The 1970s: A Decade of Change and Turmoil

The 1970s: Nixon, Ford, and Carter (1968-1980)

Political Turmoil and the Election of 1968

• The period from 1968 to 1980 covers the presidencies of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter.
• The year 1968 was marked by significant political and social upheaval:
  • The Tet Offensive intensified the debate over the Vietnam War.
  • LBJ announced he would not seek reelection.
  • Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
  • Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.
  • Riots erupted in urban areas across the country.
• At the Democratic Convention in Chicago, clashes between police and protesters occurred, leading to Vice President Humphrey's nomination.
• George Wallace ran as a third-party candidate under the American Independent Party, advocating ultra-conservative views:
  • He opposed federal desegregation.
  • He opposed anti-war protests.
  • He opposed the Great Society programs.
• Richard Nixon, running as a more moderate conservative, won the presidency in 1968.
• Many Americans shifted away from the New Deal liberalism and the Great Society programs, favoring conservative candidates like Nixon.

Nixon's Vietnam War Policy

• Upon taking office, Nixon inherited a situation with approximately 500,000 US troops in Vietnam.
• Nixon and his foreign policy advisor, Henry Kissinger, promised to end the war with "peace with honor."
• Nixon appealed to the "silent majority," Americans who supported the war but were not actively protesting.
• The Tet Offensive in January 1968 intensified the debate over the Vietnam War, leading to widespread protests, especially on college campuses.
• News of the My Lai Massacre which occurred in 1968 but came to light in 1970, further fueled anti-war sentiment.
• Nixon introduced the Nixon Doctrine, which stated that the US would honor its commitments but expected Asian countries to take on more of the responsibility for their defense.
• Ending the war while escalating it:
  • Vietnamization: A policy to gradually withdraw US troops and transfer the responsibility of fighting to the South Vietnamese army.
  • The US continued to provide financial aid, weapons, and training.
  • Widening the War: Nixon secretly bombed neutral Cambodia to destroy Vietnamese communist bases.
    • The Ho Chi Minh Trail ran through Cambodia.
  • In April 1970, US troops were sent into Cambodia.
  • Bombing of Cambodia led to protests on college campuses, including:
    • Kent State University in Ohio, where the National Guard killed four students.
    • Jackson State in Mississippi, where two African American students were killed.
  • Secret Negotiations: Henry Kissinger held secret talks with North Vietnam to negotiate an end to the war.
  • In 1972, Nixon ordered a massive bombing of North Vietnam to pressure them into submitting to US demands.

Distrust in Government and the War Powers Act

• Distrust in the government grew due to events like the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, and the bombing of Cambodia.
• The Pentagon Papers, leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, revealed that the US government under presidents Kennedy and Johnson had deliberately deceived the American people about the Vietnam War.
• Congress passed the War Powers Act to limit the president's war-making powers.
  • The president must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into conflict.
  • Congress must approve any military mission lasting longer than 60 days.

End of the Vietnam War

• The war ended through a combination of Vietnamization, widening the war, and secret negotiations.
• The Paris Accords, a ceasefire agreement, were signed in January 1973.
• US troops were withdrawn from Vietnam.
• Free elections were supposed to take place, but the ceasefire did not last.
• In April 1975, the US-supported government of South Vietnam fell to communist rule, and Vietnam became a united communist country.
• The war resulted in millions of Vietnamese deaths and 58,000 American deaths, with billions of dollars spent.
• The outcome was considered a failure and a blow to US prestige.

Nixon's Policy of Détente

• Nixon pursued a policy of détente, relaxing tensions with communist countries during the Cold War.
• Nixon and Kissinger aimed to exploit the rivalry between China and the Soviet Union (the Sino-Soviet split).
• Nixon visited China in February 1972 and met with Mao Zedong, marking a significant shift in US policy.
• Formal diplomatic relations between the US and China were established in 1979 under Carter.
• The improved relationship with China put pressure on the Soviet Union to negotiate with the US.
• Treaties were signed between the US and the Soviet Union, including:
  • Limiting anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs).
  • Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I), which limited nuclear weapons.
• These policies aimed to reduce the arms race and Cold War tensions but did not completely end them.

