Transcript The American Vision

Chapter Introduction
Section 1: The Nixon
Administration
Section 2: The Watergate
Scandal
Section 3: Ford and Carter
Section 4: New Approaches to
Civil Rights
Section 5: Environmentalism
Visual Summary
The Nixon
Administration
How did Nixon’s
presidency change the
country and its position in
the world?
Appealing to Middle America
Nixon won the 1968 election by
appealing to a “silent majority” of
Americans.
Appealing to Middle America (cont.)
• Republican Richard Nixon won the 1968
presidential election against Democrat Hubert
Humphrey and independent George Wallace.
• Nixon was appealing to the “silent majority”
who wanted …..
• An end to US involvement in Vietnam, but
on America’s terms….
• An end to the student protestors: Nixon had
promised to uphold law and order
Appealing to Middle America (cont.)
• One of the keys to Nixon’s victory was his
surprisingly strong showing in the South.
• Following his victory, Nixon set out to attract
even more Southerners to the Republican
Party, an effort that became known as the
Southern strategy.
• As part of his appeal to white southerners he
agreed to slow down federal desegregation
efforts.
Appealing to Middle America (cont.)
• Nixon also campaigned to reduce the size of the
federal government by dismantling several
federal programs and giving more control to
state and local governments, which he called as
New Federalism.
• He sought to close down many of the programs
of Johnson’s Great Society.
Nixon’s Foreign Policy
With the support of national security
adviser Henry Kissinger, Nixon forged
better relationships with China and the
Soviet Union.
Nixon’s Foreign Policy (cont.)
• In a move that would greatly influence his
foreign policy, Nixon chose as his national
security adviser Henry Kissinger.
• Both Nixon and Kissinger believed that a
gradual withdrawal from Vietnam, while
simultaneously training South Vietnamese to
defend themselves, would work best.
• This policy of Vietnamization extended
globally in what came to be called the Nixon
Doctrine.
Nixon’s Foreign Policy (cont.)
• Both Nixon and Kissinger wanted to continue to
contain communism, but they believed that
engagement and negotiation with Communists
offered a better way for the United States to
achieve its international goals.
• They developed a new approach called
détente between the United States and its two
major Communist rivals, the Soviet Union and
China.
Nixon’s Foreign Policy (cont.)
• After a series of highly secret negotiations
between Kissinger and Chinese leaders, Nixon
announced that he would visit China in 1972.
• During the historic trip, the leaders of both
nations agreed to establish “more normal”
relations between their countries.
• Shortly after the public learned of American
negotiations with China, the Soviets
proposed an American-Soviet summit to be
held in May 1972.
Nixon’s Foreign Policy (cont.)
• The two superpowers signed the first
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, or SALT I,
a plan to limit nuclear arms that the two
nations had been working on for years.
The Nuclear Arms Race
The Watergate Scandal
What were the causes and
effects of the Watergate
scandal?
The Roots of Watergate
Tactics used by Nixon’s supporters to
try to ensure his reelection in 1972 led
to the Watergate scandal.
The Roots of Watergate (cont.)
• The Watergate scandal began when the Nixon
administration tried to cover up its involvement
in the break-in at the Democratic National
Committee headquarters, along with other
illegal actions.
• Many scholars believe the roots of the
Watergate scandal lay in Nixon’s character
and the atmosphere that he and his advisers
created in the White House.
The Roots of Watergate (cont.)
• As part of their efforts to help the president
win reelection, Nixon’s advisers ordered five
men to break into the headquarters and steal
any sensitive campaign information.
• They were also to place wiretaps on the office
telephones.
• The media discovered that one of the burglars,
James McCord, was not only an ex-CIA official
but also a member of the Committee for the
Re-election of the President (CRP).
The Roots of Watergate (cont.)
• Reports also surfaced that the burglars had
been paid to execute the break-in from a secret
CRP fund controlled by the White House.
• Meanwhile, few people paid much attention
to the scandal during the 1972 campaign,
and Nixon won by a landslide.
• Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward
and Carl Bernstein receive secret
information from “Deep Throat” informant
FBI Asst. Director Mark Felt.
The Cover-Up Unravels
The president’s refusal to cooperate
with Congress only focused attention
on his possible involvement.
The Cover-Up Unravels (cont.)
• Under relentless prodding from federal judge
John J. Sirica, McCord agreed to testify before
the newly created Senate Select Committee on
Presidential Campaign Activities.
