Transcript File


Analyze the effects that the Vietnam war had
on public opinion, executive power, and
foreign policy.

The “overextended society” of the 1970s was
defined by:
◦ Low economic growth, high prices & unemployment
◦ Distrust of the government
TheTofuel
shortage
ledallies
to a 200%
punish
Israel’s
whenincrease
Egypt
in the
price2attacked
of gasoil&shocks
home hurt
heating
Syria
against
Israel
 In the &
1970s,
great
the U.S.
economy:
Led
to worst recession since Depression
◦ The Iranian Revolution in 1979 cut off oil & led to
another gas-shortage & soaring interest rates
The
Iranian
OPECRevolution
oil embargo

These oil shocks forced the U.S. to realize its
Mandated
gas
dependency on other
nations for
oilmileage
& led to
requirements, speed
action:
limits,
& price
controls
◦ Nixon formed the EPA
to oversee
industry’s
environmental impact
on
domestic
oil
Nuclear
◦ The newplants
Dept of&
Energy (1977) emphasized
Alaskan
oil pipeline
conservation
& domestic energy production
◦ Still…U.S. oil imports rose 50% from 1973 to 1979
Workers’ wages did not
keep
up with
rising prices
 The
1970s
economy
grew
stagnant:
Milk
&
hamburger
prices
rose
200%
◦
Unemployment
grew
to
9%
A stagnant STAGFLATION
High
◦ Heavy
jobs
fell rose
due 400%
to
economy
inflation
Car
prices
rose industry
72% Bread
prices
outsourcing & foreign
competition
 1970s experienced huge inflation:
◦ Due to Vietnam deficit spending,
global food shortage, oil shocks
Neither
Ford
nor
Carter
could
stop
◦ Massive price increases led to a
“stagflation;”
Carter’s
policies
actually
5.5% decrease in “real income” for
drove interest rates up to 20%
average Americans

Gerald Ford failed to restore public confidence
after Watergate
◦ Revealed CIA attempted assassinations
◦ Pardoned Nixon
◦ Vetoed welfare

Jimmy Carter won a narrow victory due to
social class & racial factors:
◦ Affluent, well-educated, suburban voters chose
Ford
◦ Socially & economically disadvantaged voted for
Carter

Carter entered office with no clear political
philosophy or vision:
◦ Deregulated the airline industry which lowered
prices
◦ But…his attempts to reform welfare & Social
Security failed
◦ No remedy for soaring inflation, interest rates, &
bank failures that hurt the economy

America’s international dominance declined
sharply in 1970s due to:
◦ Americans’ increasing desires to avoid “another
Vietnam”
◦ The War Powers Act
◦ Escalating military costs & deficit spending

Carter focused his foreign policy on a
commitment to human rights:
◦ Against regimes in Latin America & apartheid in
South Africa
◦ Negotiated the return of the Panama Canal

The Camp David accords in 1979 led to a
peace treaty between Egypt & Israel, but
alienated other Arab nations
Celebrating the Camp David Accords:
Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, & Anwar Sadat

During the Carter years, the Cold War rivalry
between the U.S. & USSR widened due to:
◦ A new arms race
◦ SALT II failed
 Détente
ended
when
the
USSR
Carter hoped to limit nuclear arms
invaded
Afghanistan
in but
1979
& advance
human rights,
found
himself
in a heightened
Cold
War as
 The
U.S. interpreted
the
attack
a move to take the Middle East &
responded with:
◦ Economic embargo of the USSR
◦ Boycott of the Moscow Olympics
◦ Aid to the Afghani resistance
 US armed Al-Qaeda

1979
◦ Islamic fundamentalist Ayatollah Khomeini led a
coup against U.S.-backed the shah
◦ Carter allowed the shah for medical aid, Tehran took
52 hostages from the U.S. embassy

Carter failed to bring a return of the hostages
◦ In 1980, Carter
 aborted - 2 helicopters crashed
◦ The perceived blunders & inability of Carter lost
him the next elecetion
Three types of conservatives…
 Economic Conservatives & Laissez-Faire:
Low Taxes, Low Govt. Spending, Reduce
Welfare
 Cultural Conservatives & the Religious
Right: Anti-Abortion, Anti-Gay Rights
 Military Conservatives & War Hawks:
Aggressive Military Spending



Stimulate the economy by:
◦ cutting government spending
◦ government deregulation
◦ cutting taxes for the wealthy
Appointed conservatives to head agencies
like the EPA
◦ Abolished/weakened rules protecting the
environment & workplace safety.
Massive military buildup.

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

Supply-side economic theory: The
wealthy stimulate economic growth
The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981:
the largest tax cut in the nation’s history
The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1981:
federal spending cuts
Decreasing spending on domestic
programs, Reagan greatly increased
defense budget



By the mid-1980s the economy grew and
inflation was under control.
The economic recovery was unevenly spread;
most new jobs did not pay enough to support a
family.
Enormous budget deficits grew to an
unprecedented $2 trillion as the U.S. became
the world’s leading debtor.



