Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America

by Philip Jenkins

Why did the youthful optimism and openness of the sixties give way to Ronald Reagan and the spirit of conservative reaction--a spirit that remains ascendant today?
Drawing on a wide array of sources--including tabloid journalism, popular fiction, movies, and television shows--Philip Jenkins argues that a remarkable confluence of panics, scares, and a few genuine threats created a climate of fear that led to the conservative reaction. He identifies 1975
to 1986 as the watershed years. During this time, he says, there was a sharp increase in perceived threats to our security at home and abroad. At home, America seemed to be threatened by monstrous criminals--serial killers, child abusers, Satanic cults, and predatory drug dealers, to name just a
few. On the international scene, we were confronted by the Soviet Union and its evil empire, by OPEC with its stranglehold on global oil, by the Ayatollahs who made hostages of our diplomats in Iran. Increasingly, these dangers began to be described in terms of moral evil. Rejecting the radicalism
of the '60s, which many saw as the source of the crisis, Americans adopted a more pessimistic interpretation of human behavior, which harked back to much older themes in American culture. This simpler but darker vision ultimately brought us Ronald Reagan and the ascendancy of the political Right,
which more than two decades later shows no sign of loosening its grip.
Writing in his usual crisp and witty prose, Jenkins offers a truly original and persuasive account of a period that continues to fascinate the American public. It is bound to captivate anyone who lived through this period, as well as all those who want to understand the forces that
transformed--and continue to define--the American political landscape.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, Sociology, Cultural

352 pages, Hardcover

Published March 15, 2006

About the author

John Philip Jenkins was born in Wales in 1952. He was educated at Clare College, in the University of Cambridge, where he took a prestigious “Double First” degree—that is, Double First Class Honors. In 1978, he obtained his doctorate in history, also from Cambridge. Since 1980, he has taught at Penn State University, and currently holds the rank of Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of the Humanities. He is also a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion.

Though his original training was in early modern British history, he has since moved to studying a wide range of contemporary topics and issues, especially in the realm of religion.

Jenkins is a well-known commentator on religion, past and present. He has published 24 books, including The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South and God's Continent: Christianity, Islam and Europe's Religious Crisis (Oxford University Press). His latest books, published by HarperOne, are The Lost History of Christianity and Jesus Wars (2010).

His book The Next Christendom in particular won a number of honors. USA Today named it one of the top religion books of 2002; and Christianity Today described The Next Christendom as a “contemporary classic.” An essay based on this book appeared as a cover story in the Atlantic Monthly in October 2002, and this article was much reprinted in North America and around the world, appearing in German, Swiss, and Italian magazines.

His other books have also been consistently well received. Writing in Foreign Affairs in 2003, Sir Lawrence Freedman said Jenkins's Images of Terror was “a brilliant, uncomfortable book, its impact heightened by clear, restrained writing and a stunning range of examples.”

Jenkins has spoken frequently on these diverse themes. Since 2002, he has delivered approximately eighty public lectures just on the theme of global Christianity, and has given numerous presentations on other topics. He has published articles and op-ed pieces in many media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New Republic, Foreign Policy, First Things, and Christian Century. In the European media, his work has appeared in the Guardian, Rheinischer Merkur, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Welt am Sonntag, and the Kommersant (Moscow). He is often quoted in news stories on religious issues, including global Christianity, as well as on the subject of conflicts within the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, and controversies concerning cults and new religious movements. The Economist has called him “one of America's best scholars of religion.”

Over the last decade, Jenkins has participated in several hundred interviews with the mass media, newspapers, radio, and television. He has been interviewed on Fox's The Beltway Boys, and has appeared on a number of CNN documentaries and news specials covering a variety of topics, including the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, as well as serial murder and aspects of violent crime. The 2003 television documentary Battle for Souls (Discovery Times Channel) was largely inspired by his work on global Christianity. He also appeared on the History Channel special, Time Machine: 70s Fever (2009).

Jenkins is much heard on talk radio, including multiple appearances on NPR's All Things Considered, and on various BBC and RTE programs. In North America, he has been a guest on the widely syndicated radio programs of Diane Rehm, Michael Medved, and James Kennedy; he has appeared on NPR’s Fresh Air, as well as the nationally broadcast Canadian shows Tapestry and Ideas. His media appearances include newspapers and radio stations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Brazil, as well as in many different regions of the United States.

