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The Perils of Prosperity: Contemporary United States (1968-present)

The Perils of Prosperity: Contemporary United States (1968-present). Chaos of 1968. Tet Offensive in Vietnam raised skepticism in America and disrupted presidential campaign President Lyndon Johnson dropped out of race Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated

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The Perils of Prosperity: Contemporary United States (1968-present)

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  1. The Perils of Prosperity: Contemporary United States (1968-present)

  2. Chaos of 1968 • Tet Offensive in Vietnam raised skepticism in America and disrupted presidential campaign • President Lyndon Johnson dropped out of race • Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated • Senator Robert Kennedy assassinated while running for president • Democratic Convention leads to widespread violence in streets of Chicago while Cold War consensus distintegrates

  3. Rise of Richard Nixon

  4. Nixon’s Accomplishments • Visit to People’s Republic of China in 1972 to pave the way for normalized relations with a major communist power (détente) • Cease-fire in Vietnam negotiated in 1972 to begin the following year so that vast majority of U.S. military personnel could be evacuated from South Vietnam and POWs returned • SALT I Treaty (1972) marked first limiting of nuclear weapons between USA & USSR

  5. Watergate & the Fall of a President

  6. Women’s Liberation Movement

  7. Campaign for Equal Rights Amendment • Language of amendment: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” • Modern effort was focused between 1972-1982 on getting necessary 38 states to ratify once Congress had passed the measure. • Only 35 states ratified it by 1982.

  8. Energy Crisis (1973-1974)

  9. End of Vietnam War (1975)

  10. Disco Phenomenon (John Travolta from the movie Saturday Night Fever)

  11. Camp David Accords (1978)

  12. Iranian Hostage Crisis (1979-1981)

  13. Miracle at Lake Placid

  14. Election of 1980

  15. Key Features of Reagan Agenda • “Peace through strength” – Revamp military with major spending increases to challenge what he termed the “evil empire” (USSR) • Back anti-communist resistance forces around the globe (what became the Reagan Doctrine) • Fiscal conservatism, i.e. cutting federal spending (except defense), reducing regulations, and lowering corporate and individual taxes

  16. Birth of MTV – Aug ‘81

  17. Shooting of President Reagan - 1981

  18. Peacekeeping in Lebanon (1983-1984)

  19. Distraction in Grenada?

  20. Loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger

  21. Iran-Contra Scandal (1985-1986)

  22. Iran-Contra Details • While proclaiming neutrality in Iran-Iraq War, USA secretly sold weapons to Iran in exchange for its influence in freeing hostages held in Lebanon by Shiite terrorists (meanwhile secretly assisting Iraq as well). • Proceeds from Iranian arms sales secretly funneled to anti-communist Contras in Nicaragua despite congressional ban on aid.

  23. Reagan and Gorbachev

  24. End of the Berlin Wall

  25. First Persian Gulf War

  26. Collapse of the USSR - 1991

  27. Election of 1992

  28. Dynamics of the Campaign • Ross Perot carried 19% of the popular vote for Reform Party, but no states – likely siphoned away support that otherwise would have gone primarily to President Bush • Bill Clinton’s campaign team focused on bread-and-butter economic issues to overcome Bush’s foreign policy expertise and popularity from recent war

  29. .com Revolution

  30. Impeachment of Bill Clinton

  31. Anatomy of a Scandal • President Clinton impeached by House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice. • Following a trial in the Senate, Clinton survived removal votes by comfortable margins. • Public opinion polls indicated disgust with personal behavior, but aversion to removal.

  32. Election of 2000

  33. Florida as the Deciding Factor • Debate emerged over whether to recount manually all ballots and what criteria would be used. • One issue was chad (residue from hole punched ballot) • U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (along ideological lines) in favor of halting recount and giving Bush the election • Key error by Gore team was in asking for hand recount only in counties known to be Democratic strongholds

  34. 9/11

  35. Invasions of Afghanistan & Iraq (2001 & 2003)

  36. War on Terror at Home

  37. Election of 2008

  38. Useful Primary Sources • Redstockings Manifesto (1969) • Farewell Address to his staff by Richard Nixon (1974) • Final Report of Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (1974) • “Human Rights and Foreign Policy” speech by Jimmy Carter (1977) • “Evil Empire” speech by Ronald Reagan (1982) • “Tear Down this Wall” speech by Ronald Reagan (1987)

  39. Useful Primary Sources (continued) • Oklahoma City Bombing memorial speech by Bill Clinton (1995) • Ground Zero speech by George W. Bush (2001) • Bush Doctrine (2001) • Patriot Act (2001)

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