Transcript Richard Millhouse Nixon

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(Background info)
Democratic Party in
Election of ‘68
A. Democratic Primaries
1. MN Senator Eugene McCarthy
criticized the war and challenged LBJ
for the nomination.
2. McCarthy received almost as many
votes as LBJ at the New Hampshire
primary held in March ’68.
3. Exhausted, LBJ withdrew, claiming he
would finish his term focusing on
ending the war in Vietnam.
Democratic Primaries (cont.)
4. Hubert Humphrey, Johnson’s
current VP, joined the race
5. Robert F. Kennedy (dove) of NY
joined the race, and won a majority
of the primaries. His followers
included African Americans,
Hispanics, the poor, and the young.
Kennedy Tragedy
B. Kennedy Tragedy
1. Robert Kennedy won the California
primary and seemed destined to win
the Democratic nomination.
2. On the night of the CA victory,
by a Palestinian
immigrant- Sirhan Sirhan
3. Kennedy died the next day- only
two months after MLK was
assassinated.
Chaos in Chicago
Anti-War Protestors outside the
DNC, Chicago 1968.
C. Chaos in Chicago
1. Dems met in Chicago to settle on a
candidate for the Nov. election.
2. The party officially nominated VP
Hubert Humphrey.
3. Anti-War rioting occurred outside
the DNC, while even inside there
were protests against US
involvement in Vietnam.
 Protesting even occurred
inside the DNC in 1968.
This did NOT get the
Humphrey campaign off to a
good start!
Richard M. Nixon
1969-1974
I. Nixon’s Background
A.
B.
C.
D.
Republican
WWII Vet
Former California Senator
Vice-President under Eisenhower
II. Election of 1968
A. Repub candidate Nixon and his
VP Spiro Agnew won.
B. Humphrey ran as Dem.
C. George Wallace ran as the
American Independent
Party candidate –
endorsed segregation
III. Election of 1972
A. Nixon and Agnew won the 1972
Presidential election by a landslide!
Senator George
McGovern from South Dakota
B. Democrat-
• Extra info:
George Wallace ran again for president,
this time seeking to gain the
Democratic nomination.
While campaigning in May of ‘72, he was
the victim of an
.
He survived but was left paralyzed from
the waist down.
Wallace Assassination Attempt
IV. Domestic Policy
A. Changes in the Supreme Court
1. Shifted from liberal court
(Earl Warren, Civil Rights,
etc.) to conservative court
2. Nominated Warren Burger as chief
justice after Earl Warren
3. Placed three other conservatives on
the court.
B. Stagflation
1.Stagflation: combination of rising
unemployment and inflation
2. Large problems with federal deficit, due
to “War on Poverty” and Vietnam
New Economic Policy/
“NIXONOMICS”- freeze on prices,
3. August 1971-
rent, and wages.
C. New Federalism
1. Republican attitude of reducing
federal government's role in
the economy; return power to
the states.
2. Federal gov’t offered loans to
states for them to use as they
chose
D. Energy Crisis
1. 1970s- Rising oil costs
became a major cause
of inflation and consumer worry.
2. US had become increasingly
dependent on foreign oil since
WWII.
3. Oct, 1973- Arab nations cut off oil
shipments to the US as punishment for US
support of Israel in the new Arab-Israeli
war.
4. Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (created in
1960) announced a price hike
– From the end of 1972 to 1974, oil
prices went from $3.00 a barrel
over $12.00 a barrel!
– Today, oil is $100+ a barrel…
YIKES! 
5. This was a 400% jump in gas prices!
This price hike, coupled with the oil
embargo of other Arab nations, created
shortages in oil, gas, heating, etc. 
energy crisis of winter, 1973-1974
-And we thought
Katrina was bad?
a. Nixon called for energy
conservation, making us less
dependent on foreign oil.
b. Law was passed that reduced
highway speed limit to 55 mph.
c. Construction on a pipeline from
Alaska began.
d. Looked to nuclear power plants to
supplement our energy needs.
