Goal 12 1970s, 1980s, Rise of Conservatism

1. Goal 12 1970s, 1980s, Rise of Conservatism

2. Nixon Administration

3. Nixon won in 1968- moved to restore law and order in the US • Greatest accomplishments were in foreign policy • Worked to ease Cold War tensions with China and the Soviet Union

4. Appealing to Middle America

5. Protest, violence and turmoil commonplace in the 1960s • Many citizens were tired and wanted it to end • In the 1968 election Nixon appealed to many frustrated citizens • Nixon tailored his campaign to “Middle America” and the silent majority • Promised peace with honor in Vietnam, law and order, to streamline the government and return to traditional values

6. Nixon’s Democratic opponent was Hubert Humphrey, VP under Johnson • Third party candidate Alabama Governor George Wallace- strong support in the South a segregationist- won 13.5% of the popular vote- most for a third party candidate since the 1924 election • Nixon, 43.4%- Humphrey 42.7% • Electoral vote Nixon 301, Humphrey 191

7. Southern Strategy

8. Key to Nixon’s victory- strong support in the South • To get Southern support from the Democrats Nixon met with S.C. Senator Strom Thurmond • 1. promised to appoint only conservatives to federal courts • 2. name a Southerner to the Supreme Court to oppose court-ordered busing

9. 3. chose a VP candidate acceptable to the South- chose Spiro T. Agnew, Governor of Maryland • Strategy worked- Humphrey won only one Southern state Texas • Wallace won most of the Deep South • Nixon won Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, and with Thurmond’s help South Carolina

10. Post election, Nixon moved to bring more Southerners into the Republican Party • Nixon kept promises to Thurmond • Took steps to slow desegregation, worked to overturn civil rights policies, reversed Johnson’s policy of cutting federal funds to fully racially segregated schools

11. Law and Order President

12. To fight crime in US- Nixon first targeted anti-war protestors • Attorney General John Mitchell stated he would prosecute hard-line militants who crossed state lines to stir up riots • Deputy Attorney Richard Kleindienst moved to enforce laws against draft dodgers, radical students, deserters, civil disorder, organized crime, and street crime

13. Nixon attacked Chief Justice Earl Warren and the Supreme Court • Vowed to fill Court openings with judges that supported the rights of law enforcement over the rights of the accused • Warren retired- Nixon replaced him with Warren Burger, conservative judge and placed three other conservatives on the Court, one from the South

14. Burger Court did not reverse the Warren Court on the rights of the accused- did refuse to expand the rights of the accused • Stone vs. Powell, 1976 limited the rights of the defendants to appeal state convictions to the federal court system • Continued to uphold capital punishment as Constitutional

15. New Federalism

16. Republicans wanted to eliminate federal programs • Return control to state and local governments • Nixon called this New Federalism • Government agencies closet to the people the chance to address more issues • Dismissed popular idea that the bureaucracy in Washington knew what was best for the people, the people could not govern themselves effectively

17. New Federalism- Congress passed revenue sharing bills • Gave federal dollars to state and local agencies • Revenue sharing intended to return power to the state and local governments- reality- gave the federal government more power • States needed the federal funds • To get the funds the federal government could impose conditions on states or the funding would be cut off

18. Nixon worked to limit the responsibilities of the federal government while at the same time expanding the power of the executive branch • Nixon did not build a supportive relationship with Congress • This and the fact the Democrats controlled both Houses of Congress led to conflict between Nixon and the legislative branch

19. Nixon tried to work around Congress used greater executive authority • If Congress appropriated funds for programs Nixon opposed he impounded or refused to release the funds • The Supreme Court later ruled the practice of I impoundment unconstitutional

20. Family Assistance Plan

21. Nixon worked to reform Aid to Families with Dependent Children- AFDC, part of the welfare system • Under the system it was more beneficial for the poor to rely solely on government payments than to take a low-paying job • With a job the parent had to pay for child care which left less income than they received from welfare

22. Inequality in the manner in which states administered AFDC • 1969, Nixon proposed the Family Assistance Plan • Guaranteed an income of $1,600 per year to supplement outside earnings • Liberals liked the commitment by the federal government to help the poor

23. Nixon pushed it as a conservative measure to reduce federal supervision and encourage welfare recipients to become more responsible • Approved by the House in 1970, welfare recipients complained the payment was too low • Conservatives disapproved of a guaranteed income- defeated by the Senate

24. Nixon’s Foreign Policy

25. Nixon had little interest in domestic policy • Expressed his hope that a competent cabinet of advisors could run the nation • Allow him more time to focus on foreign policy

