Changing Leaders in Washington The Ford and Carter Years 1974-1981

Changing Leaders in Washington

The Ford and Carter Years 1974-1981

Gerald Ford

First President not elected to the Executive Branch.

What to do about Richard Nixon?

Election reforms. Oil The election of 1976

What to do about Nixon?

Originally Ford said he would do nothing until the courts acted.

2 weeks later Ford went on TV and granted Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he may have committed as President.

Clemency for those who evaded the Draft

Oil

America became reliant on imported oil in 1960’s and 1970’s.

1971 Libya began to gouge foreign markets other OPEC nations followed suit.

Oil prices increased 5 fold.

Oil Supply Diminished

1973 the Middle East erupted in the Yom Kippur War.

Arab nations angered at America’s favoritism of Israel led them to cut off Oil.

Americans had to wait in lines for gas.

The Election of 1976The Republican Nomination

Ford announced he wanted to be President in his own right.

California Governor Ronald Reagan challenged him as the representative of the Conservative wing of the party.

Ford Won the Nomination

Ford narrowly won the nomination.

This picture was a symbolic show of solidarity among Republicans.

Reagan would be back in 1980.

The Election of 1976The Democratic Nomination

Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer from Georgia.

He was elected Governor of Georgia and set his sights on the Presidency in 1976.

Washington Outsider

The Presidency of Jimmy Carter

Carter loses the Congress

Inflation Energy and the

environment Changing Middle East

The Changing Congress

Watergate made new members suspicious of the Presidency.

Party politics was giving way to special interests.

Carter was not able to maintain even Democratic support.

Special Interest Groups

People became less interested in politics in general and more interested in specific issues.

The financial influence of PAC’s took precedence over party politics

American Involvement in the Middle East

Carter tried to assist in bringing peace to Middle East.

The U.S. counted on a friendly Iran for oil.

Ayatollah Khomeini wanted nothing to do with the U.S..

We allowed the overthrown Shah to enter America

The Hostage Crisis

1979 Ayatollah Khomeini demanded the Shah be returned to Iran.

When we refused Iranians seized our embassy and took diplomats hostage.

April 1980 we failed in a rescue attempt 8 servicemen died

The Shah died in the U.S. the hostages were not freed.

1980 That was the

situation going into 1980.

Reagan was a former actor, in his element during televised debates.

Conservative message

The Reagan Revolution

1980-1988

The Conservative Message of Reagan

Downsize the Government

Supply Side Economics Assassination Attempt Labor and Farmers Middle East and

Central America Winning the Cold War

Supply Side Economics

Supply Siders believed that the higher the tax rate the more government revenue there would be.

BUT, there was a breaking point. Beyond which people would not be motivated to work

The Laffer Curve

The Assassination Attempt

March 30, 1981 John Hinckley shot Reagan and 3 others in Washington DC

He was found Not Guilty by reason of insanity.

The Presidential Connection by the Numbers

1840 - William Harrison (pneumonia) 1860 - Abraham Lincoln (assassinated) 1880 - James Garfield (assassinated) 1900 - William McKinley (assassinated) 1920 - Warren Harding (heart attack) 1940 - Franklin Roosevelt (cerebral hemorrhage) 1960 - John F. Kennedy (assassinated) 1980 – Ronald Reagan (attempted assassination) 2000 – George W. Bush the streak (thankfully) broken Zachary Taylor is the only president not elected in a year ending in

zero who did die in office.

Labor and Farmers

Reagan set the tone for labor when he fired the air traffic controllers. He broke the strike He positioned government

on the side of big business

The Green Revolution American farmers

struggled – international market dried up

Farm Aid

Winning the Cold War

Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

Mikhail Gorbachev Glasnost- Allowed

freedom of expression in the Soviet Union

Perestroika-Gradual economic reforming of the USSR while avoiding internal revolutions

Bush and Clinton Years

The Bridge to the 21st Century

The Dilemma of Conservatism

1988 Republican nominee George Bush vowed “No New Taxes.”

He defeated Michael Dukakis by painting him as a radical liberal. THE PARDON http://www.youtube.com

/watch?v=Io9KMSSEZ0Y

Bush’s Struggle to Maintain Conservatism

Conservatism in the 1980s

  Economic Policy

Social Policy

Foreign Policy

Key Issues Tax cuts and supply-side economics

Conservative Supreme Court appointments; new restrictions on abortion and affirmative action; "tough on crime"

Increased military spending; intervention in foreign affairs

The Fall of President Bush 1991-1992

Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill.

Rodney King race riots The taxes he promised

not to pass Inability to relate to the

people

The Successes of the Bush Presidency

The fall of the Soviet Union

The crumbling of the Berlin Wall

Liberation of Eastern Europe

The liberation of Kuwait Victory in the Gulf War

The rise of the “Comeback Kid”

The Clinton Campaign just wouldn’t quit. Challenged Bush when he

seemed unbeatable Alleged indiscretion led to

an honest interview that played well with the public

Boxers or briefs? MTV Perot dropped out just

before Clinton was nominated

The Clinton Years

Politics of the Center The Republican

Congress Re-election Economic Growth The Scandals

The Politics of the Center

Americans feared strong stances and radicals. Clinton was a moderate

who seemed to be Republican on some issues and Democratic on others.

Demopublican or Republicrat

The Politics of the Center

Clintonian Programs Head Start (D) Anti-Crime (R) Welfare Reform (R) Air Quality Regs. (D) Moderate Gun Control (D) NAFTA (R) WTO (R) Deficit Reduction (D) Gays in military (D)

The Republican Congress

Scandals and Problems led to Republican majorities in 1994 Whitewater

Investigations Sexual Harassment ATF raids on Waco Health Care The “Contract With

America”

Time Man of the Year 1995

The Comeback Kid Does It Again!

How did he do it? The Budget War

Clinton wins Welfare Reform

Clinton Signed it Republicans could not use

it Bob Dole was 73

Clinton wins

Clinton Wins

Impeachment