11.6An era of upheaval and backlash

The 1960s and 1970s churned with movements and reaction. Inspired by civil rights, activists pressed for women's liberation, environmental protection, and the rights of other minorities, while a youth counterculture challenged traditional values and opposition to the Vietnam War filled the streets.

This ferment provoked a powerful conservative backlash among Americans who felt order, faith, and traditional life were under assault. Richard Nixon won the presidency appealing to a "silent majority," though his term ended in disgrace with the Watergate scandal (1974), the only presidential resignation in history. Economic troubles—inflation, oil shocks, and stagnation—compounded a growing sense of national crisis and set the stage for a conservative resurgence.