AMERICA: THE LAST BEST HOPE

Transcription

1 CHAPTER 12 Nixon s the One ( ) Presidential Terms Richard Nixon ( ) America s great cities have faced multiple problems in the years after World War II, this being particularly true in the late 1960s. Race riots (referred to at the time as urban disorders, as Bennett points out) accelerated the white flight from cities to suburbs that had been driven by the boom in housing developments, new highways, and the explosion of automobile ownership. As white populations left, minorities that remained faced crumbling infrastructure, inadequate city services, and poor school systems. It is only in recent years that many major American cities have made efforts to revive institutions and bring people of all races back to live in the urban core. Bennett uses the story of New York and Mayor John Lindsay to lay out a debate relevant both then and now. What progress has been made in making the promises of America accessible to all people since the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act? Is white racism still a debilitating factor that prevents the rise of more African-Americans into the middle class? Are more federal aid programs of the Great Society type needed to bring justice to America, or do such programs in the end breed a crippling dependency? Classes can discuss these issues, particularly in light of the challenges faced by cities in their own region. The incredible story of Apollo 11 and man s first steps on the moon in 1969 highlights the pinnacle of the American space program. Bennett shows that the triumph was more than just a reason to celebrate American technology and the courage of the three astronauts who made the journey; it was also a key victory in the Cold War. A few years earlier, Nikita Khrushchev had promised that the Soviet system was so superior that it would bury America s free institutions. The race to the moon, to a large degree, was part of a contest the world watched to see which system was indeed superior. Neil Armstrong s small step had huge global significance. Bennett also puts the moon landing in the context of an American society divided by the difficult challenges of racial divisions, urban unrest, and a War in Vietnam that had become a quagmire. Seeing countrymen walk on the moon made those divisions temporarily disappear and united the nation for an inspiring moment. That is it united almost all Americans. It is an indication of the growing presence of the 1960s counterculture that a writer like Norman Mailer could see this historic event not as a testament to American ingenuity, hard work, and discipline, but rather as disturbing evidence of the nation s move toward fascism. After reading

2 the Mailer quotes Bennett includes, students can discuss the status of the counterculture today. Is there still an active counterculture? Where would one go to hear such voices? Are Americans still listening to such dissenting perspectives? Have citizens abandoned the American Dream? The counterculture left its mark on America in other ways. Like any movement, the counterculture had many components. Efforts to end racism, the peace movement, the women s rights movement, the gay rights movement, and notions of free love were all part of an effort to challenge the prevailing, traditional American culture and many of the cherished values of middle America. Whether one saw Woodstock as a celebration of love or rather a drug-induced glorification of hedonism depended on where one stood on those traditional values. Some argue that today s political divisions can be traced to which side of that cultural divide one stood on in the 1960s. Students might make a list of key components of the 1960s counterculture and decide on balance if the movement was a step forward or a step back for America. President Nixon inherited the monumental problem of how to extricate America from Vietnam. News of the My Lai massacre shocked Americans and fueled the antiwar movement. Nixon was convinced the silent majority that had not taken to the streets supported his efforts at Vietnamization removing American forces while training local troops and supplying the nation of South Vietnam with the resources to defend itself. The 1970 incursion into Cambodia by U.S. troops seemed a widening of the war and further energized protestors, leading to the tragedy at Kent State University. Although Vietnam had been a war escalated by Democratic presidents Kennedy and Johnson, Democrats now largely opposed Republican president Nixon s methods of bringing a conclusion to the conflict. Classes can debate the entire concept of a limited war. Why did the United States not use unlimited efforts to win in Vietnam? Was the war actually winnable? Should the nation have been there at all? Vietnam was just one piece of the foreign policy puzzle President Nixon faced in the global Cold War. Any warming of relations with the communist People s Republic of China seemed unthinkable since that nation was aiding America s enemies in Vietnam and Chinese dictator Mao Zedong s Cultural Revolution had killed millions of his own people. Also, China was bitterly opposed to U.S. support of the Republic of China (also called Nationalist China) on the island of Taiwan. But because of the split between Red China and the U.S.S.R., Nixon and his National Security Advisor (soon to be Secretary of State) Henry Kissinger saw an opening. Nixon s trip to China and the normalization of relations with that nation

