World Power Blowback

I. Bush the Elder


A. Patrician background--Bush's father was an investment banker and senator from Connecticut. Bush, like his father before him--and his sons afterward--attended Philips Andover Academy and Yale University.


B. Public Service and Private Gain--the Bush family, more so than most, was able to make a great deal of private gain from their public service, mainly through connections made with business people.

1. Marriage and college--Bush's education was interrupted by his service, which he entered soon after graduating from Philips in 1942. Bush survived being shot down in the Pacific, and on his return to the US at the close of the war Bush married Barbara Pierce that year; the first child, George, as born in 1946.


2. George Bush, oilman--Bush used family connections to make a great deal of money in the oil business in Texas during the 1950s and early 1960s, so that he was able to retire at the age of 40 from the oil business.


3. Bush the politician--used family connections to finagle one of the few "safe" Republican seats in Texas in the mid-1960s. Bush was not driven by any ideology to get into politics; although he voted against the Civil Rights Act in 1964, he later moderated his position on this issue. For Bush, policy positions were merely a means to get elected.

4. 1980 Presidential election--After he was defeated in a reelection bid in Texas, Bush served as Director of the CIA under Nixon, envoy to China (before formal ties were established with that country), and Chairman of the Republican National Committee. In 1980 he initially ran for president against Ronald Reagan, deriding Reagan's advocacy of "voodoo economics. After agreeing to run as vice-president, however, Bush bit his tongue over any criticism of "supply-side" economics--which proved to be, indeed, voodoo economics.

5. 1988 Presidential campaign--Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis was, at heart, a technocrat, and his no-nonsense approach made him seem lacking in empathy; his explanation that the court system should not be used for personal revenge in answer to a question of how he would react if his wife or daughter were raped made this ad particularly effective;



6. First Gulf War--although a serious diplomatic misstep gave Saddam Hussein what he thought was a green light to invade neighboring Kuwait, diplomatic overtures to European allies created a sizable coalition to fight the Iraqi army, and Operation Desert Storm was a military success.

a. Coalition troops on the Saudi peninsula, home to the two most important holy sites for Muslim, caused consternation among the most devout among them, including a man named Osama bin Laden and those around him--and the group, after the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan, set their sites on forcing the US from the Arabian peninsula

b. Bush's popularity--as a result of the success of Operation Desert Storm, George H.W. Bush's popularity soared to over 90 percent.

II. The Clinton Presidency

A. 1992 Election--with Bush's popularity soaring in early 1991, the Democratic Party had difficulty in even persuading viable candidates to run. The candidate who emerged, William Clinton of Arkansas, was the candidate from the new "center" of the Democratic Party, those political leaders who attempted to reconcile the liberal heritage of the New Deal with the political reality (as they saw it) of the post-Reagan years.

1. "It's the economy, stupid!"--Bush's popularity plummeted from its high largely because of the recession that began in late 1991 and continued into early 1992. Bush made a series of political missteps, and seemed to lack resolve on foreign issues even with the success of the Gulf War (Tiananamen Square, the Fall of the Berlin Wall), Clinton was able to attack Bush as being "out of touch" with the common man.

2. The Perot Factor--a third party candidate, running as an independent, attracted a number of voters who would have stayed home, as businessman Ross Perot financed much of his campaign with his own money. For the first time since 1972, election turnout surpassed 55 percent.

3. Clinton and the Venomous Right--Clinton's move to the center stirred a huge resentment among political figures on the political right, who perceived this political posture as besmirching the Reagan legacy. By 1994, after the defeat of the Clinton health care reform plan (head by his wife, Hilary Rodham Clinton), Republicans in the US House of Representatives, under the leadership of the Minority Whip Newton Gingrich, issue a policy statement called the "Contract on with America," which promised to cut spending and taxes. When the political battle with Clinton led to the shutdown of government services, however, the American people put out a contract on Republicans who signed this pledge. Clinton won re-election with just under 50 percent of the popular vote.



