Chapter 25 = Nixon, Ford, Carter

(1969 – 1981)

Section 1 = Nixon’s Domestic Policy (Richard Nixon, 1968 –1974)

Hubert Humphrey, Democrat Richard Nixon, Republican

Election of 1968 – Nixon Wins

Nixon – The Man

1. Nixon was a reserved man who was uncomfortable around people.

2. Seemed to have no sense of humor and seldom smiled.

3. Had lots of political experience (VP for Eisenhower / Congressman from CA)

4. Had a mean side & did whatever was necessary to defeat his enemies.

Nixon was one of

the first presidents

to be made fun of in

popular culture.

Known as “Tricky

Dick,” comics

often poked fun at

his inability to

laugh and his

speaking blunders.

(L to R) David Eisenhower, Julie Nixon Eisenhower, President Nixon, Thelma Catherine (Pat) Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox and Edward Cox

Nixon’s Domestic Policy

1. The economy suffered from inflation and unemployment during Nixon’s presidency.

2. Although Republicans usually tried to balance the national budget, Nixon started using **deficit spending (spending more $ than the nation takes in through taxes) in an attempt to stimulate the economy.

3. Nixon tried to please Conservatives, who wanted budget cuts, by cutting programs like urban renewal, job training, & education.

4. Nixon started **New Federalism, which was a partnership between the federal and state governments. The federal government transferred more money to state governments. The states were then more responsible for well-being of their citizens.

Nixon’s Advisors

President Nixon did not rely on his cabinet advisors like most presidents do. He relied more on his White House Staff since he felt they were more loyal to him.

H.R. Haldeman {top left} was a former advertising executive who served on Nixon’s campaign. He became Nixon’s Chief of Staff. Haldeman’s quote = “I get done what he wants done and I take the heat instead of him.”

John Ehrlichman {bottom left} was Nixon’s personal lawyer and became his top domestic advisor.

These two men were known as “the Berlin Wall” since they served as the gateway between Nixon and those who wanted to talk to him.

Nixon’s Advisors

John Mitchell {left} was a lawyer that had managed Nixon’s campaign. Nixon made him the Attorney General of the U.S. He was a close advisor.

The 1973 **Arab Oil Embargo

American oil production began to decline in 1972. America depended on foreign imports for 1/3 of its oil.

In 1971, Nixon placed a 90 day freeze on wages, prices, and rent - - to stop inflation. The price freeze cut profits on oil and American refineries cut their supply to the minimum.

In 1973 Israel fought a war against the Arab nations of Syria and Egypt. The U.S. supported Israel.

**OPEC {Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries} is a group of Arab oil countries that imposed an **oil embargo on the U.S. in 1973. Embargo means they refused to sell ANY oil to the U.S. This was done to penalize the U.S. for supporting Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

The 1973 **Arab Oil Embargo

**OPEC also set the prices charged for oil and decided how much oil would be produced. OPEC caused the price of oil to quadruple!!

Higher oil prices led to higher prices on food and gasoline. As a result, the American economy went into a recession.

{left} King Faisal, leader of Saudi Arabia in 1973

Nixon’s **Southern Strategy

Not many African-Americans supported Richard Nixon.

His ** Southern Strategy was a plan to win the votes of

White southern Democrats by slowing down the Civil

Rights Movement.

Nixon:

1. Delayed the integration of schools by refusing to

enforce mandatory busing)

2. Tried (but failed) to end the Voting Rights Act of 1965

3. Cut funding for fair housing laws (low cost rent).

The First Moon Landing

In 1969, American astronauts

flew to the moon on board the

rocket known as **Apollo 11.

**Neil Armstrong became the

first man to walk on the moon.

**Eagle was the lunar landing

craft that took the astronauts

from the orbiting space

capsule to the moon and back.

The U.S. now took the lead in

the space race!

The crew of the Apollo 11 (L to R) Neil

Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz

Aldrin.

Apollo 11 Rocket

Apollo 11 Orbit Module

Eagle Lunar Landing Vehicle Neil Armstrong Walking on the Moon

Sec. 2 = Nixon’s Foreign Policy

Nixon’s biggest successes were in foreign policy. He used a policy of

**détente which means to be more cooperative & ease tensions with other

nations, especially American enemies like China and the Soviet Union.

**Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State, became one of Nixon’s main

advisors.

Kissinger followed a policy known as **realpolitik. This policy meant that

the U.S. would make decisions based on what would keep America

strong, not on what looked good in terms of moral principles.

**Henry Kissinger {bottom left} was a Harvard University government professor who became first, National Security Advisor, and later Secretary of State. He was responsible for much of Nixon’s foreign policy success.

Nixon applied the policy of **détente to China and the Soviet Union.

These two enemies of the U.S. had once been united by their communist

form of government. By the 1970s they became enemies. Nixon saw

(example of **Realpolitik) that making friends with China would help keep

these two communist powers separate. It was also obvious that the U.S.

could benefit from trade with China.

The U.S. had not recognized the Chinese government since 1949, when it

became communist. In 1971, the U.S. sent a ping pong team to play in a

tournament in China and later that year America ended its trade embargo

on China.

In 1972, President Nixon travelled to China and met with **Mao Zedong,

the Chinese leader. Most Americans were happy that Nixon opened trade

and relations with China.

Nixon’s Foreign Policy

Nixon’s Foreign Policy

Later in 1972, Nixon also

travelled to the Soviet Union

and met with Soviet Premier,

Leonid Brezhnev. The two

signed the **SALT I (Strategic

Arms Limitation Treaty) which

froze the number of nuclear

missiles each country had.

