovern

1. Republicans are able to do what Democrats did in 1964 - paint McGovern as ultra liberal

2. McGovern too far left to hold together the traditional Democratic coalition

a. wins only 18% of the Southern white Protestant vote

b. wins only 38% of the urban Catholic vote

c. loses labor vote (silent majority)

3. results - Nixon - 47.1m - 421 - McGovern - 29m - 1 - 17 (wins only Massachusetts and DC)

4. Republicans still fail to capture Congress

a. Americans tend to favor conservative presidents and liberal Congresses

b. has to do with who bears the brunt of spending cuts

H. Watergate - the election of 1972 strangely proves to be Nixon’s undoing

1. 1972 - burglary of Democratic National headquarters in Watergate Office Building

2. followed up by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post with the help of informant (Deep Throat)

3. they establish a connection between the breakin and CREEP (Committee to Reelect the President)

4. additional investigation leads to more revelations

a. dirty tricks campaign

b. use of the FBI and CIA in illegal wiretaps

c. use of the IRS to punish enemies

d. enemies list

e. responsibility for breakin at Ellsberg psychiatrist

f. publication of Nixon’s 1973 income tax return shows $0 paid

5. by 1974 - 29 members of the Nixon administration have been indicted or convicted (including John Mitchell the Attorney General)

6. additionally, Spiro Agnew (Vice President) is forced to resign and face corruption charges in Maryland

(1973) - Gerald Ford appointed to replace him (brawn rather than brains - important as House minority

leader)

7. why did Nixon do this with the election in hand

a. paranoia

b. red scare mentality - typical fear of disloyalty

c. concept of the imperial presidency - the president is above the law

8. tapes controversy

a. Ervin investigation uncovers John Dean - indicates that president had knowledge of the Watergate breakin and actively attempted to cover it up - very different account than that given by other Nixon officials

b. Alexander Butterfield reveals that meeting in the Oval Office were automatically taped without the knowledge of many present

c. Nixon refuses to turn over tapes, citing executive privilege

9. special prosecutor appointed to look into possible criminal violations - subpoenaed tapes

a. Saturday night massacre ensues as Nixon attempts to fire Cox - October 20, 1973

b. Attorney General Richardson and deputy resign rather than issue the order to fire Cox

c. April 29, 1974 - Nixon agrees to submit transcripts only to House Judiciary Committee - expletives deleted - after TV performance

10. July 24, 1974 Supreme Court rules that Nixon must turn over tapes - Nixon v U.S.

11. they clearly show an attempted coverup of Watergate - stonewalling

12. House Judiciary Committee votes to send three articles of impeachment to the full House

13. it is apparent that impeachment is at hand

14. August 9, 1974 - Nixon resigns

a. inside info indicated that he would be convicted

b. some say he resigns to save retirement benefits (likely to avoid further embarrassment)

15. Gerald Ford assumes the presidency (appoints Nelson Rockefeller Vice President)

16. results of Watergate

a. undermine people’s confidence in government - already at a low ebb because of the war in Vietnam

b. nevertheless, it preserves the essence of the Democratic system

IV. the Ford Administration

A. ascended to the Vice Presidency upon the resignation of Spiro Agnew who was indicted for bribery in Maryland in 1973

B. when Nixon resigns Ford becomes president and appoints Nelson Rockefeller Vice President

1. grants Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon..for all offenses against the United States” during his presidency

a. designed to save the country and Nixon further humiliation

b. some referred to it as the unpardonable pardon - not universally accepted by the American people

c. lead to charges of a pre-arranged deal which made Ford Vice President

2. Ford inherits the presidency under unenviable circumstances and never really establishes his own legitimacy during the two years he served

a. “Gerald Ford is an awfully nice man who isn’t up to the presidency.”

b. Lyndon Johnson on Ford - “Played too much football without a helmet.”

C. Ford’s major problem was the economy - particularly inflation which was 12% by 1974

1. caused in part by Vietnam

2. caused in part by Arab oil embargo

3. Ford’s reaction

a. voluntary restraints - WIN buttons invited public ridicule

b. monetary policy - tighten the money supply and veto spending

c. Ford cuts spending

d. this cause a serious recession in 1975 - worst since the depression

1. unemployment increase to 9%

2. inflation falls to 5% (from 12%) but then increases again to 11%

D. Ford and foreign policy

1. 1974 - efforts begun on a SALT II treaty

2. 1975 - Helsinki Agreements

a. U.S. agreed to recognize the borders established after WW II (the effect was to recognize Soviet control of Eastern Europe

b. in return, Soviets agree to respect human rights in Eastern Europe (Basket Three Clause)

3. their is general cynicism about U.S. foreign policy - disillusionment

a. Vietnam and Cambodia had fallen in 1975

b. detente was showing sings of wearing thin

c. Arab oil embargo has demonstrated the inability of the U.S. react - also demonstrated the sobering reality that the U.S. could be held hostage on energy matters

d. third world countries were increasingly vocal in denouncing the U.S. in the UN

e. 1975 - Mayaguez incident

1. Cambodia communists seize an unarmed U.S. ship

2. U.S. sends a force to free captives after communists have agreed to free them

3. the raid costs 41 lives to free 39 hostages

4. all of this on the heels of Watergate reinforces a crisis in credibility of the national government

E. the election of 1976

1. Ford beats back a challenge from Ronald Reagan to win the Republican nomination

2. Jimmy Carter emerges as a Washington outsider who uses the primary route to secure the Democratic nomination before most Americans develop a very distinct impression of him

3. Ford bloopers - “If Lincoln were alive today, he’d roll over in his grave.” - “There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.”

