20th Century U.S. History Since World War II

Unit 8 – Carter Administration (1977-1981)

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

The Unknown Candidate Carter played on public distrust of professional

politicians He managed to get elected by portraying himself as

an outsider He had no discernible political philosophy

He brought an end to many White House traditions: Discontinued the use of “Hail to the Chief” Ended all state dinners and balls Sold the presidential yacht Reduced the limousine service Reduced the number of staff working in the White

House

The Unknown Candidate Over the course of his administration, his

outsider status hampered his effectiveness He was unable to work with Congress This is even considering that both houses had

Democrat majorities Many of his bills that did pass did not look like the

original versions When Carter took office, the country was

stuck in an economic stagnation coupled with massive inflation Was known as “stagflation”

“Stagflation” This was exacerbated by

A growing national debt Federal deficit that would continue throughout his

administration Rising inflation

In January 1977, inflation was at 5.22% By January 1978, it was at 6.84% By January 1979, 9.28% By January 1980, it was at 13.91%

U.S. productivity was at an all time low Growth was only reaching an annual rate of 1% This is compared to 3.2% during the 1960s

“Stagflation” One of the hardest hit areas was the automotive

industry This was to be coupled by rising gas prices and the

Japanese creation of small, energy efficient cars The northeast “rust belt” was plagued with factories

shutting down Chrysler shut down 13 plants and terminated 31,000

Carter also asked the Federal Reserve Board to increase interest rates to curb inflation By December 1980, prime rate hit 21.5%

The federal deficit grew to an all-time high of $66 billion

“Stagflation” Congress did pass two bills in 1977 to boost

the economy Public Works Employment Bill provided $4 billion

in funding for public works projects Estimated to create 300,000 jobs

Economic Stimulus Appropriations Bill $20 billion in general revenue sharing funds

Humphrey-Hawkins Act (1978) Called for unemployment of no more than 4% Growth of production Inflation rates no higher than 4% Balance of trade and budget

Paul Volcker Chairman of the

Federal Reserve (1979-1987)

Carter’s Energy Policy During the course of his administration

skyrocketing energy prices was a main concern By 1977, Americans were consuming more energy

than every before Carter warned the country that the energy crisis was

“a clear and present danger to our nation” Energy industry lobbied for increasing the supply

Would include deregulation of the price of natural gas and oil

Instead Carter wanted greater conservation of energy In 1977, created the U.S. Department of Energy

Purpose was to help the country conserve energy Due to a severe winter in 1977, there was a

shortage of natural gas

Carter’s Energy Policy Another main concern was oil

Between 1973 and 1977, oil went from $6 to $12 a barrel U.S. dependency on foreign oil when from 35% to 50% This led to greater inflation and negatively affected

economic growth In April 1977, Carter introduced the National Energy

Program 113 provisions Included “gas guzzler” taxes Set up efficiency standards for buildings and appliances Solar tax credits were given for alternative forms of

energy Required federal facilities to turn down thermostats

Carter’s Energy Policy National Energy Act of 1978

Very different from the original bill Carter wanted Stressed deregulation of the oil industry Did not include Carter’s plan to push conservation

through taxation Designed to encourage conservation of energy Promoted development of alternative forms of

energy Carter’s personal actions

Placed solar panels on the roof of the White House Put a wood stove in his living quarters

Carter’s Energy Policy 1979 Oil Crisis

Occurred because of the Iranian Revolution Iran reduced the amount of oil produced from 6 million

barrels a day to 1.5 million OPEC responded by increasing the price of oil

In April 1979, it was $15.85 a barrel In April 1980, it was $39.50 a barrel

Gas rationing (“odd-even”) went into effect in many states

Carter responded by deregulating oil production With the oil crisis, there was a push for alternative

sources of energy One that showed the most promise was nuclear energy However, many criticized the safety of using such

energy

Line at a Maryland gas station (June 15, 1979)

Three Mile Island Three Mile Island Accident (March 28, 1979)

Near meltdown of the nuclear reactor in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generation Station in Pennsylvania

