Mr. Dostert's Domain
Turmoil in the Post-war World
The Cold War Escalates
The years immediately following World War II led to a clear hostility building between the United States and the Soviet Union. Despite this rivalry and mistrust, most Americans were confident that the United States would win the Cold War with the same determination and unity that had propelled the United States to defeat the Germans and Japanese in the Second World War. Suddenly in 1949 that all changed. With the Soviet acquisition of the Atomic bomb and the fall of China to Communism, Americans' faith was suddenly challenged and losing the Cold War became a very real possibility. The Cold War quickly escalated as the United States and Soviet Union began rapidly building their nuclear stockpiles, pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war.
The Korean War
Following the stunning setbacks of 1949, President Harry S. Truman was determined to stop any further Communist aggression. His chance came in 1950 when North Korea invaded the South and threatened to overrun the country.
The Arms Race
The Space Race
Espionage and the U-2 Incident
McCarthyism and Fear at Home
The Cold War created fear and panic amongst many Americans that had never been felt before. Unlike the Second World War which was fought with weapons and machinery, the Cold War was a clash of ideologies pitting American democracy and capitalism against Soviet Communism. To make matters worse, prior to World War II over 100,000 Americans were members of the Communist Party. Many wondered if their loyalty was to America their home or their ideology. As the United States found itself on the defensive, Americans looked for scapegoats to blame for the setbacks. Politicians seized this opportunity to exploit this fear and advance their career by blaming Communist sympathizers for America's failure to win a quick victory in the ever-expanding Cold War. These politicians launched a search for Communists in the government and inadvertently a Red Scare which quickly became a greater threat to American democratic ideals than Soviet Communism had ever been.
Staunchly anti-Communist Republicans began to accuse Harry Truman of being "soft on communism". As a result, Truman authorized the creation of the Federal Employee Loyalty Board to investigate federal employees backgrounds and dismiss those who were found to be security threats or "disloyal." From 1947 to 1951, government loyalty boards investigated 3.2 million federal employees and dismissed 212 as security threats. Another 2,900 resigned because they did not want to be investigated or felt that the investigation violated their rights. The Federal Loyalty Board which had been created to give Americans a sense of security did the exact opposite. Americans viewed the 212 dismissals as proof that Communists had indeed infiltrated government and demanded more action to find the communists that lived among us.
Other agencies investigated possible Communist influence, both inside and outside the United States. The most famous of these was the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). HUAC first made headlines for their investigation into Communist influence in the film industry. The committee, led by notable Republicans such as Richard Nixon, believed that Hollywood was secretly inserting Communist propaganda into their films to turn Americans against their government. HUAC subpoenaed actors, producers, and directors to testify. Some, such as Ronald Reagan, Walt Disney, and Gary Cooper testified that indeed they had seen evidence of scripts that had some Communist ideas. Others believed that the investigations violated their rights and refused to testify. These men known as the Hollywood Ten refused to answer questions and were sent to prison. In response to the hearings, movie companies created a blacklist, a list of people who were not hired because of their political beliefs. Because of this blacklist, more than 500 actors, writers, producers, and directors had their careers ruined because they could no longer work.
The FBI, under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, also got into the act of investigating the political beliefs of American citizens. Americans lived in fear as neighbors accused neighbors of communist sympathies and the FBI created files on American citizens without their knowledge or consent. Indeed the growing fear of communism was skewing what the line on what was more important and many were left wondering which was mor important, their rights or their security?
Spy Cases Stun the Nation
Two spy cases shocked Americans during the 1950s and seemed to confirm the worst fears which had spread across the nation that Communists lived among them and had infiltrated government at the highest levels. The first case involved a State Department official named Alger Hiss. A former Communist spy named Whittaker Chambers had charged that Hiss had been spying for the Soviets. Since the statute of limitations had expired, HUAC was unable to prosecute Hiss for espionage, and instead convicted him of perjury. Hiss maintained his innocence until his death, however, following the Cold War in the 1990s evidence emerged which seemed to confirm Hiss was in fact guilty. The second case which was even more shocking involved Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, minor activists for the Communist Party. The Rosenbergs were accused of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union which enabled the to acquire the Atomic Bomb years earlier than they would of on their own. Julius and Ethel alleged that they were being singled out for their Jewish background and radical beliefs. Despite their cries of injustice, the Rosenbergs were found guilty and executed for espionage, the only American citizens in history to be executed for espionage.
Once again, the fears of Communist infiltration seemed to be proven. The Red Scare gripped the nation and communists seemed to be lurking behind every corner.
