Figure 1, A humble witness to great events. Adlai Stevenson used this brown leather briefcase during his career as an attorney and possibly later as American ambassador to the United Nations between 1961 and 1965. Stevenson, who twice lost to Dwight Eisenhower in presidential elections, played a key role in the Cuban missile crisis of 1962. In a gripping exchange with Soviet ambassador Zorin on October 25, at the United Nations, Stevenson asked about the missiles on the Caribbean island. When Zorin did not answer, Stevenson proceeded to show American reconnaissance photographs of the Soviet missiles to a stunned audience. Smithsonian Institution collection

Introduction

The Study of Recent United States History

The study of history is much more than simply producing a giant summary of important events cross-referenced with an appropriate genealogy. Assembling facts is important but the social science of history is based on the analysis of this information and this process is in turn subject to re-evaluation and re-appraisal. It has often said that the "victors write the history" but this does not mean that they have the last word. Hopefully their heirs will learn to reconsider the past and will see the meaning of history in an improving light. Historians can easily agree upon the basic facts, the births and deaths, the day of a battle, the number of a patent, or the wording of a document yet the meaning and significance of all the contents of all the annals will be debated as long as history is studied. Which is to say that ideally the facts do not change but their interpretations will.

Figure 2, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administering the oath of office to Ronald Reagan on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, January 20, 1981, Library of Congress Collection

While this applies to all areas and eras of historical study it is most true when regarding more recent events because it is particularly difficult to objectively evaluate and understand one's own subjective reality. For example if a person volunteered to work for the election of a Republican presidential candidate and this campaign is successful, there is the possibility that this success will seem a very momentous and significant historical event that will remain as such in the mind of the volunteer for a lifetime. But for the majority of society who, neither volunteered for a campaign nor perhaps even voted, the candidate's success is only another footnote. As for the president-elect, following the election and for much of the life of his administration the news media and the world may hang on his every word and action, but in time notoriety fades. No matter how contentious, vicious, or dramatic the election and momentarily monumental the resulting administration, glory is fleeting. Historians will ultimately deem most presidents as simply average, which means most comes up short when compared with the handful of truly great presidents, or a bit better when compared with the least well remembered.

Figure 3, Jimmy Carter, head-and-shoulders portrait, Official White House photograph, 1977, Library of Congress Collection

When looking back into American history, it is often difficult to fully appreciate the importance that various historical phenomena had upon contemporary society. It is similarly very easy to overrate the significance of modern events and issues. The passage of time can lend perspective and ease the difficulty of discerning the significance of historical events. However, this clarity may still be an illusion because sometimes the events, which continue to resonate, simply started out by making the loudest noise, not the greatest impact. With these observations in mind it is a challenge to come to grips with recent American history from the resignation of Richard Nixon to the September 11 attacks.

In studying history the significance of events is partially determined affected by the method of study. For example when engaged in a political study different material may be considered than in a social historical examination. Historians often break down history into categories such as political, social, cultural or economic history. While these are to a certain extent artificial they are nonetheless helpful in analyzing history in general and are particularly useful when dealing with recent history. In general historian engaged in the study of recent history have to some degree experienced the events, which makes the task of maintaining objectivity particularly difficult. Also when selecting sources recent history includes an ever-increasing supply of materials potentially worthy of consideration. The task for a historian of modern United States history is very different from that of a historian of some area of ancient history. For example all of the existing original documents of Egypt's Old Kingdom would easily fit onto a few library shelves and as a consequence all of these document are considered valuable and worthy of great consideration. However all of these ancient documents represent only a tiny fraction of the volume of documents turned out in the United States on any given day. And of course when all the modern types of media are added to this collection the historian of recent history seems in danger of being drowned in an ocean of materials. This means that to analyze recent American history it is important to carefully choose the evidence to be included in a given historical investigation and to be following a line of inquiry or area of study which will bear fruit. One way to do this and make sense of an ever increasingly complex world is to pursue areas of study or issues, which have either reached a definite climax and significantly changed or that have continued to grow and develop.

