APUSH AMSCO 2016 - 2018 Continued

Chapter 25 'Diplomacy and World War II, 1929 - 1945'

Resident Roosevelt's fervent desire for peace was hardly new. World War I, after all, was meant to be a "war to end all wars" and, as Woodrow Wil- son had said, a war "to make the world safe for democracy." In 1933, however, few people believed that the fragile peace established by the Treaty of Ver- sailles would hold up for much longer. In Asia, Japan was threatening China. In Europe, the Nazi party under Adolf Hitler had come to power in Germany with promises of reasserting German nationalism and militarism. In the United States, worries about the depression overshadowed concerns about a second world war. Even if war did break out, most Americans were determined not to send troops abroad again. However, a second world war did occur, and the United States played a major role in fighting it. How and why U.S. foreign policy changed from disengagement to neutrality and from neutrality to total involvement is the subject of this chapter. Moreover, the war transformed American economy and society in many ways more dramatically than the New Deal. Herbert Hoover's Foreign Policy Hoover concurred with the prevailing opinion of the American people that the United States should not enter into firm commitments to preserve the security of other nations. Such an opinion, in the 1930s, would be labeled "isolationism." Japanese Aggression in Manchuria In the early 1930s, Japan posed the greatest threat to world peace. Defying both the Open Door policy and the covenant of the League of Nations, Japanese troops marched into Manchuria in September 1931, renamed the territory Man- chukuo, and established a puppet government. DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 521 JAPANESE AGGRESSION IN ASIA IN THE 1930s SOVIET UNION LJ Japan and Possessions 1930 LJ Japanese Control 1933 LJ Japanese Occupation 1937-1941 SAKHALINo IS. Q (J &! 0 • : RYUKYU I. (Japanese possessions) 0 FORJ\110SA HongKong� � (1941) �o � PHILIPPINE�� ) ��� (1931) Date of Annexation or Occupation � Invaded Dec. 1941 O 250 500 Miles 0 250 500 KIiometers Despite its commitment to taking action against blatant aggression, the League of Nations did nothing except to pass a resolution condemning Japan for its actions in Manchuria. The Japanese delegation then walked out of the League, never to return. In the Manchuria crisis, the League, through its failure to take action, showed its inability to maintain peace. Its warnings would never be taken seriously by potential aggressors. Stimson Doctrine U.S. response to Japan's violation of the Open Door policy was somewhat stronger than the League's response but no more effec- tive in deterring further aggression. Secretary of State Henry Stimson declared in 1932 that the United States would honor its treaty obligations under the Nine- Power Treaty (1922) by refusing to recognize the legitimacy of any regime like 522 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM "Manchukuo" that had been established by force. The League of Nations read- ily endorsed the Stimson Doctrine and issued a similar declaration. Latin America Hoover actively pursued friendly relations with the countries of Latin America. In 1929, even before being inaugurated, the president-elect went on a goodwill tour of the region. As president, he ended the interventionist policies of Taft and Wilson by (1) arranging for U.S. troops to leave Nicaragua by 1933 and (2) negotiating a treaty with Haiti to remove all U.S. troops by 1934. Franklin Roosevelt's Policies, 1933-1938 In his first term, Roosevelt's concentration on dealing with the economic cri- sis at home kept him from giving much thought to shaping foreign policy. He did, however, extend Hoover's efforts at improving U.S. relations with Latin America by initiating a good-neighbor policy. Good-Neighbor Policy In his first inaugural address in 1933, Roosevelt promised a "policy of the good neighbor" toward other nations of the Western Hemisphere. First, inter- ventionism in support of dollar diplomacy no longer made economic sense, because U.S. businesses during the depression lacked the resources to invest in foreign operations. Second, the rise of militarist regimes in Germany and Italy prompted Roosevelt to seek Latin American's cooperation in defending the region from potential danger. FDR implemented his good-neighbor policy through several actions. Pan-American Conferences At Roosevelt's direction, the U.S. delega- tion at the Seventh Pan-American Conference in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1933, pledged never again to intervene in the internal affairs of a Latin Ameri- can country. In effect, Franklin Roosevelt repudiated the policy of his older cousin, Theodore, who had justified intervention as a corollary to the Mon- roe Doctrine. Another Pan-American conference was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936. Roosevelt himself attended the conference. He personally pledged to submit future disputes to arbitration and also warned that if a Euro- pean power such as Germany attempted "to commit acts of aggression against us," it would find "a hemisphere wholly prepared to consult together for our mutual safety and our mutual good." Cuba Cubans had long resented the Platt Amendment, which had made their country's foreign policy subject to U.S. approval. In 1934, President Roo- sevelt persuaded Congress to nullify the Platt Amendment, retaining only the U.S. right to keep its naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Mexico Mexico tested U.S. patience and commitment to the good- neighbor policy in 1938 when its president, Lazaro Cardenas, seized oil prop- erties owned by U.S. corporations. Roosevelt rejected corporate demands to intervene and encouraged American companies to negotiate a settlement. DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 523 Economic Diplomacy Helping the U.S. economy was the chief motivation for Roosevelt's policies toward other foreign policy issues in his first term. Recognition of the Soviet Union The Republican presidents of the 1920s had refused to grant diplomatic recognition to the Communist regime that ruled the Soviet Union. Roosevelt promptly changed this policy by granting recogni- tion in 1933. His reason for doing so, he said, was to increase U.S. trade and thereby boost the economy. Philippines Governing the Philippines cost money. As an economy mea- sure, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934, which provided for the independence of the Philippines by 1946 and the gradual removal of U.S. military presence from the islands. Reciprocal Trade Agreements Acting in the tradition of Progressive Democrats such as William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, President Roosevelt favored lower tariffs as a means of increasing international trade. In 1934, Congress enacted a plan suggested by Secretary of State Cordell Hull, which gave the president power to reduce U.S. tariffs up to 50 percent for nations that reciprocated with comparable reductions for U.S. imports. Events Abroad: Fascism and Aggressive Militarism The worldwide depression soon proved to have alarming repercussions for world politics. Combined with nationalist resentments after World War I, eco- nomic hardships gave rise to military dictatorships in Italy in the 1920s and Japan and Germany in the 1930s. Eventually, in 1940, Japan, Italy, and Ger- many signed a treaty of alliance which formed the Axis Powers. Italy A new regime seized power in Italy in 1922. Benito Mussolini led Italy's Fascist party, which attracted dissatisfied war veterans, nationalists, and those afraid of rising communism. Dressed in black shirts, the Fascists marched on Rome and installed Mussolini in power as "11 Duce" (the Leader). Fas- cism-the idea that people should glorify their nation and their race through an aggressive show of force-became the dominant ideology in European dictator- ships in the 1930s. Germany The Nazi party was the German equivalent of Italy's Fascist party. It arose in the 1920s in reaction to deplorable economic conditions after the war and national resentments over the Treaty of Versailles. The Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, used bullying tactics against Jews as well as Fascist ideology to increase his popularity with disgruntled, unemployed German workers. Hitler seized the opportunity presented by the depression to play upon anti-Semitic hatreds. With his personal army of "brown shirts," Hitler gained control of the German legislature in early 1933. Japan Nationalists and militarists in Japan increased their power in the 1920s and 1930s. As economic conditions worsened, they persuaded Japan's 524 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM nominal ruler, the emperor, that the best way to ensure access to basic raw materials ( oil, tin, and iron) was to invade China and Southeast Asia and thereby give Japan control over what their leaders proclaimed to be the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. American Isolationists Public opinion in the United States was also nationalistic but expressed itself in an opposite way from fascism and militarism. Disillusioned with the results of World War I, American isolationists wanted to make sure that the United States would never again be drawn into a foreign war. Japanese aggression in Manchuria and the rise of fascism in Italy and Germany only increased the determination of isolationists to avoid war at all costs. Isolationist sentiment was strongest in the Midwest and among Republicans. The Lesson of World War I In the early 1930s, Americans commonly felt that U.S. entry into World War I had been a terrible mistake. An investi- gating committee led by Senator Gerald Nye of North Dakota bolstered this view when it concluded in 1934 that the main reason for U.S. participation in the world war was to serve the greed of bankers and arms manufacturers. This committee's work influenced isolationist legislation in the following years. Neutrality Acts Isolationist senators and representatives in both parties held a majority in Congress through 1938. To ensure that U.S. policy would be strictly neutral if war broke out in Europe, Congress adopted a series of neu- trality acts, which Roosevelt signed with some reluctance. Each law applied to nations that the president proclaimed to be at war. • The Neutrality Act of 1935 authorized the president to prohibit all arms shipments and to forbid U.S. citizens to travel on the ships of belliger- ent nations. • The Neutrality Act of 1936 forbade the extension of loans and credits to belligerents. • The Neutrality Act of 1937 forbade the shipment of arms to the oppos- ing sides in the civil war in Spain. Spanish Civil War The outbreak of civil war in Spain in 1936 was viewed in Europe and the United States as an ideological struggle between the forces of fascism, led by General Francisco Franco, and the forces of republican- ism, called Loyalists. Roosevelt and most Americans sympathized with the Loyalists but, because of the Neutrality Acts, could not aid them. Ultimately, in 1939, Franco's Fascists prevailed and established a military dictatorship. America First Committee In 1940, after World War II had begun in Asia and Europe, isolationists became alarmed by Roosevelt's pro- DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 525 British policies. To mobilize American public opinion against war, they formed the America First Committee and engaged speakers such as Charles Lindbergh to travel the country warning against reengaging in Europe's troubles. Prelude to War In the years 1935 to 1938, a series of aggressive actions by the Fascist dictator- ships made democratic governments in Britain and France extremely nervous. It was known that Hitler was creating an air force more powerful than anything they could match. Hoping to avoid open conflict with Germany, the democracies adopted a policy of appeasement-allowing Hitler to get away with relatively small acts of aggression and expansion. The United States went along with the British and French policy. Appeasement The following events showed how unprepared the democra- cies were to challenge Fascist aggression. 1. Ethiopia, 1935 In a bid to prove fascism's military might, Mussolini ordered Italian troops to invade Ethiopia. The League of Nations and the United States objected but did nothing to stop the Italian aggressor, which succeeded in conquering the African country after a year of bitter fighting. 2. Rhineland, 1936 This region in western Germany was supposed to be permanently demilitarized, according to the Versailles Treaty. Hitler openly defied the treaty by ordering German troops to march into the Rhineland. 3. China, 1937 Full-scale war between Japan and China erupted in 1937 as Japan's troops invaded its weaker neighbor. A U.S. gunboat in China, the Panay, was bombed and sunk by Japanese planes. Japan's apology for the sinking was quickly accepted by the U.S. government. 4. Sudetenland, 1938 In Europe, Hitler insisted that Germany had a right to take over a strip of land in Czechoslovakia, the Sudetenland, where most people were German-speaking. To maintain peace, the British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, and the French president, Edouard Daladier, with Roos- evelt's support, met with Hitler and Mussolini in Munich. At this conference in September 1938, the British and French leaders agreed to allow Hitler to take the Sudetenland unopposed. The word "Munich" has since become synony- mous with appeasement. Quarantine Speech Roosevelt recognized the dangers of Fascist aggres- sion but was limited by the isolationist feelings of the majority of Americans. When Japan invaded China in 1937, he tested public opinion by making a speech proposing that the democracies act together to "quarantine" the aggres- sor. Public reaction to the speech was overwhelmingly negative, and Roosevelt dropped the quarantine idea as politically unwise. Preparedness Like Wilson in 1916, Roosevelt argued for neutrality and an arms buildup at the same time. Congress went along with his request in late 1938 by increasing the military and naval budgets by nearly two-thirds. Some isolationists accepted the increased defense spending, thinking it would be used only to protect against possible invasion of the Western Hemisphere. 526 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM AXIS AGGRESSION IN THE 1930s NORTH SEA SARDINIA AFRICA MEDITERRANEAN SEA L___J 11 Germany and Italy (1935) Date of Annexation, (Axis Powers) Occupation, or Invasion From Neutrality to War, 1939-194 l O 100 200 Miles O 100 200 Kilometers In March 1939, Hitler broke the Munich agreement by sending troops to occupy all of Czechoslovakia. After this, it became clear that Hitler's ambitions had no limit and that war was probably unavoidable. Outbreak of War in Europe Recognizing the failure of appeasement, Britain and France pledged to fight if Poland was attacked. They had always assumed that they could count on the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, to oppose Hitler, since communism and fascism were ideological enemies. The democracies were therefore shocked in August 1939 when Stalin and Hitler signed a nonaggression pact. Secretly, the Soviet and German dictators agreed to divide Poland between them. DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 527 Invasion of Poland On September 1, 1939, German tanks and planes began a full-scale invasion of Poland. Keeping their pledge, Britain and France declared war against Germany-and soon afterward, they were also at war with its Axis allies, Italy and Japan. World War II in Europe had begun. Blitzkrieg Poland was the first to fall to Germany's overwhelming use of air power and fast-moving tanks-a type of warfare called blitzkrieg (lightning war). After a relatively inactive winter, the war was resumed in the spring of 1940 with Germany attacking its Scandinavian neighbors to the north and its chief enemy, France, to the west. Denmark and Norway surrendered in a few days, France in only a week. By June 1940, the only ally that remained free of German troops was Great Britain. Changing U.S. Policy President Roosevelt countered isolationism in the United States by gradually giving aid to the Allies, especially Great Britain. Now that war had actually begun, most Americans were alarmed by news of Nazi tanks, planes, and troops conquering one country after another. They were strongly opposed to Hitler but still hoped to keep their country out of the war. President Roosevelt believed that British survival was crucial to U.S. security. The relationship that was built over the coming years between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and FDR proved one of keys to Allied success in the war. The president chipped away at the restrictive neutrality laws until practically nothing remained to prevent him from giving massive aid to Britain. After the surrender of France to the Germans in 1940, most Americans accepted the need to strengthen U.S. defenses, but giving direct aid to Britain was controversial. "Cash and Carry" The British navy still controlled the seas. Therefore, if the United States ended its arms embargo, it would help only Britain, not Germany. Roosevelt persuaded Congress in 1939 to adopt a less restrictive Neutrality Act, which provided that a belligerent could buy U.S. arms if it used its own ships and paid cash. Technically, "cash and carry" was neutral, but in practice, it strongly favored Britain. Selective Service Act (1940) Without actually naming Germany as the potential enemy, Roosevelt pushed neutrality back one more step by persuad- ing Congress to enact a law for compulsory military service. The Selective Training and Service Act of September 1940 provided for the registration of all American men between the ages of 21 and 35 and for the training of 1.2 mil- lion troops in just one year. There had been a military draft in the Civil War and World War I but only when the United States was officially at war. Isolationists strenuously opposed the peacetime draft, but they were now outnumbered as public opinion shifted away from strict neutrality. Destroyers-for-Bases Deal In September 1940, Britain was under con- stant assault by German bombing raids. German submarine attacks threatened British control of the Atlantic. Roosevelt knew that selling U.S. destroyers to 528 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM the British outright would outrage the isolationists. He therefore cleverly ar- ranged a trade. Britain received 50 older but still serviceable U.S. destroyers and gave the United States the right to build military bases on British islands in the Caribbean. The Election of 1940 Adding to suspense over the war was uncertainty over a presidential election. Might Franklin Roosevelt be the first president to break the two-term tradition and seek election to a third term? For months, the president gave an ambigu- ous reply, causing frenzied speculation in the press. At last, he announced that, in those critical times, he would not turn down the Democratic nomination if it were offered. Most Democrats were delighted to renominate their most effective campaigner. During the campaign, Roosevelt made the rash pro- nouncement: "Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars." Wendell Willkie The Republicans had a number of veteran politicians who were eager to challenge the president. Instead, they chose a newcomer to public office: Wendell Willkie, a lawyer and utility executive with a magnetic personality. Although he criticized the New Deal, Willkie largely agreed with Roosevelt on preparedness and giving aid to Britain short of actually entering the war. His strongest criticism of Roosevelt was the president's decision to break the two-term tradition established by George Washington. Results Roosevelt won with 54 percent of the popular vote-a smaller margin than in 1932 and 1936. Important factors in the president's reelection were (1) a strong economic recovery enhanced by defense purchases and (2) fear of war, which caused voters to stay with the more experienced leader. Arsenal of Democracy Roosevelt viewed Germany's conquest of most of Europe as a direct threat both to U.S. security and to the future of democratic governments everywhere. After his reelection, he believed that he was in a stronger position to end the appearance of U.S. neutrality and give material aid to Britain. In a December 1940 fireside chat to the American people, he explained his thinking and con- cluded: "We must be the great arsenal of democracy." Four Freedoms Addressing Congress on January 6, 1941, the president delivered a speech that proposed lending money to Britain for the purchase of U.S. war materials. He justified such a policy by arguing that the United States must help others nations defend "four freedoms:" freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Lend-Lease Act Roosevelt proposed ending the cash-and-carry require- ment of the Neutrality Act and permitting Britain to obtain all the U.S. arms it needed on credit. The president said it would be like lending a neighbor a garden hose to put out a fire. Isolationists in the America First Committee campaigned vigorously against the lend-lease bill. By now, however, majority opinion had shifted toward aiding Britain, and the Lend-Lease Act was signed into law in March 1941. DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 529 Atlantic Charter With the United States actively aiding Britain, Roosevelt knew that the United States might soon enter the war. He arranged for a secret meeting in August with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard a ship off the coast of Newfoundland. The two leaders drew up a document known as the Atlantic Charter that affirmed that the general principles for a sound peace after the war would include self-determination for all people, no territorial expansion, and free trade. Shoot-on-Sight In July 1941, the president extended U.S. support for Brit- ain even further by protecting its ships from submarine attack. He ordered the U.S. Navy to escort British ships carrying lend-lease materials from U.S. shores as far as Iceland. On September 4, the American destroyer Greer was attacked by a German submarine it had been hunting. In response, Roosevelt ordered the navy to attack all German ships on sight. In effect, this meant that the United States was now fighting an undeclared naval war against Germany. Disputes With Japan Meanwhile, through 1940 and 1941, U.S. relations with Japan were becoming increasingly strained as a result of Japan's invasion of China and ambitions to extend its conquests to Southeast Asia. Beginning in 1940, Japan was allied with Germany and Italy as one of the Axis powers. Hitler's success in Europe enabled Japanese expansion into the Dutch East Indies, British Burma, and French Indochina-territories still held as European colonies. U.S. Economic Action When Japan joined the Axis in September 1940, Roosevelt responded by prohibiting the export of steel and scrap iron to all countries except Britain and the nations of the Western Hemisphere. His action was aimed at Japan, which protested that it was an "unfriendly act." In July 1941, Japanese troops occupied French Indochina. Roosevelt then froze all Japanese credits in the United States and also cut off Japanese access to vital materials, including U.S. oil. Negotiations Both sides realized that Japan needed oil to fuel its navy and air force. If the U.S. embargo on oil did not end, Japan would likely seize the oil resources in the Dutch East Indies. At the same time, Japan's invasion of China was a blatant violation of the Open Door policy, to which the United States was still committed. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull insisted that Japan pull its troops out of China, which Japan refused to do. The Japa- nese ambassador to the United States tried to negotiate a change in U.S. policy regarding oil. Agreement, however, seemed most unlikely. In October, a new Japanese government headed by General Hideki Tojo made a final attempt at negotiating an agreement. Neither side, however, changed its position. U.S. military leaders hoped to delay armed confrontation with Japan until U.S. armed forces in the Pacific were strengthened. Japan, on the other hand, believed that quick action was necessary because of its limited oil supplies. 530 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Pearl Harbor The U.S. fleet in the Pacific was anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, while most American sailors were still asleep in their bunks, Japanese planes from aircraft carriers flew over Pearl Harbor bombing every ship in sight. The surprise attack lasted less than two hours. In that time, 2,400 Americans were killed (including over 1,100 when the battle- ship Arizona sank), almost 1,200 were wounded, 20 warships were sunk or severely damaged, and approximately 150 airplanes were destroyed. Partial Surprise The American people were stunned by the attack on Pearl Harbor. High government officials, however, knew that an attack some- where in the Pacific was imminent because they had broken the Japanese codes. They did not know the exact target and date for the attack, which many felt would be in the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, or Malaya. Declaration of War Addressing Congress on the day after Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt described December 7th as "a date which will live in infamy." He asked Congress to declare "that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire." On December 8, Congress acted immediately by declaring war, with only one dissenting vote. Three days later, Germany and Italy honored their treaty with Japan by declaring war on the United States. Soviet Union Invaded By December 1941, the battlefront in Europe had shifted from the west to the east. Breaking his nonaggression pact with Stalin, Hitler had ordered an invasion of the Soviet Union. Thus, the principal Allies fighting Nazi Germany from 1942 to 1945 were Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. The three Allied leaders-Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin- agreed to concentrate on the war in Europe before shifting their resources to counter Japanese advances in the Pacific. World War II: The Home Front FDR compared the transition after Pearl Harbor to a patient with new prob- lems. It was time for Dr. Win-the-War to take over from Dr. New Deal. Mobilization The success of U.S. and Allied armed forces depended on mobilizing Amer- ica's people, industries, and creative and scientific communities. The role of federal government expanded well beyond the anything in World War I or the New Deal. Federal Government As in World War I, the U.S. government organized a number of special agencies to mobilize U.S. economic and military resources for the wartime crisis. Early in 1942, the War Production Board (WPB) was established to manage war industries. Later the Office of War Mobilization (OWM) set production priorities and controlled raw materials. The government DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 531 used a cost-plus system, in which it paid war contractors the costs of pro- duction plus a certain percentage for profit. One federal agency, the Office of Price Administration (OPA), regulated almost every aspect of civilians' lives by freezing prices, wages, and rents and rationing such commodities as meat, sugar, gasoline, and auto tires, primarily to fight wartime inflation. Deficit spending during the depression was dwarfed by the deficits incurred during the war. Federal spending increased 1,000 percent between 1939 and 1945. As a result the gross national product grew by 15 percent or more a year. World War II proved what the New Deal did not, that the government could spend its way of a depression. By war's end, the national debt had reached the then staggering figure of $250 billion, five times what it had been in 1941. Business and Industry Stimulated by wartime demand and government contracts, U.S. industries did a booming business, far exceeding their produc- tion and profits of the 1920s. The depression was over, vanquished at last by the coming of war. By 1944, unemployment had practically disappeared. War-related industrial output in the United States was astonishing. By 1944, it was twice that of all the Axis powers combined. Instead of automo- biles, tanks and fighter planes rolled off the assembly lines. American factories produced over 300,000 planes, 100,000 tanks, and ships with a total capacity of 53 million tons. So efficient were production methods that Henry Kaiser's giant shipyard in California could turn out a new ship in just 14 days. The war concentrated production in the largest corporations, as smaller business lost out on government contracts to larger businesses with more capacity. The 100 largest corporations accounted for up to 70 percent of wartime manufacturing. Research and Development Government worked closely not only with industries, but also universities and research labs to create and improve tech- nologies that could be used to defeat the enemy. The Office of Research and Development was established to contract scientists and universities to help in the development of electronics, such as radar and sonar, medicines such as penicillin, jet engines, rockets, and in the top secret Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb. Ironically, many of the European scientists that had to flee Fas- cist persecution would contribute to its defeat working in United States. Workers and Unions Labor unions and large corporations agreed that while the war lasted, there would be no strikes. Workers became disgrun- tled, however, as their wages were frozen while corporations made large profits. John L. Lewis therefore called a few strikes of coal unions. The Smith- Connally Anti-Strike Act of 1943, passed over Roosevelt's veto, empowered the government to take over war-related businesses whose operations were threatened by a strike. In 1944, Roosevelt had occasion to use this law when he ordered the army to operate the nation's railroads for a brief period. Financing the War The government paid for its huge increase in spend- ing ($100 billion spent on the war in 1945 alone) by (1) increasing the income 532 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM tax and (2) selling war bonds. For the first time, most Americans were required to pay an income tax, and in 1944, the practice was begun of automatically deducting a withholding tax from paychecks. Borrowing money by selling $135 billion in war bonds supplemented the tax increase. In addition, the short- age of consumer goods made it easier for Americans to save. Wartime Propaganda Few people opposed the war, so the government's propaganda campaign of posters, songs, and news bulletins was primarily to maintain public morale, to encourage people to conserve resources, and to increase war production. The Office of War Information controlled news about troop movements and battles. Movies, radio, and popular music all supported and reflected a cheerful, patriotic view of the war. For example, Norman Rock- well's popular illustrations of the "Four Freedoms" captured the liberties and values at stake in the war. The unity of Americans behind the war's democratic ideals helped that generation remember it as "the Good War." The War's Impact on Society Every group in the U.S. population adjusted to the unique circumstances of wartime. The increase in factory jobs caused millions to leave rural areas for industrial jobs in the Midwest and on the Pacific Coast, especially California. Entirely new communities arose around the construction of new factories and military bases. Many of the new defense installations were located in the South because of that region's warm climate and low labor costs. The wartime expansion set the stage for a post-war migration to the Sunbelt. African Americans Attracted by jobs in the North and West, over 1.5 million African Americans left the South. In addition, a million young men left home to serve in the armed forces. Whether as soldiers or civilians, all faced continued discrimination and segregation. White resentment in urban areas led to dozens dying in race riots in New York and Detroit during the summer of 1943. Civil rights leaders encouraged African Americans to adopt the "Double V" slogan-one for victory over fascism abroad and one for equality at home. Membership in the NAACP increased during the war. Another civil rights organization, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), was formed in 1942 to work more militantly for African American interests. After black leaders threat- ened a protest march on Washington, the Roosevelt administration issued an executive order to prohibit discrimination in government and in businesses that received federal contracts. One judicial victory was achieved in the Supreme Court case of Smith v. Allwright (1944), which ruled that it was unconstitu- tional to deny membership in political parties to African Americans as a way of excluding them from voting in primaries. Mexican Americans Many Mexican Americans worked in defense indus- tries, and over 300,000 served in the military. A 1942 agreement with Mexico allowed Mexican farmworkers, known as braceros, to enter the United States DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 533 in the harvest season without going through formal immigration procedures. The sudden influx of Mexican immigrants into Los Angeles stirred white resentment and led to the so-called zoot suit riots in the summer of 1943, in which whites and Mexican Americans battled on the streets. American Indians American Indians also contributed to the war effort. Approximately 25,000 served in the military, and thousands more worked in defense industries. Having discovered the opportunities off their reservations, more than half never returned. Japanese Americans More than any other ethnic group, Japanese Ameri- cans suffered from their association with a wartime enemy. Almost 20,000 native-born Japanese Americans served loyally in the military. Nevertheless, fol- lowing the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were suspected of being potential spies and saboteurs, and a Japanese invasion of the West Coast was considered imminent by many. In 1942, these irrational fears as well as racism prompted the U.S. government to order over 100,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast to leave their homes and reside in the barracks of internment camps. Japanese Americans living in other parts of the U.S., including Hawaii, did not come under this order. In the case of Korematsu v. U.S. (1944), the Supreme Court upheld the U.S. government's internment policy as justified in wartime. Years later, in 1988, the federal government agreed the ruling was unjust and awarded financial compensation to those still alive who had been interned. Women The war also changed the lives of women. Over 200,000 women served in uniform in the army, navy and marines, but in noncombat roles. As in World War I, an acute labor shortage caused women to take jobs vacated by men in uniform. Almost 5 million women entered the workforce, many of them working in industrial jobs in the shipyards and defense plants. The number of married women in the workforce increased to 24 percent. A song about "Rosie the Riveter" was used to encourage women to take defense jobs. However, they received pay well below that of male factory workers. Wartime Solidarity The New Deal helped immigrant groups feel more included, and serving together as "bands of brothers" in combat or working together for a common cause in defense plants helped to reduce prejudices based on nationality, ethnicity and religion. The wartime migrations also helped to soften regional differences, and open the eyes of many Americans to the injustice of racial discrimination. The Election of 1944 With the war consuming most of people's attention, the presidential election of 1944 had less interest than usual. Again, FDR Many felt that, in the war emergency, there should be no change in leadership. The president therefore sought and received the Demo- cratic nomination for the fourth time. There was a change, however, in the Democrats' choice of a vice presidential running mate. Party leaders felt that Roosevelt's third-term vice president, Henry Wallace, was too radical and 534 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM unmanageable. With Roosevelt's agreement, they replaced Wallace with Harry S. Truman, a Missouri senator with a national reputation for having conducted a much-publicized investigation of war spending. Although Roosevelt publicly denied medical problems, those near him recognized his uncertain health. Thomas Dewey The Republicans nominated the 42-year-old governor of New York, Thomas Dewey, who had a strong record of prosecuting corruption and racketeering. The Republican candidate was unable to offer any real alter- native to Roosevelt's leadership or generate enthusiasm for change. Results Winning 53 percent of the popular vote and an overwhelming 432-99 victory in the electoral college, the president was elected to an unprec- edented fourth term. As it proved, however, FDR would live for less than three months after his inauguration. Most of his term would be served by Truman. World War 11: The Battlefronts The fighting of World War II was waged on two fronts, or "theaters of opera- tion." In the Pacific, Japanese forces reached the height of their power in 194 2, occupying islands throughout the western Pacific Ocean. In Europe, much of the fighting in the first year of war was between the Germans and the Soviets, as the latter fought desperately to prevent the conquest of Russia. Fighting Germany The high tide of the German advance ended in 1942, partly as a result of U.S. entry into the war but mainly because of a Soviet victory at Stalingrad in the winter of that year. Defense at Sea, Attacks by Air Coordinating their military strategy, the British and Americans concentrated on two objectives in 1942: (1) overcoming the menace of German submarines in the Atlantic and (2) beginning bombing raids on German cities. The protracted naval war to control the shipping lanes was known as the Battle of the Atlantic. German submarines sank over 500 Allied ships in 1942. Gradually, however, the Allies developed ways of con- taining the submarine menace through the use of radar, sonar, and the bombing of German naval bases. The U.S bombers carried out daylight "strategic bomb- ing" raids on military targets in Europe, but the lines between military and civilian targets became blurred as the war carried on, especially in Japan, From North Africa to Italy The Allies had the daunting task of driving German occupying forces out of their advance positions in North Africa and the Mediterranean. They began their North Africa campaign, Operation Torch, in November 1942. Led by U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower and British Gen- eral Bernard Montgomery, Allied forces succeeded in taking North Africa from the Germans by May 1943. The next U.S.-British target was the Mediterranean island of Sicily, which they occupied in the summer of 1943, preparatory to an invasion of DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 535 Italy. Mussolini fell from power during the summer, but Hitler's forces rescued him and gave him nominal control of northern Italy. In fact, German troops controlled much of Italy at the time that the Allies invaded the peninsula in September 1943. The Germans put up a determined resistance to the Allied offensive, holding much of northern Italy until their final surrender in May 1945. From D-Day to Victory in Europe The Allied drive to liberate France began on June 6, 1944, with the largest invasion by sea in history. On D-Day, as the invasion date was called, British, Canadian, and U.S. forces under the com- mand of General Eisenhower secured several beachheads on the Normandy coast. After this bloody but successful attack, the Allied offensive moved rap- idly to roll back German occupying forces. By the end of August, Paris was liberated. By September, Allied troops had crossed the German border for a final push toward Berlin. The Germans launched a desperate counterattack in Belgium in December 1944 in the Battle of the Bulge. After this setback, how- ever, Americans reorganized and resumed their advance. German Surrender and Discovery of the Holocaust Since 1942, Allied bombing raids over Germany had reduced that nation's industrial capacity and ability to continue fighting. Recognizing that the end was near, as the Russian army closed in on Berlin, Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. The unconditional surrender of the Nazi armies took place a week later, on May 7. As U.S. troops advanced through Germany, they came upon German con- centration camps and witnessed the horrifying extent of the Nazis' program of genocide against the Jews and others. Americans and the world were shocked to learn that 6 million Jewish civilians and several million non-Jews had been systematically murdered by Nazi Germany. Fighting Japan In Europe, British, Soviet, and U.S. forces were jointly responsible for defeat- ing Germany, but in the Pacific, it was largely the U.S. armed forces that challenged the Japanese. After the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan seized control of much of East Asia and Southeast Asia. By early 1942, Japanese troops occu- pied Korea, eastern China, the Philippines, British Burma and Malaya, French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos), the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), and most of the Pacific islands west of Midway Island. Turning Point, 1942 The war in the Pacific was dominated by naval forces battling over a vast area. Intercepting and decoding Japanese messages enabled U.S. forces to destroy four Japanese carriers and 300 planes in the decisive Battle of Midway on June 4-7. This battle ended Japanese expansion. Island-Hopping After the victory at Midway, the United States began a long campaign to get within striking distance of Japan's home islands by seiz- ing strategic locations in the Pacific. Using a strategy called "island-hopping," 536 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM commanders bypassed strongly held Japanese posts and isolated them with naval and air power. Allied forces moved steadily toward Japan. Major Battles Early in 1942, the Japanese had conquered the Philippines. When General Douglas MacArthur, the commander of army units in the South- ern Pacific, was driven from the islands, he famously vowed, "I shall return." The conflict that prepared the way for U.S. reoccupation of the Philippines was the largest naval battle in history. At the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, the Japanese navy was virtually destroyed. For the first time in the war, the Jap- anese used kamikaze pilots to make suicide attacks on U.S. ships. Kamikazes also inflicted major damage in the colossal Battle of Okinawa (April to June 1945). Before finally succeeding in taking this island near Japan, U.S. forces suffered 50,000 casualties and killed 100,000 Japanese. Atomic Bombs After Okinawa, a huge invasion force stood ready to attack Japan. Extremely heavy casualties were feared. By this time, however, the United States had developed a frightfully destructive new weapon. The top-secret Manhattan Project had begun in 1942. Directed by the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the project employed over 100,000 people and spent $2 billion to develop a weapon whose power came from the splitting of the atom. The atomic bomb, or A-bomb, was successfully tested on July 16, 1945, at Alamogordo, New Mexico. The new president, Harry Truman, and his wartime allies called on Japan to surrender unconditionally or face "utter destruction." When Japan gave an unsatisfactory reply, Truman consulted with his advisers and decided to use the new weapon on two Japanese cities. On August 6, an A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and on August 9, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. About 250,000 Japanese died, either immedi- ately or after a prolonged period of suffering, as a result of the two bombs. Japan Surrenders Within a week after the second bomb fell, Japan agreed to surrender if the Allies would allow the emperor to remain as a titular (powerless) head of state. General MacArthur received Japan's formal surren- der on September 2, 1945, in Tokyo harbor aboard the battleship Missouri. Wartime Conferences During the war, the Big Three (leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain) arranged to confer secretly to coordinate their military strat- egies and to lay the foundation for peace terms and postwar involvement. Casablanca The first conference involved only two of the Big Three. In January 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed on the grand strategy to win the war, including to invade Sicily and Italy and to demand "unconditional surren- der" from the Axis powers. Teheran The Big Three-Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin-met for the first time in the Iranian city ofTeheran in November 1943. They agreed that the British and Americans would begin their drive to liberate France in the spring DIPLOMACY AND WORLD WAR II, 1929-1945 537 of 1944 and that the Soviets would invade Germany and eventually join the war against Japan. Yalta In February 1945, the Big Three conferred again at Yalta, a resort town on the Black Sea coast of the Soviet Union. Their agreement at Yalta would prove the most historic of the three meetings. After victory in Europe was achieved, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed that • Germany would be divided into occupation zones • there would be free elections in the liberated countries of Eastern Europe (even though Soviet troops controlled this territory) • the Soviets would enter the war against Japan, which they did on August 8, 1945-just as Japan was about to surrender • the Soviets would control the southern half of Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands in the Pacific and would have special concessions in Manchuria • a new world peace organization (the future United Nations) would be formed at a conference in San Francisco Death of President Roosevelt When the president returned from Yalta and informed Congress of his agreement with Churchill and Stalin, it was apparent that his health had deteriorated. On April 12, 1945, while resting in a vacation home in Georgia, an exhausted Franklin Roosevelt died suddenly. News of his death shocked the nation almost as much as Pearl Harbor. Harry S. Truman entered the presidency unexpectedly to assume enormous responsibilities as commander in chief of a war effort that had not yet been won. Potsdam In late July, after Germany's surrender, only Stalin remained as one of the Big Three. Truman was the U.S. president, and Clement Attlee had just been elected the new British prime minister. The three leaders met in Postsdam, Germany (July 17-August 2, 1945) and agreed (1) to demand that Japan surrender unconditionally, and (2) to hold war-crime trials of Nazi leaders. The War's Legacy The most destructive war in the history of the world had profound effects on all nations, including the United States. Costs The deadliest war in human history resulted in the deaths of some 50 million military personnel and civilians worldwide. Fifteen million Americans served in uniform and approximately 300,000 Americans lost their lives either in Europe or the Pacific, and 800,000 were wounded. Excluding the Civil War, more 538 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Americans died in World War II than in all other U.S. wars combined. The war left the country with a huge national debt, but domestically the United States had suffered little compared to others. The United Nations Unlike the rejection of the League of Nations following World War I, Congress readily accepted the peacekeeping organization that was conceived during World War II and put in place immediately after the war. Meeting in 1944 at Dumbarton Oaks near Washington, D.C., Allied representatives from the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and China proposed an inter- national organization to be called the United Nations. Then in April 1945, delegates from 50 nations assembled in San Francisco, where they took only eight weeks to draft a charter for the United Nations. The Senate quickly voted to accept U.S. involvement in the U.N. On October 24, 1945, the U.N. came into existence when the majority of member-nations ratified its charter. Expectations In a final speech, which he never delivered, Franklin Roosevelt wrote: "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be the doubts of today." There were doubts, to be sure, about the new world order to emerge from World War II. Initially at least, there were also widely shared hopes that life would be better and more prosperous after the war than before. While other combatants, such as China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union, had suffered extensive damage from the war, the cities of the United States had remained unscarred. Without a doubt, the United States in 1945 was at once the most prosperous and the most powerful nation in the world. It had played a major role in defeating the Fascist dictators. Now people looked for- ward with some optimism to both a more peaceful and more democratic world. Unfortunately, the specters of the Soviet Union and the A-bomb would soon dim these expectations of a brighter tomorrow.

