Chapter 32 Lecture Outline Rebellion and Reaction in the 1960s and 1970s 2013 W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
The 1960 s
The New Left The Roots of Rebellion The new university-trained, middle-class young adults found the escalating war in Vietnam of grave concern when, in 1966, the draft was modified to make them eligible. This would lead to the birth of the New Left in the antiwar movement. Perhaps the best evidence of how the New Left felt than the 1968 Democratic Convention, where riots broke out, police were sent in to end them, and it was all televised.
Youth Revolt The Roots of Rebellion The youth of the 1950s were not the young adults of the 1960s. They had not experienced major depressions or wars as their forebears had. They fell into the spheres of the civil rights movements, which led them to apply the demands by African Americans to other groups, such as women, Native Americans, homosexuals, and Hispanics.
The free-speech movement Mario Savio, a founder of the freespeech movement, speaks at a rally at the University of California at Berkeley.
Upheaval in Chicago The violence that accompanied the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago seared the nation.
The Counterculture The Roots of Rebellion The events of the 1960s led many away from the radical politics of the youth and toward a counterculture, that of the hippies. Direct descendants of the Beats, they wore long hair and blue jeans, took drugs, and were not interested in organized political action. The apex of this era was the three-day-long Woodstock Festival in August 1969, which half a million people attended.
The Roots of Rebellion Feminism The mainstream of the women s movement was led by Betty Friedan, whose book, The Feminine Mystique, elevated the movement to national levels. Congressional action in 1972 applied affirmative action to colleges, requiring equal opportunities for women in academics and also in sports. In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade and struck down state laws prohibiting abortions.
The Woodstock music festival drew nearly half a million people to a farm in Bethel, New York. The concert was billed as three days of peace, music,... and love.
Hispanic Rights The Roots of Rebellion The term Hispanic came into vogue after 1945 to describe the Spanish-speaking citizens of the United States. After WWII, Hispanic leaders would work along the same lines as African American civil rights leaders to secure the same rights for their people as the Anglo citizens had. Chicano Movement emerges in the 1960s
Chicano Movement Hector Perez Garcia - WWII vet and surgeon, fought for Mexican American solder from WWII Cesar Chavez organizer of farmer workers in California Dolores Huerta helped Chavez to form National for Workers Association later United Farm Workers In 80s expanded to women's rights and environmental protection and immigration policy 2012 awarded Medal of Freedom Cesar Chavez: An American Hero Official Trailer https://youtu.be/zeo-q-8moq4
Important Court cases Mendez v Westminster ISD (1947) locals schools were segregating and when sued Supreme Court decided cannot segregate unless state law Delgado v Bastrop ISD (1948) Stop segregation in schools (US district Court) Hernandez v Texas (1954) no Mexican American jurors allowed for 25 years. Right to equal protection of the law under the 14 th amendment White v Regester (1973) Texas did not have the right to discriminate by setting up multi-member districts Edgewood ISD v Kirby (1984) required changes in school finance to increase funding for students in poorer school districts
The Roots of Rebellion Gay Rights Spurred by the liberation other groups were experiencing during this time, homosexuals also worked to secure similar benefits. When a riot erupted at a in New York homosexual club, the violence in which the police put it down elicited national attention. By the end of the 1970s, the majority of the momentum in this movement was gone.
Native American Rights Red Power Formed American Indian Movement (AIM) Introduced term Native American Native Americans of SF took control of Alcatraz Island for 19 months The Roots of Rebellion
Economic Malaise Nixon and Middle America Nixon s administration saw the beginning of a rise in inflation that would last to Reagan s time. By 1970, inflation had reached 6 percent. The nation was experiencing a period of economic recession at the same time as inflation ran rampant. (stagflation) When the US supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War against Egypt and Syria, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised oil 400% for those supporting Israel. This had a devastating effect on the American economy: gas lines stretched for miles and millions lost their jobs. The OPEC boycott led many to realize the possibility of running out of natural resources. Thus, the environmental movement was born. Nixon would support legislation promoting such conservation.
Oil crisis, 1973 The scarcity of oil was dealt with by the rationing of gasoline. Gas stations, such as this one in Colorado, closed on Sundays to conserve supplies.
