McGovern Commission

Examples of McGovern Commission in the following topics:

• The Election of 1972

  • In 1972, Nixon beat George McGovern in a landslide reelection victory due to negative views on McGovern's campaign.
  • McGovern won only the state of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
  • McGovern had led a commission to redesign the Democratic nomination system after the divisive nomination struggle and convention of 1968.
  • The fundamental principle of the McGovern Commission—that the Democratic primaries should determine the winner of the Democratic nomination—has lasted through to the present day.
  • Eagleton accepted the nomination despite not personally knowing McGovern well and privately disagreeing with many of McGovern's policies.

• The Election of 1968

  • The second faction, which rallied behind Senator Eugene McCarthy, was composed of college students, intellectuals, and upper-middle-class whites who actively opposed the war.
  • In the end, the nomination itself was anticlimactic, with Vice President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot.
  • Nixon also proposed government tax incentives for African Americans to start small businesses and make home improvements in their existing neighborhoods.

• The Nixon Administration

  • In 1972, Nixon was reelected, defeating Democratic senator George McGovern in a landslide victory.

• 1968: The Year of Upheaval

  • McNamara, the Secretary of Defense who had overseen the escalation of the war but had eventually turned against it, stepped down from office.
  • With Johnson's withdrawal, the Democratic Party quickly split into four factions, each of which distrusted the others: labor unions and big-city supporters of Vice President Hubert Humphrey; college students and upper-middle-class whites who actively opposed the war and rallied behind Senator Eugene McCarthy; Catholics, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other racial and ethnic minorities who were passionate supporters of Senator Robert F.
  • In the end, the nomination itself was anticlimactic, with Vice President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot.
  • Nixon also proposed government tax incentives for African Americans to start small businesses and make home improvements in their existing neighborhoods.

• Peace Overtures and the Evacuation of Philadelphia

  • In response to the defeat at Saratoga, Parliament dispatched the Carlisle Peace Commission to negotiate peace with Congress.
  • After the British defeat at Saratoga in October 1777, Parliament repealed offensive measures, such as the Tea Act and the Massachusetts Government Act, and sent a commission to seek a negotiated settlement with the Continental Congress.
  • The commission was empowered to offer the colonies the semblance of self-rule, or what later became Commonwealth status.
  • The commission was authorized to negotiate with the Continental Congress as a body, representing a change in official British government policy, which had previously been willing to treat only with individual colonies.
  • Following France's entry into the war, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton was ordered by the government to abandon Philadelphia and defend New York City, now vulnerable to French naval power .

• Harding's Policies

  • Harding believed the federal government should be fiscally managed in a manner similar to the private sector and had campaigned on the slogan, "Less government in business and more business in government."
  • Due to these policies, the government budget was cut nearly in half in just two years.
  • On September 21, 1922, Harding enthusiastically signed the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act, which increased the tariff rates contained in the previous Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act of 1913 to the highest level in the nation's history.
  • From 1921 to 1923, the government spent a total of $162 million on America's highway system, infusing the U.S. economy with a large amount of capital.
  • Harding also advocated the establishment of an international commission to improve race relations between whites and blacks, but strong political opposition by the Southern Democratic bloc stopped the launch of the commission.

• The Republican Era

  • Scandals and corruption, including the notorious Teapot Dome Scandal, pervaded his administration; one of his own cabinet and several of his appointees were eventually tried, convicted, and sent to prison for bribery or defrauding the federal government.
  • Coolidge left the administration's industrial policy in the hands of his activist Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, who energetically used government auspices to promote business efficiency and develop airlines and radio.
  • With the exception of favoring increased tariffs, Coolidge disdained regulation, and carried on this belief by appointing commissioners to the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission who did little to restrict the activities of businesses under their jurisdiction.
  • Coolidge's reputation underwent a renaissance during the Ronald Reagan Administration, but the ultimate assessment of his presidency is still divided between those who approve of his reduction of the size of government programs and those who believe the federal government should be more involved in regulating and controlling the economy.
  • In February 1927, Congress took up the McNary-Haugen Bill again, this time narrowly passing it.

• Changing Roles for Women

  • Margaret Craighill became the first female doctor to become a commissioned officer in the United States Army Medical Corps.
  • That year, the first female officer of the United States Marine Corps was commissioned, and the first detachment of female marines was sent to Hawaii for duty in 1945.
  • Captain Anne Lentz was its first commissioned officer, and Private Lucille McClarren its first enlisted woman; both joined in 1943.
  • Women joined the federal government in massive numbers during World War II.
  • Nearly a million "government girls" were recruited for war work.

• Civilizing the City

  • Progressivism led to a shift in city governance from a mayor and an ineffective council to a stronger council or commission structure.
  • At the urban level, progressivism mainly affected municipal government.
  • The system whereby a city was governed by a powerful mayor and council was replaced by the council-manager or the commission system.
  • The commission was essentially a multi-member, rather than single-member, executive.
  • Under the commission system, the executive would be composed of people who each controlled one area of government.

• Progressive Government: City and State

  • Progressives took on local governments in attempts to improve efficiency and destroy political corruption.
  • At the urban level, progressivism mainly affected municipal government.
  • The system whereby a city was governed by a powerful mayor and council was replaced by the council-manager, or the commission system.
  • Under the commission system, the executive would be composed of people who each controlled one area of government.
  • The commission was essentially a multi-member, rather than single-member, executive.