I.

Bailey 42 The Stalemated Seventies1968-1980

1. Reasons the postwar wave of economic growth crested by the early 1970s
Increased women & teenagers in the workforce
o Typically fewer skills than male adults & less likely to take full-time, long-term jobs where skills
might be developed
Declining investment in new machinery
Heavy costs of compliance w/ govt-imposed safety & health regulations
General shift of American economy from manufacturing ~> services
Vietnam War
o Drained tax $ from needed improvements in edu
o Deflected scientific skill & manufacturing capacity from civilian sector
o Touched off inflation spiral
Along with rising oil prices
But the deepest roots lay in govt policies
Esp. Johnsons simultaneous Vietnam war fighting & Great Society funding,
both w/o tax increases to finance added expenditure
o Military & welfare spending: inflationary (w/o + taxes)
Abrupt reversal of financial fortunes
o Competitive advantage of Am. Businesses great after WWII ~> little incentive to improve
Germans & Japanese built new modern factories
Dominate industries like steel, automobiles, & consumer electronics
2. Reasons why the court came under huge criticism from 1954 throughout the 1960s
Chief Justice Earl Warren * (appointed 1953) led Supreme Court into decisions drastically affecting sexual
freedom, criminals rights, practice of religion, civil rights, structure of political representation (decisions
reflect concern for the individual, no matter how lowly)
o Griswold v. Connecticut *
Struck down state law prohibiting use of contraceptives, even among married
SC claims right of privacy
o Assailed as invention of rights not specified in C
o Gideon v. Wainwright *
All defendants in serious criminal cases entitled to legal counsel, even if too poor to
afford
o Escobedo & Miranda *
Ensure right of accused to remain silent & enjoy other protections
Safeguards against confessions under torture
Critics condemn crook coddling, should handcuff criminals not cops
o New York Times v. Sullivan *
Public figures can sue for libel only if they can prove that malice motivated defamers
Opened door for free-wheeling criticism of public actions & private lives of
politicians & other officials
o Engel v. Vitale * & School District of Abington Township v. Schempp
Against required prayers & Bible reading in public schools
Based on 1st Amendment (separation of church & state)
Religious believers view justices as same level as atheistic communists
o Following school-desegregation 1954, supported black ppl in civil rights cases
5 S state legislatures nullified decision & were overruled
Held that states couldnt deny to blacks rights extended to whites
Conservatives maligned SC for rewriting not interpreting C
At expense of states rights & other C guarantees
Acting too much like a legislature & not enough like judicial body
o Reynolds v. Sims *

State legislatures (both upper & lower houses) to be reapportioned according to human
popn irrespective of cows
One-man-one-vote
Struck at overrepresentation in state legislatures of agricultural districts
States righters & right-wingers angered Impeach Earl Warren
Legislatures grudgingly accord
o From 1954 onward, SC under relentless criticism
Foes attempt unsuccessfully to clip wings w/ bills in Congress or Amendments
3. Nixons counter to the Supreme Court meddling and the irony
President Nixon (to fulfill campaign promise against permissiveness & judicial activism) of Warrens Court
o Counters SCs meddling
For vacancies, sought appointees who would strictly interpret C, cease meddling in social
& political questions, not coddle radicals/criminals
1969: Warren E. Burger nominated by Senate to succeed retiring Warren
Before end of 1971, 4 conservative Nixon appointments out of 9
o Irony about his counter moves
Once seated on SC, appointees (justices) free to decide according to own beliefs not Pres
Burger Court shaped by Nixon reluctant to dismantle liberal Warren Court rulings
Produced controversial judicial opinion
o Roe v. Wade *: Legalized abortion
4. Watergate Scandal and Nixons forced resignation by the Republican party
June 17, 1972: burglary in Democratic headquarters
o 5 men w/ electronic bugging equipment
Working for Republic Committee for the Re-election of the President CREEP *
Raised 10s of millions of $, often by secretive, unethical, unlawful means
dirty tricks campaign of espionage and sabotage against Demo candidates in
campaign of 1972
Prominent White House aides & advisors forced to resign for criminal
obstruction of justice
Provoked improper of illegal use of Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency
o White House enemies list turned up, w/ even innocent citizens to be prosecuted
o Nixons aides authorized burglary of files of Dr. Daniel Ellsbergs * psychiatrist
To destroy man who leaked the Pentagon Papers *
Most notorious exploit of White House plumbers unit *
created to plug of leaks of confidential info
o Select Senate committee headed by Sam Ervin conducted televised series of hearings
o John Dean III testified on involvement of top echelons in White House, including Pres, in coverup of Watergate break-in
Accused Nixon of obstructing justice
Former Pres aide reported bugging equipment installed under Pres authority in White House
o Nixon denied prior knowledge of Watergate burglary or involvement in cover-up
o Deans testimony could be checked against White House tapes
Nixon refused to produce evidence
Cite separation of powers & exec privilege (confidentiality) <~ dubious
VP Agnew forced to resign 1973
o Accused of taking bribes kickbacks from MD contractors as govr & as VP
o Pres. Nixon now in danger of being impeached
Congress invoked 25th A
Replaced Agnew w/ 12-term congressman Gerald Ford
10 days after Agnew resigned, Saturday Night Massacre * (Oct 20, 1973)

