New Times
1977-2000


  LECTURE OUTLINE

   I. Ford = "The Healing Begins"
       A. Ford: honest, fair-minded, humble, pragmatic
       B. Nixon rec'd "full, free, and absolute pardon"
            1. No action for other Watergate conspirators
            2. Popularity plunged overnight from 72% to 49%
       C. Vietnam War evaders offered "conditional amnesty"
            1. Vets mad (gov't excused law-breakers from duty)
            2. Draft-dodgers resentful (inference of wrongdoing)
       D. Foreign affairs = maintain détente
            1. Kissinger retained as Sec. of State ("realpolitik")
            2. Final collapse of South Vietnam (April '75)
            3. Mayagüez incident in Gulf of Siam (May '75)
            4. Helsinki Accords signed by 35 nations (July '75)
       E. Economic woes
            1. Called for voluntary restraints (WIN)
            2. Emphasized balanced fed'l budget
            3. Cut gov't spending (inc. social-welfare funds)
  II. Election of 1976
       A. Voter apathy & disillusionment (54.4% turnout)
       B. Ford 1st incumbent Pres. defeated since Hoover
       C. Carter 1st Pres. from Deep South in 100+ yrs.
 III. Carter = "Soft-Spoken Leadership"
       A. Carter: honest, pious, inflexible, politically naive
       B. Friction with Congress
       C. Energy shortage = #1 issue, according to Carter
            1. Targeted overdependence on foreign oil
            2. Department of Energy added to Cabinet
            3. National Energy Act (1978)
       D. "Stagflation" = economic anomaly
            1. Unemployment & inflation soared (both > 10%)
            2. High interest/mortgage rates (housing slump)
            3. Foreign competition & relocation of U.S. plants
            4. Rise of service sector (req'd more education)
            5. Increased automation (damage to work force)
            6. U.S. standard of living dropped from 1st to 5th
            7. Carter's plan perceived as shotgun approach
       E. Minorities
            1. Cabinet included three women
            2. Equal Rights Amendment failed to gain support
            3. Andrew Young appointed U.N. ambassador
            4. Univ. of California Regents v. Bakke (1978)
       F. Foreign affairs = humanism à la Woodrow Wilson
            1. Panama Canal treaties (1978)
            2. Triumph & peril in Middle East
                  • Egyptian-Israeli Camp David Accords (Sep '78)
                  • OPEC jacked oil prices (June '79)
                  • Iranian hostage crisis (Nov '79)
            3. Collapse of détente
                  • Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (Dec '79)
                  • Senate's rejection of SALT II
                  • American boycott of 1980 Summer Olympics
                  • resignation of Sec. of State Cyrus Vance
 IV. Reagan = "Resurgence of Conservatism"
       A. Reagan: confident, jovial, patriotic, firm, teflonic
       B. Reaganomics = driven by marketplace, not gov't
            1. Tax cuts, inc. income tax (25% over 3 yrs.)
            2. Reduction of social services (cut $40 billion)
            3. Increased military expenditures for nat'l defense
            4. Overall results = nat'l debt rose by $2 trillion
       C. Foreign matters = staunch revival of containment
            1. Soviet Union ("evil empire") = START & SDI
            2. Middle East = troubles in Lebanon (1983)
            3. Cent. Amer. = lone success was Grenada (1983)
            4. Iran-Contra arms deal (1986)
       D. Domestic issues = social potpourri
            1. PATCO strike (1981)
            2. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (1981)
            3. "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign (1982)
            4. Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982)

& HISTORY

 

