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Richard M. Nixon. 1969-1974. 1968. The Election that Changed America. I. DEMOCRATIC PARTY. A. Democratic Primaries. 1. Exhausted, LBJ withdraws claiming he wants to finish his term focusing on ending the war in Vietnam. Democratic Primaries (cont.).
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Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974
1968 The Election that Changed America
A. Democratic Primaries 1. Exhausted, LBJ withdraws claiming he wants to finish his term focusing on ending the war in Vietnam.
Democratic Primaries (cont.) 2. Hubert Humphrey,Johnson’s current VP, joins the race 3. Robert F. Kennedy(dove) of NY joins the race and wins a majority of the primaries. His followers included African Americans, Hispanics, the poor, and the young.
Kennedy Tragedy Robert Kennedy addressing well-wishers minutes before he is shot.
B. Kennedy Tragedy 1. Robert Kennedy won the California primary and seemed destined to win the Democratic Nomination. 2. On the night of the CA victory, Kennedy was shot by a Jordanian immigrant- SirhanSirhan 3. Kennedy dies the next day- only two months after MLK is assassinated.
Chaos in Chicago Anti-War Protestors outside the DNC, Chicago 1968.
C. Chaos in Chicago 1. Dems meet in Chicago to settle on a candidate for the Nov. election. 2. The party officially nominatesVP Hubert Humphrey. 3. Anti-War rioting occurs outside the DNC, while even inside there were protests against US involvement in Vietnam.
A. Republican Nomination 1. Richard Milhous Nixon VP- Spiro Agnew (eventually will resign due to tax fraud and will be replaced with Gerald Ford) “ I have a secret plan to end the war…”
2. Nixon’s Background A. Republican B. WWII Vet C. Former California Senator D. Vice-President under Dwight D. Eisenhower
3. Election of 1972 A. Nixon and Agnew won the 1972 Presidential election by a landslide! B. Democrat- Senator George McGovern from South Dakota
A. Changes in the Supreme Court 1. Shifts from liberal court (Earl Warren, Civil Rights, etc.) to conservative court 2. Nominated Warren Burger as chief justice after Earl Warren 3. Placed three other conservatives on the court.
B. Stagflation 1.Stagflation:combination of rising unemployment and inflation 2. Large problems with federal deficit, costs of Johnson’s War on Poverty and Vietnam 3. August 1971- New Economic Policy/ “NIXONOMICS”- freeze on prices, rent, and wages.
C. New Federalism 1. Republican attitude of reducing government's role in the economy, return power to the states.
D. Environmental Protection 1. EPA- established in 1970 in response to an oil spill off of the coast of Santa Barbara, CA and the FIRST Earth Day celebration. 2. Clean Air Act-set air-quality standards and tough emissions guidelines for automakers (1970) 3. Water Quality Act-required oil companies to pay part of clean up costs of oil spills (1972) 4. Endangered Species Act-protect the wildlife of extinction (1972)
A. Henry Kissinger 1. Nixon’s Secretary of State 2. Had advised IKE, JFK, and LBJ 3. Later will serve as Reagan’s foreign-affairs advisor 4. Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1973 5. Shared Nixon’s idea ofRealpolitick- national interest, rather than ideals such as democracy and human rights- should guide US foreign policy.
B. Nixon-Kissinger Approach 1. The chief goal of their foreign policy was to establish a balance of power among the world’s five major powers. a. United States b. China c. Japan d. Soviet Union e. Western Europe.
The Nixon Doctrine (1969) “It is not my belief that the way to peace is by giving up our friends or letting down our allies. On the contrary, our aim is to place America's international commitments on a sustainable, long-term basis, to encourage local and regional initiatives, to foster national independence and self-sufficiency, and by so doing to strengthen the total fabric of peace.”
The Nixon Doctrine (1969) • America will honor its treaties and provide aid to its allies, including protection against nuclear powers. • However, in other cases of aggression, such as insurrections or non-nuclear threats, America’s allies are expected to use their own manpower for their own defense. • America will still provide economic and limited military aid in such cases. • Most direct application: “Vietnamization”
First-Term Foreign Policy Goals • Strategic arms limitation • Peaceful negotiation with foreign powers • “Rapprochement” with China • “Détente” with the Soviet Union • Reduced commitments of manpower to foreign nations (Nixon Doctrine) • “Peace with honor” in Vietnam • Minimal public support for the war • Major reason for Nixon’s election
Second-Term Foreign Policy Goals • Continue efforts for the limitation of nuclear arms • Enter major world conflicts selectively and let countries manage their own • Best shown through the complete withdrawal of troops from Vietnam, and placing the war in control of the South Vietnamese government. • “Abroad and at home, the time has come to turn away from the condescending policies of paternalism-of ‘Washington knows best.’” -Richard Nixon’s 2nd Inaugural Address • Promote peace and prevent imposition of power by hostile countries on others
Rapprochement • Nixon began to consider a reopening of relations, or “rapprochement,” with the PRC. • Reasons for rapprochement: • Trade with China— huge market • Main reason: increase Sino-Soviet tension • “Growing dissidence between the U.S.S.R. and China has limited both countries in the pursuit of policies basically antagonistic to U.S. interests.” • “Beyond this, the dispute has, in a positive sense, heightened Soviet interest in developing a less abrasive relationship with the U.S. and it may at some point lead China in the same direction.”