E. Environmental Protection
1. EPA-
established in 1970 in response to
an oil spill off of the coast of Santa Barbara,
CA and the FIRST Earth Day celebration.
2. Clean Air Act- set air-quality
standards and tough emissions guidelines for
automakers (1970)
3. Water Quality Act- required oil
companies to pay part of clean up costs of oil
spills (1972)
4. Endangered Species Act-
protect the wildlife of extinction (1973)
V. Foreign Policy
A. Henry Kissinger
1. Nixon’s Secretary of State
2. Had advised Ike, JFK, and LBJ
3. Later will serve as Reagan’s foreignaffairs advisor
4. Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1973
5. Shared Nixon’s idea of Realpoliticknational interest, rather than ideals such
as democracy and human rights- should
guide US foreign policy.
B. Nixon-Kissinger Approach
1. The chief goal of their foreign policy
was to establish a balance of power
among the world’s five major powers.
a. United States
b. China
c. Japan
d. Soviet Union
e. Western Europe.
“The only time in the history of
the world that we have had any
extended period of peace is
when there has been a balance
of power. It is when one nation
becomes infinitely more
powerful in relation to its
potential competitors that the
danger of war arises.”
- Richard Nixon, 1972
C. China Visit- Feb. ‘72
1. Nixon is perhaps best known for his
China visit.
2. Improved relations by lifting trade/travel
restrictions
3. The 2 nations worked together to promote
peace in the Pacific
4. Nixon proposed the eventual withdrawal
of US troops from Taiwan, hoping that
closer ties with China would further divide
the Communist world.
D. Moscow Summit- May‘72
1. Strategic Arms Limitation
Talks (SALT)- US and USSR sign a
treaty limiting the number of continental
nuclear weapons- those capable of
traveling long distances.
2. Did not end the Arms Race, but did help
reduce the nuclear threat
3. Nations entered into period of
détente- a lessening of military and
diplomatic tensions between the countries
E. Cambodia- ’69-70
1. Nixon planned to send troops through
neutral Cambodia to cut off supply
lines of North Vietnamese troops.
2. Nixon ordered widespread bombing of
Cambodia- he and Kissinger kept
this a big secret from
Americans (feared international uproar
over the invasion)
3. A revolt overthrew Cambodian leader in
March ’70- Nixon’s attitude changed
the new leader was
pro-America, Nixon made
his strategy public.
4. Because
5. 80,000 US/South Vietnamese troops
entered Cambodia. North Vietnamese
entered as well, and Cambodia was under
attack.
F. Anti-War Protests Increase
1. Kent State and
Jackson State
shootings
occurred under
Nixon’s
administration.
Columbia shootings
were in ’68 under
Johnson.
Kent State University:
May 4, 1970 – Ohio Nat’l
Guard shot 9 students,
killing 4. Some were
protestors of the
Cambodia bombing
campaign; others were
simply on their way to
class!
JSU: May 14, 1970 – 2
students killed, 12
injured as police fired on
protestors
2. Pentagon Papers: 1971- NY Times
began to publish secret government
documents relating to the war.
3. These papers reveled that the
government had frequently misled
the American people about the
course of the war.
4. Leaked to the press by Daniel
Ellsberg, a former Department of
Defense official (“Plumbers” break-in)
G. Vietnamization
1. Strategy of turning over fighting
to South Vietnam, gradually pulling
out US troops.
2. Nixon thought this would bring “peace
with honor”. He HOPED it would produce a
stable anti-communist South Vietnam.
3. When Nixon took office in ’69, troop
numbers were 540,000. By ’72 it had
dropped to 24,200.
H. War Powers Act
1. 1970: Congress repealed Tonkin Gulf
Resolution
2. In 1973, seeking to prevent another
“Vietnam”, Congress passed the
War Powers Act
3. This act reaffirms Congress’s
constitutional right to declare war by
setting a 60-day limit on the
presidential commitment of US troops
to foreign conflicts.
I. Ending Vietnam War
1. As part of “Vietnamization,” leaders
met in Paris - declared a cease-fire in
Vietnam on January 23, 1973
2. April 29-30, 1975: North Vietnam
captured Saigon. Americans were
evacuated and finally came home.
