Political Storms at Home and Abroad, 1968-1980 – Lecture Review

A set of 35 question-and-answer flashcards covering identity politics, counterculture, Nixon’s presidency, Vietnam, Watergate, and the Carter years from HIST 1493 Chapter 30.

What is meant by “identity politics” as it emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s?

Organizing politically around a shared racial, gender, ethnic, or sexual identity to end discrimination and win government support for that group’s interests.

Which three constituencies most visibly pursued identity politics during this period?

Native Americans, gays and lesbians, and women.

List three hallmark features of hippie appearance or lifestyle.

Long hair and beards for men, non-Western/bohemian clothing for both sexes, acceptance of casual sex and recreational drug use.

What ideals did the hippie counterculture especially champion regarding war and personal conduct?

Opposition to the Vietnam War and promotion of personal freedom to live and act as one wished.

Where and when was the Woodstock music festival held, and about how many people attended?

Rural Bethel, New York, in mid-August 1969; roughly 400,000 people.

Why is Woodstock regarded as a cultural touchstone of the 1960s generation?

It symbolized youthful rebellion, communal spirit, anti-war sentiment, and cultural freedom of the era’s counterculture.

In what city and year was the American Indian Movement (AIM) founded, and by whom?

Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1968 by activists Dennis Banks, George Mitchell, and Clyde Bellecourt.

Give two statistics that illustrated Native American poverty around 1970.

Average life expectancy only 46 years (vs. national 69); unemployment on reservations about 50 % (urban Indian poverty 20 %).

What does Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments Act forbid?

Sex discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal funding.

Who co-authored Title IX and was the first Asian American woman elected to Congress?

Patsy Mink of Hawai‘i.

What was the goal of the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) formed in 1971?

To increase women’s participation in political parties, help elect women to office, and raise campaign funds for them.

What new Republican coalition carried Richard Nixon to victory in 1968?

Moderate southern whites and northern blue-collar (working-class) voters seeking “law and order.”

How did Nixon’s “southern strategy” attract white Southern voters?

He denounced segregation publicly but stressed states’ rights and criticized forced integration, signaling tolerance of a slower pace for civil rights progress.

Define “stagflation.”

The simultaneous occurrence of economic stagnation (high unemployment) and inflation (rising prices).

Why did stagflation confound traditional economic policy makers?

Fiscal tools that reduced unemployment risked higher inflation, while anti-inflation measures worsened joblessness—there was no single remedy for both problems at once.

What policy did Nixon pursue with the USSR, and what 1972 treaty embodied it?

Détente—relaxation of Cold War tensions—embodied by the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT).

What did SALT I limit for the United States and the Soviet Union?

Each side could deploy only two (later one) anti-ballistic-missile sites and placed ceilings on numbers of strategic nuclear missiles.

What happened at My Lai on March 16, 1968?

U.S. soldiers massacred between 347 and 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, including women and children.

Who was the platoon leader convicted for My Lai, and what was his ultimate sentence served?

Lt. William L. Calley, Jr.; he was paroled after serving about three and a half years of house arrest.

What was the purpose of Nixon’s policy of Vietnamization?

Shift combat responsibility to South Vietnamese forces while withdrawing U.S. troops, allowing the United States to exit the war “with honor.”

Why did Nixon secretly bomb (1969) and later invade (1970) Cambodia?

To destroy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong bases and cut supply routes, even though Cambodia had declared neutrality.

Summarize the Kent State shooting of May 4, 1970.

Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on student protesters, wounding nine and killing four after anti-Cambodia invasion demonstrations.

What did the 1971 Pentagon Papers reveal about U.S. involvement in Vietnam?

That multiple administrations had secretly planned to expand the war and misled the public about objectives and actions.

How did the Supreme Court rule on government attempts to block publication of the Pentagon Papers?

In New York Times v. United States (June 30, 1971) the Court allowed publication, rejecting prior restraint.

What was the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP), and what was its most infamous act?

Nixon’s 1972 campaign organization; its burglars broke into Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate complex to wiretap phones.

Who were Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in the Watergate saga?

Washington Post reporters whose investigative stories—helped by the source “Deep Throat” (Mark Felt)—kept the scandal in the public eye.

What occurred during the “Saturday Night Massacre” on October 20, 1973?

Nixon ordered firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox; the attorney general and his deputy resigned rather than carry it out before Solicitor General Robert Bork complied.

Which discovery of Oval Office technology proved pivotal in the Watergate investigation?

A voice-activated tape-recording system that preserved Nixon’s private conversations.

On what date did President Richard Nixon resign, and what prompted it?

August 8, 1974 (effective Aug. 9); facing near-certain impeachment and removal after release of tapes showing his Watergate cover-up.

How did Watergate influence later public views of government?

It deepened mistrust of federal officials; the suffix “-gate” became shorthand for political scandal.

What guiding principle shaped Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy?

Commitment to human rights and moral values in international relations.

What agreement was reached at Camp David in September 1978, and which leaders signed it?

The Camp David Accords—precursor to an Egypt-Israel peace treaty—signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, brokered by Carter.

State two key grievances that motivated Iranian students to seize the U.S. embassy on Nov. 4, 1979.

Long-standing U.S. support for the repressive shah and America’s decision to admit him for medical treatment after the 1979 revolution.

How many American hostages were ultimately held in Iran, and when were they released?

Fifty-two; they were freed on January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan became president.

What impact did the Iranian hostage crisis have on President Carter’s 1980 reelection campaign?

His inability to secure the hostages’ release contributed greatly to public perception of weak leadership and to his electoral defeat.