The Perils of Prosperity: Contemporary United States (1968-present)

Chaos of 1968

• Tet Offensive in Vietnam raised skepticism in America and disrupted presidential campaign

• President Lyndon Johnson dropped out of race• Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated • Senator Robert Kennedy assassinated while

running for president• Democratic Convention leads to widespread

violence in streets of Chicago while Cold War consensus distintegrates

Rise of Richard Nixon

Nixon’s Accomplishments

• Visit to People’s Republic of China in 1972 to pave the way for normalized relations with a major communist power (détente)

• Cease-fire in Vietnam negotiated in 1972 to begin the following year so that vast majority of U.S. military personnel could be evacuated from South Vietnam and POWs returned

• SALT I Treaty (1972) marked first limiting of nuclear weapons between USA & USSR

Watergate & the Fall of a President

Women’s Liberation Movement

Campaign for Equal Rights Amendment

• Language of amendment: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”

• Modern effort was focused between 1972-1982 on getting necessary 38 states to ratify once Congress had passed the measure.

• Only 35 states ratified it by 1982.

Energy Crisis (1973-1974)

End of Vietnam War (1975)

Disco Phenomenon (John Travolta from the movie Saturday Night Fever)

Camp David Accords (1978)

Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979-1981)

Miracle at Lake Placid

Election of 1980

Key Features of Reagan Agenda

• “Peace through strength” – Revamp military with major spending increases to challenge what he termed the “evil empire” (USSR)

• Back anti-communist resistance forces around the globe (what became the Reagan Doctrine)

• Fiscal conservatism, i.e. cutting federal spending (except defense), reducing regulations, and lowering corporate and individual taxes

Birth of MTV – Aug ‘81

Shooting of President Reagan - 1981

Peacekeeping in Lebanon (1983-1984)

Distraction in Grenada?

Loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger

Iran-Contra Scandal (1985-1986)

Iran-Contra Details

• While proclaiming neutrality in Iran-Iraq War, USA secretly sold weapons to Iran in exchange for its influence in freeing hostages held in Lebanon by Shiite terrorists (meanwhile secretly assisting Iraq as well).

• Proceeds from Iranian arms sales secretly funneled to anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua despite congressional ban on aid.

Reagan and Gorbachev

End of the Berlin Wall

First Persian Gulf War

Collapse of the USSR - 1991

Election of 1992

Dynamics of the Campaign

• Ross Perot carried 19% of the popular vote for Reform Party, but no states – likely siphoned away support that otherwise would have gone primarily to President Bush

• Bill Clinton’s campaign team focused on bread-and-butter economic issues to overcome Bush’s foreign policy expertise and popularity from recent war

.com Revolution

Impeachment of Bill Clinton

Anatomy of a Scandal

• President Clinton impeached by House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice.

• Following a trial in the Senate, Clinton survived removal votes by comfortable margins.

• Public opinion polls indicated disgust with personal behavior, but aversion to removal.

Election of 2000

Florida as the Deciding Factor• Debate emerged over whether to recount manually

all ballots and what criteria would be used.• One issue was chad (residue from hole punched

ballot)• U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (along ideological

lines) in favor of halting recount and giving Bush the election

• Key error by Gore team was in asking for hand recount only in counties known to be Democratic strongholds

9/11

Invasions of Afghanistan & Iraq (2001 & 2003)

War on Terror at Home

Election of 2008

Useful Primary Sources

• Redstockings Manifesto (1969)• Farewell Address to his staff by Richard Nixon (1974)• Final Report of Senate Select Committee on

Presidential Campaign Activities (1974)• “Human Rights and Foreign Policy” speech by Jimmy

Carter (1977)• “Evil Empire” speech by Ronald Reagan (1982)• “Tear Down this Wall” speech by Ronald Reagan

(1987)

Useful Primary Sources (continued)

• Oklahoma City Bombing memorial speech by Bill Clinton (1995)

• Ground Zero speech by George W. Bush (2001)• Bush Doctrine (2001)• Patriot Act (2001)