Consider two important issues in United States history, which have reached conclusions: the era of the great powers and the Cold War. Throughout most of American history the world had been dominated by a group of great powers, mostly European, which had tremendous impact on the United States and the world at large. These included the British, French, Japanese, Russian, German, and Spanish empires. These empires had significant impact on American and later United States history from the first voyage of Columbus until the final French pullout from its last North African colony in the1960s. The United States was the byproduct of this system of empires and later reached a zenith of power as the old system entered its final phase following World War II. This war had been fought to create, expand, and defend various empires but ultimate result was that the United States emerged from the conflagration not as simply the first among equals but as new type of power in a brave new world. The United States emerged as the greatest power on earth but it did not follow the old model and carve out an empire of colonies and mercantilism as the victors in World War One had tried to do. Instead as the remaining and withering old empires spent the next two decades dismantling their imperial structures, the United States spent over four decades in the Cold War, which was more a struggle of political ideologies and hegemony and less the development of a system of colonial resource exploitation and market control. Neither the United States, with its allies and sphere of influence, or its antagonist the Soviet Union were empires in the classical sense.

The Soviets possessed a ring of buffer states, which resembled an empire but these states were used less for economic benefit and rather as a security zone. This may have provided the prestige of empire but not the profit. The occupation and support of buffer states almost certainly cost the Soviet economy more than whatever economic benefit they provided. And the same can be said of the United States, which came to resemble a great imperial power by projecting world wide military power and exporting its culture to all corners of the globe. While American Cultural Imperialism may have put Coca Cola in the black and allowed Nike to become a global brand, the Cold War was nevertheless incredibly expensive and significantly added to the massive and ever growing national debt. Even when the Cold War was finally won this did not provide the same benefits to the U.S. economy, as did World War II. The collapse of the Berlin Wall may have been sweet, but it been reached at a dear price. The end of the era of empires and of the Cold War contributed to placing the United States on a unique pinnacle of power, possibly unseen since the Pax Romana. As no nation could once challenge Rome, presently the United States suffers no immediate rival in the sense that any other nation can match either the size of the American economy or challenge the power of the American military.

The Cold War and the era of empires were two factors in American history, which have reached termination points and have launched the United States in a new direction. However, there are many other important areas of study relevant to recent history, which are ongoing and deserve consideration and a useful to way to identify these is to consider historically significant issues and movements that were important in the past and have continued into the future. This includes political categories such as how recent presidents or the Supreme Court justices have affected and redefined their respective places in the federal government by their various actions and decisions. The history of civil rights continues with many of the old players replaced by new leaders and more groups of people being added to the list of those seeking liberation. Historically issues of civil rights have implied the participation of African Americans but in recent decades many other groups have been included and this does not just mean additional ethnic categories but also groups focused on religious, political, gender or sexual orientation issues. So in recent history the study of Civil Rights has become much wider and complex but it is still there. This situation is similar to changing importance of the media. Whatever affect newspapers had in relation to the Spanish American War, they have been augmented with all the new forms of media introduced in the last century. All the newer type of media, radio, broadcast television, cable and satellite television and the Internet affect the public in dramatic and subtle ways, which cumulatively must be increasingly important in how they have changed American culture and society. It is also possible to find continuing issues, which seemingly refuse to change, such as the conflict between urban and rural values.

As modern as the twenty-first century seems to be the conflict between traditional values and modernity seems to go on unabated. In an era where the "Scopes Monkey Trial" seems at first quaint, the moral debate over the theory of evolution continues with the present result that teaching this theory is still restricted in many parts of the country. A similar comparison can be found when considering the Comstock Act and modern restrictions on the dispersal of birth control information and contraceptives or the different positions taken on the debate over abortion rights. The language used in these debates would seem contemporary at almost anytime in the last one hundred years.

When reading the last chapters from the American Nation think about why the authors may have included the various topics and information. If you apply what has been suggested above it may be possible to better understand how to make better sense of recent United States history, which is on the one hand very familiar, but on the other, like trying to separate the forest from the trees. The importance of a historical event or phenomena is in direct relation to the objective of the particular historical study and the method being utilized. If you know were you want to go you are more likely to arrive.