• Sam J. Ervin was chairman of the committee.
• A parade of White House and campaign
officials exposed one illegality after another.
The Cover-Up Unravels (cont.)
• Foremost among the officials was counsel to
the president John Dean.
• Dean testified that former Attorney General
John Mitchell had ordered the Watergate
break-in and that Nixon had played an active
role in attempting to cover up any White
House involvement.
• The Senate committee tried to determine
who was telling the truth for the next month.
The Cover-Up Unravels (cont.)
• A White House aid revealed that Nixon had
ordered a taping system installed in the
White House to record all conversations.
• Nixon refused to hand over the tapes,
pleading executive privilege.
• Special prosecutor Archibald Cox took
Nixon to court to force him to give up the
recordings.
The Cover-Up Unravels (cont.)
• Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot
Richardson to fire Cox, but Richardson
resigned.
• Richardson’s deputy also resigned.
• Nixon’s solicitor general, Robert Bork, finally
fired Cox.
The Cover-Up Unravels (cont.)
• The vice president, Spiro Agnew, was forced
to resign after investigators learned that he
had taken bribes as governor and vice
president.
• In July, the Supreme Court ruled that the
president had to turn over the tapes, and
Nixon complied.
• Several days later, the House Judiciary
Committee voted to impeach Nixon.
The Cover-Up Unravels (cont.)
• On August 9, 1974, Nixon resigned his office
in disgrace.
• Gerald Ford took the oath of office.
• The Watergate crisis led to new laws
intended to limit the power of the executive
branch:
− the Federal Campaign Act Amendments
− the Ethics in Government Act
Ford and Carter
How did Ford and Carter
respond to energy and
economic challenges?
The Economic Crisis of the 1970s
In the 1970s Americans had to face a
slowing economy and an end to
plentiful, cheap energy.
The Economic Crisis of the 1970s (cont.)
• The nation’s economic troubles began in the
mid-1960s when President Johnson
increased federal deficit spending to fund
both the Vietnam War and the Great Society
Programs, without raising taxes.
• This spending spurred inflation.
• In 1973, the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to
use oil as a political weapon.
The Economic Crisis of the 1970s (cont.)
• OPEC announced that its members would
place an embargo on petroleum to countries
that supported Israel.
• The embargo ended in a few months, but oil
prices continued to rise, which led to a
recession.
• Another economic problem was the decline
of manufacturing.
Price of Gasoline, 1970–1990
The Economic Crisis of the 1970s (cont.)
• Nixon faced a new economic problem,
“stagflation,” in the early 1970s.
• Economists did not think inflation and
recession could occur at the same time, so
they were not sure which fiscal policy to
pursue.
• Nixon’s attempts to help the economy met with
little success.
Ford and Carter Battle the
Economic Crisis
When Gerald Ford failed to solve the
nation’s problems, Americans turned to
political outsider Jimmy Carter to lead
the nation.
Ford and Carter Battle the
Economic Crisis (cont.)
• By 1975, the American economy was in the
worst recession since the Great Depression,
with unemployment at nearly 9%.
• None of President Ford’s plans revived the
economy.
• Jimmy Carter defeats Ford in 1976; In the
end, none of his efforts to fix the economy
succeeded either.
Ford and Carter Battle the
Economic Crisis (cont.)
• He felt the nation’s most serious problem
was its dependence on foreign oil.
• He proposed a national energy program to
conserve oil and to promote the use of coal
and renewable energy sources such as
solar power.
• He also convinced Congress to create the
Department of Energy.
Ford and Carter Battle the
Economic Crisis (cont.)
• He agreed to support deregulation of the oil
industry but insisted on a “windfall profits
tax” to prevent oil companies from
overcharging consumers.
• In the summer of 1979, instability in the Middle
East produced a second major fuel shortage
and deepened the nation’s economic problems.
• public opinion polls showed that Carter’s
popularity had dropped lower than President
Nixon’s during Watergate
Carter’s Foreign Policy
Carter attempted to reestablish the
United States as a moral force for good
on the international stage but had few
successes.
Carter’s Foreign Policy (cont.)
• A man of strong religious beliefs, Carter
argued that the U.S. must try to be “right and
honest and truthful and decent” in dealing
with other nations.
• It was in the Middle East that President
Carter met both his greatest foreign policy
triumph and his greatest failure.