Ping-Pong Diplomacy The American ping-pong team received a surprise invitation to visit the PRC in April, 1971. Their acceptance made them the first Americans to be allowed into communist mainland China since the Chinese Civil War of 1949. • The trip was a diplomatic success! • The American public became more willing to open up relations with the PRC. • America lifted its 20-year trade embargo on mainland China.
C. Nixon’s China Visit- Feb. ‘72 1. Nixon is perhaps best known for his China visit. 2. Improved relations with China by lifting trade and travel restrictions 3. The 2 nations worked together to promote peace in the Pacific 4. Nixon proposed the eventual withdrawal of US troops from Taiwan
He was the first President since the Communist takeover to officially recognize the People’s Republic of China • The United Nations Security Council seat changed hands from Taiwan to PPR of China
D. The Moscow Summit-May ‘72 1. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)-US and USSR sign atreaty limiting the number of continental nuclear weapons-those capable of traveling long distances. 2. These talks actually began in ’69. 3. This did not end the Arms Race, but it was a small step toward reducing the nuclear threat 4. détente- a lessening of military and diplomatic tensions between the countries
E. Cambodia- 1969 1. Nixon was supposed to be ending the war 2. Nixon planned to send troops through neutral Cambodia to cut off supply lines of North Vietnamese troops. 3. Nixon ordered widespread bombing of Cambodia-he and Kissinger kept this a big secret from Americans.
4. Nixon feared international uproar over the invasion. 5. 80,000 US/South Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia. North Vietnamese entered as well, and Cambodia was under attack. 6. When the public found out, MAJOR protesting erupted!!!
1. Kent State University May 4, 1970 – Ohio Ohio Nat’l Guard shot 9 students, killing 4. Some were protestors of the Cambodia bombing campaign; others were simply on their way to class!
Jackson State University, Jackson, MS Protestors were shot by police on May 15, 1970
3. Pentagon Papers:1971- New York Times began to publish a collection of secret government documents relating to the war. 4. Pentagon Papers reveled that the government hadfrequently misled the American people about the course of the war. 5. Leaked to the press byDaniel Ellsberg, a former Department of Defense official.
G. Vietnamization-1969 1. Strategy of turning over fighting to South Vietnam, gradually pulling out US troops. 2. Nixon thought this would bring “peace with honor”. He HOPED it would produce a stable anti-communist South Vietnam. 3. Secret peace talks were held in Paris for 3 years
American Troop Withdrawal Troop numbers shrunk from 500,000 in 1969 to 30,000 in 1972.
H. War Powers Act 1. In 1973, seeking to prevent another “Vietnam”, Congress passed this legislation. 2. This act reaffirms Congress’s constitutional right to declare war by setting a60-day limiton the presidential commitment of US troops to foreign conflicts.
I. Ending Vietnam War 1. Oct 1972, Kissinger announced “peace was at hand” just in time for the elections Cease fire in Vietnam January 1973 2. April 1975: North Vietnam captured Saigon. Americans were evacuated and finally came home. 3. Vietnam Vets will not actually be welcomed home with the proper celebration until 1985.
J. Costs of the War • South Vietnamese deaths: soldiers- 185,000 Civilians- 500,000 • North Vietnamese: est. over 1 million Viet.orphaned- 800,000, disabled- 181,000 Refugees- 1.5 million • United States: over 2 million soldiers involved 58,000 dead, 300,000 wounded, 2,500 MIA POWS- over 600 • Veterans were horribly mistreated, spit on, cursed at, ostracized, alienated from society
Arab-Israeli Tensions Ever since Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, Arab nations had engaged in wars with the Jewish state, and none had opened up diplomatic relations with Israel by the 1970s. The Arabs, especially Palestinians, considered Israeli territory rightfully theirs. Also, the Muslim (and Jewish) holy city of Jerusalem was located within Israel’s borders. From the beginning, the United States had been Israel’s steadfast ally.
The Six-Day War (1967)- Israel had won a crushing victory against the Arabs in the Six-Day War of 1967 The Yom Kippur War (1973) On October 6, 1973, the Arab nations of Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel. Israel won this too. The Arabs chose the date with a very specific reason in mind: it coincided with Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest holiday. The Arabs correctly assumed that Israel would be most vulnerable on this day. Indeed, for the first two days of the war, the Israelis could not stop their enemies’ advance. The war lasted a mere 20 days, but the fighting was intense; thousands were slain.
American Involvement America actively supported Israel, both politically and militarily, from the beginning of the war. Nixon personally ordered that American arms be airlifted to Israel. The conflict also had the feel of a proxy war, since it pitted America-friendly Israel vs. Egypt and Syria, long under Soviet influence.
Energy Crisis 1. 1970s- Rising oil costs became a major cause of inflation and consumer worry. 2. US had become increasingly dependent on foreign oil since WWII. 3. Oct, 1973- Arab nations cut off oil shipments to the US as punishment for US support of Israel in the new Arab-Israeli war.