Chapter 39: the Stalemated Seventies

Chapter 39: The Stalemated Seventies ~ 1968 – 1980 ~

I.                   Sources of Stagnation

After the flurry of economic growth in the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. economy stagnated in the 1970s, in which not one year of that decade had a growth rate that even matched a year of the preceding two decades. Part of it was caused by more women and teens in the work force who typically had less skill and made less money than males, while deteriorating machinery and U.S. regulations also limited growth. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s spending on the Vietnam War and on his Great Society program also depleted the U.S. treasury, and this caused too much money in people’s hands and too little products to buy. Also, since the U.S. did not continue advancing, they were caught by the Japanese and the Germans in industries that the U.S. once dominated: steel, automobiles, consumer electronics.

II.                Nixon “Vietnamizes” the War

Upon taking office, President Richard Nixon urged American’s to stop tearing each other apart cooperate. He was very skilled in foreign affairs, and to cope with the Vietnam dilemma, he used a policy called “Vietnamization” in which 540,000 American troops would be pulled out of the Southeast Asian nation. The South Vietnamese would slowly fight their own war, and the U.S. would only supply arms and money; this was called the Nixon Doctrine. While outwardly seeming to appease, Nixon divided America into his supporters and opponents. The war was fought generally by the least privileged Americans, since college students and critically skilled civilians were exempt, and there were also reports of dissension in the army. Soldiers slogged through grimy mud and jungle, trusting nothing and almost paranoid. The My Lai Massacre of 1968, in which American troops had brutally massacred innocent women and children in the village of My Lai, also led to more opposition to the war. In 1970, Nixon ordered an attack on Cambodia, Vietnam’s neighbor.

III.             Cambodianizing the Vietnam War

North Vietnamese had been using Cambodia as a springboard for funneling troops and arms, and on April 29, 1970, Nixon suddenly ordered U.S. troops to invade Cambodia to stop this. Much uproar was caused, as riots occurred at Kent State University and at Jackson State College. Two months later, Nixon withdrew U.S. troops from Cambodia. The Cambodian incident even more split the “hawks” and the “doves” (war vs. peace). The U.S. Senate repealed the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, and in 1971, the 26^th Amendment, lowering the voting age to eighteen, was also passed. In June 1971, The New York Times published a top-secret Pentagon study of America’s involvement of the Vietnam War—papers that had been leaked by Daniel Ellsberg, former Pentagon official—which exposed all the deceit used by the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

IV.             Nixon’s Détente with Beijing (Peking) and Moscow

Meanwhile, China and the Soviet Union were clashing over their own interpretations of Marxism, and Nixon seized this as a chance for the U.S. to relax tensions. He sent national security adviser Dr. Henry A. Kissinger to China to encourage better relations, a mission in which he succeeded, even though he used to be a big anti-Communist. He made the historic journey to China in February of 1972. Nixon then traveled to Moscow in May 1972, and the Soviets, wanting foodstuffs and alarmed over the possibility of a U.S.-China alliance against the U.S.S.R., made deals with America in which the U.S. would sell the Soviets at least $750 million worth of wheat, corn, and other cereals, thus ushering in an era of détente, or relaxed tensions. The ABM Treaty (anti-ballistic missile treaty) and the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) also lessened tension, but the U.S. also went ahead with its new MIRV (Multiple Independently-targeted Reentry Vehicles) missiles, which could overcome any defense by overwhelming it with a plethora of missiles; therefore, the U.S.S.R. did the same. Result: more MIRV missiles on both sides. However, Nixon’s détente policy did work, at least a little.

V.                A New Team on the Supreme Bench

When Earl Warren was appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he headed many controversial but important decisions: Griswold vs. Connecticut (1965) struck down a state law that banned the use of contraceptives, even by married couples, but creating a “right to privacy.” Gideon vs. Wainwright (1963) said that all criminals were entitled to legal counsel, even if they were too poor to afford it. Esobendo (1964) and Miranda (1966) were two cases in which the Supreme Court ruled that the accused could now remain silent. Engel vs. Vitale (1962) and School District of Abington Township vs. Schempp (1963) were two cases that led to the Court ruling against required prayers and having the Bible in public schools, basing the judgment on the First Amendment, which separated church and state. Following its ruling against segregation in the case Brown vs. Board of Education, the Court backed up its ruling with other rulings: Reynolds vs. Sims (1964) ruled that the state legislatures, both upper and lower houses, would have to be reapportioned according to the human population, irrespective of cows. Trying to end this liberalism, Nixon put Warren E. Burger to replace the retiring Earl Warren in 1969, and this succeeded; by the end of 1971, the Supreme Court had four new members that Nixon had appointed.

