Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
153 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
what was happening economically as the 1960s lurched to a close?
|
the economic boom of the post-WWII era showed signs of petering out
|
|
|
what had been happening as American workers increased their productivity gains 25 yrs after the end of WWII?
|
the american workers had doubled their average standard of living
|
|
|
what happened in the 1970s?
|
the productivity advance was equivalent to not even one yrs progress in the preceding two decades
|
|
|
what was happening with the median income of the average American family?
|
it was stagnating in the two decades after 1970; it failed to decline only because of the addition of working wives' wages to the family income
|
|
|
what did the rising baby-boom generation face?
|
the depressing prospect of a living standard that would be lower than that of their parents
|
|
|
what happened as the postwar wave of robust economic growth crested?
|
the "can do" american spirti gave way to an unaccustomed sense of limits
|
|
|
what caused the sudden slump in productivity?
|
the increasing presence of women and teenagers in teh work force who had fewer skills than adult male workers and were less likely to take the full-time, long-term jobs where skills might be developed; declining investment in new machinery and the heavy costs of compliance with govt-imposed safety and health regulations, and the general shift of thet american economy from manufacturing to services mad producitivity gains more difficult to achieve and measure
|
|
|
what did the vietnam war do to the economy?
|
it drained tax dollars from needed improvements in education, deflected scientific skill and manufacturing capacity from teh civilian sector, and touched off a sickening spiral of inflation
|
|
|
what did the sharply rising oil prices in the 1970s do?
|
they fed inflation
|
|
|
what was the deepest root of inflation?
|
lbj's govt policies: especially lbj's insistence on fighting the war in vietnam and funding the great society simultaneously
|
|
|
what kind of spending is inherently inflationary?
|
military spending and welfare spending because they put dollars in ppls hands without adding to the supply of goods that those dollars buy
|
|
|
what happened in the dozen years after nixon's inauguration?
|
the cost of living more than tripled; the longest and steepest inflationary cycle in American history resulted
|
|
|
what other weaknesses in teh nation's economy were laid bare?
|
american factories were not modernized; the japanese and german built factories with more up-to-date technology and management techniques
|
|
|
what caused the end of the self-confident postwar era?
|
the unpopular war and a stagnant, unresponsive economy
|
|
|
what was nixon's strength?
|
foreign policy
|
|
|
what was president nixon's announced policy in the vietnam war?
|
vietnamization
|
|
|
what was vietnamization?
|
the withdrawal of 540k U.S. troops in S Vietnam over an extended period; the South Vietnamese with American money, weapons, training, and advice could then gradually take over the burden of fighting their own war
|
|
|
what was the Nixon Doctrine?
|
it stated that the US would honor its existing defense commitments but that in the future, Asians and others would have to fight their own wars without the support of large bodies of American ground troops
|
|
|
what did nixon attempt to do with the war?
|
not to end it but to win it by other means> without the further spilling of american blood
|
|
|
how did nixon try to rally up support for his policies in vietnam?
|
he delivered a dramatic televised appeal to the great "silent majority" who presumably supported the war
|
|
|
by january 1970 what had the vietnam conflict developed into?
|
the longest war and the third costliest in US history
|
|
|
what was the composition of the armed forces in Vietnam?
|
mostly ppl from less privileged backgrounds; a disproportionate amount of African-Americans were represented
|
|
|
why did domestic disgust deepen in 1970?
|
the news leaked out that American troops had massacred innocent women and children in the village of My Lai in 1968
|
|
|
why did nixon widen the war in 1970 to cambodia?
|
in order to enact a quick end to the demoralizing conflict; the viet cong had been using cambodia as a spring board for troops, weapons and suppliese
|
|
|
why was nixon's sending troops into cambodia controversial?
|
cambodia was neutral; it was an extension of the war; he had not consulted Congress
|
|
|
what were results of nixon's sending troops to cambodia?
|
deepening divisions bw the hawks and the doves; disillusionment of African-Americans over the "whitey's war", the Senate's repeal of the Gulf of Tonkin blank check that Congress had given to Congress in 1964; rebellion among the youth
|
|
|
what was the twenty-sixth amendment and what was it a response to?
