Notes From April 9

Sorry that I'm posting this so late! Here are the notes from Thursday, April 9...

CHAPTER 31

-Ford inherited staglation; focused on rising prices rather than on increasing unemployment; his program was "Whip Inflation Now" (WIN):
One year income tax surcharge and cuts in federal spending as solutions to inflation; prices defied predictions of prevailing economic wisdom and rose
Rising prices accompanied by sharp recession
Both prices and unemployment continued to rise
Ford abandons WIN
-Ford and democratic Congress couldn't agree on how to deal with stagflation
Ford vetoed 39 spending bills
Eventually went along with congressional program that included:
tax cut, increase in unemployment benefits, unbalanced federal budget, limited set of controls over oil prices
-Ford steered US through final days in Vietnam
began by assuring S. Vietnam that the US would support them if North were to threaten
N. Vietnamese army moved rapidly thru South in 1975; Congress refused to re-introduce US military power
April 1975 - Communists drove American backed government in Cambodia out of power and overran Saigon (renaming it Ho Chi Minh City)
-May 1975 - elements of Cambodian Khimer Rouge boarded US merchant ship Mayaguez and seized crew
Ford ordered rescue mission and bombing strikes against Cambodia; crew rescued; Marines killed in attempt
-1976- Jimmy Carter elected; low voter turnout - Carter wins narrow victory and enters office w/o popular mandate
-increasing numbers of people living in central cities could find only low-paying, short-term jobs with no fringe benefits; many had no jobs
WHY? Tax cuts and increases spending on public works projects temporarily lowered unemployment rate; federal reserve board permitted money supply to grow
*measures meant to stimulate recovery actually caused increased price inflation
-ever-rising internation oil prices triggered series of gasoline/home heating fuel increases that rippled through economy - inflation andhigh prices chocked off productivity and economic growth
-Carter primised significant change in foreign policy, and we got it
extended amnesty to Vietnam draft dodgers
concern for human rights - "Human Rights President"
chose a hard liner national security advisor (Zbignew Brezinski) and a go-easy secretary of state (Cyrus Vance)
*policy making was in a disarray
-Relinquish ownership of US built Panama Canal to Panama despite strong opposition; Carter negotiated treaty with Panama and was ratified by US Senate by one vote
Canal passed to Panama in 2000
CARTERS GREATEST FOREIGN POLICY SUCCESS = bringing leaders of Egypt and Israel to Camp David where they developed framework for reaching a Middle East peace treaty after years of Arab-Israeli Wars in exchange for hige guarantees of financial assistance
-1977 - Carter sent proposal to change the public welfare system to Congress opposing any increase in federal budget - asked for more cash assistance to the poor and more jobs
Proposal died in Congress
-pushed hard on energy issues
without consulting Congress, goes on national TV and announced complicated energy proposal:
expand domestic energy production through new tax incentives and deregulation of natural gas production
decreased US reliance on foreign oil and natural gas
levy new taxes to discourage gasoline use
foster conservation by encouraging energy-saving measures
promote non-petroleum energy sources
*Congress quickly rejected
- no greater success with economic policy; inherited Nixon and Ford's stagflation
-pledged to lower both unemployment and inflationl stimulate economic growth and balance federal budget
1980- economy almost stopped expanding; unemployment and inflation increased
-Carter dumped on Taiwan and established formal diplomatic ties with communist China
-human rights policies applied inconsistently - hammered small weak states and ignored abuses by major powers
some allies who repressed their citizens (Fernando Marcos in Phillipines) felt little pressurel Samoza gov't in Nocoragua fell to anti-American Sandinistas
- In Iran...Shah Reza Pahlavi - installed by US CIA in 1953 came under pressure for allowing too much westernization of Iran - Muslim church led opposition; overthrown by Islamic fundamentalists in 1979
-Shah asked for and was denied entry to US where his son was attending Air Force Academy; Carter relented when it became known that the Shah was dying of cancer and that the US had the best treatment facilities
- November 1979 - group of Iranians overran US embassy in Tehran and took 66 Americans hostage and demanded return of Shah in exchange for hostages
*Carter talked tough and levied economic sanctions against Iran
- Hostage situation interrupted by Soviet Union invading Afghanistan in December 1979
Carter halted grain sales to Soviets (hurt American farmers)
Pulled the US out of Moscows Olympics of 1980
Withdrew a new strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT II) from Senate ratification process
-After the 1980 election campaign heated up, Carter authorized a military rescue of American hostages in Tehran
*the rescue was a SCREWED UP DISASTER - not Carter's fault, however

And that's it. Don't forget the spring break assignment...have a good week!
Olivia