CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 30
Reform and Conflict At Home:
A Turbulent Era, 1961-1974

Chapter Summary
In Chapter 30, we examine the crises that engulfed American society during the 1960s and early 1970s. As we learn from the first section, “Civil Rights and the New Frontier,” the New Frontier was overly ambitious in light of the political distance between the new president’s liberal agenda and a Congress dominated by a conservative coalition. When he attempted to deal with this conservative coalition, Kennedy at first failed to press forward on civil rights issues. At this point, violence began to have an impact on developments. In the face of violent challenges from southern segregationists to an expanding black civil-rights movement, the Kennedy administration gradually committed itself to a decisive stand in favor of black equality. But only because of continuing racial violence and Kennedy’s assassination did Congress finally pass civil rights legislation.
The section “The Great Society and the Triumph of Liberalism” covers the legislative accomplishments of the Johnson administration—the most sweeping reform legislation since 1935. This legislation comprised the Civil Rights Act of 1964, establishment of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and legislation associated with Johnson’s War on Poverty. The authors look closely at the legislation that constituted the War on Poverty and discuss the problems and successes of this program.
The liberal decisions rendered by the Supreme Court during the 1960s and early 1970s matched the liberalism reflected in the progressive legislation of the Johnson years. The authors examine these rulings, the aspects of American life and American society they affected, and the praise and criticisms they evoked.
As the three branches of the federal government slowly began to deal with such long-standing American problems as poverty and minority rights, frustrations that had built up over generations of inaction manifested themselves. Events convinced civil-rights activists in the South that the “power structure” in American society was not to be trusted. Northern blacks began to reach the same conclusions. Both the civil-rights movement and Johnson’s antipoverty programs had offered African Americans hope for a better day in American society. However, as discussion of the social, economic, and political plight of urban blacks reveals, that hope had not been fulfilled. Among other factors, unfulfilled expectations and the continued display of wealth and possessions in the consumer-oriented American society led to the urban riots of the 1960s. Militant black leaders gained prominence and questioned Martin Luther King’s philosophy of nonviolence as well as his goal of integration. Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, and the Black Panther Party called for “black power” within the context of black nationalism.
Along with this revolution of rising expectations among blacks, some whites involved in the civil rights movement began to become disillusioned with American society. Although their disillusionment stemmed from different sources than that of blacks, it led to the political and social activism associated with the New Left and the counterculture. The authors discuss the emergence, characteristics, and goals of both of these groups as well as the reaction of the middle class to their attacks on traditional values. In addition, the activism of blacks, the New Left and counterculture, and women gave rise to gay activism and to the gay rights movement. As the Vietnam War escalated and the New Left and the counterculture found common cause in their antiwar stance, the middle class became more and more convinced that traditional society was under siege.
The forces of frustration, rage, and anger born of racism, sexism, poverty, disillusionment, materialism, and the revolution of rising expectations practically ripped America apart in the tumult of 1968. After explaining the events of that year, the authors discuss the emergence, characteristics, and goals of both moderate and radical feminists. They also examine the problems encountered by many working women in the 1960s and note gains made by women against sexism in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Continuation of chaos into the 1970s convinced President Nixon and many Americans that society was on the verge of anarchy. Nixon attempted to use the perceived danger to his political advantage by portraying critics, including the Democratic opposition, as Communist pawns and enemies of American society. These tactics gained Nixon little in the 1970 congressional elections, and publication of the Pentagon Papers fostered more distrust of government. As Nixon prepared for the 1972 presidential election, he turned to Keynesian economics to deal with the country’s economic problems and opened relations with the People’s Republic of China.
In “Nixon’s Reelection and Resignation,” the authors first examine the factors that contributed to Nixon’s landslide victory in the 1972 election. These factors include the “southern strategy,” Nixon’s success in associating the Democratic Party with groups and movements that threatened traditional values, the nature of George McGovern’s campaign, and division within the Democratic Party. Even though the voters overwhelmingly chose to return Nixon to the White House in 1972, they also chose to leave both houses of Congress in the hands of the Democrats.
Unfortunately, Nixon’s landslide victory did not guarantee an end to the crisis atmosphere that had plagued the nation since the late 1960s. The Watergate scandal caused more disillusionment with government and increased the somber mood of the people, for it involved a series of illegal activities approved at the highest level of American government. Some of these activities, such as the break-in at Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, had been undertaken to discredit political opponents; others, such as the paying of hush money to witnesses, were part of an elaborate cover-up.
Beyond the illegal actions, the Watergate scandal was a constitutional crisis; the “imperial presidency” threatened the balance-of-power concept embodied in the Constitution and the guarantees of individual rights embodied in the Bill of Rights. We see the constitutional nature of the crisis in the clash between the executive and judicial branches of government, the impeachment hearings undertaken by the House Judiciary Committee, and ultimately the resignation of the president. Unlike the scandals of previous administrations, the activities linked to Watergate were aimed not at financial gain but at monopolizing political power. After citing the events associated with Watergate, the authors outline and briefly evaluate congressional attempts to correct the abuses associated with the scandal.