Gradual Withdrawal When Nixon was inaugurated, the United States had over 530,000 soldiers in Vietnam. He believed that victory was unattainable and planned to gradually withdraw American troops as a sufficient number of South Vietnamese troops were trained to replace them. In 1973, he did away with the draft and the army became purely voluntary. Nixon and Vietnam
Kent State University National guardsmen shot and killed four student bystanders during anti-war demonstrations on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio. Later in 1971 the 26 th Amendment is ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18.
China Nixon Triumphant Nixon was the first president since Eisenhower to have a Congress of the opposite party. He continued the Apollo space program and beat the Russians to the moon, landing in July 1969. He realized in 1969 that the cold war dichotomy was giving way to a multipower system, so he took the opportunity to open China to American markets by recognizing the communist government there, even visiting the nation.
Détente Nixon Triumphant China welcomed American advances as their relations with their fellow communists in the USSR were deteriorating. Upon conclusion of the Sino-American agreements, the Soviets sought to soften relations with America as well. In 1972, Nixon stunned the world by announcing he would meet with the new Soviet premier, Leonid Brezhnev. Nixon would succeed in negotiating the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), limiting both nations intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The United States and China With President Richard M. Nixon s visit to China in 1972, the United States formally recognized China s Communist government. Here Nixon and Chinese premier Zhou En lai drink a toast.
Nixon Triumphant Shuttle Diplomacy Nixon would work to show the U.S. recognition of Arab power in the Middle East and its own dependence on foreign oil through his and secretary of state Henry Kissinger s diplomacy during the Middle East crises of the 1970s.
War without End Nixon and Vietnam Peace talks in Vietnam preceding the 1972 presidential election did not amount to much. Eventually, an agreement was signed to end the war and restore peace in the land. The North did not keep its side of the agreements and left 150,000 soldiers in the South. On March 29, 1973, the last combat troops left and 600 prisoners of war were released. Within two years of American evacuation, South Vietnam would fall to northern forces.
The Election of 1972 Nixon and Vietnam The foreign policy accomplishments of Nixon made him virtually unbeatable in the 1972 election. The Democrats would nominate George McGovern to challenge him, but McGovern was crushed, receiving 17 electoral votes to Nixon s 520. The election was stained only by an odd break-in at the Democratic National Convention headquarters in Washington, D.C., at the Watergate Hotel.
Uncovering the Cover-Up Watergate The trail to the break-in at the Watergate Hotel eventually led right to the White House. As the prosecutors grew closer to Nixon, more members of his staff involved in concealing the illegal wiretaps began to cooperate with them. Nixon would refuse to turn over documents requested by Congress, citing executive privilege. When one informer revealed the presence of a taping system in the Oval Office, a year-long battle for the Nixon tapes began. Eventually, Nixon turned the tapes over, and they were found to have been tampered with. Finally, Nixon would resign in August 1974. Dick, the movie trailer: https://youtu.be/33alttt4siy
The Effects of Watergate Watergate Although he had been elected again as vice-president, Spiro Agnew did not succeed Nixon. He had been forced to resign when it came to light he had accepted bribes. Nixon in turn nominated Gerald Ford, the minority leader in the House. Now, Ford became president. One month after taking office, Ford would pardon Nixon, and because of this his career would never recover.
Nixon s resignation Having resigned his office, Richard M. Nixon waves farewell outside the White House on August 9, 1974.
The Ford Years An Unelected President Ford would veto thirty-nine bills while in office, more than Hoover, who had a full term to do so. He would reject pressure to cut taxes and spending, resulting in a plummeting economy and unemployment as high as 9 percent. He retained Kissinger as secretary of state and met with Brezhnev in 1974 to negotiate SALT II. The Collapse of South Vietnam The last soldier left Vietnam on March 29, 1973. That same day, 600 prisoners of war (POWs) were released from the Hanoi Hilton. On April 30, 1975, the day the last U.S. helicopter left the embassy in South Vietnam, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese Communists.
The Election of 1976 An Unelected President Ford would battle California governor Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination in 1976, eventually securing it. The Democrats nominated governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia. Carter would win the presidency with 297 electoral votes to 240 for Ford. Only 2 million votes separated the two candidates.