Kevin Canarte

4/17/18
Period 5

To what extent did domestic and foreign policies create malaise or

well-being for Americans in the 1970s?

During the 1970s, there were major issues, caused by domestic policies, as well as
foreign policies that had caused malaise and chaos in society. These issues, such as the
discrimination and oppression against the LGBTQ community, or the University of
California v. Bakke in 1978 have changed America in a way that has taught Americans
the wrongs of discrimination against other people of different origins or identities.

The oppression of certain groups of people, such as those who were part of the
LGBTQ community was a big ordeal during the 1970s. This statement is supported in
the text of Document 8 where it states, “We must all seek to change the unjust
laws of this land until we can truly say that this country promises justice to all people
of any distinction or sexual orientation.” This quote signifies how these people are
demanding change and want to achieve liberation and equality in the US by changing
laws to end the discrimination against people of different identities and orientations.

Another example of malaise being spread in the US is the policy that favored
those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or
education. This policy is called affirmative action. This policy was started because
discrimination was becoming more prominent within the US because of a man called
Allan Bakke who was denied admission to the University of California because of his
race. On page 818 in the Ford and Carter Years document, it says, “In 1973, Allan Bakke
applied to the University of California at Davis medical school. The school had a
quota-based affirmative-action plan that reserved 16 out of 100 spots for racial
minorities. Bakke, a white male, was not admitted to the school despite his competitive
test scores and grades. Bakke sued for admission, arguing that he had been
discriminated against on the basis of race.” This proves that the 1970s was a time of
malaise because there was so much discrimination and racism in the US and although it
is stated that the court ruled that racial quotas were unconstitutional, schools still count
race as a factor when admitting students.

Although there were many cases of discrimination and malaise is the US, there
were also some events that had occurred which had brought well-being into the country,
such as the event where President Nixon ended the long period of non-communication
between the US and China. In Document 9, it states, “President Nixon landed in Peking
in February 1972. He stepped off Air Force One, extended his hand to Premier Chou
en-Lai, and ended nearly a quarter-century of Non-communication.” This event shows
how Nixon was successful in bringing the nation beyond the decade of chaos by
improving relations with China.

Overall, the 1970s was, in fact a time of malaise, and this topic matters today
because there are still issues that arise today that relate very closely to the issues that
happened during this time period, so in order to avoid repeating history, the events that
took place during the 1970s should be taken into account when these kind of issues arise
in the future of our generation.