4. results - Carter - 40.8m - 297 - Ford 39.1m - 240 - Reagan - 1 EV

5. bumper stickers – “Don’t vote, it only encourages them.” – “The lesser of two evils is still evil.”

V. The Carter Administration

A. Carter attempts to establish a different tone very early on

1. walks from the Capitol to the White House

2. “Throughout his term he relied heavily on symbolic gestures...which soon wore thin as people wondered what substance lay beneath the symbols.”

3. relies heavily on Washington outsiders in his administration - use of these “Georgia cronies” didn’t endear the administration to the Washington establishment

4. antics of his brother Billy the beer guzzling redneck tended to hurt Carter’s image

5. his low popularity meant that Congress (even Democrats) could largely ignore his political clout (or lack of it)

B. positive accomplishments

1. creation of the Departments of Energy and Education

2. attempts to spur the development of self-sufficiency in energy

a. synthetic fuels

b. spur domestic production

c. attempts to deregulate the oil industry

3. temporary measures help save Social Security System from bankruptcy

4. appointment of women, blacks, and hispanics

C. economic problems

1. attempted to combat the recession with increased government spending (make work projects) and tax cuts

2. unemployment drops from 8% to 5%

3. inflation soars to double digit levels

4. attempts to combat inflation with tightened monetary and fiscal policy

a. social welfare programs are included in fiscal cut

b. this alienates liberals from Carter

c. his technocratic approach does as well

5. interest rates will soar under the Carter administration to as high as 20%

6. deficits range between $28b and $60b

7. technocratic approach maybe unwise politically

D. foreign affairs

1. the Panama Canal Treaty - 1978

a. returned full control of the canal to Panama by 2000

b. guaranteed the right of the U.S. to use the canal in time of war

c. designed to improve Latin American relations

d. designed to forestall sabotage against the canal

2. 1979 - reestablishment of formal diplomatic relations with communist China

3. Camp David Agreements - 1978-79

a. Egyptian and Israeli leaders meet (Sadat - Begin)

b. formal peace treaty signed

c. shifts the balance of power in the Middle East (Syria emerges as dominant anti-Israeli force

4. SALT II agreement signed

a. subsequently, Soviets invade Afghanistan - January 1980

b. Brzezinski suspicious of detente

c. Senate refuse to ratify SALT II treaty (conservative opposition because U.S. could not build Cruise missiles but Soviets could continue to build Backfire)

d. boycott of 1980 Moscow Olympics over Afghanistan

5. 1979 - MX missile endorsed

6. Iranian hostage crisis - November 1979

a. U.S. supported the Shah of Iran and failed to see the end coming

b. subsequently allowed medical treatment in the U.S.

c. U.S. Embassy raided - 53 hostage taken prisoner for 444 days

d. attempted raid to free them fails miserably

7. Carter Doctrine - U.S. would oppose by force any takeovers in the Persian Gulf region

8. human rights diplomacy

a. designed to enforce economic sanctions against those leaders abusing human rights

b. major limitation was that we refused to enforce those sanctions when staunch anti-communists violated human rights

9. Carter approval rating 23% in 1980

10. 1978 Love Canal incident increases environmental awareness

11. 1979 – Three Mile Island incident

E. the election of 1980

1. Reagan wins Republican nomination

2. Carter successfully beats back a challenge from Edward Kennedy

3. John Anderson launches a third party Republican liberal try

4. outcome - Reagan - 43.9m - 489 - Carter - 35.4m - 49 - Anderson - 5.7m

5. Iranians release hostages on inauguration day

VI. The Reagan Revolution - less a revolution than a continuation of conservative trend begun under Nixon

A. catch phrase - :Government is not the solution, government is the problem.”

B. conservative in several senses

1. Reagan was a traditional Republican pro-business conservative- sympathetic to the wealthy and business

2. conservative in foreign policy - tough talk for the Soviets (“The Evil Empire”), active military intervention, large defense budgets

3. conservative on social welfare issues - favors “right to life amendment, opposes ERA, favoring a constitutional amendment guaranteeing prayer in public schools, opposes affirmative action and court ordered busing

C. supply-side economics (Reaganomics) - Milton Friedman

1. theory was that the American economy was slowed by excessive taxation

2. tax cuts to corporations and wealthy individuals would stimulate the economy

3. gains 25% tax cut

4. in theory the lost revenue would be made up for with an expanded economy and major cuts in social welfare spending (Boll Weevils {conservative Democrats could be counted on for support here})

5. favors major increases in defense spending

6. deregulation of industry - theory was that regulation added cost to business and stifled the economy

a. particularly wanted deregulation in the areas of environmental protection, consumer product safety, and OHSA (Occupational Health and Safety Act)

b. James Watts (particularly outspoken Secretary of the Interior) characteristic of this change in philosophy

1. opens federal lands to development

2. “Saw little point in preserving it for future generations.”

