Standard 8

Social, economic and political issues in contemporary America.

Day 1Thursday

8.1 10 slides

• Civil Rights Movement– Strategies– Court cases– Legislation– Advocates– Influences

Civil Rights• The Civil Rights

Movement had two main goals– Equal treatment– Right to vote

• The DOI, Reconstruction, and 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments failed as securing African American rights

Civil Rights• During WW2, African

Americans demanded equal treatment in war industries

• After WW2, they lost these jobs to white veterans

• African Americans faced discrimination in the military through segregated units– Northern blacks experienced

Jim Crow– Black veterans were lynched

Civil Rights• President Truman

established a civil rights commission to support anti-lynching laws and desegregate the military

• International cooperation with Asia and Africa required the US to live up to its constitutional promises or face embarrassment

Civil Rights• Strategies were based on

Gandhi’s non-violent civil disobedience– Protest sites were specifically

selected to show the nation and the world the face of racism

• Montgomery Bus boycott• Sit-ins• Freedom rides• The Birmingham campaign• The March on Washington• Freedom Summer• Selma March

“I Have A Dream” Speech

Civil Rights• The NAACP used political

power to promote Civil Rights legislation and court decisions

• Brown v. Board of Education (1954)– Supreme Court decision that

stated segregated schools violated the 14th Amendment

– Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) which established ‘separate but equal’

Civil Rights• Martin Luther King, Jr. insisted on

non-violent demonstrations to gain political support– Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy,

Johnson, and Nixon advocated civil rights

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965– Ended legal discrimination based on

race, and overrode state laws (Jim Crow)

– Voter registration of African Americans in the South increased tremendously

Civil Rights• Truman’s support of civil

rights prompted the creation of the Dixiecrats (Southern Democrats)

• Democratic Presidents Kennedy and Johnson’s policies and Nixon’s Southern Strategy turned the solid Democratic south into a Republican stronghold

Civil Rights• Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, and the

Black Panthers led the black power movement– Protect and empower the African American

community and promote ethnic pride

• Northern, urban African American actions were extremely different from Southern African Americans– Southern segregation was de jure (by law)– Northern segregation was de facto (by tradition)

• Televised reports of urban riots and black power rhetoric alienated the general public and undermined government support of the movement

Civil Rights• Women, Latinos, and

Native Americans were influenced by the Civil Rights Movement

• Movements for the rights of Latinos and Native Americans was initially supported by the government but later lost support due to militant actions

Women’s Rights• NOW (National Organization for

Women) was created to promote women’s rights

• The Feminine Mystique- 1963 book suburban housewives

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964- outlawed discrimination based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion and sex

• Roe v. Wade- Supreme Court decision that ruled abortions were protected under “right to privacy”

• The Equal Rights Amendment- proposed to guarantee the equal rights of women

Day 2Friday

8.2Johnson and Nixon Administrations

Handout and Comparison

7 slides

Johnson v. Nixon

• Create a double bubble or vin diagram comparing and contrasting the Johnson and Nixon administrations

• Use the handout provided for information

• This will serve as you notes for this indicator.

Day 3Monday

8.3 18 slides

• Vietnam War

The Vietnam War• The Vietnam War

developed as a result of Cold War fears and was a manifestation of the containment policy– After WW2, France

attempted to restore their control over Southeast Asia (including Vietnam)

– Led by Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese resisted the French and drove them out of Vietnam

Eisenhower (1952-1960)• Geneva Accords- divided

Vietnam at the 17th parallel until elections could be held– Led by Ngo Dinh Diem, the

South Vietnamese government refused to hold the elections because they feared the communist supported Ho Chi Minh would be elected

Eisenhower (1952-1960)• Domino Theory- nations

on the brink of communism are like dominoes waiting to fall one after another– Caused US to support the

corrupt South Vietnamese government and send aid and military advisers to South Vietnam

Eisenhower (1952-1960)• Viet Cong- guerrilla

forces formed as a resistance movement to the South Vietnamese government

• Ho Chi Minh Trail- North Vietnam sent aid to the Viet Cong on a secret, constantly changing trail

Kennedy (1961-1963)• South Vietnam resisted

the corrupt, oppressive government of Ngo Dinh Diem

• Kennedy sent more aid and troops to South Vietnam (16,000 men)

Kennedy (1961-1963)• Central Intelligence

Agency’s (CIA) planned to overthrow the South Vietnamese government and create one more popular with the Buddhist majority– Nov. 1, 1963, Ngo Dinh Diem

was assassinated– Nov. 22, 1963, President

Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald (communist sympathizer)

