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CHAPTER 31
Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–
1980
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The turbulence of the 1960s continued into the 1970s as the American people seemed to fragment into
separate groups, each more concerned with its own agenda than with a broader national agenda.
Minorities that had made gains toward social justice and racial equality began to emphasize their own
distinct cultural identity and often favored separatism over assimilation and integration into American
culture. The advocates of identity politics among young African American, Mexican American, and
Native American activists argued that the government should stop viewing the American public as a
collection of individuals and should instead address the needs of specific identity-based groups.
Evidence of this emphasis on cultural and historical uniqueness may be seen in the emergence of
African American cultural nationalism, which gave rise to the “black is beautiful” movement, the
creation of “Black Studies” departments at many colleges and universities, and the creation of the new
holiday “Kwanzaa” in 1966.
Among Mexican Americans, migrant workers under the leadership of Cesar Chávez and Delores Huerta
began that group’s national movement for social justice. Using Mexican mutualistas, or cooperative
associations, as their model, the strike of Mexican American migrant workers against the large grape
growers of California’s San Joaquin Valley successfully fostered a nationwide consumer boycott of
table grapes. This in turn led the growers to accede in 1970 to the workers’ demands for better wages
and working conditions. More radical Mexican American activists, calling themselves “Chicanos,”
rejected integration and assimilation into American society and argued for the liberation of “la Raza”
from the oppressiveness of American culture and society. Not only were these more radical Mexican
American activists successful in challenging discrimination, they also laid the groundwork for Chicano
political power at the local level.
Young Native Americans, influenced by identity politics and cultural nationalism, also rejected
assimilation and began to concentrate on a shared culture among all American Indians (the pan-Indian
approach) rather than on distinct tribal concerns and differences.
Not only did activists among America’s ethnic and cultural minorities begin to emphasize their
uniqueness as a group, American policymakers also began to stress group outcomes over individual
outcomes in framing remedies for discrimination and inequality. This as well as practical concerns
caused a shift in emphasis on the part of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and to the
first affirmative action program, the “Philadelphia Plan,” instituted by the Nixon administration in
1969. Soon, not only was affirmative action applied to government contracts but led corporations and
educational institutions to adopt such programs as well. Critics of such programs argued that efforts to
overcome past discrimination against women and minorities through numerical goals or quotas would
only create discrimination against other individuals. As the economic problems of the 1970s continued
and deepened, the nation witnessed a backlash against affirmative action on the part of white workingclass men.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
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After discussing the impact of identity politics on America’s cultural, societal, and political climate in
the late 1960s and early 1970s, the authors turn to a discussion of the women’s movement and to the
emergence, characteristics, and goals of both moderate and radical feminists. While the diverse groups
that constituted the “women’s movement” scored some notable successes in their campaign against
sexism, the authors note the emergence, characteristics, and aims of the antifeminist forces that
coalesced in the 1970s. Arguing in favor of “traditional” American values in the midst of a rapidly
changing society, antifeminists successfully stalled ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and
began to campaign actively against legalized abortion.
In addition to the activism of women and of cultural and ethnic minorities, the late 1960s and early
1970s also gave rise to gay activism and to the gay rights movement. Gay activists, inspired by the
Stonewall Inn riot in June 1969, worked not only for legal equality but also adopted the identity politics
of other groups by promoting Gay Pride and the creation of distinctive gay communities and lifestyles.
In “The End in Vietnam,” the authors discuss America’s continued involvement in Vietnam during the
Nixon administration. Although Nixon had implied in his presidential campaign in 1968 that he would
end the Vietnam War, the war continued and even widened. As Nixon implemented the policy of
Vietnamization, American troops began to withdraw from Vietnam. However, at the same time, Nixon,
believing as Johnson had believed that American credibility was at stake, intensified the bombing of
North Vietnam and began a secret bombing campaign against North Vietnamese arms depots and army
sanctuaries in neutral Cambodia. Revelation of the invasion of Cambodia reinvigorated the antiwar
movement and led to the disasters at Kent State University and at Jackson State. Ultimately, the United
States and North Vietnam signed a cease-fire agreement in January 1973, and withdrawal of American
troops began. In April 1975, however, with both the South Vietnamese and the North Vietnamese
having violated the cease-fire agreement, the South Vietnamese government collapsed and Vietnam
was reunified under the North’s communist government. In the aftermath of the Vietnam War,
Americans began to debate its causes and consequences. Just as they had disagreed over the course and
conduct of the war, they were now unable to reach any real consensus on its lessons for the nation.
