Chapter 28 – The Stormy 60’s

EU: The 1960’s begin with promise, but due to the war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and the “counterculture” America sees a dramatic shift in beliefs and values.Movements of the 60’sSexual revolutionCivil rightsYouth “counterculture”FeminismVietnam protests

JFK & His Domestic Policies – The Kingdom of “Camelot”

oPeace Corps = 2 years of voluntary service in developing countries (designed to fight communism)

oGoals – Medicare, $ for education, mass transportation, in min wage, in SS, the “Space Race” ($24billion), Civil Rights Bill

oThe Space RaceoMay 5, 1961 Alan Shepard first Amer. in spaceo1962 John Glenn - first man to orbit moonoJuly 20, 1969 – Buzz Aldrin & Neil Armstrong – moon landing

oEconomic Policies – wages, overall taxcut. (Increase spending & Production)

oProblems – Might alienate Congress

JFK & Foreign Policy

oJune 1961 met with Khrushchev in Vienna – threatened to cut off Berlin to the West – Kennedy sent 40,000 troops to Europe.oAugust 1961 – The Berlin Wall was built (down in 1989)oTrade Expansion Act 1962 – “Kennedy” trade negotiations, tariffs cut by 50%, “Globalization” (1967)

The first death in the Berlin Wall was that of Peter Fechter was a young man of 18, a bricklayer from East Berlin, who agonized for an hour hooked to the wire of the Berlin Wall after being shot.

During the existence of the wall there were some 5,000 flights to West Berlin, 192 people were shot while trying to cross and another 200 were seriously injured

JFK’s New Defense Strategy

oEisenhower increased nuclear weapons, decreased conventional weapons. Kennedy ended “massive retaliation” and increased defense spending to its highest level.

oThe Green Berets – special forces trained in guerilla warfare. JFK thought Vietnam would be a good “test” for his unit.o1962 Peace conference to discuss the Communist threat in Laos.

o“Flexible Response” – weigh your options with each situation and devise a plan especially for that situation. *Increased reliance on military and less on diplomacy.

Our First Glimpse Into Vietnam

o1954 after a nationalist uprising, France pulled out of Vietnam – the country would be divided @ the 17th parallel.

oHo Chi Minh – North Vietnam (USSR Backed)oNgo Dinh Diem – South (US Backed, under Eisenhower)

oOpponents to Diem formed the NLF “North Liberation Front” or “Vietcong” they were gathering support from peasants who had been harmed by Diem’s “strategic hamlet” program.

o1961 Kennedy orders increase in advisers (15,000 Troops)oMay 1963 Buddhist monks were setting themselves on fire (Televised)o1963 US backed a successful coup – November 1, Diem is assassinated.oKennedy believed in “Modernization Theory” – follow US behavior and things would improve in undeveloped nations.

JFK & Cuba

1959 Fidel Castro took over Cuba – Eisenhower planned to use Cuban exiles to invade Cuba and oust Castro. April 17, 1961 the troops (1400) landed and were captured immediately. Kennedy takes full responsibility and Castro forms closer relationship with USSR. CIA asked for air strikes, Kennedy said NO!

Bay of Pigs Invasion & Failure!

JFK & CubaoOctober 1962 American spy planes took pictures of Soviet missiles in Cuba pointed at US. To “shield” Cuba and get US to back off regarding Berlin.oCuban Missile Crisis – Air Force suggests a “surgical bombing” on missile sites. Kennedy ordered a “quarantine” around Cuba. oOctober 22, 1962 Kennedy warns Krushchev that any missiles from Cuba would be taken out on USSR. Oct 28, USSR backed down and agreed to remove missiles. US agreed to end “quarantine”, to not invade Cuba, and to take our missiles out of Turkey (unofficial).oEFFECTS:

oKrushchev humiliated & oustedoUSSR military build-upoUS military build upoDemocrats won seats in 1962 electiono1963 Nuclear test ban treatyoWashington-Moscow HotlineoEra of “Détente”

The Cuban Missile Crisis

The Assassination of JFKoNovember 22, 1963 – Dallas. Lee Harvey Oswald, shot by Jack RubyoWarren Commission – investigation into assassination

