Dartmouth Men and the World: Three Views
Rare is the American family that has not experienced the stress of cleavage along generational lines. Opinions differ on specific issues and fundamentally opposing views exist about the course of the nation, the system, and the purpose of life. It should come as no surprise that the Dartmouth "family" is no exception.
This conclusion grows out of a survey several of us undertook preparatory to the upcoming commencement and reunions in Hanover.* Classes returning for reunions have often been polled on a variety of issues and the undergraduate is not unfamiliar with questionnaires from the social science departments at the College.
What we attempted this year was something different. We wanted to assemble the opinions of three separate classes in order to ascertain the extent to which generational differences do occur within the Dartmouth family.
In March we sent the same questionnaire to all members of the senior class ('72), the 10-year class ('62) and the 25-year class ('47). Over half of the questionnaires were returned, with the rate of return being slightly lower for the Class of 1972. While the results can in no way be construed as totally representative of the three classes, they do point up some interesting differences between the three classes regarding major issues confronting the nation.
National Priorities
As a starting point we wanted to find out the extent to which the three classes concurred in the priorities they set for the country. We asked our respondents to rank eight problems as priorities for Federal spending (see Table 1). that the concerns of the class of '72 are quite focused: that is, large numbers show concern over poverty, the environment, and education, whereas the remaining five problem areas draw only modest concern. For the class of 1947, however, the concerns tended to be more equally distributed with less concentration on two or three areas of particular salience.
Two other findings are worth highlighting. The priority accorded the maintenance of strong defenses is surprisingly low for all classes—rating no higher than sixth of the eight items for any class. Also, the low '72 figure for "improving life in our cities" is somewhat surprising. It may be that '72s tended to subsume this concern under poverty, their top priority.
Opinion on Key Issues
Despite this general agreement on national priorities, the classes did differ markedly on such critical issues as Vietnam, the economy, national unrest, crime, and the legalization of the use of marijuana.
Well over half (58% ) of the '72s felt "the U. S. should withdraw all its forces from Vietnam immediately—even if it leads to a collapse of the Government of South Vietnam." The classes of '62 and '47 were more cautious: 29% and There was general consensus among all three classes that the top priorities are cleaning up the environment, reducing poverty, and improving education. In two problem areas, differing perceptions were apparent: the fight against crime and maintaining strong defenses. In each case the class of '47 was appreciably more concerned than the other classes. In Table 1 it will be noted
*We are grateful for the help of Frank A. Weber '47, Don S. Samuelson '62, and William Aydelott '72.
22%, respectively, feeling this way. It is safe to assume that many opinions will have changed in the wake of the North Vietnamese offensive.
When it comes to the economy, and wage and price controls in particular, none of the classes is sanguine that the President's program will work. When asked "What do you think are the chances that President Nixon's economic policies will be able to bring the inflationary spiral under control," the '72s were least hopeful, only 39% feeling the chances were "very good" or "moderately good." A bare majority (51%) of the class of '62 felt the chances were good, while 46% of the class of '47 concurred.
Cynicism as to who has benefited most from the controls was particularly manifest among the senior class, 74% feeling that the large corporations gained most. Sixty-one percent of the '62s felt this way and only 47% of the class of '47 agreed.
With the manifest national concern over crime and lawlessness, we thought it would be interesting to see to what extent the classes differed as to the most appropriate remedy. We asked respondents to indicate which one or two of five things are most needed. Listed were stricter law enforcement, judicial reform, prison reform, solving the drug
Table 1 Percent listing each area as a first, second or third priority of concern 1947 1962 1972 Cleaning up the environment 47% 65% 62% Improving education 52 53 68 Reducing poverty 45 52 69 Improving life in our cities 45 57 15 Fight against crime 45 32 22 Maintaining strong defenses 35 27 10 Conquering killer diseases 27 13 8 Space exploration 4 2 6
Table 2 "Which policy do you think the U. S. should follow in Vietnam?" 1947 1962 1972 The U. S. should withdraw all its forces from Viet- nam immediately—even if it leads to a collapse of the Government of South Vietnam. 22% 29% 58% The U. S. should continue to withdraw its troops gradually, but have all troops out within a year regardless of what happens in Vietnam. 49 44 35 The U. S. should keep some forces in South Vietnam until the South Vietnamese are really able to stand on their own. 29 27 7
problem, and improved social conditions.