Although a great deal of energy was expended on questions relating to the Vietnam War during Nixon’s
presidency, Nixon considered other foreign policy matters, especially the relationship between the
United States and the Soviet Union, to be more important. In an attempt to create a global balance of
power, Nixon and Henry Kissinger (Nixon’s national security adviser and later his secretary of state)
adopted a “grand strategy.” By means of détente with the Soviet Union and the administration’s
opening to the People’s Republic of China, Nixon and Kissinger sought to achieve the same goals as
those of the old containment doctrine, but through accommodation rather than confrontation. Despite
détente, the United States still had to respond to crises rooted in instability. Nowhere was the fragility
of world stability via the grand strategy more apparent than in the Middle East, where war again broke
out between the Arab states and Israel in 1973. While the Soviet Union and the United States positioned
themselves by putting their armed forces on alert, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) imposed an oil embargo against the United States. Kissinger was able to persuade the warring
parties to agree to a cease-fire; OPEC ended its embargo; and, through “shuttle diplomacy,” Kissinger
persuaded Egypt and Israel to agree to a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Sinai. But many
problems remained, and the instability of the region continued to be a source of tension between the
United States and the Soviet Union.
President Nixon also believed, just as previous presidents had believed, in America’s right to influence
the internal affairs of Third World countries. It was out of this belief and the concomitant belief that the
United States should curb revolution and radicalism in the Third World, that Nixon accepted the
Johnson Doctrine in Latin America, as evidenced by the overthrow of the Allende government in Chile
and in attempts to prevent the radicalization of Africa.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
In “Presidential Politics and the Crisis of Leadership” we look first at Nixon’s domestic agenda and
discuss the question of whether that agenda was liberal, conservative, or simply pragmatic. We also
find a Nixon who, with the continuation of chaos into the 1970s, was convinced that society was on the
verge of anarchy and that his perceived enemies were responsible for the ills that plagued the nation.
Positioning himself for his reelection campaign in 1972, Nixon followed a “southern strategy” to
further attract white southerners to the Republican Party. That and other factors led to Nixon’s landslide
victory in the 1972 presidential election. Unfortunately, that victory did not guarantee an end to the
crisis atmosphere that had plagued the nation since the late 1960s. Nixon’s obsession that he was
surrounded with enemies set the stage for the Watergate scandal. Involving a series of illegal activities
approved at the highest level of American government, the scandal caused more disillusionment with
government and increased the somber mood of the people. Some of these activities, such as the break-in
at Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, had been undertaken to discredit political opponents; others,
such as the paying of hush money to witnesses, were part of an elaborate cover-up.
Beyond the illegal actions, the Watergate scandal was a constitutional crisis; the “imperial presidency”
threatened the balance-of-power concept embodied in the Constitution and the guarantees of individual
rights embodied in the Bill of Rights. We see the constitutional nature of the crisis in the clash between
the executive and judicial branches of government, the impeachment hearings undertaken by the House
Judiciary Committee, and ultimately the resignation of the president. Unlike the scandals of previous
administrations, the activities linked to Watergate were aimed not at financial gain but at monopolizing
political power. After citing the events associated with Watergate, the authors outline and briefly
evaluate congressional attempts to correct the abuses associated with the scandal.
The nation’s disillusionment with its government—disillusionment produced by the crises of the 1960s
and early 1970s—intensified further when governmental leaders could not deal successfully with the
disruptive economic forces of the 1970s. In “Economic Crisis” we examine the nature of the economic
crisis and its causes. This section also covers the responses of the Nixon, Ford, and Carter
administrations to the economic and energy crises, the continued “deindustrialization” of the American
economy, the growth of the Sunbelt, the fiscal crisis experienced by some of America’s cities in the
North and Midwest, and the beginnings of the tax revolt movement.
In the chapter’s penultimate section, “An Era of Cultural Transformation,” we discuss the emergence of
the current environmental movement, the turn by many Americans to “born again” Christianity and to a
therapeutic culture in their search for meaning and belonging in an age of conflict and limits. It was also
during the 1970s that American culture witnessed a new openness about sex and a sexual revolution,
both of which were factors in the changing nature of the American family. The roots of America’s
emphasis on diversity may also be seen during this decade.