Archibald Cox * : Harvard law professor appointed as special prosecuter by Nixon

Issued subpoena for relevant tapes & other docs from White House
Nixon, cornered, orders firing of Cox
Accepts resignations of attorney genl & deputy attorney (they refuse to fire
Cox)
Spring 1974: Nixon agreed to publication of relevant portions of tapes
o Response to House Judiciary Committees demand for Watergate tapes
o Substantial sections missing & expletives deleted
o Demands for rest of material were refused
o July 24, 1974: SC ruled unanimously that executive privilege gave him not right to withhold
from the special prosecutor portions of tapes relevant to criminal activity
o House Judiciary Committee adopted articles of impeachment
1st: obstruction of the administration of justice inc. Watergate-related crimes
2: accuse Nixon of abusing powers of office & of showing contempt of Congress by
ignoring lawful subpoenas for relevant tapes & other evidence
Aug 1974: Nixon made public 3 subpoenaed tapes of conversations w/ chief aide
o Own words convicted him of being active in attempted cover-up
Crime of obstructing justice & lied to the ppl earlier saying that he had known nothing
o Public backlash overwhelming
Rep leaders force him to resign
Impeachment by full House & removal by Senate were foregone conclusions
Best serve his nation, his party, and himself by resigning w/ honor or semblance
If convicted by the Senate, lose all normal resignment benefits
o If resigned, retain them: $150,000 + a year
Aug 8, 1974: Nixon announced resignation on TV
o Farewell Address: some judgments that were wrong but acted in what I believed at the time
to be the best interests of the nation
o US survived the Constitutional crisis
The impeachment machinery works & no person is above the law
5. US Policy in the Middle East and its affect on relationships with oil producing nations throughout 1970s
Middle east erupted Oct 1973: Syrians & Egyptians surprise attack Israel
o Kissinger fled to Moscow
o Nixon placed US nuclear forces on alert & ordered airlift of $2 billion in war materials to Israelis
Believed that Soviets ready to fly combat troops to Suez Area
Assistance helped Israelis turn tide
American diplomacy brings uneasy cease-fire
US policy of backing Israel against oil-rich neighbors ~> heavy penalty
o Late Oct 1973, Arab nations clamped embargo on oil for US & other countries supporting Israel
Iran 1979: Mohammed Reza Pahlevi installed as shah of Iran (oil-rich) w/ help from CIA in 1953
o Revn ~> Pahlevi exiled
Spearheaded by Muslim fundamentalists
Resent his campaign to Westernize & secularize
Denounce US as Great Satan
Iranian oil stopped flowing into world commerce
Shortages; OPEC hikes petroleum prices
1979: Carter met w/ USSR Leonid Brezhnev to sign SALT II agreements in Vienna
o Limit levels of lethal strategic weapons in Soviet & Am arsenals
Fails to ratify
o Political earthquakes in Persian Gulf (depended on by Western world for oil)
Dangerously close to USSR
o Nov 4, 1979: anti-Am Muslim militants mobs storm US embassy in Teheran, Iran
o