• In 1978, Carter helped broker a historic
peace treaty, known as the Camp David
Accords, between Israel and Egypt.
Carter’s Foreign Policy (cont.)
• His greatest foreign policy failure was the
Iranian Hostage Crisis.
• After the Shah was forced to flee Iran, an
Islamic republic was declared.
• Led by religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini,
the new regime distrusted the U.S. because
of their support of the Shah.
Carter’s Foreign Policy (cont.)
• Revolutionaries took 52 Americans hostage
from the American embassy.
• The Carter administration tried
unsuccessfully to negotiate for the hostages’
release.
• Failure dooms Carters reelection chances.
• On January 20, 1981, the day Carter left
office, Iran released the Americans, ending
444 days in captivity.
New Approaches to
Civil Rights
What were the goals of the
African Americans, Native
Americans, and Americans
with disabilities when they
organized?
African Americans Seek
Greater Opportunity
During the 1960s and 1970s, African
Americans built on the civil rights
achievements of the 1950s to advance
their social, political, and legal status.
African Americans Seek
Greater Opportunity (cont.)
• In the 1970s, African Americans began to
push harder for improvements in public
education and access to good schools.
• Many schools remained segregated, not by
law, but because whites and African
Americans lived in different neighborhoods.
African Americans Seek
Greater Opportunity (cont.)
• State courts began ordering local
governments to bus children to schools
outside their neighborhoods to achieve
greater racial balance—known an busing.
• Civil rights leaders also began advocating
affirmative action as a new way to solve
economic and educational discrimination.
African Americans Seek
Greater Opportunity (cont.)
• Affirmative action programs did not go
unchallenged.
• In 1978, in University of California Regents v.
Bakke, the Supreme Court ruled that the
university had violated Allan Bakke’s civil
rights by turning him down in favor of a
minority.
African Americans Seek
Greater Opportunity (cont.)
• They ruled that schools had an interest in
maintaining a diverse student body but could
not reserve certain slots for minority
students.
African Americans Seek
Greater Opportunity (cont.)
• New political leaders emerged in the African
American community in the 1970s, such as:
– Jesse Jackson
– Louis Farrakhan
– Shirley Chisholm
– L. Douglas Wilder
– Andrew Young
– David Dinkins
• In 1971, African American members of Congress
organized the Congressional Black Caucus to
more clearly represent their concerns.
Native Americans Raise Their Voices
The most impoverished minority group
in America, Native Americans, began
organizing for civil rights.
Native Americans Raise Their Voices (cont.)
• In 1961, more than 400 members of 67
Native American groups gathered in Chicago
and issued a manifesto, known as the
Declaration of Indian Purpose.
• Congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act
in 1968.
• The American Indian Movement (AIM)
believed that government efforts were too
modest.
The Disability Rights Movement
During the 1970s, people with
disabilities fought for greater rights
and access to education and jobs.
Environmentalism
What conditions did the
environmental agreement
address?
The Origins of Environmentalism
Concerns about the effects of a deadly
pesticide, the visible signs of pollution
in American cities, and an influential
book inspired a movement to protect
the environment.
The Origins of Environmentalism (cont.)
• Rachel Carson helped trigger the new
environmental movement.
• Her 1962 book, Silent Spring, assailed the
increasing use of pesticides, particularly DDT.
• People not only read her book but noticed
changes in the environment, such as smog
and other types of pollution.
The Origins of Environmentalism (cont.)
• Many observers point to April 1970 as the
unofficial beginning of the environmentalist
movement. “grassroots effort”
• 1st Earth Day held April 1970.
• The Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, and
the Wilderness Society grew rapidly in
membership and political influence.
The Environmental Movement Blossoms
Pressure from citizens and activist
groups led Congress to pass major
environmental legislation.
The Environmental Movement Blossoms
(cont.)
• In 1970, President Nixon signed the National
Environmental Policy Act, which created the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• The Clean Air Act also became law in 1970.
• The Clean Water Act and the Endangered
Species Act were also passed.
The Environmental Movement Blossoms
(cont.)
• The residents of Love Canal, New York
noticed high incidences of health problems
in their community and learned that their
community sat atop a decades-old toxic
waste dump.
• In 1978, the state permanently relocated
more than 200 families.
• In 1980, Carter declared the site a federal
disaster area and moved over 600 remaining
families.
