Central Question: How did the rise of conservatism influence the outcome of the 1968 election?
Whereas Richard Nixon entered the Republican convention as the front-runner, the Democrats went through a grueling primary campaign during the 1968 election. Vice President Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy for the nomination after President Johnson announced he would not run for reelection. Nixon began the campaign with a clear lead. He campaigned against rising crime and claimed he would restore law and order. Nixon also instituted the Southern Strategy taking advantage of Southern voters’ resentments at civil rights legislation passed by the Johnson administration. Meanwhile, George Wallace ran as an Independent and garnered the Deep South votes because of his staunch opposition to desegregation. As the country shifted priorities from the tumultuous 1960s, the election of Richard Nixon in 1968 ushered in an era of conservatism.
For more background, read “1945 to the Present” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required) and “The Election of 1968” on PBS, and watch “Crash Course History: The Rise of Conservatism” and “Eric Foner on Conservatism” in the 1970s and 1980s on YouTube.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 5 Key Terms:
Scholars understand the rise of conservatism in American society and can explain how this rise led to the election of Richard Nixon.
Preparation
Read (5 minutes)
Discuss (5 minutes)
Watch (5 minutes)
Discuss (5 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: Why did the United States wage a war on drugs in the 1970s?
One major domestic policy that had a lasting impact on the United States was Nixon’s “War on Drugs.” Proclaiming that drugs were America’s greatest enemy in 1971, Nixon went on a mission to penalize drug use, establish treatment, and close the border with Mexico to stop the flow of drugs. Nixon’s tough-on- drugs programs continued throughout the decade and is still a matter of debate today. Although at the time many Americans agreed that drugs were a problem, Nixon’s war tended to target poor African American, urban drug use, rather than white abuse. Nixon’s policies ultimately led to the imprisonment of many African Americans, while drug use continued to increase among white users.
For more background, read “Was Nixon’s War on Drugs a Racially Motivated Crusade?” on Vox.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 5 Key Term:
Scholars can explain the origins and impact of President Nixon’s War on Drugs and understand how these policies especially affected black Americans.
Launch (2 minutes)
Watch (13 minutes)
Discuss (5 minutes)
Watch (5 minutes)
Discuss (10 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: Should Congress have impeached President Nixon?
In the early hours of June 17, 1972, police officers arrested five men suspected of breaking into the offices of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office building in Washington, D.C. This building would lend its name to the subsequent political scandal that led, just over two years later, to Richard Nixon’s resignation on August 8, 1974. To date, Nixon is the only president of the United States to have resigned from office. He did so as a direct consequence of his involvement in the attempted cover-up of the links between the arrested men, the White House, and the Committee to Re-Elect the President (officially named CRP, it became aptly known as CREEP) during the 1972 presidential elections. In the process, more than 40 members of Nixon’s administration, including some of his top advisers and a former U.S. attorney general, were investigated, and 19 of them were indicted.
For more background, read “To Understand a Scandal: Watergate Beyond Nixon” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required) and “A Nixon Impeachment Trial” on the National Constitution Center website.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 5 Key Term:
Scholars can apply their knowledge of U.S. history to interpret original sources and use these sources to write clear, concise, and compelling claims about whether or not Congress should have impeached President Nixon over the Watergate Scandal.
Read and Write (8 minutes)
Discuss (10 minutes)
Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main ideas or claims based on the discussion.
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: Should Congress have impeached President Nixon?
Scholars can plan and draft clear and compelling written arguments that answer a historical question with strong theses and evidence that supports or proves their theses.
Outline (15 minutes)
Draft (15 minutes)
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: Should Congress have impeached President Nixon?
Scholars revise their essays based on individualized teacher feedback to make their essays stronger and clearer and to understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.
Preparation
Homework
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: How did stagflation and the oil crisis of the 1970s affect Americans?
Domestically, the 1970s experienced a number of financial crises. A recession in 1971, exacerbated by an oil embargo in 1973, brought about a period of “stagflation,” during which inflation grew rapidly but jobs and salaries stagnated. In response to the United States’ involvement in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the Arab members of OPEC initiated an oil embargo, leading to a gas shortage in the United States and harming the American auto industry. Despite Nixon’s, Ford’s, and Carter’s efforts to reboot the economy, stagflation continued, leading to a generalized period of discontent and the loss of many American jobs, ushering in a new period of conservatism in 1980.
