History

Malaise

• economy that is stagnating or in a recession

  • 1970s - stagflation economy and general unease about industries and production

Stagflation

•  inflation while the economy stagnates

  • Economy does not grow while money loses value

Stagflation U.S.

• Deindustrialization - Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, etc. rise as industrial powers= competition, new sources of cheap labor, “dollar too strong” (Price of American goods goes up, price of imports goes down)

• US becomes a “post” industrial/ consumer/ service based economy

  • 1971- first time US imported more than exported

  • 1960- 38% of workers manufacturing → 1980- 28% 

• 1970s - Oil embargo- war in Middle East → gas crisis

  • High inflation- 10%

  • Low economic growth- 2.4%

1st Indochina War

1946-1954: Japan defeated in ‘45, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamese independence → French try and fail to recolonize ending in ‘54

Geneva Accords

• NOT signed by US

  • Vietnam split between N and S, but Gov’t promised free elections w/o violence + demilitarization, which was not followed

  • Communists win popular vote

Viet Cong

South vietnamese who support communism

U.S. Coup

• U.S. supports South, but corruption leads to U.S. coup – 1961: ½ of Saigon is communist (clear that communists in control)

  • U.S. staged coup → worried about Ngo Dinh Diem’s popularity

U.S. involvement before Gulf of Tonkin

• Existed a secret military presence in Vietnam already 

• OPLAN 34-A: covert operation to collect info on North Vietnam

• Attack on USS maddox - August 2, 1954

• Second Attack - August 4

  • Second attack + FAKE, never happened

• Gov’t felt that U.S. needed to display strength, to continue policy of containment no matter lives lost

Gulf of Tonkin resolution

• authorized president to take any necessary measures to retaliate and promote peace in Asia

“Military industrial complex”

Eisenhower’s farewell speech addressing the feeling that military funding diverts $ away from could be welfare + domestic improvements → also MLK’s perspective

1971 Kent State

college protests that gov’t tried to shut down

MLK’s viewpoint on the Vietnam War

MLK - very anti war because he was nonviolent→ then gets assassinated in 1968

Pentagon papers

• leaked by NYT: evidence of long period of involvement in Vietnam BEFORE G of T 

Public sees all of what gov’t tried to hide, including the dragging out of a lost cause → anger, betrayal

Tet offensive

N Viet attack gave US and S Viet heavy casualties

Bad image of American from the Vietnam War

• My Lai + war crimes makes US seem like a hypocrite

  • US should set a better example 

• April 22, 1971 - John Kerry testimony

  • Soldier in the Vietnam war who discussed the atrocities soldiers committed during the Vietnam War

• Public angry b/c family is dying for a lost cause

  • Fall of Saigon - April 30, 1975

• Corruption puts draft responsibility on the working class – wealthy don’t suffer the consequences of war

Nixon VP/ President

•  Eisenhower’s vice 1953-1961→ conservative policies 

• 1960 presidential debate against Kennedy

1968 Democratic convention

anti war protests by Yippies (ended in aggressive police action), democrats were unorganized and represented too many groups and values (union bosses – humphrey, college students + intellectuals + anti war + white collar – McCarthy, black and hispanic voters – RFK who was assassinated, southern democrats (last triumph) – Wallace) so Nixon, republican, was elected

Nixon Liberal

• Expanded GS “Last liberal president” 

• Social security indexed for inflation, increase in food stamps + programs 

EPA 1970 - environmental movement

Nixon Conservative

block grants (states decide what to do with government funds – can be abused), negative income tax, 2 southern democrats to SC

Detente

visits china, vietnamization, SALTS I and II

Watergate

• Republican break in to democratic meetings at Watergate hotel leads to investigation revealing that Nixon abused power

  • Public outcry “imperial president” 

Nixon’s tapes and evidence forcefully submitted to congress – he was very unpopular, republican party turned on him → 1st pres to resign August 9, 1974

Nixon Pardonded

Pardoned by Ford September 9, 1974 (inaugurated August 9, 1974) so criminal investigations stop: was pardon correct?

Pardon was correct

nixon being unfairly targeted by public, wouldn’t get fair trial, tried to help country and already got lifelong suffering w/ or w/o pardon, Ford believes public and gov’t should move on to focus on the people and real problems instead of scandal, investigations are polarizing the nation

Pardon was incorrect

letting nixon get away w/crimes set precedent of corruption, nixon doesn’t face repercussions and can claim innocence, not held to same justice system as americans, future presidents abuse power w/ immunity bc of Watergate, lack of accountability violates principles of nation + constitution, nixon's fall limits liberalism (conservatives were right to limit gov’t power), later laws to promote accountability failed

New Deal Coalition

• Southern Democrats, rural American farmers, labor unions/ blue collar workers, urban intellectuals & college students, religious minorities (Jews and Catholics), blacks

  • United by: shared economic policy/ response to Great Depression

Breakdown New Deal Coalition (Loss of faith in gov’t)

• (Vietnam and Watergate)

  • At first, both conservatives + liberals supported war - anti-war activists saw no place for themselves

Breakdown New Deal Coalition (New left)

• (critical of traditional power brokers)

  • Felt “old left”- Democratic party, unions, etc. were too traditional and obstacles to change (Southern Democrats/ moderates, unions which discriminated against women and Black people, racist/sexist government policies- “red lining” etc.)

