The 1970s Chapter 23 and 24

Women’s Rights Movement  Feminism of the 1960s and early 1970s  To challenge the cult of domesticity.  National Organization for Women (NOW-1966)  Goals: to end job discrimination, legalize abortion, obtain federal and state support for child-care center.  Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972  Support for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) (1972)  Roe v. Wade (1973)  Legalized abortion H Becomes more radical by late 1970s.  Divisions between moderate and radical feminists.  Gloria Steinham attacks men and homemakers; alienates most women: public backlash and “right to life”

Gerald Ford H Ford inherited a presidential office badly diminished by the Watergate scandals.  As the first unelected president, he had no popular mandate and was not well known outside of Washington. H Yet his easy manner and modest approach to government helped restore at least some degree of confidence in the office of president.

Ford’s Domestic Agenda  Social and Fiscal Conservative  Believed the federal government exercised too much power over domestic affairs.  Resisted congressional pressure to reduce taxes and increase Federal spending.  Along with an energy crisis, this helped plunge the economy into a deep recession.

Ford’s Foreign Policy: Extending Détente  SALT II  Ford met with Brezhnev in 1974 and accepted the framework for another arms- control agreement that was to serve as the basis for SALT II.  Helsinki Summit  Ford and Brezhnev met in Finland in August 1975 with other European leaders.  Agreed to recognize the political boundaries that had divided Eastern and Western Europe since 1945.

1976 Election  Jimmy Carter (Democrat)  Peanut farmer &1 term governor of Georgia  Washington outsider  Gerald Ford (Republican)  Nixon pardon  Recession  Carter narrowly with 50.1% of popular vote  Carried 90% of black voters  Looked to bring a new simplicity and directness to the White House.

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Jimmy Carter H Carter and his staff had very little experience in Washington and did not know how to push forward an agenda. H Could not maneuver his proposals through Congress.

Criticism Builds at Home H Offered amnesty to the thousands of young men who had fled the country rather than serve in Vietnam. H Negotiated a treaty to turn over the Panama Canal Zone by H The Economy  Inherited a bad economy and left it much worse.  Stagflation – double digit inflation and increased unemployment.  Problems with the Oil Supply

Problems with Oil Supply H Yom Kippur War (1973)  Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack against Israel  Soviet Union supplied the Arabs and the U.S. supplied the Israeli allies  The seven Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed a boycott of oil sales to countries seen as friendly to Israel. (October 1973 to March 1974)

Fighting Inflation  OPEC continued to raise prices.  Energy costs rose  Inflation rose  Interest rates shot to 20%.  Carter called only for voluntary restraints on prices and wages and conservation of energy.

Problems with Oil Supply  Motorists were forced to wait in long lines for limited supplies of gasoline that they regarded as excessively expensive.  Many Americans saw nuclear energy as the only alternative.  Three Mile Island (1979)  Nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania ruptured and released radioactive gas. 100,000 people fled their homes.  Carter’s approval rating dropped to 26%.  Lower than Nixon’s during Watergate

Camp David Accords  In 1978, Carter invited Egypt’s President Anwar el-Sadat and Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David.  Peace Agreement  Israel would return the Sinai to Egypt in exchange for recognition.  Israel had to negotiate a resolution of the Palestinian refugee dilemma. (Never happened)  Made an all-out war between Israel and the Arab world less likely.

Mounting Troubles H SALT II signed in  The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in H Iran Hostage Crisis ( )  Ayatollah Khomeini ousts Shaw of Iran in  Carter allowed the ousted Shaw to come to U.S.  Radicals captured U.S. embassy to trade for Shaw and wealth.  U.S. rescue mission ended with fatal helicopter crash.  53 Americans were held hostage until the day Reagan took office. (444 days)  Carter finally released several billion dollars of Iranian assets to ransom the kidnapped hostages.

End of Postwar Liberalism H Carter’s failure was largely symbolic. The uneasiness of the late 1970s reflected a widespread disillusionment with liberal social programs.  Americans lose faith in government  Vietnam puts into question the containment doctrine  Government could not manage the economy  Decline in race relations

Triumph of Conservatism H By 1980 rising prices, energy shortages, and similar economic uncertainties fed a growing resistance to a liberal agenda. H Hard-pressed workers resented increased competition from minorities, especially those supported by affirmative action quotas and government programs. H Citizens resisted the demands for higher taxes to support social welfare spending.

Triumph of Conservatism: The Moral Majority H A major revival of evangelical religion in late 1970s. H The traditional family seemed under siege, as divorce rates and births to single mothers soared.  Sexually explicit media, an outspoken gay rights movement, and the availability of legal abortions struck many religious conservatives as part of a wholesale assault on decency. H Increasingly the political agenda was determined by those who wanted to restore a strong family, traditional religious values, patriotism, and limited government.

Triumph of Conservatism: Ronald Reagan H Unleash the capitalist spirit. (limited government)  Dismantle the “bloated” federal bureaucracy.  Reduce taxes and regulations.  Undo the welfare state. H Restore national pride and regain international respect.  Increase military spending.  Outlaw abortions and reinstitute school prayer. H Emphasis is on what is right instead of what’s wrong – patriotism and religion.

The Election of 1980: The Reagan Revolution

 1962 Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring published Significant Events  1966 National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act  1969 Apollo 11 moon mission  1970 First Earth Day, EPA created  1971 Nixon adopts wage and price controls Pentagon Paper published  1972 Woodward and Bernstein investigate Watergate burglary  1973 Saturday Night Massacre  1974 United States v. Nixon Nixon resigns  1975 New York City faces bankruptcy  1978 Revolution in Iran