Figure 4, Clinton, standing between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, taking the oath of office of president of the United States, 1993 January 20, Official White House photograph, Library of Congress Collection

Chapter Reading

Unlike the previous Units in this unit you will be reading three chapters, which are chapters thirty-one, thirty-two and thirty-three from The American Nation. You will also need to read the short book California Government and Politics Today since this class concludes with a brief examination of California. The chapters from The American Nation cover the post Watergate era through the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. So this unit will involve more reading than usual.

There will be five threaded discussions included in this unit, four related to The American Nation and one related to the information from the book California Government and Politics Today. All students must actively participate in all the threaded discussions; the dates of the threaded discussions are listed in the syllabus.

All issues discussed in the text are important for this class as well as the years in which events took place. After reading the assigned chapters student needs to be able to answer the following questions and discuss related topics:

Chapter 31 Questions:

Figure 5, Text of Letter Accompanying Jacket

Dear Gentleperson

The enclosed Hell's Angels jacket--about 1960's--is for the Smithsonian. It is an authentic jacket owned by Hairy Henry or Hank as he was more commonly called. Each patch bearing a man's name was worn in memoriam for his lost brothers. Hank has since passed away and I felt you were the appropriate entity to receive this jacket. The enclosed pictures represent the event that brought Hank & George into much public eye--Hank leading a freedom--Freedom NOW--march down Haight Street. All of this notwithstanding, the Smithsonian does seem to be the appropriate keeper of such a piece of America 1960's. I hope you share my belief and give this a place.

Sincerely

Roz Kot

This jacket is currently in the Smithsonian Institution collection

1. What major social trends occurred after World War II?

2. What major project related to public transportation was began by the Eisenhower administration?

3. How did television influence the political system after World War II?

4. What was the "vast wasteland?" Who coined the term?

5. After World War II, how did the middle-class change?

6. After World War II, how did the percentage of immigrants in the American population change?

7. During the 1950s, how did Americans often view conformity?

8. Did social changes of the post-World War II have significant religious implications and ramifications? Explain

9. What was characteristic of the new radio and television preachers who emerged in the 1970s?

10. What was Catcher in the Rye? Who was J.D. Salinger?

11. What themes were used by John Updike?

12. Who was Jackson Pollock?

13. What was "pop" art? What was different about pop art?

14. In the 1960s what dilemma faced Americans in relation to progress and reform.

15. In the 1960s what dilemma faced Americans in relation to modern industrial society.

16. What characterized American society during the 1960s?

17. Why did Americans in the 1960s generally fail to reach consensus on fundamental issues?

18. What was the basis of much of the post-World War II economic expansion?

19. What is the foundation of recent industrial automation?

20. Who launched the Organization of Afro-American Unity in 1964?

21. Who was Malcolm X?

22. In the 1960s where and in what years were the first of the major destructive urban riots?

23. What was the position of black militants such as Stokely Carmichael in regard support from whites?

24. Who were Stokely Carmichael and Eldridge Cleaver?

25. What were the Black Panthers?

26. What was an immediate result of the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968?

27. What was the Kerner Commission? What did it conclude?

28. What was Federal policy toward Mexican immigrants during World War II and the period from 1948 to 1965?

29. Who was Cesar Chavez ?

30. What was the AIM?

31. Why was Wounded Knee, South Dakota occupied in 1973?

32. Who was Muhammad Ali? Why was he important?

33. Which large group of Americans were often concerned about the rights of minorities during the 1960?

34. Who was James Conant?

35. What was the Defense Education Act ? What sparked this act?

36. What was the connection between Sputnik and American education?

37. What was Students for a Democratic Society?

38. What was the connection between the first great outburst of student unrest, at the University of California in Berkeley, in the fall of 1964 and the Civil Rights Movement in the South?