  • Advocated for: direct democracy, breakdown of bureaucracy, “authenticity”

  • Far less organized than old left

  • Counter culture - “Turn on, tune in, drop out,” human be-in 1967, Woodstock 1969, hippies

    • Focus- no longer on political organization but on experience, self actualization, individual

Breakdown New Deal Coalition (economics)

• Stagflation (failure of Keynesianism economics?)

  • Deindustrialization ⇒ competition, new sources of cheap labor, “dollar too strong” 

  • US becomes a service based economy

    • 1971- first time US imported more than exported →1960- 38% of workers manufacturing → 1980- 28% 

  • 1970s - Oil embargo- war in Middle East → gas crisis

    • High inflation- 10% - Low economic growth- 2.4%

Breakdown New Deal Coalition (Social conservatives)

• (60s went “too far”)

  • Trend continues as socially conservative and working class whites start to feel: left behind (deindustrialization), left has “gone too far” - LGBT, Feminism, Civil Rights, Anti-War 

• Hard Hat Riot 1970

  • 400 construction workers attacked a student antiwar protest chanting: “USA, All the Way!” & “America, Love it or Leave it!”

• Boston Busing 1974-1978 - Attempt to integrate schools→ led to at least 40 riots

Libertarians

• Largely ignored in the 1950s and 1960s → becomes popular among conservatives in the 1980s

  • Friedman Capitalism and Freedom: free markets= liberty, government = slavery

• Argued for repealing minimum wage laws, social security, many taxes etc.

Barry Goldwater

• success in Deep South ⇒ southern strategy: appeal to southern democrat opposition to civil rights mvmt to gain votes

  • Goldwater lost to LBJ in a blowout - 43 million votes to 27 million, ran against New Deal welfare, against the income tax, against the Civil Rights Act 1964

Evangelicalism

• Televangelists – Religious TV program, Jerry Falwell’s “war against sin” “pro life, family, america”

“Silent majority”

most of the public is not liberal, does not want rights mvmts + change

Keynes

• Demand side economics (opposite of supply side) 

  • Libertarians ignored this in the prosperous decades after WWII bc of success of Keynesian 

  • Popular among conservatives 

  • Friedman’s capitalism and freedom: Laissez faire

    • Free markets = liberty, gov’t = slavery, want repeal of welfare programs

Laffer curve:

existence of an ideal tax rate btn 0% and 100% that makes ppl motivated to work more

Carter

• 1977-1981 during economic stagflation

  • Began deregulation - removal of restrictions in particular industries

  • Foreign policy - Iran hostage crisis, Camp David accords

  • Carter’s administration saw deregulation of the market and stagflation and weak foreign policy (Iran hostage crisis, Camp David accords) as a result

Reagan

economic policy fostered prosperity, growth competition in his POV

• Reagan’s foreign policy: Strong, decisive, interventionist, “Bellicose” w/ white backlash 

• Reaganomics: freedom from gov’t, cut taxes + regulation, weaken unions (ex air traffic control strike all fired by Reagan)

  • Unsuccessful at cutting gov’t spending

Deemed “Voodoo economics” that cutting taxes will spur so much economic growth that the gov’t will bring in more revenue than before: no basis, but hugely popular

Coretta Scott King

reagan’s policy only benefited the rich and continued the suffering of the poor

Clinton

Democrat 1990s

• Triangulation: embrace some conservative revolution aspects – welfare reform, tax cuts, free trade AND embrace some left wing issues – environmentalism, abortion rights, etc

Analogy: Clinton is to Reaganism as Eisenhower is to the New Deal

New Deal concerns

• Conservative: concerns - regulations and taxes weakening economic growth, people taking advantage of the system/ laziness

  • Policies - deregulation, cutting taxes, weakening unions, weakening social safety net

• Liberal: concerns - greed, inequality, exploitation 

  • Policies - government regulations, taxes on wealthy, strong unions, social safety net/ welfare

Social issues

• Conservative: supports religion, traditional values, morality, tough on crime

  • Rodney King beating – continuing racial injustice

• Liberal: secular, liberation/power mvmt, restorative (drug treatment)

  • Ex. march for life, Americans with Disabilities Act

NAFTA 1993

Conservative

tax free trade in US, canada, mexico

Contract with America 1994

• Republicans’ 10 pt plan

decreased welfare spending, line item veto – president can veto specific parts of a bill, taking the streets back – low social spending and increased prison and law enforcement, Personal Responsibility Act – no welfare for minor mothers, American Dream – tax credit for children, Job creation enhancement – tax cuts for small businesses, Common sense legal reform – harder to sue

Failure to pass healthcare reform

Conservative

• healthcare is wealth dependent, debate if healthcare is right or normal competition within capitalism 

  • Clinton tried to make it universal, but failed

Ending welfare as we know it 1996

Conservative

• 5 year welfare limit, no welfare for felons, minimum work requirements to qualify

  • # of ppl on welfare decreased, welfare funding decreased

WTO and protests 1999

Conservative

• WTO encourages free trade agreements globally

  • Violent protests on the left – unions, etc bc losing jobs due to overseas labor exploitation although some happy bc of tech and investment expansion 

  • Protest don’t change policy

Repeal of Glass Steagall 1999

Conservative

commercial banks can invest in market

Earned Income Tax Credit

Liberal

support to working class making under a certain threshold per annum