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Unit 7 1969-2001

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The New Politics of Identity Civil Rights Movement led to identity movements among other minorities Identity Politics Emphasize cultural differences and significance in recognizing these Primarily among 3 distinct groups: African Americans Native Americans Latinos

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African Americans Redefine the Movement Many rejected the early Civil Rights mantra that we are all the same Found faith in a distinct African American culture Created black studies departments at colleges Kwanzaa (1966) Celebration of African cultural heritage

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Mexican American Activism Many lived in poverty 1974: only 21% of Mexican American men graduate high school Cesar Chavez Head of the United Farm Workers (UFW) Fought for better wages for migrant laborers La Raza Youths proclaimed their own heritage, formed La Raza Unida Political organization working to get Mexican Americans elected to representative parties

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Native American Activism Red Power Movement American Indian Movement (radical) Occupied Bureau of Indian Affair in 1972 and Wounded Knee in 1973 National Congress of American Indians (moderate) Worked for legislation; Congress returned millions of acres of land to N.A.s Native Americans still live in worse conditions than most Americans

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Womens Movement The Feminine Mystique (1963) Women were plagued by the problem with no name Signaled the beginning of a new womens movement Accomplishments Awareness of issues dealing with womens health and rights, rape crisis centers, access to birth control Roe v. Wade (1973) Passage of ERA by Congress (was not ratified, 1982) Opposition Came from women who argued that feminists were trying to destroy traditional gender role, family unit Phyllis Schlafly

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End in Vietnam Nixon runs on platform: peace with honor Vietnamization build-up of S. Vietnamese forces to fight the war Bombing/Invasion of Cambodia Anti-war protests surged across the nation Pentagon Papers published by NY Times in June 1971 Showed that administration officials (LBJ and Nixon) had repeatedly lied to the American public January 27, 1973 cease-fire agreement between U.S. and North Vietnamese April 29, 1975 Saigon overrun by North Vietnamese troops

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Nixons Foreign Policy Recognized that American power was waning Nixon Doctrine economic aid to countries, but no longer military aid Essentially an end to containment, and the Truman Doc. (1947) Dtente relaxation of tensions between U.S. and Soviets Both nations were struggling to fight the Cold War economically Dtente made sense to both

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Nixons Foreign Policy Opening of China America recognized Communist China (1979) Nixon visited in 1972 Perhaps his greatest achievement was the Opening of China Middle East Deteriorating relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians after the Six Day War (1967) Yom Kippur War (1973) OPEC embargoed oil to U.S. and Israels allies Led to oil crisis in America

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Economic Crisis Stagflation = high unemployment and high inflation Causes? Vietnam War and Great Society increased spending Trade deficits (1971 first time in history for U.S.) Energy Crisis of 1973 Oil shot up 350% (OPEC cut off oil) Attempts to fix the economy Went off the gold standard (Nixon), curbed federal spending and urged the Fed to tighten credit (Ford), Stimulate the economy (Carter) None worked

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Economic Crisis Impact? America began to deindustrialize in the 1970s Became a service economy Outsourcing More married women joined the workforce Migration to the Sunbelt Government had invested heavily in the region, defense jobs Lower taxes (37 cut property tax, 28 cut income tax) Consumer debt skyrocketed

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Era of Cultural Transformation Environmentalism Natural disasters Cuyahoga River Fire (1970), Three Mile Island (1979), Love Canal (1980) EPA created in 1970 Family roles and the acceptance of sexuality were becoming more liberal Racial diversity Seen as a good thing, instead of something to overcome (think C.R. movement of the 1950s)

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Watergate and Beyond

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Domestic Agenda In many ways, very liberal Affirmative action, expanded National Endowment for Humanities and Arts, supported the ERA, signed major environmental legislation, etc. Also conservative States rights, federal revenue sharing with states Used Agnew to paint democrats as supporters of hippies, crime, and drugs

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Paranoia Saw enemies everywhere Made a list of enemies hundreds of names long The Plumbers Secret group authorized by the president to engage in illegal activities Example: broke into the psychiatrists office treating Daniel Ellsberg (released the Pentagon Papers) to find information to discredit him Worked to get Nixon reelected in 1972 Charles Colson, one of the Watergate Seven; originally in charge of the White House Plumbers

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Watergate Plumbers bugged the DNC office in Watergate Hotel in 1972 Caught by police Nixon did not know of the break-in before it happened but once he learned of it, he tried to cover it up Had CIA stop the FBIs investigation This was obstruction of justice an impeachable offense

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Who Would Think of Doing Such a Thing? - Washington Post, June 20, 1972

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Watergate The tapes Nixon recorded every conversation he had in the Oval Office for his memoirs Congress fought to get them released October 1973 Spiro Agnew resigns Accepted brides while governor of Maryland House began impeachment proceedings; tapes were eventually released (edited) Nixon constantly cursed, used racist slurs Shocked the nation He resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974

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Ford and Carter Gerald Ford (1974-1977) Took over when Nixon resigned Immediately pardoned Nixon Approval ratings plummeted Accomplished little due to a Democratic Congress which was willing to flex its muscles Jimmy Carter (D 1977-1980) Peanut farmer, sold himself as an honest outsider to Washington By most accounts he was; also refused much of the deal-making necessary to pass legislation

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Carters Foreign Policy Carters Administration would be dominated by foreign events Gave Panama Canal back to Panama (1977; 2000) Camp David Accords (HUGE accomplishment; peace between Egypt, an Arab nation, and Israel) Ultimately his administration was shaped by foreign failures Cold War deepened for a time Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Iranian Hostage Crisis He lost in 1980 to Ronald Reagan, in large part due to his mixed success with foreign policy

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