Chapter 31 'Challenges of the 21st Century, 2000 - Present'

The United States entered the 21st century with unrivaled economic and military dominance in the world. However, international terrorism, economic problems, and partisan politics exposed the nation's vulnerability. Political Polarization The early 21st century elections revealed a nation closely divided between a conservative South, Great Plains, and Mountain states, and a more moderate to liberal northeast, Midwest and west coast. As a result of this division, a few swing states determined federal elections. The more traditional, religious, and limited or anti-government rural and many suburban areas went Republican, while the more diverse large urban centers and internationally minded coasts voted Democrat. The shift of Southern white conservatives after the 1960s from the Demo- cratic to the Republican party transformed American politics. In the 1990s, Southern conservatives such as Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Tom DeLay of Texas, and Trent Lott of Mississippi took over the leadership of the Republican party, making it more conservative and partisan. As the party of Lincoln became the party of Ronald Reagan, moderate Republicans lost influence and primary contests to conservatives. In the state legislatures, both parties gerrymandered congressional districts to create "safe seats," which rewarded partisanship and discouraged compromise in Congress. Disputed Election of 2000 The presidential election of 2000 was the closest since 187 6, and the first ever to be settled by the Supreme Court. President Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, easily gained the nomination of the Democratic party, selecting Senator Joseph Lieber- man of Connecticut as his running mate. Governor George W. Bush of Texas, CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY, 2000-PRESENT 679 eldest son of former President George H. W. Bush, won the nomination of the Republican party, and selected Dick Cheney, a veteran of the Reagan and elder Bush administrations, as his running mate. Both candidates fought over the mod- erate and independent vote, Gore as a champion of "working families" and Bush running as "a compassionate conservative." Ralph Nader, the candidate for the Green party, ran a distant third, but he probably took enough votes from Gore to make a difference in Florida and other states. Gore received more than 500,000 more popular votes nationwide than Bush, but victory hinged on who won Florida's 25 electoral votes. Bush led by only 537 popular votes in Florida after a partial recount. Then the Democrats asked for manual recounts of the error-prone punch cards. The Supreme Court of Florida ordered recounts of all the votes, but the U.S. Supreme Court over- ruled them in a split 5-4 decision that matched the party loyalty of the justices. In Bush v. Gore, the majority ruled that the varying standards used in Florida's recount violated the Equal-Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Al Gore ended the election crisis by accepting the ruling. Governor Bush won with 271 electoral votes against Gore's 266. (One elector abstained.) PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2000, ELECTORAL VOTES BY STATE H4 MA 12 RI 4 CT 8 1-�•i...r-NJ 15 DE 3 LJ Won by Bush LJ Won by Gore MD 10 DC 3 Domestic Policies of the George W. Bush Administration President George W. Bush aggressively pushed his conservative agenda: tax cuts, deregulation, federal aid to faith-based organizations, pro-life legislation, school choice, privatization of Social Security and Medicare, drilling for oil and gas in the Alaska wildlife refuge, and voluntary environmental standards for industry. Republican Tax Cuts In 2001, Congress, enjoying rare budget surpluses, passed a $1.35 trillion dollar tax cut spread over ten years. The bill lowered the top tax bracket, gradually eliminated estate taxes, increased the child tax credit 680 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM and limits for IRA and 401(k) contributions, and gave all taxpayers an immediate tax rebate. In 2003, President Bush pushed through another round of tax cuts for stock dividends, capital gains, and married couples. Democrats criticized the tax cuts for giving most of the benefits to the richest 5 percent of the population, and for contributing to the doubling of the national debt during the Bush presidency from about $5 trillion to $10 trillion. Educational and Health Reform President Bush championed the bipar- tisan No Child Left Behind Act. It aimed to improve student performance and close the gap between well-to-do and poor students in the public schools through testing of all students nationwide, granting students the right to transfer to better schools, funding stronger reading programs, and training high-quality teachers. Republicans also passed laws to give seniors in Medicare the option to enroll in private insurance companies. Congress also fulfilled a campaign promise by President Bush to provide prescription drug coverage for seniors. Democrats criticized the legislation as primarily designed to profit insurance and drug companies. Economic Bubbles and Corruption The technology boom of the 1990s peaked in 2000, and was over by 2002. The stock market crashed; the Dow Jones Average fell by 38 percent. The unemployment rate climbed to 6 percent, and the number of people living in poverty increased for the first time in eight years. Fraud and dishonesty committed by business leaders also hurt the stock market and consumer confidence in the economy. For example, the large corporations Enron and World Com had "cooked their books" (falsified stated earnings and profits) with the help of accounting companies. The Federal Reserve fought the recession by cutting interest rates to 1.25 percent, the lowest in 50 years. The end of the technology boom-bust cycle (1995-2002) encouraged many investors to move their money into real estate, which created another speculative "bubble" (2002-2007) that would burst with even more tragic consequences in Bush's second term. The War on Terrorism Terrorism dominated U.S. foreign policy after September 11, 2001. George W. Bush entered the White House with no foreign policy experience, but surrounded himself with veterans of prior Republican administrations, such as his Vice Presi- dent Dick Cheney, who served as Secretary of Defense under his father. General Colin Powell became his Secretary of State, the first African American to hold the job. President Bush's confident and aggressive approach against terrorism won over many Americans, but his administration often alienated other nations. Roots of Terrorism The United States was faulted by many in the Arab world for siding with Israel in the deadly cycle of Palestinian terror-bombing and Israeli reprisals. However, the causes of anti-Americanism often went deeper. After World War I, the Ottoman Empire, the last of the Islamic empires, was replaced in the Middle East by Western-style, secular nation-states. Religious fundamentalists decried modernization and the corruption of the "House of Islam," an ancient Islamic ideal of a realm governed by the precepts of the Koran CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY, 2000-PRESENT 681 and Sharia law. The stationing of U.S. troops in the Middle East after the Gulf War was seen as another violation of their lands. Islamic extremists, such as Osama bin Laden and the supporters of Al-Qaeda ("The Base"), preached jihad, which they defined as a holy war against the "Jews and Crusaders" to restore a Islamic caliphate or realm from Africa and the Middle East through East Asia. The restrictive economic and political conditions in the Middle East also pro- vided a fertile breeding ground for recruiting extremists. Early Terrorist Attacks A truck bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993 that killed six people brought home for the first time the threat posed by Islamic extremists. In 1998, the United States responded to the terrorist bombing of two U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania by bombing Al- Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and the Sudan. Their leader, Osama bin Laden, had fled to Afghanistan and allied himself with the Taliban, the Islamic fundamentalists who had taken over Afghanistan. In 2000, U.S. armed forces also learned the nature of "asymmetric" warfare conducted by terrorists, when two suicide bombers in a small rubber boat nearly sank a billion dollar warship, the USS Cole, docked in Yemen. September 11, 2001 The coordinated attacks by Al-Qaeda terrorists in commercial airliners on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and a fourth plane that crashed in Pennsylvania claimed nearly 3,000 lives. The attacks galvanized pub- lic opinion as nothing since the Source: World Trade Center, September 11, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 2001. Wikimedia Commons/Michael Foran in 1941, and they empowered the Bush administration to take action. War in Afghanistan President Bush declared that he wanted Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders "dead or alive." After the Taliban refused to turn over bin Laden and his associates, their government was quickly overthrown in the fall of 2001 by a combination of U.S. bombing, U.S. Special Forces, and Afghan troops in the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance. American and Afghan forces continued to pursue the remnants of Al-Qaeda in the mountains bordering Pakistan, but they failed to capture bin Laden. Hamid Karzai, with support from the United States, became head of the government in Kabul, but Afghanistan remained unstable and divided by the Taliban insurgency and tribal conflicts. 682 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Homeland Security After the 9/11 attacks, most Americans were willing to accept background checks and airport searches. The Patriot Acts of 2001 and 2003 gave unparalleled powers to the U.S. government to obtain information and expand surveillance and arrest powers. However, many Americans were troubled by unlimited wiretaps, the collection of records about cell phone calls and emails, the use of military tribunals to try suspects accused of terrorism, and the imprisonment of suspects indefinitely at a U.S. prison in Guantanamo, Cuba. To enhance security, the Bush administration created a new Homeland Secu- rity Department by combining more than 20 federal agencies with 170,000 employees, including the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, and ones dealing with customs and immigration. This was the largest reorganization of government since the creation of the Department of Defense after World War II. Many in Congress questioned why the FBI and CIA were left out of the new department. In 2004, a bipartisan commission on terrorism criticized the FBI and the CIA, as well as the Defense Department, for failing to work together to "connect the dots" that may have uncovered the 9/11 plot. Congress followed up on their rec- ommendations, creating a Director of National Intelligence with the difficult job of coordinating the intelligence activities of all agencies. George W. Bush Foreign Policy President Bush worked with European nations to expand the European Union and NATO, supported admission of China to the World Trade Organization, and brokered conflicts between India and Pakistan. However, the Bush administration refused to join the Kyoto Accord to prevent global warming, walked out of a U.N. conference on racism, aban- doned the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia, and for years would not negotiate with North Korea or Iran. Critics questioned whether the admin- istration valued cooperation with the nations of the world or instead followed a unilateralist approach. The president argued, in what became known as the "Bush Doctrine," that the old policies of containment and deterrence were no longer effective in a world of stateless terrorism. To protect America, the president claimed that the United States would be justified in using pre-emptive attacks to stop the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) by terror- ists and by nations that support terrorism. Iraq War President Bush, in his 2002 State of the Union Address, singled out Iraq, North Korea, and Iran as the "axis of evil." While U.S. intelligence agencies were finding no link between Iraq's Saddam Hussein and the Septem- ber 11, 2001, attacks, the Bush administration pursued a pre-emptive attack on Iraq before Saddam Hussein could build and distribute WMDs (nuclear and biological) to terrorists. Late in 2002, Secretary of State Powell negotiated an inspection plan with the U.N. Security Council, which Iraq accepted. In the fol- lowing months, the U.N. inspectors failed to find WMDs in Iraq. Nevertheless, the Bush administration continued to present claims of their existence based on intelligence information that proved false. Operation Iraqi Freedom In early 2003, President Bush declared that Iraq had not complied with numerous U.N. resolutions, and that "the game was over." Without support of the U.N. Security Council, the United States launched CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY, 2000-PRESENT 683 air attacks on Iraq on March 19. In less than four weeks, U.S. armed forces, with the support of the British and other allies, overran Iraqi forces, captured the capital city, Baghdad, and ended Hussein's dictatorship. When U.S. forces could not find WMDs in Iraq, criticism of the "war of choice" and the "regime change" mounted both at home and overseas. The defeat of the Iraq army and the capture of Saddam Hussein in late 2003 did not end the violence in Iraq. Diverse groups of insurgents (Sunni followers of the former dictator, Shiite militias, and foreign fighters, including Al-Qaeda) continued to attacked U.S. and allied troops and one another. Millions of Iraqis fled the country or were displaced by the sectarian attacks. The Bush admin- istration was widely criticized for going into Iraq without sufficient troops to control the country and for disbanding the Iraqi army. Pictures of the barbaric treatment of prisoners by U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib further diminished Ameri- ca's reputation in Iraq and around the world. Elections of 2004 and a Bush Second Term The Democrats approached the elections of 2004 optimistic that they could unseat the incumbent president burdened by an increasingly unpopular war and limited economic recovery. Democratic voters selected Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts as their presidential candidate. The Republicans successfully energized their conservative base on issues such as the war against terrorism, more tax cuts, and opposition to gay marriage and abortion. President Bush received 51 percent of the popular vote and captured 286 electoral votes to Kerry's 252. The Republicans also expanded their majorities in the Senate and House, and continued to gain on the state level, especially in the South. This left the party in its strongest position since the 1920s. Four More Years at War The reconstruction of Iraq had made some headway by 2005 when the Iraqis held their first election, created a national assembly, and selected a prime minister and cabinet ministries, but the violence continued. The Sunni minority that had ruled Iraq under Hussein began to work with the Shiite majority and the Kurds in the new government. At first, these steps did little to reduce violence, which killed on the average I 00 Americans and 3,000 Iraqis a month. In the United States, the bipartisan Iraqi Study Group recommended steps to have the Iraqis take greater responsibility for their coun- try and set a timeline for U.S. withdrawal. President Bush rejected a timetable, and in early 2007 sent an additional 30,000 troops in a "surge" to establish order. By late 2008, militia violence and American deaths were down in Iraq, and the United States had started to turn over control of the provinces to the Iraqi government. In Afghanistan, the Taliban stepped up their attacks. For the first time, the number of Americans killed there outnumbered those killed in Iraq. President Bush turned over to the next president two unresolved wars and incomplete efforts to deal with nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea. The Bush admin- istration, though, did have the satisfaction of knowing that there had not been another major terrorist attack in the United States since September 11, 2001. 684 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Washington Politics After his re-election victory in 2004, President Bush pushed Congress to privatize Social Security by encouraging Americans to invest part of their Social Security payroll deductions in various market investments. His administration also argued for immigration reform, which was blocked by conservatives who criticized it as "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants. When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast hard and flooded New Orleans in August 2005, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) failed both to anticipate and respond to the crisis. More than 1,000 people died, and tens of thousands of others (mostly poor people) were left in desperate conditions. A variety of scandals tarnished many Republicans. Some of these scandals involved taking bribes from lobbyists, committing perjury and obstruction of justice, and having improper relations with congressional pages. The Republican majority leader of the House, Tom DeLay, was forced to resign over his gerrymandering scheme in Texas. These failures, along with dissatisfaction with the Iraq War, helped the Dem- ocrats win control of both houses of Congress in 2006. President Bush, however, did leave a lasting impact on the federal courts by appointing two conservatives to the Supreme Court-John Roberts (as Chief Justice) and Samuel Alito-and increasing conservative majorities in the federal appellate courts. The Great Recession The housing boom of 2002-2007 was fueled by risky subprime mortgages and speculators who borrowed to "flip" properties for a quick profit. Wall Street firms packaged these high-risk loans into a variety of complex investments ("securitization"), and sold them to unsuspecting investors around the world. However, as soon as housing prices started to dip, the bubble burst. Prices collapsed, foreclosures climbed, and investments worth trillions of dollars lost value. Investors panicked, which caused many banks and financial institu- tions at home and overseas to face failure. This resulted in a credit or "liquidity" crisis, because banks either lacked funds or were afraid to make the loans to busi- nesses and consumers necessary for the day-to-day functioning of the economy. As the crisis deepened within credit markets, Americans were also hit with soaring gas prices (well over $4 a gallon), stock market declines of more than 40 percent, and rising unemployment. In early 2008, the federal government tried a $170 billion stimulus package and took over a few critical financial institutions, such as quasi-governmental mortgage institutions, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. However, the crisis was not over. In September, the bankruptcy of the large Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers led to panic in the financial indus- try. This forced the Bush administration to ask Congress for additional funds to help U.S. banks and restore the credit markets. The controversial Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was passed, creating a $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to purchase failing assets that included mortgages and mortgage-related securities from financial institutions. Conservatives attacked TARP as "socialism" while liberals attacked it as a bailout of the Wall Street executives who had caused the problems. As with the Great Depression of 1929, the causes of this crash will be debated for years. Some blamed the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates too low. CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY, 2000-PRESENT 685 Others criticized excessive deregulation of the financial industry. And others saw the cause in government efforts to promote home ownership. Moreover, real estate bank fraud and Ponzi schemes, such as the estimated 18 billion dollars lost by investors in a fraud committed by Bernie Madoff, also helped to destroy investor confidence. Whatever its cause, the crisis significantly affected the 2008 election. Election of 2008 For the Democrats, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, wife of former President Bill Clinton, was the early favorite to become the first woman to head a national ticket. However, the big surprise of this election came after a long primary battle. A 47-year-old, charismatic, African-American, junior senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, captured the Democratic nomination for president. Obama chose as his running mate Joseph Biden of Delaware, an experienced member of the Senate. In the shadow of the unpopular Bush administration, the Republicans nominated Senator John McCain of Arizona, a Vietnam War hero and a political "maverick" who hoped to appeal to undecided voters. McCain selected Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, a 44-year-old, relatively unknown politician. She became only the sec- ond woman to run for the vice presidency on a major political party ticket. The McCain-Palin ticket briefly led in the polls, but the economic crisis, Obama's message for change, and his well-funded grassroots campaign helped the Democrats win in November. The Obama-Biden ticket gained 7,000,000 more votes than McCain-Palin. Obama won with a decisive 364 electoral votes to McCain's 174 by taking eight states (including Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina) that had been won by Bush in 2004. The Democrats also increased their majorities in the House and Senate well beyond their victories in 2006. An estimated 1.5 million people, the largest crowd ever to attend a presidential inauguration, gathered around the U.S. Capitol to witness the historic oath-taking of the nation's 44th American president. The election of the first African American as president of the United States was historic, but Barack Obama and the Demo- crats now faced the country's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, two unfinished U.S. wars, and a world increasingly skeptical of U.S. power and leadership. The First Obama Administration, 2009-2013 President Obama appointed his Democratic primary foe, Hillary Clinton, as Sec- retary of State and Eric Holder as the first African-American Attorney General. Obama re-appointed a Republican, Robert Gates, as Secretary of Defense to pro- vide operational continuity in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Transition The rapidly growing economic crisis dominated the transi- tion between President Bush and President Obama. Congress approved the use of the second half of the controversial TARP funding-$350 billion. At Obama's request, Bush used more than $10 billion of TARP funds to support the failing automakers, General Motors (GM) and the Chrysler Corporation. Presidential Initiatives President Obama signed a number of executive orders to overturn actions of the Bush administration. He placed a formal ban on 686 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM torture by requiring that Army field manuals be used as the guide for interrogat- ing terrorist suspects. The new president expanded stem-cell research and ended restrictions on federal funding of overseas health organizations. One of the first bills passed by Congress that Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act that strengthened protection of equal pay for female employees. Obama failed to carry out all of his campaign pledges. He had vowed to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but failed to win needed Congressional support. Economic Stimulus The "Great" or "Long" Recession started in late 2007 in the United States, and while financial sectors such as the stock market had recovered by 2013, unemployment peaked at more than 10 percent in 2009 and persisted at levels above 7 percent through 2013. Based on Keynesian economic ideas to avoid a greater depression, Obama and the Democrats enacted a number of programs to promote recovery and financial reform. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a $787 billion economic stimulus package designed to create or save 3.5 million jobs. Included was $288 billion for tax cuts to stimulate spending, and $144 billion to help state and local governments maintain jobs and services. The balance of the package was for construction projects, health care, education, and renewable energy. With General Motors and Chrysler Corporation near collapse, the Obama administration became deeply involved in the recovery of the domestic auto industry. The government temporarily took over General Motors ("Government Motors") while it went through bankruptcy, and guided the sale of Chrysler to Fiat, an Italian automaker. The popular "Cash for Clunkers" program provided $3 billion in incentives to U.S. residents to scrap old cars in order to promote sales and to purchase new, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The Great Recession revealed serious flaws in the federal oversight of financial institutions. The comprehensive Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) was designed to improve regulations of bank- ing and investment firms, and to protect taxpayers from future bailouts of "too big to fail" businesses. The act also set up a new Bureau of Consumer Protection to regulate consumer products, such as mortgages and credit cards. Some criti- cized the act for not breaking up the big banks that contributed to the meltdown of the economy and needed the bailouts. Health Care The U.S. "fee for service" medical system was the most expensive in the world, but produced mixed results. It promoted innovation, but left more than 45 million people outside the system to seek medical care in emergency rooms. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 ("Obamacare") aimed to extend affordable health care insurance to an additional 25 to 30 million Americans through combinations of subsidies, mandates, and insurance exchanges while introducing medical and insurance reforms to control health care costs. The act required insurance companies to accept patients regard- less of pre-existing conditions and to spend at least 80 percent of every premium dollar on medical care, or rebate their customers. Republicans opposed the law for its regulations and costs. Many Americans were confused by its complexity. CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY, 2000-PRESENT 687 Budget Deficits The recession both lowered the federal tax income collected and increased government spending on recovery programs. The combination tripled the annual deficit to $1.75 trillion in 2009 (the largest in history), and increased the national debt from $9 trillion in 2007 to $16 trillion by 2012. Econo- mists were not as worried about the short-term deficits as much as the long-term growth of the national debt. As the baby boom generation reached retirement age, rising Medicare and Social Security costs would also add to future deficits. In 2010 Obama created a presidential commission to make recommendations "to achieve fiscal responsibility over the long run." The commission produced the "Bowles-Simpson Plan," which would have eliminated the deficit by 2035 through $2 of spending cuts for every $1 increase in revenues. The compromise was widely praised, but rejected by Democrats for its cut to social services and by Republicans for its tax increases. "Compromise" had become a dirty word in Washington. The Tea Party and 2010 Mid-Term Elections The president's initial efforts at bipartisanship were largely rejected by the Republicans, but the Democrats controlled Congress during part of Obama's first two years, which enabled them to pass landmark legislation with little or no Republican support. The opposition to the deficits, the growing national debt and "Obamacare" coalesced in a loosely united conservative and libertarian movement known as the Tea Party. Many in the movement focused on economic issues and limited government, but others campaigned on gun rights, prayers in schools, outlawing abortions, and preventing undocumented immigration. In the fall of 2010, the Republicans took over the House with a 242 to 193 majority, and reduced the Democrats majority in the Senate to 53 votes, which included two independents. Congress in Gridlock In a very partisan political climate, divided gov- ernment produced budget stalemates, threats of government shutdown, and a danger of default on the national debt. The rival parties produced compet- ing plans to reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion, but could not agree on taxes or spending cuts. In August 2011, as the deadline to raise the debt ceiling closed in, the two sides agreed to cut $900 billion in spending and an additional $1.4 trillion cuts to be worked out by a bipartisan super-committee. The uncer- tainty and gridlock in Washington led Standard & Poor's to downgrade the U.S. AAA credit rating. A presidential election year is usually not very productive, but 2012 proved the least productive year in Congressional history since 1947, passing only 61 bills out of 3,914 bills. Even the infamous "do-nothing Congress" of 1948 passed more legislation. The super-committee also failed, and the threat of "sequester" across-the-board spending cuts seemed likely in 2013. Obama's Foreign Policy President Obama was elected in part because of his opposition to the Iraq War and his promise to end the unilateral approach overseas that had damaged the reputation of the United States during the Bush presidency. Iraq In early 2009, the President developed a plan to wind down U.S. ground combat operations in Iraq. U.S. military support and air power continued to help the Iraqi forces battle insurgents through the end of 2011, when the last of U.S. 688 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM forces were withdrawn. Nearly 4,500 U.S. soldiers had died in Iraq and about 32,000 had been wounded in action during this controversial war. Iraqi deaths in the war were well above 100,000. After the U.S. left, Sunni and Al-Qaeda insurgents continued to terrorize the majority Shiite government. Afghanistan The Obama campaign charged that the Bush administration had ignored Afghanistan by invading Iraq. As president, Obama made fight- ing Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan a priority. He approved adding 17,000 troops to the U.S. forces in Afghanistan in 2009 and then 30,000 more in 2010. The counterterrorism surge proved effective in Afghanistan, but the increased use of pilotless drone attacks on terrorists in Pakistan intensified anger against the United States. Death of Osama bin Laden In May 2011, Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaida, was killed in Pakistan in a clandestine operation of the CIA and Navy SEALS. The death of bin Laden and other top leaders of Al-Qaeda raised the question of whether the U.S. role in the area was completed. In 2012, President Obama and President Karzai of Afghanistan signed a long-term part- nership agreement. The new focus for U.S. forces was to train and support the Afghanistan military and to end the U.S. combat mission by the close of 2014. Arab Spring In June of 2009, President Obama traveled to Egypt and gave a speech at the University of Cairo calling for a "new beginning" in rela- tions between the Islamic world and the United States. The president was soon tested through his response to a wave of protests across the Middle East and North Africa in 2010 known as the "Arab Spring." Civil unrest and armed rebel- lion toppled governments in Tunisia, Libya (the leader, Muamrnar Gaddafi, was killed), Egypt (the leader, Hosni Mubarak, was imprisoned) and Yemen, and produced an ongoing civil war in Syria. Governments in Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia made a variety of conces- sions to protesters to maintain peace. Obama's sympathy for pro-democracy protesters upset U.S. allies in the conservative oil-rich Persian Gulf states. At home, Obama was criticized for not intervening more forcefully in failed states such as Libya and Syria. Asia and Europe Events in the Middle East limited the president's planned "pivot" to Asia. The administration understood that America's economic and strategic future would be closely tied to the Pacific Rim. Econo- mists predicted that by 2030, the economies of Asia would be as large as the combined economies of North America and Europe, ending two centuries of Western dominance. U.S. preoccupation with the Middle East, terrorism, and budget gridlock provided China with more opportunities to project its growing power around the world. At first, President Obama was praised in Europe primarily for not being George W. Bush. The European Union continued to struggle through the debt crisis in member countries such as Greece, Spain, and Ireland. It took German leadership to save the euro as a common currency. One commentator summed up the Atlantic partnership, "Europe does not want to be pushed around by the U.S., but it wants the U.S. to push others around on its behalf." CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY, 2000-PRESENT 689 Election of 2012 and 2014 The presidential election of 2012 was dominated by issues related to the Great Recession, the Affordable Care Act, illegal immigration, and the long-term fis- cal health of the United States. Republicans conducted a long, hard-fought battle for their party's nomination before selecting Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts. President Obama defeated Romney with 332 to 206 electoral votes and a five- million-vote advantage in the popular vote. The president ran very strongly among Hispanic voters, winning 71 percent of their votes. Political analysts predicted that unless Republicans gained more Hispanic support, they would become uncompetitive in future nationwide elections. In Congress, Republicans could celebrate after the election of 2012 by keep- ing their strong majority in the House of Representatives, while the Democrats retained control of the Senate. However, the election of 2014 again proved the strength of the Republican turnout in non-presidential elections as the Republi- cans took control of both House and Senate. Second Obama Administration The division between the Democratic president and the Republican-controlled Congress continued in Obama's second term. Compromise was difficult and rare. Partisan Budget Conflicts In early 2013, Congress passed a compromise tax bill that preserved the Bush tax cuts for incomes of $400,000 and less and allowed the top tax rate to rise to 39.6 percent for higher incomes. However, Congress was unable to compromise on the annual budget, so "sequestra- tions, " automatic cuts across both domestic and defense spending, went into effect. House Republicans tried more than fifty efforts to overturn or defund the Affordable Care Act, including a shutdown of the government for 16 days and threatened default on the national debt. Budget compromises between Demo- crats and Republicans remained illusive through the spring of 2015. Gun Violence The mass shootings of 26 children and teachers in Con- necticut, 9 African-Americans in a South Carolina church, and others sparked more debates over guns. President Obama's proposals to tighten gun laws and background checks to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental health problems went nowhere in Congress because of opposition from the gun lobby. A different type of gun violence came to public attention because of a series of shootings of unarmed black youths by police. Across the country, people demanded reforms in police procedures. Terrorism The fear of home-grown terrorism proved real when two self- radicalized brothers set off two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing 3 people and injuring more than 250 others. Both brothers were moti- vated by extremist Islamic beliefs. Intelligence and police efforts continued to stop dozens of possible attacks in the United States, but the Boston bombing and further attacks on police and military personnel proved how difficult it was to prevent such attacks by isolated individuals. Efforts to prevent terrorism some- times clashed with civil liberties and human rights. 690 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Foreign Policy Though the United States remained the world's leading super- power, it faced many challenges. The sectarian division between Sunni and Shiite Muslims worsened. In "failed states," such as Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, radi- cal terrorist found safe havens. In Iraq and Syria, one of these groups, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or ISIL, vowed to reestablish a worldwide caliphate under strict Islamic law. The well-financed movement used social media to recruit from around the world. Former members of the Iraqi military, driven from power in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, also joined ISIS. President Obama, while reluctant to return American soldiers to the battlefields in Iraq and Syria, did commit American air power and trainers to help Iraqi soldiers to stop ISIS. In Iran, the election of a new leader provided an opportunity to start negotia- tions over that country's nuclear energy program. In 2015, the United States and other world powers negotiated to prevent the development of nuclear bombs by Iran, at least in the near future. In Europe, tensions between Russia and the NATO countries centered on Ukraine. Though an independent country today, the region had been ruled from Moscow for most of the past two centuries. When Ukraine's pro-Russian govern- ment was overthrown by a popular movement, Russia responded by annexing a southern province of Ukraine -- Crimea -- and supporting a revolt in the eastern part of the country. The United States and European nations protested by placing economic sanctions on Russia. Relations between NATO countries and Russia were at the lowest point since the end of the Cold War. China's move to create new territories in the South China Seas threatened Southeast Asian nations and free passage through international waters long pro- tected by the U.S. Navy. Cyber warfare also emerged as a serious threat in the 21st century as China, Russia, and other nations, as well as criminal groups, used the Internet to steal private and government data. Close to home, President Obama started a step-by-step normalization of rela- tions with Cuba. In 2015, the two countries agreed to open embassies in Havana and Washington for the first time since the Eisenhower administration. Contemporary Issues and the Roberts Court The observation that Americans try to settle their most vexing problems in the courts still held true in the early 21st century. President George W. Bush appointed to the Supreme Court the conservative Samuel Alito and, as Chief Jus- tice, John Roberts. President Obama appointed the more liberal Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, which did not change the balance on the court. Justice Anthony Kennedy proved the key,deciding vote in many 5-4 decisions. Affirmative Action and Voting Rights Since the 1970s, conservatives had attacked federal and local government efforts to address the legacy of racial discrimi- nation through affirmative action. In 2007, the Roberts Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that local school districts could not use race to assign students to achieve diversity. While the Court overturned the actions of local school districts, it deferred to states on voting rights. For example, it upheld an Indiana law requiring citizens to have a photo identification card to vote. More broadly, in 2013, the Court's CHALLENGES OF THE 21ST CENTURY, 2000-PRESENT 691 decision in Shelby County v. Holder struck down an important provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (renewed in 2006). This provision required that cer- tain states with a history of voter discrimination obtain prior federal approval of any changes in voting laws. Roberts argued that voting patterns had changed and minority voters no longer needed the same protections. Elections and Money After decades of Congressional efforts to limit the influence of big money in elections, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) that corporations were "legal persons" and had the same rights as individuals to buy ads to influence political elections. This ruling opened a flood of new money from wealthy donors, who began to replace the role of traditional parties in local and national elections. Environment The Obama administration used the stimulus bill to promote reduced reliance on oil and more development of alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind. However, many in Congress disagreed with the science behind global warming and opposed tighter controls of greenhouse gases. With Justice Kennedy joining the more liberal justices, the court ruled 5-4 in Mas- sachusetts v. EPA (2007) that the EPA had the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-2 decision that under the Clean Air Act, the EPA had the authority to regulate air pollution emitted from coal plants that cross state lines. Gay Rights The gay rights movement achieved significant gains in the 21st century. In 2010, Congress repealed the Clinton era "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" to end discrimination of gays in the military. In 2013, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, declared the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and let stand a California court's overturning of a state law banning same-sex marriage. By 2015, over thirty states allowed same-sex marriage by law or court order. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Kennedy, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry under the 14th Amendment, which denies states the power to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The quick turnaround in same-sex marriage issue surprised most Americans and angered states' rights advocates. Gun Rights In 2008, in another 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia. Justice Scalia used the original intent argument to support the majority opinion. Immigration The question of the futures of an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants and of how to provide border security also divided the nation and the courts. Unhappy with federal policies, Arizona took on the issues. In Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting (2011), the Roberts Court ruled that a state had the right to require employers to check the immigration status of potential employees. However, in Arizona v. United States (2012), Justice Kennedy again voted with the four more liberal justices, and the Court ruled that federal immigration law pre-empts most of the state's anti-immigration law. 692 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Health Care The Affordable Care Act was under continuous attack in court cases. The legal challenge centered on whether the federal government had the authority to mandate Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. The fate of health care law did not look promising when Justice Scalia asked whether the federal government could next require Americans to buy broccoli. However, in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012), Chief Justice Rob- erts and the four more liberal justices ruled that the requirement that individuals must purchase health insurance or pay a penalty was a constitutional exercise of Congress's authority to levy taxes. In the 2015 decision of King v. Burwell, a 6-3 majority, led by Chief Justice Roberts, again upheld a key provision of the Afford- able Care Act, allowing subsidies to lower-income Americans in federal health insurance exchanges as well as state exchanges. Some observers noted that, with a Congress too divided to address the com- plex issues of the times, more decisions were falling to the courts to settle, from elections to health care. If it continues, the Roberts Court may become one of the most influential courts in American history.

