Week 9 – The 1970s: Crisis and Hippies, Watergate, and into Postmodernism Decline Flashcards
1
Q
Crises of the 70s
A
- The Richard Nixon Years (1968–1974)
- Watergate (1972–1974)
- Opening towards the Soviet Union and China (1972)
- The Oil Embargo (1973–1974)
- The end of the Vietnam War (1975)
- The Gerald Ford Years (1974–1977)
2
Q
The Rise and Fall of Nixon
A
- Vice president to Eisenhower and close friend of Joseph McCarthy.
- Lost presidential election in 1960 against Kennedy.
- Admired for his patriotism and advocacy of traditional values.
- Criticized as ruthless and unprincipled (“Tricky Dick”).
- Wins 1968 election against Humbert Humphry.
3
Q
Domestic politics record by Nixon I
A
- Leaves most of domestic policy to his advisers H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman.
- Creates AMTRAK to renovate the railroad net.
- Lowers the voting age to 18 (formerly 21).
- Initiates laws for the preservation of air and water and creates the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
- Under his government, congress passes legislation increasing funding for Social Security, public housing, food stamps, Medicaid and Medicare, which is rather unusual for a Republican.
- Tries, however, also to decrease the power of the federal government, and to raise the influence of state, county, and city authorities.
4
Q
Domestic politics record by Nixon II
A
- Nixon’s paradoxical political stance is evident also in his approach to the Civil Rights issue.
- On the one hand, he passed policies that would guarantee employment also to minorities.
- On the other hand, in order to appeal to a Southern electorate, he did not support (or effectively tried to slow down) the process of school desegregation.
5
Q
Foreign Policy I: The Soviet Union
A
- National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger becomes the shadow foreign minister
o Shadow ministers are members of the opposition who have responsibility for scrutinizing the work of the government and individual ministers. Each shadow minister concentrates on the work of a particular minister and government department. - With his help, Nixon starts a policy aimed at de-escalating the tension with the Soviet Union.
- Another quite surprising move, as Nixon has always been an open supporter of the necessity of the Cold War against the “red scare.”
- Starts SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) with the Soviet Union to delimit the arms race.
6
Q
Foreign Policy II: China
A
- Nixon seeks contact with both Russia and China also in order to end the Vietnam War.
- Officially recognizes China’s diplomatic existence and is the first US president to visit the People’s Republic of China.
- His trip of 1972 took place a few months before the new election day.
7
Q
Foreign Policy III: The Middle East
A
- The Middle East increasingly becomes a trouble spot.
- On October 6, 1973, at Yom Kippur Day (Atonement Day), Israel is attacked by Egyptian and Syrian Forces, backed by Soviet supplies.
- Within two weeks, with the help of large-scale assistance from the US, Israel routs the invaders, and heads for the capitals of Syria and Egypt.
- During the Yom Kippur War, six Arab nations unilaterally raise oil prices by 70%
- On October 20, eleven Arab states stop shipping oil to the US due to its support of Israel.
8
Q
The Oil Crisis (1973–1974)
A
- In December of 1973, OPEC quadruples the oil prices, which leads to a severe economic crisis in the US, Western Europe, and Japan.
- Long queues appear at gasoline stations; some nations introduce car-free days.
- The high oil prices lead to high inflation rates in the industrialized countries, and to the highest in the US since WWII.
9
Q
The Watergate Crisis I
A
- In 1972, as part of Nixon’s re-election effort, a massive campaign of political spying and “dirty tricks” is initiated against Democrats, leading to the Watergate break-in to plant bugs (tiny audio transmitters) inside the offices of the Democratic National Committee, on June 17, 1972.
- Two young reporters from the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, begin a pursuit of the facts surrounding the break-in. Their informant, a senior FBI official, acquires the famous name “deep throat.”
10
Q
The Watergate Crisis II
A
- The Watergate burglars go on trial in January 1973 and, on May 17, the Senate Select Committee begins televised hearings.
- A month later, former Presidential Counsel John Dean testifies there was an ongoing White House cover-up, and that Nixon has been personally involved in the payment of hush money to the five burglars and two other operatives involved in planning the Watergate break-in.
- Three weeks later, another Nixon aide revealed the President had ordered hidden microphones installed in the Oval Office in the spring of 1971 and has recorded most conversations since then on audio tape.
11
Q
The Watergate Crisis III
A
- The tapes become the focus of an intensive year-long legal battle between all three branches of the U.S. government.