            5. Moral Majority & evangelical Christianity
            6. A Nation at Risk (1983)
            7. Regional migration to Sun Belt & West
            8. Gulf separating affluent & poor widened
            9. Frenzy of corporate mergers
  V. Election of 1984
       A. Ferraro 1st major party female V-P candidate
       B. Landslide (525-13; Mondale won Minn & DC only)
 VI. Bush = "A Kinder, Gentler America"
       A. Bush: direct/honest, well-meaning, unimaginative
       B. Domestic agenda = cloudy for Bush
            1. "Read my lips: no…new…taxes" (oops)
            2. Richmond v. J.A. Croson Company (1989)
            3. Opposed legalized abortion, gun control
            4. Favored constitutional ban on U.S. flag burning
       C. Foreign affairs = sunny for Bush
            1. Tiananmen Square uprising (Jun '89)
            2. Panama = Operation Just Cause (Dec '89)
            3. Gulf War = Operation Desert Shield (Jan '91)
            4. Somalia = Operation Restore Hope (Dec '92)
       D. Cold War = good-bye Iron Curtain
            1. Warsaw Pact countries abandoned communism
            2. Berlin Wall razed (Nov '89)
            3. Germany reunified (Oct '90)
            4. Soviet Union dissolved & CIS formed (Dec '91)
            5. Bush & Yeltsin declared Cold War end (Feb '92)
VII. Clinton = "Hillary, Gennifer, Paula, Monica, Linda…"
       A. Clinton: charismatic, intelligent, energetic, shady
       B. Elected on domestic issues, esp. economy
       C. National health-care reform
            1. Task force chaired by First Lady
            2. Rejected by Congress
       D. Republican Party's "Contract with America" (1994)
            1. Tax reductions
            2. Balanced budget
            3. Term limits for Congress
            4. Other, inc. welfare reforms
       E. Foreign policy = ambitious w/ mixed results
            1. Withdrew from Somalia after Marine casualties
            2. Poland, Hungary, Czech Rep. join NATO
            3. High tension between Palestinians & Israelis
            4. Continued ethnic fighting in former Yugoslavia
       F. Impeachment
            1. Andrew Johnson & Clinton (Tyler & Nixon close)
            2. Clinton: "I did not have sex with that woman"
            3. America: intrusive Starr vs. evasive Clinton
            4. Congress: no "high crimes and misdemeanors"