Joseph McCarthy Launches a "Witch Hunt"
Postwar America Conforms
Following the end of World War II, millions of soldiers returned home and were anxious to settle down and rebuild their lives. Across the nation veterans married and began families at a pace unseen before. Prior to the war the nation had been struggling through the insecurity caused by the Great Depression. Suddenly that insecurity was replaced with the ardent confidence of victory leading to the greatest economic boom in world history. American industry which had won the war now went to work supplying a never-ending demand for consumer goods. Prosperity settled in across America and the same military-like work ethic returned to the homefront as men and women alike settled into their traditional roles, eager to leave the chaos of war behind them and establish a traditional, family-centered, sense of normalcy.
The American Dream
After World War II ended, Americans turned their attentions to their families and jobs. New technologies and business ideas created fresh opportunities for many, and by the end of the decade Americans were enjoying the highest standard of living in the world. The American dream of a happy and successful life seemed within the reach of many people.
To help ease veterans' return to civilian life, Congress passed the Servicemen's Readjustment Act, or the GI Bill of Rights, in 1944. In addition to encouraging veterans to get an education by paying part of their tuition, the GI Bill guaranteed them a year's worth of unemployment benefits while job hunting. It also offered low-interest, federally guaranteed loans. Millions of young families used these benefits to buy homes and farms or to establish a business.
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During the 1950s, businesses expanded rapidly. By 1956, the majority of Americans no longer held blue-collar, or industrial jobs. Instead, more people worked in higher-paid, white-collar positions- clerical, managerial, or professional occupations. Unlike blue-collar workers, who manufactured goods for sale, white-collar workers tended to perform services in fields like sales, advertising, insurance, and communications.
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This new America became increasingly standardized. Employees who were well paid and held secure jobs in thriving companies sometimes paid for this with a loss of their individuality. In general, business did not want creative thinkers, rebels, or anyone who would rock the corporate boat. To enjoy the benefits of this new America people had to be willing to fit in to corporate culture. Companies rewarded employees for teamwork, cooperation, and loyalty, and so contributed to the growth of conformity.
Moving to the Suburbs
Though achieving job security did take a psychological toll on some Americans who resented having to repress their own personalities, it also enabled people to provide for their families with the so-called good things in life. Most Americans worked in cities, but fewer and fewer lived there. New highways and the availability and affordability of cars and gasoline made commuting possible. As a result, millions of Americans moved their families to the suburbs.
For many, the suburbs embodied the American dream of an affordable single-family house, good schools, a safe, healthy environment for children, and congenial neighbors just like themselves.
The first suburb was developed by William Levitt following the war for returning veterans. Levitt envisioned building rows of identical homes like building machinery on assembly lines in 27 steps which construction workers could be trained on. One of Levitt's homes could be built in a day when effectively scheduled. Standard Levittown houses included a white picket fence, green lawns, and modern appliances. Sales in the original Levittown began in March of 1947. 1,400 homes were purchased during the first three hours.
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The model established by William Levitt quickly took off and millions of these standardized small homes were built. By the early 1960s, every large city in the United States was surrounded by a sprawl of suburbs. Of the 13 million new homes built in the 1950s, 85% were built in the suburbs.
The Automobile Culture
Suburban living made owning a car a necessity. Most of the new suburbs, built in formerly rural areas, did not offer public transportation, and people had to drive to their jobs in the cities. In addition, many of the schools, stores, and doctors' offices were not within walking distance. The reliance on cars transformed the United States physically and socially as America set to work building roads to connect the vast American continent and Americans began to relate themselves to the freedom an automobile in their driveway delivered.
Prior to the 1950s the roads of the United States were built and managed almost exclusively by the states. This meant that there was very little uniformity in the road system and a trip across the country could take weeks to complete. Former General and new President Dwight Eisenhower viewed this as a growing threat during the tensions of the Cold War. In the event of an invasion troops and materials would be unable to move freely, a danger to national security. Because of this, President Eisenhower authorized the Interstate Highway Act in 1956 to build a nationwide highway network- 41,000 miles of expressways. The new roads, in turn, encouraged the development of new suburbs farther from the cities.
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Interstate highways also made high-speed, long-haul trucking possible, which contributed to a decline in the commercial use of railroads. Towns along the new highways prospered, while towns along the older, smaller roads experienced hard times. The new roads with their motels, filling stations, and restaurants made it possible to to drive from Brooklyn to Los Angeles in about a week. With access to cars, affordable gas, and new highways, more and more Americans hit the road. They flocked to mountains, lakes, national parks, historic sites, and amusement parks for family vacations. Disneyland, which opened in California in 1955, attracted 3 million visitors the next year.
