When the year of 1969 approached, the turbulence and tumult of the 1960s began to finally subside. Richard Nixon’s presidency slowly started to regain control in America, as protests, violence, and civil unrest all decreased in the time Nixon was president. Nixon’s fresh new ideas abut running the country primarily stemmed from his “apprenticeship” with former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, although many of Nixon’s policies were revolutionary in their own right. The response of the public to the Vietnam War also significantly contributed to the general atmosphere of the time. Social reform also began to take a forefront in the eyes of the American public, with much new legislation being passed around the branches of government. The incredible
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The polarization of the United States government did not stop and there seemed to be more times of protest than ever before, yet even through this unrest, there were occasional periods of calm throughout the country that shone through the overcast cloud of the 1960s. Nixon’s claims that his would be a “reforming administration” lent itself to the many new changes that Nixon brought onto the government, including de-politicizing the Post Office and setting up a minimum income for families. Yet the most vocal element of the Nixon administration was not Nixon or the laws he had passed. The “center of attention” was instead Nixon’s Vice President, Spiro Agnew. Agnew was certainly the more eccentric of the two, as he often presented his beliefs very strongly to the public. Among these beliefs was his abhorrence of the peace movement. Agnew called the participants “effete snobs,” as he strongly disagreed with their protests. Agnew worked closely with the Justice Department to destroy the protests of the Black Panthers. On the other hand, Nixon was a much milder character. Nixon was quietly against the protests of the Vietnam War and was discreetly against the civil rights movement, aiming most of his policies at the “silent majority” of America. During his administration, Nixon would pass may laws that dealt directly with this silent majority, such as
The polarization of the United States government did not stop and there seemed to be more times of protest than ever before, yet even through this unrest, there were occasional periods of calm throughout the country that shone through the overcast cloud of the 1960s. Nixon’s claims that his would be a “reforming administration” lent itself to the many new changes that Nixon brought onto the government, including de-politicizing the Post Office and setting up a minimum income for families. Yet the most vocal element of the Nixon administration was not Nixon or the laws he had passed. The “center of attention” was instead Nixon’s Vice President, Spiro Agnew. Agnew was certainly the more eccentric of the two, as he often presented his beliefs very strongly to the public. Among these beliefs was his abhorrence of the peace movement. Agnew called the participants “effete snobs,” as he strongly disagreed with their protests. Agnew worked closely with the Justice Department to destroy the protests of the Black Panthers. On the other hand, Nixon was a much milder character. Nixon was quietly against the protests of the Vietnam War and was discreetly against the civil rights movement, aiming most of his policies at the “silent majority” of America. During his administration, Nixon would pass may laws that dealt directly with this silent majority, such as