 Take occupants hostage

Demand Am authorities to ship back to Iran the exiled shah (who went to US)
Shaky Iranian govt refused to intervene against militants
o Dec 27, 1979: Soviet army attacked Afghanistan; appeared poised for thrust at gulf oil
Carter embargoes USSR on grain & high-technology machinery exports
Calls for boycott of upcoming Olympic Games in Moscow
Propose Rapid Deployment Force: requested that young ppl, inc. women, be
made to register for possible military draft
Proclaim that US would use any means necessary, including force to protect
Persian Gulf against Soviets
6. Affects of high oil prices throughout the 1970s on the economy and how they are manifested by the time
Carter is president
US suffered in winter; lowered thermostats & speedometers; deepened business recession
energy crisis energized long-deferred projects (often environmentally detrimental)
o Costly oil pipeline from N to S Alaska approved by congress 1974
o Congress enacted natl speed limit of 55 mi/hr to save fuel
o More proposals for utilizing energy from sun, wind, geothermal sources, untapped coal deposits
o Agitation for construction of more nuclear power plants
Arab embargo signaled end of era of cheap & abundant energy
o Since 1948, US: net importer of oil
US oil production peaked 1970 then began irreversible decline
Americans had more than 3x oil consumption since end of WWII
# of cars +
King Coal dethroned in favor of oil
By 1974, US oil addicted & vulnerable to interruption in supplies
o Middle East strategically interesting to US
Middle Eastern sheiks, through OPEC * (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
o Quadruple their price for crude oil after lifting embargo 1974
o Huge new oil bills disrupt US balance of internatl trade & further fueled inflation
o US formed International Energy Agency 1974 as counterweight to OPEC
Various sectors begin to adjust to age of energy dependency
By the time Carter is Pres,
o Prices ++: more than 10% a year by 1974 (double-digit inflation)
o Crippling oil-price hikes from OPEC in 1974 further blow to economy
o Recession brought inflation rate down temp during Fords prescy, but after Carters inauguration,
continued
o Imported oil bill souring ~> US balance of payments plunged deeply ($40 billion 1978)
Am. Pay more for foreign products than able to earn from selling overseas
o oil shocks taught Am that they can never again consider economic isolation as a policy
GNP 27% depended on foreign trade by end of century
New economic independence means that US cannot dominate internatl trade & finance
as easily
Rapidly globalizing economy
o Huge budget deficits (nearly $60 billion 1980) aggravate inflation further
prime rate vaulted to 20% & high cost of borrowing $ hurtful to small business &
contruction industry
o Carter diagnosed US economic disease as primarily from dependence on foreign oil
Appeal to embark on energy crusade the moral equivalent of war
Call for legislation to improve energy conservation
Esp. by curtailing manufacture of large, gas-guzzling cars

Public apathy & congressional hostility smothered his hopes of initiating an

energetic energy program
o After 1979, OPEC raised prices following Iran Revn, Carter ~> Camp David counsel
TV Address: chided ppl for falling into moral & spiritual crisis & for being too
concerned w/ material goods
II. Bailey 43The Resurgence of Conservatism1980-1996
A.
Supply-side Economics
o combination of tightly watching and balancing the budget and tax reductions

Sandra Day OConnor

o

conservative minded Supreme Justice

first woman in the SC

Affirmative Action
o

taking actions based on race, religion, gender, nationality, or sexual orientation

usually the actions are used to help the minority or underrepresented group

Sexual harassment
o

Anita HIll initiated the growing awareness for it

Oregons Republican senator Robert Packwood busted by the new sexual etiqueete, and he was
forced to resign

Bakke v. UC Davis (1978)

o

white Californian that SC (five to four) voted to support his claim that his med school application
was turned down because he was not a minority race

UC Davis was ordered by the SC to admit Bakke

no preference in admission could be given due to any group, minority, or majority on the basis or
ethnic or racial identity alone

HOWEVER racial factors could be taken into consideration in a schools overall admission policy

Yuppies
o

young, urban professionals

young people that made a habit of showing off their luxury goods and being lavishly wasteful

epitomized the values of materialism and the pursuit of wealth

Roe v. Wade (1973)

o

Clarence Thomas
o

conservative African-American that Bush nominated for SC

critic of affirmative-action policies and rejected abortion

nomination opposed by liberal groups like organized labor (NAACP and NOW)

Anita Hill accuses him of sexually harassing her, and this throw the Senate into heated debate
before still accepting the nomination (52-48)

gender gap
o

SC prohibits states from making laws that interfered with a womans right to an abortion during
the early months of pregnancy

women grew increasingly distant from the Republicans (who held a staunch opposition to
abortion)

Neo-Conservatives
o

supported free-market capitalism without government restrictions and were anti-Societ

questioned liberal welfare programs and affirmative-action policies

called for reassertion of traditional values of individualism and the importance of family

