8.14: Society in Transition
8.14: Explain the causes and effects of continuing policy debates about the role of the federal government over time.
In the last set of notes, we talked about the environment and now, in the very last set of notes for Unit 8, we’re going to be talking about America in transition.
The Presidency of Richard Nixon
President Nixon was a Republican and he had a strategy to form a Republican majority by appealing to the “silent majority”. This referred to the millions of voters who voted but were not public or did not participate openly in protests. This included people who had been alienated by antiwar protests, black militants, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Counterculture. His strategy succeeded and in the Election of 1972, Republicans won in every southern state.
After the Election of 1972, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade in 1973 that prohibiting abortions was unconstitutional and was a violation of the right to privacy.
But then it was discovered that Nixon had authorized a secret bombing campaign in Cambodia, Operation Menu, back in 1969, as part of the Vietnam War. The American public was outraged at this discovery, leading to the War Powers Act being passed. This required the president to notify Congress within 48 hours after taking military action, and also required congressional approval for any military action that would last more than 60 days. These were new limits placed on the power of the president.
Then the Watergate Scandal happened. CREEP, an association working to re-elect Nixon, got involved in a burglary in June 1972 of the Watergate office complex in D.C. This was traced back to Nixon and he was accused of getting illegal help in being re-elected. Nixon then tried to cover this up by withholding tape recordings of the Oval Office. When this was discovered, a movement to impeach Nixon from the presidency started. Although the impeachment did not happen, the pressure led Nixon to resign in August 1974. His vice president, Gerald Ford, then became the 38th President.
But then a month later, in September of 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon of all federal crimes he committed. This led to massive backlash against Ford for the next two years, causing Ford to lose the Election of 1976 to Jimmy Carter, the 39th President.
The Rise of Conservatism
Now let’s talk about the rise of the conservative movement. The conservative movement began in the 1960s and 1970s as a response to the cultural changes caused by the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, Women's Rights Movement, Gay Liberation Movement, and the Counterculture. As a result, many individuals and organizations emerged in support of conservatism. For example, the Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) was a group of conservative college students who aided Barry Goldwater in his 1964 presidential campaign. Although he did not win the election, he coined the term “The New Right”, referring to these new conservatives and their beliefs against liberalism, populism, and their support of traditional gender roles.
The John Birch Society was a group of conservatives that opposed communism and advocated for a limited government. They came up with many conspiracies against the government such as the government putting fluoride into the water supply.
William Buckley created the National Review, a conservative magazine. Conservative Christians also became popular during this era. In 1979, Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority, which fused Christianity with conservative politics. He held “I Love America” rallies and argued that the separation of the church and state was causing society to be ruined. James Dobson, who hosted the radio program Focus on the Family, called for prayer to be reintroduced into schools and opposed gay rights.
During this time, women had been trying to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed to ensure equality for women. But conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly prevented this from happening. She argued that not having equal rights was good because it gave them dependent wife benefits under Social Security, separate bathrooms, and protection from being drafted. Conservatives also opposed affirmative action, which reserved some positions in college and employment for minorities. Some argued that it discriminated against white people. One case involving affirmative action in universities led to the Supreme Court case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke.
Conservatives were also gaining support due to the oil crisis during the 1970s. The crisis had caused the price of oil and gas to increase. The economy was also suffering from stagflation, which was both inflation and economic stagnation happening at the same time. This, along with the massive spending during the Vietnam War, led to a recession in the 1970s. After Nixon’s Watergate Scandal, Ford’s pardon of Nixon, and Carter’s lack of economic solutions during his presidency, conservatives began losing more and more faith in the government. This led to the Election of 1980, making conservative Ronald Reagan the 40th President of the United States.