During the 1950s, American society became built around the automobile. New businesses catered to American's love for their cars including drive-thru restaurants, drive-in theaters, and motels. Americans loved their cars, and they spent much of their leisure time maintaining them.
Women in the Fifties
Following the World War II, like after World War I, American women left their jobs in the city to fill traditional roles as homemakers and mothers. The American dream of the 1950s envisioned men as the breadwinners, providing for their wives and families. Women conformed to this vision and sought to fill their roles, idealized by popular culture, and impossible to fulfill.
During the 1950s, the role of homemaker and mother was glorified in popular magazines, movies, and TV programs such as Father Knows Best and the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Time Magazine described the homemaker as "the key figure in all suburbia, the thread that weaves between family and community- the keeper of the suburban dream.
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As soldiers returned home and settled into family life, they contributed to an unprecedented population explosion known as the baby boom. During the late 1940s and through the early 1960s, the birthrate in the United States soared. At the height of the baby boom in 1957, one American infant was born every seven seconds- a total of 4,308,000 that year. The result was the largest generation in the nation's history.
The sudden surge in child births left many mothers overwhelmed and unfulfilled by the responsibilities of taking care of several children and a household. In contrast to the ideal portrayed in the media, some women felt discontent and were not happy in their isolated roles. They felt bored and unfulfilled. According to one survey in the 1950s, more than one-fifth of suburban housewives were dissatisfied with their lives.
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The number of women working outside the home rose steadily during the decade and by 1960, almost 40% of mothers with children held paying jobs.
Teenagers
The sudden rise in the number children in America created a new market for the commercialism which dominated the economy of the post-war years. The prosperity of the Postwar years meant that young people did not have to work to help families make ends meet. Children were allowed and expected to finish school and enjoy the freedom of their youth. Because of this, America developed its own youth culture complete with fads, styles, and music.
Rock & Roll
Segregation and inequality had been the law of the land throughout the South since the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson created a standard of Separate but Equal. The following decades saw the establishment of discriminatory systems which had systematically disenfranchised African Americans, and enforced an order of fear to mistreat and prevent African Americans from exercising their rights. These laws, commonly known as "Jim Crow" laws, prevented African Americans from voting, serving on juries, and even using the same facilities as whites. However, following World War II African Americans had seen how coordinated efforts could force change. In the 1950s and 1960s African Americans took to the streets to challenge injustice and demand civil rights. The Civil Rights Movement, led by powerful speakers such as Martin Luther King Jr, remade American politics and initiated an effort to fulfill the vision of America's founding, to create a nation where all men are created equal.
The Civil Rights Movement
Thurgood Marshall Fights in the Courts
Desegregation Meets Resistance
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
Non-Violent Civil Disobedience
The Movement Spreads
Triumphs of the Crusade
Alternative Voices for Change
Kennedy and Johnson
The election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 seemed to highlight the post-war optimism which had carried America through the onset of the Cold War and dark days of the Red Scare. Kennedy was young, inspirational, and driven to reshape America based on the values and principles of a new generation, forged by the heartache of the Great Depression and tested by the fires of war. Kennedy represented a new age for America built on hope and progress. Kennedy's administration however was plagued by Cold War conflict and political deadlock. Tragically his presidency was cut short, and it was left to career politician Lyndon Johnson to fulfill the promises of Kennedy though legislative change.
The Election of 1960
Creating Camelot
The Cuban Missile Crisis
A Dark Day in Dallas
The Great Society
The Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was perhaps the most divisive period in American history. A war that began in secrecy ended in a complete disaster, witnessed by the entire world. It was begun in good faith by decent people, out of fateful misunderstandings, American overconfidence, and Cold War miscalculation. It was prolonged because it became easier to continue than admit the extent of the failure it became. Ultimately the war claimed the life of more than 58,000 Americans whose families, friends, and country were left to wonder what did they die for? The Vietnam War challenged traditional patriotism , redefined the values of Americans, and created a lasting scar which still divides the nation today.
American Involvement in Vietnam
America's involvement in Vietnam began in 1950, during the French Indochina War, the name given to France's attempt to reestablish its rule in Vietnam following World War II. Seeking to strengthen its ties with France and to help fight the spread of communism, the United States provided the French with massive economic and military support. Despite massive U.S. aid, the French were unable to pacify Vietnam and were eventually forced to withdraw. Following the French withdraw, the Geneva Accords elected to temporarily divided Vietnam along the 17th parallel with Communists under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh in control of the North, and anti-communist nationalists in control of the South. An election was scheduled for 1956, however that election never happened.
Following France's retreat, the United States took a more active role in halting the spread of communism in Vietnam. Eisenhower, a supporter of the domino theory, thought of communism like a disease that if allowed to would spread like a row of dominoes one after another. He therefore invested heavily in defending South Vietnam's fragile anti-Communist regime.