4. Clinton and Scandal--Clinton aided and abetted much of this opposition with his personal conduct (where he allowed his "little head to do the thinking--see the John Hiatt video above for an explanation), culminating in the sordid Monica Lewinsky affair that led to his impeachment.

III. Bush the Lesser

A. The Fortunate Son--failed as a Texas Air National Guard pilot, failed as a politician (initially), failed in a number of oil business ventures. Bush junior's luck changed when he was hired to be the public face of the Texas Rangers baseball team during his father's term in office, where he discovered that he excelled at superficial contact with people. After convincing the city of Arlington, Texas, to build the team a new luxury stadium, Bush and his associates were able to sell the team to a numbskull Texas businessman at an inflated price, making Bush a hefty profit on his "investment" (for which Bush put up no money).

B. Texas politics--Bush parlayed this newly developed "good ole boy" persona into political success, defeating the populist Ann Richards and then going on to win a second term.

C. Compassionate conservatism--taking a page from the Clinton political playbook, Bush move toward the center after winning the Republican nomination. His Democratic opponent, Albert Gore, was tainted by the various Clinton scandals, undermined by the mainstream press' dislike for him, and his own stolid demeanor--and still won more popular votes than George W. Bush

1. Bush v. Gore--in an unprecedented move, the activist Rehnquist court voted 5-4, along party lines, to halt the Florida recount that would have given Al Gore the election.

2. The Prejudice of Low Expectations--Many people, particularly those in the media who had seen Bush up close, had low expectations for his accomplishments--and when he was able to somehow exceed those expectations, they confused this with competence.

3. August 6 Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB)--each morning, the President is given an intelligence briefing by his National Security Administration staff. The subject of the August 6 briefing, given while Bush was on vacation at his "ranch" in Texas, was "Osama bin Laden Determined to Strike in US." He told briefer after hearing the report, "Okay, you've covered your ass. Now get out of here."

4. 9/11

Weekly Assignment Compendium

Weekly Assignment 16

Is globalization stoppable (and is it desirable to stop if it is)? What effect have economic and terrorist challenges had on American society? How did values change in this era

Weekly Assignment 15a

Was the Vietnam War necessary? Was it a tragic blunder, a noble cause, or a disguised form of anti-democratic imperialism? How did it affect the American people and the American presidency? 

Weekly Assignments 13, 14, 15 

The questions below constitute the next three weekly assignment options. You may choose to complete one, two, or all three assignments.

Weekly assignment #13: What was more important in bringing about fundamental changes in the way African Americans were treated in the United States during the modern Civil Rights Movement era: transcendent African American leadership, the changed role the United States played in world leadership—or a third factor, that thousands of African Americans decided that the second half of the 20^th century was the time to act? You may consider how all of these factors played a part in this change.

Weekly assignment #14: Did the sixties, on balance, create a more liberal or more conservative America? Which changes initiated in the sixties are still with us today?

Weekly assignment #15: Youth in the 1960s were fired by the passion and belief that they could make a difference in American society. How did they come to this belief? Did any of the protests in the sixties result in significant change? What change occurred? What was left unchanged?
Weekly Assignment 11

Dr. Strangelove is an iconic piece of film making, but it is also a document of history. The film was shot and produced just a year after the United States and the Soviet Union reached the brink of nuclear war with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film reflects the concern that some Americans felt over the arms race, and what its continuation meant for the United States--and the world. For this week's assignment, I would like you to reflect on the issues the film raises. What was the effect of the Cold War on American society? What changed in American society as a result of the perceived threat from the Soviet Union?

If you would like to tackle a longer project for this week's assignment, you may write a 3-5 page review of the movie Dr. Strangelove

Weekly Assignment 8

Why was there a great debate in the 1920s about the future? Who won this debate, the modernists, or the fundamentalists? Would your answer be the same in 1930 as it is in 2010? What has changed about the results of the debate?—or what hasn’t changed? What does this tell us about the nature of such debates?

