FONER 2
Chapter 26 – Details
The Triumph of Conservatism, 1969-1988
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1. (A) Why was Richard Nixon NOT considered to be a ‘true’ conservative?

(B) What constitutes a “Block Grant” as proposed by President Nixon?

(C) What were the essential elements in Nixon’s proposed Family Assistance Plan and what were the legislative results?

(D) What was Nixon’s Philadelphia plan?

(a) Against the wishes and recommendation of the myopic conservative leadership in the late sixties Nixon expanded the welfare state and moved to improve relations with the Soviet Union but most of all he also opened up a dialogue with China. Instead of shrinking the federal bureaucracy as they hoped he would do Nixon infuriated his conservative base by creating a host of new federal agencies such as the Environmental protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board. He further alienated conservatives with his support for the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Air Act.

(b) A block grant is a large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only general provisions as to the way it is to be spent. This can be contrasted with a categorical grant which has more strict and specific provisions on the way it is to be spent. An advantage of block grants is that they allow regional governments to experiment with different ways of spending money with the same goal in mind, though it is very difficult to compare the results of such spending and reach a conclusion. A disadvantage is that the regional governments might be able to use the money if they collected it through their own taxation systems and spend it without any restrictions from above.

(c) Nixon created the Family Assistance Plan. FAP called for the replacement of bureaucratically administered programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamps, and Medicaid, with direct cash payments to those in need. Not only single-parent families, but the working poor would qualify for aid. All recipients, save the mothers of preschool age children, would be required to work or take job training. Nixon revealed FAP in a nationwide address on August 8, 1969. Heavy criticism followed. Welfare advocates declared the income level Nixon proposed -- $1600 per year for a family of four -- insufficient. Conservatives disliked the idea of a guaranteed annual income for people who didn't work. Labor saw the proposal as a threat to the minimum wage. A disappointed Nixon pressed for the bill's passage in various forms, until the election season of 1972. He knew a bad campaign issue when he saw one, and he let FAP expire. (d) With the implementation of the Philadelphia Plan in 1969, President Richard M. Nixon's administration changed the federal government's stance on affirmative action. For the first time, a specific industry was required to articulate a plan for hiring minority workers. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson had identified affirmative action as necessary to redress the effects of racism. Yet the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had limited the type of remedies possible by forbidding any form of discrimination. This was interpreted to include preferential hiring, which was seen as compensatory discrimination.
The Nixon administration used the power of the federal purse to create specific hiring goals in the highly segregated construction industry. The Philadelphia Plan was revised by George Shultz, Nixon's labor secretary, and Arthur Fletcher, his assistant secretary. The plan required Philadelphia government contractors in six construction trades to set goals and timetables for the hiring of minority workers or risk losing the valuable contracts. No quotas were set.

2. (A) What was the significance of the 1973 San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and how would Texas choose to address the basic issue.

(B) What was the significance of the following Supreme Court rulings; Griggs v. Duke Power Company, 1971 United Steel Workers of America v. Weber, 1979 Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, 1978

(C) What alarmed conservatives about the sexual revolution of the 1970’s?

(D) What was “Title 9” and why did it strike fear in the hearts of so many Texans?

(a) San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States reversed a Texas three-judge District Court. The Supreme Court's decision held that a school-financing system based on local property taxes was not an unconstitutional violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. The majority opinion stated that the appellees did not sufficiently prove that education is a fundamental right, that textually existed within the US Constitution, and could thereby (through the 14th Amendment to the Constitution), be applied to the several States. The Court also found that the financing system was not subject to strict scrutiny. The District Court had decided that education is a fundamental right and that the financing system was subject to strict scrutiny. Texas will adopt the Robin Hood plan to help equalize educational funding throughout the state.

(b) In Griggs the court ruled that the company's employment requirements did not pertain to applicants' ability to perform the job, and so was discriminating against African-American employees, even though the company had not intended it to do so.

Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp, had a policy of allowing whites and blacks into a training program on a one to one basis, even though there were many more whites than blacks. Weber argued that this favored blacks and women at the expense of whites. In the Weber case the court held that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not bar employers from favoring women and minorities.