Day 4Tuesday

Johnson (1963-1968)• Gulf of Tonkin Resolution- 1964,

authorized the buildup of American troops to help South Vietnam without the specific authorization by Congress (declaration of war)– In response to the Gulf of Tonkin

Incident where the North Vietnamese allegedly fired (and missed) a torpedo at a US ship

– The ship returned fire causing heavy damage

• Initiated a bombing campaign on North Vietnam and sent more ground troops (500,000 by 1967)

Johnson (1963-1968)• Opposition- “poor man’s

fight”, unfair due to draft exemptions (medical, college, or National Guard enlistment), and disproportionately large numbers of African Americans serving as ground troops– Protests were common, but lost

public support when they became more provocative

– Divided the nation into Hawks (supporters of war) and Doves (opposed war)

Johnson (1963-1968)• Tet Offensive- Jan. 1968, Viet

Cong attacked 100 towns, 12 US air bases, and the US embassy starting during a truce period– Media coverage showed that the

Viet Cong forces could attack anywhere and anytime

– Shifted public opinion against the war

• President Johnson didn’t run for president in 1968 due to lack of support

Nixon (1969-1973)• Campaigned on the promise to end

the war, but could not admit that it couldn’t be won

• Vietnamization- strategy for ending US involvement in the Vietnam War, involving the gradual withdrawal of US troops and their replacement with South Vietnamese forces– At the same time, he secretly escalated

the war effort by initiating a massive bombing campaign on Laos and Cambodia (share boarder with Vietnam- Domino Theory)

– US forces invaded Cambodia to close the Ho Chi Minh trail

Nixon (1969-1973)• Kent State Massacre- May 4,

1970, National Guardsmen opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War, wounding nine and killing four

• Détente- the flexible policy, involving a willingness to negotiate and an easing of tensions, that was adopted by President Nixon and his adviser Henry Kissinger in their dealings with communist nations– Used with China and the Soviet

Union

Nixon (1969-1973)• Nov. 1972- Nixon announced

an agreement was made with the North Vietnamese government

• 1973- American forces were withdrawn and US prisoners of war (POW) returned home

• 1975- Saigon, South Vietnam fell to the North Vietnamese forces, ending the war

• Containment failed in Southeast Asia

Day 5Wednesday

Impacts of Vietnam• Vietnam was bigger than the

failed war effort and the loss of 58,000 American soldiers; it was a cultural phenomenon that called into question American values– My Lai Massacre- May 1968, a

village in northern South Vietnam where more than 200 unarmed civilians, including women and children, were massacred by US troops

Impacts of Vietnam– Agent Orange- a toxic leaf-killing

chemical sprayed by US planes in Vietnam to expose Viet Cong hideouts• Now known to have caused serious

medical conditions that torment Vietnamese citizens and American veterans

– Napalm- a gasoline-based substance used in bombs that US planes dropped in Vietnam in order to burn away jungle and expose Viet Cong hideouts

Impacts of Vietnam– Fragging- deliberately

assassinating another member, or members of the military, particularly a member of one’s own command, or manipulating the chain of command in order to have an individual, or unit, deliberately killed, by placing them into harm’s way with the intended result being their demise

Impacts of Vietnam• Veterans- 15% of the 3.3

million soldiers who served developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), many soldiers began abusing drugs such as marijuana and opiates while in Vietnam, 1,000s committed suicide, and returning veterans were met with hostility from the general public due to the opposition to the war in Vietnam

Impacts of Vietnam• Credibility Gap- a public distrust of

statements made by the government– Pentagon Papers- 7,000 pages that

showed the US plans for entering the war in Vietnam while Johnson said he wouldn’t

– Watergate- a scandal that centered on the Nixon administration’s attempt to cover up a burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office and apartment complex in Washington, DC• Led to Nixon’s impeachment hearings and

resignation, and further mistrust of the government

Impacts of Vietnam• War Powers Act- 1973,

law enacted limiting a president’s right to send troops into battle without consulting Congress– In response to the Gulf

of Tonkin Resolution and the sending of troops without a declaration of war by Congress

Day 6Thursday

8.4 13 slides

• Causes and consequences of the conservative movement– Social and cultural changes– Supreme Court decisions– Reagan administration– Role of the media