39. What did many black college students want in the 1960s?

40. What was "Howl?"

41. Allen Ginsberg?

42. What was Sexual Behavior in the Human Male? What were its conclusions?

43. Who was Alfred Kinsey?

44. What was the "sexual revolution?" What were its results?

45. What the connection between the drive for women's rights in the 1960s and the civil rights struggle?

46. What was The Feminine Mystique?

47. Who was Betty Friedan?

48. What was NOW? Who were its organizers?

49. What was Roe v. Wade?

Figure 6, Betty Friedan, head-and-shoulders portrait, World Telegram & Sun photo by Fred Palumbo, Library of Congress Collection

Chapter 32 Questions:

Figure 7, "Ms. Chis. for Pres"So declares this campaign button in support of Shirley Chisholm's efforts to win the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination. The congresswoman from Brooklyn, NY, was known as an advocate for the inner city and as a longtime supporter of feminist causes. At the Democratic presidential convention in Miami Beach, FL, she won 152 delegates before withdrawing from the race. The nomination eventually went to George McGovern. The slogan on one of Chisholm's campaign button, "Unbought and Unbossed," was the title of the congresswoman's 1970 biography. This and the other five buttons shown here were collected by the Smithsonian after Chisholm's campaign. Smithsonian Institution

1. What was the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries? What did they achieve in 1973 and why?

2. Who succeeded President Nixon following his resignation?

3. What qualities did Gerald Ford possess?

4. What action did the U. S. government take after the South Vietnam army and government collapsed in 1975?

5. How was Ronald Reagan connected to Gerald Ford’s attempt at winning the Republican presidential nomination in 1976?

6. What factors led to James Carter's election in 1976?

7. What characterized Carter's presidency?

8. What was often the basis of Carter's political problems?

9. Which president said Americans were too focused on materialism?

10. What economic problem weighed on the economy during the Carter years?

11. What was the ERA? Why did it fail to be ratified?

12. What was Carter's chief concern in foreign affairs?

13. Which country did the Soviet Union invade in 1980?

14. What agreement did Israel and Egypt sign in 1978? What did this achieve?

15. What country held hostages after an Islamic revolution?

16. Who led an important Islamic revolution in 1979?

17. How did the hostage crisis affect America?

18. Before World War II how would Ronald Reagan be described politically?

19. What were the results of the 1980 election?

20. During his last few weeks in office, what was Carter’s major focus?

21. What union did Reagan destroy in 1981?

22. What were Reagan's highest priorities as president?

23. What was Regan's justification for tax cuts?

24. What was Regan's objective relative to Nicaragua and Grenada?

25. American marines joined an international peacekeeping force in which country in 1982?

26. Who was the 1984 Democratic nominee for vice-president? Why was this significant?

27. What is the Moral Majority? Who is Jerry Falwel?

28. What helped Reagan win the 1984 election?

29. What daring move did Walter Mondale make in the 1984 campaign?

30. What was the purpose of Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative?

31. Why did NASA programs suffer beginning in 1986?

32. What was the Income Tax Act of 1986?

33. Who is Sandra Day O'Connor ? What is her connection to Ronald Reagan?

34. How did Ronald Reagan change the Supreme Court?

35. In the 1970s what was the source of most new immigrants?

36. What happened to the traditional family structure of the male worker and the female housewife by the 1980s?

37. What romantic actor died of AIDS in 1985?

38. What major corporate trend during the Reagan years produced massive social and economic changes?

39. What were the major economic consequences of the Reagan presidency?

40. Which Americans benefited the most from the economic trends of the 1980s and policies of the Reagan administration?

41. What was the Iran-Contra affair? Who was blamed as the organizer?

42. Why was Ronald Reagan not held responsible for the Iran-Contra scandal?

43. What was the Reagan administration's policy regarding corporate regulation?

Figure 8, This charm bracelet belonged to Alice Paul, an activist who spent her life campaigning for women's rights. As leader of the National Women's Party, Paul first proposed an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the United States Constitution in 1923. An amendment guaranteeing equal rights for women came closest to passage a half a century later. In 1972, the Senate approved the ERA, and the amendment was submitted to the state legislatures for ratification. Approval by 38 states was required to ensure adoption of the amendment. Not enough states voted in favor. The charms on this bracelet represent the 11 of the 35 states that did. Smithsonian Institution

