Chapter 31: To A New Conservatism,

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Chapter 31: To A New Conservatism, 1969-1988

1 Chapter 31: To A New Conservatism, AP United States History Week of April 25, 2016

2 The Tempting of Richard Nixon Richard Nixon s term as president was one of the most controversial in the nation s history. He was successful in foreign affairs and moderately successful in domestic affairs, but was eventually felled by scandal Nixon, presiding over a Democratic congress, was politically moderate, and occasionally a pragmatic liberal Expanded some federal programs Adopted affirmative action to ensure hiring of minorities Approved creation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Also signed Clean Air Act New federalism shifted responsibility for programs to states On civil rights shifted desegregation responsibility to the courts

3 The Tempting of Richard Nixon, Part II: Détente and Vietnam Nixon, along with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, sought to improve relations with the USSR by achieving détente a relaxation of Cold War tensions Nixon and Kissinger saw the Cold War as a great-power rivalry In 1972, Nixon visited China, an enemy of the USSR Meeting began process of establishing diplomatic relations with China USSR agreed to Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), an arms control pact Began to wind down arms race Three-part plan to end Vietnam War: troop withdrawal, renewed bombing, negotiations with Hanoi Bombing, including extension into Cambodia, was most controversial part Resulted in expanded anti-war protests, including Kent State Massacre Hanoi negotiations were successful: Vietnam released all POWs in exchange for US removal of troops from South Vietnam Spring, 1975: Communists took over south Vietnam

4 The Tempting of Richard Nixon, Part III: Watergate The Watergate scandal was the single biggest presidential scandal in United States history. It culminated in Nixon s resignation, damaged his reputation, and forever altered the relationship between government and the press White House used covert surveillance ( plumbers") to investigate national security breaches June, 1972: Five men arrested during a break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters Nixon ordered a cover-up Nixon won 1972 election by a landslide One of burglars was sentenced, but told about White House involvement Nixon fired aide who directed cover-up (John Dean), two others forced to resign Senate appointed special committee to investigate Watergate scandal Committee discovered tapes of Oval Office conversations Nixon fought to keep them confidential Supreme Court ruled in 1974 that tapes had to be turned over House Judiciary Committee had voted on articles of impeachment; Nixon resigned Effect: Congress rejuvenated, press ability to investigate affirmed

5 Economy of Stagflation The financial crisis that hit the United States in the 1970s was unique it was triggered by an interruption in the flow of oil to the nation. Worse, it featured an economic slowdown (stagnation) accompanied by a rise in prices inflation Stag : October 6, 1973: Egypt, Syria launch surprise attack on Israel Nixon, Kissinger intervened, preventing Israel from retaliating further Arab members of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced a 5% cut in production Saudi Arabia cut oil shipments to the US Result: long lines at gas stations in US Crisis averted by March, but US returned to generous consumption of oil flation: Inflation: quadrupling of oil prices caused increases in other areas Vietnam War created budget deficits Worldwide food shortages resulted in food price increases Prices skyrocketed from 1973 to 1978; wages did not keep pace, leading to worst recession since Great Depression

6 Economy of Stagflation, Part II: Nixon to Ford to Carter The financial crisis that hit the United States in the 1970s was unique it was triggered by an interruption in the flow of oil to the nation. Worse, it featured an economic slowdown (stagnation) accompanied by a rise in prices inflation Ford responded with tax cut which helped with recovery Inflation was still above 5% (normal is 2-3%) Under Jimmy Carter, federal deficits continued 1979: another oil shock led to higher inflation Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker increased bank reserves (tightened money supply) but that drove interest rates higher Economy began to shift: heavy industry gave way to other producers Steel producers in Third World, Japanese car manufacturers Also: decline in industrial unions in 1960s and 1970s (like UAW), growth of government employees and public unions American corporations: growth of multinational conglomerates, high-tech industry Geographic shift to Sunbelt amidst decline in older industries

New Environmentalism The other eﬀect of the oil shocks was invigorating the environmental movement Two strands: increases in fuel eﬃciency, alternative/renewable

7 New Environmentalism The other eﬀect of the oil shocks was invigorating the environmental movement Two strands: increases in fuel eﬃciency, alternative/renewable sources of energy Emergence of the economy car Solar, wind, hydroelectric Nuclear power had advocates, but Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986 injected fears

8 Private Lives, Public Issues The 1970s ushered in an era of sweeping changes in Americans private lives, including gender roles, family structure and a nascent LGBT movement Decline in the traditional family two married, opposite-sex parents, and children under 18 Number of unmarried couples doubled, divorce rate doubled from mid-1960s to 1970s Also: children born to single mothers 7% of households by 2000 Proportion of children living with one parent doubled Women without partners headed 1/3rd of families in poverty Why did all this happen?