The three classes tended to agree that improved social conditions was the foremost need, although the '72s were most convinced. The class of '47 felt that stricter law enforcement was quite important—unlike the other two classes. The '72s, unlike the other classes, tended to feel prison reform was critical—probably reflecting reaction to the then recent Attica tragedy.
Table 3 "When it comes to the problem of crime, what do you think is most needed?" '47 '62 '72 Better social conditions 24% 28% 36% Judicial reform 27 24 19 Stricter law enforcement 21 13 7 Prison reform 10 15 22 Solving the drug problem 17 19 13 A new social attitude toward the ex-convict 113
Perhaps the greatest division of opinion among the three classes was found on the issue of whether or not the use of marijuana should be legalized. Over three fourths (79%) of the senior class favored legalization, whereas only 33% of the '47s and 60% of the '62s agreed.
The System
The release of the Pentagon Papers is probably the single most troublesome issue in recent times for thoughtful Americans. The dilemma is complex. Did Ellsberg have an obligation to his' conscience? Or, was he beholden to a larger system which imposed its own obligations? We posed this dilemma to our respondents, and the differences of opinion were profound.
We asked which of the following three statements best reflected the respondent's view: (a) Ellsberg had a moral obligation to let the public know what was in the secret papers; (b) no matter what his own feelings on the war were, Ellsberg had no right to leak classified documents; or (c) Ellsberg's dilemma was profound and I am not sure what he should have done. The burden of opinion among '47s (50%) was that Ellsberg had no right to leak the papers. The burden of opinion among the '72s (54% ) was that he had no choice. And the '62s straddled the middle. Significant portions of all three classes, however, were perplexed and selected the third alternative.
To pursue the issue a bit further, we asked the three classes to give us their assessment of "the quality of our nation's leadership." We inquired about leadership both in business and in government. The same pattern recurred, the senior class having less confidence than others in leaders in both communities. When it came to leaders in business, 67% and 61%, respectively, of the classes of '47 and '62 gave "excellent" or "good" ratings. The class of '72 was less impressed, with only 50% giving such favorable ratings. As for government, all three classes had significantly less confidence in the leadership. Just under a majority (46%) of those in the class of '47 gave favorable ratings; the figures for the classes of '62 and '72 were 33% and 25 %, respectively.
On the surface one might be tempted to conclude that these differences of view stem from differing basic attitudes toward "the system" and how to change it. While we found significant differences among the classes, the balance of opinion in all cases was that change can most effectively be brought about by working within the system rather than challenging it from without or confronting it head on. Specifically, three statements were posed (see Table 4).
The first was most congenial to all classes, being selected by at least two in three in each class. However, the percentage of those advocating "independent action from outside" was appreciably higher for the class of '72 than for the other two classes. The
Table 4 Alternative statements regarding "the system" 1947 1962 1972 The only effective way to bring about change in our society is to work within the system and try to move it in a new direction. 88% 79% 66% Working within the system will get nowhere since it is only when the system is challenged by indepen- dent action from outside that it will be forced to respond-. 12 19 27 The system will continue to resist change both from internal and from external pressures and the only way to deal with it is to confront it head on and try to destroy its power. 0 2 7
portrait of all classes is distinctly nonradical.
Politics and Personalities
Against the backdrop of the foregoing results, the political loyalties of the three classes are not surprising. The trend is toward "liberalism" among the two younger classes and away from it among the class of '47. Traditional party labels are increasingly meaningless as is evidenced by the fact that 70% of the '72s term themselves political independents. The figure for the class of '62 was 43% and for the class of '47, 34%.
Asked to describe their "political views," 85% of the senior class referred to themselves as either fairly or moderately liberal. Sixty-two percent of the '62s so described themselves and less than half (47%) of the '47s called themselves liberals. When asked whether they had become "more liberal," "more conservative" or "not changed" in political persuasion, 54% of the '72s said more liberal, while the figure was 44% and 32% for the classes of '62 and '47, respectively.