Chapter 33 Questions:

1. Why, in 1990s, were violent crimes and tawdry scandals saturating America?
2. Who was chosen to be Bush’s running mate in the 1988 presidential election?
3. Who was nominated for President by the Democrats for the 1988 election?
4. In the 1988 election what fear was exploited by George Bush’s campaign?
5. In the 1970s what problem characterized the American criminal justice system?
6. During the 1980s what drug was a major factor in regard violent crime in inner cities?
7. What was President Bush’s crime fighting initiative focused on?
8. How did President Bush try to change his image after the 1988 election?
9. How did Mikhail Gorbachev influence the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe?
10. What allowed the reunification of East and West Germany?
11. Where did a 1991 a bloody civil war break out between Serbian Christians and Bosnian Muslims?
12. In August 1991, who did hard-line communists launched a coup against?
13. Who attacked the oil rich kingdom of Kuwait in 1990?
14. Why was Bush criticized after the Gulf War had ended?
15. Whose pledge as a candidate, “Read my lips: No new taxes,” came back to haunt him after he was elected?
16. Which industry did Bush have to bail out with enormous sums of money?
17. What was called the “financial crime of the century?”
18. What failed real estate development led to an investigation of the Clinton family’s financial dealings?
19. How did Bill Clinton respond to allegations about a long-term affair with Gennifer Flowers?
20. Who was the Texas billionaire who ran independently in the 1992 election?
21. How did Clinton win the 1992 election?
22. What was the issue that Clinton’s position was the opposite of the Reagan-Bush position and was related to Clinton’s choice of a supreme court justice?
23. In his first budget, what was Clinton controversial proposal?
24. What reform attempt failed in Clinton’s first term?
25. Who was appointed as a special prosecutor to the Whitewater Investigations?
26. As a result of the 1994 election, what was the Republicans position in the Congress.
27. Who led the “Republican Revolution” of 1994 but later resigned in 1998?
28. Who won the Republican nomination for President in 1996?
29. Which African-American football star and celebrity was acquitted of murdering his wife and friend?
30. How did the O.J. Simpson trial affect larger issues in American culture?
31. What where the reasons for the new racial separatism of the 1990s?
32. During the late 1980s how did violence in popular culture change?
33. How can the defiant lyrics of rap music be explained?
34. Who did Clinton have an affair with and try to hide it during his second term?
35. Who was appointed as the special prosecutor to investigate Clinton’s sexual impropriety and obstruction of justice?
36. What was the position of Democratic Senators during Clinton’s impeachment trial?
37. How did Clinton’s economic policies help his political survival?
38. What company threatened to monopolize access to the Internet in the 1990s?
39. What was the main issue in the 2000 Presidential campaign?
40. What did Lockerbie, Scotland, The World Trade Center in New York City, and the American embassy in Nairobi, Kenya all have in common?
41. Who was Timothy McVeigh?
42. What have the Al-Qaeda terrorist network of Osama Bin Laden done?
43. What is the Powell doctrine?
44. Which country was invaded a few months after September 11, 2001?

Figure 9, Senator Hiram W. Johnson, California Republican National Convention delegate, standing in the back of an automobile driving in Chicago, 1920. When previously serving as California’s governor he was largely responsible for the adoption of such progressive measures as the initiative, the referendum, and the recall. Library of Congress Collection

California Government and Politics Today Questions:

