Transcript The Ford and Carter Years

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Feminism of the 1960s and early 1970s
 To challenge the cult of domesticity.
 National Organization for Women (NOW-1966)
 Goals: to end job discrimination, legalize abortion, obtain federal and
state support for child-care center.
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Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972 (gender
equity)
Support for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) (1972)
 Equal Rights Amendment was to provide for the legal equality
of the sexes and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex.(was
never ratified)
Roe v. Wade (1973)
 Legalized abortion
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American Indian Movement (AIM)
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American Indian Movement, (AIM), militant American Indian
civil rights organization, founded in Minneapolis, Minn., in
1968 .
AIM was involved in many highly publicized protests. It was
one of the Indian groups involved in the occupation (1969–71)
of Alcatraz Island, the march (1972) on Washington, D.C., to
protest violation of treaties (in which AIM members occupied
the office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs), and the takeover
(1973) of a site at Wounded Knee to protest the government’s
Indian policy.
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Gray Panthers:
Founded in 1970 by Margaret E. "Maggie" Kuhn. The Gray Panthers
is a national organization dedicated to social justice for old and
young people alike. However, the Gray Panthers is best known for
work on behalf of older persons. It has lobbied and litigated against
Age Discrimination in the areas of retirement, housing, and health
care.
United Farm Workers (UFW):
The United Farm Workers of America (UFW) began in 1962 as a
coalition of poorly paid migrant farm workers and grew into a
powerful Labor Union that has consistently fought to increase
wages and improve working conditions for its members.
 Cesar Chavez was an American farm worker, labor leader and
civil rights activist, who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the
National Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm
Workers union, UFW).
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Gideon v. Wainright(1963)
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the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires the
states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants
charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers
themselves.
Regents of the University of California
v.Bakke (1978)
 It upheld affirmative action, allowing race to be one of several
factors in college admission policy. However, the court ruled that
specific racial quotas, such as the 16 out of 100 seats set aside for
minority students by the University of California, Davis School of
Medicine, were impermissible.
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The United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is an agency of the U.S. federal
government which was created for the purpose of
protecting human health and the environment by
writing and enforcing regulations based on laws
passed by Congress.
The EPA was proposed by President Richard
Nixon and began operation on December 2, 1970,
after Nixon signed an executive order
U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the
People's Republic of China was an important step
in formally normalizing relations between the
United States (U.S.) and the People's Republic of
China (PRC). It marked the first time a U.S.
president had visited the PRC, which at that time
considered the U.S. one of its foes, and the visit
ended 25 years of separation between the two
sides
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Watergate was a major political scandal
that occurred in the United States in the
1970s, following a break-in at the
Democratic National Committee (DNC)
headquarters at the Watergate office
complex in Washington, D.C. and
President Richard Nixon's
administration's attempted cover-up of
its involvement.
Facing near-certain impeachment in the
House of Representatives and equally
certain conviction by the Senate, Nixon
resigned the presidency on August 9,
1974
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Ford inherited a presidential
office badly diminished by
the Watergate scandals.
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As the first unelected
president, he had no popular
mandate and was not well
known outside of Washington.
Yet his easy manner and
modest approach to
government helped restore
at least some degree of
confidence in the office of
president.
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Social and Fiscal Conservative
 Believed the federal government
exercised too much power over
domestic affairs.
 Resisted congressional pressure to
reduce taxes and increase Federal
spending.
 Along with an energy crisis, this
helped plunge the economy into a
deep recession.
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SALT II
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Ford met with Brezhnev in
1974 and accepted the
framework for another armscontrol agreement that was to
serve as the basis for SALT II.
Helsinki Summit
Ford and Brezhnev met in
Finland in August 1975 with
other European leaders.
 Agreed to recognize the
political boundaries that had
divided Eastern and Western
Europe since 1945.
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Jimmy Carter (Democrat)
 Peanut farmer &1 term governor of Georgia
 Washington outsider
Gerald Ford (Republican)
 Nixon pardon
 Recession
Carter narrowly with 50.1% of popular vote
 Carried 90% of black voters
 Looked to bring a new simplicity and directness to the
White House.
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Offered amnesty to the thousands of young
men who had fled the country rather than
serve in Vietnam.
Negotiated a treaty to turn over the Panama
Canal Zone by 1999.
The Economy
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Inherited a bad economy and left it much worse.
Stagflation – double digit inflation and increased
unemployment.
Problems with the Oil Supply
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Yom Kippur War (1973)
Syria and Egypt launched a
surprise attack against Israel
 Soviet Union supplied the
Arabs and the U.S. supplied
the Israeli allies
 The seven Arab members of
the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) imposed a
boycott of oil sales to
countries seen as friendly to
Israel. (October 1973 to March
1974)
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OPEC continued to
raise prices.
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Energy costs rose
Inflation rose
Interest rates shot to
20%.
Carter called only for
voluntary restraints
on prices and wages
and conservation of
energy.
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Motorists were forced to wait in long lines for
limited supplies of gasoline that they
regarded as excessively expensive.
Many Americans saw nuclear energy as the
only alternative.
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Three Mile Island (1979)
 Nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania ruptured and
released radioactive gas. 100,000 people fled their homes.
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Carter’s approval rating dropped to 26%.
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Lower than Nixon’s during Watergate
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The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is an organization
founded in 1964 with the purpose of the "liberation of Palestine"
through armed struggle.
In 1978, Carter invited Egypt’s President Anwar el-Sadat and
Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David.
Peace Agreement
 Israel would return the Sinai to Egypt in exchange for
recognition.
 Israel had to negotiate a resolution of the Palestinian refugee
dilemma. (Never happened)
Made an all-out war between Israel and the Arab world less
likely.
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SALT II signed in 1979.
 The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
Iran Hostage Crisis (1979-80)
 Ayatollah Khomeini ousts Shah of Iran in 1979.(Iranian Revolution)
 Carter allowed the ousted Shah to come to U.S.
 Radicals captured U.S. embassy to trade for Shaw and wealth.
 U.S. rescue mission ended with fatal helicopter crash.
 53 Americans were held hostage until the day Reagan took office.
(444 days)
 Carter finally released several billion dollars of Iranian assets to
ransom the kidnapped hostages.
Carter’s failure: The uneasiness of the late 1970s
reflected a widespread disillusionment with
liberal social programs.
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Americans lose faith in government
Vietnam puts into question the containment
doctrine
Government could not manage the economy
Decline in race relations
By 1980 rising prices, energy shortages, and similar
economic uncertainties fed a growing resistance to
a liberal agenda.
Hard-pressed workers resented increased
competition from minorities, especially those
supported by affirmative action, quotas and
government programs.
Citizens resisted the demands for higher taxes to
support social welfare spending.
The traditional family seemed under siege, as
divorce rates and births to single mothers soared.
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Sexually explicit media, an outspoken gay rights
movement, and the availability of legal abortions
struck many religious conservatives as part of a
wholesale assault on decency.
Increasingly the political agenda was determined by
those who wanted to restore a strong family,
traditional religious values, patriotism, and limited
government.
Unleash the capitalist spirit. (limited
government)
 Dismantle the “bloated” federal
bureaucracy.
 Reduce taxes and regulations.
 Undo the welfare state.
Restore national pride and regain
international respect.
Emphasis is on patriotism.