President Lyndon Baines Johnson, TX SenatoroCivil Rights Act of 1964 – passed as a “memorial” to JFK

oBanned discrimination in public placesoStrengthened power of Fed gov’t to end segregation in schoolsoTitle VII barred job discrimination based on race, sex, national origin.oEqual Employment Opportunity Commission

o1965 Executive Order for affirmative action

The Election of 1964oJohnson – Democrat, claims Goldwater is “trigger happy”oSen Barry Goldwater (AZ) – Republican – very conservative. *Beginning of grassroots conservative movement. Against income tax, SS, TVA, Civil Rights, nuclear test banoThe Daisy Commercial!oJohnson 61%, Goldwater 39% of popular vote

Digging Deeper Into VietnamoAugust 2, 1964 USS Maddox was fired upon by N. Vietnamese troops (one shot)oAugust 4, 1964 a “second attack” in Tonkin Gulf (never happened)oTonkin Gulf Resolution* - Congress gave Johnson a “blank check” for wartime powers. Johnson orders a limited retaliation – air raids on North Vietnam.oMarch 8, 1965 begin invasion with ground troops and bombing of N. Vietnam. By 1968 = 536,000 US troops in Vietnam. “Operation Rolling Thunder” ($30 billion annually)

oTarget – Ho Chi Minh Trail – N. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, S. Vietnam.o800 tons of bombs a day for 3 ½ yearsoAgent OrangeoResult – increased Nationalism in North and desire to win.

oJuly 1967 – 50%+ of American population disapproved of war.o1966 US Kicked out of France, France leaves NATO

Digging Deeper Into Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder – February 1965 – October 1968

Mekong Delta, July 1969

USS Maddox

The 6-Day War – Middle EastoJune 5,1967 Egypt, Jordan and Syria attacked by Israel in pre-emptive strike.oIsrael wins – West Bank, Golan Heights (annexed 1981), Gaza Strip (Palestinian self-rule 1994), Sinai Peninsula (gave back 1982). 1 million Arabs under Israeli rule. 350,000 fled to Jordan

USS Independence sent to “support” Israel

The “Hawks” V The “Doves”oJanuary 30, 1968 – The “TET” Offensive – N. Vietnam attacked 36 cities and US embassy simultaneously. Military loss, but political victory. Johnson orders 200,000 more troops.

oBefore TET 56% of Americans “Hawks”, 28% “DovesoAfter TET 42% “Doves”, 41% “Hawks”

oDefense Secretary McNamara – “we were wrong”

The Election of 1968 Brings The End of “LBJ”oPeople felt they had been lied to by government

oLongest, costliest, most unpopular waro100,000 casualties (58,196 killed), more bombs than WWII

oTeach-ins, draft dodging, burn draft cards, marches.oJohnson orders CIA to start spying on US citizensoCointelpro – FBI counterintelligence program.

The Candidates of 1968oEugene McCarthy (MN) – Catholic, Anti-War 41% primary votesoJohnson – 49.6% primary votesoHubert Humphrey (VP)oMay 31, Johnson announces a troop freeze, and he will not seek re-election. Peace negotiations began May 10, 1968 in Paris.oBobby Kennedy – gaining speed in primaries. June 5, 1968 assassinated by Arab for his pro-Israeli views.

The Loss of Robert “Bobby” Kennedy

The Election of 1968oDemocratic Convention – Chicago. Heavy police force, barbed-wire. Humphrey won nomination and promised more troops and fight until the enemy gives up or negotiates.oRepublicans nominate – Richard Nixon – Pro-war, but moderate Republican; anti-crime. VP Candidate – Spiro AgnewoAmerican Independent Party – George Wallace (Gov of AL) – won 4 deep south states, anti-integration.oYouth International Party nominated a PIG – “Pigasus”

***This election represents when the Democrats of FDR switched sides and became the Republicans who would support Nixon. They now feared the “left.”

The Counterculture of the 1960’soBeatniks – disillusioned with leadership, materialism, conformityo1967 – “Summer of Love”oTimothy Leary “Turn on, tune in, drop out.”o1969 Woodstock

The Who – Then & Now (Super Bowl 2010)

Feminist Victories and Defeats

• Feminism as a protest movement won important victories in the 1970s• 1961 Kennedy – Presidential Commission on Status of Women – 1963

reported on discrimination. Rep Howard Smith (VA) added “sex” to Civil Rights Act of 1964 so it wouldn’t pass – it did!

