Modern Times: 1953-1989

2

3

HARRY TRUMANHE WAS THE SURPRISE WINNER IN THE 1948 ELECTION AND SERVED

AS PRESIDENT TILL 1953. HE DECLINED TO RUN AS THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE IN 1952 EVEN THOUGH HE WAS

CONSTITUTIONALLY ALLOWED.

4

TRUMAN’S PRESIDENCYFOR THE MOST PART TRUMAN WAS NOT ABLE TO GET LEGISLATION PASSED IN A REPUBLICAN AND SOUTHERN DEMOCRAT CONTROLLED CONGRESS (GRIDLOCK). HIS MAJOR SUCCESS WAS THE ELIMINATION OF SEGREGATION IN THE ARMED FORCES WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER 9981.

TRUMAN’S CABINET

1949

5

TRUMAN’S SECOND TERM WAS DOMINATED BY COLD WAR FOREIGN POLICY. IN 1950 THE COLD WAR TURNED HOT AS

NORTH KOREAN COMMUNIST TROOPS INVADED SOUTH KOREA.

TRUMAN AND GENERAL MACARTHUR SHAKE

HANDS DURING THEIR CONFERENCE AT WAKE ISLAND, OCTOBER 15,

1950. LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, TRUMAN FIRED

MACARTHUR IN A DISPUTE OVER HOW THE

WAR SHOULD BE FOUGHT.

Macarthur's farewell speech

7

FORMER GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER WAS ELECTED

PRESIDENT IN NOVEMBER 1952 WITH A PLEDGE TO GO TO KOREA

AND END THE WAR.

8

Eisenhower was the first Republican President since

Herbert Hoover left office in 1933. Many wondered if

Eisenhower and the Republican majorities in

Congress would try and repeal FDR’s and Truman's precedent

setting laws. At stake were such popular programs as

Social Security and The Tennessee Valley Authority

TVA.

9

His one attempt to do away with a New Deal program, the TVA, met with so much

opposition that he abandoned the effort.

10

One major piece of legislation was passed during the Eisenhower years, the Highway Act of 1956.

John A. Volpe (left) is sworn in as interim, and first, federal highway administrator Eisenhower looking over Highway

Act documents

"Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear - United States. Without them, we would be

a mere alliance of many separate parts." - President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Feb. 22, 1955

11

Describe:1.Executive Order 9981.2.The Highway Act of 1956.

14

The Kennedy family

15

Born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts

He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and the Senate in 1952

Wrote Pulitzer Prize winning novel “Profiles In Courage” in 1956

JFK was the second Catholic to run for President. Al Smith ran as the Democrat candidate in 1928 and lost.

John F. Kennedy

16

Kennedy and the “War on Poverty”

JFK read Michael Harrington’s book, The Other America: Poverty in the United States

JFK was so moved by the book that he began the framework for “War on Poverty”. After Kennedy’s assassination, L.B.J introduced most of the legislation that would be an integral part of his “Great Society”

Harrington

17

In 1963, the Equal Pay Act made it illegal to pay different wages to men and women

who perform the same work. Kennedy signed the bill into law on June 10, 1963.

18

THE CIVIL RIGHTS BILL

THE BILL WAS INTRODUCED INTO

CONGRESS IN 1963 PRIOR TO THE MARCH ON

WASHINGTON.

JFK WAS TRYING TO PUSH THROUGH THE

LEGISLATION WHEN HE WAS ASSASSINATED.

LBJ WAS ABLE TO USE HIS INFLUENCE IN CONGRESS TO HELP GET IT PASSED.

19

The President and First

Lady arrived in

Dallas, November 22, 1963

20

President Kennedy’s visit to Dallas included a drive through downtown Dallas on the way to a luncheon at the Dallas Trade Mart. Along the route on Elm

Street, the presidential limousine passed the Texas School Book Depository where shots were fired.

Who’s is this?

21

As Kennedy’s car passed the Texas School Book Depository Building, three shots were fired.

Kennedy was struck by a bullet, which passed through his neck. The same bullet passed through Governor Connally as well.

As Kennedy slumped toward his wife, a second bullet struck him in the head, causing a massive head wound.

The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where doctors frantically worked to revive Kennedy. He was pronounced dead within a half hour.

The assassination

22

Dallas police soon began looking for Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee at the Texas School Book Depository

In a picture allegedly taken by Oswald’s wife in their backyard,

Lee Harvey Oswald is shown with a 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano

rifle that was found in the sniper’s nest after the

assassination, as well as a copy of the “Daily Worker”

newspaper.

The assassin suspect

23

Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby approached

Oswald, shot him in the abdomen, as Oswald was being transferred from

the Dallas City Jail to the County Jail on November

24, 1963.

The alleged assassin was murdered

Ruby

Oswald

24

25

“Lady Bird” Johnson, to the right of Johnson and Jackie Kennedy to the left!

Inauguration of the new president

The Presidential

Succession Act of 1947 allowed

for the Vice President to

take over when the president was disabled and unable to perform the duties of the office. The

process became formalized in

1967 in the 25th amendment.