26. Nixon and Kissinger

27. Nixon chose Henry Kissinger as his national security advisor • Kissinger served JFK and LBJ as a foreign policy consultant • In theory Kissinger was a subordinate to Sec. of State William Rogers • Kissinger played a prominent role in developing foreign policy for Nixon

28. The Nixon Doctrine

29. Nixon and Kissinger thought leaving the war in Vietnam would damage US position in the world • Moved to gradual withdrawal from Vietnam, trained South Vietnamese to defend themselves • Vietnamization was the name of the policy- extended globally = the Nixon Doctrine

30. July, 1969 Nixon announced that the US expected allies to defend themselves • US would uphold any alliances it had signed, continue military aid and training to allies • No longer make plans, design programs, execute decisions, and defend the free nations of the world • Allies would have to take responsibility for keeping peace and stability in their areas of the world

31. Détente

32. Soviets were not happy Nixon won in 1968 • Saw him as anti-communist • Soviet leaders feared Nixon to be a stubborn president • Nixon wanted to move away from the superpowers confronting each other to where the US understood the role of China, Japan, Western Europe would play in international affairs

33. Kissinger helped Nixon move to détente • A relaxation of tensions between the US and the Soviets and China • Nixon told the public that the US must build a better relationship with the Soviets and Chinese in the interest of world peace

34. Nixon Visits China

35. Since China fell to the communists in 1949 the US had refused to recognize the communists as the legitimate government of China • Instead the US recognized the exiled government on the island of Taiwan as the Chinese government • Nixon reversed the policy • Lifted trade and travel restrictions and withdrew the US 7th Fleet that had been defending Taiwan

36. Secret talks, Kissinger and Chinese leaders- led to Nixon visiting China in February, 1972 • First US president to visit communist China • During the visit Nixon and Chinese leaders agreed to establish more normal relations between the two nations • Banquet toast by Nixon, “Let us start a long march together, not in lockstep, but on different roads leading to the same goal, the goal of building a world structure of peace and justice.”

37. Nixon hoped the visit to China would help with the communist Chinese but also put pressure on the Soviets to pursue diplomacy • Since the 1960s the governments of China and the Soviet Union had drifted apart • Soldiers of both nations had engaged in armed border disputes • Nixon saw détente with China as a way to encourage Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev to work with the US

38. US-Soviet Tensions Ease

39. Nixon’s détente policy with China did improve the US relationship with the Soviets • Just after the US-China negotiations were made public the Soviets proposed an American-Soviet summit • May 22, 1972 Nixon flew to Moscow for a week long visit • First American president to since WWII to visit the Soviet Union

40. At the Moscow Summit Nixon and Brezhnev signed the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) • SALT I was to limit the nuclear arms of both nations, agreed to increase trade and the exchange of scientific information • Détente eased tensions • By the end of Nixon’s presidency one Soviet official admitted that US-Soviet relations were the best of the Cold War era- Nixon had set a new course for US foreign policy

41. Economic Crisis

42. Post WWII the US economy was strong continued into the 1950s and 1960s • Americans enjoyed a prolonged period of prosperity and thought it would continue • The economic boom was due to easy access to raw materials form around the world and a strong manufacturing base in the US • 1970s, both of these began to falter

43. The boom years gave way to a decade of hard times

44. The Economic Machine Slows

45. US economic problems started with the deficit spending under LBJ to pay for the Vietnam War and the Great Society • No tax increase to cover the costs • Too much money in the economy led to inflation • Second cause of inflation was the cost of raw materials, the cost of oil increased

46. US economy was based on the availability of cheap and abundant fossil fuels • US was the largest consumer of oil in the world • US was dependent on imported oil from the Middle East and Africa • OPEC sold oil for it’s member nations-price of oil had remained low until the 1970s

47. 1970s OPEC used oil as a political and economic weapon • 1973 Yom Kipper War, conflict between Israel and the Arab world- most Arab nations did not recognize the right of Israel to exist • American support of Israel made US relations with the Arab world shaky • 1973 OPEC announced an embargo (Arab Oil Embargo)

48. The embargo applied to nations that supported Israel • US and some Western European nations were affected • OPEC increased the price of oil 70% then an additional 130% a few months later • US suffered first oil shortage since WWII • Embargo lasted only a few months, oil prices continued to rise

49. OPEC increased prices 3 times in the 1970s and again in 1980 • Price of a barrel of crude oil went from $3 in 1970 to $30 in 1980 • Oil prices up- fueled inflation • High price for gasoline and home heating oil, consumers less money to spend on consumer goods which sent the economy into a recession

50. Stagnant Economy