Because of its relevance to policy issues, Jenkins's work has attracted the attention of gove

Reviews

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose to read this book as background research for the book I am currently writing on youth rights to learn more about how moral panics originating in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s undermined youth rights gains made in the 1960s and 1970s. I am so glad I chose to use this resource. The book gives a wonderful overview of all elements of the time period under discussion paying close attention to almost all major aspect of domestic politics, economics, foreign affairs, military issues, criminal justice issues, popular culture, social issues, demographic issues, issues of race, gender, class, age, and sexuality, moral issues, technological changes, family issues, media, activism, academia, religion, spirituality, legal trends, generational divisions, and changing elements of public opinion to give a truly holistic view of the era in question. By treating many issues side by side that happened concurrently in history but that are typically treated separately in the historiography, the book shows how certain discursive trends came to shape the time period under discussion as well as subsequent eras. I know that reading this book will make the book I am writing so much stronger and better. The author’s intuitive understanding of the relationship between child protection and the rollback of youth freedoms is also exemplary.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jenkins argues that the mid to late 1970s were the years that marked the decline of American power and influence. The making of Reagan's America came on the heels of that sense of disaster and despair. Disgust over Watergate and political corruption was high. The economy was bad. It seemed that serial killers roamed every neighborhood. Sex was everywhere, including child pornography, and the nation's cities had collapsed. The 'Power To The People movement' of the 60's and 70's had gone way to far, and it was time for rich white men to retake the reigns of power. And, organized religion only served to re-enforce this narrative.

As the conservative myth goes, Ronald Reagan came riding through this muck and saved America. He made America whole again. The 80s saw the rejection of drugs as recreation, an end to secularism, a more belligerent foreign policy, and a curtailment of sexual freedom. And today, this conservative tide continues.

I am not really sure where Jenkins stands in the debate of the issues, but his book certainly states the facts, and any political bias is not included. I will be reading more by this author.

[Cabot · Rating 1 out of 5]

Somehow manages to beat Berkowitz’s several-page apologia for Woody Allen in a race to the bottom of literature on the 1970s. While this book has some unique contributions (primarily focused on moral panics), such assets are negated by many moments of historical malpractice. To start, one of the theses of this book—that the seventies do not deserve to be thought of as a meaningful, stand-alone historical unit—is, in my opinion, dead wrong and flies in the face of far better scholarship on the period. Historiographic quibbles aside, this book has aged terribly. Jenkins still seems to be fighting the Cold War, and has little more than contempt for any country that isn’t the United States (especially in the Global South/Third World, who are seen as either “despots” or “extremists”). A discussion of the birth of the War on Drugs/mass incarceration completely ignores its racialized impacts, and Jenkins makes several implicit suggestions that gay liberation activists were tolerant of pedophilia, which didn’t sit well with me. Jenkins, for me, falls into a lot of the tropes used by a particular generation of historians (see Landes) that I take great issue with— using an allegedly impartial framing to “both-sides” history and therefore legitimate/encourage harmful or outright violent narratives.

[Michael Samerdyke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book.

Typically, we think it is all about Presidents. When we think about the recent past, we think "Carter was an extreme liberal, and the election of Reagan changed everything."

"Decade of Nightmares" is a convincing challenge to that conventional wisdom. Jenkins looks at the post-1974 era as one of reaction against "the Sixties" in attitudes toward sex, drug use, government agencies, and other issues. He shows how Carter was not as liberal as the caricature would have us believe, and how Reagan was not as conservative as conservatives today seem to think. Jenkins agrees there was a big change in attitudes at this time, but Presidential politics was only a symptom of this change, not the driving force.

Very detailed and well-argued, this is one of the most thought-provoking books on recent American history I have read. Highly recommended.

[Richard Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thoughtful book. Read this with a biased opinion about the sixties and the fall-out as the right came into power against the liberalism of that time. Sure was a turbulent time and still is, however.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jenkins offers a surprisingly fast reading that covers a very broad swath of topics. Arguing that the 1970s really covers 1968-1984 (Reagan’s first term), Jenkins presents the 1970s in 11 large chapters that are mercifully broken down into smaller and smaller subsections. The subdivisions allow the reader to keep moving through, or find convenient stopping places. The main thrust of the book is that the excesses (and tolerance) of the 1960s led to a national sense of cynicism and despair which, in turn, led to a conservative whiplash.

