RICHARD M. NIXON

1969 - 1974

NIXON AND THE ’70S

THE ELECTION OF 1968

The 1968 presidential election marked a shift to the right in American politics.

COUNTRY IS IN STAGFLATIONHIGH INFLATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT

Increasing women / teenagers = work force

Decline in new machinery

Government regulations cut proits

Vietnam = drained tax dollars = deficit spending

high Inflation / Unemployment

Oil prices up and America used all foreign oil

Raised Taxes and interest rates to stop it

Vietnam War

The biggest foreign policy issues Nixon had to deal with during his presidency was dealing with the

Vietnam War

NIXON - VIETNAM Knowledge of Foreign Policy

Preferred it over American policyNumber one priority was gaining peace in

Vietnam Thought U.S. should be able to run itself

Vietnamization Withdraw troops

Nixon Doctrine Honor existing commitments, but Asians / others would have

to fight their own wars w/o large bodies of U.S. troops

Détente with Russia, China

President Nixon tours the Great Wall of China

One of Nixon’s foreign affairs goals was

friendlier relations with China and the Soviet

Union

Nixon and Kissinger developed a foreign

affairs policy known as détente, which means

cooperation

DÉTENTE (POLICY OF EASING COLD WAR TENSIONS)

Visits China = February 1972Economic / diplomatic relations

Neither would dominate Pacific

Scientific / cultural exchanges

Reunite Taiwan with mainland

DÉTENTE CONT.

Visits Moscow = May 1972 Sell food - $750 million worth – grain

SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) = freezing nuclear weapons5 years

Détente with Russia

From 1972 to 1974, tensions between the U.S.

and the Soviet Union eased

SUPREME COURT

Nixon appoints 4 conservative justicesTried to stop the “meddling”

Warren Court

Warren E. Burger = Burger Court Liberal rulings

Roe v. Wade (1973) Legalized abortion

HOME FRONT

Increased entitlements Food Stamps Medicaid Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Increase in Social Security = Cost of LivingPhiladelphia Plan = Black apprentices

Hiring quotas = Affirmative Action

Opened opportunities for minorities / women

HOME FRONT

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Earth Day

Clean Air Act of 1970

Endangered species Act of 1973

HOME FRONT CONT.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Working Conditions

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Harmful products

Election of 1972

Nixon re-elected in a rout

The Pentagon PapersIn 1971, a former Defense Department worker leaked what were known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York TimesThe documents showed how

our leaders had deceived

Congress, the media, and the public about how the war was going

The government had not been honest with the American people

ENERGY CRISIS

Yom Kippur War = October 1973 Syrians / Egyptians = surprise attack on Israel

Regain territory – Six Day War

Kissinger – Sec. of State Flew to Moscow – restrain / arming attackers

$2 Billion in war materials sent to Israelis

Cease fire – diplomacy

ENERGY CRISIS CONT. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

OPEC = 1960 Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela

Gradually raising prices

Embargo on oil shipment to U.S. Shortage = Energy Crisis = price

1974 Resumed selling Price quadrupled

NIXON AND WATERGATE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MwsORIyko0

What was Watergate?Watergate was one

of the largest political scandals in the history of

the United States

What was Watergate?

The Watergate scandal occurred when the Republicans were caught

spying on the Democrats at the Democratic Headquarters

What was Watergate?

Watergate became a major scandal when President Nixon lied about his

role in the break-in and tried to cover it up

WATERGATE CONT.

Senate Committee Hearings Televised Nixon denies knowledge Obstructing justice?? Tape recorded Oval office conversations

Nixon refused to hand over tapes “I am not a crook” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5tgrssDn1w

Saturday Night Massacre = Oct. 20, 1973 Fired his prosecutor

Fired Attorney General, and Deputy Attorney General

WATERGATE CONT.

Spring 1974 Agrees to release a portion

of tapes ( were edited) Obscenities

July 24, 1974 Supreme Court

Ruled = turn over all tapes Gaps??

3 subpoenaed tapes June 23, 1972 Conversation

with Chief Aide

Smoking Gun tape 6 days after Watergate

New about it Ordered CIA to hold back

inquiry by FBI Cover-up

House Judiciary Committee Impeachment

Obstruction of justice Abuse of power Contempt of Congress

NIXON RESIGNS August 8, 1974

Nixon convinced to Resign before he could be impeached

Televised http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOGJJ7UKFM

Constitution works Cleaned its own house

On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first American

president to resign

Nixon Resigns

AFTERMATH OF WATERGATE

Gerald Ford became the nation’s 37th president. More than 30 government officials went to prison for

their role in Watergate. Nixon was not one of them. In September 1974, Ford gave Nixon a full pardon. There was a public distrust of the government that

continues to this day.

GERALD FORD1974 - 1977

UNELECTED PRESIDENT

Gerald Ford = August 1974 Selected, not elected

Pardons Nixon Democrats outraged

tried to Fix economy by Conserving “WIN” = Whip Inflation Now

Recession Worst in 40 years

BICENTENNIAL CAMPAIGN Election 1976

Republicans = Gerald Ford

Democrats = James Carter “Jimmy” Peanut farmer Former Governor of Georgia Baptist “I’ll never lie to you”

Carter wins 297 to 240 = 51%

of popular vote Democratic

majority