|
the 26th amendment lowered the voting age to eighteen; it was a response to the infuriated youth
|
|
|
what material did the pentagon papers contain?
|
the contained material about america's involvement in the vietnam war: the blunders and deceptions of the kennedy and johnson administration especially the provoking of the 1964 North Vietnamese attack in the Gulf of Tonkin
|
|
|
what did Nixon perceive in the ideological conflict bw Soviets and the Chinese?
|
a chance to play the two off one another by enlisting the aid of both in pressuring North Vietnam into peace
|
|
|
what did kissinger do starting 1969?
|
he held secret negotiations in paris with the north vietnamese officials
|
|
|
what did nixon do in 1972?
|
he went to China in order to pave the way for improved relations between Washington and beijing; he then traveled to moscow
|
|
|
what did nixon gain through his diplomacy to both china and the soveit union?
|
the era of detente
|
|
|
what were some results of detente?
|
the great grain deal of 1972 was arranged bw us and the soviet union, the ABM (anti-ballistic missile treaty) was arranged which limited each nation to two clusters of defensive missiles; the SALT agreements also froze the numbers of long-range nuclear missiles for five years (1972)
|
|
|
what did america do in order to undermine the abm?
|
it forged ahead with the development of mirvs (multiple independently targeted reentry vehicles) which were designed to overcome any defense by saturating it with large numbers of warheads, several to a rocket>this caused the soviet union to do the same
|
|
|
how had nixon attacked the supreme court during his campaign?
|
he'd attacked it for its "permissiveness" and "judicial activism" (Earl Warren)
|
|
|
what had earl warren done in the court?
|
he had drastically affected sexual freedom, the rights of criminals, the practice of religion, civil rights, and the structure of political representation
|
|
|
what did the decisions of the warren court reflect?
|
the deep concern for the individual, no matter how lowly
|
|
|
what happened in griswold v connecticut? (1965)
|
the court struck down a state law that prohibited the use of contraceptives, even among married couples; the court proclaimed a "right of privacy" that soon provided the basis for a decisions protecting women's abortion rights
|
|
|
what happened in gideon v wainwright (1963)
|
the court held that all defendants in serious criminal cases were entitled to legal counsel, even if they were too poor to afford it
|
|
|
what happened in escobedo and miranda?
|
the right of the accused to remain silent and to enjoy other protections when accused of a crime were ensured
|
|
|
what freedom was endorsed by the warren court in New York Times v Sullivan (1964)?
|
the freedom of the press: public figures could only sue for libel if they could prove that "malice" had motivated their defamers
|
|
|
what did the court decide in Engel v. Vitale (1962) and School District of Abington Township v. Schempp (1963)?
|
it voted against required prayers and Bible reading in the public schools based on the first amendment which required separation of church and state; many religious believers saw the justices as atheistic communists
|
|
|
what was infuriating to many southerners?
|
the determination of the court to support black ppl following the school desegregation decision of 1954
|
|
|
what did five southern legislatures do?
|
they nullified the "sociological" supreme court decision but they were in turn overruled by the high tribunal
|
|
|
what did conservatives accuse the warren court of doing?
|
rewriting the constitution instead of interpreting it at the expense of states' rights and other constitutional guarantees
|
|
|
what was the decision in reynolds v sims (1964)?
|
the warren court struck at the overrepresentation in state legislatures of cow-pasture agricultural districts>one man one vote
|
|
|
what happened from 1954 on?
|
the court came under relentless criticism, the bitterest since New Deal days; its foes made numerous but unsuccessful efforts to clip its ings through bills in Congress or through constitutional amendments
|
|
|
what was nixon responsible for in terms of welfare programs?
|
nixon presided over significant expansion of the welfare programs that conservative Republicans routinely denounced
|
|
|
what welfare programs did nixon approve?
|
food stamps, medicaid, AFDC, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, which targeted single mothers of young children; Supplemental Security Income
|
|
|
what did the Supplemental Security Income do?
