C H A P T E R 3 1
A CRISIS IN CONFIDENCE, 1969 - 1980
SUMMARY The Nixon administration's inordinate fear of political enemies led to numerous illegal activities by Republican officials and campaign supporters, including plans to break into the Democratic national headquarters in the Watergate building. Nixon probably did not have advance knowledge of the break-in, but he committed a criminal act by authorizing a far-reaching cover-up.
Nixon in Power While Nixon appeared more moderate and restrained than in the past, he remained exceptionally sensitive to criticism. He assembled a powerful White House staff whose main task was to shield and isolate him from Congress and the press. Nixon focused his attention on foreign affairs and allowed subordinates to handle domestic issues.
Reshaping the Great Society Nixon streamlined the federal bureaucracy. He overwhelmingly appointed conservative judges to the Supreme Court while shifting the responsibility for school integration to the federal courts to enhance his political appeal to Southerners.
Nixonomics Nixon inherited severe economic problems that did not seem to respond to traditional remedies. In 1971, however, he curbed inflation with temporary wage and price freezes and improved the balance of trade with a devaluation of the dollar and a 10 percent surtax on imports.
Building a Republican Majority Republicans sought to win new voters among traditionally Democratic blue-collar workers and southern Whites for 1972. Vice-President Spiro Agnew blamed Democratic liberals for such national social problems as drug abuse, sexual permissiveness, and crime in the streets. This strategy limited Republican losses but failed to gain a national majority in 1972.
In Search of Détente Strongly influenced by National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, Nixon pursued a foreign policy of détente—a relaxation of tension—with the Soviet Union and with China. Nixon signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) treaty in 1972. Following his plan to use American trade to thaw relations, the president engineered sales of grain and computer technology to the Soviet Union.
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Ending the Vietnam War Secret negotiations between Kissinger and North Vietnam's Le Duc Tho produced a truce, signed in January 1973. Accepting what amounted to a disguised surrender, the United States agreed to remove its troops in return for the release of all American prisoners of war, and the American role in Vietnam was over.
The Crisis of Democracy Although Nixon’s refusal to accept any blame for the Watergate Hotel break-in proved to be initially successful, it was actually his first step in falling from power.
The Election of 1972 Ironically, the Watergate break-in was hardly necessary to guarantee an overwhelming Nixon reelection in 1972. The Democrats nominated George McGovern. Americans overwhelmingly perceived McGovern as too liberal. George Wallace, a popular though controversial third-party candidate, withdrew after an attempted assassination. This left Nixon with a complete monopoly over the political right.
The Watergate Scandal The president's attempt to cover up his administrations illegal actions unraveled in early 1973. After the House Judiciary Committee voted three articles of impeachment and the Supreme Court ordered the release of the tapes of presidential conversations, Nixon chose to resign on August 9, 1974. The Watergate Scandal revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the American political system, and prodded many to question the nation's political leadership.
Energy and the Economy While Nixon and the nation swam in the wake of the Watergate scandal, war in the Middle East threatened the foundation of American life: oil.
The October War In October 1973, Arab nations imposed an oil embargo against the United States to force American pressure on Israel to return Arab lands taken from Egypt, Syria, and Jordan during the Six Day War. Henry Kissinger soon negotiated an end to the embargo, but dramatic increases in oil prices remained and alerted Americans to an energy crisis.
Oil Shocks Increased energy costs led to double-digit inflation, rising unemployment, and a decline in economic growth for the United States. Amplified oil prices nearly doubled gasoline prices, raised manufacturing costs, and increased utility bills. Throwing even more fuel on the fire, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) took advantage of the Iranian Revolution to embark on a new round of oil price increases in 1979.
The Search for an Energy Policy Congress could not agree on a coherent energy policy. Republicans advocated removal of price controls and increased production while the Democrats wished to maintain price 241 controls and pursue conservation efforts. A coherent national strategy for solving the energy problem never emerged.
The Great Inflation The startling price increases of the 1970s resulted from swollen deficits from the Vietnam War, a worldwide shortage of food, and especially the six-fold increase in oil prices. Wages for many Americans failed to keep pace, and actions by the Federal Reserve Board increased interest rates.
