Red Scare, Elvis the Pelvis, Cold War, Feminism, Gay Rights, Watergate, Vietnam, and Carter

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

1938

-Main objective to investigate un-american or subversive activities
-expose communists
-would call people to investigate ties to communism
-Consequences for saying the wrong thing or refusing to talk (what are you hiding?)
-Hollywood Ten (1947): HUAC targets Hollywood because Walt Disney and other people in film said there are communists in Hollywood. The ten got called to testify; decline; go to prison for year (used 1st amendment when they should have used 5th in court).

Smith Act

1940

-Pushed by J. Edgar Hoover (FBI Director) in 1948 as solution to democrats being soft on communism to Truman
-Basically said it was crime to be in communist party
-Prohibited the advocacy of overthrowing the government
-Made advocacy of Communist doctrine a federal crime
-Made it a crime to interfere with or impair the loyalty, moral, or disciplines of the armed forces.
-Truman creates executive order; american employees have to take loyalty oath

Post War America

1945

-Southern democrats leave democratic party to form the Dixiecrats, which conservative democrats and republicans oppose.
-Republicans take over senate
-Age of second red scare: this fear grips the nation
-Air raid drills (little turtle)
-Cold war; issue US trying to spread democracy but racial inequality shows democracy is not for everyone; communism opposes.
-Labor strikes are higher than ever
-Conservatives think unions have too much power; they are for business -> from Wagner Act

Truman's Inherited Office

1945

-Most progressive president up to this point
-For civil rights
-Expand the new deal/build upon FDR achievements
-inherited office from FDR
-Desegregate military
-Voting right protection
-Anti-lynching law

Full-Employment Act

1946

-Government held responsible for employing all of America. Republicans say nah Truman. Also, in 1946 inflation is high.

Taft-Hartley Act

1947

Anti-Union Bill; provent labor strikes.
-Union leaders have to take a loyalty oath
-Unions could not make political contributions
-Prohibited Closed Shop(only hire union workers) meaning employers cannot shut doors to people not in union
-Truman vetos(supported by unions) but is overridden

Election of 1948

1948

-Truman wins by grassroot campaign
-Dewey weak candidate (Repub); Thurmond (Dixiecrats); Wallace (progressive party he disagrees with Truman foreign policy and containment)
-Truman's Fair Deal: proposed a national health insurance program, federal aid to education, civil rights protection, and federal housing programs. Never enacted because Republicans were like nah bro.

Alfred Kinsey

1948

-Went from scientist to being sex expert
-Wrote the Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and then the Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953)
-Created Kinsey Scale: no fully homo or hetero humans everyone falls on the spectrum.
-People thought he was nuts was criticized for using large number of male prisoners and female prostitutes
-People worried this promoted loose morals
-Kinsey was Hugh Hefner's hero (Playboy Magazine). Pleasure is an inherent good; men should object domestic man.

The Alger Hiss Trial

1950

-Public was wondering if there are communists in government
-Elizabeth Bentley, says she is gf of man that was the head of the Soviet Spies and that she could give names. Accuses Chambers, but then Chambers protects himself by matching her information and points fingers at Hiss. Says personal details about Hiss' life.
-Hiss originally says does not know Chambers
-Admits he knows Chambers but not spy
-Chambers pulls docs out of box from ground proving HIss is spy.
-Hiss guilty; 4 years prison

McCarthy

1950

-Says he has list of communists
-Number changes a lot
-People original intrigued by him but then realize he is just full of hot air
-Grassroot Americans backed him (urban ethnic catholics: showing 100% Americans; republicans because made democrats look bad).
-Worst senator in polls; realizes he needs platform so he creates list for popularity. He came up with idea, after seeing Nixon gain popularity in Hiss trial for being committee member in HUAC pursing Hiss.

McCarran Act

1950

-Required Communist organizations to register with the Attorney General
-Members of these groups could not hold government office or defense jobs

Consumer Culture in America

1950

-Expansion of middle class leads to more consumer spending
-Bigger is better philosophy
-Dependent on automotive transportation
-1956 highway act is passed creating highways
-Suburbanization: Levittown in 1950s; planned community; identical homes
-Suburban family: "togetherness"; being with family; attending church; spending time with neighbors; women disinterested in duties considered insane (problem with no name)
-Growth of Television; wholesome entertainment; ideals; could not suggest sex

Eisenhower Presidency

1953

-Led D-Day; America loved him
-Modern Republicanism: cutting the federal budget; support big business; reduce taxes; contain inflation
-Grandfather figure
-Middle road in views
-Cabinet full of corporate leaders because he thought they could help with the economics of the country
-Triples number of nuclear weapons for New Look Policy: Massive retaliation
-US strongest war force in world

Army-McCarthy Hearings

1954

-The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator McCarthy. The Army accused chief committee counsel Roy Cohn of pressuring the Army to give preferential treatment to G. David Schine, a former McCarthy aide and a friend of Cohn's. McCarthy counter-charged that this accusation was made in bad faith and in retaliation for his recent aggressive investigations of suspected Communists and security risks in the Army.