In the Bakke case the Court held in a closely divided decision that race could be one of the factors considered in choosing a diverse student body in university admissions decisions. The Court also held, however, that the use of quotas in such affirmative action programs was not permissible

(c) The sexual revolution or more aptly labeled the female sexual revolution of the 1970’s was considered by many to be the most shocking social trend in the 1970s. It was, an outgrowth of the counterculture, it cast aside traditional sexual restraints and began a decade of alternative eroticism, experimentation, and promiscuity. In part facilitated by the development of the birth-control pill and other contraceptives, Americans in the 1970s broke many sexual taboos. Sexual activity among the young especially increased. Surveys during the 1970s reported that by age nineteen, four-fifths of all males and two-thirds of all females had had sex. Fashion designers promoted a new sensuality, producing miniskirts, hot pants, halter tops, and formfitting clothes designed to accentuate women's sexuality. (d) The law simply said "no person in the United States shall on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”. Worried about how Title IX would affect men’s athletics, many people became concerned and looked for ways to limit the influence of Title IX. One such attempt was made in 1974 by Senator John Tower of Texas who introduced the Tower Amendment. This proposal would have exempted revenue-producing sports from Title IX compliance. Later that year the Tower Amendment was rejected and the Javits Amendment, proposed by Senator Jacob Javits, stated that the HEW must include “reasonable provisions considering the nature of particular sports”, was adopted in its place. 3. (A) What did the term “détente” mean in regards to the U.S’s relations with Communist China?
(B) What did the term détente mean in regards to the U.S.’s relations with the Soviet Union?
(C) Why is the Kent State War protest considered to be a watershed occurrence on the protest movement?
(D) What were the elements involved in the My Lai Massacre?

(a) China was fearful of her isolation in the world. She was also fearful of what USA had done in Vietnam. China’s stockpile of nuclear weapons was a lot smaller than that of USA. China was also worried by her worsening relations with USSR. USA had backed the Chinese Nationalists in Taiwan since their fall in 1949 and had fought Communist China on behalf of the U.N. in the Korean War. In 1971 a move was made to improve relationships when China invited an American table tennis team to China. Hence the term "ping—pong" diplomacy. USA’s response was to support China’s entry into the U.N., something she had always vetoed. In October 1971, China entered the U.N. Presidents Nixon and Ford both visited China though USA kept a massive naval fleet off of Taiwan. In December 1978, America's President Carter withdrew recognition of Taiwan.

(b) Ever the consummate politician and superb foreign relations specialists Richard Nixon, heeding the advice of his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger knew that openly cultivating a relationship with China would force the Soviet Union to seek better relations with the U.S. He hoped to exploit the ever widening rift between China and the Soviet Union. The result was a series of disarmament agreements called the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitations Treaties) agreements between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., and increased trade between China and the U.S.

(c) Animosity between the people protesting the Vietnam War and various authorities including the police and military leaders had been building for some time. Most police, and many enlisted military personnel, came from the working class who viewed the protesters as elitists who treated the authorities with contempt. On May 1, 1970, Kent State students held an anti-war protest. That evening several incidents occurred, including rocks and bottles being thrown at police officers, the closure of bars by authorities before normal closing time to reduce alcohol consumption, and the lighting of bonfires. Eventually students, other anti-war activists, and common criminals began to break windows and loot stores. On May4, 1970, seventy-seven guardsmen advanced on the protestors with armed rifles and bayonets. Protestors continued to throw things at the soldiers. Twenty-nine of the soldiers, purportedly fearing for their lives, eventually opened fire. The gunfire lasted just thirteen seconds, although some witnesses contended that it lasted more than one minute. The troops fired a total of sixty-seven shots. When the firing ended, nine students lay wounded, and four other students had been killed. Two of the students who died actually had not participated in the protests.

(d) While operating in the My Lai and My Khe area of Vietnam, some 700 miles Northeast of Saigon C Company had lost five men killed by Booby Traps and ambushes. After having been told by their senior commanders that the village they were approaching was considered to be an enemy stronghold. The plan was to enter the village by mid-morning. The troops believed that anyone in the village at that hour was either a Viet Cong or a VC sympathizer. Upon entering the My Lai hamlet the troops shot and killed everyone in the village. Between 300-500 men, women, children and infants were gunned down by members of C Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division (the Americal Division).

4. (A) What prompted Congress to enact the War Powers Act?
(B) What has been the lasting legacy from the Vietnam War on American society?
(C) How did Richard Nixon’s paranoia lead to his ultimate downfall?
(D) What were the Watergate burglars looking for? (a) During the Korean and Vietnam wars, the United States found itself involved for many years in situations of intense conflict without a declaration of war. Many members of Congress became concerned with the erosion of congressional authority to decide when the United States should become involved in a war or the use of armed forces that might lead to war. The War Powers Resolution was passed by both the House of Representatives and Senate but was vetoed by President Richard Nixon. By a two-thirds vote in each house, Congress overrode the veto and enacted the joint resolution into law on November 7, 1973.