27

Lyndon B. Johnson 36th President of the United States

Born in 1908 in central Texas

Studied education at Southwest Texas State Teachers’ College

Served in the Navy during World War II

Served six terms in U.S. House before elected to the Senate, becoming youngest majority leader in U.S. history

He had two main goals. The first was full civil rights for African Americans. The second was to end poverty in America

28

Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife,

Claudia “Lady Bird”

Johnson

29

Johnson outlined the program in a

commencement speech at the University of Michigan in May, 1964. Many of the ideas were first proposed by JFK who couldn’t get Congress to pass them

while LBJ did.

The Great Society

“Your imagination, your initiative, and your

indignation will determine whether we build a society where

progress is the servant of our needs, or a

society where old values and new visions are

buried under unbridled growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the

powerful society, but upward to the Great

Society.”

30

Development of the Great Society

LBJ pushed many of JFK’s original programs through Congress. He was successful since he had the clout from being a powerful Senate majority leader. He also pushed legislation in Honor of JFK.

LBJ initiated “War on Poverty”

Johnson’s goal was to “reshape America” similar to what his idol, Franklin D. Roosevelt, had done with the New Deal

31

Name of Great SocietyProgram

Year ProgramEnacted

Purpose ofProgram

Economic Opportunity Act

1964 Created several including Job Corps;

VISTA, and Head Start

Medicare 1965 Created Medicare and Medicaid federal health insurance

programs

Department of Housing & Urban

Development

1965 Administered Federal housing programs

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

1967 Funded educational TV and radio broadcasting

Clean Air Act Amendment

1965 Established emission standards for motor

vehicles

Truth in Packaging Act 1966 Set standards for labeling consumer

products

Department of Transportation

1966 Dealt with air, rail, and highway

transportation

32

President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Medicare Bill,

07/30/1965 with ex-President Truman and his wife next to him

Medicare

Passed in July of 1965, Medicare

provides those aged 65 or

disabled with health care.

33

How Medicare works

Health insurance for elderly and disabled

Partially financed by payroll tax; employee and employer both pay equal amount

Medicare Part A includes hospital insurance, Part B covers outpatient services and doctors fees not covered in Part A

Medicare doesn’t pay 100% of costs; insured contributes “co-pay” (co-payment)

Prescription benefits were added in 2006

Describe:1.JFK’s War on Poverty.2.Equal Pay Act3.LBJ’s Great Society4.Medicare

Richard Nixon

36

Nixon, a conservative, reacted to the Great Society policies of the 1960s by giving power back to

the states:

Revenue sharing: The federal gov. returned some taxes back to states and local governments.

Local control for desegregation of schools. Prior to the program in the late 1960s more than 70% of African American students attended all black schools. After local biracial committees intervened that number dropped to less than 20% by 1970.

Nixon’s conservative domestic policies became known as “New Federalism”

37

26th Amendment

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or

older, to vote shall not be denied or abany ridged by the United States or by State on

account of age.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

A major driving force behind this amendment was the Vietnam War. Many people argued that it was unfair to draft an eighteen year old to fight and possibly die for his nation, but deny him the right to vote for

elected officials.

This did not lead to a spike in the number of voters in the 1972 presidential election. Young people still continue to have the lowest

voter turnout rates of any other age group.

38

1. Negotiating with adversaries. 2. Working for a greater partnership with

U.S. allies.3. Preserving America’s strategic strength for security. The U.S. maintains its arms as a “bargaining chip” while attempting to reduce the overall level of strategic

weapons among all nuclear nations and working toward universal control of

weapons in space and on the ocean floor.

The stated goals were to promote democracy and economic development

in nonaligned nations by providing foreign aid. In practice it supported

many repressive unpopular governments. The U.S. furnished military

and economic aid to any government that was pro-US and anti-communist.

“Nixon Doctrine”

Three key points of the Doctrine were:

39

Chile was an example of the “Nixon Doctrine” in practice.

Pinochet and Allende

Pinochet

Allende and Fidel Castro, communist dictator of

Cuba

• Allende, a Socialist, ran for president of Chile in 1970. Nixon

feared an alliance with Cuba and a “domino effect” in South America.

• Nixon sent in the CIA to prevent Allende from taking office; initially

the operation was a failure, but eventually the CIA supported

General Pinochet to seize power, who took office and murdered

Allende in 1973.

• Even though Pinochet led an oppressive government that jailed,

tortured, and murdered his opponents, his anti-communism stand ensured normal relations

with Chile.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The EPA protects human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations that are passed by Congress. Example:• Drinking water.• It registers all pesticides in the U.S• It enforces Acts such as the

• Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act • Endangered Species Preservation Act

Describe:1.Nixon’s New Federalism.2.26th Amendment3.Nixon’s Doctrine4.EPA.

42

Watergate office complex where the Democratic National Committee headquarters were located.

A security guard noticed an exit door had been taped to keep the latch open. He removed the tape but on his second round found

that it had been re-taped and called the police.