Culture of Consensus

1954

-Pledge of Allegiance to God, country, and anti-communism
-People did not actually agree just agreed to not be pegged as a communist

Elvis the Pelvis

1954

-Sex symbol (think about Rock and Roll)
-Parents thought was Voodoo music
-Grew up listening to race records; his music became popular though because he was white (how to sell black music to white kids -Sam Phillips)

Origins of Vietnam

1954

-1954 US helped France funding 90% of war to keep colonizations
-Vietnam been colonized by many countries
-Ho Chi Minh (nationalist) writes declaration of independence for Vietnam
-France does not recognize this
-Truman/Eisenhower financial aid to France to keep Vietnam from becoming communistic
^Essential to help France since they threatened to withdrawal from NATO
^Would hurt Japan economy

Battle of Dien Bien Phu

1954

-Vietnamese Nationalists (Vietminh)
-France falls; US does not send help; France surrenders (when France was fighting Vietnam to keep colonization)

Geneva Convention

1954

-Minh in North; France in South divided at 71st parallel decided at Geneva Convention along with two years later having elections.
-Communistic North; democratic South
-Stayed like this for two years, had elections, decided to be communistic.
-US failed in thinking
-Domino Theory: if Vietnam falls to communism, all countries in Asia will

Ngo Dinh Diem

1954

-brutal corrupt dictator
-catholic; instead of majority that were buddhist in nation
-cut deal with French Catholics: allowed French landlords to take over restricting rights of buddhists. Had restrictive qualities that would trigger a revolution.
-Vietcong: Vietnamese Communists in South Vietnam

National Liberation Front (NLF)

1954

-Diem Coup: Buddhist Monks setting selves on fire because they would rather burn to death than be under Diem's reign. Not an actual democratic country.
-Turned into international story; Kennedy cannot allow this to continue; has back dealings to get Diem assassinated (was killed after JFK).
-Coalition of rebels that identified with Ho Chi Minh; trying to overthrow Diem.

Civil Rights Movement

1954

-Brown vs. Board: desegregate schools decision; 14th amendment all equal, but segregated schools were not (Chief Justice Warren overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson separating schools is unequal)
-Kenneth Clark, did doll study showing that black kids felt less than white kids
-Black Monday; Thomas Brady; white citizens council; cannot let blacks have this because then they were start raping white females; interracial marriage, etc.
-Eisenhower felt like desegregation was state problem not federal

Montgomery Bus Boycott

1955

-Claudette Colvin original Rosa Parks but was pregnant teen so could not be used as public image, thus Rosa Parks is public image
-Women's Political Council called for Boycott
-Rosa Parks secretary in NAACP; was not lazy for not getting up; was a statement
-Pamphlets handed out to boycott bus
-Don't give white man money; carpool around
-90% of blacks participated for 391 days
-Claudette Colvin sues bus company; makes it to supreme court

MLK

1955

-Civil disobedience got from Ghandi
-Confronting suppressor with readiness to suffer
-Gave movement high morality
-Grassroots campaigning for civil rights
-SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference): MLK and others saw black church as essential to racial struggle
-President of Montgomery Improvement Association

The Space Race

1957

Sputnik- Soviet satellite; beat US to space
-Consequences: US creates NASA and funds more military weapons (logic: if Soviets can send stuff to space, they can hit us with missiles).

