Distrust Politics In The 1970s Essay

Even with positive movements in the 1970s, Americans still had issues with the government. Some of the decisions made by the American government caused Americans to begin to distrust politics. Some of these crisis include vietnam, the Arab Oil Embargo, and the watergate scandal. Each of these instances had a huge impact on how the American people viewed their government.

First of all, the vietnam war had a part in the distrust of the American people. The antiwar activists were not handled well by the government. The book states, “Nixon sneered at antiwar activists as ‘bums’” (Boyer 302). People were exercising their right to protest and freedom of speech while receiving ridicule from their government. During the war protests, Nixon made some unfavorable and possibly illegal decisions. The book explains, “To end this, he approved an elaborate-and patently illegal-plan by a White House aide for discrediting antiwar

groups and leaders” (302). Illegal actions cause tension and an unjust government. Nixon’s actions began to cause American citizens to quit trusting their government.
Second of all, the Arab Oil Embargo put a bigger hole into the trust of the American government. The United States decided to side with Israel, which caused tensions with the Arabs. This caused them to stopped oil sales to the United States. This decision caused inflation with the good and a negative impact on the American economy. The book states, “The oil embargo focused attention on longer-term problems, including rising energy costs” (312). This issue haunted Americans for quite some time.
Another and major distrust is the Watergate Scandal.

This scandal caused President Nixon to attend court and resign. This was a major piece to the distrust in the United States government. Additionally, the book says, “Much of the antigovernment mood that prevailed in the United States from the 1970s through the end of the century can be traced directly to the Watergate and subsequent presidential scandals and attempted cover-ups” (337). With each scandal with the American Presidents caused more and more distrust overall. However, the Watergate scandal was one of the biggest scandals. One piece of evidence is, “Indeed, Watergate sank so deeply into the public consciousness that subsequent scandals were often given nicknames that involved the suffix -gate, such as Irangate” (337). This scandal was too major to just be brushed aside by the American people. The American people may use that suffix to show that they are still not truly over the entire situation with Nixon and the Watergate scandal that involved some of the government officials in his

party.
Even with positive political impacts in the 1970s, Americans still had issues with the government and their decisions. Some decisions made by the American government were wrong or illegal and caused the American people to trust the government. A handful of the crises caused by the United States government include vietnam, the Arab Oil Embargo, and the watergate scandal. Each one of these events were enormous to the American people and they caused problems with the American people and their government.