“While the United States could rightly criticize the violation of the sovereignty of one nation by another, the wholly undemocratic nature of the Kuwaiti regime made it difficult to moralize the conflict. Oil, not evil, drove the Bush administration response.” P.412

When Iraq occupied Kuwait, it meant they had control of a huge share of the world oil production.The Bush administration feared that Iraq would target Saudi Arabia will threat the global oil economy and national security. Bush began constructing an international coalition demeaning Iraqi withdraw. The US gained support from the Soviet Union and other Arab nations, such as Saudi Arabia which allowed the US to send troops to their country in order to protect them from potential Iraqi invasion. Thirty countries contributed military forces ,and other paid for military efforts cost. By the fall of 1990 the showed no signs of backing out and the US moved forward with military action. Bush secured a Security Council resolution authorized the use of force by the U.S led coalition if the Iraq did not leave Kuwait by January,1991. With Iraq rejecting the proposal of leaving Kuwait by the deadline, the US led coalition launch a massive air attack and ground assault on Iraq and, in a hundred hours Iraq finally retreated from Kuwait.

” The beleaguered mind-set of the Soviet leader might have contributed  to their decision to shoot down a South Korean passenger jet, KAL flight 007,that in September 1983 strayed over Soviet territory, killing all 269 people aboard, including  sixty-one Americans.”  P.393

In 1983, the tensions between the US and USSR reached a level not seen since the Cuban Missile Crisis. These factors were the United States’s Strategic Defense Initiative and planned deployment of Pershing II mission in Europe. The Soviet were highly suspicious of a surprised nuclear attack by the US. On September 1, 1983 when Korean Airlines Flight 007 unintentionally entered Soviet airspace over the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia’s Far East region was approaching Sakhalin. The Soviets mistook the commercial airliner as a Boeing RC-135 spy plane owned by the US navy and order Su-15 Flogon fighters to intercept the jetliner. After not being able to get the attention of  the pilots in KAL 007, the Soviet decided to shoot down the passenger jet killing all passengers. This horrified the world, many including President Ronald Reagan calling it an act of barbarism.

” The combination of more crime,more arrest,and longer sentences swelled the prison population. After a half century during which the incarceration rate had fluctuated only moderately, in the mid-1970s it began to rise steeply”(pg. 338-339).

The rate of violent offence more than doubled between 1965 and 1975. Liberal’s solution was to limit access to firearms with gun control laws, but conservatives and gun owners saw gun control as an unconstitutional limit on the rights of law-abiding citizens. More incarceration became  a popular solution to control crime. Conservatives rejected the ideas of liberals of using therapeutic approaches to dealing with lawbreakers,and promoted incarceration as means of punishment,retribution,and prevention to keep dangerous people of the street. Incarceration and longer sentences became the solution to control crime.  Prison population swelled due to the incarceration approach and it as rising steeply since 1970s , and keep rising today with lower crime rates. Prison population consist of nonviolent offenders and most are blacks. Tougher drug laws has also helped increased prison population.

” In 1980, two-thirds of southerners lived in an urban or suburban area, compared to half in the 1950. Unlike in the Northeast and Midwest, Sun Belt cities continued to grow or at least hold their own as their suburbs swelled”(pg.307).

In the 1970’s , average  income, adjusted for inflation, fell in the North but continued to grow in the South.  This change reflected the massive exodus of poor southern to the North and growth in productive capacity and wealth. Unlike the North, cities in the south  continue to grow ,doubling in thirty years . The region attracted  and generated jobs in low-wage ,labor-intensive industries, like textiles,simple garment manufacturing,food processing, and furniture making, due to companies taking advantage of low taxes, no unions, and pro-business environment promoted by the government agencies. The region also had a growth in defense and aerospace industries. Southern states benefited from the high oil prices, helping developed cities like Houston in leader in medical,legal,electronic, and aerospace center.

” Bobbing and weaving in an effort to maintain support from both liberal and conservative wings of the Republican Party.”(p. 267)

After winning the presidential elections in 1968 with a minority of the popular vote and democratic majority in congress limited his action, President Nixon hoped to win democratic supporters for seek reelection. Nixon supported the already established New Deal programs which benefited democrats and took conservative positions on other issues. Making improvements in medicaid, food stamp programs,civil rights and social security.  Nixon was also popular for giving up on proposals made by him, such as replacing warfare with an annual minimum income after the senate rejected it and environmental movements which affected the growth of businesses. President Nixon was reelected in the 1972 presidental election, after  the Watergate scandal he was forced to resign.

” Lyndon Johnson turned what had been a limited, largely guerrilla conflict  into an all-out war.” (Pg.225)

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Vice president Lyndon Johnson inherited the Presidency and crisis in Vietnam.  Instead of ending the small crisis in Vietnam, Johnson increased the number of deployed  U.S troops to ensure a victory. His plans back fired and the small conflict escalated to a full blown war, with many U.S soldiers lost their life due to the inexperience of guerrilla warfare. It was clearly to the American people, that the war was a total failure which led to antiwar movements.  President Johnson’s approval rating rapidly declined, and chose not to seek re-election.