Chapter 26 'Truman and the Cold War, 1945 - 1952'

World War II dramatically changed the United States from an isolationist country into a military superpower and a leader in world affairs. After the war, most of the Americans at home and the millions coming back from military ser- vice wished to return to normal domestic life and enjoy the revitalized national economy. However, during the Truman presidency, the growing conflict between the Communist Soviet Union and the United States-a conflict that came to be known as the Cold War-dampened the nation's enjoyment of the postwar boom. Postwar America The 15 million American soldiers, sailors, and marines returning to civilian life in 1945 and 1946 faced the problem of finding jobs and housing. Many feared that the end of the war might mean the return of economic hard times. Happily, the fears were not realized because the war years had increased the per-capita income of Americans. Much of that income was tucked away in savings accounts, since wartime shortages meant there had been few consumer goods to buy. Pent-up con- sumer demand for autos and housing combined with government road-building projects quickly overcame the economic uncertainty after the war and introduced an era of unprecedented prosperity and economic growth. By the 1950s, Ameri- cans enjoyed the highest standard of living achieved by any society in history. GI Bill-Help for Veterans The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, popularly known as the GI Bill of Rights, proved a powerful support during the transition of 15 million veterans to a peacetime economy. More than half the returning Gis (as the men and women in uniform were called) seized the opportunity afforded by the GI Bill to con- tinue their education at government expense. Over 2 million Gis attended college, TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 557 which started a postwar boom in higher education. The veterans also received over $16 billion in low-interest, government-backed loans to buy homes and farms and to start businesses. By focusing on a better educated workforce and also promoting new construction, the federal government stimulated the post- . . war econorruc expans10n. Baby Boom One sign of the basic confidence of the postwar era was an explosion in mar- riages and births. Younger marriages and larger families resulted in 50 million babies entering the U.S. population between 1945 and 1960. As the baby boom generation gradually passed from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, it profoundly affected the nation's social institutions and economic life in the last half of the 20th century. Initially, the baby boom tended to focus women's attention on raising children and homemaking. Nevertheless, the trend of more women in the workplace continued. By 1960, one-third of all married women worked outside the home. Suburban Growth The high demand for housing after the war resulted in a construction boom. William J. Levitt led in the development of postwar suburbia with his building and promotion of Levittown, a project of 17,000 mass-produced, low-priced family homes on Long Island, New York. Low interest rates on mortgages that were both government-insured and tax deductible made the move from city to suburb affordable for even families of modest means. In a single generation, the majority of middle-class Americans became suburbanites. For many older inner cities, the effect of the mass movement to suburbia was disastrous. By the 1960s, cities from Boston to Los Angeles became increasingly poor and racially divided. Rise of the Sunbelt Uprooted by the war, millions of Americans made moving a habit in the postwar era. A warmer climate, lower taxes, and economic opportunities in defense-related industries attracted many Gis and their families to the Sunbelt states from Florida to California. By transferring tax dollars from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and West, military spending during the Cold War helped finance the shift of industry, people, and ultimately political power from one region to the other. Postwar Politics Harry S. Truman, a moderate Democratic senator from Missouri, replaced the more liberal Henry Wallace as FDR's vice president in the 1944 elec- tion. Thrust into the presidency after Roosevelt's death in April 1945, Truman matured into a decisive leader whose basic honesty and unpretentious style appealed to average citizens. Truman attempted to continue in the New Deal tradition of his predecessor. 558 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Economic Program and Civil Rights Truman's proposals for full employment and for civil rights for African Ameri- cans ran into opposition from conservatives in Congress. Employment Act of 1946 In September 1945, during the same week that Japan formally surrendered, Truman urged Congress to enact a series of progressive measures, including national health insurance, an increase in the minimum wage, and a bill to commit the U.S. government to maintaining full employment. After much debate, the watered-down version of the full- employment bill was enacted as the Employment Act of 1946. It created the Council of Economic Advisers to counsel both the president and Congress on means of promoting national economic welfare. Over the next seven years, a coalition between Republicans and conservative Southern Democrats, combined with the beginning of the Cold War, hindered passage of most of Truman's domestic program. Inflation and Strikes Truman urged Congress to continue the price con- trols of wartime in order to hold inflation in check. Instead, southern Democrats joined with Republicans to relax the controls of the Office of Price Administra- tion. The result was an inflation rate of almost 25 percent during the first year and a half of peace. Workers and unions wanted wages to catch up after years of wage controls. Over 4.5 million workers went on strike in 1946. Strikes by railroad and mine workers threatened the national safety. Truman took a tough approach to this challenge, seizing the mines and using soldiers to keep them operating until the United Mine Workers finally called off its strike. Civil Rights Truman was the first modern president to use the powers of his office to challenge racial discrimination. Bypassing southern Democrats who controlled key committees in Congress, the president used his executive powers to establish the Committee on Civil Rights in 1946. He also strength- ened the civil rights division of the Justice Department, which aided the efforts of black leaders to end segregation in schools. Most importantly, in 1948 he ordered the end of racial discrimination throughout the federal government, including the armed forces. The end of segregation changed life on military bases, many of which were in the South. Recognizing the odds against passage of civil rights legislation, Truman nevertheless urged Congress to create a Fair Employment Practices Commis- sion that would prevent employers from discriminating against the hiring of African Americans. Southern Democrats blocked the legislation. Republican Control of the Eightieth Congress Unhappy with inflation and strikes, voters were in a conservative mood in the fall of 1946 when they elected Republican majorities in both houses of Con- gress. Under Republican control, the Eightieth Congress attempted to pass two tax cuts for upper-income Americans, but Truman vetoed both measures. More successful were Republican efforts to amend the Constitution and roll back some of the New Deal gains for labor. TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 559 Twenty-second Amendment (1951) Reacting against the election of Roosevelt as president four times, the Republican-dominated Congress pro- posed a constitutional amendment to limit a president to a maximum of two full terms in office. The 22nd Amendment was ratified by the states in 1951. Taft-Hartley Act (1947) In 1947, Congress passed the probusiness Taft- Hartley Act. Truman vetoed the measure as a "slave-labor" bill, but Congress overrode his veto. The one purpose of the Republican-sponsored law was to check the growing power of unions. Its provisions included • outlawing the closed shop ( contract requiring workers to join a union before being hired) • permitting states to pass "right to work" laws outlawing the union shop ( contract requiring workers to join a union after being hired) • outlawing secondary boycotts (the practice of several unions support- ing a striking union by joining a boycott of a company's products) • giving the president the power to invoke an 80-day cooling-off period before a strike endangering the national safety could be called For years afterward, unions sought unsuccessfully to repeal the Taft- Hartley Act. The act became a major issue dividing Republicans and Demo- crats in the 1950s. The Election of 1948 As measured by opinion polls, Truman's popularity was at a low point as the 1948 campaign for the presidency began. Republicans were confident of vic- tory, especially after both a liberal faction and a conservative faction in the Democratic party abandoned Truman to organize their own third parties. Lib- eral Democrats, who thought Truman's aggressive foreign policy threatened world peace, formed a new Progressive party that nominated former vice presi- dent Henry Wallace. Southern Democrats also bolted the party in reaction to Truman's support for civil rights. Their States' Rights party, better known as the Dixiecrats, chose Governor J. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina as its presidential candidate. The Republicans once again nominated New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, who looked so much like a winner from the outset that he conducted an overly cautious and unexciting campaign. Meanwhile, the man without a chance toured the nation by rail, attacking the "do-nothing" Republican Eighti- eth Congress with "give-'em-hell" speeches. The feisty Truman confounded the polling experts with a decisive victory over Dewey, winning the popular vote by 2 million votes and winning the electoral vote 303 to 189. The presi- dent had succeeded in reuniting Roosevelt's New Deal coalition, except for four southern states that went to Thurmond and the Dixiecrats. 560 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1948 Thurmond 2% Wallace 2% Thurmond 39 Dewey45% Truman 50% Dewey 189 Popular Vote Electoral Vote Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 The Fair Deal Truman 303 Fresh from victory, Truman launched an ambitious reform program, which he called the Fair Deal. In 1949, he urged Congress to enact national health care insurance, federal aid to education, civil rights legislation, funds for public housing, and a new farm program. Conservatives in Congress blocked most of the proposed reforms, except for an increase in the minimum wage (from 40 to 75 cents an hour) and the inclusion of more workers under Social Security. Most of the Fair Deal bills were defeated for two reasons: (1) Truman's political conflicts with Congress, and (2) the pressing foreign policy concerns of the Cold War. Nevertheless, liberal defenders of Truman praised him for at least maintaining the New Deal reforms of his predecessor and making civil rights part of the liberal agenda. Origins of the Cold War The Cold War dominated international relations from the late 1940s to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The conflict centered around the intense rivalry between two superpowers: the Communist empire of the Soviet Union and the leading Western democracy, the United States. Superpower competi- tion usually was through diplomacy rather than armed conflict, but, in several instances, the Cold War took the world dangerously close to a nuclear war. Among historians there is intense debate over how and why the Cold War began. Many analysts see Truman's policies as a reasonable response to Soviet efforts to increase their influence in the world. However, some critics argue that Truman misunderstood and overreacted to Russia's historic need to secure its borders. Other critics have attacked his administration as being weak or "soft" on communism. U.S. -Soviet Relations to 1945 The wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union against the Axis powers was actually a temporary halt in their generally poor rela- tions of the past. Since the Bolshevik Revolution that established a Communist TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 561 government in Russia in 1917, Americans had viewed the Soviets as a threat to all capitalistic countries. In the United States, it led to the Red Scare of 1919. The United States refused to recognize the Soviet Union until 1933. Even then, after a brief honeymoon period of less than a year, Roosevelt's advisers con- cluded that Joseph Stalin and the Communists could not be trusted. Confirming their view was the notorious Nonaggression Pact of 1939, in which Stalin and Hitler agreed to divide up Eastern Europe. Allies in World War II In 1941, Hitler's surprise invasion of the Soviet Union and Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor led to a U.S.-Soviet alli- ance of convenience-but not of mutual trust. Stalin bitterly complained that the British and Americans waited until 1944 to open a second front in France. Because of this wait, the Soviets bore the brunt of fighting the Nazis. By some estimates, half of all deaths in World War II were Soviets. The postwar con- flicts over Central and Eastern Europe were already evident in the negotiations between Britain, the Soviet Union, and the U.S. at Yalta and Potsdam in 1945. Roosevelt hoped that personal diplomacy might keep Stalin in check, but when Truman came to power, he quickly became suspicious of the Soviets. Postwar Cooperation and the U.N. The founding of the United Nations in the fall of 1945 provided one hopeful sign for the future. The General Assem- bly of the United Nations was created to provide representation to all member nations, while the 15-member Security Council was given the primary respon- sibility within the U .N. for maintaining international security and authorizing peacekeeping missions. The five major allies of wartime-the United States, Great Britain, France, China, and the Soviet Union-were granted permanent seats and veto power in the U.N. Security Council. Optimists hoped that these nations would be able to reach agreement on international issues. In addition, the Soviets went along with a U.S. proposal to establish an Atomic Energy Commission in the United Nations. They rejected, however, a plan proposed by Bernard Baruch for regulating nuclear energy and eliminating atomic weap- ons. Rejection of the Baruch Plan was interpreted by some American leaders as proof that Moscow did not have peaceful intentions. The United States also offered the Soviets participation in the new Inter- national Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. The bank's initial purpose was to fund rebuilding of a war-torn world. The Soviets, however, declined to participate because they viewed the bank as an instrument of capitalism. The Soviets did join the other Allies in the 1945-1946 Nuremberg trials of 22 top Nazi leaders for war crimes and violations of human rights. Satellite States in Eastern Europe Distrust turned into hostility beginning in 1946, as Soviet forces remained in occupation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Elections were held by the Soviets-as promised by Stalin at Yalta-but the results were manipulated in favor of Communist candidates. One by one, from 1946 to 1948, Communist dictators, most of them loyal to Moscow, came to power in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Apologists for the Soviets argued that Russia needed buffer 562 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM states or satellites (nations under the control of a great power), as a protection against another Hitler-like invasion from the West. The U.S. and British governments were alarmed by the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe. They regarded Soviet actions in this region as a flagrant violation of self-determination, genuine democracy, and open markets. The British espe- cially wanted free elections in Poland, whose independence had been the issue that started World War II. Occupation Zones in Germany At the end of the war, the division of Ger- many and Austria into Soviet, French, British, and U.S. zones of occupation was meant to be only temporary. In Germany, however, the eastern zone under Soviet occupation gradually evolved into a new Communist state, the German Demo- cratic Republic. The conflict over Germany was at least in part a conflict over differing views of national security and economic needs. The Soviets wanted a weak Germany for security reasons and large war reparations for economic rea- sons. The United States and Great Britain refused to allow reparations from their western zones because both viewed the economic recovery of Germany as impor- tant to the stability of Central Europe. The Soviets, fearing a restored Germany, tightened their control over East Germany. Also, since Berlin lay within their zone, they attempted to force the Americans, British, and French to give up their assigned sectors of the city. Iron Curtain "I'm tired of babying the Soviets," Truman told Secretary of State James Byrnes in January 1946. News of a Canadian spy ring stealing atomic secrets for the Soviets and continued Soviet occupation of northern Iran further encouraged a get-tough policy in Washington. In March 1946, in Fulton, Missouri, Truman was present on the speaker's platform as former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared: "An iron curtain has descended across the continent" of Europe. The iron curtain metaphor was later used throughout the Cold War to refer to the Soviet satellite states of Eastern Europe. Churchill's "iron curtain" speech called for a partnership between Western democracies to halt the expansion of communism. Did the speech antici- pate the Cold War-or help to cause it? Historians still debate this question. Containment in Europe Early in 1947, Truman adopted the advice of three top advisers in deciding to "contain" Soviet aggression. His containment policy, which was to govern U.S. foreign policy for decades, was formulated by the secretary of state, General George Marshall; the undersecretary of state, Dean Acheson; and an expert on Soviet affairs, George F. Kennan. In an influential article, Kennan had written that only "a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies" would eventually cause the Soviets to back off their Communist ide- ology of world domination and live in peace with other nations. Did the containment policy attempt to do too much? Among the critics who argued that it did was journalist Walter Lippmann, who had coined the term "Cold War." Lippmann argued that some areas were vital to U.S. security, while others were merely peripheral; some governments deserved U.S. support, but others did TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 563 not. American leaders, however, had learned the lesson of Munich (when leaders had given into demands by Hitler for land in 1938) and appeasement well and felt that Communist aggression, wherever it occurred, must be challenged. The Truman Doctrine Truman first implemented the containment policy in response to two threats: (1) a Communist-led uprising against the government in Greece, and (2) Soviet demands for some control of a water route in Turkey, the Dardanelles. In what became known as the Truman Doctrine, the president asked Congress in March 194 7 for $400 million in economic and military aid to assist the "free people" of Greece and Turkey against "totalitarian" regimes. While Truman's alarmist speech may have oversimplified the situation in Greece and Turkey, it gained bipartisan support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The Marshall Plan After the war, Europe lay in ruins, short of food and deep in debt. The harsh winter of 1946-1947 further demoralized Europeans, who had already suffered through years of depression and war. Discontent encouraged the growth of the Communist party, especially in France and Italy. The Truman administration feared that the western democracies might vote the Communists into power. In June 1947, George Marshall outlined an extensive program of U.S. eco- nomic aid to help European nations revive their economies and strengthen democratic governments. In December, Truman submitted to Congress a $17 bil- lion European Recovery Program, better known as the Marshall Plan. In 1948, $12 billion in aid was approved for distribution to the countries of Western Europe over a four-year period. The United States offered Marshall Plan aid to the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites, but the Soviets refused it, fearing that it would lead to dependence on the United States. Effects The Marshall Plan worked exactly as Marshall and Truman had hoped. The massive infusion of U.S. dollars helped Western Europe achieve self- sustaining growth by the 1950s and ended any real threat of Communist political successes in that region. It also bolstered U.S. prosperity by greatly increasing U.S. exports to Europe. At the same time, however, it deepened the rift between the non-Communist West and the Communist East. The Berlin Airlift A major crisis of the Cold War focused on Berlin. In June 1948, the Soviets cut off all access by land to the German city. Truman dismissed any plans to with- draw from Berlin, but he also rejected using force to open up the roads through the Soviet-controlled eastern zone. Instead, he ordered U.S. planes to fly in sup- plies to the people of West Berlin. Day after day, week after week, the massive airlift continued. At the same time, Truman sent 60 bombers capable of carrying atomic bombs to bases in England. The world waited nervously for the outbreak of war, but Stalin decided not to challenge the airlift. (Truman's stand on Berlin was partly responsible for his victory in the 1948 election.) 564 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM By May 1949, the Soviets finally opened up the highways to Berlin, thus bringing their 11-month blockade to an end. A major long-term consequence of the Berlin crisis was the creation of two Germanies: the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany, a U.S. ally) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany, a Soviet satellite). NATO and National Security Ever since Washington's farewell address of 1796, the United States had avoided permanent alliances with European nations. Truman broke with this tradition in 1949 by recommending that the United States join a military defense pact to protect Western Europe. The Senate readily gave its consent. Ten European nations joined the United States and Canada in creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a military alliance for defending all members from outside attack. Truman selected General Eisenhower as NATO's first Supreme Commander and stationed U.S. troops in Western Europe as a deter- rent against a Soviet invasion. Thus, the containment policy led to a military buildup and major commitments abroad. The Soviet Union countered in 1955 by forming the Warsaw Pact, a military alliance for the defense of the Commu- nist states of Eastern Europe. EUROPE AFTER WORLD WAR II: THE COLD WAR ATLANTIC OCEAN LJ NATO Members LJ Warsaw Pact Members LJ Communist Not Under Soviet Control LJ Neutral (Non-Communist) SOVIET UNION CYPRUS 200 400 MIies 200 400 KIiometers TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 565 National Security Act (1947) The United States had begun to modernize its military capability in 1947 by passing the National Security Act. It provided for (1) a centralized Department of Defense (replacing the War Department) to coordinate the operations of the army, navy, and air force; (2) the creation of the National Security Council (NSC) to coordinate the making of foreign policy in the Cold War; and (3) the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to employ spies to gather information on foreign governments. In 1948, the Selective Service System and a peacetime draft were instituted. Atomic Weapons After the Berlin crisis, teams of scientists in both the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in an intense competition- or arms race-to develop superior weapons systems. For a period of just four years (1945-1949), the United States was the only nation to have the atomic bomb. It also developed in this period a new generation of long-range bombers for delivering nuclear weapons. The Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in the fall of 1949. Truman then approved the development of a bomb a thousand times more powerful than the A-bomb that had destroyed Hiroshima. In 1952, this hydrogen bomb (or H-bomb) was added to the U.S. arsenal. Earlier, in 1950, the National Security Council had recommended, in a secret report known as NSC-68, that the fol- lowing measures were necessary for fighting the Cold War: • quadruple U.S. government defense spending to 20 percent of GNP • form alliances with non-Communist countries around the world • convince the American public that a costly arms buildup was imperative for the nation's defense Evaluating U.S. Policy Critics of NATO and the defense buildup argued that the Truman administration intensified Russian fears and started an unnecessary arms race. Regardless, NATO became one of the most success- ful military alliances in history. In combination with the deterrent power of nuclear weapons, NATO effectively checked Soviet expansion in Europe and thereby maintained an uneasy peace until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Cold War in Asia The successful containment policy in Europe could not be duplicated in Asia. Following World War II, the old imperialist system in India and Southeast Asia crumbled, as former colonies became new nations. Because these nations had different cultural and political traditions and bitter memories of Western colo- nialism, they resisted U.S. influence. Ironically, the Asian nation that became most closely tied to the U.S. defense system was its former enemy, Japan. Japan Unlike Germany, Japan was solely under the control of the United States. Gen- eral Douglas MacArthur took firm charge of the reconstruction of Japan. Seven 566 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Japanese generals, including Premier Hideki Tojo, were tried for war crimes and executed. Under MacArthur's guidance, the new constitution adopted in May 1947 set up a parliamentary democracy. It retained Emperor Hirohito as the cer- emonial head of state, but the emperor gave up his claims to divinity. The new constitution also renounced war as an instrument of national policy and provided for only limited military capability. As a result, Japan depended on the military protection of the United States. U.S.-Japanese Security Treaties With the signing of two treaties in 1951, Japan surrendered its claims to Korea and islands in the Pacific, and the United States ended formal occupation of Japan. One of the treaties also provided for U.S. troops to remain in military bases in Japan for that country's protection against external enemies, particularly Communists. Japan became a strong ally and prospered under the American shield. The Philippines and the Pacific On July 4, 1946, in accordance with the act passed by Congress in 1934, the Philippines became an independent republic, but the United States retained important naval and air bases there throughout the Cold War. This, together with U.S. control of the United Nations trustee islands taken from Japan at the end of the war, began to make the Pacific Ocean look like an American lake. China Since coming to power in the late 1920s, Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jie-shi) had used his command of the Nationalist, or Kuomintang, party to control Chi- na's central government. During World War II, the United States had given massive military aid to Chiang to prevent all of China from being conquered by Japan. As soon as the war ended, a civil war dating back to the 1930s was renewed between Chiang's Nationalists and the Chinese Communists led by Mao Zedong. The Nationalists were losing the loyalty of millions of Chinese because of runaway inflation and widespread corruption, while the well- organized Communists successfully appealed to the poor landless peasants. U.S. Policy The Truman administration sent George Marshall in 1946 to China to negotiate an end to the civil war, but his compromise fell apart in a few months. By 1947, Chiang's armies were in retreat. Truman seemed unsure of what to do, after ruling out a large-scale American invasion to rescue Chiang. In 1948, Congress voted to give the Nationalist government $400 million in aid, but 80 percent of the U.S. military supplies ended up in Communist hands because of corruption and the collapse of the Nationalist armies. Two Chinas By the end of 1949, all of mainland China was controlled by the Communists. Chiang and the Nationalists had retreated to an island once under Japanese rule, Formosa (Taiwan). From there, Chiang still claimed to be the legitimate government for all of China. The United States continued to support Chiang and refused to recognize Mao Zedong's regime in Beijing (the People's Republic of China) until 30 years later, in 1979. TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 567 In the United States, Republicans blamed the Democrats for the "loss of China" to the Communists. In 1950, the two Communist dictators, Stalin and Mao, signed a Sino-Soviet pact, which seemed to provide further proof of a worldwide Communist conspiracy. The Korean War After the defeat of Japan, its former colony Korea was divided along the 38th parallel by the victors. Soviet armies occupied Korean territory north of the line, while U.S. forces occupied territory to the south. By 1949 both armies were withdrawn, leaving the North in the hands of the Communist leader Kim 11 Sung and the South under the conservative nationalist Syngman Rhee. Invasion On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army surprised the world, possibly even Moscow, by invading South Korea. Truman took immedi- ate action, applying his containment policy to this latest crisis in Asia. He called for a special session of the U .N. Security Council. Taking advantage of a temporary boycott by the Soviet delegation, the Security Council under U.S. leadership authorized a U.N. force to defend South Korea against the invaders. Although other nations participated in this force, U.S. troops made up most of the U.N. forces sent to help the South Korean army. Commanding the expedition was General Douglas MacArthur. Congress supported the use of U.S. troops in the Korean crisis but failed to declare war, accepting Truman's characterization of U.S. intervention as merely a "police action." Counterattack At first the war in Korea went badly, as the North Kore- ans pushed the combined South Korean and American forces to the tip of the peninsula. However, General MacArthur reversed the war with a brilliant amphibious assault at Inchon behind the North Korean lines. U.N. forces then proceeded to destroy much of the North Korean army, advancing northward almost as far as the Chinese border. MacArthur failed to heed China's warnings that it would resist threats to its security. In November 1950, masses of Chinese troops crossed the border into Korea, overwhelmed U.N. forces in one of the worst defeats in U.S. military history, and drove them out of North Korea. Truman Versus MacArthur MacArthur stabilized the fighting near the 38th parallel. At the same time, he called for expanding the war, including bombing and invading mainland China. As commander in chief, Truman cau- tioned MacArthur about making public statements that suggested criticism of official U.S. policy. The general spoke out anyway. In April 1951, Truman, with the support of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recalled MacArthur for insubordination. MacArthur returned home as a hero. Most Americans understood his statement, "There is no substitute for victory," better than the president's con- tainment policy and concept of "limited war." Critics attacked Truman and the Democrats as appeasers for not trying to destroy communism in Asia. Armistice In Korea, the war was stalemated along a front just north of the 38th parallel. At Panmunjom, peace talks began in July 1951. The police action dragged on for another two years, however, until an armistice was finally 568 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM THE KOREAN WAR N 50 100 Miles + / SOVIET 1 1 UNION O 50 1 00 KIiometers I I / ,,-- ', MANCHURIA CHINA -�<' � I \l-1 - 1. • I 38° YELLOW SEA I ,, ', ' ,,_ --/ I /"\ ,,-,, I Farthest Advance of U.N. Troops I '--, I I , _ _. I I /NORTH KOREA SEA OF JAPAN Cease-Fire Line, July 27, 1953 ,.,,,.,.--- • Seoul Inchon SOUTH KOREA g 38° Parallel 0 Farthest Advance of the North Korean Troops signed in 1953 during the first year of Eisenhower's presidency. More than 2.5 million people died in the Korean conflict, including 54,000 Americans. Political Consequences From the perspective of the grand strategy of the Cold War, Truman's containment policy in Korea worked. It stopped Commu- nist aggression without allowing the conflict to develop into a world war. The Truman administration used the Korean War as justification for dramatically expanding the military, funding a new jet bomber (the B-52), and stationing more U.S. troops in overseas bases. However, Republicans were far from satisfied. The stalemate in Korea and the loss of China led Republicans to characterize Truman and the Democrats as "soft on communism." They attacked leading Democrats as members of "Dean Acheson's Cowardly College of Communist Containment." (In 1949, Acheson had replaced George Marshall as secretary of state.) The Second Red Scare Just as a Red Scare had followed U.S. victory in World War I, a second Red Scare followed U.S. victory in World War II. The Truman administration's TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 569 tendency to see a Communist conspiracy behind civil wars in Europe and Asia contributed to the belief that Communist conspirators and spies had infiltrated American society, including the U.S. State Department and the U.S. military. Security and Civil Rights In 1947, the Truman administration-under pressure from Republican crit- ics-set up a Loyalty Review Board to investigate the background of more than 3 million federal employees. Thousands of officials and civil service employees either resigned or lost their jobs in a probe that went on for four years (1947-1951). Prosecutions Under the Smith Act In addition, the leaders of the Ameri- can Communist party were jailed for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government. In the case of Dennis et al. v. United States (1951), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Smith Act of 1940, which made it ille- gal to advocate or teach the overthrow of the government by force or to belong to an organization with this objective. McCarran Internal Security Act (1950) Over Truman's veto, Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act, which (1) made it unlawful to advo- cate or support the establishment of a totalitarian government, (2) restricted the employment and travel of those joining Communist-front organizations, and (3) authorized the creation of detention camps for subversives. Un-American Activities In the House of Representatives, the Un- American Activities Committee (HUAC), originally established in 1939 to seek out Nazis, was reactivated in the postwar years to find Communists. The committee not only investigated government officials but also looked for Com- munist influence in such organizations as the Boy Scouts and in the Hollywood film industry. Actors, directors, and writers were called before the committee to testify. Those who refused to testify were tried for contempt of Congress. Others were blacklisted from the industry. Cultural Impact The Second Red Scare had a chilling effect on freedom of expression. Creators of the gritty crime dramas in the film noir style, and playwrights, such as Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman, 1949) came under attacks as anti-American. Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, South Pacific (1949), was criticized, especially by southern politicians, as a communistic assault on racial segregation. Loyalty oaths were commonly required of writ- ers and teachers as a condition of employment. The American Civil Liberties Union and other opponents of these security measures argued that the 1st Amendment protected the free expression of unpopular political views and membership in political groups, including the Communist party. Espionage Cases The fear of a Communist conspiracy bent on world conquest was supported by a series of actual cases of Communist espionage in Great Britain, Canada, and 570 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM the United States. The methods used to identify Communist spies, however, raised serious questions about whether the government was going too far and violating civil liberties in the process. Hiss Case Whittaker Chambers, a confessed Communist, became a star witness for the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1948. His testi- mony, along with the investigative work of a young member of Congress from California named Richard Nixon, led to the trial of Alger Hiss, a prominent official in the State Department who had assisted Roosevelt at the Yalta Con- ference. Hiss denied the accusations that he was a Communist and had given secret documents to Chambers. In 1950, however, he was convicted of perjury and sent to prison. Many Americans could not help wondering whether the highest levels of government were infiltrated by Communist spies. Rosenberg Case When the Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in 1949, many Americans were convinced that spies had helped them to steal the tech- nology from the United States. Klaus Fuchs, a British scientist who had worked on the Manhattan Project, admitted giving A-bomb secrets to the Russians. An FBI investigation traced another spy ring to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in New York. After a controversial trial in 1951, the Rosenbergs were found guilty of treason and executed in 1953. Civil rights groups charged that anticommunist hysteria was responsible for the conviction and punishment of the Rosen bergs. The Rise of Joseph McCarthy Joseph McCarthy, a Republican senator from Wisconsin, used the growing concern over communism in his reelection campaign. In a speech in 1950, he charged that 205 Communists were still working for the State Department. This sensational accusation was widely publicized in the American press. Mc- Carthy then rode the wave of anticommunist feelings to make himself one of the most powerful men in America. His power was based entirely on people's fear of the damage McCarthy could do if his accusing finger pointed their way. McCarthy's Tactics Senator McCarthy used a steady stream of unsup- ported accusations about Communists in government to keep the media focus on himself and to discredit the Truman administration. Working-class Ameri- cans at first loved his "take the gloves off' hard-hitting remarks, which were often aimed at the wealthy and privileged in society. While many Republicans disliked McCarthy's ruthless tactics, he was primarily hurting the Democrats before the election of Eisenhower in 1952. He became so popular, however, that even President Eisenhower would not dare to defend his old friend, George Marshall, against McCarthy's untruths. Army-McCarthy Hearings Finally, in 1954, McCarthy's "reckless cru- elty" was exposed on television. A Senate committee held televised hearings on Communist infiltration in the army, and McCarthy was seen as a bully by millions of viewers. In December, Republicans joined Democrats in a Senate censure of McCarthy. The "witch hunt" for Communists (McCarthyism) had played itself out. Three years later, McCarthy died a broken man. TRUMAN AND THE COLD WAR, 1945-1952 571 Truman in Retirement The second Red Scare, the stalemate in Korea, the loss of China, and scan- dals surrounding several of Truman's advisers made his prospects of reelection unlikely. Truman decided to return to private life in Missouri-a move that he jokingly called his "promotion." In the election of 1952, Republicans blamed Truman for "the mess in Washington." In time, however, even Truman's critics came to respect his many tough decisions and admire his direct, frank character.

