The Nixon, Ford & Carter Administrations Semester 2 Week 13

Election of 1968 campaigned as champion of the silent majority ordinary Americans who believed change had gone too farand called for law and order Nixons principal opponent was Dem Hubert Humphrey, who had served as LBJs VP Nixon also had to wage his campaign against a strong 3 rd party candidate, George Wallace, an experienced Srn politician and avowed supporter of segregation On Election Day, Wallace captured an impressive 13.5% of the popular vote, the best showing of a third-party candidate since 1924 Nixon managed a victory receiving 43.4 % of the popular vote to Humphreys 42.7% and 301 electoral votes to Humphreys 191

Nixons Southern Strategy One of the keys to Nixons victory was his surprisingly strong showing in the South Even though the South had long been a Democrat stronghold, Nixon had refused to concede the region To gain Srn support, Nixon had met with powerful SC Sen. Strom Thurmond & won his backing by promising several thing: appoint only conservatives to the federal courts name a Srner to the Supreme Court oppose court-ordered busing Large numbers of white Southerners deserted the Democratic Party, granting Humphrey only one victory in TX While Wallace claimed most of the states in the Deep South, Nixon captured VA, TN, KY & SC

Issue with the Supreme Court His admin specifically targeted the nations antiwar protesters Nixon also went on the attack against the recent Supreme Court rulings that expanded the rights of accused criminals Nixon openly criticized the Court & its chief justice, Earl Warren Nixon promised to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court with judges who would support the rights of law enforcement over the rights of suspected criminals When Chief Justice Warren retired shortly after Nixon took office, the president replaced him with Warren Burger, a respected conservative judge

Henry Kissinger Nixon chose as his national security adviser Henry Kissinger Nixon and Kissinger shared views on many issues: Both believed simply abandoning the war in Vietnam would damage the U.S. position in the world they worked toward a gradual withdrawal Nixon & Kissinger also believed in shaping a foreign policy rooted in practical approaches rather than ideologies They felt the nations decades-long anticommunist crusade had created a foreign policy that was too rigid and often worked against the nations interests They believed that engagement & negotiations with Communists offered a better way for U.S. to achieve its internatl goals

Nixons Foreign Policy Conservatives also believed Nixon was soft in foreign policy Nixon & Kissinger, continued their predecessors policies of trying to undermine governments that seemed to endanger U.S. strategic or economic interests Nixon sent arms to pro-American dictators in Iran, the Philippines, and South Africa When Chileans elected the socialist Salvador Allende president, the CIA helped his domestic opponents launch a coup on 9/11/1973, that overthrew and killed Allende and installed a bloody regime ruled by General Augusto Pinochet Thousands of Allendes supporters, including some Americans, were tortured and murdered, while others fled the country

Detente He believed the U.S. needed to understand the growing role that China, Japan, and Wrn Europe would soon play Nixon fashioned an approach called dtente, or relaxation of tensions, between the U.S. & its 2 major Communist rivals, the USSR & China In explaining dtente to the American people, Nixon said that the U.S. had to build a better relationship with its main rivals in the interests of world peace

Dtente with China Dtente began with an effort to improve U.S.- Chinese relations Since 1949, the U.S. had refused to recognize the Communists as the legitimate rulers He began by lifting trade & travel restrictions & w/drawing the 7th Fleet from defending Taiwan 2/1972, Nixon visited China During the historic trip, the leaders of both nations agreed to establish more normal relations between their countries Nixon hoped not only to strengthen ties with the Chinese, but also to encourage the Soviets to more actively pursue diplomacy Nixon believed dtente with China would encourage Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev to be more accommodating with the U.S.

Dtente with the USSR Shortly after the public learned of U.S. negotiations with China, the Soviets proposed an U.S.-Soviet summit, or high- level diplomatic meeting, to be held in 5/1972 5/22, Nixon flew to Moscow for a weeklong summit He became the first president since WWII to visit the USSR During the historic Moscow summit, the 2 superpowers signed the 1st Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, or Salt I a plan to limit nuclear arms the 2 nations had been working on for years Nixon & Brezhnev also agreed to increase trade & the exchange of scientific information

Nixons Thought Process Nixon had grown defensive, secretive, and often resentful of his critics Nixon had become president during a time when the U.S. was still very much at war with itself Race riots & protests over the Vietnam War continued to consume the country In Nixons view, these protesters & other radicals were out to bring down his admin Nixon was so consumed with this opponents that he compiled an enemies list filled with people from politicians to members of the media whom he considered a threat to his presidency

Re-Election Plans Seeking to gain an edge in every way they could, Nixons team engaged in a host of subversive tactics, from spying on opposition rallies to spreading rumors and false reports These tactics included an effort to steal information from the Democratic Partys headquarters In the early hours of 6/17/1972, 5 Nixon supporters broke into the partys office at the Watergate complex in DC They had intended to obtain any sensitive campaign information and to place wiretaps on the office telephones Watergate complex

The Wheels Were Turning The media discovered that one of the burglars James McCord, a member of the Committee for the Re-election of the President (CRP) Reports soon surfaced that the burglars had been paid to execute the break-in from a secret CRP fund controlled by the White House While the president may not have ordered the break-in, he did order a cover-up; The White House denied any involvement in the break-in With Nixons consent, officials asked the CIA to intervene & stop the FBI from inquiring into the source of the money paid to the burglars Nixon won re-election by one of the largest margins in history with nearly 61% of the popular vote to 37.5% for George McGovern The electoral vote was 520-17 for Nixon