Political Parties• 1790s- Political parties are

formed and serve as a way for like-minded people to influence the government and shape polities that reflect their positions on issues– Partisan (Party) Politics-

addresses the social and/or fiscal (money) beliefs of conservatives and liberals

– Political parties represent the changing public opinion and become more conservative or liberal based on those opinions

Conservatives v. Liberals in the 1980s• Conservatives-– Fiscal-

• Large federal government threatens individual rights

• States should do the majority of governing

• Personal responsibility (government shouldn’t have “handout” programs)

– Social-• Against abortion at any time

during pregnancy• Against Equal Rights Amendment

Conservatives v. Liberals in the 1980s• Liberals-

– Fiscal-• Federal government should

actively protect the rights and welfare of individuals and minorities

• Federal government should have programs to aid and support those who cannot care for themselves

– Social-• Support women’s right to

choose regarding abortions• Support Equal Rights

Amendment

Influences on conservatives and liberals from the past

• Great Depression & New Deal- Conservatives against; Liberals support

• Civil Rights Movement- Conservatives against; Liberals support– Brown v. Board of Education– Civil Rights Act– Voting Rights Act

Influences on conservatives and liberals from the past

• Great Society- Conservatives against; Liberals support– Anti-poverty plans– Affirmative Action

• Women’s Rights Movement- Conservatives against; Liberals support– Changing role of women in

society– Roe v. Wade

Vietnam War• The Vietnam War, broadcasted into living

rooms on the nightly news, intensified the generation gap and division between the conservative “hawks” and liberal “doves.”

• Conservative-– 1975- Vietnam fell to the communists;

intensified conservative anti-communist fears– Feared the decrease in “family values” due to

drug use, divorce rate, and unmarried people living together

• Liberals-– Peace marches and burning of draft cards– Anti-war movement counterculture

contributed to the sexual revolution of the 1960s

Day 7Friday

Richard M. Nixon• Nixon (conservative) was elected

due to his restore “law and order” campaign and Southern Strategy– Gained the support of Southern

conservatives– End urban riots and anti-war

protests– New Right-

• Business men who opposed environmental protections

• Social conservatives who opposed abortion

• Fundamentalist and evangelical churches and televangelists

Jimmy Carter• Carter (liberal) was elected due to

the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration and Ford’s (conservative) pardoning of Nixon– Inherited economic troubles due to

spending in Vietnam and the Middle East (double digit inflation and an energy crisis)

– Iran Hostage Crisis– Liberals believe the federal

government should use deficit spending to stimulate the economy

– These issues strengthened the appeal of fiscal conservatives

Ronald Reagan• Reagan’s “Reagan Revolution”

and “Reaganomics” helped him gain support for his social and fiscal policies– “Regan Revolution”- Cut taxes of

the wealthy to promote job creation and cut government spending

– Supported by fiscal conservatives– “Trickle down” effect- the wealth

of the rich will make its way down to the poor• Starting new businesses and hiring

workers (decrease unemployment)

Ronald Reagan– “Reaganomics”- well being of a

nation depends on the people consuming the goods produced to increase demand and promote more job creation• People with money will spend more

money• Wealthy pay taxes in proportion to

their income while the lower and middle class receive tax cuts

• Conservatives believe the government should spend less to save money during a recession

Ronald Reagan• Deregulation of businesses and

banks and limited enforcement of environmental protections– Conservatives- jobs are more

important that the environment – Liberals- protect the environment

and create new jobs in the process

• Increased Cold War spending– Conservatives- helped bring an

end to the Soviet Union and tearing down of the Berlin Wall

– Liberals- USSR fell due to internal problems and change in leadership

Ronald Reagan• Impact of Reaganomics and

defense spending– Yearly budget deficits due to

increased defense spending helped triple the national debt

– Many deregulated banks failed and led to the massive bailouts in the 1980s and 2008

– Massive shift of manufacturing jobs from the US to other countries

Ronald Reagan– New jobs were in low-paying service

industries leading to lower tax revenues for the federal government

– Significant wealth gap between the rich and poor

– Increased consumerism based on speculation and credit

– Conservatives- wanted to be seen as the face of economic growth and traditional values

– Liberals- wanted to be seen as the champions of the middle class and the government protection of individual rights

Day 8Monday

8.5 and 8.6Key Political and Economic Issues in the last 25

years

Handout and Questions

10 Slides

Political and Economic Issues

• Use the reading provided to thoroughly answer the questions.

• If you need more information, refer to Chapter 34 and the Epilogue of your textbook.

• This will serve as your notes for these indicators.