The Nixon PresidencyObjectives• Understand why Nixon won the election of 1968• Understand the achievements of the Nixon presidency• Understand the Watergate Scandal

Election of 1968• By 1968, the countries involvement in Vietnam, rising

black militancy, and the social issues of the day had undermined LBJ.– The Tet Offensive in Vietnam discredited LBJ’s claim that

the war was near the end.

• Candidates of 1968– Eugene McCarthy (d)– LBJ (incumbent)– VP Hubert Humphrey (d)– Senator Robert Kennedy of New York (d)– Richard Nixon (r)– George Wallace (American Independent Party)

What happened to each candidate?

• Eugene McCarthy– Anti-war candidate– Many college students helped him compete with LBJ at the

New Hampshire primary

• LBJ– After the New Hampshire primary, JBL realized that his re-

election was in serious jeopardy– March 31, 1968 he withdrew his name from the running

• Hubert Humphrey– Party professionals preferred him over McCarthy– Supported by the labor movement and minorities– To closely associated with LBJ, so he was not accepted well

What happened to each candidate?

• Robert Kennedy– Threatened both McCarthy and Humphrey– Invoked his brother’s name often– Anti-war– Good contact with the labor leaders and party professionals– Strong hispanic and black support– Assassinated of June 6, 1968 by a Palestinian Arab who

resented his sympathy for Israel

• Richard Nixon– After loss to JFK he ran for governor of CA and lost badly,

thought political career was over– Built up energetic, active cadre of supporters by making

himself available to the grass-root republicans

What happened to each candidate?

• George Wallace– Objective was to forge an alliance of conservatives and

racists who believed that both parties were too liberal– His purpose was to take just enough votes from both

Humphrey and Nixon to put the election into the House of Representatives where each state had one vote in selecting the president.

• He hoped that the segregationist Southern Congressman could then make a deal with one of the presidents

Election Results• 31.8 million votes (43.4% of the total) for Nixon; 31.3

million votes for Humphrey: 9.9 million for Wallace• Electoral votes: 301 for Nixon; 191 for Humphrey; and

46 (all in the Deep South) for Wallace

• What would Nixon do with the presidency now that he had it?

The Nixon Presidency• By 1972, Nixon greatly reduced America’s

involvement in Vietnam• He opened up talks with Communist China and he

reduced tensions with the Soviets• He reduced inflation, which had been as high as 14%

in 1967, to around 3%• He passed significant environmental legislation

– 1969: National Environmental Policy Act-• Required the government to consider the impact of governmental

programs on the environment

– 1971: Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Nixon Presidency– 1970: National Air Quality Standards Act; 1972: Clean Water

Act• These expanded the federal government’s regulatory powers over

the environment

• The Nixon administration was seen as a stabilizing force in the country– Many Americans were tired of the cultural conflicts of the

1960’s• Draft and civil rights protests; “free-love”, illegal drug use; women’s

liberation, hippies

– Nixon was seen as the candidate of Middle America

The election of 1972• Nixon ran again• Democrats have South Dakota Senator George

McGovern run– He picked Thomas Eagleton as his running mate

• After the Democratic convention it was found out that Eagleton had been treated for severe depression by way of electric shock so he was out

– McGovern then picked Sargent Shriver (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Father-in-law) as his running mate

– It was too late; Nixon won with 60.8% of the vote• Nixon carried every electoral vote with the exception of the District of

Columbia and Massachusetts• The Democrats kept a large group in Congress

Watergate• June 17, 1972

– DC police arrested 5 men who were planting electronic listening devices in the Democratic National Convention party headquarters in the Watergate office complex

– 3 of the suspects were on the payroll of the committee to re-elect Nixon, the other 2 were Cuban exiles who had worked for the CIA

– McGovern tried to exploit the break-in but it was covered up by Nixon as he called it a “third rate burglary”

– How much Nixon knew prior to the break-in is unclear, what is clear is his involvement in the cover up

– The term “Watergate” came to describe a series of illegal or immoral acts involving President Nixon and his associates

Watergate

• VP Spiro Agnew had accepted bribes when he was governor of Maryland and as VP, he resigned to avoid prosecution.

• Under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution (adopted in 1967) Nixon appointed the Republican Minority leader of the House of Reps, Gerald Ford.

Aftermath of Watergate• Several of Nixon’s advisors were indicted and sent to jail• Congressional hearings on the break-in revealed that

Nixon had secret voice tapes of conversations in the Oval Office– The judge wanted these tapes, Nixon refused claiming Executive

Privelege

– In 1974, the Supreme Court forced Nixon to reveal the tapes• The transcripts revealed Nixon knew about and tried to cover up the

break-in• They indicated he lied about his role in the cover up• Damaged Nixon’s political support because he used many racial

slurs and swore profusely

– The House Judiciary Committee, after months of deliberation, recommended impeachment of Nixon for obstruction of justice in the Watergate case

Aftermath of Watergate• August 8, 1974, Nixon resigned from the Presidency• Gerald Ford took his place

– Ford pardoned Nixon for all crimes committed during his presidency

– Nixon received, until his death in 1994, a government pension of over $100,000 a year

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFID6Qkwh88&feature=fvsr