VI.             Nixon on the Home Front

Nixon also expanded Great Society programs by increasing appropriations for Medicare and Medicaid, as well as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and created the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which gave benefits to the indigent aged, blind, and disabled, and he raised Social Security. Nixon’s so-called Philadelphia Plan of 1969 required construction-trade unions working on the federal pay roll to establish “goals and timetables” for Black employees. This plan changed “affirmative action” to mean preferable treatment on groups, not individuals, and the Supreme Court’s decision on Griggs vs. Duke Power Co. (1971) supported this. However, whites protested to “reverse discrimination” (hiring of minorities for fear of repercussions if too many whites are hired). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was also created to help nature, as well as OSHA, or the Occupational health and Safety Administration. In 1962, Rachel Carson had boosted the environmental movement with her book Silent Spring, which exposed the disastrous effects of pesticides, and in 1950, LA had already had an Air Pollution Control Office. The Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 both aimed to protect and preserve the environment and made notable progress. Worried about inflation, Nixon also imposed a 90-day wage freeze and then took the nation off the gold standard, thus ending the “Bretton Woods” system of international currency stabilization, which had functioned for more than a quarter of a century after WWII.

VII.          The Nixon Landslide of 1972

In 1972, the North Vietnamese attacked again, surprisingly, and Nixon ordered massive retaliatory air attacks, which ground the Vietnamese offense to a stop when neither China nor Russia stepped in to help, thanks to Nixon’s shrew diplomacy. Nixon was opposed by George McGovern in 1972, who promised to end the war within 90 days after the election and also appealed to teens and women, but his running mate, Thomas Eagleton was found to have undergone psychiatric care before, and Nixon won in a landslide. In keeping with Kessinger’s promise of peace being near, Nixon then went on a bombing rampage that eventually drove the North Vietnamese to the bargaining table to agree to a cease-fire, which occurred on January 23, 1973 This little peace was little more than a barely-disguised American retreat. The U.S. would withdraw its remaining 27,000 troops and get back 560 prisoners of war.

VIII.       The Secret Bombing of Cambodia and the War Powers Act

It was then discovered that there had been secret bombing raids in North Vietnamese forces in Cambodia that had occurred since March of 1969, despite federal assurances to the U.S. public that Cambodia’s neutrality was being respected. The public now wondered what kind of a government was there if it couldn’t be trusted. Finally, Nixon ended this bombing in June 1973. However, soon, Cambodia was taken over by the cruel Pol Pot, who committed genocide by killing over 2 million people over a span of a few years. The War Powers Act of November 1973 required the president to report all committance of U.S. troops to foreign exchanges within 48 hours. There was also a “New Isolationism” that discouraged U.S. troops in other countries, but Nixon fended off all efforts at this.

IX.             The Arab Oil Embargo and the Energy Crisis

After the U.S. backed Israel in its war against Syria and Egypt, which had been trying to regain territory lost in the Six-Day War, the Arab nations imposed an oil embargo, which strictly limited oil in the U.S. and caused a crisis. A speed limit of 55 MPH was imposed, and the oil pipeline in Alaska was approved in 1974 despite environmentalists’ cries, and other types of energy were pursued. Since 1948, the U.S. had been importing more oil than it exported, and oil production had gone down since 1970; thus marked the end of the era of cheap energy. OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) lifted the embargo in 1974, and then quadrupled the price of oil.

