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CHAPTER 28
Rebellion and Reaction
The 1960s and 1970s
This chapter describes the youth revolt of the late 1960s, including the New Left and the counterculture,
and traces the gains made by women and ethnic minorities. It covers Nixon’s foreign and domestic af-
fairs, stressing Vietnam, stagflation, and Watergate. It also discusses the domestic and foreign policies of
the Ford and Carter administrations.
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Explore the origins of the youth revolt, and compare the responses of the New Left and the countercul-
ture.
2. Assess the influence of the youth revolt and the early civil rights movement on other protest move-
ments and how new protest movements affected social attitudes and public policy.
3. Analyze how Richard Nixon’s election strategy and domestic policies were affected by the political
environment of the late sixties.
4. Analyze how and why Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger changed military and political strategies to
end America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
5. Examine the world order that evolved after the Vietnam War from Richard Nixon’s and Henry Kissin-
ger’s diplomacy and foreign policies.
6. Explain how the Watergate scandal unfolded, and assess its political significance.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. “Forever Young”: The Youth Revolt
A. The New Left
B. Anti-War Protests
C. Rising Violence
D. The Counterculture
2. Social Activism Spreads
A. The New Feminism
i. Radical Feminism
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ii. Fractured Feminism
iii. The Sexual Revolution and the Pill
B. Hispanic Rights
C. Native American Rights
D. Gay Rights
3. Nixon and the Revival of Conservatism
A. The Conservative Backlash
B. Nixon’s Appointments
C. The Southern Strategy
D. Nixon’s Domestic Agenda
E. Nixon and Civil Rights
F. Nixon and Environmental Protection
G. “Stagflation”
4. “Peace with Honor”: Ending the Vietnam War
A. Gradual Withdrawal
B. Divisions at Home
C. War without End
D. The Collapse of South Vietnam
5. The Nixon Doctrine and a Thawing Cold War
A. The CIA in Chile
B. The Nixon Doctrine
C. The People’s Republic of China
D. Embracing the Soviet Union
E. Shuttle Diplomacy
6. Watergate
A. “Dirty Tricks”
B. Uncovering the Cover-up
C. Watergate and the Presidency
D. An Unelected President
E. The Ford Years
F. The Election of 1976
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LECTURE IDEAS
1. Give a presentation on the rise and fall of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) to illustrate the
youth revolt of the 1960s. For the sad decline of SDS into revolutionary terrorism, see Ron Jacobs’s
The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground (1997). In class, analyze key passages
from the Port Huron Statement to capture SDS in its most idealistic and appealing phase. For songs
that illustrate both sides of the divide between the New Left in its emphasis on political action and the
counterculture in its faith in personal liberation, play and analyze in class “Outside of a Small Circle of
Friends” by Phil Ochs and “Revolution” by the Beatles. Additional useful resources include:
2. It is difficult to overestimate the influence of the Beatles on American popular culture through the
1960s and thereafter. A presentation on this topic is guaranteed to be a student favorite and is an excel-
lent way to teach about the social changes of the 1960s. See Steven Stark’s Meet the Beatles: A Cul-
tural History of the Band That Shook Youth, Gender, and the World (2005) and Jonathan Gould’s
Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America (2007). Of course, this lecture will require
playing and analyzing some key performance clips. Some recommendations are:
3. For a lecture on the feminism of the 1970s, see the pertinent sections of William H. Chafe’s Women
and Equality (1977). Marcia Cohen’s The Sisterhood (1988) contains an interesting account of Betty
Friedan and The Feminine Mystique and would be useful for a discussion of how that book changed the
women’s movement. Rites of Passage: The Past and Future of ERA, edited by Joan Hoff-Wilson
(1986), is more detailed on the failure of the equal-rights amendment. Additional suggested readings
are:
4. An overview lecture of American society in the 1970s will enable your students to gain an understand-
ing of future events in American society. Focusing on the Ford and Carter years would be helpful as
you probably covered the Nixon years in earlier lectures. Useful resources include:
5. Students are probably familiar with the term Watergate and are likely to know it is associated with
President Nixon, but that might be the extent of their knowledge. Because this was a watershed event
in American politics, you might consider delivering one or two lectures on the background, events, and
historical significance of the scandal. Suggested readings include:
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6. The busing controversy in Boston is an excellent way to illustrate the backlash to the social changes of
the 1960s and the long-term damage it did to the liberal political coalition. For the theoretical under-
pinnings of the southern strategy that would allow Republicans to reap the benefits of this backlash,
see Kevin Phillips’s classic The Emerging Republican Majority (1969). For the practical application,
see Rick Perlstein’s Nixonland (2008). Additional recommended readings are:
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES / FLIPPED CLASSROOM SUGGESTIONS
1. Divide the class into several groups. Ask each group to determine the factors that led to the pardon of
Richard Nixon by Gerald Ford.
2. Divide the class into groups. Ask each group to identify the main characteristics of the youth rebellion
in the 1960s and 1970s. Additionally, ask each group to present its findings to see if any common
trends can be found.
3. An important individual from this era who might not always receive as much attention in the classroom
is Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State during the Nixon and Ford ad-
ministrations. The interview with Henry Kissinger titled Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr.: The
Politics of Henry Kissinger (1975) explores his stance on a number of complex issues from the period.
4. Divide the class into two groups. Assign one group to research the foreign policies of the Nixon Ad-
ministration and assign the other group to research the administration’s domestic policies. In class, lead
5. One of the defining moments of the Nixon administration was the Watergate affair. Divide the class
into groups and assign each group a particular aspect of this event. Include the motivation for conduct-
ing such an operation, the operation itself, and, of course, the cover-up and its aftermath. Suggested
readings include:
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the impact of the New Left on the youth and protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
2. Discuss Nixon’s idea for ending the Vietnam War, paying special attention to what he meant by “Peace
with Honor” and the term Vietnamization. Did Nixon know that his policies in Vietnam would result in
the fall of South Vietnam, and if so, why did he implement his plans to end the war?
3. Discuss the events at Kent State and Jackson State College in 1970. What was their significance in
American history?
4. Discuss the characteristics of the Nixon Doctrine and analyze its effects. How did Nixon achieve an
easing of tensions with China and the Soviet Union, the leading Communist nations during the cold
war? How did the easing of tensions lead to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) in 1972
with the Soviet Union?
5. Analyze Richard Nixon’s handling of Vietnam War protests. What impact did this, as well as the reve-
lation of the Pentagon Papers, have on bringing the war to an end?
6. Assess the Watergate scandal and both its short-term and long-term impact on the presidency of
Richard Nixon.
7. Discuss the rise to power of Gerald Ford, the “unelected president,” and assess his presidency.
8. Trace the issues and results of the 1976 election.
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
When the leaders of Students for a Democratic Society spoke of their commitment to “participatory de-
mocracy,” they meant that a commitment to democracy required of citizens far more than periodic vot-
ing—it implied an ongoing engagement in public affairs. What they could not foresee in the early 1960s
was the degree to which the technological revolution of our own era has facilitated such engagement in