U-2 Spy Plane

1960

-CIA spy program
-May 1, 1960: soviets shot down American spy plane with Gary Powers in it
-May 7, Nikita Khrushchev, Premier, said Powers was alive and showed pics of crash/Powers
-Powers charged with espionage and sentenced to Soviet prison (freed in 1962 in prisoner exchange)

Sit-Ins

1960

February 1, 1960 Greensboro NC. Four black men from NC State go to diner and challenge segregation. Police show up and nothing happens, so they keep coming and more people show up as time goes on. Media gets wind and this becomes the beginning of the sit-in craze. Civil disobedience is the way to go. This was the beginning of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

Anti-War Movement

1960

-antiwar demonstrators are seen as being set on communism
-Veterans joined in protest
“Working-Class War”
-Rich people got out of drafts by doctors notes or other illegitimate means
Teach-Ins
-First created in this time frame as part of the new left
-Would speak on topics such as drafts

The Counterculture

1960

-Hippies
-Young white people rejected materialism, conformity, consumerism, and the mainstream culture
-Embraced experimentation: drugs, sex, and rock & roll
-Opening up the consciousness
-Seeking pleasure in this world
-fracturing of American politics and values
-part of anti-war movement
-rest of America frowned down upon them

1960 Election

1960

Nixon- mainstream, conservative, Republican, people thought he won debate over radio but lost over tv

Kennedy- image of youth and optimism, great on camera, catholic worried southern democrats about loyalty (said religion is separate from state)
In common: both calculated, neither social progressives, and gave vague promises on how they would win cold war.
Kennedy won by 2/10 of popular vote. Majority for minorities. Nixon won whites.
Kennedy focuses on cold war in speech; avoid civil rights

Malcolm X

1960

-Name is a rejection of his slave given name (Malcolm Little)
-Black Power: racial pride and self-determination
-Minister for a nation of Islam
-Criticized MLK, questioned non-violence
-Did not believe in an integrated society
-Must fight for freedom by any means necessary
-Goes to Mecca has religious transformation
-Wants black people to unify to one movement
-1965 gave ballot or the bullet speech
-Murdered in Harlem by members of Islam (becomes a martyr of black power)

Bay of Pigs

1961

-1959 Castro comes into power after leading successful communist revolution.
-Soviets make bond with Cuba; Soviets will support communist revolutions in all countries
-Eisenhower paid CIA to create plan to overthrow Castro
-Kennedy enacted plan, and it failed because Castro knew/was prepared and the anti-communist invaders were out numbered. Denied to public that he had any part, later admitted he did.

The Berlin Crisis

1961

August, rising tensions in Berlin.
-People moving from west Communist side to the capitalist thriving economy on East. Communists look bad and upset about this. They ask US to remove troops, US doesn't.
-Soviets put up Berlin Wall. US sends tanks, Soviets do too. Both prepared for war although neither wants it.
-US removed tanks, so does Soviets. Wall remains.

The Freedom Riders

1961

Spring 1961
-Occurred on Greyhound buses.
-Supreme Court ruled in 1960 that segregated buses were unconstitutional. Southerns did not care; blacks tested southerns by riding the buses.
-Freedom riders attacked badly.
-Attorney General Robert Kennedy is concerned
-Alabama has mob; buses smoked out; riders assaulted badly; federal agent beaten up
-May to September 400 Freedom Rides occur.
-Soviets use to show democracy not for everyone.
-Kennedy wants this perception to go away; does nothing.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

1962

October 1962
-U2 Spy plane spots intermediate range missiles in Cuba pointed at the US
-Options for US are forceful or quarantine suggested by Robert K.
-Kennedy goes on TV and asks soviets to remove their missiles
-USSR told Cuba to launch missiles if they are afraid US will attack. Americans go on streets begging Kennedy to be careful.
-Soviets will remove missiles if US does not invade; 2nd message: us must remove missiles from Turkey.
-Kennedy complies to first; privately removes missiles

Johnson’s War on Poverty

1962

Michael Harrington's The Other America
-inspires Johnson to make these acts
-poverty cycle
Economic Opportunity Act: multi-teared program to give poor opportunities
-fail; did not address unequal wealth in nation, and did not improve economy
Medicare: provide safety net for elderly
Immigration Act of 1965: lifted quotas from the National Origins Act, created influx in people from Asia
-critics said government was overextending self, and only helping minorities

James Meredith and The Battle of Ole Miss

1962

-Wants degree from University of Mississippi
-Sues for denying admission
-Wins; 1962 James goes to register for classes.
-Klansmen light crosses on fire; whites trying to prevent him from registering
-Robert Kennedy talks to governor; realizes federal government has to do more.
-The Battle of Ole Miss: Robert K. sends army to protect James. 31,000 soldiers protecting one student. 2 soldiers die. James got to register for classes. 500 soldiers stay stationed on campus
-Meredith becomes symbol

Letter from Birmingham Jail

1963

-MLK knew he was going to be arrested; went peacefully with violent police
-Defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. It says that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take direct action rather than waiting potentially forever for justice to come through the courts. Responding to being referred to as an "outsider," King writes, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".
-Greatest threat to black activists was white moderates

George Wallace

1963

Governor of Alabama.
-Supports KKK bombing of churches and homes because he supports segregation. Gives speeches defending their actions.