|
it gave generous benefits to the indigent aged, blind, and disabled; nixon also signed legislation in 1972 that raised social security old-age pensions and provided for automatic increases when the cost of living rose more than 3% any year
|
|
|
what did nixon do through his philadelphia plan?
|
he required construction-trade unions to establish "goals and timetables" for the hiring of black apprentices>it required thousands of employers to meet hiring quotas or to establish set-asideds for minority subcontractors
|
|
|
how was nixon's approach to affirmative action different from lbj's?
|
nixon targeted groups, lbj targeted individuals
|
|
|
what was the decision in griggs v duke power co (1971)?
|
the black-robed justices prohibited intelligence tests or other devices that had the effect of excluding minorities or women from certain jobs
|
|
|
what did the actions of nixon and the court do in terms of employment and educational opportunity?
|
it opened many new opportunities for minorities and women
|
|
|
what were two other major legacies of the Nixon years that were created in 1970?
|
the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration>the Clean Air Act of 1970 and and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 had also been passed
|
|
|
what did nixon do in order to combat inflation?
|
he imposed a ninety-day wage and price freeze in 1971 and he stimulated the nation's sagging exports, he also stunned teh world by taking the US off the gold standard and devaluing the dollar
|
|
|
what was nixon's southern strategy?
|
his southern strategy emphasized an appeal to white voters by soft-pedaling civil rights and openly opposing school busing to achieve racial balance
|
|
|
was the southern strategy a big part of the presidential campaign of 1972?
|
no; foreign policy was more of an issue
|
|
|
what did nixon order after fighting escalated when the Northern Vietnamese burst through the demilitarized zone?
|
he ordered massive bombing attacks on strategic centers in N Vietnam, including Hanoi, the capital; he also ordered the dropping of contact mines to blockade the principal harbors of N Vietnam
|
|
|
what allowed for nixon to launch massive bombing attacks on N vietnam?
|
his shrewd diplomacy>good relations with moscow and beijing
|
|
|
what was the result of the massive bombings of north vietnam in 1972?
|
the north vietnamese offensive ground to a halt
|
|
|
what did democratic candidate george mcgovern promise?
|
hje promised to pull the remaining american troops out of vietnam in ninety day
|
|
|
why did mcgovern lose?
|
because he appealed to the racial minorities, feminists, leftists, and youth, which alienated the traditional working-class backbone of his party; also eagleton had undergone psychiatric care
|
|
|
what happened to nixon in 1972?
|
he won by a landslide
|
|
|
was nixon's landslide victory in 1972 taken as a mandate?
|
no, because there were Republican election losses in both the House and the Senate
|
|
|
how did the ceasefire come to be agreed upon on january 23, 1973?
|
nixon at first did not accept the terms full of loopholes; when fighting commenced again, he decided to pound North Vietnam with a two-week bombing that was the heaviest attack of the war; it forced N Vietnam back to the table and it forced them to agree to the ceasefire
|
|
|
what did nixon call the ceasefire with north vietnam?
|
peace with honor
|
|
|
what was the shaky "peace" with north vietnam really?
|
a thinly disguised american retreat
|
|
|
what was the state of s vietnam after the ceasefire?
|
the US withdrew all of its troops; an election was to be held and the N vietnamese were allowed to keep some 145k troops in south vietnam
|
|
|
when did the watergate scandal occur?
|
two months bf nixon's renomination (1972)
|
|
|
what were five men arrested for doing in the Watergate apartment-office complex in Washington?
|
wiretapping; they were working for CREEP which was raising a slush fund
|
|
|
what were some of the things that CREEP did?
|
it engaged in dirty tricks campaign of espionage and sabotage including faked documents
|
|
|
who did the watergate scandal involve?
|
the FBI, the CIA and the Internal Revenue Service; Nixon and his aides
|
|
|
who planned to bring about justice in the watergate scandal?
|
Senator Sam Ervin, the head of a select Senate committee, John Dean III, a former White House lawyer with a remarkable memory testified against Nixon and his aides
|
|
|
what does the 25th amendment deal with?
