Slideshow: Decline of Trust in the Government
The American pubic has become increasingly dissatisfied with government over the past four decades. What does this mean for us as a democracy?
Click on the images below to learn how Americans have lost trust in their government beginning in the 1960s and continuing today.
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Vietnam
The nation stood divided concerning United States involvement in the Vietnam War. Pictured here, a 1967 anti-war demonstrator holds a flower out to pentagon guards. Skepticism rose as the war dragged on resulting in the deaths of approximately 59,000 U.S. soldiers, as well as millions of Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians. U.S. involvement began in the 1950s, escalating by 1968. The Case-Church Amendment of June 1973 prohibited the U.S. from continued military involvement. North Vietnam captured South Vietnam in 1975.
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Watergate
In 1974, Richard Nixon became the first president to resign from office. Nixon, shown here, departs the White House after resigning. The illegal activities of President Nixon and his staff outraged the nation, citizens pushed for impeachment. President Gerald Ford later granted Nixon a very controversial full pardon for any crimes he might have committed. The nation was overwhelmed by the corrupt behavior of the administration.
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Iranian Hostages
During the Iranian Revolution, the United States intervened by supporting the Shah instead of the Ayatollah. In protest, group of 52 United States diplomats were taken hostage by Islamist students. Failed negotiations resulted in an unsuccessful attempt to stage a military rescue of the hostages. Eight U.S. soldiers were killed when the rescue team crashed. The hostages were finally released in 1981, after 444 days in captivity. The liberated hostages, shown here, were taken to an air force base hospital in Germany. U.S. and Iranian diplomacy was destroyed, and again the United States people questioned the integrity, ability, and motives of their government.
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September 11 Terrorist Attacks
The shocked Nation mourned the losses of 2974 citizens after a group of extremist al-Qaeda staged several suicide attacks on United States soil. Shown here, the twin towers in New York City burn before collapsing, after being attacked by terrorists who captured civilian airplanes and crashed them into the towers and the Pentagon. Another attack on the same day was thwarted by citizens on the captured flight. Citizens wondered if the government was capable of preventing other such attacks by extremist groups. Fifteen of the highjackers were from Saudi Arabia and apparently were part of Osama bin Laden's plan to terrorize the United States. The U.S. responded by invading Afghanistan, home to al-Qaeda, and passing the Patriot-Act, which gave the government the ability to gather information on, arrest, and detain anyone suspected of being a terrorist. The act is seen as ultimately un-patriotic.
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War in Iraq
As a result of the September 11 attacks on the United States, government officials made claims that Saddam Hussein was involved. Based on these assumptions, the United States invaded Iraq, pictures shown here, with the goal of destroying weapons of mass destruction hidden there. The weapons were never found, and citizens again questioned the integrity and ability of the United States government. Newly elected President Barack Obama promised that United States military action would end by 2010.
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Government Trust, a New Era?
After years of government blunders, purposeful deceptions, and lapses in logic, newly elected President Barack Obama has tried to turn the tables on government mistrust. His campaign slogan was "change we can believe in," playing on the current mistrust of the government. While he began his term with high trust ratings, those have taken a beating as all politicians have suffered in the wake of health care reform, continued wars in the Middle East, and a lingering economic slowdown.