Kennedy Assassination

1963

-Proposed Civil Rights bill has backlash from Southern White Democrats.
-Kennedy is running for re-election; goes to Dallas to gain supporters and is shot in a car possibly by Lee Harvey Oswald next to his wife on November 22, 1963
-Lindon Johnson sworn into office as next president.

"The Feminine Mystique"

1963

Written by Betty Friedan
-Women Liberation Movement
-Lots of women dissatisfied with confined roles of wives and mothers
^Men limited opportunities of women.

“Bombingham,” Alabama (Project C)

1963

-Named bombingham for frequent bombing of black churches
-Martin Luther King organizes Project C with the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) which goes in waves: Sit ins, boycotts, and then marches.
-Injunction given to King saying civil rights demonstration is a threat to public safety; they continue to peacefully protest anyways.
-Bull Connor directed the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights activists
-Media coverage shocks nation; begins actual change

March on Washington

Aug 28, 1963

-Kennedy no longer passive moderate after Project C; goes on tv saying civil rights is moral issue. Proposes bill.
-Single largest demonstration in American history
-I have a dream speech...
-Hope for integrated America, belief in democracy.

Election of 1964

1964

Johnson wins with 61% of popular vote. Barry Goldwater (Republican) opponent (southern democrats supported). Last time a majority of white men voted for a democratic president. Goldwater's tactic to end cold war scared nation. Johnson promised to keep American men out of Vietnam, but by summer 1964 he gets worried by what is happening in Vietnam.

Johnson and Vietnam

1964

-Johnson started listening more to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
-McNamara advised Johnson that the defense of south Vietnam was a defense for the US (need to Americanize war).
-US sends in American soldiers to fight
-Secretary Defense says lets start a bombing campaign in the North since they were sending supplies to South
-Problem that this is not the US's war. No declaration or NATO commitment

Urban Rebellion

1964

-Blacks frustrated that discrimination still exists; north segregated by customs
-Unemployment 2x as bad for blacks
-police brutality towards blacks
-Summer 1964, in Harlem, white policeman kills black boy
-Shows legislation did not change much
^White Americans tired of hearing about civil rights
-Watts Riots: August 11-16, 1965 in Watts neighborhood Los Angeles, police pulled over black drive for suspicion of reckless driving. Minor roadside argument turned into riot. 65 deaths.

The New Left

1964

-The new left was a liberal movement for white college upperclass students for greater democracy
-Berkley protest; saw that democracy wasn't everywhere for everyone. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Free Speech Movement (FSM) were created. Students didn't have freedom of speech on campus. Held sit-ins and gave pamphlets, 800 students arrested (largest arrest in California).
“Participatory Democracy”
-wanted to reject social hierarchy
-empower common people/rejection of paternalism

1964 Civil Rights Act

1964

-Women's Liberation Movement
-Title 7: could not discriminate based on sex
-Culture had not caught up with legislation

Ascension of Lyndon Johnson

1964

Kennedy's VP; hated being VP because felt powerless. Understood politics. Manipulative, secretive, and persuasive. Wanted to build on New Deal from FDR and Truman. Building the Great Society: abundance and liberty for all. Grow middle class, rid racial tensions, equality. Passes a lot of Kennedy's old bills like Civil Rights one. 1964: Civil Rights Act signed: barred discrimination on race, dismantled Jim Crow System. Did not affect voting rights. Step stool for women campaign.

Mississippi Freedom Summer

1964

-Civil Rights groups organized campaign to get all blacks to vote
-Freedom schools: teachers black/white taught Mississippians on how they can vote
-Problems: 6% registered to vote, KKK terrorized people to not vote
-3 college students (2w/1b) go missing. FBI goes on manhunt.
-Found black bodies in marshes; they did not matter
-Students found in small town where sheriff Price worked with small mob to put them in jail and then released them to be killed.
-Johnson cannot help blacks vote; upset

Gulf of Tonkin Incident/U.S.S. Maddox

1964

-Johnson needs reason to tell Congress and US that we should fight in war
-U.S.S. Maddox and ship in gulf of Tonkin shot back and forth
-August 4, thought attack being launched because of bad storm.
-Johnson said it was almost as bad as Pearl Harbor although this was not true
-Johnson tells Senate to scare Minh. Senate passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: gave president unlimited military power without declaration of war