|
filling a vice-presidential or a presidential vacancy
|
|
|
what was the "saturday night massacre"
|
the firing of archibald cox, nixon's special prosecutor who issued a subpoena for relevant tapes and other docs from the white house; after nixon attempted to fire cox, the attorney general and deputy attorney genereal resigned bc they did not wish to fire him
|
|
|
what widened the "credibility gap" between the ppl and the govt?
|
the fact that the US air force had secretly conducted some 3500 bombing raids against the n vietnamese positions in cambodia; they had begun in march 1969>while they were going on, the prez denied that cambodia's neutrality was being violated
|
|
|
what followed nixon's secretiveness concerning bombings in cambodia?
|
defiance: he continued to assist the rightist cambodian govt and only offered to stop bombing cambodia after he saw that appropriations were running short
|
|
|
what led to the war powers act in november 1973?
|
congressional opposition to the expansion of presidential war-making powers by johnson and nixon
|
|
|
what did the war powers act require the president to do?
|
the prez had to report to congress within forty-eight hours of committing troops to a foreign conflict or "substantially" enlarging american combat troops in a foreign country; troops could not continue unless the congress authorized the action
|
|
|
what was the "new isolationism"?
|
congress believing that troops were no longer needed in western europe; the draft was only retained on a standby base; nixon was compelled to end the bombing of cambodia in 1973
|
|
|
why did nixon oppose the "new isolationism"?
|
because he was fearful of a weakened hand in the high-stake game of power politics in europe
|
|
|
what was the US response to syria and egypt attacking israel in 1973?
|
kissinger tried to restrain the soviets who were arming the attackers; nixon placed america's nuclear forces on alert and ordered a gigantic airlift of nearly $2B in war materials to the Israelis
|
|
|
how did US assistance to Israelis affect the outcome of the attack of syria and egypt?
|
israel was able to turn back its attackers and actually got as far as cairo when american diplomacy negotiated an uneasy cease-fire
|
|
|
what was the consequence of helping the israelis defend themselves against syria and egypt in 1973?
|
the arab nations put an embargo on oil for supporting Israel>a business recession deepened
|
|
|
what projects were energized by the "energy crisis"?
|
congress approving costly alaska pipeline and a national speed limit of fifty-five mph to conserve fuel; agitation mounted for heavier use of coal and nuclear power despite the environmental threat they posed
|
|
|
what did the five months of the arab embargo in 1974 signal?
|
it signaled the end of the era of cheap and abundant energy
|
|
|
why hadn't the US recognized their reliance on foreign oil before?
|
because there had been a twenty year surplus of wold oil supplies that had masked the fact since 1948
|
|
|
what had americans done since the end of ww2?
|
americans had more than tripled their oil consumption since the end of ww2>by 1974 the US was oil addicted and extremely vulnerable to supplies
|
|
|
what colored the diplomatic and economic history of the 1980s and 1990s?
|
the middle east as it loomed ever larger on the map of america's strategic interests until the US in 1990 found itself pulled into a shooting war with Iraq to protect its oil supplies
|
|
|
what did the middle eastern sheiks do after lifting the oil embargo?
|
they flexed their economic muscles through OPEC and approximately quadrupled their price for crude oil
|
|
|
what did the huge new oil bills cause for the US?
|
a balance of international trade and further fuel to the already raging fires of inflation
|
|
|
what did the US do in response to the quadrupled oil prices?
|
it formed the International Energy Agency in 1974 as a counterweight to OPEC
|
|
|
when did nixon resign?
|
august 8, 1974
|
|
|
which president signed the Helsinki accords?
|
Gerald Ford
|
|
|
what did the helsinki accords do?
|
they wrote an end to WWI by finally legimitizing the soveit-dictated boundaries of poland other eastern european countries; in return, the soviets agreed to have more liberal exchanges of ppl and info bw east and west and guaranteed basic human rights
|
|
|
how did western europeans view the helsinki accords?
|
they viewed the helsinki conference as a milestone of detente
|
|
|
how did americans view the helsinki accords?