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Although he directed a repressive regime, Ho Chi Minh won popular support in the North by breaking up large estates and redistributing land to the poor peasants who made up the majority of the country. Moreover, his years fighting the Japanese and French had made him a national hero. The South on the contrary was led by Ngo Dinh Diem, a strong anti-communist but corrupt leader. Diem suppressed opposition of any kind and offered little or no land distribution to peasants. In addition, Diem, a devout Catholic, angered the country's majority Buddhist population by restricting Buddhist practices. With in a year, a group of Communist rebels known as the Vietcong had begun attacks on the Diem government. By 1959 the country had fallen into a full blown civil war. The Kennedy Administration, which entered the White House in 1961, chose to increase financial aid to Diem's teetering regime and sent thousands of military advisers to help train South Vietnamese troops who were under siege from the north.
Following Kennedy's assassination, the presidency- along with the growing crisis in Vietnam- belonged to Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson, wanting to take a stand against communism, escalated the nation's role in Vietnam and sent in more troops. The local conflict was drawing America deeper and deeper without any real option to exit.
The War Escalates
On August 2, 1964, a North Vietnamese patrol boat fired a torpedo at an American destroyer, the USS Maddox, which was patrolling the Gulf of Tonkin. Two days later the Maddox once again reported that they had been fired upon by enemy torpedoes. These attacks prompted President Johnson to launch bombing strikes on North Vietnam. He asked Congress for powers to prevent further aggression. Congress approved Johnson's request by adopting the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. While not a declaration of war, it granted Johnson sweeping powers in Vietnam including authorization to deploy American soldiers. Johnson unleashed "Operation Rolling Thunder" a sustained bombing of North Vietnam cities and the number of U.S. soldiers quickly rose to more than 50,000. The Vietnam War had become Americanized.
Much of the nation supported Lyndon Johnson's determination to contain communism in Vietnam. In the years following 1965, President Johnson began sending large numbers of American troops to fight alongside the South Vietnamese. The United States believed that its superior weaponry would lead it to victory over the Vietcong.
To counter American firepower, the Vietcong used hit-and-run and ambush tactics to wear down American forces and destroy troop morale. They moved secretly in and out of the general population, attacking U.S. troops in both cities and the countryside. American troops struggled discerning friend from foe. A woman selling soft drinks might be a Vietcong spy. A boy standing on the corner might be ready to throw a grenade. Adding to the Vietcong's elusiveness was a network of elaborate tunnels which allowed them to withstand airstrikes and launch surprise attacks and then disappear quickly. Connecting villages throughout the countryside, the tunnes became home to many guerrilla fighters.
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The strategy for defeating the Vietcong was to destroy their morale through a war of attrition, or the gradual wearing down of an enemy by killing as many enemy as possible until they were forced to surrender. However, the Vietcong had no intention of quitting their fight. Despite the growing number of casualties and the relentless pounding from U.S. bombers, the Vietcong- who received supplies from China and the Soviet Union remained defiant.
Jungle Warfare
Because there was no traditional front to engage the enemy, much of the war was fought through search-and-destroy missions, uprooting civilians with suspected ties to the Vietcong, killing their livestock, and burning villages. Soldiers also swept the dense tropical jungles in the search for the illusive NVA and Vietcong who laid ambushes for the Americans. Once contact was made with the enemy, Americans counted on their superior firepower to destroy the enemy by launching airstrikes or using their artillery to drop shells on an area. Often, when the shelling stopped, the enemy had withdrew through their network of tunnels back into the jungle or into the general population where they could blend in and hide. Over time the futility of their struggle zapped American morale and made the soldiers question what they were risking their life for.
As the war continued, American morale dropped steadily. Many soldiers, required by law to fight a war they did not support, turned to alcohol, marijuana and other drugs. In the later years of the war when soldiers realized they were fighting while their government was negotiating a withdrawal amplified their disillusionment. The war seemed meaningless.
The War Divides the Nation
The Vietnam War was one of the most divisive periods of American history. The war tore apart families, friends, and neighbors as Americans grappled with the traditional values of duty and patriotism and tried to reconcile them with the horrors of war that the daily news broadcast daily into homes. As the war dragged on and the number of casualties increased the country became clearly divided into "hawks" who supported the war , and "doves" who demanded the war be ended as quickly as possible.
Hawks tended to be older Americans, those who fought in World War II and believed that the war was a necessary part of the larger Cold War. Hawks felt that the doves were sympathetic to communism or were cowards, afraid to risk their lives to defend their country. Hawks believed that part of patriotism was to support the government in good times and bad, and although Vietnam was a trying time for the nation, ultimately if Americans could pull together they would win the war.