Operation Rolling Thunder

1965

-Attack on Plachu
-8 People killed; gave Johnson the reason he needed to bomb
-Resulting in Operation Rolling Thunder: us bombing Vietnam
-Johnson says it is defense, but it is truly offense.
1965-1968
-Bombing campaign continued for three years; massive increase in troops in Vietnam; more drafting
-Results in many deaths; US fighting against conditions as well as soldiers
-Gorilla warfare for Vietcong
-Created instability in Vietnam
-1968 stalemate
-Johnson ego in way; uses lots of $

Selma and Voting Rights

1965

-3% of black citizens registered to vote
-MLK and SCLC had enough so created march from Selma to Montgomery; could be success to drawl attention to voting rights campaign or could be failure like 1963 with the Birmingham Bus Boycotts
-Petrish Bridge, released tear gas and beat up walkers in march.
-MLK wants to march again, but then Johnson announces support and creates the Voting Rights Act of 1965: got rid of barriers of voting like literacy tests.

Meredith March Against Fear

1966

-First black student in University of Mississippi
-Decides he will march by himself from Memphis, TN to Jackson, MS
-Message to show he was no longer afraid of white supremacy
-Whiteman shoots him 10 miles into march
-Others (leaders from SNCC and other civil rights movements) come to march in his place and are confronted by the Klan and arrested by white police.

Stokely Carmichael

1966

-Arrested in Greenville, MS
-"What do we want? Black power"
-Head of SNCC; no longer an integrated black civil rights organization. Is black nationalist organization now.

Black Panthers

1966

-Party established in Oakland, California
-Men cultivated hypermasculine image
-Known for having shoot outs with police in California
-Black Power became associated with the black panthers (term now being rejected by non-radicals)
-Trying to achieve community control; making schools, programs for poor children and finding jobs

The Ascendance of Ronald Reagan

1966

-Grew up in a small town
-Dad got government job during depression
-FDR hero (democrat) but later becomes Republican later in life
-Actor before president
-Concerned about communists while actor, so goes into politics
-Concerned about big government and excessive taxes
-Runs for governor of California and wins it in 1966
-Anti-War Movement is about reds and pinkos (hates college campus protestors)

MLK Speech

1967

-Speech in NY
-Questioned war and US wasting resources that could be used to help poverty.
-Launched poor people campaign (to end poverty/poor people pain)- build human's rights campaign (unify people of all races)
-Blacks criticized MLK from moving away from Civil Rights

Tet Offensive

1968

January, Vietminh and Vietcong attack US troops in South Vietnam to inspire rebellion in South.
-Media: images of American embassy getting bombed; makes General look like ass; Americans upset war still going
Credibility Gap: gap between what America was told and what was actually happening with the war.
-War escalates.
-1968 picture released of American soldier being helplessly shot; antiwar movement escalates in US.
^Clifford replaces McNamara (Secretary of Defense). Wants US surrender.

Assassinations

1968

-MLK assassinated (April)
^brought about dozens of race riots
-Robert Kennedy also assassinated because of political potential (June)
^They thought of him as the future of the democratic party; was opposed to war; had tons of potential; allowed Nixon to take the democratic win

Miss America Beauty Pageant

1968

Atlantic City
-100 Women show up eve of Miss America
-First nationally visible protest
-Would not talk to male reporters (how does it feel men to be not heard? will only talk to women because women in newsrooms were only allowed to write soft news not hard news like this)
-Cattle parades: women are more than just their measurements
-Freedom trashcans: threw magazines like playboy in trash with heels and curlers
-put Women's Liberation Movement on map
-"the personal is political"

Election of 1968 Part Two

1968

-Wanted sunbelt region because they were booming in population, they were conservative Americans, they were suspicious of big government, and wanted a president that would make policies that aligned with their interests.
-Nixon wanted an open society (government compelled; integration not necessary). Against parochial schools. Against busing: mixing the races of kids going to schools. Framed himself as a patriot: I'm going to end the war in Vietnam (gives no how).