|
they complained that detente was becoming a one-way street because american grain and technology were flowing across the atlantic to the soviet union, but little of importance was flowing back
|
|
|
what was the american response to the north vietnamese drive southward early in 1975?
|
gerald ford wanted to send troops but congress said no; without american aid, the south vietnamese quickly collapsed
|
|
|
had america rly lost the vietnam war?
|
not technically, because we fought the n vietnamese to a standstill and then supplied weapons, aircraft, and other munitions to s vietnam
|
|
|
what had america lost besides just the vietnam war?
|
america had lost face in the eyes of foreigners, its own self-esteem, confidence in its military prowess and much of the economic muscle that had made possible its global leadership since WWII
|
|
|
what kind of victories had american feminists won?
|
legislative and judicial victories
|
|
|
what is title IX?
|
it was one of the education amendments passed by congress in 1972 that prohibited sex discrimination in any federally assisted educational program or activity
|
|
|
what was the effect of title IX?
|
it helped professionalize women's sports and gave opportunities for girls' and women's athletics at schools and colleges
|
|
|
when did the equal rights amendment to the constitution win congressional approval?
|
in 1972> it declared "equality of rights under the law should not be denied or abridged by the united states or by any state on account of sex"
|
|
|
what was the court's stand on women's right?
|
it was for women as shown in Reed v Reed (1971) and Frontiero v Richardson (1973) in which teh court challenged sex discrimination in legislation and employment
|
|
|
what reason did the supreme court give for its decision in Roe v Wade
|
it was a woman's decision to to terminate a pregnancy: it was protected by the constitutional right of privacy
|
|
|
what were feminists accused of?
|
tripling the divorce rate from 1960 to 1976
|
|
|
why did nixon veto day care in 1972?
|
he claimed that it would weaken the american family
|
|
|
who opposed the feminists?
|
the catholic church and the religious right
|
|
|
what was the most bitter defeat of the women's mvmt?
|
the death of the ERA (38 state legislatures were needed to approve it); it died three states short of success
|
|
|
who led the campaign to stop the ERA?
|
Physllis Schlafly who charged that advocates were just "bitter women seeking a constitutional cure for their personal problems"
|
|
|
what was the significance of milliken v bradley (1974)?
|
suburban districts were exempted from shouldering any part of the burden of desegregating inner-city schools>white flight
|
|
|
how did the native americans resurge?
|
they used the courts and well-planned acts of civil disobedience to advance their aims
|
|
|
how did the native americans' aims differ from those of the blacks?
|
the native americans tried to use the civil rights mvmt to assert their status as separate semisovereign peoples
|
|
|
what was the significance of United States v Wheeleer (1978)?
|
the court declared that indian tribes possessed a "unique and limited" sovereignty, subject to the will of congress but not to individual states
|
|
|
what did jimmy carter have to his advantage in the election of 1976?
|
the fact that he was running against the memory of nixon and watergate; he was running as an outsider who would never lie
|
|
|
by what margin did carter win in the election of 1976?
|
a small margin
|
|
|
which group was important in the election of 1976?
|
the african americans
|
|
|
what was the congress like when carter was elected in 1976?
|
there were hefty democratic majorities
|
|
|
how did carter's administration fare in the beginning?
|
his administration fared well
|
|
|
what did what did carter get through congress in the beginning of his administration?
|
the creation of a Department of Energy; tax reform and reduction (an $18B tax cut in 1978)
|
|
|
why did carter fail during his presidency?
|
he never became an "insider" to the washington establishment; he rubbed congressional fur the wrong way and failed to consult adequately with the leaders
|
|
|
what was the basis of carter's foreign policy?
|
human rights
|
|
|
what ethnic group did carter champion?
|
the africans in the nations of rhodesia and south africa
|
|
|
what was carter's most spectacular foreign-policy achievement?
|
the Camp David accords
|
|
|
what happened as a result of the camp david summit conference?
|
israel agreed in principle to withdraw from territory conquered in the 1967 war and egypt in return promised to respect israel's borders; both countries agreed to sign a peace treaty within three months
|
|
|
what else did carter do in terms of foreign policy?
