President Gerald Ford
Not only had Nixon become
entangled with the
Watergate Scandal, in
which men under his
leadership broke in to the
Democrat Headquarters, in
the Watergate building, to
steal information, he also
possessed hours upon
hours of recorded
meetings, on tape, that had
the potential to link him to
other forms of illegal
activity.
Though many went to jail for Watergate and other related
scandals, Nixon was pardoned by President Gerald Ford, who
was his Vice President while Nixon was in office.
President Ford Pardons Nixon
-The Watergate Scandal was creating massive
tension in the USA. President Nixon had
resigned office and his Vice President, Ford,
pardoned him of all crimes connected to various
scandals.
-Ford’s initial action as President was
controversial. Many felt that, if others went to jail
for scandals like Watergate, Nixon should as well.
-Therefore, Ford faced massive opposition and
unpopularity at the start of his Presidency in 1974.
A Struggling Economy
-Not only did Ford have deal with the
negative opinion of pardoning Nixon, the
economy also struggled while he was in
office.
-Unemployment was radically increasing and
inflation was drastically growing.
-The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) had also increased oil
prices, further damaging the economy.
Inflation example: Let’s say a hammer
is $6.00. If inflation stays at 3%, then, in
one year, that same hammer would cost
$6.18. After 20 years, that same hammer
would cost $10.52.
Ford Tries to “Whip” Inflation
-Ford started a Program called WIN, “Whip
Inflation Now.”
-The plan called for the USA to cut back on
foreign oil consumption and government
spending was reduced as well.
-Ford also encouraged Americans to increase
their savings and spend less. These efforts
failed. The economy still struggled under
Ford’s watch.
Despite his “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN) campaign, the
economy still struggled during Ford’s Presidency..
After WW II, when the
Communists took over
China, the USA reduced
cooperation with the
nation to protest their
government system.
Richard Nixon challenged
that approach. He
asserted that it was in the
best interest of the USA
to trade with China, since
China was such a large
nation. This policy was
called Realpolitik.
To the left is a picture of
Nixon standing on The
Great Wall of China.
President Richard Nixon shaking hands with the
Communist leader of China, Mao Zedong.
Ford continued the policy or Realpolitik and continued interactions with
China, despite the fact that China was Communist. Pictured above, The
Communist dictator, Mao Zedong, meets with President Ford
and Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State.
The USA and China
-Ford continued the “Realpolitik” approach of
Henry Kissinger, who was Secretary of
State.
-Kissinger asserted that the USA must
cooperate with large nations, even if they are
Communist, like China.
-During his Presidency, Ford continued this
Realpolitik approach and interacted
frequently with Communist nations.
During WW II,
the
Democracies
of the world
had originally
teamed up the
Communist
USSR to defeat
Nazi Germany.
When World War II was finished, the USA, Britain, and France grew
concerned. They wanted the nations of the world to accept Democracy.
Yet, it was clear that Stalin wanted Eastern Europe
to be dominated by Communism.
After WW II, the USSR controlled Eastern Europe and Western
Europe was heavily influenced by the USA and Britain. The
Western half of Europe, by in large, practiced Democracy.
The Helsinki Accords of 1974
-During this meeting in Helsinki, Finland, the nations of the
West, such as the USA and Britain, entered into more
dialog with the USSR concerning Eastern Europe and the
Baltic States in particular.
-Ford signed the agreement. It asserted that Eastern
Communist nations would seek more cooperation with the
Democratic Western nations. The goal was to reduce the
clear tensions that developed between the Communist
East and the Democracies of the West.
-Many feared increased cooperation with the USSR meant
the USA was giving in to the USSR’s domination of
Eastern Europe and opened a path for the USSR to annex
the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
After World War II,
Poland, East
Germany,
Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Romania,
and Bulgaria
became Satellite
Nations that were
controlled by the
USSR.
The Baltic States of
Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania remained
disputed areas. The
USSR asserted control of
the areas. Yet, many
believed the Baltic States
should be recognized as
independent nations.
Many were concerned
that the USA’s increased
interaction with the USSR
would eventually result in
a full recognition that the
USSR controlled the
Baltic States and that the
independence
movements for these
areas would end.
Back in the 1940s, President Truman’s goal of “Containment”
was simply to keep Communism from spreading
any further into the world. This policy failed.
Vietnam
Communism expanded to China,
North Korea, Cuba, and Vietnam from
the 1940s to the 1960s.
After World War II, the
Democracies of the world,
including the USA, were
concerned about Communism
spreading in Asia. Eventually,
China fell to Communism as did
North Korea. Then, Communism
spread down to Vietnam. The USA
got involved to try and keep South
Vietnam from falling to
Communism. The war became
very unpopular in the USA as it
lasted from the 1950s to the 1970s.
President Lyndon Johnson and
President Richard Nixon had to
deal with various military
campaigns in Vietnam.
The End of the Vietnam War
-On January 27, 1973, at the Paris Peace Accords, the USA agreed to evacuate its troop presence in Vietnam. This did not end the war. Yet, it ended the USA’s involvement in the conflict.
-President Gerald Ford took power in 1974 and the USA continued to keep American troops out of Vietnam. In April of 1975, the North Vietnamese military seized Saigon, the South’s capital. Ford was the last President to be in office while the Vietnam War was occurring.
-South Vietnam surrendered to the North and fell to Communism in 1975. Over 58,000 Americans had died in the conflict. Millions in North and South Vietnam had been killed as well throughout the war.
The last Americans are evacuated from Saigon, in South Vietnam, as the North seizes the city.
The
End
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