This general pattern was reflected in the attitudes of the classes toward major political figures. The three classes agreed in their assessment in only two instances—generally favorable opinions were held about Senator Muskie and generally unfavorable opinions were held about Governor Wallace. With respect to all other individuals listed telling differences emerged.
Those particularly esteemed by the '72s are Senator McGovern and Eugene McCarthy. The '62s shared a high opinion of McGovern, but also looked upon President Nixon and Nelson Rockefeller quite favorably (the '72s were bearish on both men). Nixon, Rockefeller, and Muskie were particularly respected by the '47s.
Table 5 "How much trust and confidence do you have in the following individuals and what they stand for? "a great deal" or "a fair amount"'47 '62 '72 Spiro Agnew 56% 30% 11% Hubert Humphrey 55 45 36 Henry Jackson 53 39 19 Edward Kennedy 22 40 47 John Lindsay 36 49 53 Eugene McCarthy 45 50 74 George McGovern 57 65 87 John Mitchell 38 25 9 Edmund Muskie 66 71 62 Richard Nixon 71 60 33 Ronald Reagan 49 30 11 Nelson Rockefeller 67 57 35 George Wallace 18 14 12
In terms of the upcoming election, Richard Nixon appears in these ratings to be in a rather strong position at least among the classes of '47 and '62. To ferret out those areas in which he is strong and weak, we asked our respondents how much "trust and confidence" they had in him when it came to handling a number of issue areas. Far and away his strongest card lies in foreign policy. About three-fourths of the classes of '47 and '62 (78% and 74%, respectively) said they had "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of confidence in his leadership in foreign affairs. The figure for the '72s was 43%. It should be recalled, however, that these figures represent opinion at a time of heavy coverage of the China trip and prior to the intensification of the war in Vietnam.
In other areas the assessment of the President is more mixed. The '72s have little confidence in his handling of civil rights matters, his moral leadership of the country, or his ability to unite the people. In all three areas the other two classes are not so critical.
Table 6 "How much trust and confidence do you have in President Nixon when it comes to his handling of . . . "a great deal" or "a fair amount"'47 '62 '72 Foreign policy 78% 74% 43% Civil rights 54 33 16 the economy 48 52 37 Moral leadership 59 42 16 Uniting the people 48 29 14
Looking Ahead to November
To get some feel of how this complex of attitudes might be manifest in the votes cast by our respondents this November, we posed the traditional candidate choice questions. In asking the questions we assumed that both Eugene McCarthy and George Wallace would run independent candidacies, thus hoping to make the choices as realistic as possible. We presented four slates on our questionnaire, each of which included the names of Nixon, Wallace, and McCarthy. The four Democrats we included were Muskie, McGovern, Humphrey, and Kennedy. (See Table 7.)
The President came out on top in all four races among the '47s. Among the '62s, Nixon also did well, coming out on top in all four trial races. Senators McGovern and Muskie ran the strongest, but neither obtained more than 40% of the vote.
For the class of 1972, however, it was quite another matter. Nixon did not capture more than 25% of the vote in any of the four slates. George McGovern was far and away the favored candidate, drawing 70% against Nixon, Wallace and McCarthy. In none of the races and for none of the classes did Governor Wallace receive more than one percent.
The picture that emerges from our survey is of a Dartmouth family that is quite divided on the issues and in politics. It is not, however, a family divided into radical and non-radical camps as conventional wisdom would have us believe. It is hoped that surveys in the years ahead will permit further exploration of some of the points of divergence whose surface we scratched. Table 7 Four trial races '47 '62 '72 Nixon 61% 46% 20% Muskie 26 34 33 Wallace — 1 — McCarthy 5 12 31 Undecided 8 7 16 Nixon 64 51 25 Humphrey 20 18 17 Wallace 1 1 1 McCarthy 8 20 41 Undecided 7 10 16 Nixon 61 48 15 McGovern 27 36 70 Wallace 1 1 — McCarthy 2 7 7 Undecided 9 8 8 Nixon 67 53 23 Kennedy 13 21 28 Wallace 1 1 — McCarthy 9 16 32 Undecided 10 9 17