3. Vietnam vets will not actually be
welcomed home with the proper
celebration until 1985.
VI. Social Changes
1969-1974
A. Man Lands on the Moon
1. July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 leaves Kennedy Space
Center in route to the moon.
2. Astronauts Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong,
and Buzz Aldrin
3.July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong
first man on the Moon. “One small
step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
B. Hurricane Camille ’69
1. August 17: Category 5 hits Pass Christian,
killing 256 people
C. Charles Manson Killing Spree ‘69
1. Manson led a group known as
“The Family” infamously
associated with the Tate-La
Bianca murders
2. First murdered actress Sharon
Tate who was 8 months pregnant
at the time (in Beverly Hills, CA).
3. A spree of murders occurred in
the next year.
4. Manson was set for parole in
2007 – denied for 11th time.
Do the Manson Dance?
20 years later…. Still CRAZY!
D. Twenty-sixth Amendment
1. Ratified on July 1, 1971
2. Voting age was
lowered from 21
to 18.
E. Roe vs. Wade
1. Supreme Court case that decided a
woman's right to an abortion fell within
the right to privacy protected by the
14th Amendment.
- One of the most controversial
Supreme Court decisions in
American history!!!
F. Busing to Achieve
Desegregation
1. Busing is the practice of
transporting students to
certain schools in order to
overcome the effects of
residential segregation on local school
demographics – esp. needed in cities
2. Policy was upheld by Supreme Court in
1971 - Very controversial!
VII. Watergate
Nixon was convicted of a big “NONO” and resigns as president.
Stop - Complete
Assignment #2
1. Nixon planned to run for reelection in 1972, but his
paranoia of others caused him
to take measures to ENSURE
his re-election.
2.Watergate Break-In
- June, 1972: Break-in of the DNC
headquarters in the Watergate
building.
- 5 men carrying spy equipment were
arrested.
3. Burgler Ties to CRP
- It was soon discovered that the
burglars were tied to Nixon’s
campaign organization, the
Committee to Re-elect the President
4. Nixon Administration Cover-up
- The White House asked the CIA to
urge the FBI to “back off” of the
investigation. CRP also paid
$450,000 to buy the burglars silence.
5. Woodward and Bernstein
- While most of the nation forgot
the story, The Washington Post
reporters began digging into the
burglary and discovered its ties to
the White House.
6. Senate Investigation
- The president denied any cover-up,
but the Senate began an investigation
in May of 1973. A special committee
began calling government employees
to reveal what they knew about White
House (Nixon) activities.
7. Oval Office Recordings
- During the investigation, it came out
that Nixon had tape-recorded his
conversations in the Oval Office.
8. What Charges?
unauthorized wiretapping, burglaries,
bribing witnesses, illegal use of
campaign funds
Who was indicted?
25 people are indicted
(attorney general, white house aids)
9. Executive Privilege:
Nixon claims that the president
does not have to give info to other
branches of gov’t; he refused to turn
over tapes.
10. VP Agnew resigns
– He was convicted of income tax
evasion. Also was charged with
taking bribes while gov. of
Maryland and as VP.
- Gerald Ford appointed new VP
11. Saturday Night Massacre:
- When the prosecutor insisted on
having the tapes, Nixon insisted on
him. His attorney general resigned
rather than fire Cox. The deputy
atty gen also refused and was fired.
Another official finally fired him.
- This caused many in the U.S. to
question Nixon’s claimed innocence!
12. Impeachment Proceedings
- Supreme Court made Nixon turn
over the tapes; they revealed that
he was involved with a direct coverup of the break-in and suppression
of the FBI’s investigation
- The House Judiciary Committee
determined there was enough
evidence to impeach Nixon and drew
up articles of impeachment.
13. Nixon Resigns:
- was to be impeached, so he
announced on Aug 8, 1974 that he
would resign the next
day.
Nixon’s famous
farewell after leaving
the White House on
the day of his
resignation.