The Shifting American Economy The United States lost world markets though the 1970s in heavy industries, such as steel and automobiles. The more diversified multinational corporations and conglomerates fared better. Within the United States, industry shifted increasingly to the Sunbelt, with high-technology industries as computer and electronics firms proving most profitable.
Private Lives, Public Issues American families and the private lives of individuals changed beginning in the 1970s and continuing throughout the century.
The Changing American Family During the 1970s, families became smaller, divorce rates increased, female-headed households increased, unmarried couples doubled, and married couple households with children decreased. These changes, among others, strongly chipped away at the traditional nuclear family perceived by many as the norm.
Gains and Setbacks for Women Women made dramatic strides in the last third of the 1970s, but still faced discrimination and lower pay. The Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass, and women have found their right to choose under attack as Roe v. Wade was assaulted in the courts. The most encouraging development for women came in business ownership.
The Gay Liberation Movement A new pride movement, in some ways modeled after the ethnic pride movements of the same period, emerged as homosexual men and women across the country fought against discrimination based on sexual orientation and for acceptance. Violence and discrimination against gays and lesbians has diminished, but continues
Politics After Watergate Conflicts between the president and Congress hastened ineffective leadership and hampered the necessary handling of the many 1970s crises.
The Ford Administration Ford's popularity rapidly declined with a pardon of Nixon and a seeming ineptitude in dealing with Congress. When congressional investigations revealed excesses by the CIA, Ford approved reform of the agency and appointed George Bush as its new director.
242 The 1976 Campaign Former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination by portraying himself as an honest and candid “outsider,” untainted by Washington politics. Carter won a narrow victory, ensured by an overwhelming support from African American voters.
Disenchantment with Carter Although an intelligent politician initially, Carter never offered the public a clear sense of direction. Tension and conflict among his officials, among numerous other problems, doomed the administration to failure.
From Détente to Renewed Cold War Internal and external debacles fostered a dwindling of American global political power during the1970s.
Retreat in Asia In 1974, Congress cut military aid to South Vietnam and refused to grant additional aid the next year as Communists seized control.
Accommodation in Latin America Carter signed two treaties in 1977 providing a gradual return of the Panama Canal and returning sovereignty in the Canal Zone to Panama. Carter held out the lure of American economic aid in hopes of moderating the leftist Sandinista regime in Nicaragua as well as the right-wing military junta in El Salvador. Neither venture proved successful.
The Quest for Peace in the Middle East The Camp David accords of 1978 led ultimately to a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, but left the problems of the Palestinian Arabs unsettled. In 1979, Iranian mobs in Teheran seized the American embassy and fifty-eight American hostages. The failure of diplomacy, economic reprisals, and a military rescue mission to free the hostages steadily eroded the nation's confidence in Carter's leadership.
The Cold War Resumes When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, Carter banned sales of grain and high-tech equipment to the Soviet Union, reinstated registration for the draft, and ordered a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. These actions failed to force Russia out of Afghanistan and signaled a resumption of the Cold War.
Conclusion: A Failed Presidency National frustration over American-held hostages in Iran, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and double-digit inflation eroded public confidence in the Carter administration.
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After mastering this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Explain Nixon's first-term goals and accomplishments in domestic affairs.
2. Discuss the objectives of Nixon’s foreign policy and his strategy for ending the Vietnam War.
3. Account for the overwhelming reelection of Nixon as president in 1972.
4. Explain the causes and the role played by President Nixon in the Watergate scandal.
5. Assess the impact of the Watergate controversy on the American political system.
6. Describe the causes of the energy crisis as well as its impact on the American economy and political scene.
7. Compare and contrast the approaches taken by presidents Ford and Carter to correct America's economic problems.
8. Explain the factors contributing to Jimmy Carter's victory over Gerald Ford in the election of 1976.
9. Account for the public disenchantment with Carter that resulted in his one-term presidency.
10. Analyze Carter's successes and failures in dealing with foreign affairs.
GLOSSARY
To build your social science vocabulary, familiarize yourself with the following terms:
1. paranoia mental disorder characterized by a delusion of persecution. “this criminal act was a direct outgrowth of the paranoia that characterized the Nixon presidency.”
2. stonewall to engage in obstructive debate or delaying tactics. “Nixon told John Mitchell, ‘I want you to stonewall it’.”
