Social and political change, 1973-80 Flashcards
hhhhhhhhhhhhh WAIT GERALD FORD OMG (19 cards)
1
Q
Impact of stupid silly watergate teehee
A
- Burglary at Democratic Party’s presidential campaign headquarters, linked eventually to widespread illegal political activities by Republicans. Watergate saw two of Nixon’s senior advisors convicted
- Led to formation of controls on the President, e.g. Office of Government Ethics, required report on any undercover activities to congress
2
Q
GERALD FORD WOOOOOOO YEAAHAHAHHAH BAYBEEEEEE
A
- Never officially elected as either vice- or full? president
- Faced humiliation of the loss in Vietnam + fall of the South to communist forces, + impacts of Nixon’s dishonesty
- Known for his honesty in congress prior to presidency, but mucked that up when he pardoned Nixon two months into his presidency for any and all crimes
- Lost out to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential campaign due to a quest for a less imperial, more open presidency (refer to prior muckup as to why Ford was no longer seen as open and less imperial,,,, idiot)
- WIN - Whip Inflation Now! Absolute failure since his policies were optional, not mandatory.
3
Q
Jimbob
A
- Known for being more casual - walked to the White House from Congress after being sworn in, held barbeques instead of formal dinners, dressed in casual clothes
- Began with optimism, but lacked the federal connections
- Lack of experience in politics became a liability - surrounded himself with advisors form his own state known as the ‘Georgia Mafia’, tried to micromanage the government.
- 1973 Yom Kippur war + rise in global oil prices. Badly increased fuel prices, US economy suffered from stagflation, their economy sucked, whatever
4
Q
What did jimbob do?????
A
- Tried to stimulate domestic demand to encourage recovery - but a triple combo of unemployment and inflation AND interest rates rising. A lot.
- Failure to fix economic issues = led to political disillusionment and a growing distrust of national politicians
- But also disillusionment with Carter specifically - Iranian hostage crisis, 66 Americans captured after overthrow of the Shah in Iran. Jimmy failed a rescue attempt when planes + helicopters flat out crashed in the Iranian desert, extensive negotiations only ended after Jimmy left office
- Rep. also tanked when USSR invaded + occupied Afghanistan in 1979 and responded by… boycotting Moscow Olympics.
- Beaten thoroughly by daddy Reagan
- He wouldn’t support the Humphrey-Hawkins bill supported by the US Trade Union organisation to protect workers’ jobs, eventually passed in 1978 w/ limited impact
- NEP - National Energy Plan implemented in ‘78. Also encouraged alternate sources of energy, offered tax credit to employers who made their products more fuel-efficient. US energy consumption fell 10%
- Energy crisis led to another bout of stagflation
5
Q
Wait, not done yet! Environmentalism hahahah :) AAAAAAAAAA
A
- Issues around environment attracted younger voters
- OSHA and Clean Air Act in 1970 were kinda good, but yknow
- Other stuff, dude read it yourself, p.339 idc
- LOVE CANAL near Niagara falls, industrial waste in the river led to chromosomal damage in residents. Senate enquiry, $30 million on cleanup
- THREE MILE ISLAND, nuclear accident where a reactor nearly exploded. 10,000 had to evacuate, and no new stations were built as a result
- Conflict over Tellico dam - threat to wildlife and a species of endangered fish vs ‘but i want to’. ‘But i want to’ won out in the end.
- Alaska Lands Law 1980 was win for environmentalists, doubled acreage set aside for national parks and wildlife refuges
6
Q
GOD THERE IS SO MUCH MORE IN THIS SECTION
Family incomes and inflation
A
- I don’t care
- I still don’t care
- Page 341 do it tomorrow
7
Q
Growth of homelessness
A
- High inflation and unemployment = foreclosures on houses and greater homelessness
- Mechanisation of industry led to further unemployment esp. in Appalachia, rust belt
- Reductions to taxes in 1978 meant even less funding for welfare services
- Stupid stagflation and whjaytebr
8
Q
The oil crisis + end of cheap energy
A
- Yom Kippur War - OPEC raised oil prices in 1973, quadrupling prices worldwide
- Fall of the Shah in Iran in 1979 led to further doubling of oil prices
- 1979, 58% percent of petrol stations closed due to lack of fuel
- USA was the world’s greatest consumer of oil, so must vulnerable to rising prices
- GNP dropped a lot. 90% of Americans believed high inflation was a permanent feature of the US economy
9
Q
Impact of euuhhhh foreign competition
A
- US cars were ‘gas guzzlers’, whereas cars from Germany and Japan had far better fuel economy
- Chrysler, General Motors and Ford had to lay off 224,000 employees
- Chrysler faced bankruptcy in 1980 and had to be bailed out by the federal government
- EEC made in 1957, by 1973 had nine European countries. Competition + trading group that rivalled the US
10
Q
Business interests in sports
A
- Baseball up until the 70s when rise of TV, sports esp. American Football became extremely popular
- Most popular football games were between universities, then rise of professional football