Election of 1968

1968

-Richard Nixon new democratic candidate
-Lost in 1960 to John F Kennedy; said he would stay away then came back
-Wanted to appeal to the silent majority: non-violent passive people
-Nixon borrows some views from George Wallace (governor of Alabama that stood in front of college refusing admission to black);Nixon was the law and order candidate (due to large amount of riots and protests); won by slim margin; sight fixed on Sunbelt region
-Wallace runs for President in American Independent Party

The Emerging Republican Majority

1969

-Book by Kevin Phillips
-Phillips was a strategist on voting patterns for Nixon
-His book predicted a voting shift towards a more conservative America
-"Southern Strategy:" In American politics, the southern strategy was a Republican Party electoral strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans
-argued many Americans, especially South, were sick of New Deal liberalism (big government, civil rights legislation, welfare)

Henry Kissinger and Détente

1969

-National Security Advisor
-Main goal to get support from Russia and China (leeway)
^to do this, Détente: relax the tensions between the communistic countries and the US
^Proposed US and Soviets agree to reduce number of WMDs

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT)

1969

-two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union on the issue of arms control. The two rounds of talks and agreements were SALT I and SALT II.
-Negotiations commenced in Helsinki, Finland
-SALT I led to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and an interim agreement between the two countries.
-Although SALT II resulted in an agreement in 1979, the United States Senate chose not to ratify the treaty

Vietnam Moratorium

1969

-The Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam was a massive demonstration and teach-in across the United States against the United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
-Americans: get troops out of Vietnam Nixon; Nixon: respect my authority, you stupid anti-war movement. Fine I will give North Vietnam this ultimatum: US will bomb North Vietnam or they can give up in three months.
-April 30, 1970: Nixon starts bombing Cambodia (cut off supplies) Shows escalation in war (means he lied in election).

Madman Strategy

1969

-Intimidate Ho Chi Minh by threatening to drop dem WMDs
-Nixon Doctrine: Vietnamization, gradually withdrawal US troops in a way that the South Vietnamese could continue battle by also providing weaponry.
-Nixon committed to winning and having a independent non-communist government in Vietnam
-After the start of withdrawing troops: troops left behind upset they could not come back. Increase in sabotaging missions, getting intentionally injured, injuring commanders, etc.

Gay Rights and Sone Wall Inn

1969

-In this time period, being homosexual could mean losing your job, going to jail, or being seen as having a mental disorder.
-New York, Stone Wall Inn
^Police raid potential gay bars, if more than 3 gays are in bar the bar could lose its license. These raids were often violent.
^This specific raid turned into a riot
^Launched Gay Liberation Movement (70s featured massive gay pride parades)

NOW: National Organization of Women (1966)

1970

-Women's Liberation Movement
-Women Strike for equality
^Some don't show up for work
^pokes holes in the argument that: women do not have value in the workplace (try to run company without us bitches)

Kent State

1970

-Protests across the country breakout in result to bombing Cambodia
-May 4, 1970 Kent State Massacre: national guards shot anti-war demonstrators killing four of them
-500 college campuses closed for months due to this
-Turning point: a lot of the Americans not part of anti-war movement or peace movement become mainstream (frustration that Nixon was oppressing dissent)
-Gulf of Tonkin revoked by congress (had given Johnson full power of war)
^Nixon cannot send troops to war

Malaise

1970

-Discomfort
-The 70s were a time of disillusionment, cynicism, withdrawn from politics, etc.
-It is the "Me" decade because since people could not fix the external problems, they shifted to focusing on fixing inward problems.

70s Culture

1970

-Counterculture becomes mainstream
-People reject consumerism, main political parties, careerism
-Young people felt alienated
-The "Me" Decade; Tom Wolfe wrote this article talking about how the nation has retreated from the public sphere to private sphere of self.
-Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch; wrote in response to "Me" decade explaining the psychology behind this phenomena. It is safer to focus on self than look outwards (coping mechanism).

Kissinger Negotiation with Li Dac Tho

1971

-Henry Kissinger (national security) negotiating with Li Dac Tho
^wanted to create ceasefire to end violence
-North Vietnam would not agree with negotiations unless US removed troops from South along with regime
-Nixon visits China; US lifts all restrictions on trade
-1972: SALT began
-Violence escalates. Nixon will stop bombing Cambodia if the peace talks start again.