Chapter 1

1. How powerful is California's economy?

2. How economically significant is California when compared with foreign countries?

3. How politically powerful is California relative to the other states?

4. Are California's citizens more affected by national or state politics?

5. What are maquiladoras?

Chapter 2

1. How large is California?

2. What is the Pacific Rim?

3. What group is the majority in California?

4. How do immigrants affect California?

5. Who makes up California's electorate?

Chapter 3

1. How did the Compromise of 1850 affect California?

2. How did the 1879 constitution affect immigrants?

3. What was the general objective of California's progressives?

4. What happened in California in the 1960s?

5. What is unique about the California constitution in comparison with the federal constitution?

Chapter 4

1. How can Civil Liberties conflict with Civil Rights?

2. What is "DWB?"

3. What is the digital divide? What are its implications?

4. Who drops out of California's public schools?

5. What is interesting about California's Senators?

Chapter 5

1. Why is mass media so important in California politics?

2. What is so important about the California Manufacturers and Technology Association and similar organizations?

3. What it the importance of lobbyists?

4. What is the importance of Children Now and similar groups?

Chapter 6

1. How have political party affiliations changed in California?

2. What does it mean for a political party to have ballot status?

3. What is difference between a closed or blanket primary?

4. What is the importance of non partisan political organizations?

Chapter 7

1. What are some of California's political dynasties and what are they?

2. What is direct democracy?

3. What are initiatives, referendums, and recalls?

4. Who votes in California?

Chapter 8

1. What is the significance of redistricting and gerrymandering and what are they?

2. In California who has legislative authority?

3. In the California legislature what is the importance of presiding officers and committees?

4. How does a bill become a law in California?

Chapter 9

1. How does California's governor check the power of the legislature?

2. What powers and responsibilities does the governor have?

3. How are the governor and the lieutenant governor elected?

4. What is the office-block ballot?

Chapter 10

1. How were California's court restructured in 1998?

2. What is the primary function of the California Supreme Court?

3. How are judges selected in California?

4. What type of courts are found in California?

Chapter 11

1. What is the difference between infraction, misdemeanors, and felonies?

2. How has the crime rate in California changed in recent years?

3. How has the "three-strikes" law contributed to a serious situation regarding California's prisons?

4. What are the comparative annual costs of incarcerating a convict, or educating a student in public school, or community college?

5. What is the purpose of a county grand jury?

Chapter 12

1. What is an "unincorporated" area?

2. What are the responsibilities of cities?

3. What are the two basic variations of city governments?

4. What is the difference between electing city council members either at-large or district-based?

Chapter 13

1. Why are counties vital to California?

2. What are Special Districts? What is the most common form?

3. What are Regional Agencies? What are the two different types?

Chapter 14

1. How is California's annual budget produced?

2. What are California's five major sources of revenue?

3. How can voters directly affect California's finances?

Chapter 15

1. How has deregulation affected California?

2. How does globalization affect California?

3. How has demilitarization affected California?

4. What are California's possible future challenges?

Conclusion

Thinking About the Future

In the grand scope of human events, this class has covered a relatively short period of time yet when the distance is measured the depth and importance of United States history is very deep. While many other western countries had developed their social institutions and forms of government long before the American Civil War, the United States was developing as a political state and laying the foundations of a modern economic and military power simultaneously as it marched across an unsettled continent and warred with aboriginal peoples. In a sense a thousand years of change occurred within the spread of a few generations. It is sometimes easy to look back at our history and see the events unfold as some sort of inevitable action but clearly this was not the case. The United States and its history are the results of layer upon layer of ideas, of hopes, of ordinary people, and the deeds and plans of heros and villains in a whirlwind of action. In the last one hundred and fifty years the United States has developed and changed at unparalleled speed with unexpected results.

This is not to say everything is a surprise. Benjamin Franklin predicted that in the coming century the United States would challenge Britain. Alexis de Tocqueville was impressed by the American experiment in democracy and predicted that the United States would be a very significant nation in the twentieth century. And of course Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton had tried to map out a future for the nation but all they could do was provide a design and a start. Neither they nor anyone else could have fully imagined the United States as it enters the twenty-first century.

When the United States entered the "American Century" after World War II this concept suggested two things: that the United States had reached a pinnacle of power and significance and that this too would to pass. However, the future is not written and with the emergence from the Cold War the United States once again found itself on a pinnacle of power but this time with no matched opponent. So with the dawn of the twenty-first century the American Century, once again, appears to be just beginning.

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