  BONUS OUTLINE

   I. American Indian
       A. Historical periods
            1. 1532-1828: Discovery, Conquest, & Treaty-making
                  • Pequot War (1637-8) & King Philip's War (1675-6)
                  • Pontiac's Rebellion / Proclamation of 1763
            2. 1828-1887: Removal & Relocation
                  • Removal Act ('30) & Worcester v. Georgia ('32)
                  • Medicine Lodge / Ft. Laramie treaties ('57 & '58)
                  • Sioux uprising aka Little Crow's War (Minn '62)
                  • key western infringements
                      -- Kansas-Nebraska Act ('54)
                      -- Homestead Act ('62)
                      -- Bozeman Trail ('66)
                      -- transcontinental railway ('69)
                      -- discovery of gold in Black Hills ('74)
                  • Battle of the Little Bighorn (Mont '76)
                  • Nez Percé flight ('77) & Geronimo's defeat ('86)
            3. 1887-1928: Allotment & Assimilation
                  • Dawes Severalty Act of 1887
                  • Ghost Dance / Wounded Knee (S Dak '90)
            4. 1928-1945: Reorganization & Self-Gov't
                  • John Collier head of BIA under FDR
                  • Wheeler-Howard Reorganization Act of 1934
            5. 1945-1961: Termination
            6. 1961-date: Self-Determination
       B. 1960s
            1. Ariz, Cal, N Mex, N Car, Okla, S Dak, Wash
            2. Abandoned termination policy of late '40s & '50s
            3. LBJ: Indian = the "Forgotten American"
       C. Problems
            1. Health (infant mortality; diseases; alcoholism)
            2. Education (illiteracy; dropout rate 2× nat'l ave.)
            3. Poverty (poor housing; high unemployment)
            4. Suicide (Rosebud in '06: 3 suicides; 150+ tries)
            5. Victimhood; low self-esteem (family & tribal cycle)
       D. Militant actions
            1. Takeover of Alcatraz Island (1969)
            2. Occupation of BIA Bldg. in DC (1972)
            3. Wounded Knee hostage incident (1973)
       E. Gov't awards via legal victories
            1. New Mexico, 1970 = Blue Lake + 48,000 acres
            2. Alaska, 1971 = 40 million acres + $962 million
            3. Maine, 1979 = $81.5 million
            4. South Dakota, 1980 = $106 million
            5. Washington, 1988 = $162 million
       F. Political correctness
            1. Sports mascot controversy
                  • Stanford Univ. Indians (1972)
                  • forced exit of Chief Illiniwek at Univ. of Illinois
                  • others inc. FSU (Seminoles) & NDSU (Sioux)
            2. Christopher Columbus Day issue
                  • abolished in South Dakota (1989)
                  • Minnesota & Oregon = ?
                  • Discoverer's Day in Hawaii
  II. Environmental Activism
       A. Historical highlights
            1. Yellowstone Nat'l Park by Pres. Grant (1872)
            2. Arbor Day in Nebraska (1872)
            3. Audubon Society by George Bird Grinnell (1886)
            4. Sierra Club by John Muir (1892)
            5. T. Roosevelt: presidential conservation leader
                  • America's "most vital internal question"
                  • U.S. Forest Service / Gifford Pinchot (1905)
            6. Wildflower Center by Lady Bird Johnson (1982)
       B. Issue ignored class, race, political lines
            1. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (1962)
            2. Earth Day = April 22, 1970
       C. Atmospheric environmental concerns
            1. Depletion of earth's ozone layer
            2. Global warming ("greenhouse effect")
            3. "Acid rain" (polluted atmospheric moisture)
            4. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (2006)
                  • manageable risk vs. imminent danger
                  • apparent non-support by author himself
                  • Nobel Peace Prize in 2007
       D. Gov't action
            1. Wilderness Act of 1964
            2. Environmental Protection Agency created (1970)
            3. Clean Air Act of 1970
            4. DDT banned by EPA (1972)
            5. Water Pollution Control Act of 1972
            6. Endangered Species Act of 1973
            7. Emissions stabalization treaties: Rio & Kyoto
                  • U.S. + 153 other nations during 1990s
                  • voluntary (!) & mandatory (?)
       E. Disasters
            1. Cleveland's Cuyahoga River (1960s)
            2. 800-mile-long Alaskan Pipeline (1974)
            3. Three Mile Island nuclear power plant (1979)
            4. Sec. of Interior James G. Watt (1981-83)
            5. Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill (1989)
            6. ExxonMobil: chief corporate villain
                  • formed group to oppose climate change laws
                  • funded reports contesting global warming
            7. Endangered species (global issue)
       F. Are you "green"? No bottled water!
            1. America #1 in 2005: 37 billion bottles consumed
            2. Pollution issues
                  • 47 million gallons of oil to manufacture
                  • public reticent to recycle plastic bottles
            3. Health concerns
                  • fed'l gov't = city water testing > bottled
                  • 40% bottled simply treated tap water
                  • bottled lack of flouride = tooth decay ($)


  OVAL OFFICE



  WHAT'S MY LINE?

  • American Indian Movement
  • OPEC
  • Nancy Landon Kassebaum
  • Mayagüez incident
  • Helsinki Accords
  • National Energy Act
  • "stagflation"
  • Panama Canal Treaty
  • Camp David Accords
  • Anwar Sadat
  • Menachem Begin
  • Iranian hostage crisis
  • Ayatollah Khomeini
  • "misery index"
  • conservative coalition
  • Moral Majority
  • Jerry Falwell
  • Andrew Young
  • Jesse Jackson
  • entitlement programs
  • affirmative action
  • University of California v. Bakke
  • Equal Rights Amendment
  • Phyllis Schlafly
  • Maya Ying Lin
  • voodoo economics
  • "supply-side economics"
  • Economic Recovery Tax Act
  • PATCO strike
  • Walter Mondale
  • Geraldine Ferraro
  • Sandra Day O'Connor
  • Mikhail Gorbachev
  • "Star Wars"
  • Challenger disaster
  • Iran-Contra affair
  • Oliver North
  • Michael Dukakis
  • Webster v. Reproduction Health Care Services
  • Tiananmen Square uprising
  • Operation Just Cause
  • Manuel Antonio Noriega
  • Persian Gulf War
  • Operation Desert Storm
  • Saddam Hussein
  • H. Norman Schwarzkopf
  • Operation Restore Hope
  • Ben Nighthorse Campbell
  • Boris Yeltsin
  • Gaylord Nelson
  • Exxon Valdez
  • Contract with America
  • Twenty-seventh Amendment
  • 9/11 incident