Reagan was one of these along with Norman Podhoretz (Commentary magazine) and Irving
Kristol (The Public Interest newspaper)

Webster v. Reproductive Health Services(1989)

o

though it didnt completely overturn Roe v. Wade, it put a lot of doubt

SC approve a MS law that imposed certain restrictions on abortion

by approving, it meant that it allowed the states to legislate on abortion when Roe said they could
not

Anita Hill
o

the woman that accused Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her

made the nation focus on issues on sexual harassment

...read my lips, no new taxes

o a promise that Bush made but later broke

B.
7. The big government had to much participation in the economics and socials of American society. He disliked
the social engineering. Reagan supported the common man like FDR, but blamed the government for the current
situation rather than big businesses. He condemned federal intervention in local affairs, minority favoring, and the
classing-off attitude of the bureaucrats.
8. In the beginning, Reagan first proposed a new federal budget that cut back around $35 billion from social
programs and federally funded job-training centers. Next, he instituted deep tax cuts which totaled to around 25%
across-the-board reduction over a period of 3 years. In August 1981, Congress concedes to his plan that lowered
individual tax rates, nearly eliminated federal estate taxes, and made new tax-free savings plans for small investors.
At first, it appeared that supply-side economics was a failure as unemployment rates peaked, business collapsed,
and banks failed. There was a small Reagan recession. In 1983, however, the economy picked up. However, it the
economy itself was not uniform in increase. The gap in wages and income between rich and poor widened.
9. Reagan left many major tax reform bills when he left office. He failed to really balance the budget. Supply-side
economics had originally tried to lower taxes to increase government revenue, but the combination of tax reduction
and increased military expenditures increased deficits. President Reagan added nearly $2 trillion to the national debt,
so his legacy was an economic failure. The deficits meant that the American posterity would have to work even
harder than their parents in order to pay off those debts and lower their standard of living. Politically, Reagan
triumphed to slow the growth of government and to deter social programs launched by LBJ in the Great Society. He
successfully, through his incurred deficits, to contain the welfare state. Not only that, he contributed to a long-term
trend of shrinking middle class and huge gaps between class incomes.
10. The court in the beginning gave freedom for women to choose whether or not to have an abortion in Roe v.
Wade. They barred the states from legislating laws on the womens right, but the decision was seriously
compromised when Webster v. Reproductive Health Services and Planned Parenthood v. Casey gave states some
leeway. The Courts ruling allowed for pro-choice organizations to become a even more solid entity in AMerican
society, and the problem of abortion would be a touchy subject in the state legislatures. The cultural conflict will
continue to rage even until present day.
11. Thomas, though he was nominated for SC, allegedly participated in sexual harassment, claimed by Anita Hill.
There was great controversy as the public and Senate Judiciary Committee watched them battle it out. They had to
make a decision if Hill was telling the truth or not. In the end, they did confirm Thomass spot on the supreme
bench.
12. In 1992, unemployment rate was higher than 7%, and reached 10% in key state California. The federal budget
deficit continued to grow to $250 billion. To solve the issue, Bush implemented a budget agreement that included
$133 billion in new taxes, which broke his campaign promise of no new taxes As a result, there became less trust
in the government as more and more scandals arose. (For example, the HoR was revealed to have written thousands
of bad checks from their accounts in a private House bank). Movements to put restriction on the number of terms
elected officials could serve popularly rose in many states. Many office-holders would announce that they would
refuse reelection.
III. Bailey 44The American People Face a New Century
A.

Pink collar ghetto

o Part time, unskilled jobs that women take up; low prestige, low pay
Family Leave Act
o Job protection for working dads and moms that take time off work for family related reasons