Weekly Assignment 7

Progressives such as Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt supported American entry into the war. But other progressives, like Senator Robert La Follette, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan, and activist Jane Addams bitterly opposed it. How did the war further the Progressive agenda, and how did the war undermine it?

Weekly Assignment 6

What was Progressivism? Was it an inspirational movement to further the nation’s democratic ideals, or was it an attempt at social control  by self-important, moralistic busybodies?

Combo Assignment 3, 4, 5

Below you will find three separate questions dealing with the assigned reading the past two weeks. The first two deal with chapters 3 and 4, respectively, while the last paragraph asks you to compare the two chapters, and look for things in common and differences. You may choose any combination of the three (that is to say, choose to respond to one, two, or all three questions). This assignment is due Friday, September 24, at the beginning of class.

The week three readings dealt with the questions of immigration and industrialization. It was said at the time that “Not every immigrant is a workman, but every workman is an immigrant.” Conditions for these workmen were undergoing drastic changes during this time period as well, and led to a great deal of conflict between workers and management. In what ways did workers resist the forces of industrialization and attempt to shape the terms of their own lives?

The week four readings dealt with the questions of imperialism and world power. How could a nation with democratic values, where the people have the right of self-determination, fight a colonial war? What rhetoric or reform aspirations made this undertaking palatable for the American people? Did democratic values stop at the water’s edge—or were their people considered not ready to govern themselves?

The readings in weeks three and four dealt with both problems created by the immigration of other people to the United States, and how the United States dealt with people in their own land. Are their common themes that you can discern in how these problems were dealt with? If so, what were they—and if their were no commonalities, what were the differences?

Weekly Assignment 2

“Westerns” (in both novel and movie form) told generations of Americans “how the West was won”—how individuals were able to triumph over adversity to forge a new life for themselves and their families. From the readings you have done for class, and the class lectures and discussions—plus the snippet of a Western movie that you viewed in class (which is available at http://themesinamericanhistory.blogspot.com), who true was this story for those who lived through it? If there were disparities, what caused them? Who benefited most, and who the least? Your answer to these questions should come in the form of a 2-3 page reaction paper (or longer, if you would like to get that requirement out of the way), double-spaced with appropriate attribution, if necessary

Weekly Assignment 1

he 14th Amendment defines citizenship, and since its ratification in 1868 has become perhaps the most cited amendment in cases argued before the Supreme Court. It remains very much under contention to this day, as litigants, lawyers, and judges argue its intents and effects. Why has this amendment remained so controversial? In a 2-3 page paper, examine its merits and failings. You should refer to the document itself, the essays in Major Problems in American History, and the discussions in class (a synopsis of which can be found below on the blog).

Reaganomics

I. The Reagan Era

A)     Election of Ronald Reagan – two bit actor, former president of the Screen Actors Guild, became spokesman for the vehemently anti-union General Electric Company in the 1950s, and began a rapid rightward descent.

1)      Presidential policies

(a)    Cut taxes – for the rich, anyway; Reagan got Congress to cut taxes for the rich from 73% to 28%,  but taxes for the poor actually went up, because they were hit with an increase in state and local taxes to make up for the shortfall as a result from the decline in federal tax revenue

(b)   Cut social programs – Reagan cut much spending on social programs, like welfare

(c)    Increase defense spending – corporate welfare for selected industries, fed boom on the West and East coasts (see below)

(d)   Results – federal tax revenues plummeted  by $750 billion, and generated staggering federal deficits of $150 billion and $200 billion, which kept the prime interest rate in double digits.

B) Reagan the Cold Warrior--Reagan's foreign policy during his first administration was almost entirely shaped by his view of the necessity to continue the Cold War. To that end, he increased the size of the military budget, and moved the military swiftly into conflicts abroad.

1. The Evil Empire--in one of Reagan's first presidential addresses, he referred to the Soviet Unions as "the evil empire"--a perjorative term the Soviets (naturally), and resulted in increased tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States for much of Reagan's first term in office.