Learning Objectives
1. Discuss John F. Kennedy’s personal and political background; examine the goals and accomplishments of the Kennedy administration, and evaluate the legacy of the Kennedy presidency.
2. Discuss John F. Kennedy’s assassination and its impact on American society.
3. Examine the goals and accomplishments of the Johnson administration, and evaluate the legacy of the Johnson presidency.
4. Discuss the issues and personalities and explain the outcome of the 1964 congressional and presidential elections.
5. Discuss the major rulings of the Warren Court, and explain the impact of these rulings on American life and society.
6. Discuss the accomplishments and failures of the black search for equality from 1961 to 1973; explain the transformation of the civil rights movement into the black power movement; and discuss the impact of black activism on American society.
7. Discuss the forces that gave rise to the New Left and the counterculture; examine the philosophy, goals, and actions of these two groups; and discuss their impact on American society.
8. Explain the emergence of the gay rights movement, and discuss the movement’s goals and its impact on American society.
9. Examine the crises that sent shock waves through American society in 1968.
10. Discuss the issues and personalities and explain the outcome of the 1968 congressional and presidential elections.
11. Explain the emergence, characteristics, and goals of the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and discuss the successes and failures of this movement and its impact on American society.
12. Discuss the issues that faced the Nixon administration in the late 1960s and early 1970s; explain and evaluate the administration’s actions concerning those issues; and discuss the consequences of those actions.
13. Examine the issues and personalities and explain the outcome of the 1972 congressional and presidential elections.
14. Discuss the illegal activities that constituted the Watergate scandal, and explain the threat these activities posed to constitutional government.
15. Examine the impact of the Watergate scandal on the American people, American society, and American institutions, and discuss and evaluate the reforms enacted in the scandal’s aftermath.



Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
Each administration from 1961 to 1974 promised reforms, but violence also marked the terms of Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon.

II. Civil Rights and the New Frontier
A. “The Best and the Brightest”
Kennedy surrounded himself with intellectuals with fresh ideas.
B. The New Frontier
Kennedy’s program promised more than the president could deliver, especially since Congress was dominated by conservatives.
C. March on Washington
Student volunteers formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and encouraged African Americans to resist segregation and register to vote. Kennedy gradually began to commit himself to first-class citizenship for blacks. In August 1963, thousands gathered at the Lincoln Memorial for a March on Washington. At this event Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered one of the most memorable speeches in American history.
D. The Kennedy Assassination
Kennedy died in Dallas Texas, and crushed the hope that many held for the future. Many Americans still wonder if Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy.
E. Kennedy in Retrospect
Critics fault Kennedy as president, but he seemed to grow in the office and his untimely death enhanced his reputation.

III. The Great Society and the Triumph of Liberalism
A. Civil Rights Act of 1964
At the urging of President Johnson, Congress outlawed discrimination in public accommodations and employment.
B. Election of 1964
Johnson and the Democrats won a tremendous victory in 1964, paving the way for numerous domestic programs.
C. Voting Rights Act of 1965
The federal government became involved in voter registration.
D. War on Poverty
Johnson’s ambitious effort to destroy poverty through education and job training enjoyed mixed success.
E. Successes in Reducing Poverty
Federal programs and economic expansion alleviated a number of problems the poor faced.
F. The Warren Court
Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Supreme Court supported judicial activism and handed down a series of landmark decisions.
G. Civil Rights Rulings
The Court protected freedom of speech, of privacy, of the rights of accused criminals, and upheld the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

IV. Civil Rights Disillusionment, Race Riots, and Black Power
A. Explosion of Black Anger
Many black leaders advocated nonviolence, but in 1964 frustration erupted into riots in several northern cities.
B. Race Riots
A bloody riot occurred in Los Angeles in 1965. In this case blacks, not whites, initiated the violence. Riots continued from 1966 to 1968. A federal committee found that white racism had led to the disturbances.
C. Malcolm X
Malcolm X, a symbol of AfricanAmerican pride, was killed in 1965 for moderating his hard line positions.
D. Black Power
In 1966, Stokely Carmichael encouraged African Americans to express their identity through Black Power.

