Unit 8 - Period Review (Part C)
Part C - Crisis of Confidence
A postwar baby boom helped ferment a cultural revolution in the 1960s. By 1970, some 50 percent of the population was under age 30, and there was an eight-fold increase in the number of college students since 1950. Influenced by the civil rights struggle and the troubling Vietnam War, many young people questioned the political, social, and economic assumptions of their parents and their government. In 1962, politically active youths formed the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Dedicated to participatory democracy, appalled by racial bigotry and America’s growing involvement in Vietnam, this group powered many of the protests of the 1960s.
Social Protests
“Hippies” were a nonpolitical segment of the youth movement who rejected the activism of the “New Left.” These nonconformists used drugs, condemned materialism, and generally scorned the values of their middle-class parents. They rejected the sexual beliefs of the past and the bureaucratic practices of large corporations and universities.
Many young women in the 1960s hoped to join the civil rights and antiwar movements but found gender bias among the male leaders. Other women, inspired by the writings of Betty Friedan, began to question not only their status in protest movements but their role in American society generally. In 1966, Friedan and others formed the National Organization for Women (NOW), which lobbied for an Equal Rights Amendment. By 1970, some 15,000 women belonged to NOW. As the 1970s ended, younger women rallied around the more radical ideas of Kate Millett and issued a call for women to band together for an assault on the male power structure.
Nixon’s Presidency
Returning from a political wilderness in the 1960s, Richard Nixon became president in 1969. His goals were clear: end the Vietnam War, restore law and order in society, and reestablish Americans’ faith in their government. While he was successful in two of the areas, he seriously damaged the country’s confidence in the honesty of the government with the Watergate scandal.
Nixon took a moderate approach to domestic policy as he demonstrated both liberal and conservative political inclinations. As a conservative, he tried to appoint “strict constructionists” to the Supreme Court and to limit school busing for desegregation. He also abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity, a cornerstone of Johnson’s Great Society program. On the other hand, he increased Social Security benefits, created the Environmental Protection Agency, promoted affirmative action in unions, and proposed a “minimum income” for the poor.
Despite several bold initiatives, Nixon was unable to bring economic prosperity to the nation. Inflation was the principle culprit in holding back progress. In his first two years in office, the cost of living increased by 15 percent. In addition, fueled by Vietnam War spending and a 400 percent hike in the price of oil, inflation was 9 percent in 1973 and 12 percent in 1974. Despite devaluing the dollar and imposing wage and price controls, Nixon could not overcome the economic “stagflation” of his presidency.
Although economic problems persisted, Nixon wound down the Vietnam War, quieted domestic unrest, and defused the antiwar protest. Based on these achievements and supported by the “Silent Majority,” he easily defeated Democrat George McGovern in the 1972 presidential contest.
Watergate
The unraveling of the Nixon presidency began on June 17, 1972, when police caught burglars attempting to bug the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate hotel. As the investigation of the crime progressed, it uncovered other break-ins, illegal surveillances, questionable campaign contributions, and other shady activities by the Nixon White House. Rather than allowing these revelations to surface, the president and his aides tried to cover up the Watergate break-in and avoid its political fallout.
Contained until after the November election, the cover-up collapsed when, in March 1973, James McCord, one of the so called “plumbers,” confessed that he and other burglars had committed perjury and been paid to remain silent. Slowly the scandal spread into the White House, and Nixon’s closest aides, John Mitchell and H. R. Haldeman, were indicted for obstructing justice. Another aide, John Dean, accused Nixon himself of being involved. Other officials disclosed that Nixon had a taping system in the Oval Office, and the prosecutors investigating the crime demanded the tapes.
After months of haggling, the Supreme Court ordered the president to surrender the critical tapes. Already under the threat of impeachment for obstructing justice, misusing federal agencies, and defying Congress, Nixon released the “smoking gun” tapes, which revealed he had indeed obstructed justice. On August 9, 1974, rather than face certain impeachment and removal from office, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency.
Vice President Gerald Ford entered the White House. He tried to restore the confidence of the country in the government and in the economy. Although a decent man, Ford’s pardon of Nixon in September 1974 and his inability to combat the continuing stagflation of the 1970s cost him his election bid in 1976, as Jimmy Carter and the Democrats returned to power.
Carter’s Presidency
President Carter promised never to lie to the people (as Johnson and Nixon had done) and to run the government in a businesslike fashion. Unfortunately, he was inconsistent and unfocused as president. In addition, he was besieged by continuing economic troubles caused by the oil-induced energy crisis. Inflation gained momentum and by 1978–1979, prices were rising 10 percent annually. As the Federal Reserve tried to get inflation under control, interest rates hit an unprecedented 21 percent in 1980, further damaging economic growth. When Carter chastised the nation for its lack of character in these trying times, his popularity fell.