When Jimmy Carter assumed the presidency in 1977, he and Secretary of State Cyrus Vance at first
pledged a new foreign policy course for the United States. However, this course was challenged by
Carter’s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, by Democratic and Republican critics, and by
the Soviet Union, which reacted in anger and fear to the human rights aspect of Carter’s policies. The
Cold War seemed to have its own momentum. Despite the Carter administration’s achievements in
Latin America and the Middle East, it was overwhelmed by critics at home, the Iranian hostage crisis,
and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The grain embargo, the 1980 Olympics boycott, and the Carter
Doctrine all seemed more reminiscent of the containment doctrine and the sources of the Cold War than
of a new course in American foreign policy. Furthermore, the excesses in which the United States had
engaged in the past in its attempts to defeat revolutionary nationalism and create stability in the Third
World, protect American economic interests, and contain the Communist threat rained down on the
Carter administration in the form of Islamic fundamentalism as expressed in the Iranian hostage crisis.
In this crisis America’s missiles, submarines, tanks, and bombers ultimately meant nothing if the lives
of the hostages were to be saved. In this atmosphere, the United States welcomed the threat to Iran by
the secularist, anticommunist Saddam Hussein regime in neighboring Iraq.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
381
Having experienced fear of cultural upheaval, disillusionment with government and with politicians,
and frustrations over economic and societal crises since the mid-1960s, by the end of the 1970s
America was poised for the resurgence of conservatism.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1.
Discuss the problems that African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Native Americans faced
in American society during the 1970s; discuss the emergence of identity politics and cultural
nationalism as approaches to those problems; and discuss the extent to which these groups were
successful in achieving their goals.
2.
Discuss the shift in emphasis during the late 1960s and 1970s from individual opportunity to
group outcomes as a remedy for discrimination and inequality; and examine the successes and
failures of this concept.
3.
Explain the emergence, characteristics, and goals of the feminist movement of the 1960s and
1970s, and discuss the successes and failures of this movement and its impact on American
society.
4.
Discuss the emergence, characteristics, and goals of the antifeminist and anti-abortion
movements, and discuss their impact on American society during the 1970s and 1980s.
5.
Explain the emergence of the gay rights movement, and discuss the movement’s goals and its
impact on American society during the 1970s.
6.
Discuss the course of the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1975; explain the war’s impact on southeast
Asia, American society, and Vietnam veterans; and discuss the debate in the United States over
the meaning of the American experience in Vietnam.
7.
Examine, evaluate, and discuss the consequences of the defense and foreign policy views, goals,
and actions of the Nixon administration.
8.
Discuss the domestic issues that faced the Nixon administration in the late 1960s and early 1970s;
explain and evaluate the administration’s actions concerning those issues; and discuss the
consequences of those actions.
9.
Examine the issues and personalities and explain the outcome of the 1972 presidential election.
10. Discuss the illegal activities that constituted the Watergate scandal, and explain the threat these
activities posed to constitutional government.
11. Examine the impact of the Watergate scandal on the American people, American society, and
American institutions, and discuss and evaluate the reforms enacted in the scandal’s aftermath.
12. Examine the issues and personalities and explain the outcome of the 1976 presidential election.
13. Discuss Jimmy Carter’s personal and political background; examine the domestic issues and
political problems that faced the Carter administration; and explain and evaluate the
administration’s actions concerning those issues and problems.
14. Discuss the causes, characteristics, and consequences of the economic and energy crises of the
1970s, and explain and evaluate the attempts by the Ford and Carter administrations to deal with
these crises.
15. Examine the 1970s as an era of cultural transformation, paying particular attention to:
a.
the environmental movement,
b.
technological advances,
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382
Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
c.
the search for spiritual fulfillment and well-being,
d.
sexuality and the family, and
e.
the idea of diversity.
16. Examine, evaluate, and discuss the consequences of the defense and foreign policy views, goals,
and actions of the Carter administration.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I.
Introduction
During the 1970s, the American people were polarized over U.S. policy in Vietnam, cultural
nationalism, the women's movement, and the gay liberation movement. President Nixon and his
national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, recognized the limits of American power and believed
that international stability depended on stable relations among the great powers. This was also a
time when the faith of the American people in their government was shaken by President Nixon's
illegal acts. As Americans became disillusioned and cynical about their leaders, President Carter's
presidency was undermined by international events beyond his control and by a deepening
economic crisis within the nation that proved once again the vulnerability of the United States to
decisions by foreign governments.