V. The New Left and the Counterculture
A. Free Speech Movement
At the University of California at Berkeley, the Free Speech Movement indicated a new white activism.
B. Students for a Democratic Society and the New Left
Students for a Democratic Society, meeting at Port Huron, Michigan, condemned racism, poverty, and the Cold War. The heterogeneous protest movement referred to itself as the New Left.
C. Countercultural Revolution
Cynicism, drug use, and a contempt for many traditional values shaped the emergence of a counterculture.
D. Rock ‘n’ Roll
The counterculture often found expression for their feelings in rock music.
E. Sexuality
Oral contraceptives led young people to adopt more casual sexual mores.
F. Gay Rights Movement
Many homosexuals became more open, and a 1969 riot in Greenwich Village marked the genesis of “Gay Power.”
G. Antiwar Protests
The counterculture and the New Left both opposed the Vietnam War.

VI. 1968: A Year of Protest, Violence, and Loss
A. Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
In April 1968, James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr., touching off widespread violence.
B. Assassination of Robert Kennedy
In June 1968, an Arab nationalist assassinated Robert Kennedy, increasing a sense of despair in Americans.
C. Violence at the Democratic Convention
In August 1968, a riot between demonstrators at the Democratic convention and the police shocked the nation.
D. Election of 1968
In November 1968, Americans narrowly elected Richard Nixon over Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace.
E. Unraveling of the New Deal Coalition
The Vietnam War and the Democratic Party’s support for civil rights and welfare for the poor shook apart the Democrat’s New Deal coalition.

VII. Rebirth of Feminism
A. National Organization for Women
The need for action in advancing women’s issues led to the 1966 founding of NOW.
B. “Personal Politics”
Radical feminists preferred confrontational, direct action.
C. Working Women’s Burdens
For working women, the most pressing issue was sex discrimination in employment.
D. Women’s Educational and Professional Gains
By 1973, female participation in professional schools rose. Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment failed.
E. Roe v. Wade
In 1973, citing a woman’s constitutional right to privacy, the Supreme Court legalized abortions.

VIII. Nixon and the Divided Nation
A. Kent State and Jackson State
The United States invaded Cambodia in 1970, leading to huge protests and the killing of four demonstrators at Kent State University and two students at Jackson State.
B. Politics of Divisiveness
The Republicans sought to discredit the Democrats as radical at best and treasonous at worst. Still the Democrats made gains in the 1970 elections.
C. Stagflation
In 1971 the United States suffered relatively high inflation and unemployment, or “stagflation.” Nixon took pragmatic, liberal steps to restore the economy.
D. Environmental Issues
Over Nixon’s opposition, environmentalists made gains during his first term.

IX. Nixon’s Reelection and Resignation
A. Liberal Legislative Victories
Democrats still controlled the Congress after 1968, and they continued to enact liberal programs.
B. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”
Nixon’s “southern strategy” appealed to voters from the Sunbelt and helped Nixon defeat George McGovern.
C. Nixon and the Supreme Court
Nixon managed to appoint four conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
D. Election of 1972
Nixon faced very few serious challengers. In 1972 he took elaborately staged trips to China and the Soviet Union. He was also aided by the rumor planted by his aids that the Vietnam War was near its end. Nixon won a smashing victory in 1972, but the Democrats retained control of Congress.
E. Watergate Break in
During the election, Nixon henchmen burglarized the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex.
F. White House Cover up
In June 1972, police arrested five men for breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters. The White House began feverish efforts to destroy any link with the men.
G. Watergate Hearings and Investigations
Judicial and Congressional investigations uncovered misconduct high in the Nixon administration.
H. Saturday Night Massacre
When pressured for Watergate tape recordings, Nixon fired the Attorney General and a Special Prosecutor.
I. Agnew’s Resignation
Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned because of income tax evasion and corruption. Gerald Ford replaced him.
J. Nixon’s Resignation
Facing the prospect of impeachment on three counts, Nixon resigned as president on August 9, 1974.
K. Post Watergate Restrictions on Executive Power
The excesses of Nixon’s term led Congress to pass laws restraining presidents in foreign affairs, preventing the impounding of federal appropriations, limiting campaign funding, and ensuring access to government documents.