2. Support of Anti-communism--the Reagan administration supported several movement that they saw combating the spread of communism in the western hemishpere.

a. The invasion of Grenada

b. Support for the Contras--after the Sandinista revolution in Nicaraugua, the communist element came to power through an election. Believing that only a counter-revolution could effect regime change, the Reagan administration supported a disaffected Sandinista faction known as the "contras"--secretly, because Congress had passed an act forbidding direct US aid to this group.

3. "The enemy of my enemy..."--under Reagan, support was also given to a group in Afghanistan fighting against the Afghan government and the Soviet Army, the muhahideen, who attract Islamic fighter from around the globe, including a scion of a weathy Saudi Arabian family by the name of Osama bin Laden, to fight in a "jihad" against the "infidels" in that country. After their victory over the Soviets, they re-constiture themselves as the Taliban.



C)     Reagan boom – the Reagan years were beneficial for a small, select group of people, but the era was one of increasing disparity between the few rich, and the increasing number of poor

1)      Growing disparity – between 1977 and 1990, the income of the richest fifth of the population grew by one-third, and that of the top one percent almost doubled; but the total income of the bottom 60 percent of Americans actually fell, and the incomes of the poorest Americans fell most sharply.

II)    Reaganomics and its Effects on Working People

A)    Undermining of Unions – perhaps the greatest effect of Reaganomics was that it undermined the financial security of working-class people, by undermining the unions that represented their unions.

1)      The Reagan Recession (1981-1983) – one of the first effects of supply-side economics, or “Reaganonimics,” as it came to be called, was one of the worst recessions of the post-war era.

(a)    Demand from corporations for give-backs – corporations in financial trouble went to unions and its workers, and demanded concessions to remain in business.  Competitors then went to their unions and workers, to demand concessions to remain competitive.  The cumulative effect of this was at best to freeze the wages of working-class, and at worst to undermine the wage structure.

2) Professional Air Traffic Contollers Association (PATCO)--complaining of overwork that PATCO argues endangered air safety, the union went on strike, illegally. Reagan responded by firing all PATCO members who refused to return to work, and using military air traffic controllers as scabs (replacement workers). Although there were numerous unreported near misses, the fact that a major air accident did not occur meant that the Federal Aviation Administration was able to hire permanent replacement workers and break the union. The larger consequence for American workers was that companies, emboldened by Reagan's action, moved against their own unions. 

B)    Workers in Decatur, Illinois – Decatur is a small town in central Illinois, rising out of the prairie, which had a diversified (for the Midwest) manufacturing base, but which witnessed the full aftereffects (or aftershock, to use a nuclear analogy) of Reaganomics.

1)      A.E. Staley – locally-owned agricultural goods manufacturer, manufactured corn starch, corn syrup, soy products.  This company resisted buyouts through the early 1980s, but by the end of the decade was bought out by a London-based food processor.

(a)    Demand for 12 hour, rotating shifts – in order to more “efficiently” use its workers, management wants its workers to work twelve hour shifts, and do away with shift pay differentials; it also wants workers to move from one shift to another every other month (describe havoc this plays with lives of workers with families)

2)      Firestone – the tire industry was one of the largest casualties of the merger-mania of the 1980s, and Firestone was bought by Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone.

(a)    Demand for twelve-hour, rotating shifts; do away with annual pay increases—instead, have cost of living increases and productivity incentives.

(b)   Provoked strike – this strike proved costly not only to many workers (who lost their jobs, some temporarily, to strikebreakers), but ultimately to the company, as well—the replacement workers manufactured the AT Wilderness tires that went on Ford Explorers.

3)      Caterpillar – the industry leader in the production of heavy equipment at the time it provoked a strike by UAW members over concessions that it wanted in its contract—namely, a six-year contract, complete control over production decisions.  In the end, this company handed the UAW the worst defeat in its history.