3 surprised the world. Bennett links the secrecy of this effort with Nixon s leadership style and raises the issues of the president s cynical abandonment of America s allies on Taiwan and rapprochement with a government that had funded the killing of Americans in Korea and Vietnam. Classes can discuss whether this dramatic diplomatic move by longtime anti-communist Nixon was a positive or negative step. Was it simply a power play in the Cold War designed to isolate the Soviets? Was it in America s best interests? What about Taiwan? Students might also research current debates over proper relations with today s China an emerging global economic power, but still ruled by an often-repressive communist government. As relations with China warmed, the Nixon administration also sought further détente with the Soviet Union. The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks both sought to stop an escalating arms race. Students should find intriguing the idea that Mutually Assured Destruction helped keep the peace during the Cold War. Is this a wise way to prevent war? Why did the U.S. agree not to build systems designed to shoot down Soviet missiles? Are current efforts by the U.S. to build a missile defense system in our national interest? How and why are today s security concerns different than then? On the economy, President Nixon pursued policies that did not please his conservative supporters. While they favored free market approaches, Nixon agreed to price and wage controls, as well as other economic regulations. Rapidly rising prices, concerns about population growth, and a recession in the early 1970s convinced many Americans that their children s futures would be poorer than their own. This challenged a traditional American optimism that always saw brighter opportunities for succeeding generations. Are today s students optimistic that their life will be easier than that of their parents? Economic regulations, in the minds of some, hampered the economy and restricted growth. But some types of regulation during the Nixon years, such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, stemmed from growing concerns about the health of the environment. The amount of regulation of our economy that is necessary and appropriate is a debate at the heart of political discourse both then and now. Students can research where each major party today strands on environmental controls and other major types of regulation of our economy. Nixon sought reelection in 1972, the first election in which 18 year olds could vote. Democrats struggled to find a nominee, finally settling on George McGovern, a leader of the peace faction of the party. Bennett

4 points out that McGovern s call for an immediate end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam and a less aggressive foreign policy represented a shift for the Democrats, a party that had been led by men like FDR, Truman, and Kennedy all advocates of a strong role for America in the world. During the campaign, Americans of all parties were reminded of how dangerous that world could be when terrorists struck at the Munich Olympics. Several missteps by the McGovern campaign led Nixon to one of the biggest electoral landslides in American history. Soon after his inauguration in January of 1973, Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords, ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War and paving the way for the emotional return of American POWs held there. Within a few years, however, the fragile government the U.S. left behind in South Vietnam would fall to communist forces from the North. Nixon s landslide did not translate into an easy second term. An event occurring just days after his second inauguration was the ruling by the United States Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade. Abortion was an issue that had begun to divide Americans as some states legalized the practice while in other states voters overwhelmingly voted to keep the method of terminating a pregnancy illegal. Access to safe abortion procedures became a hallmark issue for the growing women s movement. In its decision, the Supreme Court took this volatile issue out of the hands of voters and enshrined a woman s right to choose an abortion in constitutional law. Roe v. Wade has only become more controversial over the years as abortion has grown into one of the nation s most divisive social and political issues. Teachers often fear the discussion of a topic as emotional and controversial as abortion with students. But perhaps there is no better way to introduce students to the principles of civil discourse than to take such an issue head on. One approach might be to focus classroom discussion and student research on just the constitutional issues. How did the Court find a right to abortion in the constitution? Do they agree that this is raw judicial power? What would happen if Roe were overturned? Should this be an issue left to voters to decide? Why or why not? Not only did Nixon face a difficult second term, in fact he was not even able to complete that term. Bennett describes the limitations of the president in the area of personal relations and even integrity. But his downfall would be attributable to more substantial issues. Things began to unravel with a scandal that started with operatives connected to Nixon breaking into Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel during the 1972 campaign. This was part of a series of dirty tricks tied to his administration. His plumbers also broke into the office of Daniel Ellsberg s psychiatrist (the man who Bennett notes gave the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times)

5 in an attempt to find damaging information on Ellsberg. Ellsberg s actions with the Pentagon Papers were certainly illegal, but the Papers revealed many examples of deception by the federal government in the early years of American involvement in Vietnam. And Ellsberg s illegal act certainly did not justify an illegal act by Nixon s administration. First to fall was Vice President Spiro Agnew, who resigned in disgrace over allegations he took bribes while governor of Maryland. President Nixon thought he could withstand the growing pressure over Watergate, but when the Supreme Court ruled that he must surrender the tapes on which he had secretly recorded White House conversations and telephone calls, his fate was sealed. Those tapes, as Bennett notes, exposed Nixon s lawlessness and deceit. When it became clear that Congress would impeach him, Nixon resigned the presidency in August of 1974: the only president in the nation s history to resign in disgrace. It was less than two years since he had carried 49 states in an election. Rarely had American politics seen a more rapid fall from power. Teachers will notice that throughout the book, people are mentioned who will become major figures later. Teachers might ask if students recognize such names and even see if they can connect how experiences during this period helped shape their character. Included in this chapter are John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, John McCain, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Hillary Rodham.