Nixon’s Environmental Legislation and the Politics of Polarization in 1970s America
This overview explores President Nixon's complex legacy on environmental legislation, including the establishment of the EPA and landmark acts like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. It delves into his proposed social safety nets, such as the Family Assistance Plan, and the reactions from liberal factions. Analyzing the polarization of the era, it discusses Nixon's Southern Strategy, judicial appointments, racial tensions, and the cultural divide in a rapidly changing America. The impact of these policies set the stage for modern political landscapes and ongoing debates about liberalism and conservatism.
Nixon’s Environmental Legislation and the Politics of Polarization in 1970s America
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Presentation Transcript
Environmental Legislation • EPA, 1970 • Clean Air Act • Clean Water Act Vetoed Cuyahoga River Pollution
Consumer Protection Agency Ralph Nader, Unsafe at Any Speed
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Proposed Family Assistance Plan • Negative Income Tax • Replace AFDC with federal guarantee of minimum income • 1970 poverty threshold for family of 4 = $4000 • Program guarantees $1600 • Liberals reject it as insufficient
Proposed Comprehensive Health Insurance Act • Open enrollment Medicare • Mandatory Employer Paid Insurance • Killed by unions who thought they’d get a better deal from the next (Democratic) President
Nixon: The New Conservative ?
1968: The End of Consensus
or Hardhats
FBI Uniform Crime Report or Law & Order
Emerging Culture Wars:
Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll
or Righteousness
RELIGION HORIZONTAL ISSUES AND PARTY REALIGNMENT INCOME
Conservative Ascendency through Polarization: Nixon’s Southern Strategy Kevin Phillips, The Emergence of a New Republican Majority
No. 1: Slow down school desegregation. “Two extreme groups…. We need a middle ground.” -- Nixon
No. 2: Move the Supreme Court to the Right Judge Clement Haynsworth "Even if [Carswell] is mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little Representation, aren't they, and a little chance?” -- Senator Hruska, R-NE Judge HarroldCarswell “Rejected because they are Southerners…” -- Nixon
No. 3: Attack the Northeastern Liberal Elite
“A tiny and closed fraternity of privileged men, elected by no one, and enjoying a monopoly sanctioned and licensed by government.”
“The American people should be made aware of the trend toward monopolization of the great public information vehicles and the concentration of more and more power over public opinion in fewer and fewer hands.”
“Ultra-liberalism today translates into a whimpering isolationism in foreign policy, a mulish obstructionism in domestic policy, and a pusillanimous pussyfooting on the critical issue of law and order.”
“A spirit of national masochism prevails, encouraged by an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals.”
“Yippies, Hippies, Yahoos, Black Panthers, lions and tigers alike - I would swap the whole damn zoo for the kind of young Americans I saw in Vietnam.”