ERA and STOP-ERA

1972

-Equal Rights Amendment
^get equal rights not discriminated by race (passed in 1972, originally introduced in 1923!)
-STOP-ERA
^fought for continuing traditional values
^big argument made was women might be drafted if ERA passed

Higher Education Act

1972

-afforded people who did not have the chance to go to college with the opportunity to do so by providing funding
-This gave more women the option of going to college if their family did not support them in their choice

1972 Election

1972

-Nixon wins by landslide
-Thought liberal media was out to get him; did not forget political enemies
-Watergate occurs
^corruption based at the Watergate Hotel at the Democratic National Committee HQ
^June 16, 1972 break-in, burglars arrested (tapped phones). Phones have contact to white house and large amounts of cash. Cash comes from Creep Committee: committee to re-elect the president
^Watergate was to minimize his political enemies
^John Mitchell attorney general: went jail; helped scandal

The Plumbers

1972

The plumbers were formed by President Nixon after sensitive military information was leaked during his first term in office. The formation was an almost direct response to the release of the Pentagon papers in the New York Times.

Nixon Impeachment

1972

-People found out that something fishy was going on with Nixon
-Senate looks into it
-Nixon stupid; kept tapes
-Special Council Archibald Cox: Provide tapes or you get fired Nixon
-Nixon: nah
-Critics of Nixon: need to impeach Nixon
-The House writes three impeachment papers
1) obstruction of justice
2) abuse of executive power
3) defiance of subpoenas (legal mechanism to provide information)
-September 1974, Nixon resigns

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

1972

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex; it seeks to end the legal distinctions between men and women in terms of divorce, property, employment, and other matters.
-1971 reintroduced
-1972 passed by both houses

Watergate Part 2

1972

-50 individuals associated with Watergate got charged with federal crimes except Nixon who was pardoned by Ford.
-Daniel Ellsberg: foreign policy think tank, disillusioned with the war, thought it was a total waste, decided American people need to know truth about war. Takes excerpts from the Pentagon Papers and releases it to the New York Times.
^American's outraged because they learned that president lied about Vietnam
-Pentagon Papers: top secret war papers

Roe v. Wade

1973

-Women's reproductive rights (1965 Supreme Court legalized birth control giving women power over their bodies)
-1973 Supreme Court ruled that women had the right to abortion through it violating Due Process rights for her not to have that option

Kissinger and Tho Ceasefire

1973

-The Vietnem/Vietcong return US prisoners of war (POW) and US takes troops from Vietnam
-Not really a ceasefire because the Vietcong takes over South
-1975, Vietcong defeats the South Vietnamese Army and Vietnam falls to communism
-Vietnam Syndrome: Americans reaction to the end of the war: favored the retreat because they thought the US should not fight in wars when they were not attacked in the first place

The Arab Oil Embargo

1973

US is dependent on OPEC. 1/3 of oil comes from abroad (here).
-Egypt and Syria are at war with Israel (Yom Kippur War)
-US is providing aid to Israel
-Egypt and Syria are in OPEC and are like ha nahhh
-Oil prices raise (OPEC producing less oil)
-US continues to support Israel
-OPEC places embargo on US for oil
-Two oil crises in this decade due to OPEC

Recession of 1974-75

1974

1974
-Teetering economy. High inflation and unemployment
-40 billion deficit
-Globalization created more competition leading to less jobs in US
1975
-9% unemployment; more strikes
-Confidence Gap: comes from war of Vietnam and Watergate Scandal. Where were the leaders? Lack of confidence in government and people of power.
-Stagflation: inflation high as well as unemployment, and economic growth is slow

Jimmy Carter and the Election of 1976

1976

-"I will never tell a lie"
-Restore decency and simplicity
-Returning Panama Canal
-Peace accords between Israel and Egypt
-Wins

Anita Bryant

1977

-Pageant winner
-Orange juice commercial show lady
-Opposed homosexuals
-She and Jerry Falwell share views
-Bible says homoxexuality is sin, thus it is terrible
-Gays will recruit children to become gay
-she ran the "Save Our Children" campaign to repeal a local ordinance in Dade County, Florida that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation

Malaise Speech

1977

-Carter responds to criticism on leadership
-Called America out on pointing fingers
-Carter told America that they could not solve all problems
^asked cabinet to turn in resignations and he would decide who to keep and who to let go of (accepted 5).
-The age of limits
^Carter is saying there is a limit to what can be done in office for the people (goes with theme of disillusionment and confidence gap)

Iran Hostage Crisis

1979

-Cuts in oil production in Iran; oil prices up
-American truckers protest (less flow products)
-Islamic fundamentalist movement lead by Khomeini overthrew Shah
-Carter allows Shah to come to US for medical treatment
-66 American diplomats kidnapped by terrorists
-Terrorist request: Shah must be returned to Iran, Shah must give up wealth, Shah must be put on trial/apologize
^15 released, 53 tortured; lasted 441 days
-Carter authorizes rescue mission; fails. Sandstorm causes helicopter to crash.