3. penchant strong leaning or tendency. “Gone was the fiery rhetoric and the penchant for making enemies.”
4. respite interval of temporary relief or rest. “Nixon began his first term on a hopeful note, promising the nation peace and respite from the chaos of the 1960s.”
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5. détente a relaxation of strained tensions or relations. “Nixon and Kissinger shrewdly played the China card as their first step toward achieving détente with the Soviet Union.”
6. quagmire soft quicksand that yields under the foot but drags one down. “After eight years of fighting, the United States had emerged from the quagmire in Southeast Asia.”
7. scapegoat person upon whom the blame for the mistakes or crimes of others is thrust. “Nixon was forced to fire John Dean, who refused to become the scapegoat for the cover- up.”
8. executive privilege authority of the president to refuse to divulge conversations among members of the executive branch, presumably to provide protection on matters of national security. “At first the president tried to invoke executive privilege to withhold the tapes.”
9. embargo governmental order prohibiting outgoing shipments. “The Arab oil embargo had a disastrous effect on the American economy.”
10. cartel a combination of independent enterprisers to restrict competition and establish a monopoly. “members of the OPEC cartel took advantage of the situation to raise prices.”
11. rhetoric insincere or exaggerated language. “President Ford’s early efforts to roll back prices by rhetoric were a casualty of the 1974 recession.”
12. self-effacing retiring, placing oneself in the background. “The new president, described by an associate as 'superficially self-effacing but intensely shrewd,' was an ambitious and intelligent politician.”
13. consensus group solidarity or agreement in sentiment or belief. “The new national consensus was symbolized by the War Powers Act.
14. reactionary conservative; marked by movement back to a former or outmoded policy or condition. “Central America, where the United States had imposed order for most of the twentieth century by backing reactionary regimes.”
15. autonomy quality or state of being self-governing. “the Camp David accords dealt gingerly with the problem of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”
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IDENTIFICATION
Briefly identify the meaning and significance of the following terms:
1. Henry Kissinger
2. Warren Burger
3. SALT I
4. the Pentagon Papers
5. OPEC
6. Gerald R. Ford
7. The Stonewall riots
8. the Mayaguez
9. Camp David accords
10. the hostage crisis
246 MATCHING
A. Match the following nations with the appropriate description:
_____1. China a. following the Six Day War of 1967, this nation took possession of the Golan Heights, the Sinai Peninsula, and the West Bank
______2. Cambodia b. nation with which the U.S. agreed in 1977 to a later return of land and a canal
______3. Israel c. secret bombings of this nation in 1970 sparked massive antiwar demonstrations
______4. Iran d. Nixon’s tour of this nation in 1972 marked first step in ultimate U.S. recognition
______5. El Salvador e. 1979 revolution in this nation sparked deep resentments that later turned on the U.S.
f. nation offered U.S. economic aid by Carter in attempt to encourage democratic reforms
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B. Match the following Watergate figures with the appropriate description:
______1. John J. Sirica a. attorney general and head of Nixon's reelection committee later receiving a jail term for his role in Watergate
______2. John Dean b. Watergate special prosecutor, fired by Nixon for demanding release of presidential tapes
______3. John Mitchell c. White House counsel who refused to play the role of scapegoat and revealed the president's involvement in the cover- up
______4. G. Gordon Liddy d. chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which conducted impeachment proceedings
______5. Archibald Cox e. judge presiding over the trial of the Watergate burglars
f. White House “plumber” who plotted the Watergate break-in
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COMPLETION
Answer the question or complete the statement by filling in the blanks with the correct word or words.
1. Nixon tried to win voters in the ______by appointing conservative judges from that region to the Supreme Court.
2. During his first term as president, Nixon allowed Vice President ______to deliver scathing attacks against Democratic liberals and their allies in the media.
3. Student protest over Nixon's bombing of Cambodia in 1970 ended in tragedy at ______when four students were killed by National Guardsmen breaking up a demonstration.
4. Running on a platform advocating a negotiated settlement in Vietnam, the right to abortion, and tolerance of diverse life styles, Democratic nominee for president in 1972 Senator ______was perceived as “antiestablishment” by middle- class America.