X.                Watergate and the Unmaking of a President

On June 17, 1972, five men working for the Republican Committee for the Re-election of the President were caught breaking into the Watergate Hotel and fixing some bugs of the room. What followed was a huge scandal in which many prominent administrators resigned. It also provoked the improper of illegal use of the FBI and the CIA. Lengthy hearings proceeded, headed by Senator Sam Erving, and John Dean III testified about all the corruption, illegal activities, and scandal that took place. Then, it was found that there were tapes that had recorded conversations that could solve all the mystery in this case, but Nixon, who had explicitly denied participation in this Watergate Scandal earlier to the American people, refused to give them to Congress. Also, Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign in 1973 due to tax evasion. Thus, in accordance with the new 25^th Amendment, Nixon submitted a name to Congress to approve as the new vice president; that man was Gerald Ford. Then came the “Saturday Night Massacre” (Oct. 20, 1973), in which Archibald Cox, special prosecutor of the case who had issued a subpoena of the tapes, was fired and the attorney general and deputy general resigned because they didn’t want to fire Cox. On July 24, 1974, the Supreme Court ruled that Nixon had to give all tapes to Congress. Those than had already been given showed Nixon cursing and swearing. Late in July 1974, the House approved its first article of impeachment for obstruction of the administration of justice. On August 5, 1974, Nixon finally released the three tapes that held the most damaging information—the same three tapes that had been “missing.” On August 8 of the same year, he resigned, realizing that he would be convicted if impeached, and with resignation, at least he could still keep the privileges of a president. Lesson: the Constitution works.

XI.             The First Unelected President

Gerald Ford was the first unelected president ever, since his name had been submitted by Nixon as a VP candidate.  All the other VP’s that had ascended to presidency had at least been supported as running mates of the president that had been elected. He was also seen as a stupid jock of a president, and his popularity and respect further sank when he issued a full pardon of Nixon, thus setting off accusations of a “buddy deal.” In July 1975, Ford signed the Helsinki accords, which recognized Soviet boundaries and kind of helped the situation. Critics charged that détente was making the U.S. lose grain and technology while gaining nothing from the Soviets.

XII.          Defeat in Vietnam

Disastrously for Ford, South Vietnam fell in 1975, and American troops had to be evacuated, the last on April 29, 1975, thus ending the Vietnam War. America seemed to have lost the war, and it also lost a LOT of respect.

XIII.       The Bicentennial Campaign and the Carter Victory

In 1976, Jimmy Carter barely squeezed by Gerald Ford (297 to 240), promising to never lie to the American public, and he also had Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. In 1978, Carter got an $18 billion tax cut for America, but the economy soon continued sinking. Despite an early spurt of popularity, Carter soon screwed it up.

XIV.       Carter’s Humanitarian Diplomacy

Carter was a champion for human rights, and in Rhodesia, (later Zimbabwe) and South Africa, he championed for black rights and privileges. On September 17, 1978, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel signed some accords at Camp David. Mediated by Carter after relations had strained, this was a great success. Israel agreed to withdraw from territory gained in the 1967 war while Egypt would respect Israel’s territories. In Africa, though, lots of Communist revolutions took place—not all successful, but disheartening and threatening still. Carter also pledged to return the Panama Canal to Panama by the year 2000 and resumed full diplomatic relations with China in 1979.

XV.          Economic and Energy Woes

In, in 1979, Iran’s shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi, who had been installed by America in 1953 and had ruled his land as a dictator, was overthrown and succeeded by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Iranian fundamentalists were VERY against Western customs, and Iran stopped exporting oil; OPEC also seized to hike up oil prices, thus causing another oil crisis. In July 1979, he retreated to Camp David and met with hundreds of leaders of various things to advise and counsel him, then came back on July 15, 1979 and chastised the American people for their obsession of material woes (“If it’s cold, turn down the thermostat and put on a sweater.”) and stunned the nation. Then a few days later, he fired four cabinet secretaries and tightened the circle around his Georgian advisors even more tightly.

XVI.       Foreign Affairs and the Iranian Imbroglio

Inflation had been steadily going up, and by 1979, it was at a huge 13%, and Americans would learn that they could no longer hide behind their ocean moats and live happily. Carter diagnosed America’s problems as stemming primarily from the nation’s costly dependence on foreign oil, which was true. He called for legislation to improve energy conservation, but the American people, who had already forgotten about the long gas lines of 1973, didn’t like this. Carter signed the SALT II agreements with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev, but the U.S. senate wouldn’t ratify it. Then, on November 4, 1979, a bunch of anti-American Muslim militants stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took the people inside hostage, demanding that the U.S. return the exiled shah who had arrived in the U.S. two weeks earlier for cancer treatments. Then, in December 27, 1979, the U.S.S.R. invaded Afghanistan, which later turned into their version of Vietnam. However, at the moment, they threatened precious oil supplies. Carter put an embargo on the Soviet Union and boycotted the Olympic games in Moscow. He also proposed a “Rapid Deployment Force” that could respond to crises anywhere in the world in a quick manner.