1968 Presidential Election Richard Nixon was the 1968
Republican presidential candidate. Nixons principal opponent was
Democrat Hubert Humphrey, who had served as vice president under
Lyndon Johnson. Nixons wins!
Slide 3
Southern Support To gain Southern support, Nixon had met with
powerful South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond.
Slide 4
Nixons View Nixon promised peace in Vietnam, law and order, and
a return to conservative values. To restore law and order, Nixon
targeted antiwar protesters and opposed Supreme Court rulings that
expanded the rights of accused criminals.
Slide 5
New Federalism Nixons New Federalism dismantled a number of
federal programs and gave more control to state and local
governments.
Slide 6
Congress and Nixon Congress passed revenue sharing bills that
gave federal money to state and local agencies. Because states came
to depend on federal funds, the federal government could impose
conditions on the states. Nixon also tried to increase the power of
the executive branch by impounding, or refusing to release, funds
to Congress for programs he opposed.
Slide 7
AFDC Critics of the nations welfare system, Aid to Families
with Dependent Children (AFDC), argued that the system was
structured so that it was actually better for poor people to apply
for benefits than to take a low-paying job. Nixon proposed a plan
to give needy families $1,600 per year, which could be supplemented
by outside earnings. The plan was defeated in the Senate.
Slide 8
Henry Kissinger President Nixon was more interested in foreign
affairs than in domestic issues. He chose Henry Kissinger as his
national security adviser. Kissinger was a former Harvard
professor. He played a large part in helping Nixon shape his
foreign policy.
Slide 9
Abandoning Vietnam? Nixon and his national security adviser,
Henry Kissinger, believed that abandoning the war in Vietnam would
damage the United States position in the world. Both Nixon and
Kissinger wanted the United States to gradually withdraw from
Vietnam.
Slide 10
Vietnamization They wanted to continue to help train the South
Vietnamese to defend themselves. This policy was called
Vietnamization. Nixon believed that allies of the United States
should be responsible for defending themselves. This policy became
known as the Nixon Doctrine. South Vietnamese soldiers
Slide 11
Bipolar World Nixon was an outspoken opponent of communism, but
he and Kissinger rejected the notion of a bipolar world in which
the superpowers confronted each other.
Slide 12
Negotiating with Communist Nixon and Kissinger also believed
that the nations policy against communism was too rigid. They
wanted engage and negotiation with Communists offered a better way
for the United States to achieve its international goals.
Slide 13
Dtente Relaxation of tensions Kissinger and Nixon developed an
approach called dtente. Dtente was a relaxation of tensions between
the United States and its Communist rivals, China and the Soviet
Union. Nixon said that the United States had to build a better
relationship with the two countries in the interest of world
peace.
Slide 14
Visiting China In February 1972 Nixon made a historic visit to
China. He hoped to improve American-Chinese relations. Leaders of
both nations agreed to set up more normal relations between their
countries. Nixon with Chinese leader, Mao Zedong
Slide 15
Improving Relations with China Nixon began to improve relations
with China when he lifted trade and travel restrictions and
withdrew the Seventh Fleet from defending Taiwan. Nixon believed
that relaxing tensions with China would encourage the Soviet Union
to pursue diplomacy.
Slide 16
Summit in Moscow Shortly after negotiations with China took
place, the Soviets proposed a summit to be held between the United
States and the Soviet Union. Nixon flew to Moscow on May 22, 1972,
he became the first president since World War II to visit the
Soviet Union.
Slide 17
SALT President Nixon with Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev A
summit is a high-level diplomatic meeting. During the summit, the
two countries signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, or
SALT I. This was a plan to limit nuclear arms. The two nations also
agreed to increase trade and to exchange scientific
information.