Radioactive gases, including iodine were released into the atmosphere

Due to large amounts of coolant escaping from the reactor

Mainly due to human error and design flaws Sparked numerous anti-nuclear power protests

throughout the country Ironically, the movie The China Syndrome had

been released 12 days prior to the incident

Carter leaving Three Mile Island (April 1, 1979)

Environmental Policies The environment was another main concern

for both Carter and the American public Over the course of his administration, Carter:

Strengthened the EPA Made clean water and air regulations tougher

Love Canal Neighborhood in Niagara Falls, NY that had been

built upon a chemical waste dump Investigations into the site began in 1976 with a

large rise in miscarriages and birth defects In 1978, Carter called the site a federal health

emergency and called for the federal government to clean up the site

Environmental Policies Valley of Drums

Massive chemical waste dump site near Louisville, KY First caught media attention in 1966 after the site

caught fire In 1979, Carter ordered the EPA to do an emergency

clean up of the site However, discovered the site was in worse shape than

realized Comprehensive Environmental Response

Compensation and Liability Act (1980) Also known as the Superfund Act Set up a $1.6 billion fund to help with the cleanup of

toxic pollution on so-called Superfund Sites

Valley of Drums (c. 1980)

Other Domestic Policies Carter’s other domestic policies included:

Created the Department of Education Pardoning all men who evaded the Vietnam draft Refused to approve development of a neutron bomb

and a B-1 bomber Critics argued that Carter was being “too soft” on

defensive issues Carter was slightly more successful with his

foreign policy Focused on humanitarianism and human rights Wanted to downplay the anticommunist movement Spoke out publically on behalf of political prisoners Reduced foreign aid to most dictatorships

Carter and Omar Torrijos shaking hands after the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaty (September 7, 1977)

Carter’s Foreign Policy Torrijos-Carter Treaty (September 7, 1977)

In 1977, he reworked the old 1903 Panama Canal treaty Old treaty gave a perpetual lease to the Canal Zone to

the U.S. New treaty was to Panama complete control on

December 31, 1999 It was ratified by April 18, 1979

Mixed reactions to the treaty Some conservatives believed the U.S. was negotiating

with a hostile government California Governor Ronald Reagan called it

“appeasement” Sen. S.I. Hayakawa said “It’s ours; we stole it fair and

square” Even a motion to declare it “null and void” but failed

Camp David Accords Carter’s biggest success was the Camp David

Accords He wanted to bring about Middle East peace

Overtures had already been made to Israel by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat He visited Jerusalem in November 1977 Sadat was already frustrated with the Geneva track peace

process and had been looking towards peace with Israel Meeting between Carter, Sadat, and Israeli prime

minister Menachem Begin at Camp David Met for 13 days Brokered an unprecedented peace agreement between

Egypt and Israel on March 26, 1979

Camp David Accords Camp David Accords

Israel would return the Sinai peninsula to Egypt Egypt and Israel would begin negotiations of

Palestinian autonomy of the West Bank and Gaza Strip The Israeli Knesset voted to approve of the

Accords Started the Middle East peace talks Still two main problems:

Timetable for Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Did not occur until 1982

Future of the West Bank and Gaza Strip Would not be rectified until the 1990s

Sadat, Carter, and Begin at Camp David

Relations with China Carter continued the policy of détente with

China In 1978, he sent his National Security Advisor,

Zbigniew Brzezinski, to China Set down the groundwork for diplomatic and trade

agreements between the two countries Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of

Diplomatic Relations (January 1, 1979) Officially recognized the People’s Republic of China

Taiwan Relations Act (April 10, 1979) Authorized relations with the Republic of China

government on Taiwan Agreements made prior to 1979 were still valid

Deng Xiaoping and Jimmy Carter at the signing ceremony of the Joint Communiqué (January 31, 1979)

Relations with the Soviets Carter hoped to continue the policy of détente

with the Soviet Union On the first day in office, he ordered all nuclear

weapons removed from South Korea Many criticized him for weakening the U.S. defenses

in Asia SALT II

Carter began negotiations with Leonid Brezhnev in 1977 to limit the manufacture of nuclear weapons

Final treaty was signed in Vienna in June 1979 Reduced the number of delivery systems Pushed the Soviets to not arm their 3rd generation

ICBMs Was not ratified by the Senate

Carter and Brezhnev signing the SALT II treaty (June 18, 1979)

