CH 53: Nixon to 2000

1968 Election

• The 1968 election was peculiar– Richard Nixon was nominated the

Republican candidate after doing little since the 1960 election

– President LBJ shocking decided to NOT run for Re-election

– The likely Democratic candidate after LBJ, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated

– LBJ’s Vice-President became the Democratic nominee

– Alabama Governor George Wallace ran as an Independent on him ANTI-Desegregation stance (He earned the most votes in 5 Southern states)• In the end, Richard Nixon won

the election with 43.4% of the vote.

Domestic Nixon• New Federalism: plan to reduce the

size and power of the federal government– Nixon was semi successful at trimming

down the government.– However, Nixon did more to increase

the size of government by creating • Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA)• Environmental Protection Agency• Also proposed the Family Assistance Plan, a

plan where the government would support every poor family with a minimum annual income (Congress rejected the idea)

• Civil Rights– Nixon sought to gain future support in the South by suggesting conservative

(pro-segregation) Justices for the Supreme Court, and changes to the Voting Rights Act.

– All Efforts were prevented by Congress– Meanwhile, he supported economic opportunities for African Americans– 1973 Roe v Wade: By a 7-2 vote the Supreme Court ruled the protection of

privacy was extended to a “woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.”

• Economics– 1970s were a recession & the US suffered stagflation– Unemployment rose, and prices rose at an alarming rate– 1973 Middle Eastern countries stopped exporting oil to the US.– This cause an energy crisis and lasted for a year

Foreign Policy Nixon• Nixon believed in Realpolitik- politics

based on realistic matters than idealistic ones– Nixon & Kissinger believed the US could no

longer be the sole defender of freedom in the World (but wouldn’t abandon their allies Vietnamization)

– Nixon moved to relax tensions with communist powers (Détente)

– Opened diplomatic relations with China in 1970 (first time since 1949)

– Organized the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) which allowed the US and USSR to monitor each other’s nuclear weapons & limited the number of weapons both could have

1972: Watergate• June 17, 1972: Five men were arrested for breaking into the

Democratic National Committee office at the Watergate Building in DC

• These 5 men worked on Nixon’s 1972 re-election team– Despite the break in Nixon still won the nomination for the Republican

party in 1972• NIXON STILL WINS THE 1972 ELECTION IN A LANDSLIDE!!!• Nixon, once re-elected President formed an “enemies list” who he

ordered surveillance, investigations, and even FBI wire taps against– All these actions were fairly unconstitutional

• The whole incident was largely forgotten, but two Washington Post reporters followed the odd story

• An anonymous source called “Deep Throat” told them Nixon had paid to have Democratic offices bugged, to lie during investigations, and covered the whole thing up (Mark Felt- FBI Agent)

• A special prosecutor was assigned to investigate the Watergate scandal.

• During the investigate Nixon was subpoenaed to hand over tapes from the White House, but refused to stating executive privilege, and controversy ensued

• Nixon’s Vice-President would resign for a separate illegal activity

• On Aug 8, 1974 Richard Nixon resigned as President rather than face impeachment charges of: abuse of power, obstruction of justice, & contempt of Congress

Ford… then Carter• Gerald Ford would become the next

President (the only unelected President in US history)– He inherited a number of Problems from

Nixon, and would not be re-elected• Then in 1976 Jimmy Carter became

President based on him being a “Washington Outsider,” and his promise never to lie to the American People– Attempted to promote Justice, Equity, &

Human Rights– Held talk to negotiate peace between Israel

& other Middle Eastern nations (Camp David Accords)

– Negotiated the release of US political prisoners after the 1979 Iranian Revolution (Regan gets credit)

1970s • Feminism– Women’s fight for equality in different

aspects of society– Women made progress in areas of pay

(equal pay of equal work) and job position (glass ceiling)

• Technology– 1971- Microprocessor was invented,

which made the Personal Computer (PC) a possibility

– 1972 the first successful video game was created, and an at home version existed by 1975: PONG