The introductory chapters cover a wide range of topics from film criticism to first wave feminism. In these passages Jenkins offers some brilliant analysis and critique, but at the same time, it is cursory. He glosses over Watergate and the 1968 Democratic Convention (his starting point for the book). The emphasis is on the national sense of despair and social destruction that epitomize the 1970s: oil embargoes, aggressive Russia, Iranian hostage crisis, serial killers, cults, child endangerment, CIA-sponsored destabilization in Latin America, drugs, poverty, urban unrest, inflation, etc.

Perhaps unfairly, much of the blame is leveled at Jimmy Carter. Jenkins does spend an inordinate amount of time showing how the Carter Administration blundered here and there, everywhere. There was conspicuously little criticism of the Ford Administration, except the ironic speech declaring that the “Long nightmare is finally over,” when Ford was discussing the conclusion of the Watergate investigations. At least one solid chapter is focused on Carter’s failures.
The next chapter discusses the improbably rise of Ronald Reagan, who, Jenkins argues, was a fringe right candidate in the 1970s. However, whereas Carter seemed to accept defeat and despair, Reagan offered his city on a shining hill. His optimistic view led to a major victory for the conservatives and brought together many divergent groups into forming a large and reliable voting block that has steadily grown since Reagan’s election. He does note the curious timing of the Iranians freeing the hostages on the day of Reagan’s inauguration; but does not suggest any treason between Reagan’s team and Iran. That is a bit strange since Nixon was well known for sabotaging the Johnson Administration’s efforts to end the Vietnam War.

The chapters following try to balance the myth of Reagan and argue that had Carter won a second term, much of the same outcomes would have occurred under Carter as they did under Reagan. The main point of difference is Reagan’s posturing in the Cold War with Russia. His inflammatory rhetoric, massive rearmament, moving weaponry into Europe, running huge NATO wargame all along the border of the USSR pushed the Russians to the brink of nuclear war. It is the nuclear scare that few people know about. But back in 1983 Reagan drove the world to the brink of war. Only a defector revealed how close it came to happen. And Reagan’s response was ‘how could they mistake our intentions?’

So many concerns that created the 1970s were alleviating towards the end of Carter’s term, whether intentional or not. Reagan was able to ride on that natural success as the oil embargo, inflation, crime, and other concerns were slowly receding from the forefront of thought. Reagan faced a number of new hurdles in his second term, specifically the Labor and Loan scandals that were a direct result of his deregulation mania. His success was overshadowed by the collapse of the USSR.
Overall, the book offers a brilliant overview of the 1970s and 1980s. Jenkins shows a brilliant transition in America from hopelessness and despair into optimism. There are hints of bias in that he showcases the weakness of Jimmy Carter, and blames the miasma of the 1970s on the tolerance of the Johnson Administration; but really minimizes Nixon, Ford, and Reagan. He offers a balancing act with his treatment of Reagan, offering both praise and criticism while arguing for a neutral examination of his administration. It is a fascinating book and superbly written.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough, exhausting political and cultural history of the US starting in the sixties but concentrating on the seventies and eighties. Reading this book makes one realize Americans have always believed sensationalist conspiracies Tons of info. 3.5

[Chy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The first half I found was incredibly interesting, the second half however was kind of boring.

[Peter Landau · Rating 4 out of 5]

How we got here. It ain’t pretty.

[Bonnie Camm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Text book...some interesting spots, lots of drivel

[robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

By no means a bad book, but a bit of a data dump. You will be hard pressed to find the "crisp and witty prose" advertised on the jacket. However, the central thesis -- the revolutions of the sixties and seventies created the conservative era -- fascinates. For example, feminism's focus on sexual exploitation led to the "moral activism" of the moral majority. The promulgation of conspiracy theories about the evil machinations of the government fed the anti-government stance of the Tea Party. Liberal reforms in sentencing led to mandatory minimums. Reagan's actions in Lebanon (especially his retreat) inspired Osama Bin Laden's 9/11 attack. The populist movements of the counterculture led to a distrust of "the elites" and the anti-intellectualism so popular today, because "a populist democracy is less likely to rely on expert authority and will prefer commonsense moralistic solutions to problems such as crime." Eventually this language of good and evil comes to dominate foreign policy, rebutting John Adam's "famous boast" that "the United States goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy."