II.
The New Politics of Identity
A. “Identity Politics”
Advocates of identity politics stressed the importance of the differences among American
racial and ethnic groups. The government, they said, must stop imagining Americans as
individuals and must, instead, address the needs of different identity-based groups.
B.
African American Cultural Nationalism
African American activists began to emphasize the distinctiveness of black culture and
society.
C.
Mexican American Activism
Mexican Americans faced discrimination in hiring, pay, housing, schools, and the courts.
From 1965 through 1970, César Chávez and Delores Huerta led migrant workers in a strike
against large grape owners in the San Joaquin Valley of California. The United Farm
Workers won better wages and working conditions in 1970.
D.
Chicano Movement
In 1969, the National Chicano Youth Conference called for the liberation of "La Raza" (the
brown people) from the oppression of American society and culture. Throughout the 1970s,
young activists called for "Brown Power" based on a separate and distinct Chicano culture.
E.
Native American Activism
Young Native Americans were influenced by cultural nationalist beliefs, and between 1968
and 1975, Native American activists forced American society to hear their demands and to
reform government policies toward Native Americans.
In 1969, a group of activists occupied Alcatraz Island and demanded the return of the land to
native peoples for use as a cultural center.
In 1972, members of the American Indian Movement occupied a Bureau of Indian Affairs
office in Washington, D.C.
In 1973, members of AIM occupied a trading post at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
383
In response to the demands of these radical activists and to the work of more moderate
Native Americans, Congress in 1975 passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act.
F.
Affirmative Action
President Johnson indicated his belief that the federal government had a responsibility to
help individuals attain the skills necessary to compete in American society. He wedded this
belief to the idea that equality could be measured by group outcomes. This led to a shift in
emphasis from individual opportunity to group outcomes.
The Philadelphia Plan, implemented by President Nixon in 1969, was the first major
government affirmative-action program.
III. The Women's Movement and Gay Liberation
A. The Feminine Mystique
Published in 1963, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan marked the reemergence or the
“second wave” of the women’s movement.
B.
Liberal and Radical Feminism
The need for action in advancing women’s issues led the liberal wing of the women’s
movement to found the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966.
A more radical brand of feminism emerged in the late 1960s. Although radical feminists
differed with one another in some of their beliefs, they generally preferred confrontational,
direct action and believed in “personal politics.”
C.
Accomplishments of the Women’s Movement
Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. Congress also passed Title IX of
the Higher Education Act in 1972.
Women were successful in establishing rape crisis centers in many communities by the end
of the 1970s.
In 1973, citing a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, the Supreme Court legalized
abortions.
By the late 1970s, female participation in professional schools had climbed to record highs.
D.
Opposition to the Women’s Movement
Organized opposition to the women’s movement had a primarily conservative and religious
orientation.
Opponents such as Phyllis Schlafly took a “profamily” stance and blamed feminism and the
women’s movement for many of America’s social problems.
In the STOP-ERA campaign, Schlafly and others used fear tactics in a successful attempt to
prevent ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
E.
Gay Liberation
Many homosexuals became more open, and a 1969 riot in Greenwich Village marked the
genesis of “Gay Power.”
Gay and lesbian activists focused on legal equality and Gay Pride.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
IV. The End in Vietnam
A. Invasion of Cambodia
The policy of “Vietnamization” (replacing Americans with South Vietnamese troops) was
central to Nixon’s policy in Vietnam.
As Nixon began to withdraw American troops in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he
intensified the bombing of North Vietnam and began a secret bombing campaign in neutral
Cambodia.
In 1970, Nixon announced that American and South Vietnamese forces had entered
Cambodia.
B.
Protests and Counter-Demonstrations
The announcement of the invasion of Cambodia sparked violent protests in the United
States, most notably at Kent State University in Ohio and at Jackson State in Mississippi.
Congress responded to the invasion of Cambodia by terminating the Tonkin Gulf
Resolution.
Construction workers in New York City organized counterdemonstrations against antiwar
protests.
The New York Times began publication of the Pentagon Papers in June 1971. The American
public learned that their leaders had consistently lied to them about American aims and
strategies in Vietnam.
C.
Morale Problems in the Military
There were growing reports of morale and discipline problems among the troops in Vietnam.
