1970sA Decade of Transition

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Nixon’s Domestic Policy• New Federalism-

distribute a portion of federal power to state and local governments

• Revenue sharing- state and local governments could spend their federal dollars how they saw fit within certain limitations

• Stagflation- high inflation and high unemployment

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• Southern Strategy- Nixon tried to attract Southern conservative Democrats by appealing to their unhappiness with federal desegregation policies and anti-African American racism by whites

• Wage and Price Controls- failed plan used in 1971 by Nixon to battle stagflation

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• One of the problems in the economy was reliance on foreign oil. Many of these oil-producing nations belonged to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)

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Nixon’s Foreign Policy

• Realpolitik- foreign policy should be based solely on consideration of power, not ideals or moral principles

• Détente- a flexible approach in dealing with Communist nations aimed at easing Cold War tensions

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• China- US had not recognized since it went Communist in 1949. He reversed that policy in 1971 and visited in 1972

• Soviet Union- Nixon visited in 1972 also

• SALT I Treaty- strategic arms limitation talks led to a treaty with the Soviets about nuclear missiles

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Watergate• Watergate- scandal

centered on the Nixon Administration’s attempt to cover up a burglary of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, DC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=IHnmriyXYeg 7

• CREEP- Committee to Reelect the President

• Enemies List- Nixon kept a list of enemies that he would use his power to bully, investigate, IRS audit

• Wiretaps- on the DNC headquarters phone during burglary at Watergate

• The Plumbers- nickname for the burglars who broke into DNC headquarters

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• Cover up- Nixon had the CIA stop the FBI investigation. $450,000 was paid to plumbers to buy their silence.

• Nixon Tapes- Nixon recorded all oval office conversations.

• Executive Privilege- Nixon claimed he did not have to give up the tapes to prosecutors because he was president.

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• VP Spiro Agnew Resignation, Oct. 1973- for accepting bribes, Ford became VP

• Saturday Night Massacre- resignation of Attorney General and firing of his deputy after they refused to carry out Nixon’s order to fire the special prosecutor

• Articles of Impeachment- process of accusing the President of wrongdoing

• Nixon released tapes and resigned, Ford became president

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Legacy of Watergate

• Cynicism, distrust of government

• Fair Campaign Practices Act

• Freedom of Information Act

• Increased role of media in American politics

• Decreased civility in public discourse

• US Constitution works• Checks and balances

works

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Ford Administration• Nixon Pardon- Ford pardoned

Nixon one month after resignation. This cost Ford public support.

• Mayaguez Incident- Cambodia seized a US merchant ship Mayaguez and Ford sent troops. 41 troops were killed to save 39 sailors.

• Helsinki Accord- Ford signed agreement with 35 nations to promote greater cooperation between Western and Eastern Europe.

• WIN (Whip Inflation Now)- Ford’s actions triggered the worst economic recession in 40 years.

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The Burger Court

• Roe v. Wade (1973)- legalized abortion

• Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)- parents' fundamental right to freedom of religion outweighed the state's interest in educating its children.

• White v. Regester (1973)- set the basic standard for the maximum acceptable population deviation for state legislative districts.

• New York Times v. US (1971)- The New York Times fought for the right to publish the Pentagon Papers under the 1st Amendment.

• US v. Nixon (1974)- for Nixon’s tapes, limited the power of the president

• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)- ruled unconstitutional the admission process of the Medical School at the University of California at Davis, which set aside 16 of the 100 seats for non-white students. 13

Impact on US- OPEC Oil Embargo

• Global oil shortage• Long gas lines• Runaway inflation• Loss of manufacturing jobs• Lower standard of living for

blue collar workers• Consumers switched to

more efficient Japanese cars• 55 mph speed limit• Alaskan pipeline

constructed14

Carter Administration

• In 1976 the Democrat and former Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, beat Gerald Ford in the presidential election.

