U.S. History II - From Nixon to Carter, 1968–1980

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Study GuideU.S. History IIFrom Nixon to Carter, 196819801.America in the 1970sThe activism of the 1960s carried into the 1970s, including efforts by women and minorities.Environmentalismgained attention:oEarth Dayfirst celebrated in1970oActivists succeeded in stoppingSST (Supersonic Transport) planesdue to noiseand ozone concernsoTheycould not stop the Trans-Alaska Pipelinein 19731.1The Women’s MovementOrganizations likeNOWand theNational Women’s Political Caucusfought for equality.Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)passed Congress in 1972 butfailed ratificationdue toopposition.Roe v. Wade (1973):Supreme Court legalized abortion in the first trimester; led to the rise oftheRight-to-Life movement.Economic inequality persisted:oWomen faced a“glass ceiling”in corporate jobsoGender-neutral job titles became common: policemen → police officers,stewardesses → flight attendants1.2Civil Rights and MinoritiesJim Crow laws ended, butinequality persisted, especially in the urban North.Busingto integrate schools caused controversy; Supreme Court limited forced busing in1974.Affirmative actionsought to remedy past discrimination:oCritics called itreverse discriminationo1978 Supreme Court rulednumerical quotas illegal, but race could factor in collegeadmissions

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Study GuideKey Minority AchievementsMexican-Americans:United Farm Workers won collective bargaining rights in1975; La RazaUnida party promoted political candidatesNative Americans:oOccupiedWounded Knee (1973)to demand rightsoIndian Self-Determination Act (1974)gave tribes control over federal programsoTribes increasingly used legal action to secure treaty rights1.3Demographic ChangesPopulation growth slowed; thebaby boom endedDivorce and “nonfamily households” increasedThe U.S. populationaged, and retirement age rose from 65 → 70Population shifted geographically:oRust Belt(industrial East and Midwest) stagnatedoSun Belt(Florida, Texas, Southwest, California) grewImmigration ChangesImmigration Act of 1965ended discriminatory national-origins quotasMore immigrants came fromAsia and Latin AmericaFall of South Vietnam created arefugee wave(≈500,000)Economic opportunity drove legal and illegal immigration, especially fromMexico andCentral/South America1.4Big PictureThe 1970s were a period ofsocial progress and demographic change, but alsoeconomic andpolitical challenges:Activism continued but faced limits (environment, women’s rights, minorities)Demographics shifted due toaging population, regional migration, and immigrationMany gains of the 1960s were consolidated, but some battles, likeERA ratification andschool integration, remained unresolved

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Study Guide2.The Nixon PresidencyThe Nixon Presidency (19691974)Summary and Key PointsRichard Nixon’s presidency is remembered forforeign policy achievements,domestic challenges,and theWatergate scandal, which ultimately ended his presidency.2.1Election of 1968PresidentLyndon Johnsonannounced he would not seek re-election.Democratic candidates includedHubert HumphreyandRobert Kennedy; Kennedy wasassassinated in June 1968.Republican candidateRichard Nixonpromisedlaw and orderand a “secret plan” to end theVietnam War.George Wallace, running on the American Independent Party ticket, appealed toconservatives frustrated with the counterculture and the war.Results:oNixon narrowly won thepopular votebut decisively won theElectoral College(301191)oWallace carried five Southern statesoDemocrats kept control of Congress2.2Vietnam and “Vietnamization”Nixon’s approach to Vietnam included:Vietnamization: gradually transferring combat responsibility to South Vietnam whilewithdrawing U.S. troopsIntensified bombing of North Vietnam and expanded operations intoCambodia(19691970)U.S. forces dropped from500,000 to 30,000by 1972Paris Peace Accords (January 1973) ended U.S. involvementFinal outcome:Fall of Saigon (1975); Vietnam unified under northern controlU.S. cost:58,000 livesand$150 billion
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