It was learned that in 1968 a gruesome atrocity occurred at the village of My Lai, where
Americans killed some 500 unarmed civilians.
D.
Paris Peace Accords
In 1973, America and North Vietnam agreed to withdraw American troops, return POWs,
account for MIAs, and recognize a role for the Vietcong in South Vietnam.
On April 29, 1975, after American troops had been withdrawn from Vietnam, the South
Vietnamese government collapsed. Vietnam was reunified under a communist government
based in Hanoi.
E.
Costs of the Vietnam War
More than 58,000 Americans and 1.5 to 3 million Vietnamese died in the war. The conflict
cost the United States at least $170 billion, caused inflation and a retreat from reform within
the United States, and it delayed improved relations with other nations.
F.
Debate over the Lessons of Vietnam
Hawks claimed the war undermined America’s credibility; Doves insisted that losing the
war showed the dangers of an imperial presidency.
Congress passed the War Powers Act of 1973.
G.
Vietnam Veterans
Post-traumatic stress disorder plagued thousands of veterans, causing them fears and
anxiety.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
V.
385
Nixon, Kissinger, and the World
A. Nixon Doctrine
In an admission of the limits of American power and resources, Richard Nixon announced
that the United States would provide economic aid to nations in Asia and elsewhere, but they
could no longer count on American troops.
B.
Détente
Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger sought détente that would recognize Soviet-American
rivalry while creating cooperation through negotiations.
In May 1972, the United States and the USSR agreed to limit the construction and
deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles and antiballistic missile defenses.
C.
Opening to China
Nixon extended détente to the People’s Republic of China, and he made a historic trip there
in 1972.
D.
Wars in the Middle East
When Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in 1973, OPEC stopped oil shipments in an effort to
gain American support for the Arabs.
In 1975, Kissinger persuaded Egypt and Israel to accept a U.N. peacekeeping force in the
Sinai.
E.
Antiradicalism in Latin America and Africa
Nixon plotted covert actions against Salvador Allende, while continuing to deny it.
Nixon viewed the white minority governments in Rhodesia and South Africa as bulwarks
against communist-inspired radicalism.
VI. Presidential Politics and the Crisis of Leadership
A. Nixon’s Domestic Agenda
Nixon’s presidency was driven by his hatred of the “liberal establishment.”
Nixon’s domestic policies are confusing to many historians. In some respects his policy
initiatives seem “liberal,” but in other ways he pursued a conservative agenda.
Most of Nixon’s “liberal” agendas were in fact attempts to undermine liberal programs while
seeming to offer support.
In an effort to attract white southerners to the Republican Party, Nixon pursued a “southern
strategy” by attempting to appoint two southern justices to the Supreme Court and by
denouncing the use of busing to achieve racial integration in the North Carolina school
system.
B.
Enemies and Dirty Tricks
On June 17, 1972, five men associated with the Committee to Re-elect the President were
arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee’s offices at the Watergate
apartment complex.
Nixon was obsessed with the idea that he was surrounded by enemies.
He authorized the formation of a secret group known as the Plumbers, which engaged in
break-ins and political dirty tricks.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
C.
Watergate Cover-Up and Investigation
The White House began feverish efforts to destroy any link with the men arrested in the
Watergate break-in.
Woodward and Bernstein with the Washington Post began, with the aid of an anonymous
source known as Deep Throat, now known to be W. Mark Felt, to follow a money trail that
led to the White House.
Judicial and Congressional investigations uncovered misconduct high in the Nixon
administration.
D.
Impeachment and Resignation
In July 1974, the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to turn over all the Oval Office tapes
to Congress.
Facing the prospect of impeachment and conviction on three counts, Nixon resigned as
president on August 9, 1974.
The excesses of Nixon’s term led Congress to pass laws restraining presidents in foreign
affairs, preventing the impounding of federal appropriations, limiting campaign funding, and
ensuring access to government documents.
E.
Ford’s Presidency
Throughout his term, very little was accomplished.
Ford discovered that as a result of the Watergate scandal the way in which the press covered
the office of the presidency had changed.
F.
Carter as “Outsider” President
Jimmy Carter took advantage of the reaction against Watergate to defeat Gerald Ford in
1976.
Carter refused to acquiesce to the deal-making that was necessary to pass legislation in
Congress.
Carter, willing to tell the American people the hard truths, spoke to them about the new era
of limits.