• Significance of Carter’s victory- reaction to Vietnam, Watergate, and was an outsider, informal, and intelligent

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Carter’s Economic Policy

• Problems:• Double-digit inflation• Unemployment• High taxes• Increased federal deficit

• Solutions:• FED increased interest

rates to 20%• End of wage and price

controls• Cut federal spending • Deregulation of various

industries- railroad, trucking, airlines

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Carter’s Energy Policy

• Department of Energy created

• National Energy Act, 1978

• Tax sales of gas guzzling cars

• Fund research for alternative fuels

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Carter’s Human Rights Foreign Policy

• Africa-Apartheid- Rhodesia and South Africa

• Latin America- dictators in Argentina, Chile, Nicaragua

• Panama Canal Treaty- returned control of canal back to Panama in 2000

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Camp David Accords

• Peace agreement between long-time enemies Israel and Egypt in 1978

• First signed peace agreement between an Arab country and Israel

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Carter and the Soviet Union

• End of Détente• Soviet Invasion of

Afghanistan• 1980 Moscow Olympic

Boycott• Failure of SALT II

Treaty

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Iranian Hostage Crisis• Shah of Iran, US ally, was

resented for his regime’s widespread corruption and dictatorial tactics.

• January 1979, revolution broke out.

• Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini led the rebels in overthrowing the shah.

• Carter let the shah come to the US in Oct. 1979 for cancer treatment although he had already fled Iran in January.

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• This act infuriated the revolutionaries in Iran who seized the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 Americans hostage on Nov. 4, 1979 and demanded the return of the shah in return for their release

• The hostages were finally released after 444 days on Jan. 20, 1981 after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president. 22

Environmentalism

• Rachel Carson- Silent Spring (1962)- warned against the growing use of pesticides

• Water Quality Act (1965) required oil companies to clean up oil spills

• Air Quality Act (1968) air quality standards and tough emissions standards for automakers

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• Social Activism- Earth Day- April 22, 1970 was the first one. It heightens public awareness of environmental problems.

• Environmental Protection Agency (1970)- enforce pollution standards, conduct research, and help state and local governments with pollution control 24

• Endangered Species Act (1973)- protect endangered animals

• Superfund Act (1980)- to clean up Love Canal and other toxic waste sites

• Alternative Energy- nuclear power, solar power, wind power

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• Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1974)- federal agency that monitors the nuclear power industry

• Three Mile Island (1979)- March 28, 1979 nuclear reactor plant malfunctioned and low-level radiation escaped causing over 100,000 people to be evacuated.

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Demographic, Technological, and Social Impact on Life in the 1970s

• Demographic Changes• -From Rust Belt to the

Sun Belt and the West• -Cultural Pluralism

replaces Melting Pot

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• Technological Impact• Video Games• Answering Machines• Cable Television• CB radios• Fuel Efficient Compacts

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• Social Impact- The Me Decade• Religious Experimentalism-

trying new religions to see what matches your beliefs

• Cults- a religious movement whose beliefs and rituals are bizarre.

• Children of God- cult in the late 60s-early 70s

• Hare Krishna- a form of Hinduism founded in 1966 in New York that involves singing and chanting.

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• Reverend Jim Jones- was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip. Over 200 children were murdered at Jonestown, almost all of whom were forcibly made to ingest cyanide by the elite Temple members. 30

• Self-Absorption-• Fitness- jogging,

aerobics, gym, yoga, psychiatry

• I’m OK, You're OK-• Drug and Sexual

Experimentation

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Entertainment

• New role models• TV-The Jeffersons,

Maude, Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family, Good Times, Sanford and Son, Hawaii Five-O, Happy Days, M.A.S.H.

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• Movies- Star Wars, Jaws, The Exorcist, Grease, Godfather I and II, Close Encounters, Rocky, Monty Python, French Connection, Annie Hall, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, Chinatown, Serpico

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• Music- Rock, Disco, Motown

• Fashion- mood rings, bell bottoms, message t-shirts

• Skateboarding

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