o Shows changing gender roles: men as well as women take up responsibilities of taking care of
the household & doing chores
Social Security
o Old people increasingly reliant on social security as the US budget was strained to the limit
Medicare
o When it was introduced, the GNP spent for elders doubled
o Medical payment for seniors cost way more than the educational spending on young people
The model minority
o Asians
Welfare Reform Act
o Restrict social services access & required able-bodied welfare recipient to find work w/in 2 yrs
o Useless bill though bold try
CA Prop 209
o Ended affirmative-action programs in CA
o Victory for opponents of affirmative action and showed the resentment towards liberal social
engineering programs and the American impatience with the societys inability to resolve racial issues
Larry McMurtry
o Wrote about small town West; Lonesome Dove
David Guterson
o Interracial anxiety and affection in WWII in Pacific Northwest in Snow Falling on Cedars
Norman MacLean
o Former English professor
o Accounts of boyhood in Montana: A River Runs Through It and Young Men and Fire
George Wolfe
o Black identity; Jellys Last Jam
Toni Morrison
o Maternal affection in Beloved
o First African-American woman to win Nobel Prize for literature
Alice Walker
o Experience of black women; The Color Purple
Amy Tan
o The Joy Luck Club: relationships between immigrant Chinese parents & Asian American children
Ann Tyler
o Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant; The Accidental Tourist
The National Endowment for the Arts
o Federal government support for the arts
No growth economy
o Many American embraced the idea of having ecological stability
1989 Exxon Valdez
o Oil spill in Alaskas Prince William Sound
o Ecological risks of oil transportation
Georgia OKeefe
o Vivid colored painting of the Southwest
Andy Warhol
o Pop artist; Used cans and everyday household items for inspiration
Robert Rauschenberg
o Elaborate collages out of cardboard boxes and newspaper clippings

B.
13. Information age/communications revolution
Development of information age
o As 20th century opens, US Steel Corporation: flagship business of USs industrial revolution
Heavy industry: for building nations basic physical infrastructure

General Motors: characteristic US corpotation

Produces millions of automobiles
Signals historic shift to mass consumer economy that began 1920s & flowered 1950s
o Following WWII, rise of International Business Machines (IBM)
Symbolized transformation to information age
Storing, organizing, and processing of data became industry
Pace of information age accelerated
o By end of 20th century, emergence of Microsoft & internet growth: explosive communications
revolution
information superhighway allowed global access
Communications revolution full of both promise & peril
o Promise
Ordinary citizens can easily access info once available only to the elites
Businesspeople can have transactions of great scope & complexity throughout the world
o Peril
Speed & efficiency of new communications tools threatened to wipe out entire jobs
Workers who intermediate between product and client may be rendered obsolete
o Postal deliverers, travel agents, store clerks, bank tellers, stock brokers
Computer makes classrooms without walls possible
o Students can pursue learning largely on their own: threatens teachers
Scientific research: engine that drove economy
New scientific knowledge: new social & moral dilemmas
o When secrets of molecular genetic structure were unlocked 1950s
Road open to breeding new high-yield, pest & weatherresistant crops, curing hereditary diseases
Unfortunately it is possible to unleash genetic mutations that
might threaten fragile ecological balance of the earth
o Technical mastery of biological & medical techniques advanced
Unprecedented ethical questions
14. Widening Income Gap from 60s to 90s and its Causes
Americans still affluent at the end of the 20th century
o Median household income declined somewhat in early 1990s, but rebounded by mid 1990s
o Even Americans w/ incomes below govts official poverty level have higher standard of living
than 2/3 of humankind
In 1990s, Americans no longer the worlds wealthiest people (as they had been 25 years after WWII)
o Unsettling reversal of long-term trends in US society: the rich were getting richer & the poor were
getting poorer at accelerating rates
The gap between the rich & poor began to widen in the 1980s & grew wider in the 1990s
Richest 20% have nations income; poorest 20% had < 4%
Trend was evident in many industrial societies, but most evident in the US
Chief executives earn 225x as much as the avg worker in their corporations
36 million people remained in poverty (12% whites, 29.3% Af-Am, 30% Hisp.)
Causes
o Tax & Fiscal policies by Reagan & Bush
Favored the wealthy & penalized the poor
o Deeper-running historical currents probably played a more powerful role
Other industrialized societies have similar experiences
Intensifying global economic competition
Shrinkage in high-paying manufacturing jobs for semiskilled & unskilled
workers
Greater economic rewards for educated workers in high-tech industries
o