5. The gravest economic consequence of the oil shocks of the 1970s was the startling ______.
6. Foreign competition proved damaging for the American automobile industry in the 1970s and only government-backed loans helped the ______corporation stave off bankruptcy.
7. High-technology industries expanded tremendously after development of the ______, a small microprocessor that sped complex calculations for computers.
8. During the Ford administration, a Senate committee headed by Frank Church of Idaho investigated the actions of the ______, a federal agency involved in plots to assassinate foreign leaders.
9. In mid-1979, dictator Anastasio Somoza of ______capitulated to the Sandinistas, the leaders of a leftist regime that developed close ties with Castro's Cuba.
10. The Cold War resumed with full fury in December 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded ______, a move designed to ensure a regime friendly to the USSR.
249 TRUE/FALSE
Mark the following statements either T (True) or F (False).
_____1. Nixon won the election of 1968 by the smallest share of the popular vote of any winning candidate since 1916.
_____2. By nature, Nixon was a gregarious and personable president who preferred the limelight of domestic leadership to the tangled world of foreign affairs.
_____3. Despite Nixon’s appointment of four rather conservative judges to the Supreme Court, the new Court rendered relatively liberal decisions concerning busing, abortion, wiretapping, and the death penalty.
_____4. The showdown between the federal government and the press over publication of the Pentagon papers contributed to the “siege mentality” of the Nixon administration.
_____5. Although a symbolic first step toward nuclear arms control, the United States Senate bitterly opposed the SALT I treaty because it allowed the Soviets a strategic advantage by recognizing their existing lead in numbers of missiles.
_____6. Nixon’s determination to stonewall the press on any White House involvement in the Watergate burglary proved successful in the short run, but eventually the cover-up led to his downfall.
_____7. In response to the energy crisis, Republican politicians favored price controls and conservation measures.
_____8. During the 1970s, the states gaining the greatest numbers of new residents included New York and Michigan.
_____9. In January 1979, the United States and China exchanged ambassadors, thereby completing the reconciliation that Nixon had begun in 1971.
_____10. The U.S. boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics occurred in direct response to the Soviet refusal to sign the SALT II treaty.
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MULTIPLE CHOICE
Circle the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. The paranoia of the Nixon presidency a. stemmed from Nixon’s narrow margin of victory in 1968. b. led Nixon to cultivate a wide circle of friends and supporters. c. resulted in cordial relations with the press. d. made Nixon insensitive to criticism.
2. As president, Richard Nixon sought to a. overthrow the Great Society legislation of the Johnson years. b. streamline the federal bureaucracy in a search for efficiency. c. shift responsibility for social problems from state and local authorities to Washington. d. appoint more liberal judges to the Supreme Court.
3. Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s chief foreign policy advisor a. viewed the Cold War as an ideological struggle against communism. b. sought to improve relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. c. disliked academic approaches to international affairs. d. opposed U.S. recognition of China.
4. The most successful tactic employed by Nixon in calming American protest as he sought an end to the Vietnam War was his a. renewed bombing of communist supply lines. b. hard-line negotiations with Hanoi. c. gradual withdrawal of American troops. d. order for the mining of Haiphong harbor.
5. The truce ending the Vietnam War did not require or allow which of the following provisions? a. the release of all American prisoners of war b. U.S. removal of its troops from South Vietnam within sixty days c. maintenance of North Vietnamese troops in South Vietnam d. the removal of all communist troops from South Vietnam
6. The Nixon administration sought to suppress the Pentagon Papers mainly because publication of the papers might a. detail how successive presidents had avoided war in Southeast Asia. b. force a dramatic showdown with the press over First Amendment rights. c. reveal many embarrassing mistakes by American policy-makers. d. signal to foreign governments an inability of the United States to maintain security.
251 7. The most damaging evidence against Nixon in the impeachment proceedings was the a. existence of taped conversations implicating him in attempts to cover up details of the Watergate break-in. b. testimony of John Dean revealing Nixon's personal involvement. c. record of orders by Nixon to use government agencies to “punish” his enemies. d. illegal campaign contributions made to the Committee to Re-Elect the President.
