Unique among the nations of the world, this country
has entrusted the development and operation of its
communications resources to private enterprise.

-- JOHN DEBUTTS, CHAIRMAN OF AT&T

THE HAPPY DAY S or the 1950s and early 1960s began to wane by 1965.
Inflationary pressures caused by the Vietnam War and international trade
problems began to destabilize the American economy, and the country
entered its grimmest economic stage since the Depression. The dollar
began to experience problems in the foreign exchange market. As a result,
the stock market weakened significantly toward the end of the decade,
causing problems for the conglomerates and their numerous investors. As
the 1960s came to a close, the economic situation appeared weak but it was
destined to deteriorate even more. Twenty years of growth in the postwar
period were ending in a collision of inflation, reaction to government
authority, and general skepticism. The worst days since the Depression
were yet to come.

The general questioning of authority and confrontational politics of the
New Left could clearly be seen on the corporate front as well. A small
telecommunications upstart company under an opportunist Harvard
M.B.A. would tackle the authority of AT&T, run by a chief executive who

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