Big Picture: Following the Vietnam War, Americans searched for order but their political - PowerPoint Presentation

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Big Picture: Following the Vietnam War, Americans searched for order but their political leaders stumbled badly. President Nixon, accused of covering up a crime, was forced to resign. President Carter was denied a second term for failing to provide strong leadership in relations with Iran and the Soviet Union.

Chapter 31: A Search For OrderSlide2

Main Idea: Beyond the ongoing turmoil of the Vietnam War, the Nixon administration did enjoy some notable success.Chapter 31 Section 1: The Nixon YearsSlide3

Nixon’s Politics and Domestic PoliciesNixon had a reputation as a strong conservative and tough on communism

He believed that government had grown too big under Democrats and wanted to return power to the states through a plan called

New Federalism

A key part of this plan was

revenue sharing:

the federal government would give states block grants to spend with more freedom instead of telling them exactly what to spend the money on

Nixon wanted to appeal to white Southerners upset about civil rights gainsHis goal was to slow down integration to encourage white Southerners to vote RepublicanDuring his tenure, most traditionally Democratic Southern states began voting Republican

Nixon the Conservative

The Southern StrategySlide4

Nixon’s Politics and Domestic PoliciesNixon believed the government was not doing enough to combat drug use and crimeHe was concerned about giving the accused too many rights and limiting the power of the police to combat crime

He appoints several conservative judges to promote his more conservative views

Even though Nixon was a champion for conservative causes, he was willing to take a more liberal stance in some issues

He increased funding for

food stamps

He also increased payments for

Social SecurityDrugs and Crime

The Other Side of NixonSlide5

Nixon’s Politics and Domestic Policies1962: Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring

about the harmful effects of chemicals like pesticides on the natural world

1970:

Earth Day

launched to share ideas about environmental protection

1970: Clean Air Act: regulated levels of air pollution by factories and other sources like cars

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): enforces government laws and regulations about pollution1970: Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA): works to prevent work related injury and illness through safety standards and training

Also encouraged affirmative action for the hiring of minorities and women

Nixon’s Environmentalism

Other Nixon policiesSlide6

Nixon’s Foreign Policy Nixon changes from containment to realpolitik:

basing foreign policy decisions on power and on what is best for the US, not ideology (deal with the most powerful countries, ignore those that are weak)

Détente:

easing tensions with old Cold War enemies

Began talks with the USSR that led to the signing of the

Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty 1 (SALT1) reducing the number of nuclear weapons the US and USSR built

Nixon wanted to improve relations with China to increase US trade and put pressure on the SovietsNixon had to be careful because the US never formally recognized the communists government in China, only the exiled nationalist government based in Taiwan

1972 Nixon travels to China establishing trade and putting pressure on the Soviets to sign SALT I

Realpolitik and Détente

Nixon in ChinaSlide7

Trouble in the Middle EastUS sided with Israel in conflicts with its Arab nation neighbors like the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War (both US and USSR intervened)

During the Yom Kippur War in 1973,

OPEC

placed an embargo on oil exports to the US (1/3 of US oil came from OPEC)

Gas prices rose sharply and shortages were common

Higher gas prices also meant higher prices for everything due to increased cost of production and

transportationNational Security Advisor Henry Kissinger used shuttle diplomacy (traveling to all of the countries involved in the crisis) to work out an agreement to end the fighting and the embargoThere were separate deals between Israel and Egypt & Israel and Syria

Eventually both the conflict and the embargo came to an end

Oil Embargo

Kissinger and shuttle diplomacySlide8

Major Events At HomeMajor goal of NASA was a manned moon missionJuly 1969: Apollo 11 sends

Neil Armstrong

, Edwin

Aldrin

, and Michael Collins to the moon

Armstrong is first man to walk on the moon  millions of Americans watched on TV

As Nixon approached re-election in 1972, he faced major economic troubleBoth inflation and unemployment were highTo try to halt inflation, in August of 1971, Nixon instituted a 90-day price and wage freezeThis worked during the freeze, but prices continued to rise after the freeze ended

Space Achievements

Inflation and Price ControlsSlide9

MAIN IDEA: The Nixon presidency became bogged down in scandal, leading to the first presidential resignation in American history and the administration of Gerald Ford.Chapter 31 Section 2: From Watergate to FordSlide10

The Election of 1972

Nixon was very concerned about his re-election in 1972 and wanted to do everything possible to win

Ehrlichman

and

Hadleman

created a group called the “Plumbers” tasked with digging up dirt on Nixon’s opponentsWhen Ellsberg released the

Pentagon Papers criticizing Nixon’s handling of Vietnam, they broke into his psychiatrist’s office to find information to damage his credibilityEarly 1972, Nixon’s team breaks into the Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate to collect information on their election strategy and to bug the phonesThey were caught and two reporters with the Washington Post,

Bernstein and Woodward investigated the break-in and found links to the White HouseAt first, not many people paid attention and Nixon was re-electedSlide11

The Scandal UnfoldsFeb 1973: seven men connected to the break-in go to prison for their crimes

During the trials, details emerge pointing to other

White House

officials involved in the break-in

Washington Post continued to report and the public took increasing interest

Nixon announces his own investigation in April- several members of the administration are fired or resign, including

Erlichman and HaldemanCongress asks for an independent investigation headed by Archibald Cox

May- Senate committee begins its own investigation with televised hearingsMajor question was “What did the President know and when did he know it?”