• 1972 – Congress passed Title IX of Education Amendments– Prohibited sex discrimination in any federally assisted educational activity

(including sports) By 1970 42% of college students are women• 1972 – Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) won congressional approval

– “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

– 28 states ratified the amendment, making approval seem likely• NOW – Purpose of gaining full equality for American women• 2nd Wave Feminism: revived feminism for women’s rights and opportunities in

60s and 70s

Feminist Victories and Defeats

• ERA defeat was feminists’ most bitter defeat– Needed 38 states to be ratified– Conservative Phyllis Schlafly led campaign

against ERA• ERA supporters were just “bitter women

seeking a constitutional cure for their personal problems”

• ERA would lead to vast expansion of federal power, drafting of women into military, taxpayer-funded abortions, and same-sex marriages

– 1979 – Congress extended deadline for ratification

– 1982 – ERA died, 3 states short of 38 needed

Phyllis SchlaflyPhyllis Schlafly

The Seventies in Black and WhiteThe Seventies in Black and White

• Bakke Case – Reverse discrimination– Racial quotas were unconstitutional but race could

be taken into account as one factor in college admissions

• Most explosive racial controversy of 1970s was over integration busing

• Milliken v. Bradley: integration did not have to take place across school district lines– Reinforced division between poorer, minority inner city

schools and nearly all white suburbs

Chapter 28:The Stalemated

Seventies

Analyze the ways in which the Vietnam War heightened social,

political, and economic tensions in the United States. Focus on the

period 1964-1975

Nixon Nixon ““Vietnamizes Vietnamizes ”” the War – the War – Peace with HonorPeace with Honor

• Vietnamization– Nixon’s policy of withdrawing US troops from

Vietnam (536,000 in 1968 - <30,000 in 1972)– South Vietnamese troops (with US money,

weapons, training) would take over fighting their own war

• July 1969 – Nixon Doctrine– Stated that Asian nations facing communist

subversion thru border conflicts could count on US financial support, but NOT military aid.

Nixon Nixon ““Vietnamizes Vietnamizes ”” the War the War

• Vietnamization and the doves– November 16, 1969

“Mobilization Day” 500,000 protestors in Washington, DC

• Nixon attacks the protestors– Appeals to “silent majority”

who supported the war• Nixon called the antiwar

protestors “bums”• N. Vietnamese Demands

– Unified Vietnam– Communist Control

Nixon Nixon ““Vietnamizes Vietnamizes ”” the War the War

• January 1970 – the state of the war– Draft age – 18, average age of soldier = 19– Troops disproportionately nonwhite and poor

• College students and those with needed skills exempted from draft

• Armed forces in Vietnam were mostly the least privileged in U.S. society

– Troops fought booby traps and jungles• Unable to distinguish friend from foe

– Troop morale• Drug abuse, mutiny, sabotage, “fragging” their own officers

– Public opinion went even lower after revelations that US troops had massacred women and children (350) at My Lai in 1968

– US never tried to understand the Vietnamese US never tried to understand the Vietnamese character, traditions, culture & historycharacter, traditions, culture & history

The My Lai MassacreThe My Lai Massacre

Lieutenant William Calley – paroled by Nixon. Apologized in 2009.

Cambodianizing theCambodianizing theVietnam WarVietnam War

• North Vietnamese and Viet Cong used Cambodia as base for troops, weapons, supplies– Parts of Ho Chi Minh trail went through Cambodia

• March 1969 Nixon orders secret Air Raids in Cambodia. • April 30, 1970 Troops invade Cambodia• Late 1971 US troops leave, Communists fight back• Khmer Rouge Pol Pot takes over in Cambodia, killing 1.7 of

his own citizens, 11 million injured.• May 1972 Nixon orders “mining” of NV ports

Cambodianizing theCambodianizing theVietnam WarVietnam War

• Reaction to the invasion– Students erupt in protest– May 1970 – Kent State

Massacre• National Guard fired into a crowd

of student protesters• 4 killed, 7 wounded

– Jackson State College, Mississippi

• Police fired at a student dormitory, killing 2

– 450 Colleges closed due to protests

• June 29, 1970 – Nixon withdrew US troops from Cambodia (after only 2 months)

Cambodianizing the Vietnam WarCambodianizing the Vietnam War• Effects of the Cambodia invasion

– Deepened divide between hawks and doves

• Pacifying the youth– Period of draftability shortened from

8 years to 1 year– 1971 – 26th amendment passed,

lowering voting age to 18• Pentagon Papers

– June 1971 –top-secret government study that documented mistakes and lies of Kennedy and Johnson regarding Vietnam

• Especially exposed the lie that started the war – the Gulf of Tonkin incident

• Leaked by Daniel Ellsberg

• Senate overwhelmingly repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and tried to restrain Nixon (Summer 1970)

