CHAPTER 29 Essays - 20th Century In The United States, United States

CHAPTER 29 Essays - 20th Century In The United States, United States CHAPTER 29 AMERICA DURING A DIVISIVE WAR , 1963 - 1974 Chapter Outline Chronology 1964Civil Rights Act of 1964 passes; Congress approves Gulf of Tonkin Resolution; Johnson defeats Barry Goldwater 1965Congress passes Voting Rights Act; Violence hits Watts; U.S. role in Vietnam dramatically expands 1966Supreme Court decides Miranda v. Arizona; United States begins massive air strikes in North Vietnam 1967Large antiwar demonstrations begin 1968Tet offensive begins; Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy assassinated; Civil Rights Act passed; Richard Nixon wins presidency 1969Nixon announces "Vietnamization" policy; My Lai massacre become public 1970U.S. troops enter Cambodia; Congress creates Environmental Protection Agency 1971Stagflation unsets U.S. economy; U.S. dollar begins to "float" on currency markets 1972Watergate burglars caught inside Democratic headquarters' Nixon crushes George McGovern in presidential election 1973OPEC oil embargo begins; Paris Peace Accords signed; Supreme Court decides Roe v. Wade; Special Senate committee begins hearings into "Watergate" 1974House votes impeachment and Nixon resigns; Gerald Ford assumes presidency 1975Saigon falls to North Vietnamese forces 1.Lyndon Johnson, a consummate legislative "wheeler-dealer," greatly expanded government's role in people's lives through a series of initiatives he called the Great Society. a.Johnson used the powerful memory of Kennedy to carry through various Kennedy initiatives. In a sense, Johnson was successfully closing the New Frontier by gaining acceptance of a tax cut and securing passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. b.Johnson won a crushing victory in the election of 1964. c.With broad support in Congress, Lyndon Johnson pushed through a series of domestic programs known collectively as the Great Society. d.With the onset of economic problems in the late 1960s, in evaluating the Great Society, critics unfairly came to attack its costs, pointing out specific failures or condemning the entire plan without crediting the actual good that many of the programs had shown. 2.Escalation in Vietnam sapped the economy and alienated large segments of the population. a.The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gave Johnson authority to implement "all necessary measures" in Vietnam. b.The war continued to widen and grew ever more intense throughout 1965 as bombing campaigns widened, and the number of ground troops increased. c.The early years saw the media and the war maintain a traditional relationship in which there was little criticism. Later news coverage helped turn viewers against the war. 3.By 1967, millions joined in opposing the involvement in Vietnam as activism at home increased. a.Social and political activism came to characterize the 1960s as a movement of movements that challenged and questioned numerous traditional laws, attitudes and cultural institutions. b.During the early 1960s, many college students became part of a new political caucus known as the "new left." c.Supporters of the counterculture ridiculed traditional attitudes toward clothing, hair styles, and sexuality; experimented with drugs; and further popularized rock-and-roll music. d.Malcolm X preached a message fundamentally different from traditional civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King, Jr., giving rise to the "Black Power" movement. e.Those who made up the antiwar movement emerged from diverse backgrounds and interests, just as they expressed their opposition to the war in a myriad of ways. 4.The year 1968 was a pivotal time in the history of America's divisive war and of the Sixties. a.The turmoil in Vietnam, 1968, culminated with the Tet offensive. Though a tactical defeat for the communists, it was a political catastrophe to Johnson because it challenged claims of imminent American victory, thus creating a huge credibility gap. b.Antiwar sentiment surged in a new round of turmoil at home as war critic Eugene McCarthy rose in the early presidential primaries. His success led Johnson to drop out of his reelection campaign. These events were overshadowed by the twin assassinations of King and Kennedy. c.Richard Nixon captured the election of 1968 for the Republicans, defeating both Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace. 5.The comeback of Richard Nixon in 1968 was amazing. However, there would be continued polarization in 1969-1974. a.Political fringe groups such as the Weatherman drew a disproportionate amount of attention from the FBI and Nixon who claimed, as the new president, he would be the right person to lead a fight against lawbreaking and violence. b.Nixon made progress in social policy by expanding Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but his proposal for welfare reform failed