Chapter 27 'The Eisenhower Years, 1952 - 1960'

The 1950s have the popular image of the "happy days," when the nation pros- pered and teens enjoyed the new beat of rock-and-roll music. This nostalgic view of the fifties is correct-but limited. The decade started with a war in Korea and the incriminations of McCarthyism. From the point of view of Afri- can Americans, what mattered most about the 1950s was not so much the music of Elvis Presley but the resistance of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. to segregation in the South. While middle-class suburbanites enjoyed their chrome-trimmed cars and tuned in to / Love Lucy on their new television sets, the Cold War and threat of nuclear destruction loomed in the background. Eisenhower Takes Command Much as Franklin Roosevelt dominated the 1930s, President Dwight ("Ike") Eisenhower personified the 1950s. The Republican campaign slogan, "I Like Ike," expressed the genuine feelings of millions of middle-class Americans. They liked his winning smile and trusted and admired the former general who had successfully commanded Allied forces in Europe in World War II. The Election of 1952 In 1952, the last year of Truman's presidency, Americans were looking for relief from the Korean War and an end to political scandals commonly referred to as "the mess in Washington." Republicans looked forward with relish to their first presidential victory in 20 years. In the Republican primaries, voters had a choice between the Old Guard's favorite, Senator Robert Taft of Ohio, and the war hero, Eisenhower. Most of them liked "Ike," who went on to win the Republican nomination. Conservative supporters of Taft balanced the ticket by persuading Eisenhower to choose Richard Nixon for his running mate. This young California senator had made a name for himself attacking Communists in the Alger Hiss case. THE EISENHOWER YEARS, 1952-1960 579 The Democrats selected popular Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, whose wit, eloquence, and courage in confronting McCarthyism appealed to liberals. Campaign Highlights A nonpolitician, Eisenhower had a spotless repu- tation for integrity that was almost spoiled by reports that his running mate, Richard Nixon, had used campaign funds for his own personal use. Nixon was almost dropped from the ticket. However, he saved his political future by effec- tively defending himself using the new medium of television. In his so-called Checkers speech, Nixon won the support of millions of viewers by tugging at their heartstrings. With his wife and daughters around him, he emotionally vowed never to return the gift of their beloved dog, Checkers. What really put distance between the Republicans and the Democrats was Eisenhower's pledge during the last days of the campaign to go to Korea and end the war. The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket went on to win over 55 percent of the popular vote and an electoral college landslide of 442 to Stevenson's 89. Domestic Policies As president, Eisenhower adopted a style of leadership that emphasized the delegation of authority. He filled his cabinet with successful corporate execu- tives who gave his administration a businesslike tone. His secretary of defense, for example, was Charles Wilson, the former head of General Motors. Eisen- hower was often criticized by the press for spending too much time golfing and fishing and perhaps entrusting important decisions to others. However, later research showed that behind the scenes Eisenhower was in charge. Modern Republicanism Eisenhower was a fiscal conservative whose first priority was balancing the budget after years of deficit spending. Although his annual budgets were not always balanced, he came closer to curbing fed- eral spending than any of his successors. As a moderate on domestic issues, he accepted most of the New Deal programs as a reality of modem life and even extended some of them. During Eisenhower's two terms in office, Social Secu- rity was extended to 10 million more citizens, the minimum wage was raised, and additional public housing was built. In 1953, Eisenhower consolidated welfare programs by creating the Department of Health, Education, and Wel- fare (HEW) under Oveta Culp Hobby, the first woman in a Republican cabinet. For farmers, a soil-bank program was initiated as means of reducing farm pro- duction and thereby increasing farm income. On the other hand, Eisenhower opposed the ideas of federal health care insurance and federal aid to education. As the first Republican president since Hoover, Eisenhower called his bal- anced and moderate approach "modem Republicanism." His critics called it "the bland leading the bland." Interstate Highway System The most permanent legacy of the Eisen- hower years was the passage in 1956 of the Highway Act, which authorized the construction of 42,000 miles of interstate highways linking all the nation's major cities. When completed, the U.S. highway system became a model for 580 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM the rest of the world. The justification for new taxes on fuel, tires, and vehicles was to improve national defense. At the same time, this immense public works project created jobs, promoted the trucking industry, accelerated the growth of the suburbs, and contributed to a more homogeneous national culture. The emphasis on cars, trucks, and highways, however, hurt the railroads and ulti- mately the environment. Little attention was paid to public transportation, on which the old and the poor depended. Prosperity Eisenhower's domestic legislation was modest. During his years in office, however, the country enjoyed a steady growth rate, with an inflation rate averaging a negligible 1.5 percent. Although the federal budget had a small surplus only three times in eight years, the deficits fell in relation to the national wealth. For these reasons, some historians rate Eisenhower's eco- nomic policies the most successful of any modern president's. Between 1945 and 1960, the per-capita disposable income of Americans more than tripled. By the mid-l 950s, the average American family had twice the real income of a comparable family during the boom years of the 1920s. The postwar economy gave Americans the highest standard of living in the world. The Election of 1956 Toward the end of his first term, in 1955, Eisenhower suffered a heart attack and had major surgery in 1956. Democrats questioned whether his health was strong enough for election to a second term. Four years of peace and prosperity, however, made Ike more popular than ever, and the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket was enthusiastically renominated by the Republicans. The Democrats again nominated Adlai Stevenson. In this political rematch, Eisenhower won by an even greater margin than in 1952. It was a personal victory only, however, as the Democrats retained control of both houses of Congress. Eisenhower and the Cold War Most of Eisenhower's attention in both his first and second terms focused on foreign policy and various international crises arising from the Cold War. The experienced diplomat who helped to shape U.S. foreign policy throughout Eisenhower's presidency was Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. Dulles' Diplomacy Dulles had been critical of Truman's containment policy as too passive. He advocated a "new look" to U.S. foreign policy that took the initiative in chal- lenging the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. He talked of "liberating captive nations" of Eastern Europe and encouraging the National- ist government of Taiwan to assert itself against "Red" (Communist) China. Dulles pleased conservatives-and alarmed many others-by declaring that, if the United States pushed Communist powers to the brink of war, they would back down because of American nuclear superiority. His hard line became known as "brinkmanship." In the end, however, Eisenhower prevented Dulles from carrying his ideas to an extreme. THE EISENHOWER YEARS, 1952-1960 581 Massive Retaliation Dulles advocated placing greater reliance on nuclear weapons and air power and spending less on conventional forces of the army and navy. In theory, this would save money ("more bang for the buck"), help balance the federal budget, and increase pressure on potential enemies. In 1953, the United States developed the hydrogen bomb, which could destroy the largest cities. Within a year, however, the Soviets caught up with a hydro- gen bomb of their own. To some, the policy of massive retaliation looked more like a policy for mutual extinction. Nuclear weapons indeed proved a powerful deterrent against the superpowers fighting an all-out war between themselves, but such weapons could not prevent small "brushfire" wars from breaking out in the developing nations of Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. How- ever, Eisenhower refused to use even small nuclear weapons in these conflicts. Unrest in the Third World Decolonization, or the collapse of colonial empires, after World War II may have been the single most important development of the postwar era. Between 194 7 and 1962, dozens of colonies in Asia and Africa gained their independence from former colonial powers such as Britain, France, and the Netherlands. In Asia, India and Pakistan became new nations in 1947, and the Dutch East Indies became the independent country of Indonesia in 1949. In Africa, Ghana threw off British colonial rule in 1957, and a host of other nations followed. These new Third World countries (in contrast to the industrialized nations of the Western bloc and the Communist bloc) often lacked stable political and economic institutions. Their need for foreign aid from either the United States or the Soviet Union often made them into pawns of the Cold War. Covert Action Part of the new look in Eisenhower's conduct of U.S. for- eign policy was the growing use of covert action. Undercover intervention in the internal politics of other nations seemed less objectionable than employing U.S. troops and also proved less expensive. In 1953, the CIA helped overthrow a government in Iran that had tried to nationalize the holding of foreign oil companies. The overthrow of the elected government allowed for the return of Reza Pahlavi as shah (monarch) of Iran. The shah in return provided the West with favorable oil prices and made enormous purchases of American arms. In Guatemala, in 1954, the CIA overthrew a leftist government that threat- ened American business interests. U.S. opposition to communism seemed to drive Washington to support corrupt and often ruthless dictators, especially in Latin America. In addition, the CIA, acting in secret and under lax control by civilian officials, planned assassinations of national leaders, such as Fidel Cas- tro of Cuba. CIA operations fueled anti-American feelings, especially in Latin America, but the long-term damage was to U.S. relations with Iran. Asia During Eisenhower's first year in office, some of the most serious Cold War challenges concerned events in East Asia and Southeast Asia. 582 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Korean Armistice Soon after his inauguration in 1953, Eisenhower kept his election promise by going to Korea to visit U.N. forces and see what could be done to stop the war. He understood that no quick fix was possible. Even so, diplomacy, the threat of nuclear war, and the sudden death of Joseph Stalin in March 1953 finally moved China and North Korea to agree to an armistice and an exchange of prisoners in July 1953. The fighting stopped and most (but not all) U.S. troops were withdrawn. Korea would remain divided near the 38th parallel, and despite years of futile negotiations, no peace treaty was ever concluded between North Korea and South Korea. Fall of Indochina After losing their Southeast Asian colony of Indochina to Japanese invaders in World War II, the French made the mistake of trying to retake it. Wanting independence, native Vietnamese and Cambodians resisted. French imperialism had the effect of increasing support for nationalist and Communist leader Ho Chi Minh. By 1950, the anticolonial war in Indochina became part of the Cold War rivalry between Communist and anticommunist powers. Truman's government started to give U.S. military aid to the French, while China and the Soviet Union aided the Viet Minh guerrillas led by Ho Chi Minh. In 1954, a large French army at Dien Bien Phu was trapped and forced to surrender. After this disastrous defeat, the French tried to convince Eisenhower to send in U.S. troops, but he refused. At the Geneva Conference of 1954, France agreed to give up Indochina, which was divided into the independent nations of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Division of Vietnam By the terms of the Geneva Conference, Vietnam was to be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel until a general election could be held. The new nation remained divided, however, as two hostile gov- ernments took power on either side of the line. In North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh established a Communist dictatorship. In South Vietnam, a government emerged under Ngo Dinh Diem, whose support came largely from anticommu- nist, Catholic, and urban Vietnamese, many of whom had fled from Communist rule in the North. The general election to unite Vietnam was never held, largely because South Vietnam's government feared that the Communists would win. From 1955 to 1961, the United States gave over $1 billion in economic and military aid to South Vietnam in an effort to build a stable, anticommunist state. In justifying this aid, President Eisenhower made an analogy to a row of dominoes. According to this domino theory (later to become famous), if South Vietnam fell under Communist control, one nation after another in Southeast Asia would also fall, until Australia and New Zealand were in dire danger. SEATO To prevent South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from "falling" to communism, Dulles put together a regional defense pact called the South- east Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Agreeing to defend one another in case of an attack within the region, eight nations signed the pact in 1954: the United States, Great Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan. THE EISENHOWER YEARS, 1952-1960 583 The Middle East In the Middle East, the United States tried to balance maintaining friendly ties with the oil-rich Arab states while at the same time supporting the new state of Israel. The latter nation was created in 1948 under U .N. auspices, after a civil war in the British mandate territory of Palestine left the land divided between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Israel's neighbors, including Egypt, had fought unsuccessfully to prevent the Jewish state from being formed. Suez Crisis Led by the Arab nationalist General Gamal Nasser, Egypt asked the United States for funds to build the ambitious Aswan Dam project on the Nile River. The United States refused, in part because Egypt threatened Israel's security. Nasser turned to the Soviet Union to help build the dam. The Soviets agreed to provide limited financing for the project. Seeking another source of funds, Nasser precipitated an international crisis in July 1956 by seiz- ing and nationalizing the British- and French-owned Suez Canal that passed through Egyptian territory. Loss of the canal threatened Western Europe's sup- ply line to Middle Eastern oil. In response to this threat, Britain, France, and Israel carried out a surprise attack against Egypt and retook the canal. Eisenhower, furious that he had been kept in the dark about the attack by his old allies the British and French, sponsored a U.N. resolution condemning the invasion of Egypt. Under pressure from the United States and world public opinion, the invading forces withdrew. Eisenhower Doctrine The United States quickly replaced Britain and France as the leading Western influence in the Middle East, but it faced a grow- ing Soviet influence in Egypt and Syria. In a policy pronouncement later known as the Eisenhower Doctrine, the United States in 1957 pledged economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern country threatened by communism. Eisen- hower first applied his doctrine in 1958 by sending 14,000 marines to Lebanon to prevent a civil war between Christians and Muslims. OPEC and Oil In Eisenhower's last year in office, 1960, the Arab nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Iran joined Venezuela to form the Orga- nization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Oil was shaping up to be a critical foreign policy issue. The combination of Western dependence on Middle East oil, Arab nationalism, and a conflict between Israelis and Palestin- ian refugees would trouble American presidents in the coming decades. U.S.-Soviet Relations For U.S. security, nothing was more crucial than U.S. diplomatic relations with its chief political and military rival, the Soviet Union. Throughout Eisenhow- er's presidency, the relations between the two superpowers fluctuated between periods of relative calm and extreme tension. Spirit of Geneva After Stalin's death in 1953, Eisenhower called for a slowdown in the arms race and presented to the United Nations an atoms for peace plan. The Soviets also showed signs of wanting to reduce Cold War 584 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM tensions. They withdrew their troops from Austria ( once that country had agreed to be neutral in the Cold War) and established peaceful relations with Greece and Turkey. By 1955, a desire for improved relations on both sides resulted in a summit meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, between Eisenhower and the new Soviet premier, Nikolai Bulganin. At this conference, the U.S. president proposed an "open skies" policy over each other's territory-open to aerial photography by the opposing nation-in order to eliminate the chance of a surprise nuclear attack. The Soviets rejected the proposal. Nevertheless, the "spirit of Geneva," as the press called it, produced the first thaw in the Cold War. Even more encouraging, from the U.S. point of view, was a speech by the new Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in early 1956 in which he denounced the crimes of Joseph Stalin and supported "peaceful coexistence" with the West. MIDDLE EAST AREAS OF CONFLICT, 1948-1990 USSR ,_,,_ ,_ • Ankara '.>\ --.. I \ / rl C> TURKEY Cf' l , __ , , __ _,,--�it ' ,---, .......... ,....- // ', _, I \ dQGreek·Turkis� 1 SYRIA L��anese,1 ':::',, I h 1963 I C1v1I War 1 ,:,1 c as LEBANON) 1975-19901 "P CYPRUS B · t 'f _ ,, 1 � "? e,ru ,, • Damascus I RA Q ', -;,,, � ISRAEL , ,.-< � B hd d' Arab-Israeli war _I', __ ,. I • ag a \ ,, 1948 Llerusalem_l..___ '1,- 1 11ez ·� ,/s , 1 c:t;.111/-... � DEA[? EA '-, Iraqi invasion Suez cris·s '(""'' gyptiari attack '-1 of Kuwait 1 1956 i[again,st lsrael1973 '-, 19JO-# ca· 0 ',-'( <---- - JORDAN / KUWAIT Riyadh• SAUD I ARABIA 500 Miles 500 Kilometers USSR •Teheran I RAN N • INDIAN OCEAN THE EISENHOWER YEARS, 1952-1960 585 Hungarian Revolt The relaxation in the Cold War encouraged workers in East Germany and Poland to demand reforms from their Communist govern- ments. In October 1956, a popular uprising in Hungary actually succeeded in overthrowing a government backed by Moscow. The new, more liberal lead- ers wanted to pull Hungary out of the Warsaw Pact, the Communist security organization. This was too much for the Kremlin, and Khrushchev sent in Soviet tanks to crush the freedom fighters and restore control over Hungary. The United States took no action in the crisis. Eisenhower feared that send- ing troops to aid the Hungarians would touch off a major war in Europe. In effect, by allowing Soviet tanks to roll into Hungary, the United States gave de facto recognition to the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and ended Dulles' talk of "liberating" this region. Soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolt also ended the first thaw in the Cold War. Sputnik Shock In 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the United States by launching the first satellites, Sputnik I and Sputnik II, into orbit around the earth. Suddenly, the technological leadership of the United States was open to question. To add to American embarrassment, U.S. rockets designed to dupli- cate the Soviet achievement failed repeatedly. What was responsible for this scientific debacle? American schools became the ready target for criticism of their math and science instruction and failure to produce more scientists and engineers. In 1958, Congress responded with the National Defense and Education Act (NDEA), which authorized giving hun- dreds of millions in federal money to the schools for math, science, and foreign language education. Congress in 1958 also created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to direct the U.S. efforts to build missiles and explore outer space. Billions were appropriated to compete with the Rus- sians in the space race. Fears of nuclear war were intensified by Sputnik, since the missiles that launched the satellites could also deliver thermonuclear warheads anywhere in the world in minutes, and there was no defense against them. Second Berlin Crisis "We will bury capitalism," Khrushchev boasted. With new confidence and pride based on Sputnik, the Soviet leader pushed the Berlin issue in 1958 by giving the West six months to pull its troops out of West Berlin before turning over the city to the East Germans. The United States refused to yield. To defuse the crisis, Eisenhower invited Khrushchev to visit the United States in 1959. At the presidential retreat of Camp David in Maryland, the two agreed to put off the crisis and scheduled another summit conference in Paris for 1960. U-2 Incident The friendly "spirit of Camp David" never had a chance to produce results. Two weeks before the planned meeting in Paris, the Russians shot down a high-altitude U.S. spy plane-the U-2-over the Soviet Union. The incident exposed a secret U.S. tactic for gaining information. After its 586 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM open-skies proposals had been rejected by the Soviets in 1955, the United States had decided to conduct regular spy flights over Soviet territory to find out about its enemy's missile program. Eisenhower took full responsibility for the flights-after they were exposed by the U-2 incident-but his honesty proved to be a diplomatic mistake. Khrushchev denounced the United States and walked out of the Paris summit to temporarily end the thaw in the Cold War. Communism in Cuba Perhaps more alarming than any other Cold War development during the Eisenhower years was the loss of Cuba to communism. A bearded revolu- tionary, Fidel Castro, overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. At first, no one knew whether Castro's politics would be better or worse than those of his ruthless predecessor. Once in power, however, Castro nationalized American-owned businesses and properties in Cuba. Eisenhower retaliated by cutting off U.S. trade with Cuba. Castro then turned to the Soviets for sup- port. He also revealed that he was a Marxist and soon proved it by setting up a Communist totalitarian state. With communism only 90 miles off the shores of Florida, Eisenhower authorized the CIA to train anticommunist Cuban exiles to retake their island, but the decision to go ahead with the scheme was left up to the next president, Kennedy. Eisenhower's Legacy After leaving the White House, Eisenhower claimed credit for checking Com- munist aggression and keeping the peace without the loss of American lives in combat. He also started the long process of relaxing tensions with the Soviet Union. In 1958, he initiated the first arms limitations by voluntarily suspending above-ground testing of nuclear weapons. "Military-Industrial Complex" In his farewell address as president, Eisenhower spoke out against the negative impact of the Cold War on U.S. society. He warned the nation to "guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence ... by the military-industrial complex." If the outgoing president was right, the arms race was taking on a momentum and logic all its own. It seemed to some Americans in the 1960s that the United States was in danger of going down the path of ancient Rome by turning into a military, or imperial, state. The Civil Rights Movement While Eisenhower was concentrating on Cold War issues, events with revolu- tionary significance to race relations were developing within the United States. THE EISENHOWER YEARS, 1952-1960 587 Origins of the Movement The baseball player Jackie Robinson had broken the color line in 1947 by being hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first African American to play on a major league team since the 1880s. President Truman integrated the armed forces in 1948 and introduced civil rights legislation in Congress. These were the first well-publicized indications that race relations after World War II were changing. As the 1950s began, however, African Americans in the South were still by law segregated from whites in schools and in most public facilities. They were also kept from voting by poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and intimi- dation. Social segregation left most of them poorly educated, while economic discrimination kept them in a state of poverty. Changing Demographics The origins of the modern civil rights move- ment can be traced back to the movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to the urban centers of the South and the North. In the North, African Americans, who joined the Democrats during the New Deal, had a growing influence in party politics in the 1950s. Changing Attitudes in the Cold War The Cold War also played an indi- rect role in changing both government policies and social attitudes. The U.S. reputation for freedom and democracy was competing against Communist ide- ology for the hearts and minds of the peoples of Africa and Asia. Against this global background, racial segregation and discrimination stood out as glaring wrongs that needed to be corrected. President Truman took one step in this direction by desegregation the military in 1948. Desegregating the Schools The NAACP had been working through the courts for decades trying to over- turn the Supreme Court's 1896 decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, which allowed segregation in "separate but equal" facilities. In the late 1940s, the NAACP won a series of cases involving higher education. Brown Decision One of the great landmark cases in Supreme Court history was argued in the early 1950s by a team of NAACP lawyers led by Thurgood Marshall. In Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, they argued that segregation of black children in the public schools was unconstitutional because it violated the 14th Amendment's guarantee of "equal protection of the laws." In May 1954, the Supreme Court agreed with Marshall and overturned the Plessy case. Writing for a unanimous Court, Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled that (1) "separate facilities are inherently unequal" and unconstitutional, and (2) school segregation should end with "all deliberate speed." Resistance in the South Opposition to the Brown decision erupted throughout the South. To start with, 101 members of Congress signed the "Southern Manifesto" condemning the Supreme Court for a "clear abuse of judicial power." States fought the decision several ways, including the tempo- rary closing of the public schools and setting up private schools. The Ku Klux Klan made a comeback, and violence against blacks increased. In Arkansas in 588 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM 1956, Governor Orval Faubus used the state's National Guard to prevent nine African American students from entering Little Rock Central High School, as ordered by a federal court. President Eisenhower then intervened. While the president did not actively support desegregation or the Brown decision, he understood his constitutional duty to uphold federal authority. Eisenhower ordered federal troops to stand guard in Little Rock and protect black students. Resistance remained stubborn. In 1964, ten years after the Supreme Court decision, less than 2 percent of blacks in the South attended integrated schools. Source: Marion Post Wolcott, Memphis, 1939. Library of Congress Montgomery Bus Boycott In 1955, as a Montgomery, Alabama, bus took on more white passengers, the driver ordered a middle-aged black woman to give up her seat to one of them. Rosa Parks refused and her arrest for violating the segregation law sparked a massive African American protest in the form of a boycott of the city buses. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., minister of the Baptist church where the boycott started, soon emerged as the inspirational leader of a nonviolent movement to end segregation. The protest touched off by Rosa Parks and the Montgomery boycott resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that segregation laws were unconstitutional. The boycott also sparked other civil rights protests that reshaped America over the coming decades. THE EISENHOWER YEARS, 1952-1960 589 Federal laws Signed into law by President Eisenhower, two civil rights laws of 1957 and 1960 were the first such laws to be enacted by the U.S. Congress since Recon- struction. They were modest in scope, providing for a permanent Civil Rights Commission and giving the Justice Department new powers to protect the vot- ing rights of blacks. Despite this legislation, southern officials still used an arsenal of obstructive tactics to discourage African Americans from voting. Nonviolent Protests What the government would not do, the African American community did for itself. In 1957, Martin Luther King Jr. formed the Southern Christian Lead- ership Conference (SCLC), which organized ministers and churches in the South to get behind the civil rights struggle. In February 1960, college stu- dents in Greensboro, North Carolina, started the sit-in movement after being refused service at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. To call attention to the injustice of segregated facilities, students would deliberately invite arrest by sitting in restricted areas. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commit- tee (SNCC) was formed a few months later to keep the movement organized. In the 1960s, African Americans used the sit-in tactic to integrate restaurants, hotels, buildings, libraries, pools, and transportation throughout the South. The results of the boycotts, sit-ins, court rulings, and government responses to pressure marked a turning point in the civil rights movement. Progress was slow, however. In the 1960s, a growing impatience among many African Amer- icans would be manifested in violent confrontations in the streets. Immigration Issues in the Postwar Years Congress dropped the bans on Chinese and other Asian immigrants and elimi- nated "race" as a barrier to naturalization, but the quota system remained in place until 1965. Puerto Ricans, as American citizens, could enter the United States without restrictions. However, Mexicans faced a choice of working under contract in the braceros program, entering as a regulated legal immigrant, or crossing the border as "illegals." In the early 1950s, U.S. officials, responding to complaints from native-born workers and from Mexico, launched Operation Wetback, which forced an estimate 3.8 million people to return to Mexico. Mexicans migrants remaining in the United States often faced discrimination and exploitation by commercial farmers. Popular Culture in the Fifties Among white suburbanites, the 1950s were marked by similarities in social norms. Consensus about political issues and conformity in social behavior were safe harbors for Americans troubled by the foreign ideology of com- munism. At the same time, consensus and conformity were the hallmarks of a consumer-driven mass economy. 590 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Consumer Culture and Conformity Television, advertising, and the middle-class movement to the suburbs con- tributed mightily to the growing homogeneity of American culture. Television Little more than a curiosity in the late 1940s, television sud- denly became a center of family life in millions of American homes. By 1961, there were 55 million TV sets, about one for every 3.3 Americans. Television programming in the fifties was dominated by three national networks, which presented viewers with a bland menu of situation comedies, westerns, quiz shows, and professional sports. FCC chairman Newton Minnow criticized tele- vision as a "vast wasteland" and worried about the impact on children of a steady dose of five or more hours of daily viewing. Yet the culture portrayed on television-especially for third and fourth generations of white ethnic Ameri- cans-provided a common content for their common language. Advertising In all the media (television, radio, newspapers, and maga- zines), aggressive advertising by name brands promoted common material wants, and the introduction of suburban shopping centers and the plastic credit card in the 1950s provided a quick means of satisfying them. The phenomenal proliferation of chains of fast food restaurants on the roadside was one measure of success for the new marketing techniques and standardized products as the nation turned from "mom and pop" stores to franchise operations. Paperbacks and Records Despite television, Americans read more than ever. Paperback books, an innovation in the 1950s, were selling almost a mil- lion copies a day by 1960. Popular music was revolutionized by the mass marketing of inexpensive, long-playing (LP) record albums and stacks of 45 rpm records. Teenagers fell in love with rock-and-roll music, a blend of African American rhythm and blues with white country music, popularized by the gyrating Elvis Presley. Corporate America In the business world, conglomerates with diversified holdings began to dominate such industries as food processing, hotels, trans- portation, insurance, and banking. For the first time in history, more American workers held white-collar jobs than blue-collar jobs. To work for one of For- tune magazine's top 500 companies seemed to be the road to success. Large corporations of this era promoted teamwork and conformity, including a dress code for male workers of a dark business suit, white shirt, and a conservative tie. The social scientist William Whyte documented this loss of individuality in his book The Organization Man (1956). Big unions became more powerful after the merger of the AF of L and the CIO in 1955. They also became more conservative, as blue-collar workers began to enjoy middle-class incomes. For most Americans, conformity was a small price to pay for the new afflu- ence of a home in the suburbs, a new automobile every two or three years, good schools for the children, and maybe a vacation at the recently opened Disneyland (1955) in California. THE EISENHOWER YEARS, 1952-1960 591 Religion Organized religions expanded dramatically after World War II with the building of thousands of new churches and synagogues. Will Her- berg's book P rotestant, Catholic, Jew (1955) commented on the new religious tolerance of the times and the lack of interest in doctrine, as religious member- ship became a source of both individual identity and socialization. Women's Roles The baby boom and running a home in the suburbs made homemaking a full- time job for millions of women. The traditional view of a woman's role as caring for home and children was reaffirmed in the mass media and in the best- selling self-help book, Baby and Child Care ( 1946) by Dr. Benjamin Spock. At the same time, evidence of dissatisfaction was growing, especially among well-educated women of the middle class. More married women, espe- cially as they reached middle age, entered the workforce. Yet male employers in the 1950s saw female workers primarily as wives and mothers, and women's lower wages reflected this attitude. Social Critics Not everybody approved of the social trends of the 1950s. In The Lonely Crowd (1958), Harvard sociologist David Riesman criticized the replacement of "inner-directed" individuals in society with "other-directed" conformists. In The Affluent Society (1958), economist John Kenneth Galbraith wrote about the failure of wealthy Americans to address the need for increased social spend- ing for the common good. (Galbraith's ideas were to influence the Kennedy and Johnson administrations in the next decade.) Sociologist C. Wright Mills portrayed dehumanizing corporate worlds in White Collar (1951) and threats to freedom in The Power Elite (1956). Novels Some of the most popular novelists of the 1950s wrote about the individual's struggle against conformity. J. D. Salinger provided a classic com- mentary on "phoniness" as viewed by a troubled teenager in The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Joseph Heller satirized the stupidity of the military and war in Catch-22 (1961). "Beatniks" A group of rebellious writers and intellectuals made up the Beat Generation of the 1950s. Led by Jack Kerouac ( On the Road, 1957) and poet Allen Ginsberg ("Howl," 1956), they advocated spontaneity, use of drugs, and rebellion against societal standards. The beatniks would become models for the youth rebellion of the 1960s.