Carter worked to ease burdensome government regulations, created the Departments of
Energy and Education, created the environmental “superfund” to clean up chemical-waste
sites, and placed more than 100 million acres of Alaskan land under the protection of the
federal government.
VII. Economic Crisis
A. Stagflation and Its Causes
During the 1970s, the economy was plagued with high unemployment and an inflationary
spiral.
Stagflation was caused by a variety of factors such as Johnson’s spending on the Vietnam
War while also expanding domestic spending, the U.S. trade deficit, a decline in
productivity, and a decline in the quality of American goods.
One of the most important reasons for the economic problems of the 1970s was the energy
crisis that began in 1973. When the OPEC oil embargo caused a 350 percent increase in oil
prices, the increases had a ripple effect throughout the entire economy.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
B.
Attempts to Fix the Economy
Attempts by American leaders to deal with the nation’s economic problems often
exacerbated those problems.
C.
Impacts of the Economic Crisis
The economic crisis accelerated the transition from an industrial economy to a service
economy.
387
The economic crisis helped shift the nation’s economic and population centers to the
Sunbelt.
D.
Tax Revolts
A tax revolt began in the American West, with California’s Proposition 13 being an
example.
The tax revolt movement signaled the birth of a new conservatism.
E.
Credit and Investment
In an era of double-digit inflation, thriftiness no longer made sense. As a result, consumer
debt rose significantly.
Money flowed out of passbook savings accounts into money market investments and into the
stock market.
VIII. An Era of Cultural Transformation
A. Environmentalism
Several ecological crises reminded Americans of the limits on the world’s natural resources
and of the fragile nature of the environment.
Public activism led to major environmental regulations and initiatives.
B.
Technology
Technological advances that put a man on the moon seemed unable to deal with the
worldwide problems of poverty, crime, pollution, and urban decay.
During the 1970s, the foundation was laid for America’s computer revolution.
C.
Religion and the Therapeutic Culture
Many Americans turned to evangelical and fundamentalist Christian churches to find
spiritual fulfillment. Other Americans turned to the “New Age” movement.
Americans turned to self-fulfillment through the “therapeutic culture” that emerged through
the publication of self-help books in the 1970s.
D.
Sexuality and the Family
Sex became a more visible part of America’s public culture during the 1970s.
Sexual behaviors changed during the 1970s, and there was more acceptance of premarital
sex and of homosexuality.
Changing sexual mores also changed the American family.
E.
Diversity
Americans became more aware of the differences among the nation’s peoples.
Some began to view diversity in American society as a strength rather than a weakness.
The Supreme Court ruled in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that race could
be taken into account to achieve diversity in educational institutions.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
IX. Renewed Cold War and Middle East Crisis
A. Carter’s Divided Administration
Jimmy Carter suffered from indecision and from squabbles among members of his
administration, hampering his attempts to put the nation’s fear of communism in the past.
Carter signed treaties with Panama that turned the Canal Zone over to Panama in the year
2000 and allowed the United States to defend the Canal Zone after that time.
B.
Camp David Accords
Jimmy Carter helped ease tensions in the Middle East by negotiating an accord between
Egypt and Israel.
C.
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, Carter suspended shipments of
grain and high-technology equipment to the Soviet Union, withdrew an arms control treaty
from Senate consideration, and initiated a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics.
The Carter Doctrine warned that the United States would intervene if Soviet aggression
threatened the Persian Gulf.
D.
Iranian Hostage Crisis
In 1979, Iranians stormed the U.S. embassy in Teheran and took a number of hostages. The
United States unfroze Iranian assets and promised no further intervention in Iran in January
1981, and the hostages were released.
E.
Rise of Saddam Hussein
Although officially neutral, the United States tilted toward Iraq in its 1980 war with Iran.
Although Carter was inconsistent in his application of the human-rights test, he popularized
and institutionalized the concern for human rights throughout the world.
LECTURE SUPPLEMENT
OPEC
Students might realize that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an oil cartel,
but they may know very little about the organization itself. A brief history of OPEC will help them gain
a better understanding of the politics of oil. In an effort to coordinate policies, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, and Venezuela created OPEC in January 1961. Since then Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, the United
Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Equador, and Gabon have joined the cartel. Members meet in
conference at least twice a year, and the Arabs often create a powerful majority that shapes policy.