During the 1980s, the average weekly
earnings declined substantially.
Half the new jobs did not pay enough to
keep a family out of poverty.
Race sharply defined the gap between rich
and poor.
 Women
experienced declining
earning power during this
period.
 Divorce contributed significantly
to female poverty
◦ new no-fault divorce laws.


The 1980s saw new epidemics erupt.
“Yuppie” cocaine and inner-city crack use
spiraled, unleashing a crime wave.
◦ War on drugs- concentrated resources on the
overseas supply
◦ Did little to control demand at home.


In 1981, doctors identified a puzzling disease
initially found among gay men—AIDS.
An epidemic of homelessness grew during the
decade.
◦ One-third were people with psych disorders
discharged from former state hospitals.


Called the Soviet Union an “evil empire.”
Poured money into “Star Wars”

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
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the
Soviet Union and instituted a series of political and
economic reforms.
Gorbachev led to an end to the arms race by
focusing on economic growth.
◦ Glasnost: “Openness” – allowed free(er) speech
◦ Perestroika: Allowed privately owned businesses
Treaties were finally worked out that called for
destruction of some missiles and allowed for onsite inspections.


Carter’s failures with inflation, Iran, &
Afghanistan overshadowed his foreign policy
victories with the Panama Canal & the Middle
East
The failures of Johnson, Nixon, Ford, & Carter
Carter’s
1980among
approval
ratingfor
was
23%
led
to a desire
Americans
a strong
leader who could face both domestic &
foreign challenges
President George H.W. Bush:
1989 - 1993
 Inherited Reagan’s problems
 BUSH’S DOMESTIC POLICY –
•Promised America “no new
taxes!”
•Broke his promise when the
budget deficit mounted.

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
Cold War ends –
Communist governments
in Eastern Europe
crumble.
•1991 – Soviet Union
dissolves – forms the
Commonwealth of
Independent States.
Berlin Wall removed at
the end of Reagan’s
Presidency
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
Saddam Hussein  
orders an Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait
Bush orders troops to fend off
the Iraqi attack.
•U.S. air forces, in conjunction
with
United Nations forces, pummel
Iraq.
Saddam Hussein signs a ceasefire agreement, ending the
Persian Gulf War.
CLINTON’S DOMESTIC POLICY


Health-Care Reform:
submitted a plan to
Congress that would
ensure health care to
all Americans. It was
rejected.
Social Security: the
number of people
taking money from
Social Security than
contributing - Why?
Clinton ran into repeated roadblocks
with the Majority Republican
congress led by Newt Gingrich
Issues:
Balanced budget
Welfare reform
NAFTA Scandals


Whitewater –The Clintons were accused of
having some involvement in an illegal real
estate scheme in Arkansas.
They were never formally charged.
◦ WHY?
◦ The biggest period of economic growth in our
nation’s history occurred during the Clinton
presidency.
For the 1st time in 30 years, the gov’t had a
surplus - used to pay down the nation’s debt
Clinton’s deficit reduction coincided with a
boom in the technology industry; This led to
the longest sustained era of economic
growth in U.S. history
Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1901-2010
Clinton
signed
the North
American
Free Trade
Agreement
(NAFTA) reduced trade
barriers among
USA, Mexico, &
Canada
During his presidency,
Clinton committed
U.S. troops to
peacekeeping efforts
From 1995 to 1999,
U.S. troops were sent
to Bosnia to stop
ethnic cleansing by
Serbs & to Kosovo to
stop a civil war
Race riots hit
Los Angeles in 1992
when 4 white police
officers were
acquitted of police
brutality charges in
the Rodney King case
While president, Clinton
faced numerous scandals
When Clinton lied under
oath about his relationship
with Monica Lewinsky,
Republicans in Congress
voted to impeach him
The election of 2000 was one of the closest
& most controversial elections in U.S. history
Republicans
nominated
conservative
Texas governor
George W Bush
Democrats
nominated
Clinton’s
Vice President
Al Gore
Consumer &
environmental
advocate Ralph
Nader ran as an
independent
The election was so
close that which
ever candidate won
Florida would gain
enough electoral
votes to win the
presidency
In his first year,
Bush worked with
Congress to:
Create a 1.35 trillion
dollar tax cut
Reform education
through the No Child
Left Behind Act
al-Qaeda terrorist plot
led to
the hijacking of
4 airplanes &
attacks on the
World Trade Center
& the Pentagon
After 9/11, President
Bush declared a
“War on Terrorism”
Domestic changes in response to 9/11
Foreign policy in response to 9/11
al Qaeda terrorists
Iran, Iraq, & NorthTaliban
Korea form
an “Axis of
government

Use evidence to both support AND refute the
following claim…
◦ Reagan’s economic policies helped stimulate
economic growth.

In partners,
◦ On a piece of paper, roughly outline foreign policy
changes following WWII.