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Until 1973, the government of Afghanistan was a

monarchy under control of Mohammad Zahir Shah Set up a two chamber legislature in 1964 to give some

semblance of a democracy Allowed radical groups to rise up in predominance

This included the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA)

In 1973, Prime Minister Sardar Mohammad Daoud seized control of the government through a military coup Received support because of the hard economic times the

country was going through and corruption of the old regime

However, was unable to bring about the necessary reforms the country needed

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan On April 27, 1978, the People’s Democratic Party

of Afghanistan (PDPA) instigated a coup d’état A new communist government was set up under Nur

Muhammad Taraki, Secretary General of the PDPA Brought in a series of brutal reforms during its first 18

months Many were tortured, killed, or exiled Many Afghani traditions were abolished, including religious

traditions

The Soviet Union had signed an assistance treaty with the new Afghani government in December 1978

A strong resistance movement grew against the PDPA

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan In the summer of 1979, revolts broke out in

eastern Afghanistan Started a strong counter-insurgency movement

In September 1979, Hafizullah Amin seized control of the PDPA Plagued by political instability for the next two

months By December, the PDPA was greatly weakened

The Soviets quickly became dissatisfied with the Amin government

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan On December 24, 1979, Soviet forces landed in

Kabul They overthrew Amin and replaced him with Babrak

Karmal The new government had the support of 120,000

Soviet troops However, it did not have the support of the majority of

the people Counter-Insurgents

Made up as much as 80% of the countryside Most Afghanis were against the new Marxist regime The fought either actively—as mujahideen—or

passively

U.S. Response to the Invasion V.P. Mondale responded to the invasion:

“I cannot understand—it just baffles me—why the Soviets these last few years have behaved as they have. Maybe we have made some mistakes with them. Why did they have to build up all these arms? Why did they have to go into Afghanistan? Why can't they relax just a little bit about Eastern Europe? Why do they try every door to see if it is locked?”

U.S. response Increased U.S. military forces Embargo on trade of wheat and technology to the

Soviets Convinced the U.S. Olympic Committee to ban the 1980

Olympics in Moscow Also convinced the Senate not to ratify the SALT II

agreement

U.S. Response to the Invasion Operation Cyclone

The CIA began to supply the mujahideen with arms Done through Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence In total, the U.S. spent approximately $20 billion in

training and supplies There was additional training of insurgents in Pakistan

Carter Doctrine (January 1980) Carter was fearful that the Soviets were going to

invade Iran Stated that any interference with U.S. oil interests in

the Persian Gulf would be equivalent of an attack on the U.S.

Referred to the crisis as the “moral equivalent of war”

Caravan after an attack by Soviet helicopters

Trouble in Iran Prior to 1979, Iran had been a key ally to the

U.S. in the Middle East Carter even praised the then ruler, Shah

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as a great and wise leader in the east

Not all Iranians were enamored with the Shah or his ties to the west Growing Islam revival during this time Many were resentful of the U.S.’s role in

reinstating the Shah back in 1953 It was a CIA backed coup d’état that ousted a

democratically elected Prime Minister to restore the Shah

Trouble in Iran Starting in late 1977, demonstrations against

the Shah broke out in Iran Wanted return to traditional Islamic values and

end all ties with the west Also wanted to get rid of the Shah

Rise of Ayatollah Khomeini Iranian Shi’ite religious leader and politician Openly protested the Shah’s westernization of Iran Was forced into exile in 1964 During his exile, he continued to speak out against

the Shah and made calls for clerical rule

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900-1989)

Trouble in Iran Throughout 1978, the amount of protests escalated

The country was rapidly destabilizing On September 8, 1978, security forces shot at

protesters in Tehran Anywhere between 88 and several hundred people were

killed In Jaleh Square alone, 64 people were killed including two

women This became known as Black Friday

Another major protest occurred on December 2 2 million people protested in Shahyad Square Demanded removal of the Shah

A week later upwards of 9 million participated in protests Roughly 10% of the population

Black Friday at Jaleh Square (September 8, 1978)

Iranian Revolution On January 16, 1979, the Shah and his wife left

Iran On February 1, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to

Tehran On March 30 and 31, a referendum was held

To decide if the monarchy should be replaced with an “Islam Republic”

