jimmy carter & gerald ford. tough times in the u.s. sept 8, 1974 ford pardons nixon good choice?...
TRANSCRIPT
Tough Times in the U.S.
• Sept 8, 1974 Ford pardons Nixon• Good choice?
• Economic issues• OPEC causes oil prices to soar• Whip Inflation Now falls through• “Tight money” policy fails miserably• Fighting Democrats in Congress
Better Luck Abroad
Helsinki Accords
• Agreements that promised cooperation between nations of Eastern and Western Europe
• One of Ford’s biggest successes
Southeast Asia
• Cease-fire in Vietnam breaks down
• US doesn’t send help and South Vietnam surrenders in 75
• Cambodia seizes merchant ship in Gulf of Siam and Ford responds with military force
Reign of Jimmy Carter
Domestic Agenda• Energy Crisis
• National Energy Act: tax on gas-guzzling cars, no price controls on oil/gas in US, tax credits for alternative energy
• Violence in 79• Violence in Middle East led to
fuel shortage and OPEC raised price
• 14% inflation by 1980
• Changing Economy• Rise in service sector jobs and
decrease in manufacture jobs
Civil Rights
• 28 African Americans, 29 women, 14 Latinos earn positions in judicial branch
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case
Reign of Jimmy Carter
Foreign Policy
• Rejected Realpolitik
• Promotes human rights throughout the world
• No military aid to US allies Argentina and Brazil
• Gives up control of Panama Canal wise decision?
• SALT II
Middle East
• Camp David Accords• Israel withdraws from
Sinai Peninsula and Egypt recognizes Israel
• Iran Hostage Crisis• Iranians resented shah• Carter supported shah
over Ayatollah Khomeini• Armed students took 52
American hostages at US embassy in Tehran
• Hostages released in 1981 when Reagan sworn in
Questions to Consider
• How might the country have been different if former US president had gone on trial for criminal wrongdoing?
• If you had been in President Ford’s position, would you have pardoned Nixon? Why or why not?
• Do you agree with the ruling set forth by Regents of the University of California v. Bakke?
Environmental Activism
• Energy Crisis led people to a heightened sense of environmentalism; could not take the Earth for granted
• 1962: Rachel Carson and Silent Spring• Argued that pesticides were killing off birds and fish
• April 22, 1970
• Environmental Protection Agency: set and enforce pollution standards, conduct environmental research and assist state/local gov’t in pollution control
Environmental Activism
Alaska
• Discovery of Oil in 1968
• With new jobs created, people were concerned about Alaska’s wildlife
• Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 71
Nuclear Energy
• Drawbacks of dependence on foreign oil made nuclear energy appealing
• Three Mile Island• Reactor over-heated
and cooling system failed
• 100,000 residents evacuated