The Environmental Movement Blossoms
(cont.)
• After a small leak at a Three Mile Island, a
nuclear facility outside Harrisburg, PA, many
people doubted the safety of nuclear energy.
• Supporters of nuclear energy hailed it as a
cleaner and less expensive alternative to
fossil fuels.
In the years since the Three Mile Island accident,
the following have occurred EXCEPT
A. Sixty nuclear power plants have
shut down.
0%
D
A
B
C0%
D
C
D. Many people have doubted
the safety of nuclear energy.
B
C. All nuclear power plants have
been shut down.
A.
B.
C.0%
0%
D.
A
B. No new facilities have been
built since 1973.
An Era of Challenges
Major Domestic Issues of the 1970s
• A nation is divided and angry over
the Vietnam War.
• An energy crisis is triggered by
OPEC’s raising of oil prices.
• A stagnant economy exists with
both inflation and high
unemployment.
An Era of Challenges
Major Domestic Issues of the 1970s
• Ongoing racial problems occur in
major cities.
• Growing awareness of
environmental problems including
air and water pollution, toxic
waste (at Love Canal and
other sites), the overuse of
pesticides, plus a crisis with
the nuclear power
plant at Three Mile Island.
An Era of Challenges
Major Foreign Policy Issues of the 1970s
• Cold War tensions continue with the
Soviet Union and China.
• The Soviet Union invades
Afghanistan.
• War between Israel and its Arab
neighbors breaks out in 1973,
and ongoing violence occurs
in the Middle East.
• A revolution in Iran leads to the
taking of American hostages.
New Policies and Activism
Responding to Domestic Issues
• Nixon attempts to win over Southern
conservatives, but his administration’s
determination to win leads to the
Watergate cover-up and Nixon’s
subsequent resignation.
• Ford’s WIN campaign fails to overcome inflation.
• Carter urges Americans to conserve energy, creates
the Department of Energy, and asks Congress to pass
legislation deregulating the oil industry.
New Policies and Activism
Responding to Domestic Issues
• Civil rights leaders propose affirmative
action policies to reduce
discrimination; the Supreme Court
upholds some types of affirmative
action in the Bakke case.
• Busing begins in northern cities to integrate schools.
• Environmentalist movement begins; Nixon creates
the EPA.
New Policies and Activism
Responding to Foreign Policy Issues
• Nixon and Kissinger introduce the
policy of détente and begin talks with
both the USSR and China.
• Carter mediates negotiations between
Israel and Egypt leading to the first
Arab-Israeli peace treaty.
• The United States imposes a grain embargo on the
USSR for invading Afghanistan and boycotts the
Moscow Olympics.
New Policies and Activism
Responding to Foreign Policy Issues
• The hostage crisis with Iran drags on
for more than a year; an American
rescue attempt fails, and the hostages
are not released until Carter
leaves office.
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ANSWER: No.
Nixon would still
have won the
majority of
electoral votes.
revenue sharing
federal tax money that is distributed
among the states
impound
to take possession of
détente
a policy that attempts to relax or ease
tensions between nations
summit
a meeting of heads of government
welfare
aid in the form of money or
necessities for those in need,
especially disadvantaged
social groups
liberal
a person who generally believes the
government should take an active
role in the economy and in social
programs but should not dictate social
behavior
executive privilege
principle stating that communications
of the executive branch should
remain confidential to protect national
security
special prosecutor
a lawyer from outside the government
appointed by an attorney general or
Congress to investigate a government
official for misconduct while in office
incident
occurrence of a happening or
situation that is a separate unit of
experience
challenger
one who enters a competition
inflation
the loss of value of money
embargo
a government ban on trade with other
countries
stagflation
persistent inflation combined with
stagnant consumer demand and
relatively high unemployment
theory
a hypothesis meant for argument or
investigation
deregulation
the act or process of removing
restrictions or regulations
busing
a policy of transporting children to
schools outside their neighborhoods
to achieve greater racial balance
affirmative action
an active effort to improve
employment or educational
opportunities for minorities
criteria
standards on which a judgment or
action may be based
appropriate
to allocate funds for spending
smog
fog made heavier and darker by
smoke and chemical fumes
fossil fuel
a fuel formed in the earth from
decayed plant or animal remains
intensify
to become more frequent and
powerful
alternative
existing or functioning outside the
established cultural, social, or
economic system
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