Doves on the contrary tended to be younger, especially those in college, who lived under the constant threat of being drafted to fill the ranks of the army fighting in Vietnam. Doves enthusiastically voiced their opposition to the war by staging teach-ins, often organized by the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) or marching in the streets in mass demonstrations where young people burned draft cards or screamed slogans such as, "Hell no! We won't go!" or "Hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?!?" By 1968, the topic of the Vietnam War became intertwined in every American controversy as America seemed primed for a revolution.
The Counter-Culture
While many young Americans proudly went off to war, some found ways to avoid the draft, and others simply refused to go. The growing mistrust of the government and traditions fostered the development and growth of a new counter-culture, opposed to the values and culture of mainstream America their parents had built. These "Hippies" rejected the conformity and consumerism their parents had wholeheartedly built following World War II, and instead looked to remake American society on their own values of individualism, inclusion, and spirituality. Together they built a protest movement which sharply divided the country between supporters and opponents of the government's policy in Vietnam.
The Roots of Opposition
Even before Lyndon Johnson decided to send troops into Vietnam, students were becoming more active socially and politically. Some participated in the civil rights struggle, while others pursued public service. As America became more involved in the war in Vietnam, college students across the country became a powerful and vocal group of protesters.
The growing youth movement of the 1960s became known as the New Left. The movement was "new" in relation to the "old left" of the 1930s, which had generally tried to move the nation towards socialism through the adoption of the New Deal and other social projects. While the New Left movement did not preach socialism, its followers demanded sweeping changes in American society. The movement directly challenged traditional values and demanded democratization at all levels of society.
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The New Left believed that corporations and large government institutions had taken control of American life and they therefore fought for the adoption of policies which would encourage the restoration of "participatory democracy" and greater individual freedom. In 1964 the Free Speech Movement gained prominence at the University of California at Berkeley. These groups clashed frequently with administration, criticizing what they called the American "machine," the nation's faceless and powerful business and government institutions.
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With the onset of the Vietnam War, students across the country found a galvanizing issue and joined together to protest. By the mid-sixties, many youths believed the nation was in need of fundamental changes and took to the streets to make their collective voice heard.
The Protest Movement Emerges
Throughout the spring of 1965, discontent grew and began to demonstrate against the war in Vietnam. In April of 1965 SDS helped organize a march on Washington, D.C., by some 20,000 protesters. By November of that year, a protest in Washington drew more than 30,000.
Youths opposed the war for several reasons. The most common was the belief that the conflict in Vietnam was basically a civil war and that the U.S. military had no business there. Some said that the oppressive South Vietnamese regime was no better than the Communist regime it was fighting. Others argued that the United States could not police the entire globe and that war was draining American strength in other important parts of the world. Still others saw war as simply morally unjust.
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By 1967, the antiwar movement intensified and the protests became more confrontational. Part of the frustration for the war was based on the fact that most of the army fighting in Vietnam were draftees. Because young people could get a deferment from the draft by enrolling in college, the army fighting in Vietnam was pulled disproportionally from the working class and minorities who could not afford to go to college after high school. The injustice of draft fueled protests as the war became viewed as the poor being forced to fight a "rich man's war." Young people, fearful of being drafted into the military were drawn to huge demonstrations and speeches which encouraged them to "disrupt the American war machine." On several occasions demonstrators were met by the police with tear gas and clubs. These images appeared regularly on television causing many Americans to question what was happening to their country.
Hippie Culture
The protest movement caused many young Americans to reject the traditional American values their parents had embraced leading to the growth of the Hippie subculture in the 1960s. The hippie culture pulled inspiration from European social movements of the 19th and early 20th century such as Bohemians, as well Eastern religions and spirituality which embraced harmony with nature, communal living, artistic experimentation, and the widespread use of recreational drugs. The words of Timothy Leary, "Turn on, tune in, and dropout" became the anthem for the hippies as they sought to find their own meaning to life through self discovery.
A major part of hippie culture was the quest for self-expression through artistic exploration. This exploration was often fueled by hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD, leading to experimental styles and the development of psychedelic art which used richly saturated colors with glaring contrast, combined with symmetrical shapes and patterns. Musically, hippies expanded and experimented with Rock & Roll, influencing pop culture and creating a "psychedelic sound". Bands like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, and even the most popular group of the 1960s- the Beatles experimented with the psychedelic sound and reinvented the rock genre by incorporating new sounds as well as traditional orchestral pieces. Perhaps the highpoint for hippie culture came with the Woodstock Music Festival in the summer of 1969 which attracted an audience of more than 400,000. An event advertised as 3 days of peace and music became an iconic moment in American culture and definitive moment for the baby boom generation.