8. Unlike prior executive branch scandals, Watergate a. resulted in the impeachment of a president. b. led to a decline in power exercised by Congress. c. involved a lust for power rather than money. d. all of the above
9. The Yom Kippur or October War of 1973 a. lasted only six days, as Israeli military dominance prevailed over Arab aggression. b. resulted in Israeli seizure of the Golan Heights from Syria, the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan. c. led to American demands for a strong pro-Israeli peace settlement. d. led to the Arab oil embargo, imposed to pressure Israel to return Arab lands seized in 1967.
10. The rampant inflation of the 1970s was caused by all of the following factors except the a. heavy government expenditures on the Vietnam War. b. heavy tax increases imposed by the Carter administration. c. worldwide shortage of food. d. six fold increase in petroleum prices.
11. President Gerald R. Ford gained public support and confidence with his a. full and unconditional pardon granted to Richard Nixon. b. defense of CIA involvement in assassination plots. c. determination to undermine Great Society programs. d. forceful response to the Mayaguez crisis.
12. Jimmy Carter attracted votes in the election of 1976 with his a. self-portrayal as a candid and honest “outsider” offering fresh leadership. b. forceful stands on the major issues. c. calculated appeals to the affluent, the well-educated, and conservative suburbanites. d. well-reasoned political philosophy and clear sense of direction.
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13. Which of the following responses was taken by Carter toward Latin America? a. opposition to negotiation with Panama over control of the Canal Zone b. support for Nicaraguan leader Anastasio Somoza c. authorization of increased military aid to the government of El Salvador d. establishment of closer ties with Cuba
14. Militant Iranian students seized the United States embassy in Teheran and took fifty-eight American hostages to protest a. America's attempt to reestablish an Iranian government under the shah's control. b. the shah's entry into the United States for medical treatment. c. American diplomatic and economic sanctions levied against Iran. d. an American helicopter mission sent to overthrow the Khomeini regime.
15. The American policy of détente with the USSR was hampered in the late 1970s by a. Leonid Brezhnev's denunciations of American actions. b. Carter's advocacy of a new MX missile for the United States. c. America's refusal to allow the emigration of Soviet Jews. d. China's refusal to normalize relations with the United States.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS
To check your understanding of the key issues of this period, solve the following problems:
1. How did Nixon and Kissinger effectively reshape American foreign policy?
2. Account for the overwhelming reelection of Richard Nixon as president in 1972. What is the irony of the Watergate break-in?
3. The text argues that the Watergate episode “revealed both the weaknesses and strength of the American political system.” Explain.
4. What caused the “energy crisis” of the 1970s? Discuss the political as well as economic consequences of the energy crisis.
5. Discuss the successes and failures of the Carter administration in terms of foreign policy. What problems eroded the policy of détente and renewed a Cold War atmosphere during Carter's administration?
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CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
Read the following selections: “Conclusion on Impeachment Resolution” (1974) by the House Judiciary Committee and “The ‘Malaise’ Speech” (1979) by President Jimmy Carter. Answer the questions following the reading selections.
House Judiciary Committee, Conclusion on Impeachment Resolution (1974)
After the Committee on the Judiciary had debated whether or not it should recommend Article I to the House of Representatives, 27 of the 38 Members of the Committee found that the evidence before it could only lead to one conclusion: that Richard M. Nixon, using the powers of his high office, engaged, personally and through his subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede, and obstruct the investigation of the unlawful entry on June 17, 1972, into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee; to cover up, conceal and protect those responsible; and to conceal the existence and scope of other unlawful activities.
This finding is the only one that can explain the President's involvement in a pattern on undisputed acts that occurred after the break-in and that cannot otherwise be rationally explained.
