changing political environment 1960-74 Flashcards
(25 cards)
why did new liberalism take off under krnnrdy and how did he define it
-2nd red scare and violence towards civil rights made people uneasy on the political climate
-new liberalism took off under kennedy: he redefined liberalisms meaning back to forward thinking, flexible and concerned about welfare
-beleif that government intervention could improve things
-he reinstigated the values of the american dream
what were the values/ beleifs of liberalism
-opposed values of the second red scare
-supported equality, civil rights and social welfare and introduced the idea of ‘positive discrimination’ of 5 minorities
-believes in government intervention
what were the benefits of liberalism and the positive effect of it on politics
-more protests as liberalism was happy to protest
POSITIVE ON POLITICS:
-civil rights act,
-voting reform act,
-Johnsons welfare society arguably couldnt have occured if congress wasnt liberal minded (liberalism had a huge effect on equality0
what was counter culture and when did it emerge
-1960s
-wanted to change society by changing culture (rejecting parents generation influence), belief that if people lived differently they would behave differently
-made up of hippies and student radicals
what were hippies in the 1960s
-wanted to live in communal societies
-believed in simple ways of life and peace
-believed in recreational drug usage
-many supported sexual freedom wider than marriage gave
-WOODSTOCK FESTIVAL 1969, gatheing of 500,000 hippies
what were student radicals role in 60s counter culture. what were some groups/ movements and what did they do
AIMS
-wanted to create a more equal world
-wanted radical changes; from their course structure to end of vietnam war
STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY (SDS) 1960
-Rejected all forms of bigotry/ racism/ anticommunism etc and often protested violently
-organised first mass rally in 1965 (ANTI VIETNAM WAR PROTEST)
FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT
-led a campaign at the university of california in 1964
-used sit ins and peaceful protests for free speech on campus
-turned to more violent methods (e.g the violence at kent state university)
STOP THE DRAFT
KENT STATE
What is an example of a student protest that became violent
-1967 ‘stop the draft week’
-2000 police officers used clubs to attack thousands of berekely students who had tried to shut down oakland draft headquarters
-some retailiated with smoke bombs
what was the conservative reaction to counter culture
-bewildered by it
-challenged traditional values and rejected the consumer culture they embraced and christian values
-when students resorted to violence there was an increased feeling the the liberal government wasnt working
-as violence calmed politicians advocated ‘NEW RIGHT’ to restore law and traditional values (Nixon campaigned for president on new right policies)
-generated a conservative reaction, contributing the nixon’s election in 1968 (continous protests under LBJ’s watch)
-from the late 60s religious groups held campus campagins (e.g bill bright, an evangelical preacher, went to campuses all over the US- inc. radical Berkeley, california)
What was the impact of the Vietnam war on domestic policy
-similar defence budget concerns as Korean War and the money spent contributed to Us inflation
-Loss of credibility for government (unpopular policies that excalated out of control: The draft was a lottery to select 18-26 men to fight)
how did the Vietnam war start and when
-1955-75
-began in 1954 began when the french were driven out by communist vietnamese rebels
-leader Ngo Dinh Diem war corrupted and elected friends as leaders
-friction between north and south Vietnam rose
-north was communist south was democratic
-usa began training vietnamese south army and gave supplies
when did Kennedy send the first troops into vietnam and what happened
-1961
-began fiting a violent war with innocent people being killed
-withdrawl began in 1969 and completed in 1975
-first war US had lost and made them look awful
who protested against the vietnamese war and some examples of protests
-student radicals and all aspects of society
KENT STATE UNIVERSITY (OHIO)-MAY 1970
-students protested the bombing of cambodia… clashed with 28 national guardsmen on university campus
-guardsmen shot and killed four students on May 4 1970 BECOMING A FOCAL POINT OF THE NATION
VETERANS MARCH- 1971
-5 day demonstration in washington D.C
-30,000 people
-generally peaceful
what was the role of the media in the vietnam war