43

When police arrived, they found five

burglars who were attempting to bug the offices of the

Democratic National Headquarters.

All five men worked for the Committee

to Reelect the President, President

Richard Nixon's campaign

committee.Seized wiretapping evidence

44

The 22 month investigation involved the press, House of Representatives, Senate, special prosecutors, and the

Supreme Court; it uncovered covert action on the part of the president and his advisers.

45

U.S. v Nixon, July 1974

During the investigation it was revealed that there were audio tapes from the White House. Nixon claimed executive privilege in an

attempt to keep the tapes secret, however the Supreme Court ruled that executive privilege did not apply in criminal cases and ordered Nixon to surrender the subpoenaed White House tapes. The tapes revealed widespread involvement, including by the President. His

impeachable offense was obstruction of justice. “I am not a crook” He proclaimed in 1973

46

Nixon was forced to resign the presidency on August 9, 1974 because of the Watergate scandal. Gerald Ford was

appointed Vice President and later became president after the corrupt Spiro Agnew resigned.

He resigned before the impeachment proceedings could begin. His offense was Obstruction of Justice.

Describe:1. The Watergate Scandal

48

President Richard M. Nixon

•Elected in 1968

•July 1970 announced creation EPA & NOAA

•February 1972 visited China

•November 1972 reelected president

•January 1973 peace treaty to end Vietnam Conflict

•April 1973 accepted responsibility for Watergate break-in and cover-up

•December 1973 Gerald Ford appointed new Vice President after Spiro Agnew resigned in October

•August 1974 Resigned from office after impeachment articles presented in House of Representatives

50

Gerald R. Ford became 38th President, August 9, 1974

51

Ford immediately damaged his Presidency by granting Nixon a pardon.

Ford announced the pardon

53

President Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy was dedicated to the “promotion of human rights.”

Carter said his foreign policy would demonstrate

“the decency and generosity and common sense of our own people

and an absolute commitment to human

rights”.

54

President Carter’s greatest challenge came with the Iranian Conflict.

55

Shah Reza Pahlavi & President Carter

1979

January 16: The Shah of Iran fled from Iran and Ayatollah Khomeini

returned from exile to establish the fundamentalist Shiite

government in Iran on February 26. Khomeini, an Islamic

fundamentalist, hated America calling it the ”Great Satan.” He

turned Iran into a theocracy where religious bullies enforced

harsh Koranic laws.

November 4: Iranian militants seized U.S. Embassy in Teheran,

took 63 Americans hostage, demanded the return of Shah of

Iran, who was in United States for medical treatment.

Portrait of Khomeini

56

America’s Humiliation 1979 Iranian Muslim fundamentalists seized the U.S. embassy in

Tehran, Iran taking 66 hostages. They demanded the U.S. send them the Shah as the price for freeing the prisoners. Carter

refused.

57

Letter from Carter to Khomeini requesting the release of the hostages,

November 6, 1979.

They would not be released until January of

1981, after President Reagan was elected

president.

58

Carter ordered the military to attempt a rescue. This resulted in a disaster when two U.S. aircraft collided, ending the mission before

it got off the ground. Eight Americans were killed in the April 24-25, 1980 hostage rescue attempt.

Crashed U.S. aircraft in the Iranian desert

Describe:1. The Iranian Conflict

61

Ronald W. Reagan became the 40th President of the U.S. The Iranian hostages

were released shortly after his inauguration. He

promised to cut taxes.

62

Ronald Reagan Philosophy

Reaganomics or “trickle-down theory” of economics

Increased defense spending

Cut taxes

Reduced funding of social welfare programs

Tripled the debt

Iran-contra scandal

Helped end the Cold War

63

Reagan Tax Cuts•The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981: Reduced taxes by 25% for individual income tax rates, over 3 yrs.

•The Tax Reform Act of 1986: brought the top tax rate down from 50 percent to 28 percent while the corporate tax rate was reduced from 50 percent to 35 percent. The personal exemption and standard deduction amounts were increased, which relieved millions of taxpayers of any Federal income tax burden.

•The law shifted some of the tax burden from individuals to small businesses and real estate. A major effect was a downturn in the real estate markets, which played a significant role in the subsequent collapse of the Savings and Loan industry.

64

Military spending increased under Reagan

1975 1978 1980 1983 1986 19890

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

in bil-lions

651970 1975 1980 1985 1988

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

Na-tional debt in mil-lions

The national debt tripled under Reagan

66

“War on Drugs”

President Nixon introduced the concept of a war against illegal drug use in the U.S. in 1971. Reagan renewed the effort while

president. He assigned Vice President Bush to a drug task force and First Lady Nancy

Reagan toured the nation with her “Just say no” campaign.

There is much debate about what the agency ought to focus on, some argue

prevention among youth, others argue the halting of importation of drugs in to the

country, and still others push for treatment and punishment of drug offenders. Nancy Reagan

Describe:1.Reagan’s Tax Cuts2.War on Drugs.