Decline of unions
Growth of part-time & temporary work
Rising tide of relatively low-skill immigrants
Increasing tendency of educated men & women to marry one another & both
work ~> households with high incomes
15. The gains made by women in the 1990s and the areas were gains were not as evident
Women were profoundly affected by the economic changes of the late 20th century
o At the beginning of the century, women: 20% of workers
o Over the next 5 decades, increased at a steady rate (a temporary spurt occurred during WWII)
o 1950s: womens entry into workplace dramatically accelerated
o 1990s: all workers were women
Majority of working-age women hold jobs outside the home
Upsurge in employment of mothers
Beginning in the 1960s, all-male strongholds open doors to women
o Like Yale, Princeton, West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy, and even southern military
academics like Citadel and Virginia Military Institute)
o Women can govern states & cities, write Supreme Court decisions, debate the law of the land in
both houses of Congress
o 1996: women launch professional basketball league of their own: crack gender barrier
Despite these gains, many feminists were still frustrated
o Women continue to receive lower wages than men in same jobs
o Women tend to concentrate in a few low-prestige, low-paying jobs: pink-collar ghetto *
o In 1990s, women were only 25% of lawyers and judges, 22% of physicians
Even though women were more than 1/2 of the population
o Occupational segregation due to overt sexual discrimination, but mostly due to the greater burdens
of parenthood placed on women than on men
16. Changing role of the male & the makeup of the family, as the role of women changed
Mens movement sprang up seeking to redefine male roles in a new age of increasing gender equality
o Some employers provide paternity leave & maternity leave
Recognition of the shared obligations of the 2-worker household
o Many corporations sponsor highly popular fatherhood seminars & husbands support groups
As traditional female responsibilities spilled over to men (Cooking, laundry, childcare)
o Congress passed Family Leave Act/Bill 1993 *
Mandates job protection for working fathers as well as mothers who need to take time off
work for family-related reasons
Recognizes the new realities of the modern American household
The fading family
o Nuclear family suffered blows in modern America
By 1990s, marriages ended in divorce
The 1950s ideal of a family with two parents w/ 1 working was now a virtually useless
way to picture the typical American household
o Traditional families falling apart at an alarming rate & also increasingly slow to form
The proportion of adults living alone tripled from 1950-1990s
By 1990s, 1/3 women age 15-19 had never married; many babies born to single mothers
Every 4th child in US grows up in a household lacking 2 parents
Collapse of traditional family contributed heavily to the pauperization of many women &
children
Single parents (usually mothers) struggle to keep households economically
afloat & families emotionally intact
o Child-rearing increasingly assigned to parent-substitutes at day-care centers & schools, or TV
electronic babysitter

Americans were increasingly likely to be lonely in their later years

Most elderly people in the 1990s depend on pension plans & govt Social Security *
payments, but not on loved ones
Most live not in own homes but in hospitals & nursing facilities
From youth to old age, the role of the family was dwindling
17. Due to elders living longer, they became a formidable political force that lobbied for govt favors & sought to
make significant gains for the senior citizens. The share of GNP spent on medical care for these older people
doubled, and brought much fiscal strain with the combination of Social Security and Medicare. More and more
people were retiring earlier to reap in the benefits of retirees. Congress was forced to increase retirement payments
when production stagnated. They are the unfunded liability and would slowly lead to the bankruptcy of the
republic. The larger payments to retirees also mean smaller wages for active workers. Social Security taxes soon
would overwhelm citizens as they grow increasingly larger than income taxes. In the twenty-first century, there is a
war between the generations as the elderly threaten to spend up nearly half of the working populations income.
o

18. In the 60s, the Europeans were the highest immigrants to America, but they steadily decreased in numbers in the
70s and 80s. On the other hand, Mexican braceros and illegal immigrants increasingly crowded into Sunbelt states
like California and Texas, showing a huge Latino population. They steadily increase from the 60s to 80s. They have
become so huge that America has made bilingual signs of both English and Spanish. They made a truly bicultural
zone in the southwest, and their population has already allowed for political positions to fall into Latino hands.
Asians started off very small in the 60s, but their immigrant count nearly doubled by the time of the 80s, and they
have become respectable, successful American citizens.
19. In many big cities, minorities reigned supreme. For example, the Latinos and Asians all swarmed to Los
Angeles. African Americans also made a big part of the city populations. In the cities, crime was a prevalent thing
that drove people to the suburbs. There were also murders, drug activity, burglary, and rape that occurred on a fairly
consistent basis. Frightened, people fled to the supposedly safer suburbs, and they established elaborate security
systems that created a sense of isolation in the national community. Cities were left with the old ghettos and the
poorest of the poor. They lacked a middle class to sustain community institutions, and was overridden with
unemployment, drug abuse, and lack of leadership, unity, and hope.
20. In the Federal Budget, National Defense is increasingly diminishing. Health on the other hand is steadily
increasing. Education increases slightly, but the percent remains fairly constant. Income Security increased in very
small increments. Interest remained consistent in the 60s and 70s, but doubled by 1997. The other category remains
consistent.