-began reporting as white house conferences described them but began to report on war up close
-reported shocking stories: soldiers on drugs, Mai Lai massacre, ice cream reward for high kills)
-innocent people killed, truth came out to nation
what was the impact of the vietnam war on presidency
-drove successive presidents to unpoplar donestic policies
-becsuse power of presidency in foreign affairs increased, future presidents seen accountable for events (Hey! Hey! bLBJ How many kids did you kill today)
-made people look at role of president and behaviour in wars more critically
-saigon withdrawal didnt reflect well on presidency
how did the media cause a decline in government confidence from 1968-70
-people had wider acess than in earlier days
-Tv ownership at 95% in 1970 and radios popular
-radio used and influenced changing views of reporters relationship with the govt/presidency
-from 1953 when the korean war began and truman mishandled the media criticism began
-by 1968 there was a growing opinion that it was the medias job to uncover and discover government deception
JIMMY CARTER
-led to decline was portrayed as weak and incompetant in the media (marathon story and rabit story
WATERGATE
-media coverage on Watergate
-all 250 hours were broadcast on tv
what was the watergate scandal and how did it decrease confidence
-1972-74
-pivitol moment in declining confidence in presidency and gov
-proved Nixon and the whitehouse were guilty of burglary and surveillance of political opponents (tapping into democratic oppossition at the watergate building)
-tapes of discussions forced nixon into terrible lights making it clear he was happy to lie to the american people
-all 250 hours were broadcast on TV
how did social factors leadtp a decline in gov confidence from 1968 to 80
-how social problems were handled at local level and state level were also a pivitol factor in the decline of gov confidence
-violent polic reactions occurred in the south before 1968 and the level of violence spread
-irrationalised violence sparked major concerns of the govs inability to tackle social issues BUT argueably was because of media coverage
EXAMPLES
-MLK’s death 1968 sparked viots and violence- racial injustice seen from police
-1970 national guard killed 4 students and seriously wounded 9 at kent state university protest of invasion of Cambodia
-1969 stop the draft week, students attacked with clubs, they retailiated with smoke bombs
how much did the Korean War cost the us
defence spending increased to 300percent
war cost 67 billion plus billions needed to rebuild S korea
what did eisenhower do to vietnam
established an independant anti communist state of south vietnam under diem and gave him 71 billion
what did eisenhower do in office
-cut defence spending
-increased minimum wage from 75 cents to 1$ per hour
-constructed interstate highway system that employed millions
-direct federa aid to education
Decline in Confidence in Government, 1968-80: Statistics
1960 - 70% of Americans said they trusted the government most of the time
1974 - Less than 40% said this
-Several factors contributed to this decline, most being a lack of trust in the adminstration.
Decline in Confidence in Government, 1968-80: Social Factors
-Violent police reaction to protests in South and later racial injustice by police following riots after MLK’s death
-Police and National Guard became increasingly violent with student protestors. 1970, they killed 4 students and wounded nine at Kent State University at invasion of Cambodia as part of Viet war
-1968-80, many white middle class began to feel gov. was doing too much to help poor rather than them
-1965 Voting Rights Act led to many white Democrats voting Republican
-Civil Rights protestors became increasingly violent when the gap between laws underlining their rights and the enforcement of those rights showed no sign of closing
Decline in Confidence in Government, 1968-80: Presidents
-Johnson put troops into Vietnam without Congress approval. Communicated poorly with press and public
-Nixon’s mismanagement of Watergate scandal and forced communication style and corrupt gov.
-Ford’s pardoning of Nixon’s actions rather than taking him to trial
-Carter was a moral man who said he would never lie to the people but he couldn’t manage COngress and his presidency was marked by poor decisions and lack of flexibility, as well as being very stubborn
Decline in Confidence in Government, 1968-80: Mishandling of events
Notably Vietnam War, gov. and president couldn’t avoid responsibility for the conduct of the war
-Media exposed army scandals (Mai Lai Massacre) and gov. mishandling of the war.
-Trust became a big issue