(b) Along with the myth of American invincibility the naiveté with which Americans had believed and trusted their government were the most obvious victims of the Vietnam War. If America, the most powerful country in the world, could be defeated by a rag-tag group of peasants what did the future hold for this proud country? More importantly, as more and more information became available revealing the duplicity of our military and political leaders and for what purpose? How could a country ten thousand miles away, a country not much bigger than the state of California, how could such a place be worth the lives of over 58,000 young men?

(c) Being the unscrupulous politician and person that he was Nixon assumed that he was always on the verge of being ‘outed’ by the opposition. Having used a variety of Dirty tricks in every one of his campaigns he assumed that the opposition would do the same to him. It was this innate fear of discovery that led John Mitchell, Nixon’s 1972 campaign manager, to dispatch a group of hapless burglars to break into the National Democratic party headquarters in the Watergate Office complex to plant listening devices “bugs” in their phone system.

(d) Nixon, who knew nothing beforehand, of the planned break in, had expressed fears that the Democrats were planning a “November Surprise” in which incriminating evidence of some sort would be revealed causing Nixon to lose the 1972 election. All of the polls showed Nixon winning by an overwhelming margin but in his Paranoia Nixon assumed this too was a plot by the media, to lull him into a false sense of invulnerability. From his own recordings we hear Nixon on his views of the press …Never forget," he tells national security advisers Henry Kissinger and Alexander Haig in a conversation on December 14, 1972, "the press is the enemy, the press is the enemy. The establishment is the enemy, the professors are the enemy, the professors are the enemy. Write that on a blackboard 100 times."

5. (A) What is “stagflation” and why is it considered to be an anomaly?
(B) What sort of economically destructive corporate policies will result from the onset of “stagflation” and are still with us today?
(C) What was politically unique about the Ford/Rockefeller administration?
(D) What is considered to be the biggest political mistake of the Ford administration? (a) In economics, stagflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high and the economic growth rate is low. It raises a dilemma for economic policy since actions designed to lower inflation may worsen economic growth and vice versa. The concept is notable partly because, in postwar macroeconomic theory, inflation and recession were regarded as mutually exclusive, and also because stagflation has generally proven to be difficult and, in human terms as well as budget deficits, very costly to eradicate once it starts. In the political arena one measure of stagflation termed the Misery Index (derived by the simple addition of the inflation rate to the unemployment rate) was used to swing presidential elections in the United States in 1976 and 1980.

(b) Faced with declining profits and rising overseas competition, corporations stepped up the trend o, already underway before 1970, toward eliminating well paid manufacturing jobs through automation and shifting production to low wage areas of the U.S. and overseas. The effects on older industries were devastating. By 1980, Detroit and Chicago had lost more than half the manufacturing jobs that had existed there decades earlier.

(c) Republican Congressman Gerald Ford of Michigan was appointed to replace Nixon’s disgraced Vice President, Spiro Agnew. When Nixon was forced to resign to prevent being impeached Ford became President and New York’s Republican Governor Nelson Rockefeller was then appointed to fill the vacant Price Presidential position making the only time in American History that neither the President or the Vice President had stood fro election to those offices.

(d) On September 8, 1974, one month after President Richard Nixon resigned the presidency amid the Watergate scandal, his successor, President Gerald R. Ford, announced his decision to grant Nixon a full pardon for any crimes he may have committed while in office. President Ford's subsequent decision to pardon Nixon eliminated the possibility of a humiliated private citizen Nixon going on trial. The decision to pardon Nixon also likely ended Ford's chances for re-election to the presidency in 1976. Both the decision and its timing came under severe criticism. The pardon was announced by Ford on a Sunday morning, taking advantage of an off-beat time for Washington newsmakers in an attempt to minimize the initial political fallout. It was a vain attempt, however, as the decision caused a firestorm of anger in the press and indignation among those who wanted to see Nixon go on trial and possibly to jail. But among others, the decision evoked sympathy for Nixon, the only President ever to resign. The result was a further polarization of a nation already traumatized by the events surrounding Watergate. 6. (A) What were the elements of the Helsinki Accords and which of these elements will inadvertently lead o the dissolution of the Soviet Union?
(B) What role did President Carter play in the 1979, successful peace agreement between Egypt and Israel?
(C) What actions by President Carter led to the 1979 Iranian crisis?
(D) What will President Carter be remembered for?