|
he resumed full diplomatic relations with china in early 1979; he also proposed two treaties urning over complete ownership and control of the panama canal to the panamanians by the year 2000
|
|
|
what trouble stalked carter's foreign policy?
|
the end of detente with thousands of cuban troops, assisted with soviet advisers, appearing in angola, ethiopia, and elsewhere in africa to support revolutionary factions; arms control negotiations stalled because of this
|
|
|
what showed the failing health of the economy
|
the fact that prices rose feverishly increasing at a rate of more than 10 percent a year by 1974
|
|
|
what was the inflation rate in the US by 1979?
|
over 13%
|
|
|
how did the high oil bill affect the US?
|
it sent the US into the red ($40B by 1978) with americans paying more for foreign products than they were able to earn from selling their own goods overseas
|
|
|
what did the "oil shocks" of the 1970s teach americans?
|
they could never again seriously consider a policy of economic isolation; by the century's end foreign trade accounted for 27% of the GNP
|
|
|
what did the increased dependence on foreign oil do for US foreign policy?
|
the US could not dominate international trade and finance as easily as it had in teh post-WWII decades
|
|
|
what further aggravated US inflation?
|
yawning deficits in the federal budget reaching nearly $60B in 1980
|
|
|
who did the inflation affect the most?
|
those living on a fixed income
|
|
|
what did money lenders do?
|
they pushed their interest rates up higher
|
|
|
what was the effect of the high interest rates?
|
small businesses and the construction industry were strangled and heavily dependent on loans to finance new housing and other projects
|
|
|
how did carter diagnose america's economic downturn?
|
he thought it was caused by the US's costly dependence on foreign oil
|
|
|
what did kennedy urge ppl to do in the midst of the economic downturn?
|
conserve gas by improving energy conservation by curtailing the manufacture of large cars
|
|
|
how did the american public respond to kennedy's plea to conserve gas?
|
they were indifferent; the congress was hostile toward his attempts as well
|
|
|
what happened in iran in 1979?
|
Mohammed Reza pahlevi, the installed shah of iran was overthrown by muslim fundamentalists
|
|
|
what happened when the muslim fundamentalists took control?
|
they denounced the US as the "Great Satan" and stopped the flow of oil
|
|
|
how did OPEC take advantage of the stopping of the flow of oil in Iran?
|
OPEC seized the opportunity to hike petroleum prices
|
|
|
what did president carter do as the oil crisis deepened in 1979?
|
he withdrew to camp david where he was out of public view for ten days; he summoned the advice of many wise leaders
|
|
|
what did carter say when he came down from camp david after receiving advice?
|
he chided his fellow citizens for falling into a "moral and spiritual crisis" and for being too concerned with "material goods"
|
|
|
what actions did carter take after his ten-day retreat to camp david?
|
he fired four cabinet secretaries and gathered his Georgian advisers more closely around him
|
|
|
what were the SALT II agreements to do?
|
they were supposed to limit the lethal strategic weapons in the Soviet and American arsenals
|
|
|
what happened in 1979 that took attention off of the SALT II treaty?
|
muslim militants stormed the US embassy in Tehran, Iran and took all of its occupants hostage
|
|
|
when did the soviet union arouse the US's worst fears?
|
when it blitzed into the moutainous nation of Afghanistan and appeared to be poised for a thrust at the oil-jugular of the gulf
|
|
|
what did carter do in response to the threat of soviets cutting off the supply of oil?
|
he slapped an embargo on the export of grain and high-tech machinery to the USSR and called for a boycott of the upcoming Olympic Games in Moscow; he also proposed the creation of a "Rapid Deployment Force" to respond to suddenly developing crises in faraway places and requested that young ppl be made to register for a possible military draft
|
|
|
what did hte president proclaim would be the US attitude in the Persian Gulf?
|
the US would "use any means necessary, including force" to protect the persian Gulf against soviet incursions
|
|
|
what did the failure of the rescue mission for the iranian hostages show?
|
it showed the nation's helplessness and incompetence in the face of a mortifying insult to the national honor; we were in stalemate with iran throughout of the rest of carter's term
|