Chapter 28 'Promise and Turmoil, The 1960s'

The 1960s were in many ways both the best and the worst of times. On the one hand, the postwar economic prosperity peaked in the 1960s. At the same time, racial strife, a controversial war in Vietnam, and student radicalism started to tear the country apart. The proud superpower began to learn its limits both in the jungles of Vietnam and on the streets at home. John F. Kennedy's New Frontier The decade began with an election that proved symbolic of the changes that were to come. The Election of 1960 President Eisenhower had not been able to transfer his popularity to other Republicans, and the Democrats retained control of Congress through Eisen- hower's last two years in office. Nixon At their 1960 convention, the Republicans unanimously nominated Richard Nixon for president. During his eight years as Eisenhower's vice presi- dent, Nixon had gained a reputation as a statesman in his diplomatic travels to Europe and South America. In a visit to Moscow, he stood up to Nikita Khrushchev in the so-called kitchen debate (which took place in a model of an American kitchen) over the relative merits of capitalism and communism. Still young at 47, Nixon was known to be a tough and seasoned campaigner. Kennedy Early in 1960, several Democrats believed they had a chance at the nomination. Liberal Democrats Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota and Adlai Stevenson of Illinois were in the contest, and southern Democrats supported 600 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM the Senate majority leader, Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas. In the primaries, however, a charismatic, wealthy, and youthful 43-year-old senator from Mas- sachusetts, John F. Kennedy, defeated his rivals. Going into the convention, he had just enough delegates behind him to win the nomination. To balance the ticket, the New Englander chose a Texan, Lyndon B. Johnson, to be his vice presidential running mate-a choice that proved critical in carrying southern states in the November election. Campaign The new medium of television was perhaps the most decisive factor in the close race between the two youthful campaigners, Nixon and Ken- nedy. In the first of four televised debates-the first such debates in campaign history-Kennedy appeared on-screen as more vigorous and comfortable than the pale and tense Nixon. On the issues, Kennedy attacked the Eisenhower administration for the recent recession and for permitting the Soviets to take the lead in the arms race. In reality, what Kennedy called a "missile gap" was actually in the U.S. favor, but his charges seemed plausible after Sputnik. As the first Catholic presidential candidate since Al Smith (1928), Kennedy's reli- gion became an issue in the minds of some voters. Religious loyalties helped Nixon in rural Protestant areas but helped Kennedy in the large cities. Results In one of the closest elections in U.S. history, Kennedy defeated Nixon by a little more than 100,000 popular votes, and by a slightly wider mar- gin of 303 to 219 in the electoral college. Many Republicans, including Nixon, felt the election had been stolen by Democratic political machines in states like Illinois and Texas by stuffing ballot boxes with "votes" of the deceased. Domestic Policy At 43, Kennedy was the youngest candidate ever to be elected president. His energy and sharp wit gave a new, personal style to the presidency. In his inau- gural address, Kennedy spoke of "the torch being passed to a new generation" and promised to lead the nation into a New Frontier. The Democratic president surrounded himself with both business executives such as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and academics such as economist John Kenneth Galbraith. For the sensitive position of attorney general, the president chose his younger brother, Robert. John Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline ("Jackie"), brought style, glamour, and an appreciation of the arts to the White House. The press loved Kennedy's news conferences, and some later likened his administration to the mythical kingdom of Camelot and the court of King Arthur, the subject of a then-popular Broadway musical. New Frontier Programs The promises of the New Frontier proved dif- ficult to keep. Kennedy called for aid to education, federal support of health care, urban renewal, and civil rights, but his domestic programs languished in Congress. While few of Kennedy's proposals became law during his thousand- day administration, most were passed later under President Johnson. On economic issues, Kennedy had some success. He faced down big steel executives over a price increase he charged was inflationary and achieved a price rollback. In addition, the economy was stimulated by increased spending PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 19605 601 for defense and space exploration, as the president committed the nation to land on the moon by the end of the decade. Foreign Affairs With his domestic programs often blocked, Kennedy increasingly turned his attention to foreign policy issues. In 1961, he set up the Peace Corps, an orga- nization that recruited young American volunteers to give technical aid to developing countries. Also in 1961, he organized the Alliance for Progress, which promoted land reform and economic development in Latin America. Kennedy did persuade Congress to pass the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which authorized tariff reductions with the recently formed European Eco- nomic Community (Common Market) of Western European nations. Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961) Kennedy made a major blunder shortly after entering office. He approved a Central Intelligence Agency scheme planned under the Eisenhower administration to use Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro's regime in Cuba. In April 1961, the CIA-trained force of Cubans landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba but failed to set off a general uprising as planned. Trapped on the beach, the anti-Castro Cubans had little choice but to surrender after Kennedy rejected the idea of using U.S. forces to save them. Castro used the failed invasion to get even more aid from the Soviet Union and to strengthen his grip on power. Berlin Wall Trying to shake off the embarrassment of the Bay of Pigs defeat, Kennedy agreed to meet Soviet premier Khrushchev in Vienna in the summer of 1961. Khrushchev seized the opportunity in Vienna to threaten the president by renewing Soviet demands that the United States pull its troops out of Berlin. Kennedy refused. In August, the East Germans, with Soviet backing, built a wall around West Berlin. Its purpose was to stop East Germans from fleeing to West Germany. As the wall was being built, Soviet and U.S. tanks faced off in Berlin. Kennedy called up the reserves, but he made no move to stop the completion of the wall. In 1963, the president traveled to West Berlin to assure its residents of continuing U.S. support. To cheering crowds, he pro- claimed: "Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put up a wall to keep our people in .... As a free man, I take pride in the words, '!ch bin ein Berliner' [I am a Berliner]." The Berlin Wall stood as a gloomy symbol of the Cold War until it was torn down by rebellious East Germans in 1989. Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) The most dangerous challenge from the Soviets came in October 1962. U.S. reconnaissance planes discovered that the Russians were building underground sites in Cuba for the launching of offen- sive missiles that could reach the United States in minutes. Kennedy responded by announcing to the world that he was setting up a naval blockade of Cuba until the weapons were removed. A full-scale nuclear war between the super- powers seemed likely if Soviet ships challenged the U.S. naval blockade. After days of tension, Khrushchev finally agreed to remove the missiles from Cuba 602 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM in exchange for Kennedy's pledge not to invade the island nation and to later remove some U.S. missiles from Turkey. The Cuban missile crisis had a sobering effect on both sides. Soon after- ward, a telecommunications hotline was established between Washington and Moscow to make it possible for the leaders of the two countries to talk directly during a crisis. In 1963, the Soviet Union and the United States-along with nearly 100 other nations-signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to end the test- ing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere. This first step in controlling the testing of nuclear arms was offset by a new round in the arms race for develop- ing missile and warhead superiority. THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA UNITED STATES 500 Miles 500 Kilometers Miami 11 1 �"1 ATLANTIC Key West { ·�"\-4 OCEAN Havana . "-�}_ � N • PACIFIC OCEAN cJDOMINICAN 0 REPUBLIC .. � �. c:,,. .� ·.,. JAMAICA HAITI PUERTO .,._: RICO /?," C,,qR.IBBEAN SEA � I I ', • GRENADA-_/ �.. • • (I � VENEZUELA , '--, ___ , r' I -,,. COLOMBIA I r' \ __ ,- I I S O U T H A M\E R 'I C A //-,l...._r-',.... Flexible Response A different Cold War challenge were the many "brush- fire wars" in Africa and Southeast Asia, in which insurgent forces were often aided by Soviet arms and training. Such conflicts in the Congo (later renamed Zaire) in Africa and in Laos and Vietnam in Southeast Asia convinced the Ken- nedy administration to adopt a policy of flexible response. Moving away from Dulles' idea of massive retaliation and reliance on nuclear weapons, Kennedy and McNamara increased spending on conventional (nonnuclear) arms and mobile military forces. While the flexible-response policy reduced the risk of using nuclear weapons, it also increased the temptation to send elite special forces, such as the Green Berets, into combat all over the globe. Assassination in Dallas After just two and a half years in office, President Kennedy's "one brief, shin- ing moment" was cut short on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, as two PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 19605 603 bullets from an assassin's rifle found their mark. After the shocking news of Kennedy's murder, millions of stunned Americans were fixed to their tele- visions for days and even witnessed the killing of the alleged assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, just two days after the president's death. The Warren Commis- sion, headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin. For years afterward, however, unanswered questions about the events in Dallas produced dozens of conspiracy theories pointing to possible involve- ment by organized crime, Castro, the CIA, and the FBI. For many Americans, the tragedy in Dallas and doubts about the Warren Commission marked the beginning of a loss of credibility in government. In Retrospect At the time, John Kennedy's presidency inspired many ide- alistic young Americans to take seriously his inaugural message and to "ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country." However, more recently, his belligerent Cold War rhetoric has drawn criticism from some historians. Nevertheless, the Kennedy legend has endured. Lyndon Johnson's Great Society Two hours after the Kennedy assassination, Lyndon Johnson took the presi- dential oath of office aboard a plane at the Dallas airport. On the one hand, as a native of rural west Texas and a graduate of a little-known teacher's college, he seemed very unsophisticated compared to the wealthy, Harvard-educated Kennedy. On the other hand, Johnson was a skilled politician who had started his career as a devoted Roosevelt Democrat during the Great Depression. As the new president, Johnson was determined to expand the social reforms of the New Deal. During his almost 30 years in Congress, he had learned how to get things done. Shortly after taking office, Johnson persuaded Congress to pass (1) an expanded version of Kennedy's civil rights bill, and (2) Kennedy's proposal for an income tax cut. The latter measure sparked an increase in jobs, consumer spending, and a long period of economic expansion in the sixties. The War on Poverty Michael Harrington's best-selling book on poverty, The Other America (1962), helped to focus national attention on the 40 million Americans still living in poverty. Johnson responded by declaring in 1964 an "unconditional war on poverty." The Democratic Congress gave the president almost everything that he asked for by creating the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and providing this antipoverty agency with a billion-dollar budget. The OEO spon- sored a wide variety of self-help programs for the poor, such as Head Start for preschoolers, the Job Corps for vocational education, literacy programs, and legal services. The controversial Community Action Program allowed the poor to run antipoverty programs in their own neighborhoods. Like the New Deal, some of Johnson's programs produced results, while others did not. Nevertheless, before being cut back to pay for the far more costly Vietnam War, the War on Poverty did significantly reduce the number of American families living in poverty. 604 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM The Election of 1964 Johnson and his running mate, Senator Hubert Humphrey, went into the 1964 election with a clearly liberal agenda. In contrast, the Republicans nominated a staunch conservative, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, who advocated ending the welfare state, including TVA and Social Security. A TV ad by the Democrats pictured Goldwater as a dangerous extremist, who would be quick to involve the United States in nuclear war. However, the doomed Goldwater cam- paign did energize young conservatives and introduced new conservative voices, such as former film actor and TV host, Ronald Reagan of California. Johnson won the election by a landslide, taking 61 percent of the popular vote-a higher figure than FDR's landslide of 1936. In addition, Democrats now controlled both houses of Congress by better than a two-thirds margin. A Demo- cratic president and Congress were in a position to pass the economic and social reforms originally proposed by President Truman in the 1940s. Great Society Reforms Johnson's list of legislative achievements from 1963 to 1966 is long and includes new programs that would have lasting effects on U.S. society. Several of the most significant ones are listed in the table below. Title Food Stamp Act National Founda- tion on the Arts and Humanities Medicare Medicaid Elementary and Secondary Educa- tion Act Higher Education Act Immigration Act Child Nutrition Act Great Society Programs Year Passed 1964 1965 1965 1965 1965 1965 1965 1966 Program Expanded the federal program to help poor people buy food Provided federal funding for the arts and for crea- tive and scholarly projects Provided health insurance for all people 65 and older Provided funds to states to pay for medical care for the poor and disabled Provided federal funds to poor school districts; funds for special education programs; and funds to expand Head Start, an early childhood education program Provided federal scholarships for post-secondary education Abolished discriminatory quotas based on national .. origins Added breakfasts to the school lunch program PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 1960S 605 In addition to the programs listed in the table, Congress increased fund- ing for mass transit, public housing, rent subsidies for low-income people, and crime prevention, Johnson also established two new cabinet departments: the Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Congress, in response to Ralph Nader's book Unsafe at Any Speed (1965), also passed regulations of the automobile industry that would save hundreds of thousands of lives in the following years. Clean air and water laws were enacted in part as a response to Rachel Carson's expose of pesticides, Silent Spring (1962). Federal parks and wilderness areas were expanded. LBJs wife, Lady Bird Johnson, contributed to improving the environment with her Beautify America campaign, which resulted in the Highway Beautification Act that removed billboards from federal roads. Evaluating the Great Society Critics have attacked Johnson's Great Society for making unrealistic promises to eliminate poverty, for creating a cen- tralized welfare state, and for being inefficient and very costly. On the other hand, defenders point out that these programs gave vitally needed assistance to millions of Americans who had previously been forgotten or ignored-the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. Johnson himself would jeopardize the Demo- crat's vast domestic achievements by escalating the war in Vietnam-a war that resulted in higher taxes and inflation. Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 Ironically, a southern president succeeded in persuading Congress to enact the most important civil rights laws since Reconstruction. Even before the 1964 election, Johnson managed to persuade both a majority of Democrats and some Republicans in Congress to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which made segre- gation illegal in all public facilities, including hotels and restaurants, and gave the federal government additional powers to enforce school desegregation. This act also set up the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end discrimi- nation in employment on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin. Also in 1964, the 24th Amendment was ratified. It abolished the practice of collecting a poll tax, one of the measures that, for decades, had discouraged poor people from voting. The following year, after the killings and brutality in Selma, Alabama, against the voting rights marches led by Martin Luther King Jr., President John- son persuaded Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act ended literacy tests and provided federal registrars in areas where blacks were kept from voting. The impact was most dramatic in the Deep South, where African Americans could vote for the first time since the Reconstruction era. Civil Rights and Conflict The civil rights movement gained momentum during the Kennedy and Johnson presidencies. A very close election in 1960 influenced President Kennedy not to press the issue of civil rights, lest he alienate white voters. But the defiance of the governors of Alabama and Mississippi to federal court rulings on integration 606 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM forced a showdown. In 1962, James Meredith, a young African American air force veteran, attempted to enroll in the University of Mississippi. A federal court guaranteed his right to attend. Supporting Meredith and the court order, Kennedy sent in 400 federal marshals and 3,000 troops to control mob violence and protect Meredith's right to attend class. A similar incident occurred in Alabama in 1963. Governor George Wallace tried to stop an African American student from entering the University of Ala- bama. Once again, President Kennedy sent troops to the scene, and the student was admitted. The Leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil rights activists and freedom riders who traveled through the South regis- tering African Americans to vote and integrating public places were met with beatings, bombings, and murder by white extremists. Recognized nationally as the leader of the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. remained committed to nonviolent protests against segregation. In 1963, he and some fol- lowers were jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, for what local authorities judged to be an illegal march. The jailing of King, however, proved to be a milestone in the civil rights movement because most Americans believed King to have been jailed unjustly. From his jail cell, King wrote an essay, "Letter from Birming- ham Jail, " in which he argued: [W]e need emulate neither the "do-nothingism " of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. I am grateful to God that, through the influence of the Negro church, the way of non- violence became an integral part of our struggle .... One day the South will know that when these disinherited chil- dren of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Dec- laration of Independence .... King's letter moved President Kennedy to support a tougher civil rights bill. March on Washington (1963) In August 1963, King led one of the largest and most successful demonstrations in U.S. history. About 200,000 blacks and whites took part in the peaceful March on Washington in support of the civil rights bill. The highlight of the demonstration was King's impassioned "I Have a Dream " speech, which appealed for the end of racial prejudice and ended with everyone in the crowd singing "We Shall Overcome." March to Montgomery (1965) A voting rights march from Selma, Ala- bama, to the state capitol of Montgomery was met with beatings and tear gas in what became known as "Bloody Sunday." Televised pictures of the violence PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 1960S 607 proved a turning point in the civil rights movement. The national outrage moved President Johnson to send federal troops to protect King and other marchers in another attempt to petition the state government. As a result, Congress passed the powerful Voting Rights Act of 1965. Nevertheless, young African Amer- icans were losing patience with the slow progress toward equality and the continued violence against their people by white extremists. Black Muslims and Malcolm X Seeking a new cultural identity based on Africa and Islam, the Black Muslim leader Elijah Muhammad preached black nationalism, separatism, and self- improvement. The movement had already attracted thousands of followers by the time a young man became a convert while serving in prison. He adopted the name Malcolm X. Leaving prison in 1952, Malcolm X acquired a reputa- tion as the movement's most controversial voice. He criticized King as "an Uncle Tom" (subservient to whites) and advocated self-defense-using black violence to counter white violence. He eventually left the Black Muslims and moved away from defending violence, but he was assassinated by black opponents in 1965. The Autobiography of Malcolm X remains an engaging testimony to one man's development from a petty criminal into a major leader. Race Riots and Black Power The radicalism of Malcolm X influenced the thinking of young blacks in civil rights organizations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Stokely Carmichael, the chairman of SNCC, repudiated nonviolence and advocated "black power" (especially economic power) and racial separatism. In 1966, the Black Pan- thers were organized by Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and other militants as a revolutionary socialist movement advocating self-rule for American blacks. Riots Shortly after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the arrest of a young black motorist by white police in the black neighborhood of Watts in Los Angeles sparked a six-day race riot that killed 34 people and destroyed over 700 buildings. Race riots continued to erupt each summer in black neighborhoods of major cities through 1968 with increasing casualties and destruction of property. Rioters shouting slogans-"Bum baby, bum" and "Get whitey"-made whites suspect that black extremists and revolutionaries were behind the violence. There was little evidence, however, that the small Black Power movement was responsible for the violence. A federal investiga- tion of the many riots, the Kerner Commission, concluded in late 1968 that racism and segregation were chiefly responsible and that the United States was becoming "two societies, one black, one white-separate and unequal." By the mid-1960s, the issue of civil rights had spread far beyond de Jure segregation practiced under the law in the South and now included the de facto segregation and discrimination caused by racist attitudes in the North and West. Murder in Memphis Martin Luther King, Jr., received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, but his nonviolent approach was under increasing pressure from 608 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM all sides. His effort to use peaceful marches in urban centers of the North, such as Chicago, met with little success. King also broke with President Johnson over the Vietnam War because that war was beginning to drain money from social programs. In April 1968, the nation went into shock over the news that King, while standing on a motel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee, had been shot and killed by a white man. Massive riots erupted in 168 cities across the country, leaving at least 46 people dead. The violence did not reflect the ide- als of the murdered leader, but it did reveal the anger and frustrations among African Americans in both the North and the South. The violence also fed a growing "white backlash," especially among white blue-collar voters, to the civil rights movement, which was soon reflected in election results. The Warren Court and Individual Rights As chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1953 to 1969, Earl Warren had an impact on the nation comparable to that of John Marshall in the early 1800s. Warren's decision in the desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) was by far the most important case of the 20th century involving race relations. Then in the 1960s the Warren Court made a series of decisions that profoundly affected the criminal justice system, state political systems, and the definition of individual rights. Before Warren's tenure as chief justice, the Supreme Court had concentrated on protecting property rights. During and after his tenure, the Court focused more on protecting individual rights. Criminal Justice Several decisions of the Warren Court concerned a defendant's rights. Four of the most important were the following: • Mapp v. Ohio (1961) ruled that illegally seized evidence cannot be used in court against the accused. • Gideon v. Wainwright ( 1963) required that state courts provide counsel (services of an attorney) for indigent (poor) defendants. • Escobedo v. Illinois (1964) required the police to inform an arrested person of his or her right to remain silent. • Miranda v. Arizona (1966) extended the ruling in Escobedo to include the right to a lawyer being present during questioning by the police. Reapportionment Before 1962, many states included at least one house of its legislature (usually the senate) that had districts that strongly favored rural areas to the disadvan- tage of cities. In the landmark case of Baker v. Carr (1962), the Warren Court declared this practice unconstitutional. In Baker and later cases, the Court established the principle of "one man, one vote," meaning that election dis- tricts would have to be redrawn to provide equal representation for all citizens. PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 19605 609 Freedom of Expression and Privacy Other rulings by the Warren Court extended the rights mentioned in the 1st Amendment to protect the actions of protesters, to permit greater latitude under freedom of the press, to ban religious activities sponsored by public schools, and to guarantee adults' rights to use contraceptives. • Yates v. United States (1957) said that the 1st Amendment protected radical and revolutionary speech, even by Communists, unless it was a "clear and present danger" to the safety of the country. • Engel v. Vitale (1962) ruled that state laws requiring prayers and Bible readings in the public schools violated the 1st Amendment's provision for separation of church and state. • Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) ruled that, in recognition of a citizen's right to privacy, a state could not prohibit the use of contraceptives by adults. (This privacy case provided the foundation for later cases estab- lishing a woman's right to an abortion.) The Warren Court's defense of the rights of unpopular individuals, includ- ing people accused of crimes, provoked a storm of controversy. Critics called for Warren's impeachment. Both supporters and critics agreed that the Warren Court profoundly changed the interpretation of constitutional rights. Social Revolutions and Cultural Movements In the early and mid-l 960s, various liberal groups began to identify with blacks' struggle against oppressive controls and laws. The first such group to rebel against established authority were college and university students. Student Movement and the New Left In 1962, a newly formed radical student organization called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a meeting in Port Huron, Michigan. Follow- ing the leadership of Tom Hayden, the group issued a declaration of purposes known as the Port Huron Statement. It called for university decisions to be made through participatory democracy, so that students would have a voice in decisions affecting their lives. Activists and intellectuals who supported Hayden's ideas became known as the New Left. The first major student protest took place in 1964 on the Berkeley campus of the University of California. Calling their cause the Free Speech Movement, Berkeley students demanded an end to university restrictions on student politi- cal activities. By the mid-l 960s, students across the country were protesting a variety of university rules, including those against drinking and dorm visits by members of the opposite sex. They also demanded a greater voice in the government of the university. Student demonstrations grew with the escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Hundreds of campuses were disrupted or closed down by antiwar protests. 610 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM The most radical fringe of the SDS, known as the Weathermen, embraced violence and vandalism in their attacks on American institutions. In the eyes of most Americans, the Weathermen's extremist acts and language discredited the early idealism of the New Left. Counterculture The political protests of the New Left went hand in hand with a new coun- terculture that was expressed by young people in rebellious styles of dress, music, drug use, and, for some, communal living. The apparent dress code of the "hippies" and "flower children" of the 1960s included long hair, beards, beads, and jeans. The folk music of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan gave voice to the younger generation's protests, while the rock music of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jim Morrison, and Janis Joplin provided the beat and lyrics for the counterculture. In 1969, a gathering of thousands of young people at the Woodstock Music Festival in upper New York State reflected the zenith of the counterculture. However, as a result of experimenting with hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD or becoming addicted to various other drugs, some young people destroyed their lives. The counterculture's excesses and the economic uncertainties of the times led to its demise in the 1970s. In Retrospect The generation of baby boomers that came of age in the 1960s believed fervently in the ideals of a democratic society. They hoped to slay the dragons of unresponsive authority, poverty, racism, and war. How- ever, the impatience of some activists with change, the use of violence, and the spread of self-destructive behavior discredited their cause in the eyes of others, particularly older Americans. Sexual Revolution One aspect of the counterculture that continued beyond the 1960s was a change in many Americans' attitudes toward sexual expression. Traditional beliefs about sexual conduct had originally been challenged in the late 1940s and 1950s by the pioneering surveys of sexual practice conducted by Alfred Kinsey. His research indicated that premarital sex, marital infidelity, and homosexual- ity were more common than anyone had suspected. Medicine (antibiotics for venereal disease) and science (the introduction of the birth control pill in 1960) also contributed to changing attitudes about engaging in casual sex with a num- ber of partners. Moreover, overtly sexual themes in advertisements, magazines, and movies made sex appear to be just one more consumer product. How deeply the so-called sexual revolution changed the behavior of the majority of Americans is open to question. There is little doubt, however, that premarital sex, contraception, abortion, and homosexuality became practiced more openly. Later, in the 1980s, there was a general reaction against the loosened moral codes as many blamed it for an increase in illegitimate births, especially among teenagers, an increase in rape and sexual abuse, and the spread of a deadly new disease, AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 19605 611 The Women's Movement The increased education and employment of women in the 1950s, the civil rights movement, and the sexual revolution all contributed to a renewal of the women's movement in the 1960s. Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mys- tique (1963) gave the movement a new direction by encouraging middle-class women to seek fulfillment in professional careers in addition to filling the roles of wife, mother, and homemaker. In 1966, Friedan helped found the National Organization for Women (NOW), which adopted the activist tactics of other civil rights movements to secure equal treatment of women, especially for job opportunities. By this time, Congress had already enacted two antidiscrimina- tory laws: the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These measures prohibited discrimination in employment and compensation on the basis of gender, but had been poorly enforced. Campaign for the ERA Feminists achieved a major legislative victory in 1972 when Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). This pro- posed constitutional amendment stated: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." Although NOW and other groups campaigned hard for the ratification of the ERA, it just missed acceptance by the required 38 states. It was defeated in part because of a growing reaction against feminism by conservatives who feared the movement threatened the traditional roles of women. Achievements Even without the ERA, the women's movement accom- plished fundamental changes in attitudes and hiring practices. In increasing numbers, women moved into professions previously dominated by men: busi- ness, law, medicine, and politics. Although women still experienced the "glass ceiling" in the corporate world, American society at the beginning of the 21st century was less and less a man's world. The Vietnam War to 1969 None of the divisive issues in the 1960s was as tragic as the war in Vietnam. Some 2.7 million Americans served in the conflict and 58,000 died in a failed effort to prevent the takeover of South Vietnam by communist North Vietnam. Early Stages Vietnam was hardly mentioned in the election debates of 1960 between Nixon and Kennedy. U.S. involvement was minimal at that time, but every year there- after, it loomed larger and eventually dominated the presidency of Lyndon Johnson and the thoughts of the nation. Buildup Under Kennedy President Kennedy adopted Eisenhower's domino theory that, if Communist forces overthrew South Vietnam's govern- ment, they would quickly overrun other countries of Southeast Asia-Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Kennedy therefore continued U.S. military aid to South Vietnam's regime and significantly increased the number of military "advisers," who trained the South Vietnamese army and 612 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM guarded weapons and facilities. By 1963, there were more than 16,000 U.S. troops in South Vietnam in support, not combat, roles. They provided training and supplies for South Vietnam's armed forces and helped create "strategic hamlets" (fortified villages). However, the U.S. ally in South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, was not popular. He and his government steadily lost the support of peasants in the countryside, while in the capital city of Saigon, Buddhist monks set themselves on fire in the streets to protest Diem's policies. Kennedy began to question whether the South Vietnamese could win "their war" against Communist insurgents. Just two weeks before Kennedy himself was assassinated in Dallas, Diem was over- thrown and killed by South Vietnamese generals. Historians later learned that the generals acted with the knowledge of the Kennedy administration. Tonkin Gulf Resolution Lyndon Johnson became president just as things began to fall apart in South Vietnam. The country had seven different govern- ments in 1964. During the U.S. presidential campaign, Republican candidate Barry Goldwater attacked the Johnson administration for giving only weak support to South Vietnam's fight against the Vietcong (Communist guerrillas). In August 1964, President Johnson and Congress took a fateful turn in policy. Johnson made use of a naval incident in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam's coast to secure congressional authorization for U.S. forces going into combat. Alleg- edly, North Vietnamese gunboats had fired on U.S. warships in the Gulf of Tonkin. The president persuaded Congress that this aggressive act was suf- ficient reason for a military response by the United States. Congress voted its approval of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which basically gave the president, as commander in chief, a blank check to take "all necessary measures" to protect U.S. interests in Vietnam. Critics later called the full-scale use of U.S. forces in Vietnam an ille- gal war, because the war was not declared by Congress, as the Constitution requires. Congress, however, did not have this concern and did not withdraw its resolution. Until 1968, most Americans supported the effort to contain com- munism in Southeast Asia. Johnson was caught in a political dilemma to which there was no good solution. How could he stop the defeat of a weak and unpop- ular government in South Vietnam without making it into an American war-a war whose cost would doom his Great Society programs? If he pulled out, he would be seen as weak and lose public support. Escalating the War In 1965, the U.S. military and most of the president's foreign policy advisers recommended expanding operations in Vietnam to save the Saigon government. After a Vietcong attack on the U.S. base at Pleiku in 1965, Johnson authorized Operation Rolling Thunder, a prolonged air attack using B-52 bombers against targets in North Vietnam. In April, the president decided to use U.S. combat troops for the first time to fight the Vietcong. By the end of 1965, over 184,000 U.S. troops were in Vietnam, and most were engaged in a combat role. Johnson continued a step-by-step escalation of U.S. involvement in the war. Hoping PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 1960S 613 to win a war of attrition, American generals used search-and-destroy tactics, which only further alienated the peasants. By the end of 1967, the United States had over 485,000 troops in Vietnam (the peak was 540,000 in March 1969), and 16,000 Americans had already died in the conflict. Nevertheless, General William Westmoreland, commander of the U.S. forces in Vietnam, assured the American public that he could see "light at the end of the tunnel." Controversy Misinformation from military and civilian leaders combined with Johnson's reluctance to speak frankly with the American people about the scope and the costs of the war created what the media called a credibility gap. Johnson always hoped that a little more military pressure would bring the North Vietnamese to the peace table. The most damaging knowledge gap, however, may have been within the inner circles of government. Years later, Robert McNamara in his memoirs concluded that the leaders in Washington had failed to understand both the enemy and the nature of the war. THE VIETNAM WAR N \_. �/ __ / \ 17°N THAILAND 0 Bangkok CHINA tT1 � z ....... ;:i.. 0 � ! GULF OF � I; SIAM � 0 National Capital 200 Miles PACIFIC OCEAN 614 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Hawks versus Doves The supporters of the war, the "hawks," believed that the war was an act of Soviet-backed Communist aggression against South Vietnam and that it was part of a master plan to conquer all of Southeast Asia. The opponents of the war, the "doves," viewed the conflict as a civil war fought by Vietnamese nationalists and some Communists who wanted to unite their country by overthrowing a corrupt Saigon government. Some Americans opposed the war because of its costs in lives and money. They believed the billions spent in Vietnam could be better spent on the prob- lems of the cities and the poor in the United States. By far the greatest opposition came from students on college campuses who, after graduation, would become eligible to be drafted into the military and shipped off to Vietnam. In Novem- ber 1967, the antiwar movement was given a political leader when scholarly Senator Eugene F. McCarthy of Minnesota became the first antiwar advocate to challenge Johnson for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination. Tet Offensive On the occasion of their Lunar New Year (Tet) in January 1968, the Vietcong launched an all-out surprise attack on almost every pro- vincial capital and American base in South Vietnam. Although the attack took a fearful toll in the cities, the U.S. military counterattacked, inflicted much heavier losses on the Vietcong, and recovered the lost territory. Even so, in political terms, the American military victory proved irrelevant to the way the Tet Offensive was interpreted at home. The destruction viewed by millions on the TV news appeared as a colossal setback for Johnson's Vietnam policy. Thus, for the Vietcong and North Vietnamese, Tet was a tremendous political victory in demoralizing the American public. In the New Hampshire primary in February, the antiwar McCarthy took 42 percent of the vote against Johnson. LBJ Ends Escalation The Joint Chiefs of Staff responded to Tet by re- questing 200,000 more troops to win the war. By this time, however, the group of experienced Cold War diplomats who advised Johnson had turned against further escalation of the war. On March 31, 1968, President Johnson went on television and told the American people that he would limit the bombing of North Vietnam and negotiate peace. He then surprised everyone by announcing that he would not run again for president. In May 1968, peace talks between North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States started in Paris, but they were quickly deadlocked over minor issues. The war continued, and tens of thousands more died. But the escala- tion of the number of U.S. troops in Vietnam had stopped, and under the next administration it would be reversed. Coming Apart at Home, 1968 Few years in U.S. history were as troubled or violent as 1968. The Tet offensive and the withdrawal of Johnson from the presidential race were followed by the senseless murder of Martin Luther King Jr. and destructive riots in cities across the country. As the year unfolded, Americans wondered if their nation was coming apart from internal conflicts over the war issue, the race issue, and the generation gap between the baby boomers and their parents. PROMISE AND TURMOIL, THE 19605 615 Second Kennedy Assassination In 1964, Kennedy's younger brother, Robert Kennedy, had become a senator from New York. Four years later, he decided to enter the presidential race after McCarthy's strong showing in New Hampshire. Bobby Kennedy was more effective than McCarthy in mobilizing the traditional Democratic blue-collar and minority vote. On June 5, 1968, he won a major victory in California's primary, but immediately after his victory speech, he was shot and killed by a young Arab nationalist who opposed Kennedy's support for Israel. The Election of 1968 After Robert Kennedy's death, the election of 1968 turned into a three-way race between two conservatives-George Wallace and Richard Nixon- and one liberal, Vice President Hubert Humphrey. Democratic Convention at Chicago When the Democrats met in Chi- cago for their party convention, it was clear that Hubert Humphrey had enough delegates to win the nomination. As vice president, he had loyally supported Johnson's domestic and foreign policies. He controlled the convention, but the antiwar demonstrators were determined to control the streets. Chicago's mayor Richard Daley had the police out in mass, and the resulting violence went out on television across the country as a "police riot." Humphrey left the con- vention as the nominee of a badly divided Democratic party, and early polls showed he was a clear underdog in a nation sick of disorder and protest. White Backlash and George Wallace The growing hostility of many whites to federal desegregation, antiwar protests, and race riots was tapped by Governor George Wallace of Alabama. Wallace was the first politician of late-20th-century America to marshal the general resentment against the Washington establishment ("pointy-head liberals," as he called them) and the two-party system. He ran for president as the self-nominated candidate of the American Independent party, hoping to win enough electoral votes to throw the election into the House of Representatives. Return of Richard Nixon Many observers thought Richard Nixon's political career had ended in 1962 after his unsuccessful run for governor of California. In 1968, however, a new, more confident and less negative Nixon announced his candidacy and soon became the front-runner in the Republican primaries. The favorite of the party regulars, he had little trouble securing his nomination at the Republican convention. For his running mate, he selected Governor Spiro Agnew of Maryland, whose rhetoric was similar to that of George Wallace. Nixon was a "hawk" on the Vietnam War and ran on the slo- gans of "peace with honor" and "law and order." Results Wallace and Nixon started strong, but the Democrats began to catch up, especially in northern urban centers, as Humphrey preached to the faithful of the old New Deal coalition. On election night, Nixon defeated Humphrey by a very close popular vote but took a substantial majority of the electoral vote (301 to 191), ending any threat that the three-candidate election would end up in the House of Representatives. 616 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM The significance of the 1968 election is clear in the combined total of Nixon's and Wallace's popular vote of almost 57 percent. Apparently, most Americans wanted a time out to heal the wounds inflicted on the national psyche by the upheavals of the 1960s. Supporters of Nixon and Wallace had had enough of protest, violence, permissiveness, the counterculture, drugs, and federal intervention in social institutions. Elections in the 1970s and 1980s would confirm that the tide was turning against New Deal liberalism in favor of the conservatives.