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The epicenter of the hippie movement was in the intersection of Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. The district was sought out by hippies to constitute a community based upon counterculture ideals, drugs, and music. The neighborhood offered a gathering spot for hippies where they could purchase marijuana and LSD. During the 1967 Summer of Love, the nation was exposed to hippie culture and the district attracted national attention and popularized the movement across the country and the world. The Summer of Love attracted a wide range of people drawn to San Francisco by the allure and spectacle of an attempt to create a cultural utopia. Following the summer many college students returned home, however, the scene quickly deteriorated for those left behind. Overcrowding, homelessness, hunger, drug problems, and crime afflicted the neighborhood. Within a year the district became a shadow of what it once was but remained symbolic for the optimism of the hippie culture to reform Western Civilization in a more communal and peaceful way.
By 1968, hippie-influenced fashions were beginning to take off in the mainstream who sought to emulate the movement and by the 1970s the movement began to wane. Events at the Altamont Free Concert and the murders of Sharon Tate and Leno and Rosemary LaBianca by the Manson Family shocked Americans about the ideals of hippies. With the end of the Vietnam War and the emergence of punk, the mainstream media lost interest in the hippie counterculture and the movement slowly withered away. The Counterculture and hippie movement left a lasting legacy on America by reshaping cultural norms such as marriage, clothing, facial hair, and patriotism. In addition, the positivity and earnestness of the period reshaped American politics to form the basis for the modern Democratic Party.
Women Fight for Change
Throughout American history the role of women had been evolving as their roles expanded. Women had fought for their right to vote and had entered the workforce during World War I and World War II, demonstrating their patriotism and skill in the process. Following World War II and the throughout the 1950s, most women conformed to traditional social norms which demanded that they marry at a young age and assume the role of mother. While their husbands were at work they were expected to cook, clean, and take care of the children. Despite the happy demeanor they were expected to project, many women felt trapped by this domestic life. By the 1960s women collectively began to demand change and fight for greater civil rights and equality in society. A new women's movement emerged and throughout the sixties and seventies women rejected tradition and set themselves to redefining the role of women in an effort to establish themselves as true equals to the men of America.
A New Women's Movement Rises
The theory behind the women's movement of the 1960s was feminism, the belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men. The political activism of the times spurred on feminism and encouraged them to challenge convention.
Nixon, the Silent Majority, & Watergate
President Richard M. Nixon entered became president in the most turbulent time in American history since the end of the Civil War. Determined to end the divisions which had been tearing apart the fabric of American society, the Nixon Administration aimed to turn America in a more conservative direction. Toward that end, he tried to instill a sense of order into the nation still divided over the continuing Vietnam War. This determination, combined with the personality of Richard Nixon himself led to the consolidation of power in the hands of the President. Remembered historically as the Imperial Presidency, the Nixon Administration came to symbolize the dangers of unchecked presidential power, culminating in the Watergate scandal and eventually Nixon's resignation. Despite the damage to the prestige of the Presidency, Nixon's time in office proved to be a pivotal moment in American history which has ultimately led to the lasting political balance that endures to this day.
Nixon's New Conservatism
Richard Nixon believed that the course of the twentieth century, particularly under FDR's New Deal and LBJ's Great Society, had upset the balance created by the founding fathers by giving the Federal Government too much power at the expense of the states. In Nixon's opinion, these programs had expanded the role of the national government and given the federal government too much responsibility. Nixon's plan, known as New Federalism, was to distribute a portion of federal power back to state and local governments.
To implement New Federalism, Nixon proposed a plan to give more financial freedom to local governments. Normally, the federal government told state and local governments how to spend their federal money. Under revenue sharing, state and local governments could spend their federal dollars however they saw fit within certain limitations. In 1972, the revenue-sharing bill became law.
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In the end, Nixon's New Federalism enhanced several key federal programs as it dismantled others. To win backing for his program from a Democrat-controlled Congress, Nixon supported a number of congressional measures to increase federal spending for some social programs. Without fanfare, the Nixon administration increased Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments and mand food stamps more accessible.
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However, the president also worked to dismantle some of the nation's social programs. Throughout his term, Nixon tried unsuccessfully to eliminate the Job Corps program that provided job training for the unemployed and in 1970 he vetoed a bill to provide additional funding for Housing and Urban Development. Confronted by laws he opposed, Nixon also turned to a little-used presidential practice called impoundment. Nixon impounded, or withheld, necessary funds for programs, thus holding up their implementation. By 1973, it was believed that Nixon had impounded almost $15 billion, affecting more than 100 federal programs, including those for health, housing, and education.