NixonNixon’’s Détente with Beijings Détente with Beijing(Peking) and Moscow(Peking) and Moscow

• Henry Kissinger: Talented diplomatic negotiator & leading architect of détente w/Soviet Union during Nixon & Ford administrations (Nat’l Sec. Advisor & Sec. of State) Favored secret deals & “Back Channels”

• February 1972 – Nixon traveled to China– Shanghai Communiqué

• Both nations agreed to “normalize” relations• Support entry to UN and official recognition

- 1978

• May 1972 – Nixon traveled to Moscow– USSR willing to make deals with US

• Fearful of US-backed China and needed US food

– Nixon began period of détente (relaxed tensions) with both communist powers

– USSR & China fighting over border dispute

NixonNixon’’s Détente with Beijings Détente with Beijing(Peking) and Moscow(Peking) and Moscow

• 1972 – Nixon made 3 important agreements with China and USSR

• The Great Grain Deal– 3-year agreement to sell USSR $750 million

worth of grain

• Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty• Limited each side to 2 clusters of defensive missiles

• Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALTI)• Freezing of number of nuclear missiles for 5 years• Limit # of antiballistic missiles to 200

A New Team on theA New Team on theSupreme BenchSupreme Bench

• The Warren Court– Warren (Gov of CA) made chief justice in 1953

by Eisenhower– Made series of decisions that drastically

increased rights of individual freedom• Escobedo v. Illinois (1964)

– Required police to inform an arrested person of right to remain silent

• Miranda v. Arizona (1966)– Extended Escobedo decision to include right to

a lawyer being present during questioning by police

A New Team on theA New Team on theSupreme BenchSupreme Bench

• Engel v. Vitale (1962) and School District of Abington Township v. Schempp (1963)– Court used First Amendment to prohibit

required prayers (Engel) and Bible reading (Schempp) in public schools

A New Team on theA New Team on theSupreme BenchSupreme Bench

• Conservatives had criticized the Court since 1954 (Brown decision)– Critics thought they ignored the Constitution in favor

of social values

• Nixon undertook to change Court’s philosophical makeup– Strict interpretation of Constitution– Stop “meddling” in social and political questions– “Southern strategy” – tried to nominate 2 judges from South –

opposed busing

• End of 1971 – Nixon had appointed 4 (of 9) conservative members, including new chief justice Warren Burger

• The Burger Court– Reluctant to undo the “liberal” rulings of Warren Court– Issued most controversial decision of modern times,

legalizing abortion

A New Team on theA New Team on theSupreme BenchSupreme Bench

• Roe v. Wade– State laws restricted abortion except to protect life of

mother– 1973 – court agreed that women had right to abortion

(right to privacy in her own body)• Fetus had to be “viable” (able to live outside of the

womb) before it could receive protection of the state“Everybody should have a birthday!”

Bombing North Vietnam to the Bombing North Vietnam to the Peace TablePeace Table

• Nixon’s “peace” in Vietnam– Spring 1972 – N. Vietnam invades “demilitarized zone”

• Nixon ordered furious 2-week bombing campaign of North Vietnam

• Blocked harbors with mines• China and USSR did not react• N. Vietnam backed off

• Kissinger sent to Paris for Peace Negotiations– N.V. troops in S.V.– Saigon gov’t stay in place until new elections (Gen

Nguyen Von Thieu)– POW’s returned– US troops withdrawn

The Nixon Landslide of 1972The Nixon Landslide of 1972

• Foreign policy dominated the campaign of 1972– 4 years since Nixon had

promised to end the war

• Democrats nominated George McGovern– Promised to pull all US troops

out in 90 days– Appealed to antiwar people,

racial minorities, feminists, leftists, youth

– Alienated Democratic base: working-class

– VP Candidate T. Eagleton was mentally unstable and was replaced.

The Nixon Landslide of 1972The Nixon Landslide of 1972

• Nixon’s campaign– He had wound down the “Democratic” war

• Troop levels went from 540,000 to 30,000

– 12 days before the election• Kissinger announced that a peace agreement would

come within a few days – “Peace is at hand”

• Nixon won the election in a landslide– McGovern had counted on large numbers of

young people• Fewer than 1/2 even registered to vote

The Nixon Landslide of 1972The Nixon Landslide of 1972

““DonDon’’t blame me, It blame me, I’’m from Massachusettsm from Massachusetts””

Bombing North Vietnam to the Bombing North Vietnam to the Peace TablePeace Table

– January 23, 1973 – North Vietnamese negotiators agreed to cease-fire

• North Vietnamese allowed to keep 145,000 troops in South Vietnam; occupied 30% of the country

– Nixon called the cease-fire “peace with honor”

• Reality it was an American retreat

• Congress decreased $ in 1975, NV invaded April 29, 1975 and took over SV, united country officially recognized in 1995.