3. “We have every kind of mix you can have. I have a black, I have a women two Jews, and a

cripple.”

7. serious economic problems strike in late 1981-82

a. severest recession since the Great Depression

b. unemployment rises to 11%

8. Reagan reacts well and by 1983 the economy is doing well - largely due to major reductions in the price of oil due to OPEC infighting

D. serious problems for those on the low end of the socio-economic ladder

1. 1981-82 domestic spending on human resources cut by $101b

2. 1982 - one sixth of the population lived below the poverty line - highest rate since 1965 and a 13% increase from 1980

3. military spending increased from 22.6% of the budget in 1980 to 26.8% in 1984

4. during the recession of 1982 only 45% of the unemployed were covered by unemployment compensation compared to 75% in 1975

5. homelessness increases dramatically

E. the deficit

1. in the first four years of the Reagan administration the U.S. incurred more debt than it had recorded in its entire previous history

2. annual deficit increased from$66b in 1976 to $200b in 1985

3. national debt increased from $907b in 1980 to $2t in 1986

4. balance of trade continued to fall - 1980 - $20b - 1986 - $100b

5. Gramm-Rudman Act passed in 1985 - triggers automatic spending cuts - parts of it ruled unconstitutional

F. foreign policy

1. increased tension with the Soviets- the evil empire concept

2. abandoned SALT II and added SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative)

3. weak response to martial law declared in Poland to crush Solidary Movement

4. support for anti-communist rebels in Latin America

a. U.S. aid to El Salvador military regime

b. support for the Contras battling Sandinistas in Nicaragua

5. direct military intervention in Libya and Grenada

G. Reagan has a remarkable ability to withstands bad times

1. recession is largely blamed on Carter and Democratic Congress

2. Iran-Contra Affair - touches member of the administration but not Reagan

3. survival of assassination attempt increases popularity (Alexander Haig incident)

4. this ability to withstand bad times leads to the label - the teflon presidency

F. where does Reagan leave the country

1. much more conservative mood

2. economically better off for the middle class and up

3. much more solid military footing

4. significantly worse off on environmental issues

5. worse off in social welfare programs

6. wash in foreign affairs

a. by the end of his administration serious changes in the Soviet Union

b. Glasnots improves relations significantly

c. supporters of Reagan claim that his policies led to these changes

d. critics charge that he was reluctant to take full advantage of the changes

G. examine the issue of equality of opportunity v equality of result and the concept of the psychology of despair

VII. Odds and ends

A. environmental issues

1. 1970 - Clean Air and Water Quality Improvement act passed

2. 1970 - Environmental Protection Agency established

3. 1970 - Occupational Health and Safety Administration established

a. all reflect a growing concern with the environment and quality of life

b. all place restrictions on industry

B. Three Mile island - 1979 - stirs concern over the safety of nuclear power - cost v quality of life

C. 1971 - Swann v Charlotte Mecklinberg School Board - court ordered busing

1. judicial concern over the “all deliberate speed provision of Brown v Board of Education

2. by the late 1970s courts had backed away from busing

3. increased rulings on de facto segregation in the North bring resistance

D. Roe v Wade - 1973 - 7-2

1. under the provisions of the 14th amendment, an unborn is not considered a person

2. no need to decide when life begins

3. laws restricting abortion in the first three months are unconstitutional

4. decided on the basis of the right to privacy

E. affirmative action

1. history of discrimination means that past prejudice must be overcome

2. therefore quotas may be established to give special benefit to those with a history of past discrimination

3. brought about cries of reverse discrimination - amusing since they weren’t present when racial discrimination was at its peak

4. 1978 - Bakke v University of California Board of Regents

a. less qualified minority applicant selected over Bakke

b. 5-4 court wimps out

1. racial factors may be included in deciding admission

2. Bakke must be admitted nonetheless

F. religion - 1980s reflect cult following and television evangelism

1. Transcendental Meditation attracts a wide following

2. growth of communes - People’s Temple 1978 - Jim Jones

3. Moonies

4. evangelical fundamentalism reflects growing conservative wave

5. religious political activism

a. Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority

b. “The Moral Majority is Neither”

G. 1970s - the decade of the “yuppies”

1. “the me generation”

2. theme of instant gratification

3. culture of narcissism

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