Richard Nixon (Highs)
• Served in the U.S. Navy during WWII
• Elected to the House of Representatives (1946) and later the Senate (1950)
• Became Vice President under Eisenhower in 1952
TruecrimeincEvaluate the success of 1960s era presidents’ foreign and domestic policies (SS.912.A.7.4)
Richard Nixon (Lows)
• Lost presidential election to Kennedy in 1960
• Career low – lost race for Governor of CA
1968 Election• Narrowly defeated Hubert
Humphrey to win the Presidency
• Called himself the spokesperson for the “Silent Majority”
• Believed America was tired of “big” government
• Wanted to address social ills like crime & pollution
Government Expansion
• “New Federalism”• Retuned power and money to
the States• Sponsored many new federal
programs• OSHA• DEA• EPA• Tried to establish the Family
Assistance Program (FAP) which would provide a guaranteed income to every American family
• Medicare and Public Housing grew steadily during his presidency
Struggling Economy
• Troublesome economy began during Johnson’s presidency and grew worse during Nixon’s years in office
• New term stagflation was coined to describe the combination of recession and inflation
Stagflation (Causes)• Expanding budget deficit
due to the Vietnam War (inflation)
• Rising foreign competition cost thousands of Americans to lose jobs (auto industry)
• Rapid increase in the price of oil
OPEC• Organization of • Petroleum• Exporting• Countries• Group of mostly Arab countries that sells
oil to other nations and cooperates to regulate the price and supply of oil
Evaluate the success of 1960s era presidents’ foreign and domestic policies (SS.912.A.7.4)
OPEC (Cont.)• Why was the cost of oil
rising for Americans?• During the 1973 Arab war
against Israel OPEC placed an embargo (ban) on Israel’s allies
• Including the United States
• The ban lasted until Spring 1974 and gas prices still remained high
• Odd/Even Days
“Southern Strategy”
• Nixon set out to win over the blue-collar workers and the Southern whites (both traditionally Democrats)
• Hoped to make the Republican party strong in the South
“Southern Strategy”
• Nominated Conservative Southerners to serve as judges on Supreme Court (failed Senate confirmation b/c they supported segregation in the past)
• Froze court-ordered busing of Children in the South
• Busing was protested by mostly Southern whites and blue-collar workers
New Civil Rights Initiatives
• Mixed stance on issue• Philadelphia Plan –
required labor unions and federal contractors to submit goals and timelines for hiring minorities
• Affirmative action – a policy that gives special consideration to women and minorities for education and jobs
1972 Election• Nixon’s 2nd term• High approval ratings• Some popularity based on trips to
China and Soviet Union• Ran as a moderate against
McGovern (antiwar senator) & Wallace (extremist)*
• Won 61% of popular vote and was 1st Republican to sweep the South
Watergate Scandal• The botched burglary of
Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate Complex (June 1972) received little attention
• Investigators began to unravel connections between the burglars and the White House
• Watergate began to dominate the national news
Burglars Tried (1973)• One of them, James McCord
claimed that administration officials had been involved
• Led to a Senate Investigation and televised hearings
• Numerous witnesses stated that the President and his top aides had taken part in a cover-up
• Nixon denied wrongdoing
Washington Post Journalists
• Bob Woodward• Carl Bernstein • Crucial role in unveiling cover-up• 2 reporters followed tips provided
by a secret government informant known as “Deep Throat”
• He was later revealed to be a top official of the FBI
• Woodward and Bernstein reported that the burglars had close ties to Nixon’s reelection committee
“I am not a crook.”
The Public’s View• The public
disagreed with Nixon’s statement
• Poll – taken one month after Nixon’s denial of involvement showed that less than 1 in 5 Americans believed the President
AboutEvaluate the success of 1960s era presidents’ foreign and domestic policies (SS.912.A.7.4)
New Developments
• Fall 1973• Vice President
Spiro Agnew resigned
• Unrelated corruption scandal
25th Amendment• Presidential
succession• Nixon
nominated Gerald Ford as new Vice President
Nixon’s Troubles Multiply
• Summer 1973• It was revealed the
Nixon had been secretly taping his Oval Office conversations
• Speculations that these tapes would confirm that he played a leading role in the cover-up
Executive Privilege• Nixon refused to turn
tapes over to prosecutor• Justified this by claiming
executive privilege• Almost 1 year later, in the
case of United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn the tapes over
The Tapes• Investigators noticed crucial
parts were missing from the conversations
• Nixon claimed his secretary had accidentally erased them
• Still, proved enough evidence to prove Nixon’s involvement
• Could now vote on impeaching the President
Impeachment Process• February 6, 1974 -- the House of
Representatives approved giving the Judiciary Committee authority to investigate impeachment of the President
• July 27, 1974 -- The House Judiciary Committee voted (27-11)
• 1st article: obstruction of justice • 2nd article: abuse of power• 3rd article: contempt of Congress • Articles were passed on July 29, 1974 & July
30, 1974
Nixon Resigns• He saw that the full House
of Rep. would vote in favor of impeachment
• On Aug. 8, 1974, Nixon informed the Nation that he would resign the following day.
• 1st U.S. President to resign
Further Investigations• Revealed Nixon had committed further abuses
of power• His re-election team had engaged in dirty tricks
to secure re-election• Had developed an “enemies list”• Used federal agencies to go after “enemies”• Ordered FBI to place wiretaps on phones of
government employees and reporters suspected of leaking information deemed harmful to his administration
Watergate’s Lasting Impact
• Reputation of the United States President was scarred
• The public’s confidence in the government was also damaged
• Polls revealed that approval of government fell from 80% to 33% after Nixon’s resignation
New Reforms
Post-Watergate Government Reforms
Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments (1974)
Set limits on campaign contributions, provided partial federal funding for presidential campaigns, created the Federal Election Commission to enforce these laws
Freedom of Information Act Amendments (1974)
Penalized government officials who withheld documents illegally
Government in the Sunshine Act (1976) Opened meetings of many government agencies to the public.
Ethics in Government Act of 1978 Required financial disclosure forms from public officials, restricted government officials’ ability to lobby, created the office of special prosecutor
• Congress enacted reforms reestablish the public’s confidence in government and to prevent future abuses of power
Strength of the Nation
• The Watergate affair demonstrated that we could endure a crisis
• Showed the strength of our checks and balances system
• Demonstrated that no one, not even our president, was above the law.