Watergate WoesWatergate Woes

• June 17, 1972 – 5 men arrested in Watergate apartment-office complex– Trying to bug the Democratic headquarters– Revealed they were working for Committee for

the Re-election of the President (CREEP)

• Other “dirty tricks” Nixon carried out against enemies– Forging documents to discredit Democrats– Used IRS to harass people on “enemies list”– Using FBI and CIA to prevent investigations

Great Tape ControversyGreat Tape Controversy

• 1973 – 1974 – Senate committee conducted televised hearings about Watergate– Nixon denied any prior knowledge of the break-in or any

involvement in legal proceedings against the burglars– John Dean accused president and others in White House

of trying to cover up Watergate and silence the burglars– Another aid revealed existence of secret taping system

in White House (that could verify Dean’s testimony)– Nixon refused to produce the tapes– Bernstein & Woodward of Washington D.C. “break” the

story – Deep Throat informant – FBI W. Mark Felt (2005)

Great Tape ControversyGreat Tape Controversy

• Vice President Spiro Agnew– October 1973 – forced to

resign for taking bribes • Congress used 25th

amendment (president nominated a successor and both houses confirmed him)– Replaced Agnew with

Gerald Ford, congressman from Michigan

Great Tape ControversyGreat Tape Controversy

• October 20, 1973 – “Saturday Night Massacre”– Nixon fired his own special prosecutor

appointed to investigate Watergate– He also fired his attorney general and

deputy attorney general because they refused to go along with the firing

The Secret Bombing of Cambodia The Secret Bombing of Cambodia and the War Powers Actand the War Powers Act

• Secret bombing of Cambodia– July 1973 – America learned that US had

bombed North Vietnamese in Cambodia 3,500 times since March 1969

– While the bombing was happening, US officials had repeatedly guaranteed Cambodia’s neutrality

• Nixon continued large-scale bombing of Cambodia, even after January 1973 ceasefire with North Vietnam– Repeatedly vetoed Congress’s efforts to stop

him– Years of bombing destroyed Cambodia

The Secret Bombing of Cambodia The Secret Bombing of Cambodia and the War Powers Actand the War Powers Act

• Cambodia after the US bombing– Pol Pot ruled

Cambodia from 1976 – 1979

• Brutal Communist dictator who killed 2 million people

• Rule ended with Vietnamese invasion in 1978

The Secret Bombing of Cambodia The Secret Bombing of Cambodia and the War Powers Actand the War Powers Act

• November 1973 – War Powers Act– Passed over Nixon’s veto– Required president to

report to Congress within 48 hours after committing troops to a foreign conflict or “substantially” enlarging US combat units in a foreign country

• Effects of Vietnam– “New Isolationism”

• US cautious about foreign affairs after bloody misadventure in Vietnam

The Unmaking of a PresidentThe Unmaking of a President

• Spring 1974 –House Judiciary demanded Watergate tapes– Nixon finally agreed to publication of

“relevant” parts of the tapes, with many parts missing

• July 24, 1974 – Supreme Court unanimously ruled that “executive privilege” gave president no right to withhold evidence relating to possible criminal activity

The Unmaking of a PresidentThe Unmaking of a President• Nixon made 3 tapes public of conversations with

an aide on June 23, 1972 (was forced to)– One contained Nixon ordering the aide to use the CIA to

impede an inquiry by the FBI• Convicted Nixon of being active part of the cover-up

• House Judiciary Drew up articles of impeachment– Obstruction of justice, abuse of power as president,

contempt of Congress

• Nixon resigns– Republican leaders in Congress informed Nixon that

impeachment was inevitable– August 8, 1974 – Nixon announced his resignation on TV

• Admitted some “judgments” that “were wrong”• But claimed he had always acted “in what I believed at that

time to be the best interests of the nation”

““Our long national nightmare is over. Our Our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a Constitution works; our great Republic is a

government of laws and not of men.government of laws and not of men.””—Gerald R. Ford —Gerald R. Ford