98.2% voted in favor The U.S. did try to work out a new relationship

with the new Iranian government On October 22, 1979, the U.S. allowed the Shah to

come to the U.S. to receive medical treatment This was against the wishes of Khomeini and the

current regime

Iran Hostage Crisis On November 4, 1979, students laid siege to

the U.S. embassy in Tehran Took 52 embassy personnel as hostages Six managed to escape by going to the Canadian

embassy The demands:

Return the Shah to Iran for trial Giving the Shah’s wealth to the Iranian people Admission of guilt and apology for the U.S.’s past

actions against Iran A promise that the U.S. would not ever again

interfere in Iranian affairs

Iran Hostage Crisis Executive Order 12170 (November 14, 1979)

Carter froze the assets of the Iranian government in the U.S.

Was approximately $8 billion Was to be used as a bargaining chip

Carter also terminated Iranian oil imports Impact on the U.S.

Surge of U.S. patriotism and anti-Iranian feelings Demonstrations took place throughout the U.S. Even the culture of the time was affected

Beach Boys’ song “Barbara Ann” was parodied as “Bomb, Bomb Iran”

Popular bumper stickers included Mickey Mouse “giving the finger” to Iran

Iran Hostage Crisis Operation Eagle Claw (April 24, 1980)

Failed U.S. military attempt to free the hostages First Delta Force mission Part of it had to do with damage to the helicopters

from sand clouds Mission had to be aborted before it was able to take

the hostages The hostages would remain in Iran for 444 days

Conditions were not terrible for the hostages Worst was being placed in solitary confinement Hostages were allowed to write letters, read, and

communicate with foreign officials However, there was the constant fear of trial and

execution

Iran Hostage Crisis Carter continued negotiations through the

remainder of his administration In 1980, things started to work out for the U.S.

The Shah died in Egypt on July 27 Iraq invaded Iran in September

Algiers Accords (January 19, 1981) U.S. accepted all three of Iran’s demands with the

exception of the apology U.S. would unfreeze $7.9 billion in Iranian assets One key point that was not listed was that the

hostages would not be released until Carter was out of office

Protester in Washington D.C. (November 9, 1979)

U.S. and Latin America In 1979, the U.S. refused aid to Nicaraguan

government against Sandinistas Nicaragua was ruled by dictator Anatasio Somoza

Debayle The Sandinistas were a socialist party This was a change in U.S. policy The Sandinistas took control with the Nicaraguan

Revolution of 1979 Carter also assisted El Salvador against Marxist

rebels However, that regime fell on October 15, 1979 This began a civil war that would plague the country

for 12 years

Election of 1980

1980 Elections Turmoil of the 1960s and economic problems

of 1970s made a conservative turn inevitable Watergate bought Democrats more time

Carter’s troubles High inflation and high unemployment Hostage crisis and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

made Carter look naïve and helpless Democratic National Convention

Battle between Carter and Edward Kennedy Some even opted for Muskie to be the nominee to

break the stalemate In the end, Carter did win the nomination

Election of 1980 Ronald Reagan easily won the Republican

party nomination He was the attractive candidate Republicans

needed to assure decisive victory Strong conservative

John Bayard Anderson ran as an independent He was technically a Republican but lost the

nomination Pushed for more moderate Republicanism

Carter’s troubles High inflation and high unemployment Hostage crisis and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

made Carter look naïve and helpless

Election of 1980 Reagan’s platform included:

Increasing the nation’s military Calling for supply-side economics to fix the economy

Includes lowering taxes and reducing regulation Hope was to provide greater number of goods at lower prices

An end to Carter’s “windfall profit tax” on oil companies Regan:

“A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his.”

“Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?”

Election of 1980 The debates

The most famous was the second one Carter made the mistake of claiming he consulted with

his 12-year old daughter, Amy, on national policy Reagan used his charisma and rhetoric to win the

debate Shifted the balance in favor of Reagan

Reagan won in a landslide Won all Southern states but Georgia Received 50.7% of the votes and 489 electoral

votes Carter received 41% and 49 Anderson received 6.6%

Republicans also retook the Senate

Election of 1980