- In October of 1973, Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, who has been appointed by the Nixon administration, publicly vows to obtain the tapes despite Nixon’s strong objections.
- Nixon responds to public outrage by initially agreeing to turn over some of the tapes.
- However, the White House then reveals that two of the tapes no longer exist and that there is an 18-minute blank gap on a crucial recording of the President and Haldeman taped three days after the Watergate break-in.
12
Q
The Watergate Crisis IV
A
- In November of 1973, amid all of the controversy, Nixon makes a scheduled appearance before 400 Associated Press managing editors in Florida.
- During a Q&A he maintains his innocence, stating: “in all of my years in public life I have never obstructed justice… People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.” – History would prove him wrong…
13
Q
The Watergate Crisis V
A
- After hearing from Republican congressional leaders that his impeachment and conviction are certain, Nixon resigns on August 9, 1974.
- The enormity of the scandal is echoed in the comment of Senator Sam Ervin: “I think that the Watergate tragedy is the greatest tragedy this country has ever suffered. I used to think that the Civil War was our country’s greatest tragedy, but I do remember that there were some redeeming features in the Civil War in that there was some spirit of sacrifice and heroism displayed on both sides. I see no redeeming features in Watergate.”
14
Q
Gerald Ford: Years of Disillusionment
A
- Gerald Ford takes over from Richard Nixon.
- Less than a month after taking office, Ford ruins his presidency by granting Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon” for any crimes he may have committed while in the White House, even while the investigations against Nixon are not yet closed.
- Ford thus heightens the traditionally suspicious stance that Americans harbor towards Washington.
15
Q
Gerald Ford to Jimmy Carter (1977–1981)
A
- By granting draft violators and deserters amnesty if they served a two-year public service, Ford angers both hawks and doves.
- He disenchants more Americans by vetoing nearly sixty bills, including bills on education, housing, and health care.
- In 1975, American economy, already weakened by the Oil Crisis, plunges into ist worst recession since the Great Depression.
- Only in 1975 is Vietnam war is finally over, and the Vietcong flag waving over Saigon reopens old wounds.
16
Q
Developments Abroad
A
- Chile: In 1973, in a military takeover, the popular socialist president Allende is killed, and replaced by the junta leader General Pinochet.
- Argentina: In 1974, a military, right-wing leadership is also established in Argentina after the death of President Peron.
- Europe: 1974 also sees the end of dictatorships in non-Soviet Europe, such as Greece, Portugal, and later Spain, after the death of Franco.
17
Q
Developments at home
A
- Environmentalism and Women‘s liberation become stronger.
- Women enter the United States Military Academy in West Point in 1976 for the first time.
- While the birth rate falls to an all-time low, the divorce rate increases by 66% in the 70s.
- After the publication of Rachel Carson‘s enormously influential book Silent Spring in 1962, government action is taken by implementing the “Endangered Species Act” in 1973.
18
Q
Roe vs. Wade (1973)
A
- Decision of the US Supreme Court that ruled that, according to the Constitution, women have a right to abortion within the first three months of pregnancy.
- The name comes from “Jane Roe,” the pseudonym of Norma MacCorvey, the Texas woman who filed the lawsuit, and the district attorney of Dallas County Henry Wade.
- This landmark decision was overruled in 2022 in the “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.” The Supreme Court decreed that the Constitution does not guarantee a right to abortion under federal law and left the issue up to the singular states.
19
Q
The “Me-Decade”…
A
- Following the stereotypical homogeneity of the 1950s and the tumult of the 1960s, many American institutions have broken down and Americans are left with very little holding them together. In lieu of such common fabric, many scholars argue that Americans in the 1970s form the “me-generation.”
- The term me decade is coined by novelist Tom Wolfe in the New York Magazine in August 1976, describing the new American preoccupation with self-awareness and the collective retreat from history, community, and human reciprocity.
- The term describes the age so aptly that it quickly becomes commonly associated with the 1970s. Compared to the 1960s, Americans in the 1970s are self-absorbed and passive.
- Americans turn from street theater to self-therapy, from political activism to psychological analysis. Everyone, it seems, has an analyst, adviser, guru, genie, Prophet, priest, or spirit.
20
Q
What are the Hippie Movement‘s agendas?
A
- Pacifism
- Anarchism
- Environmentalism
- Consciousness-enhancement
- Sexual liberation