9 Gains and Setbacks for Women American women experienced dramatic changes since the 1970s, most notably an increase in the percentage of working women Women moved into the labour force: by end of 1970s, six million more married women held jobs 61% of 19 million new jobs were held by women Women did enter male-dominated fields more Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg However, women still worked in traditionally female-dominated fields Wage gap persisted, especially among older women Women sought ratification of Equal Rights Amendment Fell three states short; never ratified Roe v. Wade (1973) protected women s access to abortion services, but enraged conservative religious groups

10 The LGBT Movement The 1970s also featured a concerted effort by gays and lesbians following in the footsteps of the movement for African American civil rights to affirm their sexual orientation and demand an end to discrimination Stonewall Riots in 1969 marked beginning of gay liberation movement Basic theme: urging homosexuals to come out of the closet, proclaiming their sexual orientation 1974: APA stopped classifying homosexuality as a mental disorder Hoped for an end to ban on homosexuals serving in the military Clinton responded with don't ask, don t tell policy, Defense of Marriage Act AIDS epidemics in the 1980s put LGBT movement on the defensive HIV/AIDS was originally seen only as a threat to gay men, but Rock Hudson s death created sense of crisis

11 Politics and Diplomacy: Ford and Carter Years Although Watergate had passed and Nixon resigned, Ford and Carter were still plagued by the malaise of the 1970s and Congressional challenges to the presidency Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon, which resulted in a loss of confidence in his leadership Ford also mentioned that CIA was involved in execution attempts of world leaders Outlawed assassinations, appointed George H. W. Bush head of CIA Carter had no clear philosophy or priorities, which hurt his leadership Authorized military assistance to Nicaraguan government Invited Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin for the Camp David Accords Paved way for return of Sinai to Egypt October, 1979: Shah of Iran entered US for medical treatment November 4: militants seized US embassy, took 53 Americans in Iranian Hostage Crisis Diplomacy, economic measures, rescue mission all failed Crisis highlighted American weakness, and cost Carter 1980 election

12 Collapse of Détente Congressional refusal to relax trade restrictions and Carter's emphasis on human rights challenged policy of détente National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski worked to reverse détente Although SALT II cut number of missiles, Brzezinski got Carter to replace Minuteman ICBMs January 1, 1979: US and China exchanged ambassadors December, 1979: Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan US responded with embargoes, boycott of 1984 Olympics, and withdrawal of SALT II treaty

13 The Reagan Revolution Following the social and political turmoil of the 1960s and the challenges of the 1980s, the nation was ready for a shift to conservatism Carter was hamstrung by stagflation, Afghanistan, and the hostage crisis Reagan won 1980 election New Deal Democratic coalition was falling apart, new conservative coalitions were emerging Supply-side economics: Reagan believed cutting taxes would stimulate economy by increasing spending, and then government revenue Government also cut spending: social services, reducing public services Deregulation cut back on scope of federal agencies and size of government Was not able to scale back entitlement programs Reagan fired striking air traffic control workers (1981), decertified union, hired and trained new controllers

14 Reagan and the World Reagan sought to strengthen America s military and restore nation to position of international prominence Reagan, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger increased defense budget US also worked on anti-missile shield known as Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) Nicaragua: Carter had extended economic aid to Sandinista government Reagan cut aid, and Sandinistas turned to USSR In response, Reagan covertly funded opposition (Contras) who fought against Sandinistas Where did this money come from? US agencies were not allowed to spend money in Central America

15 Reagan and the World, Part II Reagan sought to strengthen America s military and restore nation to position of international prominence June 6, 1982: Israel invaded Lebanon to secure northern border, destroy PLO US troops ended up caught in middle of civil war 1982: terrorists exploded a truck bomb in barracks, killing 239 Iran-Contra Affair: US proposed trading weapons to Iran in exchange for release of hostages US eventually shipped missiles to Iran Oliver North used proceeds from weapons sales to fund Contras in Nicaragua Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in USSR Adopted policies of glasnost (political openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring) Also agreed, with Reagan, to remove intermediate-range missiles in Europe, ended war in Afghanistan, pressured Iran and Iraq to end war

Domestic Crises

Domestic Crises 1968-1980 In 1968 conservative Richard Nixon became President. One of Nixon s greatest accomplishments was his 1972 visit to communist China. Visit opened China to American markets and