Problems for Nixons Administration 6/1973, John Dean testified before Sen. Ervins committee that former Attorney Gen. John Mitchell had ordered the Watergate break-in and that Nixon had played an active role in attempting to cover up any White House involvement As a shocked nation absorbed Deans testimony, the Nixon admin strongly denied the charges All the groups investigation the scandal sought access to the tapes. Nixon refused, pleading executive privilege 10/1973, A special prosecutor appointed by the president to handle the Watergate cases, Archibald Cox, took Nixon to court to force him to give up the recordings VP Spiro Agnew, was forced to resign in disgrace Investigators had discovered that Agnew had taken bribes from state contractors while he was govr of MD and that he had continued to accept bribes while serving in DC Gerald Ford, the Repub leader of the H of R became the new VP

The Tapes Are Wanted 4/1974, Nixon released edited transcripts of the tapes, claiming that they proved this innocence Investigators felt otherwise and went to court again to force Nixon to turn over the unedited tapes July, Supreme Court ruled that the president had to turn over the tapes themselves, not just transcripts; Nixon handed over the tapes Several days later, the House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach Nixon, or officially charge him of presidential misconduct The committee charged that Nixon had: obstructed justice in the Watergate cover-up misused federal agencies to violate the rights of citizens defied the authority of Congress by refusing to deliver tapes and other materials that the committee had requested

Nixon Resigns One of the unedited tapes revealed that on 6/23/1972, just 6 days after the Watergate burglary, Nixon had ordered the CIA to stop the FBIs investigation of the break-in With this news, even the presidents strongest supporters conceded that impeachment & conviction in the Senate now seemed inevitable 8/9/1974, Nixon resigned his office; Gerald Ford took the oath of office & became the nations 38 th president

The Legacy of Watergate Upon taking office, President Ford urged Americans to put the Watergate affair behind them and move on The effects of the scandal, however endured long after Richard Nixons resignation The Watergate crisis prompted a series of new laws intended to limit the power of the executive branch In the 1970s, Congress passed a number of laws aimed at reestablishing a greater balance of power in govt Federal Campaign Act Amendments - limited campaign contributions and established an independent agency to administer stricter election laws

After the Nixon Resignation When Nixon resigned, Ford became the 1 st nonelected President Ford named former NY govr Nelson Rockefeller as VP

The Nixon Pardon Ford declared that it was time for communication, conciliation, compromise & cooperation Ford lost popular support after pardoning Nixon for all offenses he might have committed, preventing further prosecution for Nixon People wondered what kind of deal was made when Nixon resigned

Stagnation in the Economy Inflation rose 11% a year Unemployment was at 5.3% Fears of worried investors brought a drop in stock prices Nixons preoccupation w/ Watergate had compromised effort to deal w/ economic difficulties

Fords Approach to the Economy Try to restore public confidence Centerpiece of his economic program called Whip Inflation Now or WIN Americans were asked to save a portion of their paychecks and plant vegetable gardens Plan had no incentives & faded quickly Caused worst recession since 1930s Unemployment rose to 9%

Conflicts with Congress His basic dilemma was that he believed in limited govt at a time when strong executive leadership was need to get the nation on its feet Ford vetoed bills to create a consumer protection agency & to fund programs for education, housing & health care

Foreign Policy Issues During the Ford years, the U.S. continued forging ties w/ China, freeing the country from its involvement in Vietnam Congress passed the War Powers Act over Nixons veto which let Congress either approve or disapprove the Presidents sending troops overseas & bringing forces home

Helsinki Accords Ford continued SALT & held out hope for further nuclear disarmament Helsinki Accords a series agreements made a summit meeting, signed by 35 countries pledging to cooperate & promote human rights

Election of 1976 Ford wasnt planning on running, but decided to; barely got GOP nomination Dem nominee was Jimmy Carter, govr of GA Carter was 50% of pop. Vote Electoral vote was 297-240 Carter

A Step Towards Middle East Peace Conflicts between Israel & the Arab nations had existed for nearly 30 years At 1 st, Carter hoped to call an Internat'l conference on the Middle East, then leader Anwar el-Sadat of Egypt made a historical visit to Israel

The Camp David Accords 9/1978, at Camp David, Carter assumed the role of peacemaker to bridge the gap between Sadat & Israeli PM Menachem Begin Sadat & Begin agreed on a framework for peace Israel would withdraw from the Sinai peninsula; Egypt become the 1 st Arab country to recognize Israels existence as a nation

Other Foreign Policies Under Carter Panama Canal Senate ratified treaties returning the canal to Panama by 2000 Made for better relations w/ Latin America China est. diplomatic relations w/ China; China wanted U.S. technology to modernize the country

Soviet-American Relations Dtente was at a high point when Carter took office Carters commitment to human rights alienated Soviet leaders SALT II limited the number of nuclear warheads & missiles each power retained

Problems in Afghanistan 12/1979, USSR invades Afghanistan to end agitation against the Soviet-supported govt there Carter got on the hot line to Brezhnev telling him that the invasion would jeopardize the course of U.S.-USSR relations throughout the world Carter imposed a boycott on the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow, 60 other countries followed This effectively killed Dtente

Problems in Iran The U.S. supported the rule of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi who modernized Iran; had repressive govt but was good supplier of oil 1/1979, revolution broke out, led by Muslim fundamentalist who wanted things back the way it was The shah would flee Iran, was replaced by Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini

U.S. Hostages Taken in Iran Would be the worst foreign policy crisis Carter would occur Carter led the shah into U.S. for medical treatment; Iranians not happy 11/4/1979, students seized the U.S. embassy in Iran & took 66 Americans hostage; few were released but 50 were held for 444 days Most were tortured; nightly newscast made this a natl crisis Carter tried several attempts & failed to bring the hostages home, his popularity fell quickly Secret talks brought home the 52 hostages early in 1981

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The Nixon, Ford & Carter Administrations Semester 2 Week 13