The Watergate Scandal

• Nixon's administration had a group called the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP).
• In June 1972, men working for Nixon's re-election campaign were caught breaking into the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.
• Nixon's administration denied any knowledge of the break-in.
• Prior to the break-in, Nixon ordered wiretaps on government employees and reporters to stop leaks, such as the Pentagon Papers.
• A group called the "plumbers" was created to stop leaks and discredit opponents.
• Government agencies like the IRS were used to investigate Nixon's opponents and those against the Vietnam War.
• The Watergate investigation revealed Nixon's participation in the cover-up of these illegal activities.
• Nixon secretly recorded conversations in the Oval Office.
• Investigators sought access to the tapes, but Nixon claimed executive privilege.
• The Supreme Court ruled that Nixon must turn over the tapes in 1974.
• Nixon's vice president resigned in the fall of 1973 after being discovered he took bribes, and Gerald Ford was appointed as vice president.
• A nearly 20-minute gap was found in one of the tapes right after the Watergate break-in.
• Nixon fired the special prosecutor in charge of investigating the case.
• The attorney general and deputy attorney general resigned in protest (the Saturday Night Massacre).
• Impeachment charges were brought against Nixon for:
  • Obstruction of justice.
  • Abuse of power.
  • Contempt of Congress.
• Nixon resigned in August 1974, and Gerald Ford became the first unelected president in US history.
• Watergate demonstrated the increasing loss of faith in the federal government.

Ford and Carter Administrations

• Nixon and Gerald Ford aimed to limit the size of the federal government.
• The 1970s saw a combination of economic slowdown and high inflation known as stagflation.
• Ford pardoned Nixon in 1974, which was unpopular and hurt the Republican Party.
• In the 1976 election, Ford was defeated by Jimmy Carter, a Democrat and former governor of Georgia.
• Carter pursued a humanitarian foreign policy.
• US-Soviet relations deteriorated after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, leading to:
  • The US boycotting the Olympic Games in Moscow.

Middle East Policy in the 1970s

• During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Syria and Egypt attacked Israel in an attempt to regain land lost during the Six-Day War in 1967.
• The US provided economic and military aid to Israel, which successfully defended itself.
• Arab nations in OPEC imposed an oil embargo on the United States, leading to:
  • Gas shortages.
  • Reduced speed limits.
  • Economic problems due to high inflation and loss of manufacturing jobs.
• In 1978, President Carter helped negotiate the Camp David Accords, in which Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement.
  • Egypt became the first Arab nation to formally recognize Israel.
• In 1979, the US-supported Shah of Iran was overthrown in the Iranian Revolution by Islamic fundamentalists.
  • The Shah had been put in power by the CIA in 1953.
  • Anti-US sentiment was high in Iran.
  • Another oil shortage and price increases occurred in the United States.
  • More than 50 people were taken hostage at the American embassy in Tehran.
  • Carter's rescue mission failed.
  • The hostage crisis dragged on, leading to further distrust in the US government.

Civil Rights in the 1970s

• In 1979, Congress passed Title IX, which sought to end sex discrimination in schools.
  • Schools were required to provide equal athletic opportunities for girls and women.
• The Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion based on a woman's right to privacy.
• The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was passed by Congress but not ratified by enough states.
  • Phyllis Schlafly opposed the ERA, arguing it would destroy traditional gender roles.
• The American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded in 1968 to address past injustices and demand social and economic equality.
  • They occupied Alcatraz Island and the battle site of Wounded Knee.
• The University of California v. Bakke (1978) upheld affirmative action.
  • Ruled that race could be one of several factors considered in admissions, but quotas were not allowed.

The Warren Court (1953-1969)

• Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court made decisions that expanded democracy and individual freedoms.
• Notable cases include:
  • Yates v. US: Protected radical speech unless it created a clear and present danger.
  • Mapp v. Ohio: Illegally seized evidence could not be used in court.
  • Engel v. Vitale: Prohibited required prayer in public schools.
  • Griswold v. Connecticut: Established a citizen's right to privacy, protecting birth control.
  • Miranda v. Arizona: Established Miranda rights (the right to remain silent and speak with an attorney).
• Conservatives criticized the Warren Court's decisions, favoring a strict interpretation of the Constitution.