OPEC remained content to develop oil production and finance economic development in the Third
World until 1973. Then, in response to American support of Israel in the October Yom Kippur War, the
Arab members voted to raise oil prices by seventy percent; in December OPEC increased prices by
another 130 percent and announced an embargo on shipments to the United States. Subsequent price
hikes increased the cost of a barrel of oil from three dollars in 1973 to thirty dollars in 1980. The high
cost of petroleum encouraged domestic production and conservation, measures that hurt OPEC’s
position. Also, members often disagree on policies, or they unilaterally circumvent them. Nevertheless,
OPEC plays an important role in international affairs, and certainly in the 1970s it asserted great
influence over events in the United States.
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
389
Iran Hostage Crisis
Students have probably heard of the Iranian hostage crisis, but they may not be familiar with some of
the details of the event that so shocked the nation. In December 1978, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini led
a revolt in Iran that overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. When the exiled shah entered the United
States for medical care, a mob seized the American embassy in Tehran and took 71 hostages. President
Jimmy Carter reacted by freezing Iranian assets and asking the United Nations to negotiate for the
hostages. When diplomatic efforts appeared hopeless, Carter launched a rescue mission to Iran. Three
of the eight helicopters failed before reaching Tehran, killing eight men and aborting the mission.
Americans became increasingly frustrated with the inability to resolve the crisis, a feeling that helped
Ronald Reagan win the 1980 presidential election. Finally, after America agreed to release Iranian
assets, the hostages were released on January 20, 1981—444 days after they had been taken and only
minutes after Carter left office.
CLASS ACTIVITIES
1.
Assign students either Chart A, “Presidents and the Domestic Scene,” or Chart B, “Presidents and
the International Arena,” in the “Organizing, Reviewing, and Using Information” section in
Chapter 31 of the Study Guide. Based on their work, lead a discussion on the similarities and
differences among the presidents of the period on domestic policy issues (Chart A) and/or foreign
policy issues (Chart B).
2.
Divide the class into groups and have them research the various presidents’ strategic doctrines,
from Eisenhower to Carter. Have students make oral reports on the different policies.
3.
Assign students Chart C, “Cultural Turmoil in the 1970s,” in the “Organizing, Reviewing, and
Using Information” section in Chapter 31 of the Study Guide. Based on their work, lead a
discussion on the cultural transformations that took place during the 1970s and their impact on
America and its people.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.
Was détente a realistic policy? Why or why not? What were the problems associated with détente?
What were the reasons for it?
2.
How did the presidents of the 1970s respond to threats in the Middle East? Africa? Latin
America? Asia?
3.
Did the United States enjoy any diplomatic successes during this period? If so, what? Did the
United States suffer from any diplomatic mistakes? If so, what? What diplomatic lessons should
Americans have learned since 1945?
4.
Discuss the use of identity politics and cultural nationalism by African Americans, Mexican
Americans, and Native Americas in their attempt to deal with the problems they experienced in
American society during the 1970s. How successful were these groups in achieving their goals?
5.
Discuss the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s and discuss its accomplishments and
failures. Were there divisions among women who defined themselves as feminists? If there were
divisions, what was the nature of those divisions?
6.
Discuss the Watergate scandal as a constitutional crisis. What was President Richard Nixon’s role
in the scandal? Why did the House Judiciary Committee make the decision it did concerning the
articles of impeachment against the President? How does the Watergate scandal differ from other
political scandals in American history?
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Chapter 31: Continuing Divisions and New Limits, 1969–1980
PAPER TOPICS
1.
Assign students Chart C, “Cultural Turmoil in the 1970s,” in the “Organizing, Reviewing, and
Using Information” section in Chapter 31 of the Study Guide. Based on their research, have them
write papers on the following topic:
Examine the cultural transformations that took place in the United States during the 1970s, and
discuss the impact of those transformations on America and its people.
2.
Have students write a paper on major events in the Middle East from the creation of Israel through
the Iranian hostage crisis.
3.
Have students write papers on a specific person, event, or policy regarding Africa or Latin
America.
4.
Have students locate English-language newspapers or periodicals, for instance from Britain,
Canada, or Australia, and write papers on other nations’ responses to events such as Nixon’s
policy in Vietnam, Nixon’s opening to the People’s Republic of China, the Watergate scandal, the
women’s movement in the United States, or the gay liberation movement in the United States.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.