Chapter 30 - The Conservative Ascendancy
· Stagflation
o High inflation in a stagnant economy
o Slowing of US economy
o Inflation: reduction of purchasing power of the dollar
§ Wages don’t increase but dollars are worth less in the marketplace
o Unemployment reached 9% by 1975
§ Greatest since the Great Depression
o GDP slows in growth by 25%
· OPEC and US Oil Consumption
o 1973: gasoline prices nearly doubled (40 to 70 cents)
o US uses 70% of all oil produced
o Have to move from US supply to other nation’s supplies
§ Dependent on other countries to get our oil and have our “American way of life”
o 1973:
§ US is importing 1/3 of its crude oil from Middle Eastern countries
§ OPEC forms
· Mainly Arabic oil producing nations
o Conflict with US ally of Israel
§ Embargo from OPEC
· Expand oil trade with Mexico
· Oil crisis!
§ Hyper-inflation because oil is an inelastic product
· Move to post industrial era
o Leads to stagflation
o Era where services are a bigger part of the economy
o Hallmark
§ Country begins to look towards foreign countries for goods
· Cheaper to import foreign goods than to make our own
o Impact on labor (AFL-CIO)
§ Against this move in our economy
§ “nation of hamburger stands”
§ Labor needs industry to organize
§ 1970-1982
· AFL-CIO loses almost 30% of its membership
· Industry is moving away from industrial jobs
o Moving towards a service-based economy
· Begins to gain members from teaching unions, other service unions
· Sunbelt Migration
o Sunbelt – southern and western states
o People leaving industrial areas
§ “rust-belt”
o Population doubles from 1940 to 1970 in sunbelt
§ Elderly begin to migrate to the South
§ Now have Medicare! Better retirement funds!
· Pensions and retirement packages
· Social security benefits
§ Baby boom is coming to an end
· READ ABOUT ENDANGERED ENVIRONMENT
· Fall of Saigon; 1975 (during Ford’s presidency)
o North Vietnamese makes Vietnam a Communist economy
o US did not meet their objective in the Vietnam War
o Saigon is renamed Ho Chi Minh City
· Carter and foreign diplomacy
o Doesn’t want CIA to do operations to overthrow government, etc.
o Egypt wants to take over the Sinai peninsula
§ Israel agrees to stop pushing into the peninsula
§ Demilitarization between the two sides
· Camp David Accord
o Two advisers for foreign policy – Zbigniew Brzezinski and Cyrus Vance
§ They both have differing opinions
· Carter wanted to decrease defense spending
o Federal debt goes through the roof
o US falling on productivity
§ Money being take for defense spending
· Let’s eliminate it!
o National Security Adviser
§ Brzezinski
· Cold warrior
o Animosity towards the USSR
o Secretary of State
§ Vance
· Wants détente
o More diplomacy and negotiations
o Détente
§ Renewed peace with China
§ “hopefully will correlate into lesser defense spending”
· Ease financial burden in the US
o SALT II
§ Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II
§ Signed in 1979
§ Senate refuses passage because USSR invades Afghanistan
· Didn’t want to sign a treaty with the USSR because they were “anti-containment”
o Hostage crisis
§ Iran government formally ruled by Shah Pahzavi
· Friendly to the US
§ Islamic fundamentalists overthrow him
§ US allows the Shah to come into the United States for medical treatment
· Nationalists in Iran are angered
o 52 Americans held hostage for 444 days in US Embassy
§ Brzezinski:
· We need to invade and take care of this
§ Vance:
· We need to enter into negotiations with Iran and get our Americans back
§ Carter listens to Brzezinski
· Bad idea!
· Mission is a disaster
· Nighttime helicopter mission
o Sandstorm that night and aircraft crash
o 8 Americans die and Iranians are outraged
o Camp David Accords signed in 1978
§ 13 day retreat
§ Leaders of Egypt and Israel met
· Mutual diplomatic relations
§ Not a long lasting peace
· Leader of Egypt is eventually assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists
o Carter platform was committed to human rights
§ Hard to achieve because of Brzezinski and Vance
o El Salvador/Nicaragua/Apartheid
§ US will support anyone who is pro-US and anti-Communist
o US gives missiles and backs an Islamic Fundamentalist group against the USSR in Afghanistan
§ Cold war isn’t over!
· Conservative Ascendency
o Historical causes
§ New Deal – 1970s
· Tax hikes to fund government programs
o Some programs benefited minorities
§ When minorities are making gains at typical “American’s” expense, problems occur
o Expanded social services for poor
§ Tax hikes, more money out of working man’s pocket
o Environmental protection
§ Spend a lot of money to conserve the environment
o Health care/planned parenthood
§ Great idea, but average Americans get upset!
§ Voting increases in conservative citizens
o Wedge issues
§ Affirmative action
· A policy designed to redress past discrimination against women and minority groups through measures to improve their economic and educational opportunities
o Taking place in education programs, work places, government contracts
· The New Right charged government at all levels of favoring minorities, the jobless, and criminals over the law-abiding, hard-working, tax-paying majority
§ Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)
· Stated that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”
· New Right argued that the supporters of the ERA were “a bunch of bitter women seeking a constitutional cure for their personal problems”
o The felt it would cancel protective labor legislation
o Had a steady campaign against abortion as well
· Against more affirmative action
§ Homosexuality/Morality
· New Right: moral majority – advocated laws against homosexuality and pornography
§ Abortion/Roe v. Wade
· New right was against abortion
· “the beginning of life supersede a woman’s right to control her own body”
· Roe v. Wade
o Legalizes abortion
o Divided pregnancy into 3 trimesters
§ 1st – abortion is legal
§ 2nd – consult a doctor
§ 3rd – only can have a special circumstance
o Wasn’t voted for or enacted by legislatures