(a) The Helsinki Accords were primarily an effort to reduce tension between the Soviet and Western blocs by securing their common acceptance of the post-World War II status quo in Europe. The accords were signed by all the countries of Europe (except Albania) and by the United States and Canada. The agreement recognized the inviolability of the post-World War II frontiers in Europe and pledged the 35 signatory nations to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to cooperate in economic, scientific, humanitarian, and other areas. The Helsinki Accords are nonbinding however element VII - Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief and VII - Equal rights and self-determination of peoples will contribute greatly to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

(b) Carter's relentless drive to achieve peace and his reluctance to allow Egypt’s Sadat or Israel’s Begin to leave Camp David without reaching an agreement are what played the decisive role in the success of the talks. Carter's advisers insisted on the establishment of a Egyptian-Israeli agreement which would eventually lead to an eventual solution to the Palestine issue. They believed in a short, loose and overt linkage between the two countries amplified by the establishment of a coherent basis for a settlement. However, Carter felt they were not "aiming high enough" and was interested in the establishment of a written and signed agreement. Numerous times both the Egyptian and Israeli leaders wanted to scrap negotiations, only to be lured back into the process by personal appeals from Carter.

(c) In 1977, Carter inflamed anti-American feelings in Iran when he traveled there to celebrate the hated Shah’s rule. He compounded the problem following the 1979 Iranian revolution in which the Shah was overthrown by allowing the Shah to travel to the U.S. for medical treatments. Iranian revolutionaries then invaded the U.S. embassy in Tehran and seized fifty-three hostages. The hostages were held until January 1981 on the day Carter’s presidency ended.

(d) Carter should be remembered because he had substantively reduced both unemployment and the deficit but had not been able to completely eliminate the recession.[1] Carter created the United States Department of Education and United States Department of Energy, established a national energy policy and pursued civil service and social security reform.[1] In foreign affairs, Carter initiated the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties and the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II). Throughout his career, Carter strongly emphasized human rights. He returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama and faced criticism at home for what was widely seen as yet another signal of US weakness. However he will probably be remembered for his failings such as the 1979 takeover of the American embassy in Iran and holding of hostages by Iranian students, an unsuccessful rescue attempt of the hostages, serious fuel shortages, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

7. (A) What was the elements of the “Reagan Revolution”?
(B) What was the relationship between Reagan and the rise of the Religious Right?
(C) What is meant by the term “trickle down economics” and how is it related to the term Reaganomics?
(D) What was the Iran-Contra affair?

(a) Domestically, the Reagan administration favored reducing government programs and introduced the largest across-the-board tax cuts in American history. The economic policies enacted in 1981, known as "Reaganomics," were an example of supply-side economics. Reagan aimed to encourage entrepreneurship and limit the growth of social spending, as well as the reduction of regulation and inflation. Economic growth saw a strong recovery in the 1980s, helping Reagan to win a landslide re-election. The national debt increased significantly, however. It was a celebration of wealth and the political ascendancy of the richest third of the population. Wealth was further accumulated in the hands of those already rich. The Reagan years between 1980 and 1988 to be sure had created over 19 million new (low paying)jobs, exploding technology, unprecedented prosperity and had rekindled national pride. It also led to firing of 10 million high paying manufacturing jobs as corporations received tax incentives to move their operations overseas.

(b) Reagan was a firm adherent to Biblical prophecy; specifically, he believed that the end of the world -- the Battle of Armageddon -- was close at hand. While he was running for office in 1980, candidate Reagan announced during an interview with televangelist Jim Bakker that "We may be the generation that sees Armageddon." He presented a conservative political philosophy that changed a generation. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said in Baptist Press. "He transformed the presidency by demonstrating that conviction, rather than political calculation, would drive his policies and decisions...." Reagan is credited with bringing the Religious Right fully into the Republican fold. The group now is generally considered by political experts to be the GOP's most dominant faction. "I will remember Mr. Reagan primarily for his relationship with the evangelical Christian community in our nation," Moral Majority Founder Jerry Falwell recalled in 2002.

(c) Reaganomics has become the singular term that describes the economic theory sometimes called the “trickle down” theory. The term refers to the policy of providing across the board tax cuts or benefits to businesses, such as tax breaks, in the belief that this will indirectly benefit the broad population. Trickle down proponents are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The theory which has never been successful was first tried back in the 1890’s, its failure led to the panic of 1896.

(d) Senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo. Some U.S. officials also hoped that the arms sales would secure the release of hostages and allow U.S. intelligence agencies to fund the Nicaraguan Contras. Under the Boland Amendment, further funding of the Contras by the government had been prohibited by Congress. The scandal began as an operation to free American hostages being held by terrorist groups with Iranian ties. The plan deteriorated into an arms-for-hostages scheme, in which members of the executive branch sold weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of the American hostages.