Political and Social Developments of the Modern Era

The 1960’s to the 2000’s

Warren Court• The Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren (during the 1950’s and 1960’s)

• Landmark decisions included:

– Brown v. Board of Education

– Griswold v. Connecticut (recognized the constitutional right to privacy of individuals)

– Many cases that held that all states must obey all Supreme Court decisions

– Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (upheld the right of students to wear black arm bands in protest to the Vietnam War – freedom of expression)

Warren Court (cont’d.)

• Miranda v. Arizona (1963) – Ernesto Miranda was

arrested and convicted for major offenses after he signed a confession

– He was unaware of his right to be silent and his right to an attorney when questioned by police

– The Court ruled that law officers must inform suspects of their constitutional rights at the time of arrest

– His original conviction was reversed but reinstated in a later trial

John F. Kennedy’s Assassination

• November 22, 1963• While riding in a

Dallas parade with Governor John Connelly

• Shot by Lee Harvey Oswald

• Kennedy’s assassination was a tragic event with a twofold political impact – Showed Americans

how strong the government was

– Gave Lyndon Johnson (the new president) the opportunity to force his domestic policies through Congress

Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society• Johnson declared this “war

on poverty” in a 1964 speech• He wanted to give all

Americans a better standard of living and greater opportunities regardless of their background

• Economic Opportunity Act (1964) – launched the original programs of the Great Society

• Civil Rights Act (1964)• Medicare – provided health

insurance for the elderly and poor

• Other programs to improve elementary and secondary education, the environment, and immigration policies

Social and Political Turmoil of

1968

• January – Tet Offensive– Simultaneous attack of

many South Vietnamese cities on a national holiday ‘

– Turned many against the war and Johnson

• April – Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

– By James Earl Ray in Memphis, TN

– Caused riots in over 100 cities across America

– Sen. Robert Kennedy who was running for President called for calm

– Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 one week after his death which prevented discrimination in housing

Social and Political Turmoil of 1968

• June – Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy– In CA by Sirhan Sirhan

the night he won the presidential primary election there

– Disappointed many Americans who shared Kennedy’s vision for social reform and opposition to the Vietnam War

• August – Democratic National Convention– Chicago– Police armed with clubs and

tear gas violently beat antiwar protestors on live TV

– Many questioned our government’s ability to tolerate dissent

Anti-Vietnam War Movement• Supporters became

more numerous after the Tet Offensive

• Wanted to end the draft and bring the troops home

• Used many of the same tactics as Civil Rights groups including sit-ins, marches, and public demonstrations

• Later protesters became more radical, burning their draft cards, going to prison rather than Vietnam, and even fleeing to Canada

Women’s Movement

• National Organization of Women (NOW) was formed in 1966 to promote equal rights and opportunities for women

• It’s founders were active in the anti-war and Civil Rights movements of the early 60’s during which women felt sidelined (not as important as men)

• Goals included equality in employment, political and social equality, and the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

United Farm Workers• Founded in 1965 by

Cesar Chavez (a Mexican American farm worker)

• Organization of Latino workers who used peaceful protests to gain civil rights and negotiate labor contracts with employers

• Chavez began a nationwide boycott of CA grapes forcing grape growers to meet their demands for higher wages and other benefits

Environmental Movement

• A movement dedicated to protecting the environment and our natural resources

• Rachel Carson – wrote the book Silent Spring in 1962 showing the dangers of pesticide use in the U.S.– Led to the Water

Quality Act of 1965

• EPA – federal agency created by Nixon in 1970 that sets limits on pollution, conducts environmental research, and assists in cleaning up pollution

• Earth Day (1970) – annual event to raise awareness of environmental issues– Celebrated by many

schools and colleges

Conservative Movement

• Began in 1964 when Barry Goldwater ran for president and claimed that the federal government should not try to fix social and economic problems such as poverty, discrimination, and lack of opportunity

• He suggested selling the TVA, making Social Security voluntary, and getting more involved with foreign issues like Vietnam

