The mid-late 70s

1. The mid-late 70s Use the packet given to you and pgs. 1023-1039 in the Enduring Visionto read up on this sad and depressing period in American history.

2. Nixon’s resignation: Aug 9, 1974

3. Gerald Ford (1974-77) • Chosen as Nixon’s second Vice President after Agnew had to resign in 1973 • Minority leader of the House of Reps • Michigan • 1st time in U.S. history that the President was unelected • A favorite target of a brand-new TV show… clumsy? • http://www.hulu.com/watch/1584 • 1st Lady: Betty Ford • Survived 2 assassination attempts

4. The Pardon of Richard Nixon • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL0j_CN7dpw • 9/8/74 • “Our long national nightmare is over.” • This decision ruined most of the goodwill he had when he entered the Presidency: did he make a deal with Nixon before?

5. The economy • “Stagflation” worsens • Energy crisis: OPEC oil embargo imposed on the US because of our support for Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War • Runaway inflation over 12% • Unemployment over 9% • Recession, 1974-75 • As gas prices increased, more Americans bought smaller, more fuel efficient foreign cars • Budget deficits grow • Ford’s policies did not lead to improvements: advocated for high interest rates, vetoed spending increases, resisted increases in taxes

6. Investigating the government: The Church Committee • CIA assassinations of foreign leaders uncovered: Chile, etc. • CIA operations on US soil revealed; intelligence files on over 300,000 Americans • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra • FBI activities to undermine and destroy civil rights and peace organizations: COINTELPRO http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO • New CIA director to clean it up: George Bush • FISA (1978): Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to provide oversight

7. Fall of Saigon, South Vietnam • April 1975 • US-supported South Vietnamese capitol falls to Communists, and Vietnam is reunified as a single nation • Saigon today is known as Ho Chi Minh City! • This photo is of the last US personnel leaving the embassy!

8. The rest of southeast Asia • Genocide in Cambodia: the US-supported government defeated by Communist Khmer Rouge; 1 million die • Mayaguez incident (1975): US merchant ship captured by Cambodian forces; Ford sent in US Marines; 41 killed, 50 wounded in rescue operation on island to save 40

9. Cold War continues • Ford retains Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State • Efforts to improve relations with China and Soviet Union continue • SALT II, Helsinki Accords to reduce arms and improve relations

10. The 1976 Election • Ford challenged for the nomination by Ronald Reagan; narrowly holds on by 1,187-1,070 vote at their convention

11. Jimmy Carter • Peanut farmer, one-term Governor of Georgia • An outsider to Washington DC politics • Evangelical Christian, informal personal style • “All I want is the same thing you want: to have a nation with a government that is as good and honest and decent and compassionate and as filled with love as are the American people.”

12. Foreign policy • Emphasis on human rights • Panama Canal given back! • Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel • China officially recognized • Iran Hostage Crisis: 52 hostages taken after the Shah is allowed to come to the US for cancer treatment (Argo!) • Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; Carter boycotts 1980 Moscow Olympics; suspended SALT talks

13. The economy • Growing inflation (up to 13% in 1979-80, over 10% over the others) • High interest rates (20%) • Another oil embargo; ever-increasing gas prices • The “malaise” speech: • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/carter-crisis/ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tGd_9Tahzw

14. 2 quotes about Carter • “Jimmy Carter was the smartest public official I’ve ever known. The range and extent of his knowledge were astonishing.” • -Tip O’Neill • “Carter was not good at public relations. He did not fire enthusiasm in the public or inspire fear in his adversaries. He was trusted, but- very unfairly- that trust was in him as a person but not in him as a leader. He had ambitious goals for this nation, both at home and abroad, and yet he did not succeed in being seen as a visionary or in captivating the nation’s imagination. His personal qualities- honesty, integrity, religious conviction, compassion- were not translated in the public mind into statesmanship with a historical sweep.” – Zbigniew Brzezinski

15. The popular culture of the 70s • Rock’s golden age continues; new voices in R&B, singer/songwriters, etc. • TV: • All in the Family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCzMzJpF3qg • Film: • The Godfather I and II, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Wars • Technology: the first personal computer, the Apple II, was released in 1977

16. Other key elements of the 70s • The “Me Decade;”“The culture of narcissism” • The environmental movement: sparked by Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring; 1970 was the first Earth Day! http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/how-silent-spring-ignited-the-environmental-movement.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 • Love Canal, Three Mile Island, etc., anti-nuclear movement • “Superfund” law to clean it up! • The growth of immigration • New movements for minority rights: Native American, Latinos, etc. • Women’s movement; debates over social issues like abortion • Gay liberation movement • Population movement to the south and west: “Sunbelt” • Aging population: “the graying of America” • Evangelical Christianity • Cities in decline • And of course, the worst thing of all…

17. DISCO! (glad I missed this!)