Law and Order Politics
As Nixon fought with both houses of Congress, he also battled with more liberal elements of society, including the antiwar movement. Nixon had been elected in 1968 on a dual promise to end the war in Vietnam and mend the divisiveness within America that the war created. Throughout Nixon's first term, he worked to fulfill these promises. The president deescalated America's involvement in Vietnam and oversaw peace negotiations with North Vietnam. At the same time, he began the "law and order" policies that he had promised his "silent majority"- those middle class Americans who wanted to restore a sense of normalcy to a country beset by urban riots and antiwar demonstrations.
To accomplish this, Nixon used the full resources of his office- sometimes illegally. Nixon and members of his staff ordered wiretaps of many left-wing individuals and the Democratic Party offices at the Watergate office building in Washington, D.C. The CIA also investigated and compiled documents on thousands of American dissidents- people who objected to the government's policies. The administration even used the Internal Revenue Service to audit the tax returns of antiwar and civil rights activists. Nixon began building a personal "enemies list" of prominent Americans who the administration would harass.
The Southern Strategy
Nixon was an astute politician and viewed the changing political landscape as a personal opportunity. Nixon had won a slim majority in 1968- less than one percent of the popular vote. As president, he began working to forge a new conservative coalition to expand his support. The most famous example of this was his attempt to attract Southerners to his coalition known as the Southern Strategy.
Since Reconstruction, the South had been a Democratic strong-hold. By 1968 many white Southern Democrats had grown disillusioned with their party due to the Party's movement to support Civil Rights and an expanding role of government. In the 1968 election they voiced their discontent by supporting the former Alabama governor George Wallace, a conservative segregationist running as an independent. Wallace was able to carry five Southern states and capture 13% of the popular vote.
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Nixon wanted these voters and took steps to attract white voters in the South. First, he took steps to slow the country's desegregation efforts. Nixon made his position clear with his quote, "There are those who want instant integration and those who want segregation forever. I believe we need to have a middle course between those two extremes." Throughout Nixon's presidency, he worked to reverse policies or slow down the pace of change in such things as school integration.
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The result of the Southern Strategy was the reshaping of Southerners political identity. Within a few short years, the Solid South had been converted to the Republican stronghold that it remains today.
Confronting a Stagnant Economy
One of the more pressing issues facing Richard Nixon was a troubled economy. Between 1967 and 1973, the United States faced high inflation and high unemployment- a situation called stagflation.
The economic problems of the 1960s and early 1970s had several causes. Chief among them were high inflation, caused by Johnson's policy to fund the war and social programs through deficit spending. Also, increased competition in international trade, and a flood of new workers, including women and baby boomers.
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Another cause of the nation's economic hardship was its heavy dependence on foreign oil from the Middle East. In the 1960s, these countries organized themselves into a cartel called OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). In 1973, the Yom Kippur War broke out with Israel against Egypt and Syria. When the United States sent massive aid to Israel, the Arab OPEC nations responded with an embargo- the cutting off all oil sales to the United States.
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Nixon struggled to deal with the problems of stagflation, but none of his actions had much success. Stagflation and the oil embargo pushed the country into a mild recession, the first major downturn since the Great Depression. In August of 1971, the president turned to price and wage controls to stop inflation. He froze workers' wages as well as businesses' prices and fees for 90 days. Inflation eased for a short time, but the recession continued.
Nixon's Foreign Policy Triumphs
The most startling application of detente came in 1972 with Nixon's visit to Communist China. Since the takeover of mainland China by the Communists in 1949, the United States had not recognized the Chinese government. Nixon chose to reverse this as a way to drive a wedge between the two largest and most powerful Communist countries. The Soviet Union and China for ten years had been arguing over how to deal with the West and had broke ties in 1960. Besides its symbolic value, Nixon's visit was a huge success with the American public who saw this as a huge step in finding a peaceful solution to the Cold War and moving away from the possibility of Nuclear War.
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Three months after his monumental visit to China, Nixon made a historic visit to Moscow- the first president to ever visit the Soviet Union. Nixon's trip to Moscow also recieved wide acclaim. Together with with the Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev, they signed the SALT I Treaty to limit the number of ICBMs and submarine launched missiles.
America's Exit from Vietnam
Negotiations and bombings continued for three more years despite Nixon's attempts to find a way out. Finally in January of 1973 the United States signed an agreement to end the war with the North Vietnamese. Nixon promised to respond "with full force" to any violation of the agreement. On March 29, 1973, the last U.S. combat troops left for home. For America, the Vietnam War had finally ended.