• This movement continued with Richard Nixon in 1968 with his New Federalism which would take away powers from the national government and give more to state and local governments

Supreme Court Decisions

• Roe v. Wade – Addressed the right of women to choose whether to have an abortion under certain circumstances– The court protected the

right of women to choose to have an abortion as extension of their right to privacy

• University of California v. Bakke – ruled that race can be used when considering college applications, but racial quotas cannot be used– Expanded civil rights

by giving constitutional protection to affirmative action programs designed to give equal access to colleges to minorities

Richard NixonSuccesses:• Vietnamization• Détente Policies

designed to relax cold war tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union

• Nixon’s visit to China– For scientific, cultural,

and trade agreements– Hoped to win the

support of communist China in case he had future problems with the Soviet Union

• Nixon later visited the Soviet Union at their invitation because they feared a U.S. alliance with China

Watergate Scandal

• An attempt of the Nixon administration to cover up a burglary of the Democratic Party offices in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.

• The crime was committed by the Office to Reelect the President who was trying to learn campaign strategies of the Democrats in the 1972 election

• Nixon won the election of 1972, but was forced to resign when he faced impeachment after tape recorded conversations proved his participation in the Watergate scandal

Gerald Ford• His popularity was limited

because of his association with Richard Nixon

• Pardoned Nixon for all crimes committed during the Watergate burglary because he thought it would be bad for the country to go through Nixon’s trial

• Under Ford’s administration the U.S. experienced one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression

President Carter• Iranian Revolution –

The shah (king) of Iran that was friendly with the U.S. was replaced with an unfriendly leader

• Iranian Hostage Crisis – When the U.S. offered medical treatment for the old shah, the Iranian government took 52 Americans hostage and held them for 444 days

• Camp David Accords- Carter negotiated the first peace agreements between Egypt and Israel at Camp David that solved some urgent problems between the two nations

Remembering Reagan

• Reaganomics – name for Reagan’s economic policies of tax cuts, budget cuts, and increased defense spending; hurt lower-income Americans

• Iran-Contra Scandal – U.S. sold weapons to Iran (a U.S. enemy) and then used the profits to fund a rebellion in Nicaragua fought by the Contras (violated laws)

• Soviet Union Collapse – new Soviet leaders relaxed control over the nation and it split up into 11 different nations after communism fell; Reagan’s biggest success

President Clinton

• NAFTA – (the North American Free Trade Agreement) brought Mexico into a free trade agreement already existing between the U.S. and Canada; opponents believed it would send jobs to Mexico while supporters thought it would open up Mexican markets to our goods

• Impeachment – He was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice based on charges of improper use of real estate funds and allegations that he had lied under oath

• He denied all charges and was acquitted in the Senate trial

2000 Election• Al Gore (Clinton’s vice

president) and George W. Bush (Governor of TX) were in one of the closest presidential races in American history; Ralph Nader was a third party candidate

• Gore won the popular vote (by over 500,000 votes) but Bush won the electoral college race when Florida’s controversial election resulted in a Bush victory in that state

• Bush won 271 electoral college votes to Gore’s 266

• Electoral college votes determine the presidency in the U.S.

President George W. Bush• September 11, 2001 – the

terrorist attack of Al-Qaeda on the U.S. during which the Twin Towers in New York were struck by suicide pilots

• Operation Enduring Freedom- U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in search of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden who was being harbored by the Taliban government; allied forces quickly defeated them and destroyed the al-Qaeda network; Bin Laden escaped

• Operation Iraqi Freedom – U.S. forces invaded Iraq seeking but not finding weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein could supply to terrorists; Hussein was convicted of crimes against humanity and executed in 2006

Increased Security Measures after the Terrorist Attack

• In response to the September 11 attack, Bush signed the Patriot Act with overwhelming support of Congress and the American people. It allowed the government to:– Hold foreign citizens suspected of being

terrorists for up to seven days without charging them with a crime

– Search private communications and personal records of suspected terrorists

– Establish the Department of Homeland Security to protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks and respond to natural disasters