III) Conclusion

Globalization and Middle America

I.                   Rise of the New Right – built on the ashes of the Goldwater fiasco in 1964, the Republican Party targeted white suburbanites, and particularly those suburbanites living in the South and West

A)    Watergate and Its Aftermath—Although apologists for Nixon point out that—rightly—that Nixon was not the first president to abuse the power of his office to strike back at his enemies. But Nixon was the first to do this in a systematic fashion, and to use the powers of his office to attempt to subvert a criminal investigation into the attempt on the part of his campaign to fix a national election.

1)      The Watergate break-in—the so-called “third-rate burglary” was an attempt to plant illegal listening devices at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee.

B)    Tax revolts – conservatives were able to use the growing distrust against government to feed a movement to choke off funds for the government, namely taxes.

1)      California Proposition 13 – sold the idea that taxes merely funded wasteful government spending, particularly for things like education, welfare, and other social programs

2)  Tax Revolts in the Midwest--Richard Headlee, a Republican party operative in Michigan, led the fight there to amend the state constitution to limit the state's taxing and spending authority.

3)      Rise of “code” language – while it became unacceptable to use racial slurs in the 1970s and 1980s, this did not mean that race disappeared as an issue in American politics—only that these references to race were now used in a “code” language, like “welfare queens” and “drug lords.”

C)    Christian coalitions

1)      Southern Christian academies – with the implementation of Brown v. Board of Education, white Christian academies opened as a way for parents to avoid sending their children to integrated schools.  The Carter administration tried to end the tax breaks these led to these various groups organizing to resist this

2)      Southern televangelists – preachers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson used the technology of television to expand the scope (and number of contributors to) their “mission.”

3)      Reactions to gender politics

(a)    Abortion – Roe v. Wade linked control of reproductive rights to a woman’s constitutionally guaranteed rights to privacy.  To social conservatives, this upset gender roles and traditional patriarchy, and was considered an attack on “the right of a husband to protect the life of the child he fathered in his wife’s womb.”

(i)     Opposition of Catholic Church – while the Church may not speak for all of its female members on this issue, it was able to mobilize a great deal of opposition to the decision.

(b)   Opposition to the Equal Rights Ammendent – as the long sought-after ERA got closer to passage by the states, political opposition to the Amendment got more heated; this amendment would have simply recognized legally the changes that had largely already taken place in the United States.  Right-wing politicians like Phyllis Schafly, Jerry Falwell were able to distort its effects and change (by comparing it to the perceived slights whites received under Affirmative Action programs) and sway public opinion about ERA enough to prevent its passage.

(c)    Gay Pride movement – the Stonewall Riot in Greenwhich Village New York signaled that gays would no longer accept the harassment and stigmatization that they had received previously.  As gays “came out of the closet,” however, they met increasing opposition from politicians on the Right.

D)    Right turn of the Democratic Party – after the McGovern disaster of 1972 (who many party members felt was too liberal), and Carter’s victory in 1976 (who was certainly more conservative than many of the voters who voted for him), the Democratic Party became increasingly more conservative in its movement toward “the center.”

1)      Disenchantment of the poor – rather than mobilize voters who had historically made up their voter base (minorities, blue collar workers, and the poor), Democrats began to compete for the same suburban voters that Republican candidates were pursuing—white suburbanites

(a)    Decline of trade unions and urban machines – unions and machine politics had traditionally mobilized Democratic voters, and as these institutions declined, so did their effectiveness

E)     Election of Ronald Reagan – two bit actor, former president of the Screen Actors Guild, became spokesman for the vehemently anti-union General Electric Company in the 1950s, and began a rapid rightward descent.

1)      Presidential policies

(a)    Cut taxes – for the rich, anyway; Reagan got Congress to cut taxes for the rich from 73% to 28%,  but taxes for the poor actually went up, because they were hit with an increase in state and local taxes to make up for the shortfall as a result from the decline in federal tax revenue

(b)   Cut social programs – Reagan cut much spending on social programs, like welfare

(c)    Increase defense spending – corporate welfare for selected industries, fed boom on the West and East coasts (see below)

(d)   Results – federal tax revenues plummeted  by $750 billion, and generated staggering federal deficits of $150 billion and $200 billion, which kept the prime interest rate in double digits.