The **SALT I agreement was

important because it opened

the door to cooperation in

other areas.

Top left: Nixon meeting

With Chinese Premier,

Mao Zedong.

Top Right: Nixon meeting

with Soviet Premier,

Nikita Khrushchev.

Bottom: Nixon meeting

with Elvis!

President Nixon meeting with Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev

Section 3 = **The Watergate Scandal

• Nixon wanted to win reelection in 1972 by a landslide so he

would have a mandate to pass his programs.

• He created an Enemies List and tried to harass these people.

• 1969 - Nixon thought someone on his staff had leaked

information to reporters so he had **wiretaps placed on the

phones of some staff & some reporters (was legal at the time).

• 1971 – A former Defense Department official, Daniel Ellsberg,

leaked a Pentagon study of the Vietnam War to the New York

Times newspaper. It was published and became known as **the

Pentagon Papers. The papers showed that previous presidents

lied to Americans about the war.

• Nixon was afraid secret information about his negotiations with

the Chinese & Russians would be leaked.

Daniel Ellsberg - - former

Defense Department official

who delivered the “Pentagon

Papers” to the New York Times

newspaper.

**The Plumbers

• Nixon approved a plan to hire

people, known as **the

plumbers, to stop the leaks.

• **The plumbers were E.

Howard Hunt, a former CIA

agent, and G. Gordon Liddy, a

former FBI agent.

• They broke into the office of

Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist,

looking for damaging

information to use against

him.

E. Howard Hunt

G. Gordon Liddy

Nixon = Tricky Dicky

Examples:

1. Edmund Muskie was a candidate for Pres. In 1972. Nixon’s staff

wrote a letter claiming his wife was an alcoholic. Muskie broke

down in tears, on TV.

2. Sent hecklers to disrupt Democratic campaign meetings.

3. Planted spies on the campaigns of major democratic candidates

for president.

**The Watergate Scandal

• 1972 - **The plumbers (working for Nixon’s Reelection

Campaign) broke into the Democratic Party Headquarters at the

Watergate Apartments. They put wiretaps on the phones to find

out damaging information about the Democrats.

• A security guard caught them and all 5 were arrested.

• They were carrying money that the FBI traced back to Nixon’s

campaign.

• Nixon made a huge mistake by contacting the CIA. He told them

to try to stop the FBI’s investigation.

• Nixon’s staff paid the plumbers “hush money” & coached them

on how to lie to the jury.

• 1972 - Nixon won re-election by a landslide, over **Senator

George McGovern, the democratic candidate.

Senator George McGovern, of South Dakota, was the

Democratic Party’s candidate for president in 1972.

He was solidly defeated by Richard Nixon.

**The Watergate Scandal

• At the Watergate Trial, all of the 5 burglars were found guilty. **Judge

John J. Sirica felt that the truth had not come out. He gave the burglars

the maximum prison sentence (40 yrs.) in order to force them to talk!

Sentences would be reduced if they cooperated with the coming senate

Watergate hearings.

• **Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein were news reporters for the

Washington Post newspaper. They did research & started to uncover

the story.

• In 1973, the Senate Watergate Hearings began. Many of the burglars

told the truth in exchange for reduced sentences.

• Nixon forced his top two aides, H.R. Haldeman & John Ehrlichman to

resign in an attempt to protect himself.

• In the hearings it came out that Nixon had a tape recorder that taped all

meetings and phone calls in the Oval Office.

Carl Bernstein (left) and Bob Woodward (right) are the two

Washington Post newspaper reporters that exposed the Watergate

Scandal.

**Special Prosecutors & “The Saturday Night

Massacre”

In an attempt to prove himself to be honest, President Nixon agreed

to appoint a special Watergate prosecutor.

Archibald Cox, a Harvard law professor, was chosen as the **special

prosecutor. A special prosecutor works for the U.S. Justice

Department, but carries out an *independent investigation of those

that have been accused of illegal actions (in this case, the

President). Special prosecutors are thought to be more truthful

since the government has less control over them.

Archibald Cox asked for President Nixon’s tape recordings of calls

from the White House. Nixon refused and Cox kept asking for them.

Nixon fired Archibald Cox and this caused a series of firings and

resignations that became known as “The Saturday Night Massacre”

since it happened on a Saturday (Oct. 20, 1973).

**Special Prosecutors & “The Saturday Night

Massacre”

Next Leon Jaworski was appointed as **special prosecutor and he

also requested the tape recordings from the White House! In

response, Nixon released edited transcripts of his conversations.

The transcripts made Nixon look more suspicious.

In July of 1974, the House (of Representatives) Judiciary Committee

started hearings to determine whether or not to **impeach President

Nixon. The hearings were broadcast on television and made Nixon

look bad. The committee voted to impeach Nixon for: obstruction of

justice, abuse of power, and refusal to obey a congressional order to

turn over the tapes of his conversations.

On August 5, 1974, Nixon followed the Supreme Court order to turn

over the tape recordings, but 18 ½ minutes of tape had been cut out.

Still, the tapes proved that Nixon was involved in the Watergate

Scandal.

On August 9, 1974, President Nixon became the first president ever

to resign the presidency!!

Archibald Cox, Special

Prosecutor # 1

Leon Jaworski, Special

Prosecutor # 2

Nixon’s job

approval

throughout his

presidency.

Nixon will forever be remembered for the statement he made as he left the presidency, “I am NOT a crook.”