- Rozelle - head of NFL. Negotiated broadcast with CBS, main source of income became advertisements - regular stoppages in the game = more ads
- 53 million watched in 1973
- NBA also benefited - signed a contract with ESPN and USA Network, huge names like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson
- Pepsi + Cola sponsored NASCAR, NBA, NFL - also Coors and Budweiser
11
Q
Fragmentation of popular music
A
- Dance music with Disco and Club music
- Prog rock developed from the 60s rock bands
- Soul and Funk developed from Motown
- More alternative genres like New Wave and Punk
- 1979 = Hip Hop
- Rise of Discotheques, Saturday Night Fever in 1977 with John Travolta
- Rock - British bands like ELO, Queen and Pink Floyd, American bands like Kansas
- Punk rock!! The Sex Pistols from the UK, ‘God Save the Queen’
- New northern-based black music - Earth, Wind and Fire, Jackson 5 - but also rise of hip hop
- Folk-pop music, e.g. Bob Dylan, Neil Young
12
Q
Film and TV contradictions
A
- Political and social issues received sig. attention, e.g. Mafia and Vietnam War
- But also escapism - One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky
- Coppola - Made Godfather parts I and II, but also Apocalypse Now, about Vietnam War
- The Deer Hunter starring Robert De Niro
TV
- Nostalgia was a key theme. Little House on the Prairie, idyllic life. General Hospital, popular soap opera about an urban hospital
- But also more serious issues - M.A.S.H was the most-watched comedy of the 70s, dealt with lives of soldiers in Korea but w/ strong messages about Vietnam
- Roots dealt with issues of slavery
13
Q
News media
A
- Washington Post most associated with significant events - two of its journalists helped uncover the Watergate scandal
- Most Americans received their news from e.g. CBS with ‘Evening News’, ABC with ‘World News Tonight’. Offered coverage of key events like the fall of Saigon, the Iranian Hostage Crisis in ‘79
- Dominance of CBS and ABC was broken in 1980 when CNN introduced constant ‘up-to-the-minute’ news coverage
14
Q
Impact of Roe v Wade
A
- Rise of NOW, influenced Supreme Court decision in 1973 = Roe v Wade, constitutional right to an abortion recognised, allowed in first three months of pregnancy
- 1.7 million legal abortions in 1977
- Contributed to the growth of the ‘new right’ and the moral majority who were outraged by the outcome
- Opposed by Right to Life, Catholic and Protestant churches - managed to lobby to get the Foreign Assistance Act amended, federal funds only for emergency abortions, in 1974, upheld by courts in ‘77
- Four hour film in 1979, ‘Whatever happened to the human race?’. Opposed abortion, screened in 20 cities.
- 1979, Moral Majority was founded
15
Q
Women’s rights
A
- NOW fragmented, faced by Women’s Liberation Front and Redstockings.
- 1974, Ella Grasso elected Connecticut State Governor
- 1975, female cadets admitted at Colorado Springs Air Force
- By 1980, 52% of women over 16 were in the workplace
16
Q
Worker’s rights
A
- Bad period for workers - high inflation and unemployment
- Foreign competition and mechanisation in industry destroyed regions in the NE and Midwest, while sunbelt areas like Florida and Texas saw growth
- 1975, NYC faced bankruptcy + Ford refused aid, thousands of public workers lost their jobs
- Chrysler bankruptcy, thousands lost their jobs before bailed out by Jimmy
- Rights of disabled workers protected in Rehabilitation Act 1973
17
Q
Gay Rights
A
- Following Stonewall in 1969, gay movement became more visible
- Gay + lesbian bars, newspapers and magazines, marches and events
- Miami, Kansas, gay rights activists helped to repeal discriminatory legislation
- Harvey Milk in 1975, executed in 1978, followed by riots but also peaceful candle vigils
- By 1980, was becoming an accepted part of US society, but still strongly opposed by e.g. Moral Majority
18
Q
Native American Rights
A
- 1970, population of 800,000, rose to 1.4 million by the 80s
- Majority lived in reservations in the West, where poverty and alcoholism was common
- American Indian Movement (AIM) founded in 1968, nicknamed ‘Red Power’
- 1969, occupied Alcatraz
- 1972, occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs
- 1973, major confrontation at Wounded Knee, with 2 killed and 12 wounded. Wounded Knee had been the site of the massacre of Sioux elders, women and children in 1890
- Marlon Brando refused to accept his Oscar in person, instead sending a Native American woman to accept it and explain the problems her people faced
- Indian Self-Determination Act in 1974, allowed tribes to assume administrative responsibility for federally funded programmes
19
Q
Status of Black Americans
A
- 1972, affirmative action in 300,000 firms which established quotas for employment
- 35-45% of Black American families had a middle-class lifestyle in the 70s
- Affirmative action challenged in courts - Bakke case, scored higher but role given to a black American regardless. Courts recognised unfairness but upheld AA anyway
- Still issues in inner-city,
- Riots occurred when attempting to bus black students to predominantly white schools, but became the norm by the end of the decade
