Testing Time for a Superpower

Testing Time for a Superpower

(1970-1995)

Vietnam, Watergate, the fall of communism have changed America… What a difference a quarter of a century makes. In 1970, the countries of the Western Hemisphere – and none more than the United States – were preoccupied with the threat of communism. Cuba, a small island nation 90 miles from Miami, was already communist and other nations in South and Central America were flirting with the idea. Castro and Cuba are perhaps in their dying days, and elsewhere the threat has not only dissipated but disappeared. Canada, Mexico, and the United States have formed a North American free trade zone (NAFTA). Chile, which in 1970 was ruled by a Marxist, is negotiating to become NAFTA’s newest member and the first in South America.

The Vietnam War, which ended with Americans being ignominiously evacuated from the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon in 1975 provided one of the excruciating tests for the world’s leading superpower in the last 25 years, but it was only one of many. Richard Nixon was forced to resign, rather than face impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal – the only American president to face such a humiliation (Yet, when he died in 1994, he was buried at a funeral fit for a hero, not a scoundrel). The country has struggled with the issues of abortion and affirmative action. In vanquished Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, but Saddam Hussein escaped unscathed and remains powerful within his own country. And America is still coming to grips with the meaning of the end of the Cold War. Some key events of the 1970s-1995s:

1970 – Tragedy at Kent State: An anti-war protest at Kent State University in Ohio ends tragically with four students dead after 100 National Guardsmen fire M-1 rifles into a crowd. The event gives added fervor to an already planned Washington, D.C., demonstration protesting the U.S. – supported invasion of Cambodia. Between 60,000 and 100,000 people gather in the nation’s capital for a peaceful rally.

1972 – Sitting down with the communists: Richard Nixon makes the first trip to China by an incumbent president, ending 25 years of Beijing-Washington hostility. Nixon also makes the first visit by a U.S. President to the Soviet Union, where he signs the SALT I anti-ballistic missily treaty.

1972 – 74 – The Watergate scandal: A 1972 break-in at the Democratic Party’ Watergate headquarters launches a series of political scandals, including a White House cover-up. By 1974, the House Judiciary Commitee has voted to impeach the president, and Nixon chooses to leave office voluntarily. Vice-president Gerald Ford takes the presidential oath soon after and pardons Nixon for all federal crimes he may have committed.

1973 – The Supreme Court declares abortion legal: In Roe vs. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its landmark decision extending to women the right to terminate a pregnancy. Writing for the majority, Justice Harry Blackman says that the 14th Amendment guarantees a woman’s right to choose whether or not to bear a child. The United States joins Sweden, Japan, Great Britain , and other countries where abortion is already legal.

Life is beautiful. Photo by Elena

1974 — 76 – Quebec for the Quebecois: Separatism gains in popularity. In 1974, Quebec’s provincial government votes to make French the official language of the province. Its first separatist government comes to power in 1976.

1979 – A nuclear disaster at Three Mile island: The United States experiences its most seriousnuclear power reactor accident ever at Three Mile Island in the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, Pa. Misinformation creates public fear that the reactor core is on the verge of meltdown, the most serious of all nuclear accidents. Although there is neither a meltdown nor a hydrogen explosion releasing radioactive material into the atmosphere, a presidential commission calls for a greater emphasis on safety and training at reactors and for better emergency planning within the government and the utility industry.

1979 – America held hostage: Militant Islamic fundamentalist students take 63 U.S. Citizens hostage in the U.S. Embassy in Iran, beginning a 444-day crisis and a political furor that would ultimately, many say, lose Jimmy Carter the presidency.

1981 – President Reagan is shot: President Ronald Reagan, sworn in on January 20, is shot in the chest outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30. Police arrest and later convict John W. Hinckley, Jr. of Evergreen, Colorado, of the attack. Although Reagan recovers fully, his press secretary, James S. Brady, is critically wounded, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Hinckley successfully pleads insanity and is confined to a mental hospital, where he remains as of 1995. Brady dedicates himself to lobbying for gun control legislation.

1986 – Irangate shames the White House: Attorney General Edwin Meese confirms that profits from U.S. Arms sales to Iran have been secretly diverted to the contras, a U. S.-supported rebel groups fighting to overthrow Nicaragua’s leftist regime. In 1984, Congress has passed the Boland Amendment, which banned direct or indirect U.S. Military aid to the rebel groups. In the most dramatic congressional hearings in decades, Lt.Col. Oliver North, a major player in the scandal, testifies before Congress, comparing the Contras to the Founding Fathers and claiming that their cause justified his breaking the law.

1987 – Canada and the United States agree to free trade: The two countries reach a historic free-trade agreement after more than 16 months of negotiating. Under the agreement, all tariffs between the United States and Canada will be removed between 1989 and 1999. The issue is hotly contested in Canada by labor unions and interest groups afraid of negative effects on Canada’s cultural identity.

1990 – 91 – The Persian Gulf War: After Iraq invades Kuwait in August, claiming the tiny oil-rich country as Iraq’s 19th province, a massive U.S.-led multi-national force assembles in the region to push the Iraquis back. The U.S. And allied forces bomb Bagdad. In return, the Iraquis mount Scud missile attacks against Israel and U.S. Troops facilities in Saudi Arabia. After fierce fighting, the Iraquis beat a hasty retreat. But the U.S.-led forces stop before reaching Bagdad or capturing Saddam Hussein, the Iraqui leader.

North America:

•     Largest lake – Lake Superior. Canada, U.S.A., 32,140 square miles.
•     Longest river – Mississippi. United States, 3,740 miles.
•     Highest point – Denali, Alaska, U.S.A., 20,322 feet.
•     Lowest point – Death Valley, California, U.S.A, 282 feet below sea level.
•     Largest city – Mexico City, Mexico, about 30 million population.