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CHAPTER 13: DECADES OF CHANGE: 1960-1980then began the process of deregulation,the removal of governmentalcontrols in economic life. Arguingthat some restrictions over thecourse of the past century limitedcompetition and increased consumercosts, he favored decontrolin the oil, airline, railroad, andtrucking industries.Carter’s political efforts failed togain either public or congressionalsupport. By the end of his term, hisdisapproval rating reached 77 percent,and Americans began to looktoward the Republican Party again.Carter’s greatest foreign policyaccomplishment was the negotiationof a peace settlement betweenEgypt, under President Anwaral-Sadat, and Israel, under PrimeMinister Menachem Begin. Actingas both mediator and participant, hepersuaded the two leaders to end a30-year state of war. The subsequentpeace treaty was signed at the WhiteHouse in March 1979.After protracted and often emotionaldebate, Carter also securedSenate ratification of treaties cedingthe Panama Canal to Panama by theyear 2000. Going a step farther thanNixon, he extended formal diplomaticrecognition to the People’sRepublic of China.But Carter enjoyed less successwith the Soviet Union. Thoughhe assumed office with detenteat high tide and declared that theUnited States had escaped its “inordinatefear of Communism,” hisinsistence that “our commitment tohuman rights must be absolute” antagonizedthe Soviet government. ASALT II agreement further limitingnuclear stockpiles was signed, butnot ratified by the U.S. Senate, manyof whose members felt the treatywas unbalanced. The 1979 Sovietinvasion of Afghanistan killed thetreaty and triggered a Carter defensebuild-up that paved the way for thehuge expenditures of the 1980s.Carter’s most serious foreign policychallenge came in Iran. After anIslamic fundamentalist revolutionled by Shiite Muslim leader AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini replaced acorrupt but friendly regime, Carteradmitted the deposed shah to theUnited States for medical treatment.Angry Iranian militants, supportedby the Islamic regime, seized theAmerican embassy in Tehran andheld 53 American hostages for morethan a year. The long-running hostagecrisis dominated the final yearof his presidency and greatly damagedhis chances for re-election. 9The digital revolution of the past decade has transformedthe economy and the way Americans live, influencing work;interactions with colleagues, family, and friends; access toinformation; even shopping and leisure-time habits.21 ST CENTURYN A T I O NA P I C T U R E P R O F I L EThe first years of the new century unleashed a new threat topeace and democracy: international terrorist attacks that killed andmaimed thousands in the United States and around the world.Just as it has with earlier dangers, the United States took up thisformidable challenge in unison with its allies. At the same time,it coped with changes sparked by globalization, fast-pacedtechnological developments, and new waves of immigration thathave made American society more diverse than in the past.The country sought to build upon the achievements of its history,and to honor those who have sacrificed in its cause.292 293