Chapter 29 'Limits of a Superpower, 1969 - 1980'

In 1969, television viewers around the world witnessed the astonishing sight of two American astronauts walking on the moon's surface. This event, followed by a series of other successes for the U.S. space program, represented some of the high points of the 1970s. Offsetting these technological triumphs, however, were shocking revelations about White House participation in the Watergate crime, a stagnant economy, and the fall of South Vietnam to communism. Increased foreign economic competition, oil shortages, rising unemployment, and high inflation made Americans aware that even the world's leading super- power would have to adjust to a fast-changing, less manageable world. Richard Nixon's Foreign Policy In his January 1969 inaugural address, President Nixon promised to bring Americans together after the turmoil of the 1960s. However, suspicious and secretive by nature, Nixon soon began to isolate himself in the White House and create what Arthur Schlesinger Jr. called an "imperial presidency." Nixon's first interest was international relations, not domestic policy. Together with his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger (who became secretary of state dur- ing Nixon's second term), Nixon fashioned a pragmatic foreign policy that reduced the tensions of the Cold War. Vietnam When Nixon took office, more than half a million U.S. troops were in Vietnam. His principal objective was to find a way to reduce U.S. involvement in the war while at the same time avoiding the appearance of conceding defeat. In a word, Nixon said the United States was seeking nothing less than "peace with honor." LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 625 "Vietnamization." Almost immediately, the new president began the pro- cess called "Vietnamization." He announced that he would gradually withdraw U.S. troops from Vietnam and give the South Vietnamese the money, the weap- ons, and the training that they needed to take over the full conduct of the war. Under this policy, U.S. troops in South Vietnam went from over 540,000 in 1969 to under 30,000 in 1972. Extending the idea of disengagement to other parts of Asia, the president proclaimed the Nixon Doctrine, declaring that in the future Asian allies would receive U.S. support but without the extensive use of U.S. ground forces. Opposition to Nixon's War Policies Nixon's gradual withdrawal of forces from Vietnam reduced the number of antiwar protests. However, in April 1970, the president expanded the war by using U.S. forces to invade Cambodia in an effort to destroy Vietnamese Communist bases in that country. A nationwide protest on college campuses against this action resulted in the killing of four youths by National Guard troops at Kent State in Ohio and two students at Jack- son State in Mississippi. In reaction to the escalation of the war, the U.S. Senate (but not the House) voted to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Also in 1970, the American public was shocked to learn about a 1968 mas- sacre of women and children by U.S. troops in the Vietnamese village of My Lai. Further fueling the antiwar sentiment was the publication by the New York Times of the Pentagon Papers, a secret government history documenting the mistakes and deceptions of government policy-makers in dealing with Vietnam. The papers had been turned over, or "leaked," to the press by Daniel Ellsberg, a former Defense Department analyst. U.S. FORCES IN VIETNAM, 1964 to 1973 600,000 - - 500,000 - - 300,000 - 200,000 - - 100,000 - - [l -- 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 - 18,000 - 15,000 - 12,000 C CD - 9,ooo a J (I) - 6,000 - 3,000 • Total Number ofTroops (use scale on the left) • Deaths (use scale on the right) Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File and other sources. 626 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Peace Talks, Bombing Attacks, and Armistice On the diplomatic front, Nixon had Kissinger conduct secret meetings with North Vietnam's foreign min- ister, Le Due Tho. Kissinger announced in the fall of 1972 that "peace is at hand," but this announcement proved premature. W hen the two sides could not reach a deal, Nixon ordered a massive bombing of North Vietnam (the heaviest air attacks of the long war) to force a settlement. After several weeks of B-52 bomber attacks, the North Vietnamese agreed to an armistice, in which the United States would withdraw the last of its troops and get back over 500 prisoners of war (POWs). The Paris Accords of January 1973 also promised a cease-fire and free elections. In practice, however, the armistice did not end the war between the North and the South and left tens of thousands of enemy troops in South Vietnam. Before the war ended, the death toll probably numbered more than a million. The armistice finally allowed the United States to extricate itself from a war that had claimed over 58,000 American lives. The $118 billion spent on the war began an inflationary cycle that racked the U.S. economy for years afterward. Detente with China and the Soviet Union Nixon and Kissinger strengthened the U.S. position in the world by taking advan- tage of the rivalry between the two Communist giants, China and the Soviet Union. Their diplomacy was praised for bringing about detente-a deliberate reduction of Cold War tensions. Even after Watergate ended his presidency in disgrace, Nixon's critics would admit that his conduct of foreign affairs had enhanced world peace. Visit to China Nixon knew that only an outspoken critic of communism like himself could take the bold step of improving relations with "Red" China (Mao Zedong's Communist regime) without being condemned as "soft" on communism. After a series of secret negotiations with Chinese leaders, Nixon astonished the world in February 1972 by traveling to Beijing to meet with Mao. His visit initiated diplomatic exchanges that ultimately led to U.S. recognition of the Communist government in 1979. Arms Control with the U.S.S.R. Nixon used his new relationship with China to put pressure on the Soviets to agree to a treaty limiting antiballistic mis- siles (ABMs), a new technology that would have expanded the arms race. After the first round of Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT I), U.S. diplomats secured Soviet consent to a freeze on the number of ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. While this agreement did not end the arms race, it was a sig- nificant step toward reducing Cold War tensions and bringing about detente. Nixon's Domestic Policy Throughout the 1970s, the Democrats continued to hold maJontles in both houses of Congress. The Republican president had to live with this reality and obtain some concessions from Congress through moderation and compromise. At the same time, Nixon laid the foundation for a shift in public opinion toward conservatism and for Republican gains that would challenge and overthrow the Democratic control of Congress in the 1980s and 1990s. LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 627 The New Federalism Nixon tried to slow down the growth of Johnson's Great Society programs by proposing the Family Assistance Plan, which would have replaced wel- fare by providing a guaranteed annual income for working Americans. The Democratic majority in Congress easily defeated this initiative. The Republi- can president did succeed, however, in shifting some of the responsibility for social programs from the federal to the state and local levels. In a program known as revenue sharing, or the New Federalism, Congress approved giving local governments $30 billion in block grants over five years to address local needs as they saw fit (instead of specific uses of federal money being controlled by Washington). Republicans hoped revenue sharing would check the growth of the federal government and return responsibility to the states, where it had rested before the New Deal. Nixon attempted to bypass Congress by impounding (not spending) funds appropriated for social programs. Democrats protested that such action was an abuse of executive powers. The courts agreed with the president's critics, argu- ing that it was a president's duty to carry out the laws of Congress, whether or not the president agreed with them. Nixon's Economic Policies Starting with a recession in 1970, the U.S. economy throughout the 1970s faced the unusual combination of economic slowdown and high inflation-a condition referred to as stagfiation (stagnation plus inflation). To slow inflation, Nixon at first tried to cut federal spending. However, when this policy contrib- uted to a recession and unemployment, he adopted Keynesian economics and deficit spending so as not to alienate middle-class and blue-collar Americans. In August 1971, he surprised the nation by imposing a 90-day wage and price freeze. Next, he took the dollar off the gold standard, which helped to devalue it relative to foreign currencies. This action, combined with a 10 percent surtax on all imports, improved the U.S. balance of trade with foreign competitors. By the election year of 1972, the recession was over. Also in that year, Congress approved automatic increases for Social Security benefits based on the annual rise in the cost of living. This measure protected seniors, the poor, and the disabled from the worst effects of inflation but also contributed to budget problems in the future. In 1972, Congress also passed Title IX, a statue to end sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funding. Though far- reaching, the law is best known for its requirement that schools provide girls with equal athletic opportunities. Many believe that these new opportunities in athletics proved to be a key step in promoting women's equality. Southern Strategy Having received just 43 percent of the popular vote in 1968, Nixon was well aware of being a minority president. He devised a political strategy to form a Republican majority by appealing to the millions of voters who had become disaffected by antiwar protests, black militants, school busing to achieve racial balance, and the excesses of the youth counterculture. Nixon referred to these 628 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM conservative Americans as the "silent majority." Many of them were Demo- crats, including southern whites, northern Catholic blue-collar workers, and recent suburbanites who disagreed with the liberal drift of their party. To win over the South, the president asked the federal courts in that region to delay integration plans and busing orders. He also nominated two southern conservatives (Clement Haynsworth and G. Harold Carswell) to the Supreme Court. Though the courts rejected his requests and the Senate refused to con- firm the two nominees, his strategy played well with southern white voters. At the same time, Nixon authorized Vice President Spiro Agnew to make verbal assaults on war protesters and to attack the press as liberal. The Burger Court As liberal justices of the Supreme Court retired, Nixon replaced them with more conservative members. However, like other presidents, Nixon found that his appointees did not always rule as he had hoped. In 1969, after Chief Jus- tice Earl Warren resigned, Nixon appointed Warren E. Burger of Minnesota to replace him. The Burger Court was more conservative than the Warren Court, but several of its major decisions angered conservatives. For example, in 1971 the court ordered busing to achieve racial balance in the schools, and in 1972 it issued strict guidelines that made carrying out the death penalty more diffi- cult. The court's most controversial ruling was Roe v. Wade (1973). In this 7 -2 decision, the high court struck down many state laws prohibiting abortions as a violation of a women's right to privacy. Finally, in the last days of Nixon's Watergate agony (described later in this chapter), the court that he tried to shape denied his claims to executive privilege and ordered him to turn over the Watergate tapes (United States v. Nixon, 1974). The Election of 1972 The success of Nixon's southern strategy became evident in the presidential election of 1972 when the Republican ticket won majorities in every southern state. Nixon's reelection was practically assured by (1) his foreign policy suc- cesses in China and the Soviet Union, (2) the removal of George Wallace from the race by an assassin's bullet that paralyzed the Alabama populist, and (3) the nomination by the Democrats of a very liberal, antiwar, antiestablishment candidate, Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. McGovern's campaign quickly went off track. After some indecision, he dropped his vice presidential candidate, Senator Thomas Eagleton of Mis- souri, when it was discovered that he had undergone electroschock treatment for depression. On election day, Nixon overwhelmed McGovern in a landslide victory that carried every state but Massachusetts and won 61 percent of the popular vote. The Democrats still managed to keep control of both houses of Congress. Nevertheless, the voting patterns for Nixon indicated the start of a major political realignment of the Sunbelt and suburban voters, who were forming a new Republican majority. Nixon's electoral triumph in 1972 made the Watergate revelations and scandals of 1973 all the more surprising. LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 629 Watergate The tragedy of Watergate went well beyond the public humiliation of Richard Nixon and the conviction and jailing of 26 White House officials and aides. Watergate had a paralyzing effect on the political system in the mid-1970s, a critical time both at home and overseas, when the country needed respected, strong, and confident leadership. White House Abuses In June 1972, a group of men hired by Nixon's reelection committee were caught breaking into the offices of the Democratic national headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. This break-in and attempted bugging were only part of a series of illegal activities and "dirty tricks" conducted by the Nixon administration and the Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP). Earlier, Nixon had ordered wiretaps on government employees and reporters to stop news leaks such as one that had exposed the secret bombing of Cambo- dia. The president's aides created a group, called the "plumbers," to stop leaks as well as to discredit opponents. Before Watergate, the "plumbers" had burglar- ized the office of psychiatrist of Daniel Ells berg, the person behind the leaking of the Pentagon Papers, in order to obtain information to discredit Ells berg. The White House had also created an "enemies list" of prominent Americans who opposed Nixon, the Vietnam War, or both. People on this list were investigated by government agencies, such as the IRS. The illegal break-in at Watergate reflected the attitude in the Nixon administration that any means could be used to promote the national security-an objective that was often confused with protecting the Nixon administration from its critics. Watergate Investigation No solid proof demonstrated that President Nixon ordered any of these illegal activities. However, after months of investigation, it became clear that Nixon did engage in an illegal cover-up to avoid scandal. Tough sentencing of the Watergate burglars by federal judge John Sirica led to information about the use of money and a promise of pardons by the White House staff to keep the bur- glars quiet. A Senate investigating committee headed by Democrat Sam Ervin of North Carolina brought the abuses to the attention of Americans through televised hearings. A highlight of these hearings was the testimony of a White House lawyer, John Dean, who linked the president to the cover-up. Nixon's top aides, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, resigned to protect him and were later indicted, as were many others, for obstructing justice. The discovery of a taping system in the Oval Office led to a year-long struggle between Nixon, who claimed executive privilege for the tapes, and investigators, who wanted the tapes to prove the cover-up charges. The Nixon administration received another blow in the fall of 1973, when Vice President Agnew had to resign because he had taken bribes when governor of Maryland. Replacing him was Michigan Representative Gerald Ford. 630 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Other Developments in 1973 Although the Watergate affair absorbed most of Nixon's attention during his shortened second term, important developments occurred at home and abroad. War Powers Act Further discrediting Nixon was the news that he had authorized 3,500 secret bombing raids in Cambodia, a neutral country. Con- gress used the public uproar over this information to attempt to limit the president's powers over the military. In November 1973, after a long strug- gle, Congress finally passed the War Powers Act over Nixon's veto. This law required Nixon and any future president to report to Congress within 48 hours after taking military action. It further provided that Congress would have to approve any military action that lasted more than 60 days. October War and Oil Embargo In world politics, the most important event of 1973 was the outbreak of another Middle Eastern war. On October 6, on the Jewish holy day of Yorn Kippur, the Syrians and Egyptians launched a surprise attack on Israel in an attempt to recover the lands lost in the Six-Day War of 1967. President Nixon ordered the U.S. nuclear forces on alert and air- lifted almost $2 billion in arms to Israel to stem their retreat. The tide of battle quickly shifted in favor of the Israelis, and the war was soon over. WORLD PRICE OF CRUDE OIL - $70 I., ca $60 lt) $50 0 0 C: $40 - Cl) I., $30 I., ca I., $20 Cl) Cl) $10 (.) I., a. 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Year Source: U.S. Energy Administration The United States was made to pay a huge price for supporting Israel. The Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) placed an embargo on oil sold to Israel's supporters. The embargo caused a worldwide oil shortage and long lines at gas stations in the United States. Even worse was the impact on the U.S. economy, which now suffered from runaway LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 631 inflation, the loss of manufacturing jobs, and a lower standard of living for blue-collar workers. Consumers switched from big American-made cars to smaller, more fuel-efficient Japanese cars, which cost U.S. automobile workers over 225,000 jobs. Congress responded by enacting a 55-miles-per-hour speed limit to save gasoline and approving construction of a controversial oil pipe- line to tap American oil reserves in Alaska. No government program, however, seemed to bolster the sluggish economy or stem high inflation rates, which continued to the end of the decade. Resignation of a President In 1974, Nixon made triumphal visits to Moscow and Cairo, but at home his reputation continued to slide. In October 1973, the president appeared to be interfering with the Watergate investigation when he fired Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor assigned to the case. In protest, the U.S. attorney general resigned. The House of Representatives began impeachment hearings, which caused Nixon to reveal transcripts of some of the Watergate tapes in April 1974. Still, it took a Supreme Court decision in July to force him to turn over the tapes to the courts and Congress. Included on one tape made just days after the Watergate burglary was an 18 1⁄2-minute gap that had been erased. Mean- while, the House Judiciary Committee voted three articles of impeachment: (1) obstruction of justice, (2) abuse of power, and (3) contempt of Congress. The conversations recorded on the tapes shocked friends and foes alike. The transcript of one such White House conversation clearly implicated Nixon in the cover-up only days after the Watergate break-in. Faced with certain impeachment in the House and a trial in the Senate, Richard Nixon chose to resign on August 9, 1974. Vice President Gerald Ford then took the oath of office as the first unelected president in U.S. history. Significance To some, the final outcome of the Watergate scandal (Nixon leaving office under pressure) proved that the U.S. constitutional system of checks and balances worked as it was intended. For others, the scandal under- lined the dangerous shift of power to the presidency that began with Franklin Roosevelt and had been expanded during the Cold War. Without a doubt, Watergate contributed to a growing loss of faith in the federal government. Gerald Ford in the White House Before Nixon chose him to replace Vice President Agnew in 1973, Gerald Ford had served in Congress for years as a representative from Michigan and as the Republican minority leader of the House. Ford was a likeable and unpreten- tious man, but many questioned his ability to be president. Pardoning of Nixon In his first month in office, President Ford lost the goodwill of many by grant- ing Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crime that he might have committed. The pardon was extended even before any formal charges or indict- ment had been made by a court of law. Ford was accused of making a "corrupt 632 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM bargain" with Nixon, but he explained that the purpose of the pardon was to end the "national nightmare," instead of prolonging it for months, if not years. Critics were angered that the full truth of Nixon's deeds never came out. Investigating the CIA During Ford's presidency (1974-1977), the Democratic Congress continued to search for abuses in the executive branch, especially in the CIA. This intelligence agency was accused of engineering the assassination of foreign leaders, among them the Marxist president of Chile, Salvador Allende. Ford appointed former Texas Congressman George H. W. Bush to reform the agency. Failure of U.S. Policy in Southeast Asia President Ford was unable to get additional funds from Congress for the South Vietnamese, who in 1974 were facing strong attack from Communist forces. Fall of Saigon In April 1975, the U.S.-supported government in Saigon fell to the enemy, and Vietnam became one country under the rule of the Communist government in Hanoi (North Vietnam's capital). Just before the final collapse, the United States was able to evacuate about 150,000 Vietnamese who had supported the United States and now faced certain persecution. The fall of South Vietnam marked a low point of American prestige overseas and confidence at home. Genocide in Cambodia Also in 1975, the U.S.-supported government in Vietnam's neighbor, Cambodia, fell to the Khmer Rouge, a radical Communist faction that killed over a million of its own people in a brutal relocation program to rid the country of western influence. Together the wars in Southeast Asia cre- ated 10 million refugees, many of whom fled to the United States. Future of Southeast Asia The fall of Cambodia seemed to fulfill Eisen- hower's domino theory, but in fact the rest of Southeast Asia did not fall to communism. Instead, nations such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia emerged as the "little tigers" of the vigorously growing Asian (Pacific Rim) economy. Some argued that U.S. support of South Vietnam was not a waste, because it bought time for other nations of East Asia and Southeast Asia to develop and better resist communism. The Economy and Domestic Policy On domestic matters, Ford proved less accommodating and more conservative than Nixon. His chief concern was bringing inflation under control. He urged voluntary measures on the part of businesses and consumers, including the wear- ing of WIN buttons (Whip Inflation Now). Not only did inflation continue, but the economy also sank deeper into recession, with the unemployment rate reaching more than 9 percent. Ford finally agreed to a Democratic package to stimulate the economy, but he vetoed 39 other Democratic bills. Bicentennial Celebration In 1976, the United States celebrated its 200th birthday. Americans' pride in their history helped to put Watergate and Vietnam behind them. Even the lackluster presidency of Gerald Ford served the purpose of restoring candor and humility to the White House. LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 633 The Election of 1976 Watergate still cast its gloom over the Republican party in the 1976 elections. President Ford was challenged for the party's nomination by Ronald Reagan, a former actor and ex-governor of California, who enjoyed the support of the more conservative Republicans. Ford won the nomination in a close battle, but the conflict with Reagan hurt him in the polls. Emergence of Jimmy Carter A number of Democrats competed for their party's nomination, including a little-known former governor of Georgia, James Earl (Jimmy) Carter. With Watergate still on voters' minds, Carter had success running as an outsider against the corruption in Washington. His victo- ries in open primaries reduced the influence of more experienced Democratic politicians. After watching his huge lead in the polls evaporate in the closing days of the campaign, Carter managed to win a close election (287 electoral votes to 241 for Ford) by carrying most of the South and getting an estimated 97 percent of the African American vote. In the aftermath of Watergate, the Democrats also won strong majorities in both houses of Congress. Jimmy Carter's Presidency The informal style of Jimmy Carter signaled an effort to end the imperial pres- idency. On his inaugural day, he walked down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House instead of riding in the presidential limousine. Public images of the president carrying his own luggage may have impressed average Ameri- cans. However, veteran members of Congress always viewed Carter as an outsider who depended too much on his politically inexperienced advisers from Georgia. Even Carter's keen intelligence and dedication to duty may have been partly a liability in causing him to pay close attention to all the details of government operations. Critics observed that, when it came to distinguishing between the forest and the trees, Carter was a "leaf man." Foreign Policy The hallmark of Carter's foreign policy was human rights, which he preached with Wilsonian fervor to the world's dictators. Human Rights Diplomacy Carter appointed Andrew Young, an Afri- can American, to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Carter and Young championed the cause of human rights around the world, especially by opposing the oppression of the black majority in South Africa and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) by all-white governments. In Latin America, human rights viola- tions by the military governments of Argentina and Chile caused Carter to cut off U.S. aid to those countries. Panama Canal The Carter administration attempted to correct inequities in the original Panama Canal Treaty of 1903 by negotiating a new treaty. In 1978, after long debate, the Senate ratified a treaty that would gradually trans- fer operation and control of the Panama Canal from the United States to the Panamanians, a process to be completed by the year 2000. Opponents would remember Carter's "giveaway" of the canal in the 1980 election. 634 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Camp David Accords (1978) Perhaps Carter's single greatest achieve- ment as president was arranging a peace settlement between Egypt and Israel. In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat took the first courageous step toward Middle East peace by visiting Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Jerusalem. President Carter followed this bold initiative by inviting Sadat and Begin to meet again at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. With Carter acting as an intermediary, the two leaders negotiated the Camp David Accords (September 1978), which provided a framework for a peace settle- ment between their countries. Later, as a result of a peace treaty concluded in 1979, Egypt became the first Arab nation to recognize the nation of Israel. In return, Israel withdrew its troops from the Sinai territory taken from Egypt in the Six-Day War of 1967. The treaty was opposed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and most of the Arab world, but it proved the first step in the long road to a negoti- ated peace in the Middle East. Iran and the Hostage Crisis The Middle East provided Carter's greatest frustration. In Iran, anti-American sentiment had been strong since the United States had helped overthrow the country's democratically elected leader in 1953 and install a dictatorial government. In 1979, Islamic fundamentalists in Iran, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, overthrew the shah who was then leading the Iranian government. The shah had kept the oil flowing for the West during the 1970s, but his autocratic rule and policy of westernization had alienated a large part of the Iranian population. With the ayatollah and fundamentalists in power, Iranian oil production ground to a halt, causing the second worldwide oil shortage of the decade and another round of price increases. U.S. impotence in dealing with the crisis became more evident in November 1979 when Iranian militants seized the U.S. embassy in Teheran and held more than 50 members of the American staff as prisoners and hostages. The hostage crisis dragged out through the remainder of Carter's presidency. In April 1980, Carter approved a rescue mission, but the breakdown of the helicopters over the Iranian desert forced the United States to abort the mission. For many Americans, Carter's unsuccessful attempts to free the hostages became a symbol of a failed presidency. Cold War President Carter attempted to continue the Nixon-Ford policy of detente with China and the Soviet Union. In 1979, the United States ended its official recognition of the Nationalist Chinese government of Taiwan and completed the first exchange of ambassadors with the People's Republic of China. At first, detente also moved ahead with the Soviet Union with the sign- ing in 1979 of a SALT II treaty, which provided for limiting the size of each superpower's nuclear delivery system. The Senate never ratified the treaty, however, as a result of a renewal of Cold War tensions over Afghanistan. In December 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan-an aggressive action that ended a decade of improving U.S.-Soviet relations. The United States feared that the invasion might lead to a Soviet move to control the oil- rich Persian Gulf. Carter reacted by (1) placing an embargo on grain exports LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 635 and the sale of high technology to the Soviet Union, and (2) boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. After having campaigned for arms reduction, Carter now had to switch to an arms buildup. Domestic Policy: Dealing with Inflation At home, the biggest issue was the growing inflation rate. At first Carter tried to check inflation with measures aimed at conserving oil energy and reviving the U.S. coal industry. However, the compromises that came out of Congress failed either to reduce the consumption of oil or to check inflation. In 1979-1980, inflation seemed completely out of control and reached the unheard of rate of 13 percent. Troubled Economy Inflation slowed economic growth as consumers and businesses could no longer afford the high interest rates that came with high prices. The chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Paul Volcker, hoped to break the back of inflation by pushing interest rates even higher, to 20 percent in 1980. These rates especially hurt the automobile and building industries, which laid off tens of thousands of workers. Inflation also pushed middle-class taxpayers into higher tax brackets, which led to a "taxpayers' revolt." Govern- ment social programs that were indexed to the inflation rate helped to push the federal deficit to nearly $60 billion in 1980. Many Americans had to adjust to the harsh truth that, for the first time since World War II, their standard of living was on the decline. loss of Popularity The Iranian hostage crisis and worsening economic crisis hurt Carter in the opinion polls. In 1979, in what the press called Carter's "national malaise" speech, he blamed the problems of the United States on a "moral and spiri- tual crisis" of the American people. By that time, however, many Americans blamed the president for weak and indecisive leadership. By the election year 1980 his approval rating had fallen to only 23 percent. In seeking a second term, the unpopular president was clearly vulnerable to political challenges from both Democrats and Republicans. American Society in Transition Social changes in the 1970s were of potentially even greater significance than politics. By the end of the decade, for the first time, half of all Americans lived in the fastest-growing sections of the country-the South and the West. Unlike the previous decade, which was dominated by the youth revolt, Ameri- cans were conscious in the seventies that the population was aging. The fastest growing age group consisted of senior citizens over 65. The country's racial and ethnic composition was also changing notice- ably in the late 20th century. By 1990, minority groups made up 25 percent of the population. The Census Bureau predicted that, by 2050, as much as half the population would be Hispanic American, African American, or Asian 636 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM American. Cultural pluralism was replacing the melting pot as the model for U.S. society, as diverse ethnic and cultural groups strove not only to end dis- crimination and improve their lives, but also to celebrate their unique traditions. Growth of Immigration Before the 1960s, most immigrants to the United States had come from Europe and Canada. By the 1980s, 47 percent of immigrants came from Latin Amer- ica, 37 percent from Asia, and less than 13 percent from Europe and Canada. In part, this dramatic shift was caused by the arrival of refugees leaving Cuba and Vietnam after the Communist takeovers of these countries. Of far greater importance was the impact of the Immigration Act of 1965, which ended the ethnic quota acts of the 1920s favoring Europeans and thereby opened the United States to immigrants from all parts of the world. Undocumented Immigrants How many immigrants entered the United States illegally every year could only be estimated, but by the mid-1970s, as many as 12 million foreigners were in the U.S. illegally. The rise in immigrants from countries of Latin America and Asia led to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which penalized employers for hiring immigrants who had entered the country illegally or had overstayed their visas, while also granting amnesty to undocumented immigrants arriving by 1982. Even so, many Americans concluded that the nation had lost control of its own borders, as both legal and undocumented immigrants continued to flock to the United States at an estimated million persons a year. Demands for Minority Rights One aspect of the protest movements of the 1960s that continued into later decades was the movement by a variety of minorities to gain both relief from discrimination and recognition for their contributions to U.S. society. Hispanic Americans Most Hispanic Americans before World War II lived in the southwestern states, but in the postwar years new arrivals from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and South and Central America increasingly settled in the East and Midwest. Mexican workers, after suffering deportation during the Great Depression, returned to the United States in the 1950s and 1960s to take low-paying agricultural jobs. They were widely exploited before a long series of boycotts led by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers Organization finally gained collective bargaining rights for farm workers in 1975. Mexican American activists also won a federal mandate for bilingual education requir- ing schools to teach Hispanic children in both English and Spanish. In the 1980s, a growing number of Hispanic Americans were elected to public office, including as mayors of Miami, San Antonio, and other large cities. The Census Bureau reported that, in 2000, Hispanics, including Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and other Latin Americans, had become the country's largest minority group. LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 637 American Indian Movement In the 1950s, the Eisenhower adminis- tration had made an unsuccessful attempt to encourage American Indians to leave reservations and assimilate into urban America. American Indian leaders resisted the loss of cultural identity that would have resulted from such a pol- icy. To achieve self-determination and revival of tribal traditions, the American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded in 1968. Militant actions soon followed, including AIM's takeover of the abandoned prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay in 1969. AIM members also occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973, site of the infamous massacre of American Indians by the U.S. cavalry in 1890. American Indians had a number of successes in both Congress and the courts. Congress' passage of the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 gave reservations and tribal lands greater control over internal programs, education, and law enforcement. American Indians also used the federal courts success- fully to regain property or compensation for treaty violations. They attacked widespread unemployment and poverty on reservations by improving educa- tion, through the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978, and by building industries and gambling casinos on reservations, under the self-determination legislation. Interest in the cultural heritage of Ameri- can Indians was also overcoming old prejudices. By the 2010 census, nearly three million people identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native, and and over two million more identified themselves as a combina- tion of American Indian or Alaska Native and some other ethnic group. American Indian Population of the United States, 1950 to 2010 Year Total 1950 343,410 1960 508,675 1970 827,255 1980 1,420,400 1990 1,959,234 2000 2,475,956 2010 2,932,248 Figures include Alaska Natives Source: U.S. Census Bureau Percentage 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.8 0.9 0.9 638 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Asian Americans Americans of Asian descent had become the fastest growing ethnic minority by the 1980s. The largest group of Asian Americans were of Chinese ancestry, followed by Filipinos, Japanese, Indians, Koreans, and Vietnamese. A strong dedication to education resulted in Asian Americans being well represented in the best colleges and universities. However, at times, Asian Americans suffered from discrimination, envy, and Japan-bashing, while the less educated immigrants earned well below the national average. Gay Liberation Movement In 1969, a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, sparked both a riot and the gay rights movement. Gay activists urged homosexuals to be open about their identity and to work to end discrimination and violent abuse. By the mid-1970s, homosexuality was no longer classified as a mental illness and the federal Civil Service dropped its ban on employment of homosexuals. In 1993, President Clinton attempted to end discrimination against gays and lesbians in the military, but settled for the compromise "don't ask, don't tell" policy. People would not be asked or expected to describe their sexual identity, but the military could still expel peo- ple for being gay or lesbian. The Environmental Movement While the Progressive era conservation movement was fairly small and led by politicians such as Theodore Roosevelt, the modern environmental movement had wide spread popular support. The participation of 20 million citizens in the first Earth Day in 1970 reflected the nation's growing concerns over air and water pollution and the destruction of the natural environment, including wildlife. Media coverage of industrial disasters increased public questioning of the benefits of industry and new technologies, in what some called a "post- modern" culture. Massive oil spills around the world, from off the coast of Santa Barbara California in 1969 to the Exxon Valdez oil tanker accident in Alaska in 1989, reinforced fears about the deadly combination of human error and modern technology. Public opinion also turned against building additional nuclear power plants after an accident at the Three Mile Island power plant in Pennsylvania (1979) and the deadly explosion of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in the Soviet Union (1986). Protective Legislation The environmental movement borrowed tac- tics from other protest movements to secure legislation to stop pollution and destruction of nature. In 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act and created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and followed this legislation in 1972 with the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In 1980, the Superfund was created to clean up toxic dumps, such as Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York. These laws regulated toxic substances, public drinking water systems, dumping of waste, and protected natural environments and wildlife, such as the American bald eagle. In the 1980s, the backlash from business and industry would try to reverse the impact of this legislation. LIMITS OF A SUPERPOWER,1969-1980 639 Conservative Shift The protest movements by diverse groups in American society seemed to pro- duce more social stress and fragmentation. Combined with a slowing economy and a declining standard of living, these forces left many Americans feeling angry and bitter. A conservative reaction to the liberal policies of the New Deal and the Great Society was gaining strength in the late 1970s and would prove a powerful force in the politics of the next decade.

Chapter 24 'The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929 - 1939'