Nuclear Disaster 3 Mile Island

1979

-The accident began with failures in the non-nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-open pilot-operated relief valve in the primary system
-Fear of being exposed to radioactive steam after disaster
-Carter was advancing nuclear energy to get the US to stop being dependent on OPEC, after this though, no more nuclear plants were created, and no new solutions to energy independence were created.

Iran Contra Scandal

1979

-Between Iran and Nicaragua
-1979 Sandinista regime took over in Nicaragua and overthrew the Anastasio Somoza dictatorship
-1981 Reagan was concerned that Sandinistas spreading communism in Latin America; funded covert war for anti-communist rebels (contras)
-1982 Boland Amendment: Congress said no fund
-Iran terrorist group (hezbollah); government located in Lebanon;
-Hezbollah kidnapped 6 Americans; Reagan wants to save them;

The New Right

1979

-Conservatives
-Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority (formed 1979)
^This is evangelical christians engaging in politics, which is unusual due to prior separation of church and state.
^Worried by Americans rejecting traditional values (pornography more accessible, turning away from God, and visibility of homosexuals).

Iran Contra Scandal Part 2

1979

-Reagan authorizes military save them; told America we are not negotiating with terrorists
-Lt. Col Oliver North and NSC Adviser John Poindexter(sold arms to Iranian terrorists to fund the Contras)
-1986 hostages released; more hostages gained; arms deal continues
-October 1986, cargo plane crashes in Nicaragua. 3 people die; Reagan says not selling arms; reporter says yeah you are; Reagan says yeah we are.
-11 people in Reagan's administration are charged due to this
-Reagan didn't get charged

The Election of 1980

1980

-Carter (democrat)
^feels like he failed during presidency
-Reagan (republican)
^aggressive cold war policy
^Thinks communism is evil
^wants rejuvenation of America
^Reagan appeals to the emergence of new right (evangelical Christians) and former liberalists (peeps didn't like commies)
^Recession: when your neighbor loses his job; depression: when you lose yours; recovery: when Carter loses his
^Starts campaign in Philadelphia, MS (during Freedom summer) to appeal to white voters
^Reagan won

Reaganomics

1981

1) cut domestic spending
2) reduce federal taxes
3) tighten money supply (deregulation)
4) build most powerful military in world (for cold war plan)
-Trickle down economics (didn't work)
Economic Tax Recovery Act (81)
-Lowered highest tax rate from 70% to 50% (81-86)
-Largest tax cut in history
-can sell property with tax on it
Tax Reform Act (86)
^lower taxes
-American recession (81-82)
^Reagan ignored housing, education, and environment
-Economic recovery (mid 80s) due to oil prices dropping

Nuclear Freeze

1983

-Poll in America; most favored the end of building WMDs
-Protests in America calling for the nuclear freeze

The Reagan Doctrine

1983

-The US will provide aid to countries resisting communism especially developing countries
-Peace through strength: make our military the most powerful
-Russia is in poor shape; cannot feed people; cannot stand against US (Reagan isn't convinced)
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
-Shield against communists
-missile defense system: A wide array of advanced weapon concepts, including lasers,particle beam weapons and ground- and space-based missile systems
^reminded public of Star Wars

Bruce Springsteen and the Politics of Rock ‘N Roll

1984

-Bruce icon of the middle class; 1984 album: born in the USA
-Hard times; ordinary Americans; documented history
-Reagan wins election again; Reagan's critics go to concert because Reagan wants to use Bruce's songs for the campaign to get blue collar workers on side (Bruce said nah)
-Got used as a symbol for Reaganism, but wasn't
-Born in the USA is not about power; it is indictment saying that the government doesn't help people when they need it
-Americans conflicted on US after Vietnam

1984 Election

1984

-Reagan wins against Mondale
-80s America's 2nd Gilded Age
-America still economically recovering
-Real wages are stagnant
-Good jobs in service industry
-Top 20% made as much as 80%

End of the Cold War

1991

-Gorbachev comes into power in Russia; promises reform; communism failing
-Glasnost: allow more open society; people can debate; take modest steps towards democracy
-Perestroika: economic reform, restructuring the soviet economy, entrepreneurship and such allowed
-Reagan goes to Berlin and says: Gorbachev if you want peace, let's talk
-Then they sign Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty (1987)
^Calls superpowers remove intermediate range weapons in Europe within 5 years
-1991 Cold War over