F)     Reagan boom – the Reagan years were beneficial for a small, select group of people, but the era was one of increasing disparity between the few rich, and the increasing number of poor

1)      Growing disparity – between 1977 and 1990, the income of the richest fifth of the population grew by one-third, and that of the top one percent almost doubled; but the total income of the bottom 60 percent of Americans actually fell, and the incomes of the poorest Americans fell most sharply.

II)    Reaganomics and its Effects on Working People

A)    Undermining of Unions – perhaps the greatest effect of Reaganomics was that it undermined the financial security of working-class people, by undermining the unions that represented their unions.

1)      The Reagan Recession (1981-1983) – one of the first effects of supply-side economics, or “Reaganonimics,” as it came to be called, was one of the worst recessions of the post-war era.

(a)    Demand from corporations for give-backs – corporations in financial trouble went to unions and its workers, and demanded concessions to remain in business.  Competitors then went to their unions and workers, to demand concessions to remain competitive.  The cumulative effect of this was at best to freeze the wages of working-class, and at worst to undermine the wage structure.

B)    Workers in Decatur, Illinois – Decatur is a small town in central Illinois, rising out of the prairie, which had a diversified (for the Midwest) manufacturing base, but which witnessed the full aftereffects (or aftershock, to use a nuclear analogy) of Reaganomics.

1)      A.E. Staley – locally-owned agricultural goods manufacturer, manufactured corn starch, corn syrup, soy products.  This company resisted buyouts through the early 1980s, but by the end of the decade was bought out by a London-based food processor.

(a)    Demand for 12 hour, rotating shifts – in order to more “efficiently” use its workers, management wants its workers to work twelve hour shifts, and do away with shift pay differentials; it also wants workers to move from one shift to another every other month (describe havoc this plays with lives of workers with families)

2)      Firestone – the tire industry was one of the largest casualties of the merger-mania of the 1980s, and Firestone was bought by Japanese manufacturer Bridgestone.

(a)    Demand for twelve-hour, rotating shifts; do away with annual pay increases—instead, have cost of living increases and productivity incentives.

(b)   Provoked strike – this strike proved costly not only to many workers (who lost their jobs, some temporarily, to strikebreakers), but ultimately to the company, as well—the replacement workers manufactured the AT Wilderness tires that went on Ford Explorers.

3)      Caterpillar – the industry leader in the production of heavy equipment at the time it provoked a strike by UAW members over concessions that it wanted in its contract—namely, a six-year contract, complete control over production decisions.  In the end, this company handed the UAW the worst defeat in its history.

III)The Reagan Hangover – is suffered by working people in this country, of course.

Nixon's Southern Strategy and Watergate

I)    Southern Strategy of Republican Party

A)   1964 Election – despite Johnson’s landslide victory over Barry Goldwater, the strategy that the Republican Party had followed for the past 37 years was established; undermine Democratic support in its former stronghold in the South, but appear moderate enough on issues to retain support in the Southwest and West.

1)   Barry Goldwater – only senator outside of the South to vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ostensibly because it undermined the constitution.

B)   1968 Election – Nixon’s southern strategy undermined by the candidacy of George Wallace, and it nearly undermined enough of Nixon’s support to cost him the election.  However, Humphrey’s campaign caught fire too late (after he had virtually turned over the running of the campaign to the AFL-CIO), and Nixon was elected

1)   Internal dissension of Democratic Party – liberal coalition coming apart as a result of the War in Vietnam.

2)   Southern Strategy -- – Nixon saw racial conflict as a means to divide the Democratic Party and ensure a Republican majority

(a)  Kevin Phillips and The Emerging Republican Majority – pointed out that the South and Southwest were the two areas of the country growing the fastest, and were largely conservative; and that blue-collar ethnics were becoming disaffected with the racial policy of the Democratic Party.

