Civil Rights Through Richard Nixon

History M25 – Krister Swanson – Moorpark College

Jackie Robinson

· Baseball = national pastime

· ML vs. Negro Leagues

· 1947: Branch Rickey brings Robinson in to play for Brooklyn Dodgers (NL)

· Faces discrimination from teammates, fans, opposition

· Success disproves myths

Brown vs. the Board

· Plessy had made segregation legal

· 1954: Brown & NAACP (Thurgood Marshall) sue Board of Ed. In Topeka, KN

· SC overturns Plessy, segregation now illegal

Montgomery Bus Boycott

· Blacks forced to sit in back of bus or stand so whites could sit

· Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to leave her seat

· MLK chosen to lead boycott (SCLC)

· Carpool, walk, etc. for 11 mos.

· Face police harassment, KKK violence, King’s house is shot at

· Ends with city backing down

Central High, Little Rock (1957)

· Following Brown court order

· 9 students enter Central High School for their senior year

· face beatings, harassment, national guard sent in to protect them – 7 of 9 graduate

Sit Ins (SNCC - 1960)

· goal is to integrate private facilities in the south – dept. store lunch counters

· extensive training to deal with harassment, arrest, etc.

· many are beaten and jailed, persistence brings success

Freedom Riders

· Ride through South to integrate bus terminals

· mob violence in Alabama (bombs, beatings, harassment)

· Bull Connor “outsiders are stirring up trouble”

· JFK’s afraid violence will hurt U.S. internationally, tries to get SNCC to stop, RFK gets them protection in exchange for arrest

James Meredith & Ole Miss

· Southern Universities home of elite

· 1962: NAACP wins court order to get Meredith admitted

· Gov. stops him from entering, riot breaks out, JFK sends in troops

· Meredith graduates in 1963

Mississippi Summer Project

· SNCC sends hundreds of volunteer college students (B & W) south in the summer of 1964

· Freedom schools, demonstrations, voter registration, etc.

· heavy resistance “prepare for an invasion”

Kennedy’s New Frontier

· Narrow election means no mandate

· Must deal with pressing Cold War issues and Civil Rights tension

· New Frontier is JFK’s vision for what America can be – a challenge to complacent nation

· Problems: inadequate education, urban slums, rural poverty, health care

JFK’s Programs

· Commitment to NASA & Space Race (moon by 1970)

· Increased defense spending

· Area Redevelopment Agency

· Alliance for progress with Latin America

· Peace Corps sends volunteers around world to improve relations

Johnson’s Great Society

· LBJ’s continuation of New Deal legacy – expansive role of federal government)

· war on poverty, civil rights legislation, revitalization of the inner city

· 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1965 Voting Rights Act

· AFDC, Office of Economic Opportunity

· Expansion of welfare programs

Causes for Change

· Baby Boom

· Assassinations

· Suburban homogeneity

· Strict social expectations

· Civil Rights Movement

· Vietnam War

Signs of Change

· Music

· Experimentation with drugs

· New attitudes about sex

· Changes in clothing & hair styles

· ”can’t trust anyone over 30”

· Eastern philosophy

· Communal living

It Ain’t Easy Being Me…

· Political Comeback

· Economy’s tightening up

· Vietnam

· Soviets (Brezhnev)

· Tension between “Two Americas” (cultural revolution)

Richard Nixon

· Grassroots conservatism

· Plays on fears of silent majority

· strengthen support & don’t worry about who you’re pissing off

· Law & Order (Hard Hat backlash)

· New Federalism (Family Assistance, Revenue Sharing, back to states)

· OSHA & the EPA

· Moderate SC (Swann, Roe v. Wade, Milliken)

· Fear of Liberals (plumbers)

Ricardo the Great!?!

· “Peace with Honor” in Vietnam

· With Kissinger pursues “realpolitik” - keep China & USSR opposed

· Visit to China (1972)- breaks barrier, helps keep China opposed to USSR

· Visits USSR 3 mos. later - Détente- reduced tension & sends wheat to USSR è

· SALT I & II- arms reduction (ICBMs)

Watergate Timeline

· 6/17/72- break-in

· 8/72- Nixon: “investigation uncovered no wrongdoing in White House”

· burglars indicted (9/72) & convicted (1/73)

· connections established between burglars & CIA & CREP

· 2/73- Ervin Committee formed (Senate)

The Timeline Continues

· 5/73- Archibald Cox appointed special prosecutor

· Nixon’s Aides begin dropping out

· 6/73- Butterfield reveals tapes

· Cox & Ervin start battle for tapes

· 10/20/73- Richardson fired for refusing to fire Cox

· 3/1/74- 7 men indicted for cover-up

The Timeline Continues

· 4/30/74- Nixon releases edited transcripts of tapes

· Sirica asks for additional tapes, Nixon refuses, SC says they must be turned over

· 7/15/74- Judiciary Committee tenders three articles of impeachment

· 8/9/74- Nixon Resigns