1.The President's decision on June 20, 1972, not to meet with his Attorney General, his chief of staff, his counsel, his campaign director, and his assistant, John Ehrlichman, whom he had put in charge of the investigation- when the subject of their meeting was the Watergate matter. 2. The erasure of that portion of the recording of the President's conversation with White House chief of staff H. R. Haldeman on June 20, 1972, which dealt with Watergate-when the President stated that the tapes had been under his "sole and personal control." 3. The President's public denial on June 22, 1972, of the involvement of members of the Committee for the Re-election of the President [CREEP] or of the White House staff in the Watergate burglary, in spite of having discussed Watergate, on or before June 22, 1972, with Haldeman, special counsel Charles Colson, and former attorney general John Mitchell [head of CREEP]-all persons aware of that involvement. 4. The President's directive to Haldeman on June 23, 1972, to have the CIA request the FBI to curtail its Watergate investigation. 5. The President's refusal, on July 6, 1972, to inquire and inform himself what Patrick Gray, Acting Director of the FBI, meant by his warning that some of the President's aides were "trying to mortally wound him." 6. The President's discussion with Erlichman on July 8, 1972, of clemency for the Watergate burglars, more than two months before the return of any indictments. 7. The President's public statement on August 29, 1972, a statement later shown to be untrue, that an investigation by [White House counsel] John Dean "indicates no one in the White House staff, no one in the Administration, presently employed, was involved in this very bizarre incident." 8. The President's statement to Dean on September 14, 1972, the day that the Watergate indictments were returned without naming high CRP [CREEP] and White House officials, that Dean had handled his work skillfully, "putting your fingers in the dike every time that leaks have sprung here and sprung there," and that "you just try to button it up as well as you can and hope for the best." . . .
In addition to this evidence, there was before the Committee the following evidence:
1. Beginning immediately after June 17, 1972, the involvement of each of the President's top aides and political associates, Haldeman, Mitchell, Ehrlichman, Colson, Dena, LaRue, Mardinan, Magruder, in the Watergate coverup. . . .
Finally , there was before the Committee a record of public statement by the President between June 22, 1972 and June 9, 1974, deliberately contrived to deceive the courts, the Department of Justice, the Congress and the American people.
President Nixon's course of conduct following the Watergate break-in, as described in Article I, caused action not only by his subordinates but by the agencies of the United States, including the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the CIA. It required perjury, destruction of evidence, obstruction of justice, all crimes. But, most important, it required deliberate, contrived, and continuing deception of the American people.
President Nixon's actions resulted in manifest injury to the confidence of the nation and great prejudice to the cause of law and justice, and was subversive of constitutional government. His actions were contrary to his trust as President 254 and unmindful of the solemn duties of his high office. It was this serious violation of Richard M. Nixon's constitutional obligations as President, and not the fact that violations of Federal criminal statutes occurred, that lies at the heart of Article I.
The Committee find, based upon clear and convincing evidence, that this conduct, detailed in the foregoing pages of this report, constitutes "high crimes and misdemeanors" as that term is used in Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the House of Representatives exercise its constitutional power to impeach Richard M. Nixon.
Jimmy Carter, The "Malaise" Speech (1979)
Good evening.
This is a special night for me. Exactly three years ago, on July 15, 1976, I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. I promised you a President who is not isolated from the people who feels your pain, and who shared your dreams and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you. . . . Ten days ago I had planned to speak to you again about a very important subject-energy. For the fifth time I would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to theCongress. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you. Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem? It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper-deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. And I realize more than ever that as President I need your help. So, I decided to reach out and listen to the voices of America. I invited to Camp David people from almost every segment of our society-business and labor, teachers and preachers, Governors, mayors, and private citizens. And then I left Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. It has been an extraordinary ten days, and I want to share with you what I've heard. . . . These ten days confirmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the American people, but it also bore out some of my long-standing concerns about our Nation's underlying problems. I know, of course, being president, that government actions and legislation can be very important. That's why I've worked hard to put my campaign promises into law-and I have to admit, with just mixed success. But after listening to the American people I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can't fix what's wrong with America. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy. I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power an military might. The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation. The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America. . . . The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world. . . . Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. You don't like it, and neither do I. What can we do? First of all, we must face the truth, and then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our course. We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves, and faith in the future of this Nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans. . . . We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight, the path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom, the right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path would be one of constant conflict between narrow interests ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure. All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our Nation and ourselves. We can take the first steps down that path as we begin to solve our energy problems. . . .
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1. What was the conclusion of the House Judiciary Committee regarding Nixon’s role in the Watergate affair? How did he escape impeachment?
2. Upon what evidence did the House Judiciary Committee base their conclusion?
3. What does Carter perceive as the most fundamental threat to American democracy?
4. To what reasons did Carter attribute this threat or problem? What solutions did Carter propose?
5. How do you think Americans responded to Carter’s speech? Explain.
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