  PRIMARY SOURCES / DOCUMENTS


  EXTENDED RESPONSE

1.  Select any two of the following and analyze the ways in which they have affected
     the status of women in American society since 1940—changing economic
     conditions; the rebirth of an organized women's movement; the persistence of
     traditional definitions of women's roles; advances in reproductive technology.

2.  "Presidents are rarely successful in both foreign and domestic policy." Assess the
     validity of this statement, using three of the following Presidents to support your
     position—George Washington; John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; Andrew Jackson;
     James K. Polk; Abraham Lincoln; Theodore Roosevelt; Woodrow Wilson; Franklin
     D. Roosevelt; Lyndon B. Johnson; Richard M. Nixon; Jimmy Carter.

3.  Discuss and appraise the impact of President Jimmy Carter's human rights program
     on American foreign policy.

4.  What social issues, distinct from political or economic issues, separated Democrats
     from Republicans in their respective 1980 party platforms?

5.  "The powers of the President have declined due to domestic issues and internal
     turmoil." Evaluate this statement by citing specific examples throughout American
     history, including at least one instance after 1980.

6.  "The powers of the President have grown because of war and foreign crises."
     Evaluate this statement by citing specific examples throughout American history,
     including at least one instance after 1980.


  CHEAT SHEET

1.  President Gerald Ford's most controversial act was:
     a. granting former President Richard Nixon a "full, free, and absolute pardon" for his
         participation in the Watergate scandal
     b. offering "conditional amnesty" to Vietnam War draft dodgers
     c. maintaining the previous presidential administration's détente theory of Cold War
         foreign policy
     d. cutting social-welfare funds in order to balance the federal budget

2.  The Twenty-seventh Amendment:
     a. stipulates equal rights for women
     b. prohibits congressional pay raises from taking effect until an election seats a new
         session of Congress
     c. limits the President's power to send troops abroad without approval of Congress
     d. makes it illegal to burn or otherwise publicly desecrate the American flag

3.  The high point of Jimmy Carter's presidency was:
     a. implementation of SALT II despite uproar in Congress concerning the Soviet
         invasion of Afghanistan
     b. his mediation between Egypt and Israel resulting in the Camp David Accords
     c. the direct resolution of the PATCO strike with little adverse effect on consumer
         airline travel
     d. ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment

4.  The most significant increase in immigration during the 1990s came from:
     a. Asia and southern Europe
     b. the Middle East and the Caribbean
     c. Africa and eastern Europe
     d. southeast Asia and Latin America

5.  President Ronald Reagan's goals included all of the following except:
     a. stronger national defense
     b. tax cuts
     c. crack down on acts of terrorism
     d. increase the federal government's powers
During the summer of 2000, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial unfurled the ceremonial American flag used to dedicate all four of the memorial's presidential portraits from 1930 through 1939.  The giant cotton flag, which measures 39 feet by 67 feet, was machine-sewn
by a committee of the Rapid City Women's Club headed by Mrs. C. C. Warren and Mrs. Gutzon Borglum.  The flag's 48 stars, each spanning 27 inches across, were stitched in place by the club ladies.  Click on the faces to TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE further.


  REWIND

   "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the
   problem." —Ronald Reagan

Music: "Our Country" by John Mellencamp