John Dean told the committee that he spoke with Nixon about the break-in and cover up many timesJuly 1973- former presidential aide Butterfield revealed that Nixon tape-recorded all conversations in his offices

The Washington Post DigsButterfield’s BombshellSlide12

The Scandal UnfoldsNixon refused to give investigators access to the tapes, claiming executive privilege

- he had the right to keep his conversations private to ensure open and honest advice

Any conversation about Watergate is not protected by executive privilege- subpoenas are issued for the tapes

Saturday Night Massacre:

Nixon orders attorney general Richardson to fire Cox, he refused and resigned, as did his assistant…3

rd

ranking official agrees to fire Cox Nixon goes on TV, asserts to the public “I am not a crook.”

White House eventually releases tapes, but 18 min are missingPeople began calling for impeachment (formal charges of criminal activity)Spring 1974: Nixon releases transcripts of tapes…not good enough

Supreme Court orders Nixon to turn over tapes (Nixon v. US)House Judiciary Committee votes to bring impeachment charges to the full house

August 8, 1974: Nixon resignsSaturday Night MassacreCrisis and ResignationSlide13

Gerald Ford’s PresidencyNixon’s VP Spiro Agnew had been forced to resign earlier over tax evasion charges

House Republican leader Gerald Ford took over for Agnew and became president when Nixon resigned

Ford promised a time of national healing, but angered many Americans when he granted Nixon a

full pardon

Ford attempted to tackle inflation by

cutting government spending

, but ran into opposition because Democrats controlled CongressThey pass several new spending billsFord was also blocked when trying to send additional aid to South Vietnam

Communist North Vietnam takes over the entire countryFord also unable to send aid to forces fighting communist rule in AngolaFord attempted to continue policy of détente and

realpolitk, kept Kissinger as Secretary of StateRelations with Soviet Union continue to improve

Ford faced serious political problems and barely got the nomination from the Republicans in 1976Slide14

MAIN IDEA: Jimmy Carter used his reputation for honesty to win the presidency in 1976, but he soon met challenges that required other qualities as well.Chapter 31 Section 3: Carter’s PresidencySlide15

Challenges Face the NationCarter was elected due to his deep faith and his Washington outsider reputation

Kept his campaign promise to pardon Vietnam draft dodgers

Carter was unable to bring down rising inflation, but had more success in energy policy

Created the

Department of Energy

He reduced energy consumption by increasing

fuel efficiency standardsReduced dependence on foreign oil by lifting regulations on domestic oil productionAlso invested in alternative energy sources like wind and solarCarter also believed conservation of energy would reduce pollution

passed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act setting aside 100 million acres in Alaska and doubled the size of the national parks and wildlife refuge system1979

Three Mile Island nuclear facility in PA suffered a partial meltdownLove Canal NY discovered toxic chemicals buried in the neighborhood yards

The state bought all 200 homes and the federal government cleaned up the toxic messThe Economy and EnergyEnvironmental ConcernsSlide16

Carter’s Foreign PolicyCarter had no previous foreign policy experienceWanted to focus on

human rights

- making sure that all nations gave their people freedoms

Appointed 1

st

African American to the UN- Andrew YoungCriticized the Soviet Union’s restrictions on free speech

Soviet Union refused to reformUS and USSR were still able to sign SALT II in 1979 limiting certain types of nuclear weapons

1977 Carter signs a treaty with Panama agreeing to turn over control of the Panama Canal to Panama in 19991979 Carter officially recognizes the communist government in China

Carter’s greatest foreign policy achievement was the Camp David Accords: a peace agreement between Israel (

Menachem Begin) and Egypt (Anwar al-Sadat)A focus on Human Rights/Soviet RelationsPanama, China, and the Camp David AccordsSlide17

International Crises1978- government of Afghanistan overthrown and communist government backed by USSR takes overWhen that government was threatened with a coup in 1979, the Soviets invade to prop up the government

US responds by blocking shipment of grain to USSR and boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow

Many thought the action was too weak

1979- the Shah of Iran is overthrown and

Ayatollah

Ruhollah

Khomeini, an Islamist leader comes to powerHis message was strongly anti-AmericanWhen the US allowed the shah to come to the US for cancer treatment, Iranians attacked the Us

embasy and took 52 Americans hostageThey were held for 444 days– Carter is unable to get them released (major foreign policy failure)This leads to his failure to win re-election in 1980 (hostages released minutes after Reagan takes the oath of office)

Soviets Invade Afghanistan

Iranian Hostage Crisis