When the new Democratic president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, said in his 1933 inaugural address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself," he struck a note that the millions who listened to him on the radio could well understand. In 1933, after having experienced nearly four years of the worst economic depression in U.S. history, Americans were gripped by fear for their survival. In the past, overproduction and business failures had periodically caused economic downturns measured in months that would be followed by recovery and eventual prosperity. These depressions and recessions were thought to be nothing more than part of the natural rhythm of the business cycle in a free mar- ket economy. However, depressions that included widespread bank failures and the collapse of investment and credit systems often resulted in long-term and deeper depressions extending several years, such as the depressions of 1837, 1873, and 1893. This depression of the 1930s felt different. It lasted far longer, caused more business failures and unemployment, and affected more people-both middle class and working class-than any preceding period of hard times. This was in fact not just an ordinary depression, but the Great Depression. Before it was over, two presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt would devote 12 years to seeking the elusive path toward recovery. Causes and Effects of the Depression, 1929-1933 What caused the spectacular business boom of the 1920s to collapse dramati- cally in October 1929? 496 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Wall Street Crash The ever-rising stock prices had become both a symbol and a source of wealth during the prosperous 1920s. A "boom" was in full force both in the United States and in the world economy in the late 1920s. On the stock exchange on Wall Street in New York City, stock prices had kept going up and up for 18 months from March 1928 to September 1929. On September 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average of major stocks had reached an all-time high of 381. An aver- age investor who bought $1,000 worth of such stocks at the time of Hoover's election (November 1928) would have doubled his or her money in less than a year. Millions of people did invest in the boom market of 1928- and millions lost their money in October 1929, when it collapsed. Black Thursday and Black Tuesday Although stock prices had fluc- tuated greatly for several weeks preceding the crash, the true panic did not begin until a Thursday in late October. On this Black Thursday-October 24, 1929-there was an unprecedented volume of selling on Wall Street, and stock prices plunged. The next day, hoping to stave off disaster by stabilizing prices, a group of bankers bought millions of dollars of stocks. The strategy worked for only one business day, Friday. The selling frenzy resumed on Monday. On Black Tuesday, October 29, the bottom fell out, as millions of panicky investors ordered their brokers to sell -but almost no buyers could be found. From that day on, prices on Wall Street kept going down and down. By late November, the Dow Jones index had fallen from its September high of 381 to 198. Three years later, stock prices would finally hit bottom at 41, less then one- ninth of their peak value. Causes of the Crash While the collapse of the stock market in 1929 may have triggered economic turmoil, it alone was not responsible for the Great Depression. The depression throughout the nation and the world was the result of a combination of factors, and economists continue to debate their relative importance. Uneven Distribution of Income Wages had risen relatively little compared to the large increases in productivity and corporate profits. Economic success was not shared by all, as the top 5 percent of the richest Americans received over 33 percent of all income. Once demand for their products declined, busi- nesses laid off workers contributing to a downward spiral in demand, and more layoffs. Stock Market Speculation Many people in all economic classes believed that they could get rich by "playing the market." People were no longer investing their money in order to share in the profits of a company-they were speculating that the price of a stock would go up and that they could sell it for a quick profit. Buying on margin allowed people to borrow most of the cost of the stock, mak- ing down payments as low as 10 percent. Investors depended on the price of the stock increasing so that they could repay the loan. When stock prices dropped, the market collapsed, and many lost everything they had borrowed and invested. THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 497 Excessive Use of Credit Low interest rates and a belief of both consumers and business that the economic boom was permanent led to increased borrow- ing and installment buying. This over-indebtedness would result in defaults on loans and bank failures. Overproduction of Consumer Goods Business growth, aided by in- creased productivity and use of credit, had produced a volume of goods that workers with stagnant wages could not continue to purchase. Weak Farm Economy The prosperity of the 1920s never reached farmers, who had suffered from overproduction, high debt, and low prices since the end of World War I. As the depression continued through the 1930s, severe weather and a long drought added to farmers' difficulties. Government Policies During the 1920s, the government had complete faith in business and did little to control or regulate it. Congress enacted high tariffs which protected U.S. industries but hurt farmers and international trade. Some economists have concentrated blame on the Federal Reserve for its tight money policies, as hundreds of banks failed. Instead on trying to stabi- lize banks, the money supply, and prices, The Federal Reserve tried to preserve the gold standard. Without depositors' insurance, people panicked to get their money out of the banks, which caused more bank failures. Global Economic Problems Nations had become more interdependent because of international banking, manufacturing, and trade. Europe had never recovered from World War I, but the United States failed to recognize Europe's postwar problems (The United States reacted differently after World War II. See Chapter 26). Instead, U.S. insistence on loan repayment in full and high tariffs policies weakened Europe and contributed to the worldwide depression. Effects It is difficult to imagine the pervasive impact of the Great Depression. While in retrospect it can be seen that the economic decline reached bottom in 1932, complete recovery came only with the beginning of another world war, in 1939. The Great Depression's influence on American thinking and policies has even extended beyond the lifetimes of those who experienced it. Various economic statistics serve as indicators that track the health of a nation's economy. The U.S. Gross National Product-the value of all the goods and services produced by the nation in one year-dropped from $104 billion to $56 billion in four years (1929 to 1932), while the nation's income declined by over 50 percent. Some 20 percent of all banks closed, wiping out 10 million sav- ings accounts. As banks failed, the money supply contracted by 30 percent. By 1933, the number of unemployed had reached 13 million people, or 25 percent of the workforce, not including farmers. The crash ended Republican domination of government. People accepted dramatic changes in policies and the expansion of the federal government. The social effects of the depression were felt by all classes. Those who had never fully shared in the prosperity of the 1920s, such as farmers and African 498 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM 125 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 GNP, 1929-1941 1929 1931 1933 1935 1937 1939 1941 Q) (.) 0 LL 0 (1j 0 Q) (1j Q) (.) Q) Unemployment, 1929-1941 25 20 15 10 5 1929 1931 1933 1935 1937 1939 1941 Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 Americans, had increased difficulties. Poverty and homelessness increased, as did the stress on families, as people searched for work. Mortgage foreclosures and evictions became commonplace. The homeless traveled in box cars and lived in shantytowns, named "Hoovervilles," in mock honor of their president. THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 499 Hoover's Policies At the time of the stock market crash, nobody could foresee how long the downward slide would last. President Hoover was wrong-but hardly alone- in thinking that prosperity would soon return. The president believed the nation could get through the difficult times if the people took his advice about exercis- ing voluntary action and restraint. Hoover urged businesses not to cut wages, unions not to strike, and private charities to increase their efforts for the needy and the jobless. Until the summer of 1930, he hesitated to ask Congress for legislative action on the economy, afraid that government assistance to indi- viduals would destroy their self-reliance. Gradually, President Hoover came to recognize the need for more direct government action. However, he took the traditional view that public relief should come from state and local govern- ments, not the federal government. Responding to a Worldwide Depression Repercussions from the crash on Wall Street were soon felt in the financial centers of Europe. Through trade and the Dawes Plan for the repayment of war debts, European prosperity was closely tied to that of the United States. Hoover's first major decision concerning the international situation was one of the worst mistakes of his presidency. Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930) In June 1930, the president signed into law a schedule of tariff rates that was the highest in history. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff passed by the Republican Congress set tax increases ranging from 31 percent to 49 percent on foreign imports. In retaliation for the U.S. tariff, how- ever, European countries enacted higher tariffs of their own against U.S. goods. The effect was to reduce trade for all nations, meaning that both the national and international economies sank further into depression. Debt Moratorium By 1931, conditions became so bad both in Europe and the United States that the Dawes Plan for collecting war debts could no longer continue. Hoover therefore proposed a moratorium (suspension) on the payment of international debts. Britain and Germany readily accepted, but France balked. The international economy suffered from massive loan defaults, and banks on both sides of the Atlantic scrambled to meet the demands of the many depositors withdrawing their money. Domestic Programs: Too little, Too Late By 1931, Hoover was convinced that some federal action was needed to pull the U.S. economy out of its doldrums. He therefore supported and signed into law programs that offered assistance to indebted farmers and struggling businesses. Federal Farm Board The Farm Board was actually created in 1929, before the stock market crash, but its powers were later enlarged to meet the economic crisis. The board was authorized to help farmers stabilize prices by temporarily holding surplus grain and cotton in storage. The program, how- ever, was far too modest to handle the continued overproduction of farm goods. 500 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) This federally funded, government-owned corporation was created by Congress early in 1932 as a measure for propping up faltering railroads, banks, life insurance companies, and other financial institutions. The president reasoned that emergency loans from the RFC would help to stabilize these key businesses. The benefits would then "trickle down" to smaller businesses and ultimately bring recovery. Dem- ocrats scoffed at this measure, saying it would only help the rich. Despair and Protest By 1932, millions of unemployed workers and impoverished farmers were in a state bordering on desperation. Some decided to take direct action to battle the forces that seemed to be crushing them. Unrest on the Farms In many communities, farmers banded together to stop banks from foreclosing on farms and evicting people from their homes. Farmers in the Midwest formed the Farm Holiday Association, which attempted to reverse the drop in prices by stopping the entire crop of grain harvested in 1932 from reaching the market. The effort collapsed after some violence. Bonus March Also in the desperate summer of 1932, a thousand unem- ployed World War I veterans marched to Washington, D.C., to demand immediate payment of the bonuses promised them at a later date (1945). They were eventually joined by thousands of other veterans who brought their wives and children and camped in improvised shacks near the Capitol. Congress failed to pass the bonus bill they sought. When two veterans were killed in a clash with police, Hoover ordered the army to break up the encampment. Gen- eral Douglas MacArthur, the army's chief of staff, used tanks and tear gas to destroy the shantytown and drive the veterans from Washington. The incident caused many Americans to regard Hoover as heartless and uncaring. The Election of 1932 The depression's worst year, 1932, happened to be a presidential election year. The disheartened Republicans renominated Hoover, who warned that a Demo- cratic victory would only result in worse economic problems. Democrats At their convention, the Democrats nominated New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt for president and Speaker of the House John Nance Garner of Texas for vice president. As a candidate, Roosevelt pledged a "new deal" for the American people, the repeal of Prohibition, aid for the unemployed, and cuts in government spending. Results In voters' minds, the only real issue was the depression, and which candidate-Hoover or Roosevelt-could do a better job of ending the hard times. Almost 60 percent of them concluded that it was time for a change. The Roosevelt-Garner ticket carried all but six states, Republican strongholds in the Northeast. Desperate for change, many Socialists deserted their candidate, THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 501 Norman Thomas, to support Roosevelt. Not only was the new president a Dem- ocrat but both houses of Congress had large Democratic majorities. Hoover as "Lame-Duck" President For the four months between Roos- evelt's election and his inauguration in March 1933, Hoover was still president. However, as a "lame duck," Hoover was powerless to cope with the depres- sion, which continued to get worse. He offered to work with the president-elect through the long period, but Roosevelt declined, not wanting to be tied to any of the Republican president's ideas. The Twentieth Amendment (known as the lame-duck amendment), passed in February 1933 and ratified by October 1933, shortened the period between presidential election and inauguration. The amendment set the start of each president's term for January 20. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal The new president was a distant cousin of President Theodore Roosevelt and was married to Theodore's niece, Eleanor. More than any other president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt popularly known by his initials, FDR expanded the size of the federal government, altered its scope of operations, and greatly enlarged presidential powers. He would dominate the nation and the government for an unprecedented stretch of time, 12 years and two months. FDR became one of the most influential world leaders of the 20th century. FDR: The Man Franklin Roosevelt was the only child of a wealthy New York family. He person- ally admired cousin Theodore and followed in his footsteps as a New York state legislator and then as U.S. assistant secretary of the navy. Unlike Republican Theodore, however, Franklin was a Democrat. In 1920 he was the Democratic nominee for vice president. He and James Cox, the presidential candidate, lost badly in Warren G. Harding's landslide victory. Disability In the midst of a promising career, Roosevelt was paralyzed by polio in 1921. Although he was wealthy enough to retire, he labored instead to resume his career in politics and eventually regained the full power of his upper body, even though he could never again walk unaided and required the assis- tance of crutches, braces, and a wheelchair. Roosevelt's greatest strengths were his warm personality, his gifts as a speaker, and his ability to work with and inspire people. In 1928, campaigning from a car and in a wheelchair, FDR was elected governor of New York. In this office, he instituted a number of welfare and relief programs to help the jobless. Eleanor Roosevelt Roosevelt's wife, Eleanor, emerged as a leader in her own right. She became the most active first lady in history, writing a newspa- per column, giving speeches, and traveling the country. Though their personal relationship was strained, Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt had a strong mutual respect. She served as the president's social conscience and influenced him to support minorities and the less fortunate. 502 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM New Deal Philosophy In his campaign for president in 1932, Roosevelt offered vague promises but no concrete programs. He did not have a detailed plan for ending the depression, but he was committed to action and willing to experiment with political solu- tions to economic problems. The Three R's In his acceptance speech at the Democratic convention in 1932, Roosevelt had said: "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people." He had further promised in his campaign to help the "for- gotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid." During the early years of his presidency, it became clear that his New Deal programs were to serve three R's: relief for people out of work, recovery for business and the economy as a whole, and reform of American economic institutions. Brain Trust and Other Advisers In giving shape to his New Deal, President Roosevelt relied on a group of advisers who had assisted him while he was governor of New York. Louis Howe was to be his chief political adviser. For advice on economic matters, Roosevelt turned to a group of university pro- fessors, known as the Brain Trust. The people that Roosevelt appointed to high administrative positions were the most diverse in U.S. history, with a record number of African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and women. For example, his secretary of labor was Frances Perkins, the first woman ever to serve in a president's cabinet. The First Hundred Days With the nation desperate and close to the brink of panic, the Democratic Con- gress looked to the new president for leadership, which Roosevelt was eager to provide. Immediately after being sworn into office on March 4, 1933, Roo- sevelt called Congress into a hundred-day-long special session. During this brief period, Congress passed into law every request of President Roosevelt, enacting more major legislation than any single Congress in history. Most of the new laws and agencies were commonly referred to by their initials: WPA, AAA, CCC, NRA. Bank Holiday In early 1933, banks were failing at a frightening rate, as depositors flocked to withdraw funds. As many banks failed in 1933 (over 5,000) as had failed in all the previous years of the depression. To restore con- fidence in those banks that were still solvent, the president ordered the banks closed for a bank holiday on March 6, 1933. He went on the radio to explain that the banks would be reopened after allowing enough time for the govern- ment to reorganize them on a sound basis. Repeal of Prohibition The new president kept a campaign promise to enact repeal of Prohibition and also raised needed tax money by having Congress pass the Beer-Wine Revenue Act, which legalized the sale of beer and wine. Later in 1933, the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, bringing Prohibition to an end. THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 503 Fireside Chats Roosevelt went on the radio on March 12, 1933, to present the first of many fireside chats to the American people. The president assured his listeners that the banks which reopened after the bank holiday were safe. The public responded as hoped, with the money deposited in the reopened banks exceeding the money withdrawn. Financial Recovery and Reform Programs As the financial part of his New Deal, FDR persuaded Congress to enact the following measures: • The Emergency Banking Relief Act authorized the government to examine the finances of banks closed during the bank holiday and reopen those judged to be sound. • The Glass-Steagall Act increased regulation of the banks and lim- ited how banks could invest customers' money. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guaranteed individual bank deposits. The gold standard was restricted to international transactions, and the Americans could no longer exchange their dollars for gold. • The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) provided refinancing of small homes to prevent foreclosures. • The Farm Credit Administration provided low-interest farm loans and mortgages to prevent foreclosures on the property of indebted farmers. Relief for the Unemployed A number of programs created during the Hundred Days addressed the needs of the millions of unemployed workers. These plans created jobs with government stimulus dollars to provide both relief and to create more demand for goods and services, which it hoped would create more jobs in the private sector. • The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) offered outright grants of federal money to states and local governments that were operating soup kitchens and other forms of relief for the jobless and homeless. The director of FERA was Harry Hopkins, one of the president's closest friends and advisers. • The Public Works Administration (PWA), directed by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, allotted money to state and local governments for building roads, bridges, dams, and other public works. Such con- struction projects were a source of thousands of jobs. • The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed young men on proj- ects on federal lands and paid their families small monthly sums. 504 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM • The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was a huge experiment in regional development and public planning. As a government corpora- tion, it hired thousands of people in one of the nation's poorest regions, the Tennessee Valley, to build dams, operate electric power plants, control flooding and erosion, and manufacture fertilizer. The TVA sold electricity to residents of the region at rates that were well below those previously charged by a private power company. Industrial Recovery Program The key measure in 1933 to combine immediate relief and long-term reform was the National Recovery Administra- tion (NRA). Directed by Hugh Johnson, the NRA was an attempt to guarantee reasonable profits for business and fair wages and hours for labor. With the antitrust laws temporarily suspended, the NRA could help each industry (such as steel, oil, and paper) set codes for wages, hours of work, levels of production, and prices of finished goods. The law creating the NRA also gave workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. The complex program operated with limited success for two years before the Supreme Court declared the NRA unconstitutional (Schechter v. U.S.) in 1935. Farm Production Control Program Farmers were offered a program similar in concept to what the NRA did for industry. The Agricultural Adjust- ment Administration (AAA) encouraged farmers to reduce production (and thereby boost prices) by offering to pay government subsidies for every acre they plowed under. The AAA met the same fate as the NRA. It was declared unconstitutional in a 1935 Supreme Court decision. Other Programs of the First New Deal Congress adjourned briefly after its extraordinary legislative record in the first Hundred Days of the New Deal. Roosevelt, however, was not finished devising new remedies for the nation's ills. In late 1933 and through much of 1934, the Democratic Congress was easily persuaded to enact the following: • The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was added to the PWA and other programs for creating jobs. This agency hired laborers for tempo- rary construction projects sponsored by the federal government. • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was created to regu- late the stock market and to place strict limits on the kind of speculative practices that had led to the Wall Street crash in 1929. The SEC also required full audits of and financial disclosure by corporations to protect investors from fraud and insider trading. • The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) gave both the construction industry and homeowners a boost by insuring bank loans for building new houses and repairing old ones. THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 505 • A new law took the United States off the gold standard in an effort to halt deflation (falling prices). The value of the dollar was set at $35 per ounce of gold, but paper dollars were no longer redeemable in gold. The Second New Deal Roosevelt's first two years in office were largely focused on achieving one of the three R's: recovery. Democratic victories in the congressional elections of 1934 gave the president the popular mandate he needed to seek another round of laws and programs. In the summer of 1935, he launched the second New Deal, which concentrated on the other two R's: relief and reform. Relief Programs Harry Hopkins became even more prominent in Roosevelt's administration with the creation in 1935 of a new and larger relief agency. Works Progress Administration (WPA) Much bigger than the relief agencies of the first New Deal, the WPA spent billions of dollars between 1935 and 1940 to provide people with jobs. After its first year of operation under Hopkins, it employed 3.4 million men and women who had formerly been on the relief rolls of state and local governments. It paid them double the relief rate but less than the going wage for regular workers. Most WPA workers were put to work constructing new bridges, roads, airports, and public buildings. Unemployed artists, writers, actors, and photographers were paid by the WPA to paint murals, write histories, and perform in plays. One part of the WPA, the National Youth Administration (NYA), provided part-time jobs to help young people stay in high school and college or until they could get a job with a private employer. Resettlement Administration (RA) Placed under the direction of one of the Brain Trust, Rexford Tugwell, the Resettlement Administration provided loans to sharecroppers, tenants, and small farmers. It also established federal camps where migrant workers could find decent housing. Source: Carl Morris, Eugene, Oregon, Post Office, c. 1939, WPA Federal Arts Project. Oregon Scenic County Images 506 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Reforms The reform legislation of the second New Deal reflected Roosevelt's belief that industrial workers and farmers needed to receive more government help than members of the business and privileged classes. National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act (1935) This major labor law of 1935 replaced the labor provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act, after that law was declared unconstitutional. The Wagner Act guaranteed a worker's right to join a union and a union's right to bargain collectively. It also outlawed business practices that were unfair to labor. A new agency, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was empowered to enforce the law and make sure that workers' rights were protected. Rural Electrification Administration (REA) This new agency provided loans for electrical cooperatives to supply power in rural areas. Federal Taxes A revenue act of 1935 significantly increased the tax on incomes of the wealthy few. It also increased the tax on large gifts from parent to child and on capital gains (profits from the sale of stocks or other properties). The Social Security Act The reform that, for generations afterward, would affect the lives of nearly all Americans was the passage in 1935 of the Social Security Act. It created a fed- eral insurance program based upon the automatic collection of payments from employees and employers throughout people's working careers. The Social Security trust fund would then be used to make monthly payments to retired persons over the age of 65. Also receiving benefits under this new law were workers who lost their jobs (unemployment compensation), persons who were blind or otherwise disabled, and dependent children and their mothers. The Election of 1936 The economy was improving but still weak and unstable in 1936 when the Democrats nominated Roosevelt for a second term. Because of his New Deal programs and active style of personal leadership, the president was now enor- mously popular among workers and small farmers. Business, however, generally disliked and even hated him because of his regulatory programs and prounion measures such as the Wagner Act. Alf Landon Challenging Roosevelt was the Republican nominee for presi- dent, Alfred (Alf) Landon, the progressive-minded governor of Kansas. Landon criticized the Democrats for spending too much money but in general accepted most of the New Deal legislation. Results Roosevelt swamped Landon, winning every state except Maine and Vermont and more than 60 percent of the popular vote. Behind their president's New Deal, the Democratic party could now count on the votes of a new coali- tion of popular support. Through the 1930s and into the 1960s, the Democratic THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 507 or New Deal coalition would consist of the Solid South, white ethnic groups in the cities, midwestern farmers, and labor unions and liberals. In addition, new support for the Democrats came from African Americans, mainly in northern cities, who left the Republican party of Lincoln because of Roosevelt's New Deal. Opponents of the New Deal Opinion polls and election results showed that a large majority of Americans supported Roosevelt. Nevertheless, his New Deal programs were extremely controversial and became the target of vitriolic attacks by liberals, conservatives, and demagogues. liberal Critics Socialists and extreme liberals in the Democratic party criticized the New Deal (especially the first New Deal of 1933-1934) for doing too much for business and too little for the unemployed and the working poor. They charged that the president failed to address the problems of ethnic minorities, women, and the elderly. Conservative Critics More numerous were those on the right who attacked the New Deal for giv- ing the federal government too much power. These critics charged that relief programs such as the WPA and labor laws such as the Wagner Act bordered on socialism or even communism. Business leaders were alarmed by (1) increased regulations, (2) the second New Deal's prounion stance, and (3) the financing of government programs by means of borrowed money-a practice known as deficit.financing. Conservative Democrats, including former presidential candi- dates Alfred E. (Al) Smith and John W. Davis, joined with leading Republicans in 1934 to form an anti-New Deal organization called the American Liberty League. Its avowed purpose was to stop the New Deal from "subverting" the U.S. economic and political system. Demagogues Several critics played upon the American people's desperate need for immedi- ate solutions to their problems. Using the radio to reach a mass audience, they proposed simplistic schemes for ending "evil conspiracies" (Father Coughlin), guaranteeing economic security for the elderly (Dr. Townsend), and redistrib- uting wealth (Huey Long). Father Charles E. Coughlin This Catholic priest attracted a huge popular following in the early 1930s through his weekly radio broadcasts. Father Coughlin founded the National Union for Social Justice, which called for issuing an inflated currency and nationalizing all banks. His attacks on the 508 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM New Deal became increasingly anti-Semitic and Fascist until his superiors in the Catholic Church ordered him to stop his broadcasts. Dr. Francis E. Townsend Before the passage of the Social Security Act, a retired physician from Long Beach, California, became an instant hero to millions of senior citizens by proposing a simple plan for guaranteeing a secure income. Dr. Francis E. Townsend proposed that a 2 percent federal sales tax be used to create a special fund, from which every retired person over 60 years old would receive $200 a month. By spending their money promptly, Townsend argued, recipients would stimulate the economy and soon bring the depression to an end. The popularity of the Townsend Plan persuaded Roosevelt to substitute a more moderate plan of his own, which became the Social Security system. Huey Long From Roosevelt's point of view, the most dangerous of the depression demagogues was the "Kingfish" from Louisiana, Senator Huey Long. Immensely popular in his own state, Long became a prominent national figure by proposing a "Share Our Wealth" program that promised a minimum annual income of $5,000 for every American family, to be paid for by taxing the wealthy. In 1935, Huey Long challenged Roosevelt's leadership of the Demo- cratic party by announcing his candidacy for president. Both his candidacy and his populist appeal were abruptly ended when he was killed by an assassin. The Supreme Court Of all the challenges to Roosevelt's leadership in his first term in office, the conservative decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court proved the most frustrating. In two cases in 1935, the Supreme Court effectively killed both the NRA for business recovery and the AAA for agricultural recovery by deciding that the laws creating them were unconstitutional. Roosevelt interpreted his landslide reelection in 1936 as a mandate to end the obstacles posed by the Court. Court Reorganization Plan President Roosevelt did not have an oppor- tunity to appoint any Justices to the Supreme Court during his first term. He hoped to remove the Court as an obstacle to the New Deal by proposing a judicial-reorganization bill in 1937. It proposed that the president be authorized to appoint to the Supreme Court an additional justice for each current justice who was older than a certain age (70 1⁄2 years). In effect, the bill would have allowed Roosevelt to add up to six more justices to the Court-all of them presumably of liberal persuasion. Critics called it a "Court-packing" bill. Reaction Republicans and many Democrats were outraged by what they saw as an attempt to tamper with the system of checks and balances. They accused the president of wanting to give himself the powers of a dictator. Roos- evelt did not back down-and neither did the congressional opposition. For the first time in Roosevelt's presidency, a major bill that he proposed went down to decisive defeat by a defiant Congress. Even a majority of Democratic senators refused to support him on this controversial measure. THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 509 Aftermath Ironically, while Roosevelt was fighting to "pack" the Court, the justices were already backing off their former resistance to his program. In 1937, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of several major New Deal laws, including the Wagner (Labor) Act and the Social Security Act. Also, as it happened, several justices retired during Roosevelt's second term, enabling him to appoint new justices who were more sympathetic to his reforms. Rise of Unions Two New Deal measures-the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 and the Wagner Act of 1935-caused a lasting change in labor-management rela- tions by legalizing labor unions. Union membership, which had slumped badly under the hostile policies of the 1920s, shot upward. It went from less than 3 million in the early 1930s to over 10 million (more than one out of four non- farm workers) by 1941. Formation of the C./.0. As unions grew in size, tensions and conflicts between rival unions grew in intensity. The many different unions that made up the American Federation of Labor (A.F. of L.) were dominated by skilled white male workers and were organized according to crafts. A group of unions within the A.F. of L. wanted union membership to be extended to all workers in an industry regard- less of their race and sex, including those who were unskilled. In 1935, the industrial unions, as they were called, joined together as the Committee of Industrial Organizations (C.1.0.). Their leader was John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers union. In 1936, the A.F. of L. suspended the C.1.0. unions. Renamed the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the C.1.0. broke away from the A.F. of L. and became its chief rival. It concentrated on organiz- ing unskilled workers in the automobile, steel, and southern textile industries. Strikes Even though collective bargaining was now protected by federal law, many companies still resisted union demands. Strikes were therefore a frequent occurrence in the depression decade. Automobiles At the huge General Motors plant in Flint, Michigan, in 1937, the workers insisted on their right to join a union by participating in a sit- down strike (literally sitting down at the assembly line and refusing to work). Neither the president nor Michigan's governor agreed to the company's request to intervene with troops. Finally, the company yielded to striker demands by recognizing the United Auto Workers union (U.A.W.). Union organizers at the Ford plant in Michigan, however, were beaten and driven away. Steel In the steel industry, the giant U.S. Steel Corporation voluntarily rec- ognized one of the C.1.0. unions, but smaller companies resisted. On Memorial Day, 1937, a demonstration by union picketers at Republic Steel in Chicago ended in four deaths, as the police fired into the crowd. However, eventually almost all the smaller steel companies agreed to deal with the C.1.0. by 1941. 510 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Fair labor Standards Act A final political victory for organized labor in the 1930s also represented the last major reform of the New Deal. In 1938, Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established several regulations on businesses in interstate commerce: • a minimum wage, initially fixed at 40 cents an hour • a maximum standard workweek of 40 hours, with extra pay ("time- and-a-half ') for overtime • child-labor restrictions on hiring people under 16 years old Previously, the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional a 1916 law pro- hibiting child labor. However, in 1941, in the case of U.S. v. Darby Lumber Co., the Supreme Court reversed its earlier ruling by upholding the child-labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Last Phase of the New Deal Passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act was not only the last but also the only major reform of Roosevelt's second term. The New Deal lost momentum in the late 1930s for both economic and political reasons. Recession, 1937-1938 From 1933 to 1937 (Roosevelt's first term), the economy showed signs of grad- ually pulling out of its nosedive. Banks were stablizing, business earnings were increasing, and unemployment, though still high at 15 percent, had declined from the 25 percent figure in 1933. In the winter of 1937, however, the econ- omy once again had a backward slide and entered into a recessionary period. Causes Government policy was at least partly to blame. The new Social Security tax reduced consumer spending at the same time that Roosevelt was curtailing expenditures for relief and public works. In reducing spending for relief, the president hoped to balance the budget and reduce the national debt. Keynesian Economics The writings of the British economist John May- nard Keynes taught Roosevelt that he had made a mistake in attempting to balance the budget. According to Keynesian theory, deficit spending was help- ful in difficult times because the government needed to spend well above its tax revenues in order to initiate economic growth. Deficit spending "prime the pump" to increase investment and create jobs. Roosevelt's economic advisers adopted this theory in 1938 with positive results. As federal spending on public works and relief went up, so too did employment and industrial production. Weakened New Deal Although the economy improved, there was no boom and problems remained. After the Court-packing fight of 1937, the people and Congress no longer THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929-1939 511 automatically followed FDR, and the 1938 elections brought a reduced Dem- ocratic majority in Congress. A coalition of Republicans and conservative Democrats blocked further New Deal reform legislation. Also, beginning in 1938, fears about the aggressive acts of Nazi Germany diverted attention from domestic concerns toward foreign affairs. Life During the Depression Millions of people who lived through the Great Depression and hard times of the 1930s never got over it. They developed a "depression mentality"-an attitude of insecurity and economic concern that would always remain, even in times of prosperity. Women During the depression, added pressures were placed on the family as unem- ployed fathers searched for work, and declining incomes presented severe challenges for mothers in the feeding and clothing of their children. To supple- ment the family income, more women sought work, and their percentage of the total labor force increased. Women were accused of taking jobs from men, even though they did not get the heavy factory jobs that were lost to all, and most men did not seek the types of jobs available to women. Even with Eleanor Roosevelt championing women's equality, many New Deal programs allowed women to receive lower pay than men. Dust Bowl Farmers As if farmers did not already have enough problems, a severe drought in the early 1930s ruined crops in the Great Plains. This region became a dust bowl, as poor farming practices coupled with high winds blew away millions of tons of dried topsoil. With their farms turned to dust, and their health often compro- mised, thousands of "Okies" from Oklahoma and surrounding states migrated westward to California in search of farm or factory work that often could not be found. The novelist John Steinbeck wrote about their hardships in his classic study of economic heartbreak, The Grapes of Wrath (1939). In response to one of the worst ecological disasters in American history, the federal government created the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 to teach and subsidize the plains farmers to rotate crops, terrace fields, use contour plowing, and plant trees to stop soil erosion and conserve water. For those who could stay behind, the region recovered, but environmental issues remained. African Americans Racial discrimination continued in the 1930s with devastating effects on Afri- can Americans, who were the last hired, first fired. Their unemployment rate was higher than the national average. Black sharecroppers were forced off the land in the South because of cutbacks in farm production. Often, despite their extreme poverty, jobless African Americans were excluded from state and local relief programs. Hard times increased racial tensions, particularly in the South 512 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM where lynchings continued. Civil rights leaders could get little support from President Roosevelt, who feared the loss of white southern Democratic votes. Improvements Some New Deal programs, such as the WPA and the CCC did provide low-paying jobs for African Americans, though these jobs were often segregated. Blacks also received moral support from Eleanor Roosevelt and Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes in a famous incident in 1939. The distinguished African American singer Marian Anderson had been refused the use of Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., by the all-white Daughters of the American Revolution. Eleanor Roosevelt and Ickes promptly arranged for Anderson to give a special concert at the Lincoln Memorial. Over one hundred African Americans were appointed to middle-level positions in federal departments by President Roosevelt. One of them, Mary McLeod Bethune, had been a longtime leader of efforts for improving education and economic opportunities for women. Invited to Washington to direct a division of the National Youth Administration, she established the Fed- eral Council on Negro Affairs for the purpose of increasing African American involvement in the New Deal. Fair Employment Practices Committee An executive order in 1941 set up a committee to assist minorities in gaining jobs in defense industries. President Roosevelt took this action only after A. Philip Randolph, head of the Railroad Porters Union, threatened a march on Washington to demand equal job opportunities for African Americans. American Indians John Collier, a long-time advocate of American Indian rights, was appointed commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1933. He established con- servation and CCC projects on reservations and gained American Indian involvement in the WPA and other New Deal programs. Indian Reorganization (Wheeler-Howard) Act (1934) Collier won Roosevelt's support for a major change in policy. In 1934, Congress repealed the Dawes Act of 1887, which had encouraged American Indians to be inde- pendent farmers, and replaced it with the Indian Reorganization Act. The new measure returned lands to the control of tribes and supported preservation of Indian cultures. Despite this major reform, critics later accused the New Deal of being paternalistic and withholding control from American Indians. Mexican Americans Mexican Americans also suffered from discrimination in the 1930s. In Califor- nia and the Southwest, they had been a principal source of agricultural labor in the 1920s. However, during the depression, high unemployment and drought in the Plains and the Midwest caused a dramatic growth in white migrant workers who pushed west in search of work. Discrimination in New Deal programs and competition for jobs forced many thousands of Mexican Americans to return to Mexico.

Chapter 30 'Conservative Resurgence, 1980 - 2000'