(b) Benign neglect of problems of African Americans – they would never vote Republican in large number for the foreseeable future, anyway.

(c)  Delaying tactics on court-ordered desegregation of schools -- allowing the problem to fester allowed the blame to be place on Democrats, and heightened anxieties.

3) Nixon and the Politics of Resentment--Nixon, like George C. Wallace, was an aficionado of the politics of resentment. Nixon struggled his entire adult life against what he perceived as cliques of "the haves" who attempted to thwart people of ability but no connections--like himself--from achieving the greatness they deserved. It was the reason Nixon had to settle for attending Duke Law School instead of Harvard, the reason he had to humiliate himself with the "Checkers" speech, the reason he lost the 1960 election. Nixon's political genius was that he was able to perceive this kind of resentment in others, and use to to his advantage.

C) Nixon's First Term

1) Inflation--during Nixon's first term, inflation became a serious problem; unions and management would no sooner conclude contracts, then inflation would wipe out wage gains. In part, the economy was super-heated because of the increased borrowing to finance the Vietnam War. Nixon attempts to control the economy with a wage and price freeze, but that effort was unsuccessful. The rate of inflation began a steady rise until 1974 (the year Nixon resigned because of the Watergate affair), when it jumped to over 11 percent.

2)   Affirmative Action – Nixon administration transforms Affirmative Action into set asides for minorities.

(a)  Philadelphia Plan – proposed by Secretary of Labor George Schultz; executive order which stipulated that workforce on government contract jobs had to reflect racial make-up of the area; this alienated a number of white blue-collar workers in the building trades, who had long benefited from family and friend connections to gain building trades jobs—to the exclusion of minorities

3) Busing--Court-ordered desegregation of public schools increased racial tensions among whites, particularly in the north because this meant the children were bused outside of the school district they lived in back into urban districts their families sought to escape just years before.

4) The Vietnam War--Nixon inherited an unpopular war, and like Johnson he vested much of his reputation on attempts to end the war short of surrender.

a) Vietnamization--after the disastrous year of 1969 (second most deadly for US troops), the Nixon Administration began a "draw-down" of US troops in 1970, allowing (or forcing) the South Vietnamese army to commit more troops to the field. To discourage the North Vietnamese Army and the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) from taking advantage of this situation, however, the fighting was secretly expanded into previously "neutral" Cambodia, to take away the NVA and NLF base camps there. When word leaked out that the Nixon Administration was expanding the war when it was expanding it into Cambodia caused an explosion of protests on college campuses in the United States--including state schools that had witnessed few protests to this time, like Kent State.

C)   1972 Election

1) The Pentagon Papers--Robert McNamara, while Secretary of Defense, commissioned a secret study of the US involvement in the war in Vietnam. Daniel Ellsberg, by 1971 an opponent of the war, knew of the study, and on a long weekend he and his friend and co-worker Anthony Russo photocopies the 47 volume work. Ellsberg then gave a copy to a New York Times reporter, and the fact that a succession of American presidents, beginning with Truman and going through Johnson (the study covered the years from 1946-1967), and lied to the American people about the involvement of the US government in that conflict.

2) White House plumbers--Nixon was initially little concerned with the story, since it made his predecessor, rather than himself, look bad. Henry Kissinger convinced him that this leak made a bad precedent, however, and Nixon and his Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman, put together a group of men that included former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt and former FBI agent and lawyer G. Gordon Liddy. One of the earliest tasks of the "plumbers" (plumbers stop leaks--get it?) was to burglarize the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. With the 1972 election looming, the plumbers were also assigned to investigate and neutralize "enemies" of the Administration, which led to a third-rate burglary attempt at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.

3)   Watergate – While the Nixon Administration was able to "stonewall" the investigation long enough to win the 1972 election in a landslide, the truth slowly leaked out over the next year and a half, leading to joint congressional hearings and Nixon's resignation just steps ahead of articles of impeachment in 1974