Retreat and Resurrection - Chapter 20

RETREAT AND RESURRECTION, 1974-88

CHAPTER 20

1.      How was Gerald Ford’s “bland personality” a welcome relief for America? Pg. 721-22 From all the turmoil of Nixon, Watergate and Johnson and the Vietnam War it was a needed change. Ford was at least honest if nothing else.

2.      What became of South Vietnam after the U.S. left the country? Pg. 723 The North eventually surrounded Saigon and captured the south. Literally millions of South Vietnamese were killed in “reeducation” camps. Many tried to leave on U.S. helicopters but were held at bay by gunpoint. The lucky ones that escaped came to America to establish fake nail salons.

3.      After the “Six Day War” with Egypt, how did Nixon alone “save Israel”? Pg. 725 Prime Minister, Golda Meir, persuaded Nixon to provide an emergency airlift of arms, which provided the logistics for a Jewish counterattack after days of absorbing blows. Thousands of tons of supplies were delivered and Israel was again successful.

4.      What caused the horrendous gas lines in the ‘70’s?  How did the flood of government regulation affect the economy thereafter? Pg. 726-728 OPEC cut oil production and boosted prices by 70%. Then two months later, they hiked prices again by 128%. With the skyrocketing prices, Nixon imposed a ceiling on gas prices which made gas artificially low. People frantically filled up their cars in panic, causing horrible lines at gas stations. The flood of regulation stopped business in its tracks. All the restrictions and emissions but greater strain on the auto industry, etc. and increased prices were passed on to consumers. OSHA cost businesses thousands of dollars to come into compliance with government regulation. Big businesses such as IBM, AT&T, Bell, did not innovate one of the top 50 products like the cell phone, personal computer, etc.

5.      How did labor unions affect the economy of the ’70’s? Discuss the importance to the NEA’s labor union fight in Wisconsin today. Pg. 729 Became the right arm of the Democratic party. The cost of labor increased 6 times over foreign countries. Americans paid up to 70% more to stay loyal to American made products. Because unions took a hit with memberships dropping, the NEA and the union for federal employees became the union’s last gasp. The fight in Wisconsin today is vitally important to whether unions live or die nationwide.

6.      What impact did the ERA, the Pill, and feminism have on the family and the economy in general? Pg. 731-732 The Pill was originally designed to get rid of the “less desirable” in our society; blacks, handicapped children, etc. It went much further than that however. With the Pill, women were not held accountable by their actions. By not becoming pregnant, they could now pursue a career and basically “have it all”. In reality, they had the job on top of the family. They paid extra in gas, clothes, childcare, eating more fast food. There was more pressure to keep up with the Joneses; a bigger house, boat, cars, etc. hence – more stress. Only the pesky religion thing was in their way. The feminists fought against the restrictions of religion, and many churches caved to the pressure in order to keep their members happy and money coming in. The role of fathers became diminished. Men were portrayed as being dumb and that women didn’t need them. The result – children involved in crime, bad grades, and low self-esteem. Men left their wives for the “new and improved” wife. Funny thing… they left her after a while too.

7.      Explain the significance of the SALT I treaty. Pg. 737 This was an attempt by Carter and Brezhnev. SALT I is the common name for the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Agreement, also known as Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. SALT I froze the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers at existing levels, and provided for the addition of new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers only after the same number of older intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and SLBM launchers had been dismantled. SALT II actually put the U.S. at a huge disadvantage.

8.      Camp David Accords. Who was involved? What was the final outcome? How did Carter accomplish such a feat? Pg. 740-741 Carter, Egypt’s Anwar el Sadat, and Israel’s Menachem Begin. Normalized relations between the two countries but the deal was clinched when Carter offered “the largest-ever American Foreign-aid package… a total of $5 billion over a three-year period.” And two military airfields for Israel in the Negev. Unfortunately, this did not address the religious problem that has always been at the route of the middle east conflict.

9.      Describe the “America Held Hostage” crisis. How could that have been avoided according to the authors? Pg. 742 Carter’s weakness and vacillation in foreign policy was a huge detriment. He failed to see that the Iranians were a serious threat. The Ayatollah stormed the American embassy and took the employees hostage threatening to kill all of them if there was an attempt to rescue them. American stood helplessly by tying yellow ribbons on old oak trees.

10.    The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold against Russia. What did this symbolize? Pg. 742-43 That the U.S. could indeed conquer the Soviets. That the U.S. had the tenacity to win against all odds. It was a statement about the strength of democracy vs. communism.

11.   How did the media spin Reagan’s stunning victory over incumbent Carter? Pg. 746 1) low turnout – even though the dems took bus loads of people out to register voters who never intended to vote, 2) attacked his acting career: that he didn’t play any great or substantial roles.

12.   What one characteristic would say made Ronald Reagan one of the greatest U.S. presidents? Pg. 747 Self-deprecating personality, humor, laughing and joking, did not take life so serious, hard on terrorists and bad guys, was not afraid to call it like it is. Russia is an “evil empire

13.   How did Reagan’s “voodoo economics” (a term affectionately coined by George H.W. Bush) affect the sagging economy? Pg. 748 Great! The trickle down affected almost everyone. Markets prospered, people had more money in their pockets. ”. Lower capital gains taxes caused investors to pump money into the economy. This all resulted in confidence in American productivity and purpose.

14.   “Freedom is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and universal right of all human beings…” Discuss this observation and how it shaped Reagan’s foreign policy. Pg. 752-53 He truly believed, as did the forefathers, in man’s inherent desire to be free and that he wanted to do everything in his power to ensure the freedoms of all men.

15.   How did SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) contribute to the downfall of communism? Pg. 757 Strategic Defensive Initiative was a U.S. program designed specifically to “ render obsolete, once and for all, much of the USSR’s advantage in nuclear missiles.”

16.   Compare Reagan’s economy of the late ‘80’s to the previous 30-40 years. Pg. 759 We had a president with a spine who would actually go after the bad guys and keep us safe. His tax cuts and benefits to business and drop in regulation helped everyone to prosper; not just an elite few.

17.   Was Oliver North on the right side by taking all the blame for the Iran Contra scandal and not implicating Reagan? Pg. 761

18.   Few events are as iconic or symbolic as the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. What did that represent besides a pile of rubble? Pg. 762. Freedom and Reagan’s belief that all men should be free to choose and live as they see fit.