Introduction

The war in Vietnam divided American families, communities, and ultimately the nation. It killed Lyndon Johnson's domestic agenda and destroyed his presidency. It ended the economic prosperity that had reigned in the U.S. since the end of World War II. It killed the optimism of American liberalism. Why did the United States become involved in a conflict so far away from home? Who was a friend and who was the enemy? As the United States slowly escalated its commitment to South Vietnam, television brought images of carnage and destruction to the American dinner table. Stories about the massacre at My Lai and the killings at Kent State coalesced with the political violence that led to the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy to make many Americans feel the world was going crazy. Richard Nixon won the election of 1968 by appealing to the silent majority of Americans disturbed by both the war overseas and the unrest at home. While Nixon ended the war and achieved dÈtente with China, he could not suppress the rise of the new identity politics in the aftermath of the civil rights movement. Even as the war ended in failure in 1975, Americans seemed more divided than at any other time in the twentieth century.

The Web activities for this chapter explore the possibilities of reform in the wake of the changing American mentality of the 1970s. The additional research links address some of the people and events who both opened and limited the possibilities for American policies during the decade.

Web Activities 

1.  The environmental movement was hardly new in the 1970s. Examine this timeline of its history. What brought the movement to the forefront of American politics in the 1970s? Part of the reason was Rachel Carson and her book Silent Spring. What did she reveal to the public in this book? How did her ideology fit into the thinking of liberal America in the 1960s? Why did Earth Day not happen until 1970? Read the statement of the founder of Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson. What were his motives for founding this holiday? Now read the introduction to Barry Commoner's The Closing Circle, written in 1971. What did he think about Earth Day? What more did he hope to accomplish to protect the environment? What factors did he blame for its decline?

2.  Richard Nixon has quickly become a fascinating subject of study for historians who have tried to reconcile the brilliance of certain elements of his administration with its incompetence and astonishing disregard for the law in other areas. Start with the Checkers speech, then move on to the Nixon debates section and finally listen to the speeches given in the midst of Watergate. What personality traits come through in these excerpts? Do his style or his themes change over the course of two decades? An essay on Nixon addresses his personality and the difficulties it caused him as a politician. Do you buy this historian's argument? To gain further insight, browse Nixon links and CNN's Watergate retrospective, which provides the coverage given to Watergate by Time magazine during the immediate crisis. What more do these sites tell you about Nixon and why Watergate happened? Why, for example, did Nixon take such a chance by approving the break-in to Democratic headquarters in an election in which he was clearly such an overwhelming favorite?

3.  How did Jimmy Carter (shown above with his wife and black leaders) try to reunite the country in the aftermath of Watergate? Now go to a site chronicling the Camp David negotiations between Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. Follow the negotiations; what role did Carter play in achieving this historic agreement?

4.  The Iranian hostage crisis was the final straw that brought down the Carter administration. Read this history of the relationship between the United States and Iran. Why does this author believe the crisis occurred? Now read an Iranian viewpoint. How does the story differ from the opposing sides?

Additional Research Links

The Limits of Reform

• The Nader Page. Read this history of Ralph Nader and the consumer movement. Why did it grow at a time when other reform movements were losing momentum?
• The McDonald's Story. Read the history of the nation's largest fast food chain. Why does the corporation claim it became so popular? What are the theories in your textbook?
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). This essay gives a history of the organization and the events that preceded it. Why did they choose to organize in 1929?

A Ford, Not a Lincoln

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Henry Kissinger. This page is highly critical of Kissinger's policies toward the third world, particularly Chile and Cambodia. Why? What did Kissinger accomplish of a positive nature during his term as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor?

• Gerald Ford. What was Ford's background prior to becoming Nixon's Vice President after Agnew's resignation? Why does at least one historian think Ford's policies had little to do with his selection? Why did Ford pardon Nixon?

Jimmy Carter: Restoring the Faith

• Read the "Report of the President Commission on The Accident at Three Mile Island" and the report on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission site. According to these two accounts, why did the accident at Three Mile Island happen? What kind of effect did the accident have on the American public?
• SALT talks. What happened during the SALT and SALT II Talks between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.? Why were they important? Why was President Carter criticized for the outcome of the SALT II talks??