For more background, read “Stagflation and the Oil Crisis” on Khan Academy and “Whipping Stagflation” on the University of Houston Digital History website.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 5 Key Terms:
Scholars understand the factors that caused the economy to suffer in the 1970s and can explain how the economic instability of the decade led many Americans to experience financial hardship and insecurity.
Launch (2 minutes)
Watch (5 minutes)
Discuss (3 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: To what extent was presidential foreign policy successful in the 1970s?
The 1970s was a major turning point for the Cold War. In 1973, President Nixon finally withdrew all troops from Vietnam. For the first time, Nixon opened diplomatic relations with Communist China, while also establishing a period of détente with the Soviet Union. President Ford continued to promote Nixon’s détente but struggled when Saigon fell to North Vietnam, marking the loss of the Vietnam War. President Carter attempted to promote human rights, mediating peace talks with Israel and Egypt and restoring rights over the Panama Canal to the Panamanians. The Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979 put a damper on Carter’s foreign policy successes, leading many to doubt his ability to be a strong leader in the face of international crises.
For more background, read “The United States and China During the Cold War” and “The Consequences of Defeat in Vietnam” on the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History website (free login required), as well as “The Iran Hostage Crisis” on the History Channel website.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 5 Key Terms:
Scholars understand how different presidents responded to international conflicts and crises and can explain the extent to which this foreign policy successfully achieved its goals and promoted peace and stability.
Preparation
Launch (2 minutes)
Watch (1 minute)
Discuss (2 minutes)
Homework
Central Question: To what extent were the social movements of the 1970s successful?
The 1970s were a tumultuous time. In some ways, the decade was a continuation of the 1960s. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians, and other marginalized people continued their fight for equality, and many Americans joined the protest against the ongoing war in Vietnam. In other ways, however, the decade was a repudiation of the 1960s. A “New Right” mobilized in defense of political conservatism and traditional family roles. Environmentalism was a chief concern of many Americans and was reflected in domestic policies of the 1970s.
For more background, read “Women’s Movement” on the CNN website, “The Boston Busing Crisis” on the Atlantic website, “Three-Mile Island” on the History Channel website; American Indian Movement website’s history section, “The New Right” on the Independence Hall Association’s USHistory.org website, “History of the Chicano Movement” on ThoughtCo., and “The Kent State Incident” on the History Channel website.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 5 Key Terms:
Scholars analyze the social movements of the 1970s and can evaluate the extent to which these movements successfully affected social change.
Preparation
Homework
Central Question: Why didn’t President Carter get reelected in 1980?
Jimmy Carter served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He aspired to make government “competent and compassionate,” responsive to the American people and their expectations. His achievements were notable, but in an era of rising energy costs, mounting inflation, and continuing tensions, it was impossible for his administration to meet these high expectations.
For more background, read “James Carter” on the official U.S. Government website, and watch “Crash Course History: Ford, Carter, and Economic Malaise” on YouTube.
Scholars understand and can fluently use the following Unit 5 Key Terms:
Scholars can apply their knowledge of United States history to interpret original sources and use these sources to write clear, concise, and compelling claims about the reelection of Jimmy Carter.
Read and Write (8 minutes)
Discuss (10 minutes)
Give scholars 2 minutes to revise their main ideas or claims based on the discussion.
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: Why didn’t President Carter get reelected in 1980?
Scholars can plan and draft clear and compelling written arguments that answer a historical question with strong theses and evidence that supports or proves their theses.
Outline (15 minutes)
Draft (15 minutes)
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Central Question: Why didn’t President Carter get reelected in 1980?
Scholars revise their essays based on individualized teacher feedback to make their essays stronger and clearer and to understand how to use their feedback to grow as writers.
Preparation
Teacher Feedback Guidance
Prompts: Scholars may choose one of the following prompts about Big Ideas in United States history.
Project Menu: Scholars may then choose to respond to the prompt chosen above with one of the formats outlined below.
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