Chapter 39 The Seventies

1. Chapter 39The Seventies 1968-1980

3. Election of 1968 • Richard Nixon (R) wins election promising to end the war • “peace with honor” • Nixon defeats Hubert Humphrey • He inherits an unpopular war • He inherits a vocal American opposition to it

4. Nixon and Vietnam • Vietnamization • U.S. forces would withdraw as ARVN troops assumed more combat duties • 1969: 540,000 troops • 1972: 24,000 troops • Started secretly bombing neighboring Cambodia. • Sent 80,000 troops into Cambodia

5. Cambodia • Ho Chi Minh trail ran through Cambodia • Goal was to attack N.V. supply lines • CONVN (N.V. central headquarters) • This was a “limited” attack • Eventually called off

6. Discussion Was it fair to invade Cambodia while we are at war with its neighbor Vietnam? The U.S is at war with Afghanistan yet we invaded Pakistan

8. Violence Erupts at Kent State • Kent St. shootings • Protests against Nixon’s war in Cambodia • Students burned ROTC building on campus • Nat. Guard responded by killing four and injuring nine students

9. Laos • ARVN- training wheels came off • Sent along Rt 9 to Tchepone • N.V. supply headquarters • Failed miserably • Disaster proved the ARVN couldn’t fight this war without American support

10. College Protests • Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) • Originally formed to campaign against racism and poverty • Now began campaigning to end the war

11. Vets Protest

12. Anti-Draft • John Kerry’s message to the Senate • Led to mass protests and burning draft cards • More than 800 troops threw away their medals

13. Fact By the Spring of 1969, there were 35,000 combat deaths 60% are 21 years old or younger

14. Key Pieces of Legislation • Nixon Doctrine • Countries would have to fight their own wars with out American ground troops • Repeal of Gulf of Tonkin blank check • Eventually led to War Powers Act (1973) • Twenty Sixth Amendment (1971) • Lowered the voting age to 18

15. Nixon’s Détente • There was Chinese-Soviet tension • Nixon sends national security advisor, Henry Kissinger • Nixon himself even visits China and Soviet Union

16. Henry Kissinger

17. New Era Begins • Nixon and Henry Kissinger looked at the world with fresh eyes • The “Cold Warrior” was now extending the olive branch of peace • Focused more on trade rather than political ideologies

18. U.S. and China • Nixon’s China trip was the high point of his presidency • After 25 years of no communication, by 1979, the US and China established full diplomatic relations.

19. Ping Pong Diplomacy • In April 1971, China invited an American table-tennis team to play against its athletes. • Demonstrated a willingness to talk

20. Nixon’s New Foreign Policy • He did not divide the world into “us” (democratic countries) and “them” (communist countries). • He practiced realpolitik — foreign policy based on concrete national interests rather than ideology. • He concluded that there was no united worldwide communist movement.

21. The Warren Court • Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) • All criminal defendants were entitled to legal counsel • Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) • Struck down state law that prohibited the use of contraceptives • Miranda v. Arizona (1966) • The right to remain silent • Roe v. Wade (1973) • Legalized abortion

22. Nixon on the Home Front • Increased entitlements: • Food stamps • Medicaid • Aid to Families with Dependent Children • Supplemental Security Income • Philadelphia Plan • Hiring quotas • Affirmative Action

23. Nixon and the Environment • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring (1962) and was a huge influence in gaining concern for the environment • Earth Day (1970) • Clean Air Act (1970) • Clean Water Act (1972) • Endangered Species Act (1973)

24. Nixon and the Workplace • Occupational Safety and Health Administration • Improved working conditions • Safety standards • Consumer Product Safety Commission • Held companies accountable for selling dangerous products

25. Creeping Inflation • To counter this, Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard • Devaluating the dollar ended the “Bretton Woods” system of international currency stabilization

26. Economic and Energy Woes • Inflation rate shot up to 13% • Oil shocks

27. Arab Oil Embargo • OPEC nations announced this in 1973 • Response to U.S. support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War vs. Syrians and Egyptians • Shortage triggered a major recession • U.S. was unprepared to deal with this • OPEC quadrupled their prices once they lifted the embargo

30. Election of 1972 Richard Nixon (R) George McGovern (D) Best option for Dems after Ted Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick incident in 1969 Chose a running mate who had mental problems Lost Electoral Vote 520-to 17 • Made significant efforts to end war in Vietnam • Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong Walk on moon • 1969 • Strong foreign policy thanks to relations with China

31. Watergate • Five men arrested • Tried to plant “bugs” in Democratic Party headquarters • Other “Dirty Tricks” • Forging documents • IRS harassment of innocent individuals • “Enemy Lists” • Burglarizing • psychiatrist who treated leaker of Pentagon Papers • Playing the FBI and CIA

32. Nixon’s Accusation • Nixon was accused of obstructing justice • Oval Office tapes could reveal the truth • Nixon cited “executive privilege” • Supreme Court asked for the tapes • Nixon publicly gave three tapes over • One of them was the Smoking Gun Tape • Others were deleted or inaudible

34. Nixon’s Vice Resigns • Spiro Agnew • Took bribes while governor and vice-president • Twenty-fifth Amendment • Deals with succession of the President and Vice President • Ratified in 1967 • Passed following the JFK assassination when LBJ was president w/o at vice for 14 months • Nixon nominated and Congress confirmed Gerald Ford

36. Resignation • House and Senate had the numbers to impeach Nixon • Instead he resigned on Aug 8, 1974 • The Constitution works! • Democracy works!

38. Great Quote “Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.” - Richard Nixon, day he left White House

40. Gerald Ford • Replaces Nixon • First man to be made president solely by a vote of Congress • Ford pardons Nixon

42. Paris Peace Accords • Jan 27, 1973 – a cease fire is announced • US withdrawals all of its troops from Vietnam • April 1975 – South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam

43. The Fall of Saigon • NVA and Viet Cong took Saigon in 1975 • U.S. military evacuated U.S. personnel but had to leave many South Vietnamese behind • South Vietnam came under communist rule

46. Coming Home • Veterans faced numerous difficulties after the war • PTSD • Drug and Alcohol Addiction • Often blamed for government’s mistake • Faced a nation that wanted to forget about the war • Most did Well

47. American Cover-Ups • My Lai • U.S. forces attacked an unarmed Vietcong village • Killed 400-500 villagers • U.S. conducted an inadequate military investigation 2. Pentagon Papers • Government mislead country about the war • Johnson sent troops and planned for war prior to the Gulf of Tonkin

48. Discussion How do you feel about individuals leaking government secrets to the public? Example: Pentagon Papers and Wikileaks? How do you feel about the American people protesting against the war while our troops are in Vietnam?

49. Prisoners of War • Kept in North Vietnamese prisons • Horrendous conditions • Interrogation and torture increased after a few attempts for escape • Hanoi Hilton • Worst of the 12 prisoner camps Former POW John McCain, shortly after his release in 1973

50. National Effect • Mistrust of government • 58,000 American deaths • 2,000 American’s missing • 300,000 American’s wounded • Over 2 million Vietnamese dead • Cost $150 billion for war ($700 billion today) • Communist regimes eventually came to power in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia but it didn’t spread as expected. • War Powers Act • Congress to declare war; pres. has 60 days