Watergate
Despite the great achievements of Nixon's foreign policy, the event that has come to define his presidency was the Watergate scandal. The scandal centered on the Nixon administration's attempt to cover up a burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office and apartment complex in Washington, D.C. However, the story of Watergate began long before the burglary. The story began with the personalities of Richard Nixon and those of his advisers. When Nixon took office, the Presidency had become the most powerful branch of the government as a result of the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. Richard Nixon used these expanded powers to develop an Imperial Presidency, an administration in which the President took on supreme power beyond the Constitutional checks envisioned by the founding fathers.
The war itself, however, continued on. Within months of the United States' departure, the ceasefire agreement collapsed and the North Vietnamese launched a full-scale invasion against the South. America provided economic aid, but refused to send troops. Soon thereafter, the North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon and captured the city. South Vietnam surrendered and the war came to an end.
These foreign policy triumphs with China and the Soviet Union led to the many Americans to believe that world peace was near. Nixon was to ease more of the hostility between the Soviet Union and the United States in four years as president than the previous four presidents had done in 25 years. But peace in Vietnam proved elusive. The Nixon administration struggled to bring North Vietnam to the bargaining table and finally end the war which had divided Americans.
Richard Nixon had promised to end America's involvement in the Vietnam War by achieving "Peace with Honor." Soon after being elected in 1969, Nixon began to withdraw troops. Nixon's plan to accommodate this withdrawal was known as Vietnamization. This plan called for the gradual pullout of American troops to be replaced with soldiers from South Vietnam who would take on a more active combat role in the war. Over the next three years, the number of American troops dropped from more than 500,000 to less than 25,000.
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To force the North Vietnamese to the negotiation table, Nixon ordered massive bombing campaigns against the supply routes and bases in North Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. When this did not work, Nixon ordered troops into Cambodia to clear out Vietcong supply centers. Many Americans saw this invasion as a betrayal and burst into protest. More than 1.5 million students closed down 1,200 campuses in protest. Disaster hit hardest at Kent State University in Ohio, where a massive student protest led to the burning of the ROTC building. The local mayor called in the National Guard who fired shots into the crowd resulting in 12 students being wounded and 2 being killed.
Nixon's focus was working on American foreign policy. As president, Nixon tirelessly worked to find a way to garner an honorable exit from Vietnam and change the course of the Cold War by easing tensions with the Soviets. The architect of this ambitious plan was Henry Kissinger. Kissinger promoted a philosophy known as realpolitik, a belief that foreign policy should be based solely on consideration of power, not ideals or moral principles. If a country was weak or not important to the grander aims of the United States, it was often practical to ignore that country, even if it was Communist.
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Realpolitik reshaped the scope of the Cold War by adopting a practical approach to dealing with the Soviet Union. It abandoned the policy of Containment which had been the basis for American foreign policy since the Truman Administration. Kissinger and Nixon instead looked to confront powerful nations through negotiation and diplomacy first and military engagement as a last resort. This more flexible approach was called detente- a policy aimed at easing Cold War tensions.
As president Nixon distanced himself from Congress, choosing instead to confide in a small and fiercely loyal group of advisers. Nixon was often distrustful of outsiders and operated in secrecy as president. To counter this, Nixon often ordered wiretaps to collect information about his enemies, as the 1972 election drew near this included the Democratic Party. At 2:30 A.M. on June 17, 1972, a guard at the Watergate complex caught five men breaking into the campaign headquarters of the DNC. The burglars planned to photograph documents outlining Democratic strategy and to place wiretaps on the office telephones. When the press discovered that the group's leader, James McCord, was a former CIA agent they began to look for connections to Nixon.
The cover-up quickly began. The White House, with President Nixon's consent, asked the CIA to urge the FBI to stop its investigation and the burglars were paid to maintain their silence. Two reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, kept pursuing the story in an effort to link the members of the administration to the burglary. Over time the cover-up unraveled as the "president's men" testified and eventually implicated Nixon himself. When it was discovered that Nixon had taped virtually all of his presidential conversations, he was ordered to turn them over to the investigation after a year long battle in court to prevent their release. These tapes were the "smoking gun" which proved wrongdoing. When the House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress, Nixon resigned rather than face removal from office. Defiant as always, Nixon admitted no guilt. The next day, Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States.
The Watergate scandal along with the divisive war in Vietnam have left lasting scars on the American people. Combined, these events produced a deep disillusionment with the "imperial" presidency. In the years following Vietnam and Watergate, the American public and the media developed a general cynicism about public officials that still exists today. Watergate remains the scandal and investigative story against which all others are measured.
