- Examine Nixons domestic policies,
including his corruption and resignation after Watergate. Explain the connection
between the immediate Watergate scandal and the wider attacks on the
imperial presidency as reflected in, for example, the War Powers Act.
REFERENCES: Stephen Ambrose, Nixon (1989);
Stanley Kutler, The Wars of Watergate (1990).
- Analyze the ebb and flow of American foreign
policy in the seventies, from Nixons Moscow-Beijing (Peking) visits
to Afghanistan. Particular attention might be paid to the difficulties in
implementing Kissingers plans for a stabilizing agreement among the
three great powers in a still-volatile world, and to Jimmy Carters
attempt to bring a stronger moral dimension to American foreign relations.
REFERENCES: Robert D. Schulzinger, Henry
Kissinger: Doctor of Diplomacy (1989); Gaddis Smith, Morality,
Reason, and Power (1986).
- Explain the closely interrelated problems
of the Middle East, energy, and economics in the seventies, perhaps focusing
on the way Americas growing economic difficulties made it more vulnerable
to Middle East events, which in turn added to economic trouble. Consider the
U.S. crisis with Iran in relation to the general political tensions of the
region.
REFERENCES: Michael B. Stoff, Oil,
War and American Security (1980); James Bill, The
Eagle and the Lion: The Tragedy of American-Iranian Relations (1987).
- Examine the reasons for the successes
of American feminism at a time when most social movements spawned in the 1960s
had fragmented and lost broader public appeal. Consider the relationship between
more liberal or radical feminist activists who actively promoted social and
culture changes and the large numbers of American women who entered the workforce
and altered family roles even if they were not politically engaged.
REFERENCE: Susan M. Hartmann, The
Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment (1998).