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you at all have an interest in knowing what the 1970's were actually like, and how that decade, in a manner of speaking, became the '80's, this book's for you. Jenkins evokes the unique combination of ennui, junk culture, paranoia, hysteria, and impending doom that was the late '70's in a way I've never experienced since, well, the late '70's. Jenkins, a liberal Democrat, presents a very succinct analysis of the many failures of then-President Jimmy Carter (compare his assessment to the defensive view of the same events in Haynes Johnson's Sleepwalking Through History).
I do have to say that I don't really buy Jenkins's idea that the 70's were a continuation of the 60's that became, in effect, the 80's a few years early. I think, rather, that the 60's were a prelude to the 70's, a decade which, with it's odd cultural dopiness and seemingly enforced bad taste, and its off-the-rails libertinism, was entirely a thing unto itself.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was clearly written, and well researched. It was occasionally witty, but what I appreciated most about it was the journalist's independence, where Jenkins states what people on the left were saying, and what people on the right were saying, without judging either, even though he might state an agreement with one and a disagreement with another point of view. His coverage of the paranoia around everything that could befall children, and how the affect on children colored so many scares from child abuse, to drugs, to pornography, to tobacco, was insightful. It's something that everyone who lived through this period in America will recognize, but might not have put into the same patter Jenkins demonstrates.

A well constructed gloss of the history, with occasional nods to artistic and literary trends.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose to read this book because my parents were in high school in the 70s. I figured there would be something in here to take me to that safe space on an analyst's couch. There's also the tremors of the Cold War, the sinking into paleoconservativism, the sex panics, the drug panics, the abortion panics...you know. Democrats lost cycle after cycle. I thought this should be a pretty interesting decade.

I didn't find this book particularly helpful for understanding the 70s. It didn't frame the issues. Jenkins doesn't explain the changes as much as he documented a slew of NYTimes headlines. And I feel it left a lot out. I feel like the author could have spent more time on party politics, media consolidation, lifestyle changes, changes in the economy and effects of policy shifts. Nope.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting thesis, and his coverage of the 10-12 years under examination is quite detailed. Surveys the late 1970s and early 1980s, calling them pivotal in American politics because they featured a wide range of problems attributed to evil conspiracies that had to be combatted. Children, in this view, were particularly likely to be victims of cults, pornographers, drug dealers, kidnappers, terrorists, and so forth, and so we must fight to protect them. While these conspiracy theories may come from the left (CIA abuses), on the whole they have moved political discussion to the right, particularly the religious right.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at American history from the late 1960s to the mid 1980s, and explains how society turned in a more conservative direction. It is an interesting examination of the 1970s, an era that has not attracted much scholarly attention.

The main complaint I have about the book is its organization. The author would start to discuss a topic and then drop it, sometimes to pick it up in a later chapter. But, it was still an interesting, information book about an important period in American history.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely excellent survey of the 60's, 70's and 80's. While I never thought my life experience would end up in a history book, I remember almost every one of the events here. The author does a fantastic job of tracing what happened in the 70's was presaged by the 60's and followed by the 80's and why the hedonistic 60's resulted in the near fascism of today. The breadth of the book is remarkable but only goes deep for key events. Still, that doesn't take away from any of the book's effect.

Excellent read.

[Ang]

Reading for class. Should be interesting to read about my adolescence - the tween and teenage years.

okay i didn't make it past the 3rd chapter. this book was terrible. the first chapter was good but then it fizzled.
i think his religious bias ruined it for me. his view of US history is skewed.

[Koven Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't think of another book that more succinctly spells out how we got where we are now. Utterly insightful, and thoroughly researched. I appreciate Jenkins' willingness to not take the accepted wisdom at face value and go deeper.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent history, although very focused on negative trends. I lived through the mid 70s to mid-80s he is talking about and it wasn't quite as hysterical as it sounds. Good points about how the extremism of the 60s led to the Reagen era.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dry read but informative nonetheless. The topical instead of chronological layout was a bad mistake.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting take on a decade (loosely defined) that no one seems to talk about, yet still affects us. Cohesive and logical arguments.