– 1977 The first affordable home computer was sold, the Apple II

1980: Regan • Movie Actor and TV host Ronald Regan won the 1980 Presidential election

• Regan supported the idea of Supply-Side Economics (Trickle Down Economics)– Taxes for companies were cut, with the

theory that they would then hire more people, and then those people would make more money

• Though economists called this “voodoo economics” and the first two years the economy was slow, by 1983 the economy showed 7.1% growth, stocks went up, and 18.4 million new jobs were created

• Whites benefited the most from (Reganomics) and the income gap between the rich and poor got larger

1980• 1981: The first clinically

diagnosed appearance of HIV/AIDS

• 1st Lady Nancy Regan started the “War on Drugs” with the creation of D.A.R.E.

• Kidnapping and Violence are common in the Middle East. – The 1980s was once considered the

“golden age of terrorism”

1980s: Iran Contra Affair/Scandal• In 1986 it was discovered that during the

Regan administration the US had sold weapons to Iran, whom we had an arms embargo against– Since they had held US citizens hostage

during Carter’s administration• We had sold these Weapons in exchange

for help with the release of US hostages held by an Iranian backed Lebanese terror group

• As the investigate widened it was discovered that millions earned from the sale of these missiles was given to Nicaraguan Rebels, known as Contras, whom the US trained to overthrow a government with close ties to Cuba & USSR

The End of the Cold War

• In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became the head of the Soviet Union

• The USSR faced number problems by 1985: poor agricultural production, shortage of consumer goods, low worker motivation, low wages, poor housing, and general dissatisfaction

• Gorbachev introduced two new economic ideas: Perestroika & Glasnost– In 1988 George Bush is elected

President of the USA

• Perestroika: closing of unprofitable state run factories, allowing for private ownership of factories, and cut in defense spending to help with domestic problems

• Glasnost: a policy of openness. Gorbachev called for discussion on the USSR’s social problems, and encouraged greater media freedom

• Gorbachev negotiated/helped to start a nuclear freeze movement with Regan that stopped all production, testing, and deployment of nuclear weapons by BOTH the USSR and USA

• 1990 Gorbachev announced the USSR would not interfere in other Nation’s Politics– East & West German reunited

(1990)– 1991 the Warsaw Pact was

dissembled– The Soviet Union slowly broke

apart, and in June 1991 the USSR ceased to exist, and the Russian Federation was formed.

Globalization

• Increases in technology, the reduction of tensions (and eventual fall) with the Soviet Union, the increase number of goods being produced in Asia, and the increased importance of the Middle East (oil deposits) started to create a more interconnected world

• The idea of global interdependence that had been developing for most of the 20th Century reached an all time high Globalization

1990s • 1988-1992 George Bush is President– Made 2 promises: 30 Million jobs in 8 years,

and No new Taxes– 1990 Congress passed the Americans with

Disabilities Act (ADA) saying you could not discriminate in employment because someone had a disability

– He was forced to raise taxes because of financial issues inherited from Regan, and was defeated by Clinton

• 1992-2000 Bill Clinton is President– 1993: North American Free Trade Agreement

(NAFTA) eliminated or lowered tariffs or trade barriers between the US, Mexico, & Canada Lots of Jobs go TO Mexico

– 1998: First time in 30 years the USA had a budget surplus, the US made more money than it spent

2000 Election

• In 2000 Bill Clinton’s VP Al Gore ran against George W Bush for the Presidency

• At the end of the night there was no clear winner, and the Presidency hinged on Florida where the vote was so close TV networks had declared BOTH Gore & Bush winners at different points

• After the recount, Bush appeared to win by 537 votes, but Gore contested that machine recounts were off because of “hanging chads” & asked for hand recounts

• The Supreme Court ruled in Bush V Gore, that the recount was over, awarding Florida to Bush, making him the President

• Gore actually won the Popular Vote in 2000– First election where RED states represented

Republicans, and BLUE states represented Democrats (Coined by a Tim Russert, a Buffalo native, and an alumni of Canisius High School (MY High School))