The most important changes during the 1980s and 1990s included the col- lapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the breakup of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War. In the post-Cold War world, older ethnic and reli- gious conflicts reemerged to threaten the peace with civil wars and terrorism. On the domestic scene, the conservative agenda of the Reagan administration (1981-1989)-for a stronger military, lower taxes, fewer social programs, and traditional cultural values-helped the Republicans to dominate much of national politics in the 1980s and 1990s. The Rise of Conservatism Even though Barry Goldwater was defeated in a landslide in the election of 1964, his campaign for the presidency marked the beginning of the resurgence of conservatism. The policies of presidents Nixon and Ford and the writings of the conservative political commentator William F. Buckley Jr. and the free- market economist Milton Friedman gave evidence in the 1970s of a steady shift to the right, away from the liberalism of the 1960s. By 1980, a loose coalition of economic and political conservatives, religious fundamentalists, and political action committees (PACs) had become a potent force for change. These groups opposed big government, New Deal liberalism, gun control, fem- inism, gay rights, welfare, affirmative action, sexual permissiveness, abortion, and drug use. They believed that these issues were undermining family and religious values, the work ethic, and national security. Leading Issues By 1980, various activists had taken the lead in establishing a conservative agenda for the nation, which included such diverse causes as lower taxes, changed morals, and reduced emphasis on affirmative action. Taxpayers' Revolt In 1978, California voters led the revolt against increasing taxes by passing Proposition 13, a measure that sharply cut property 654 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM taxes. Nationally, conservatives promoted economist Arthur Laffer' s belief that tax cuts would increase government revenues. Two Republican members of Congress, Jack Kemp and William Roth, proposed legislation to reduce federal taxes by 30 percent, which became the basis for the Reagan tax cuts. Conservative Religious Revival Moral decay was a weekly theme of religious leaders on television such as Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, and Jim Baker. By 1980, televangelists had a combined weekly audience of between 60 and 100 million viewers. Religion became an instrument of electoral politics when an evangelist from Virginia, Jerry Falwell, founded the Moral Majority, which financed campaigns to unseat liberal members of Congress. Religious fundamentalists attacked "secular humanism" as a godless creed taking over public education and also campaigned for the return of prayers and the teach- ing of the Biblical account of creation in public schools. The legalization of abortion in the Roe v. Wade (1973) decision sparked the right-to-life move- ment. This movement united Catholics and fundamentalist Protestants, who believed that human life begins at the moment of conception. Elimination of Racial Preferences In 1965, President Johnson had com- mitted the U.S. government to a policy of affirmative action to ensure that underprivileged minorities and women would have equal access to education, jobs, and promotions. Suffering through years of recession and stagflation in the 1970s, many whites blamed their troubles on affirmative action, calling it "reverse discrimination." In a landmark court case challenging the admis- sions policies of one medical school, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court ruled that while race could be considered, the school had created racial quotas, which were unconstitutional. Using this decision, conservatives intensified their campaign to end all preferences based on race and ethnicity. De-Regulation of Business Starting in the 1970s, business interests launched a very successful campaign to mobilize and influence federal and state governments to curtail regulations, lower taxes, and weaken labor unions. Busi- ness donors created "think tanks," such as the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Cato Institute, to promote free-market ideas, while the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbied for pro-business legislation. Ronald Reagan and the Election of 1980 Ronald Reagan, a well-known movie and television actor, gained fame among Republicans as an effective political speaker in the 1964 Goldwater campaign. He was soon elected the governor of California, the nation's most populous state. By 1976, Reagan was the party's leading spokesperson for conservative positions, and he almost defeated President Ford for the nomination. Hand- some and vigorous in his late sixties, he proved a master of the media and was seen by millions as a likable and sensible champion of average Americans. In 1980, Reagan won the Republican nomination. Campaign for President, 1980 Senator Edward Kennedy's challenge to President Carter for the Democratic nomination left Carter battered in the CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 655 polls. As the Republican nominee, Reagan attacked the Democrats for expand- ing government and for undermining U.S. prestige abroad. (Throughout the campaign, American hostages remained in the hands of Iranian radicals.) Rea- gan also pointed to a "misery index" of 28 (rate of inflation added to the rate of unemployment) and concluded his campaign by asking a huge television audience, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" The voters' rejection of Carter's presidency and the growing conservative mood gave Rea- gan 51 percent of the popular vote and almost 91 percent of the electoral vote. Carter received 41 percent of the popular vote. A third candidate, John Ander- son, a moderate Republican running as an independent, received 8 percent. Significance Reagan's election broke up a key element of the New Deal coalition by taking more than 50 percent of the blue-collar vote. The defeat of 11 liberal Democratic senators targeted by the Moral Majority gave the Repub- licans control of the Senate for the first time since 1954. The Republicans also gained 33 seats in the House, which when combined with the votes of conser- vative southern Democrats, would give them a working majority on many key issues. The 1980 election ended a half-century of Democratic dominance of Congress. The Reagan Revolution On the very day that Reagan was inaugurated, the Iranians released the 52 American hostages, giving his administration a positive start. Two months later, the president survived a serious gunshot wound from an assassination attempt. Reagan handled the crisis with such humor and charm that he emerged from the ordeal as an even more popular leader. He pledged that his administra- tion would lower taxes, reduce government spending on welfare, build up the U.S. armed forces, and create a more conservative federal court. He delivered on all four promises-but there were costs. Supply-Side Economics ( 11Reaganomics11 ) The Reagan administration advocated supply-side economics, arguing that tax cuts and reduced government spending would increase investment by the private sector, which would lead to increased production, jobs, and prosper- ity. This approach contrasted with the Keynesian economics long favored by the Democrats, which relied on government spending during economic down- turns to boost consumer income and demand. Critics of the supply-side theory compared it to the "trickle-down" economics of the 1920s, in which wealthy Americans prospered, and some of their increased spending benefited the mid- dle class and the poor. Federal Tax Reduction The legislative activity early in Reagan's presi- dency reminded some in the media of FDR's Hundred Days. Congress passed the Economic Recovery Act of 1981, which included a 25 percent decrease in personal income taxes over three years. Cuts in the corporate income tax, capital gains tax, and gift and inheritance taxes guaranteed that a large share of the tax relief went to upper-income taxpayers. Under Reagan, the top income 656 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Source: Len Boro/Rothco tax rate was reduced to 28 percent. At the same time, small investors were also helped by a provision that allowed them to invest up to $2,000 a year in Indi- vidual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) without paying taxes on this money. Spending Cuts With the help of conservative southern Democrats ("boll weevils"), the Republicans cut more than $40 billion from domestic programs, such as food stamps, student loans, and mass transportation. However, these savings were offset by a dramatic increase in military spending. Reagan pushed through no cuts in Medicare or Social Security, but he did support and sign into law a bipartisan bill to strengthen Social Security. The law increased what indi- viduals paid into the system, raised the age at which they could get full benefits to 67, and taxed some benefits paid to upper-income recipients. Deregulation Following up on the promise of "getting government off the backs of the peo- ple," the Reagan administration reduced federal regulations on business and industry-a policy of deregulation begun under Carter. Restrictions were eased on savings and loan institutions, mergers and takeovers by large corporations, and environmental protection. To help the struggling American auto industry, regulations on emissions and auto safety were also reduced. Secretary of the Interior James Watt opened federal lands for increased coal and timber produc- tion and offshore waters for oil drilling. labor Unions Despite having once been the president of the Screen Actors Guild, Rea- gan took a tough stand against unions. He fired thousands of striking federal air traffic controllers for violating their contract and decertified their union (PATCO). Many businesses followed this action by hiring striker replacements in labor conflicts. These anti-union policies along with the loss of manufactur- ing jobs hastened the decline of union membership among nonfarm workers CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 657 from more than 30 percent in 1962 to only 12 percent in the late 1990s. In addi- tion, the recession of 1982 and foreign competition had a dampening effect on workers' wages. Recession and Recovery In 1982, the nation suffered the worst recession since the 1930s. Banks failed and unemployment reached 11 percent. However, the recession, along with a fall in oil prices, reduced the double-digit inflation rate of the late 1970s to less than 4 percent. As the policies of Reaganomics took hold, the economy rebounded and beginning in 1983 entered a long period of recovery. However, the recovery only widened the income gap between rich and poor. While upper- income groups, including well-educated workers and "yuppies" (young urban professionals) enjoyed higher incomes from a deregulated marketplace, the standard of living of the middle class remained stagnant or declined. Not until the late 1990s did the middle class gain back some of its losses. Social Issues President Reagan followed through on his pledge to appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court by nominating Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Court, as well as Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy. Led by a new chief justice, William Rehnquist, the Supreme Court scaled back affirmative action in hiring and promotions, and limited Roe v. Wade by allowing states to impose certain restrictions on abortion, such as requiring minors to notify their parents before having an abortion. The Election of 1984 The return of prosperity, even if not fully shared by all Americans, restored public confidence in the Reagan administration. At their convention in 1984, Republicans nominated their popular president by acclamation. Among Dem- ocrats, Jesse Jackson became the first African American politician to make a strong run for the presidency by seeking the support of all minority groups under the banner of the National Rainbow Coalition. However, Democrats nominated Walter Mondale, Carter's vice president, to be their presidential candidate. For vice president, they chose Representative Geraldine Ferraro of New York, the first woman to run for vice president on a major party ticket. President Reagan campaigned on an optimistic "It's Morning Again in America" theme. Reagan took every state except Mondale's home state of Min- nesota. Two-thirds of white males voted for Reagan. Analysis of voting returns indicated that only two groups still favored the Democrats: African Americans and those earning less than $12,500 a year. Budget and Trade Deficits By the mid-l 980s, Reagan's tax cuts combined with large increases in military spending were creating federal deficits of more than $200 billion a year. Over the course of Reagan's two terms as president, the national debt tripled from about $900 billion to almost $2.7 trillion. The tax cuts, designed to stimulate 658 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM investments, seemed only to increase consumption, especially of foreign- made luxury and consumer items. As a result, the U.S. trade deficit reached a then-staggering $150 billion a year. The cumulative trade imbalance of $1 trillion during the 1980s contributed to a dramatic increase in the foreign ownership of U.S. real estate and industry. In 1985, for the first time since the World War I era, the United States became a debtor nation. In an effort to reduce the federal deficit, Congress in 1985 passed the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget Act, which provided for across- the-board spending cuts. Court rulings and later congressional changes kept this legislation from achieving its full purpose, but Congress was still able to reduce the deficit by $66 billion from 1986 to 1988. Impact of Reaganomics President Reagan's two terms reduced restrictions on a free-market economy and put more money in the hands of investors and higher income Americans. Reagan's policies also succeeded in containing the growth of the New Deal- Great Society welfare state. Another legacy of the Reagan years were the huge federal deficits of $200 to 300 billion a year, which changed the context of future political debates. With yearly deficits running between $200 and $300 billion, it no longer seemed reasonable for either Democrats or Republicans to propose new social programs, such as universal health coverage. Instead of ask- ing what new government programs might be needed, Reaganomics changed the debate to issues of which government programs to cut and by how much. Foreign Policy During the Reagan Years Reagan started his presidency determined to restore the military might and superpower prestige of the United States and to intensify the Cold War competi- tion with the Soviet Union. He called the Soviet Communists "the evil empire" and "focus of evil in the modern world." Reagan was prepared to use military force to back up his rhetoric. During his second term, however, he proved flexible enough in his foreign policy to respond to significant changes in the Soviet Union and its satellites in Eastern Europe. Renewing the Cold War Increased spending for defense and aid to anti-communist forces in Latin America were the hallmarks of Reagan's approach to the Cold War during his first term. Military Buildup The Reagan administration spent billions to build new weapons systems, such as the B-1 bomber and the MX missile, and to expand the U.S. Navy from 450 to 600 ships. The administration also increased spend- ing on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), an ambitious plan for building a high-tech system of lasers and particle beams to destroy enemy missiles before they could reach U.S. territory. Critics called the SDI "Star Wars" and argued that the costly program would only escalate the arms race and could be overwhelmed by the Soviets building more missiles. Although Congress made CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 659 some cuts in the Reagan proposals, the defense budget grew from $171 billion in 1981 to more than $300 billion in 1985. Central America In the Americas, Reagan supported "friendly" right-wing dictators to keep out communism. In Nicaragua in 1979, a Marxist movement known as the Sandinistas had overthrown the country's dictator. In response, the United States provided significant military aid to the "contras" in their effort to dislodge the Sandinistas. In 1985, Democrats opposed to the administration's policies in Nicaragua passed the Boland Amendment, which prohibited further aid to the contras. In El Salvador, meanwhile, the Reagan administration spent nearly $5 bil- lion to support the Salvadoran government against a coalition of leftist guerrillas. Many Americans protested the killing of more than 40,000 civilians, including American missionaries, by right-wing "death squads" with connections to the El Salvador army. Grenada On the small Caribbean island of Grenada, a coup led to the estab- lishment of a pro-Cuban regime. In October 1983, President Reagan ordered a small force of marines to invade the island in order to prevent the establishment of a strategic Communist military base in the Americas. The invasion quickly succeeded in re-establishing a pro-U.S. government in Grenada. Iran-Contra Affair If Grenada was the notable military triumph of Rea- gan's presidency, his efforts to aid the Nicaraguan contras involved him in a serious blunder and scandal. The so-called Iran-contra affair had its origins in U.S. troubles with Iran. Since 1980, Iran and Iraq had been engaged in a bloody war. Reagan aides came up with the plan-kept secret from the American pub- lic-of selling U.S. antitank and anti-aircraft missiles to Iran's government for its help in freeing the Americans held hostage by a radical Arab group. In 1986, another Reagan staff member had the "great idea" to use the profits of the arms deal with Iran to fund the contras in Nicaragua. President Reagan denied that he had knowledge of the illegal diversion of funds-illegal in that it violated both the Boland Amendment and congressional budget authority. The picture that emerged from a televised congressional investi- gation was of an uninformed, hands-off president who was easily manipulated by his advisers. Reagan suffered a sharp, but temporary, drop in the popularity polls. Lebanon, Israel, and the PLO Reagan suffered a series of setbacks in the Middle East. In 1982, Israel ( with U.S. approval) invaded southern Lebanon to stop Palestinian Liberation Organizaion (PLO) terrorists from raiding Israel. Soon the United States sent peacekeeping forces into Lebanon in an effort to contain that country's bitter civil war. In April 1983, an Arab suicide squad bombed the U.S. embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people. A few months later, another Arab terrorist drove a bomb-filled truck into the U.S. Marines barracks, killing 241 servicemen. In 1984, Reagan pulled U.S. forces out of Lebanon, with little to show for the effort and loss of lives. Secretary of State George Schultz pushed for a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by setting up a homeland for the PLO in the West 660 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Bank territories occupied by Israel since the 1967 war. Under U.S. pressure, PLO leader Yasser Arafat agreed in 1988 to recognize Israel's right to exist. Improved U.S.-Soviet Relations The Cold War intensified in the early 1980s as a result of both Reagan's arms buildup and the Soviet deployment of a larger number of missiles against NATO countries. In 1985, however, a dynamic reformer, Mikhail Gorbachev, became the new Soviet leader. Gorbachev attempted to change Soviet domestic politics by introducing two major reforms: (1) glasnost, or openness, to end political repression and move toward greater political freedom for Soviet citi- zens, and (2) perestroika, or restructuring of the Soviet economy by introducing some free-market practices. To achieve his reforms, Gorbachev wanted to end the costly arms race and deal with a deteriorating Soviet economy. In 1987, President Reagan challenged the Soviet leader to follow through with his reforms. In front of Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall, a divisive symbol of the Cold War, Reagan ended his speech with the line, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Gorbachev and Reagan did agree to remove and destroy all intermediate- range missiles (the INF agreement). In 1988, Gorbachev further reduced Cold War tensions by starting the pullout of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. He also cooperated with the United States in putting diplomatic pressure on Iran and Iraq to end their war. By the end of Reagan's second term, superpower relations had so improved that the end of the Cold War seemed at hand. Assessing Reagan's Policy The Reagan administration argued that its military buildup forced the Soviet Union to concede defeat and abandon the 'I CAN'T BELIEVE MY EYES!' Cold War. Some have con- cluded that Gorbachev ended the Cold War in order to reform the troubled Commu- nist economic and political system. And yet others have given credit to George Ken- nan's containment policies. Whatever caused the Soviets to change their policy, Rea- gan responded by seizing the opportunity to end the Cold War. Source: Edmund S. Valtman / Library of Congress. 1991 CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 661 By the end of Reagan's second term in 1988, "the Great Communicator's" combination of style, humor, and expressions of patriotism had won over the electorate. He would leave office as one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century. In addition, he changed the politics of the nation for at least a generation by bringing many former Democrats into the Republican party. George H. W. Bush and the End of the Cold War The Cold War had threatened the very existence of humankind. At the same time, ever since 1945, the conflict had given clear purpose and structure to U.S. foreign policy. What would be the role of the United States in the world after the Cold War? George H. W. Bush, a former ambassador to the United Nations and director of the CIA (and the father of President George W. Bush), became the first president to define the country's role in the new era. The Election of 1988 The Democrats regained control of the Senate in 1986 and expected that the Iran-contra scandal and the huge deficits under Reagan would hurt the Republicans in the presidential race of 1988. Michael Dukakis, governor of Massachusetts, won the Democratic nomination and balanced the ticket by selecting Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate. The Republican candidates were Reagan's vice president, George H. W. Bush, and a young Indiana senator, Dan Quayle. Bush did not have Reagan's ease in front of the camera, but he quickly overtook an expressionless Dukakis by charging that the Democrat was soft on crime (for furloughing criminals) and weak on national defense. Bush also appealed to voters by promising not to raise taxes: "Read my lips-no new taxes." The Republicans won a decisive victory in November by a margin of 7 million votes. Once again, the Democrats failed to win the confidence of most white middle-class voters. Nevertheless, the voters sent mixed signals by returning larger Democratic majorities to both the House and the Senate. Americans evidently believed in the system of checks and balances, but it often produced legislative gridlock in Washington. The Collapse of Soviet Communism and the Soviet Union The first years of the Bush administration were dominated by dramatic changes in the Communist world. Tiananmen Square In China during the spring of 1989, prodemocracy students demonstrated for freedom in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Television cameras from the West broadcast the democracy movement around the world. Under the cover of night, the Chinese Communist government crushed the protest with tanks, killing hundreds and ending the brief flowering of an open political environment in China. Eastern Europe Challenges to communism in Eastern Europe produced more positive results. Gorbachev declared that he would no longer support the various Communist governments of Eastern Europe with Soviet armed forces. 662 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM Starting in Poland in 1989 with the election of Lech Walesa, the leader of the once-outlawed Solidarity movement, the Communist party fell from power in one country after another-Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. The Communists in East Germany were forced out of power after protesters tore down the Berlin Wall, the hated symbol of the Cold War. In October 1990, the two Germanys, divided since 1945, were finally reunited with the blessing of both NATO and the Soviet Union. Breakup of the Soviet Union The swift march of events and the national- ist desire for self-determination soon overwhelmed Gorbachev and the Soviet Union. In 1990 the Soviet Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithu- ania declared their independence. After a failed coup against Gorbachev by Communist hard-liners, the remaining republics dissolved the Soviet Union in December 1991, leaving Gorbachev a leader with no country. Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Republic, joined with nine former Soviet republics to form a loose confederation, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Yeltsin disbanded the Communist party in Russia and attempted to establish a democracy and a free-market economy. End of the Cold War Sweeping agreements to dismantle their nuclear weapons were one piece of tangible proof that the Cold War had ended. Bush and Gorbachev signed the START I agreement in 1991, reducing the number of nuclear warheads to under 10,000 for each side. In late 1992, Bush and Yelt- sin agreed to a START II treaty, which reduced the number of nuclear weapons to just over 3,000 each. The treaty also offered U.S. economic assistance to the troubled Russian economy. EASTERN EUROPE AFTER THE FALL OF COMMUNISM RUSSIAN FEDERATION CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 663 Even as Soviet Communism collapsed, President Bush, a seasoned diplo- mat, remained cautious. Instead of celebrating final victory in the Cold War, Americans grew concerned about the outbreak of civil wars and violence in the former Soviet Union. In Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia started to disintegrate in 1991, and a civil war broke out in the province of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. At home, the end of the Cold War raised questions about whether the United States still needed such heavy defense spending and as many U.S. military bases around the world. Invasion of Panama Since the outbreak of the Cold War in the 1940s, U.S. intervention in for- eign conflicts had been consistently tied to the containment of communism. In December 1989, U.S. troops were used for a different purpose, as Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to remove the autocratic General Manuel Noriega. The alleged purpose of the invasion was to stop Noriega from using his country as a drug pipeline to the United States. U.S. troops remained until elections established a more credible government. Persian Gulf War President Bush's hopes for a "new world order" of peace and democracy were challenged in August 1990 when Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, invaded oil-rich but weak Kuwait. This move threatened Western oil sources in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. President Bush successfully built a coalition of United Nations members to pressure Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait. How- ever, a U.N. embargo against Iraq had little effect. Bush won congressional approval for a military campaign to roll back Iraq's aggression. In January 1991, in a massive operation called Desert Storm, more than 500,00 Americans were joined by military units from 28 other nations. Five weeks of relentless air strikes were followed by a brilliant invasion led by U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf. After only 100 hours of fighting on the ground, Iraq conceded defeat. Some Americans were disappointed that the United States stopped short of driving Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. Nevertheless, after the victory, Bush enjoyed a boost in his approval rating to nearly 90 percent. Domestic Problems President Bush's political future seemed secure based on his foreign policy successes, but a host of domestic problems dogged his administration. Nomination of Clarence Thomas The president's nomination of Clar- ence Thomas to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Thurgood Marshall proved extremely controversial. Thomas's conservative views on judicial issues and charges of sexual harassment against him particularly angered Afri- can Americans and women. Nevertheless, the Senate confirmed him. Taxes and the Economy Americans were shocked to learn that the gov- ernment's intervention to save weak savings and loan institutions (S&Ls) and to pay insured depositors for funds lost in failed S&Ls would cost the taxpayers 664 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM more than $250 billion. Also disturbing were the federal budget deficits of more than $250 billion a year. Many Republicans felt betrayed when, in 1990, Bush violated his campaign pledge of "no new taxes" by agreeing to accept the Democratic Congress' proposed $133 billion in new taxes. The unpopular tax law increased the top income tax rate to 31 percent and raised federal excise taxes on beer, wine, cigarettes, gasoline, luxury cars, and yachts. Most damag- ing of all for Bush's re-election prospects was a recession starting in 1990 that ended the Reagan era of prosperity, increased unemployment, and decreased average family income. Political Inertia President Bush began his administration calling for "a kinder, gentler America" and declaring himself the "education president." He did sign into law the Americans With Disabilities Act (1990), which prohibited discrimination against citizens with physical and mental disabilities in hiring, transportation, and public accommodation. Outside of this accomplishment, the president offered little in the way of domestic policy. In the midst of reces- sion, he emphasized cuts in federal programs. This seemed to offer little hope to growing numbers of Americans left behind by the "Reagan revolution." The Clinton Years: Prosperity and Partisanship During the last years of the 20th century, the United States enjoyed a period of unrivaled economic growth and technological innovation. The end of the Cold War allowed Americans to focus more on economic and domestic issues. But, during this period, American politics became more divided and bitter. Anti-Incumbent Mood A stagnant economy, huge budget deficits, and political deadlock fueled a grow- ing disillusionment with government, especially as practiced in the nation's capital. The movement to impose term limits on elected officials gained popu- larity on the state level, but the Supreme Court ruled in U.S. Term Limits Inc. v. Thorton (1995) that the states could not limit the tenure of federal lawmakers without a constitutional amendment. Another reflection of Americans' disillusionment with Washington politics was the ratification in 1992 of the 27th Amendment. First proposed by James Madison in 1789, this amendment prohibited members of Congress from rais- ing their own salaries. Future raises could not go into effect until the next session of Congress. The Election of 1992 As expected, George H. Bush was nominated by the Republicans for a second term. After a long career in public service, the president seemed tired and out of touch with average Americans, who were more concerned about their pay- checks than with Bush's foreign policy successes. William Jefferson Clinton Among Democrats, Bill Clinton, the youth- ful governor of Arkansas, emerged from the primaries as his party's choice for president. The first member of the baby-boom generation to be nominated for CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 665 president, Clinton proved an articulate and energetic campaigner. He presented himself as a moderate "New Democrat," who focused on economic issues such as jobs, education, and health care, which were important to the "vital center" of the electorate. The strategy was known among his political advisers as: "It's the economy, stupid!" H. Ross Perot Ross Perot, a Texas billionaire, entered the 1992 race for president as an independent. Able to use his own resources to finance a series of TV commercials, Perot appealed to millions with his anti-Washington, anti- deficit views. On election day, Perot captured nearly 20 percent of the popular vote for the best third-party showing since Theodore Roosevelt and the Bull Moose campaign of 1912. Results Despite the serious challenge from Perot, the front-runners still divided up all the electoral votes: 370 for Clinton (and 43 percent of the popu- lar vote), 168 for Bush (37 percent of the popular vote). Clinton and his running mate, Senator Albert Gore of Tennessee, did well in the South and recaptured the majority of the elderly and blue-collar workers from the Republicans. In addition, the Democrats again won control of both houses of Congress. The new Congress better reflected the diversity of the U.S. population. Among its 66 minority members and 48 women was Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois, the first African American woman to be elected to the Senate. Clinton's First Term (1993-1997) During the first two years of the Clinton administration, Senate Republicans used filibusters to kill the president's economic stimulus package, campaign- finance reform, environmental bills, and health care reform. The president assigned his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to head a task force to propose a plan for universal health coverage, which had been a goal of the Democrats since the Truman presidency. The complicated health care proposal ran into determined opposition from the insurance industry, small business organiza- tions, and the Republicans, and it failed to pass again. Clinton also failed to end discrimination against gays in the military and settled for the rule, "Don't ask, don't tell." Under this policy, members of the military could still be expelled for being gay or lesbian, but they would not routinely be asked or expected to volunteer information about their sexual orientation. Early Accomplishments The Democratic Congress was able to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act and the "motor-voter" law that enabled citizens to register to vote as they received their driver's licenses. The Brady Handgun bill, which mandated a five-day waiting period for the purchase of handguns, was enacted. In 1994, Congress enacted Clinton's Anti-Crime Bill, which provided $30 billion in funding for more police protection and crime- prevention programs. The legislation also banned the sale of most assault rifles, which angered the gun lobby led by the National Rifle Association (NRA). After protracted negotiation and compromise, Congress passed a deficit- reduction budget that included $255 billion in spending cuts and $241 billion in tax increases. Incorporated in this budget were the president's requests 666 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM for increased appropnat10ns for education and job trammg. Clinton also won a notable victory by signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which created a free-trade zone with Canada and Mexico. Despite these accomplishments, Clinton's apparent waffling on policies and his eager- ness to compromise confirmed his image among his critics, who nicknamed him "Slick Willie." Republicans Take Over Congress In the midterm elections of November 1994, the Republicans gained control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1954. They benefited from a well-organized effort to promote a short list of policy priorities they called the "Contract with America." In addition, the Democratic Congress was unpopu- lar because it had raised taxes and limited gun ownership. President Clinton adjusted to his party's defeat by declaring in his 1995 State of the Union address, "The era of big government is over." Zealous Reformers Newt Gingrich, the newly elected Speaker of the House, led the Republicans in an attack on federal programs and spending outlined in their campaign manifesto, "Contract with America." While the president and moderates agreed with the goal of a balanced budget, Clinton proposed a "leaner, not meaner" budget. This confrontation resulted in two shutdowns of the federal government in late 1995, which many Americans blamed on overzealous Republicans in Congress. Antigovernment reformers were not helped by the mood after the bombing in 1995 of a federal building in Oklahoma City by militia-movement extremists. The bombing took 169 lives, the worst act of domestic terrorism in the nation's history until the attacks on September 11, 2001. Balanced Budget Finally, in the 1996 election year, Congress and the president compromised on a budget that left Medicare and Social Secu- rity benefits intact, limited welfare benefits to five years under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, set some curbs on immigrants, increased the minimum wage, and balanced the budget. The spending cuts and tax increases made during Clinton's first term, along with record growth in the economy, helped to eliminate the deficit in federal spending in 1998 and produced the first federal surplus since 1969. In his battle with the Republi- can Congress, President Clinton captured the middle ground by successfully characterizing the Republicans as extremists, and by taking over their more popular positions, such as balancing the budget and reforming welfare. He was also aided in the 1996 election by a fast-growing economy that had produced more than 10 million new jobs. The Election of 1996 Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, the majority leader of the Senate, became Clin- ton's Republican opponent. His campaign, which proposed a 15 percent tax cut, never captured voters' imagination. Character attacks and massive campaign CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 667 spending by both sides did little to bring more people to the polls, and the turn- out dropped below 50 percent of eligible voters. The Clinton-Gore ticket won with 379 electoral votes (49.2 percent of the popular vote), while Dole and his running mate, Jack Kemp, captured 159 elec- toral votes (40.8 percent of the popular vote). Ross Perot ran again, but had little impact on the election. Clinton became the first Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to be re-elected president. The Republicans could celebrate retaining control of both houses of Congress, which they had not done since the 1920s. The Technology Boom During President Clinton's two terms the United States enjoyed the longest peacetime economic expansion in its history, with annual growth rates of more than 4 percent. Technological innovations in personal computers, software, the Internet, cable, and wireless communications fueled increased national produc- tivity (a gain of more than 5 percent in 1999) and made "e- (or electronic) commerce" part of American life. High-tech companies, such as Apple, Intel, and Microsoft, were joined during the "dot-com" boom by the likes of Amazon, AOL, Yahoo, and Google. After years of heavy competition with Europe and Asia, American busi- nesses had become proficient in cutting costs, which both increased their profitability and held down the U.S. inflation rate to below 3 percent a year. Investors were rewarded with record gains of more than 22 percent in the stock market. The number of households worth $1 million or more quadrupled in the 1990s, to more than 8 million, or one in 14 households. The unemployment rate fell from 7.5 percent in 1992 to a 30-year low of 3.9 percent in 2000. The unemployment of African Americans and Hispanics was the lowest on record. During the peak of prosperity from 1997 to 1999, average and lower-income Americans experienced the first gains in real income since 1973. However, the economic boom was over by 2001, and both investors and wage earners faced another recession. Clinton's Second Term: Politics of Impeachment The prosperity of the late 1990s shifted the debate in Washington to what to do with the federal government's surplus revenues, projected to be $4.6 trillion over the first ten years of the 21st century. In 1997, Congress and the president did compromise on legislation that cut taxes on estates and capital gains, and gave tax credits for families with children and for higher education expenses. As Clinton's second term progressed, the struggle between the Democratic president and the Republican Congress intensified. The Republicans pressed for more tax revenue cuts, such as the elimination of the estate tax (the "death tax") and taxes on two-income families (the "marriage penalty"), while the presi- dent held out for using the projected surplus to support Social Security, expand Medicare, and reduce the national debt. Investigations and Impeachment From the early days of the Clinton presidency, President Clinton, his wife, Hillary, cabinet members, and other associates had been under investigation by Congress and by congressionally 668 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM appointed independent prosecutors (a legacy of the independent prosecutor law of the Watergate era). Some Democrats viewed these investigations as a "right- wing conspiracy" to overturn the elections of 1992 and 1996. After long and expensive investigations, the Clintons were not charged with any illegalities in the Whitewater real estate deal, the firings of White House staff ("Travelgate"), or the political use of FBI files ("Filegate"). However, independent prosecu- tor Kenneth Starr charged that President Clinton, during his deposition in a civil suit about alleged sexual harassment while governor of Arkansas, had lied about his relations with a young woman who was a White House intern. Impeachment In December 1998, the House voted to impeach the presi- dent on two counts, perjury and obstruction of justice. Members of both parties and the public condemned Clinton's reckless personal behavior, but popular opinion did not support the Republican impeachment of Clinton for lying about his personal life. In the fall elections, Democrats gained House seats and Newt Gingrich resigned as speaker. In February 1999, after a formal trial in the Sen- ate, neither impeachment charge was upheld even by a Senate majority, much less the two-thirds vote needed to remove a president from office. However, the Republicans damaged Clinton's reputation by making him the first president to be impeached since 1868. A weary Congress in 2000 allowed the controversial law establishing the independent prosecutor's office to lapse. Foreign Policy in the Clinton Administration The end of the Cold War, while taking away the Soviet threat, exposed doz- ens of long-standing ethnic, religious, and cultural conflicts around the world. During Clinton's first term, Secretary of State Warren Christopher conducted a low-key foreign policy, which critics thought lacked coherent purpose. In 1997 Madeleine K. Albright became the first woman to serve as secretary of state. She proved more assertive in the use of American power, but questions still remained about the role of the United States, especially the use of its armed forces for peacekeeping in foreign nations' internal conflicts. Peacekeeping The first deaths of U.S. soldiers in humanitarian missions during the Clinton administration came in the civil war in Somalia in 1993. In 1994, after some reluctance, the president sent 20,000 troops into Haiti to restore its elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, after a military coup and deteriorating economic conditions had caused an exodus of Haitians to Florida. The United States also played a key diplomatic role in negotiating an end to British rule and the armed conflict in Northern Ireland in 1998. Europe The European Union (EU) became a unified market of 15 nations, 12 of which adopted a single currency, the euro, in 2002. The EU grew to include 27 European nations by 2007, including ten former satellites of the USSR, such as Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania. Under President Boris Yeltsin, Russia struggled to reform its economy and to fight rampant corruption. In 2000 Yeltsin's elected successor, Vladimir Putin, took office. Relations with the United States were strained by Russia's CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 669 brutal repression of the civil war in Chechnya, by NATO's admittance in 1999 of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, and by Russia's support of Ser- bia in the Balkan wars of the 1990s. The Serbian dictator, Solobodan Milosevic, carried out a series of armed conflicts to suppress independence movements in the former Yugoslav prov- inces of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo. Hundreds of thousands of members of ethnic and religious minorities, including many Muslims, were killed in the brutal "ethnic cleansing." A combination of diplo- macy, bombing, and troops from NATO countries, including the United States, stopped the bloodshed first in Bosnia in 1995 and again in Kosovo in 1999. These Balkan wars proved to be the worst conflict Europe had seen since World War II, and were a troubling reminder of how World War I had started. Asia Nuclear proliferation became a growing concern in the 1990s, when North Korea stepped up its nuclear reactor and missile programs, and India and Pakistan tested nuclear weapons for the first time in 1998. North Korea agreed to halt the development of nuclear weapons after direct negotiations with the Clinton administration, but later secretly restarted the program. In 1995, 20 years after the fall of Saigon to the Communists, the United States established diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The Clinton administration continued to sign trade agreements with China through his second term, hoping to improve diplomatic relations and encourage reform within China, despite protests from human rights activists and labor unions at home, and Chinese threats to the still-independent island nation of Taiwan. Middle East Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's continued defiance of U.N. weapons inspectors led to the suspension of all inspections in 1998. Presi- dent Clinton responded with a series of air strikes against Iraq, but Hussein remained in power, as support for U.S. economic sanctions declined in Europe and the Middle East. The United States had some success in the Israeli- Palestinian peace process. Israel granted home rule to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank territories, and signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994. The peace process slowed after the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin in 1995, and it broke down late in 2000 over issues of Israeli security and control of Jerusalem. Renewed violence in Israel also provoked a new round of anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world. Globalization The surging increases in trade, communications, and the movement of capital around the world during this era were key parts of the process of globalization. Globalization promoted the development of global and regional economic organizations. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1994 to oversee trade agreements, enforce trade rules, and settle disputes. The powerful International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank made loans to and supervised the economic policies of poorer nations with debt troubles. The Group of Eight (G-8), the world's largest industrial powers (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United 670 U.S. HISTORY: PREPARING FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT® EXAM States), which controlled two-thirds of the world's wealth, remained the leading economic powers. However, China, India, and Brazil would soon surpass many of the older industrial powers in the 21st century. The growing gap between the rich and poor nations of the world caused tensions, especially over the debts the poor nations owed to powerful banks and the richest nations. Workers and unions in the richest nations often resented globalization, because they lost their jobs to cheaper labor markets in the developing world. American Society in 2000 According to the 2000 census, the resident population of the United States was 281.4 million, making it the third most populous nation in the world. The fastest growing regions of the United States in the 1990s continued to be in the West and in the South. With the growth in population came greater political power as a result of the shift of congressional representatives and electoral votes to these regions. The 2000 census reported that 50 percent of U.S. residents lived in suburbs, 30 percent in central cities, and only 20 percent in rural regions. Immigration The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 attempted to create a fair entry process for immigrants, but failed to stop the problem of illegal entry into the United States from Mexico. The law was also criticized for granting amnesty to some undocumented immigrants from Mexico and the Americas. In 2000, the Hispanic population was the fast- est growing segment of the population and emerged as the largest minority group in the nation. Asian Americans also represented another fast-growing part of society, with a population of more than 10 million. By 2000, 10.4 percent of the population was foreign-born, a high percent- age but well below the levels of the 1870s through the 1920s. Immigration accounted for 27.8 percent of the population increase in the 1990s, and was a key stimulus to the economic growth during the decade. Without immigration, the United States was on a path to experience a negative population growth by 2030. Aging and the Family As the United States became more ethnically diverse, the population was also "graying," with a steady increase in life expectancy. By 2000, 35 million people were over 65, but the fastest grow- ing segment of the population was those 85 and over. As the baby-boom generation aged, concern about health care, prescription drugs, senior hous- ing, and Social Security increased. It is estimated that in 2030 that there will be only about two workers for every person receiving Social Security. The decline of the traditional family and the growing number of single- parent families was another national concern. The number of families headed by a female with no husband soared from 5.5 million in 1970 to 12.8 million in 2000. Single women headed 47.2 percent of black families in 2000, but the same trend was also evident in white and Hispanic households with chil- dren under 18. Children in these families often grew up in poverty and without adequate support. CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE, 1980-2000 671 Income and Wealth In many ways, Americans were achieving the American dream. Homeownership continued to climb during the prosperity of the 1990s to 67.4 percent of all households. The economy was continu- ing to generate more and more wealth. Per-capita money income in constant (inflation-adjusted) dollars rose dramatically, from $12,275 in 1970 to $22,199 in 2000. However, in 1999 the top fifth of American households received more than half of all income. The average after-tax income for the lowest three- fifths of households actually declined between 1977 and 1997. In addition, the distribution of income varied widely by race, gender, and education. For example, the median income in 2000 was $53,256 for white families, $35,054 for Hispanic families, and $34,192 for black families. High school graduates earned only half the income of college graduates. The United States was the richest country in the world, but among industrialized nations, it had the largest gap between lowest and highest paid workers and the greatest concentration of wealth among the top-earning households. This concentration reminded some of the Gilded Age.