Crisis of Authority: Defeat in Indochina
The North Vietnamese launch a full-scale offensive against the South in March of 1975. Thieu appeals to Washington for assistance. As the North Vietnamese offensive gathers momentum in March and April of 1975, Ford breaks with Kissinger and announce...
Immigration and Insecurity
Professor of American studies and history Matthew Frye Jacobson explains that much of the fear of Third World immigration in the United States stems from insecurity and an increasing sense of scarcity.
Most Basic of Rights, The: Freedom of the Press...Has It Gone Too Far?
Freedom of the press was an important element from the early years of this country. For a brief period in the late 18th century the Sedition Act limited the right of the press to criticize the federal government but that was short lived. Since two W...
Voices of the People: Commitment to Civic Duty
Why do some people feel a commitment to civic duty while others are either apathetic or hostile toward the system? In the mid-20th century the public was more optimistic regarding government and politics. As a result of the Vietnam War and Watergate...
Campaign Finance (Part One)
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker talks about campaign finance reform. Secretary Baker advocates raising the amount one can contribute to a federal race, because doing so would lessen the influence of "soft money" on political campaigns. He a...
Coming to Terms with Watergate
Presidential advisor, political analyst and university professor David Gergen talks about the disillusionment he experienced as a loyal Nixon supporter after learning the details of the Watergate cover-up.
Comparing Presidential Crises (Part Two)
Former White House press secretary Mike McCurry talks about the congressional response to Watergate in the 1970's and to President Clinton's sex scandal twenty-five years later. Mr. McCurry says his memory of Watergate is not the "misbehavior" of Ri...
Comparing Presidential Crises (Part One)
Former White House press secretary Mike McCurry compares the Watergate episode during the Nixon presidency to the Lewinsky episode of the Clinton presidency. In Mr. McCurry's view, there is what he calls a "magnitude difference" between the two. "Pr...
The Fourth Estate: Role of the Press as Watchdog, The
The press's role in protecting the public from corrupt officials and practices took on new meaning in the 1960s and '70s. Correspondent Marvin Kalb talks about his experience covering the Vietnam War. The idea that Presidents Nixon and Johnson lied ...