Crisis in the

Presidency

Section 21.3Yet another image of Nixon with trademark two-handed victory salute

What does Détente mean?• An easing or

relaxing of tensions

• Period during Nixon’s presidency noted for better relations between the US and USSR/Red China`

Above: Nixon and Mao shake hands; below: Brezhnev makes a drunken proposal

Discussion Question(s)

• According to 16th century Italian philosopher Niccolo

Machiavelli, “The ends justifies the means.” Leaders

must do whatever is necessary to protect and

defend their nation’s power.• Is it OK for a president to break the law if our national

security is at stake?• What constitutes “national

security”?Portrait of Machiavelli

How had the Executive Branch expanded its power since WWII?

• FDR made treaties with foreign nations without Senate consent

• Truman and LBJ had sent troops into combat without Congressional declaration of war

• Reasoning: the president must be able to respond to a crisis quickly if national security is threatened

Above: reprise of cartoon about FDR and the court-packing scheme; below: President Truman

How had Nixon expanded presidential powers?

• Impounded funds for federal programs he did not like

• Invaded Cambodia without Congressional approval

• Should he be allowed to do this if National Security is at stake?

Nixon uses map of SE Asia to illustrate reasons Cambodia was invaded

Remember Nixon the politician:• Ambitious• Born amid poverty• Shy, insecure• Skilled lawyer,

foreign policy expert

• Mean-spirited• Suspicious• HUAC provided

his start

Above: Nixon on Whittier College football team; below: President Nixon makes a point

Who made up Nixon’s inner circle and how did they ‘assist’ the president?

• Inner circle- most trusted advisers

• Henry Kissinger- Foreign policy• HR Haldeman- Chief of Staff• John Ehrlichman- domestic

adviser• Chuck Colson- special counsel• Created a “House of Mirrors”

– IE Yes-men who always told Nixon exactly what he wanted to hear

Clockwise, from upper left: Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Chuck Colson

What was the Enemies List?

• List of 200 people considered ‘enemies’ of Nixon

• Who do you think was on it?

Cartoon shows Lady Liberty, caption is “My God! I’m on the White House ‘Enemy List’!”

Hollywood ListersPaul Newman Jane Fonda, Bill Cosby, Steve McQueen, Barbra Streisand, and many more

Nixon and his enemies• How would you deal

with your enemies if you were president?

• This was a low-tech era, admittedly…

Shows a hidden recording device with the power and record switches disguised as Chap-Sticks

What was CREEP and how did it try to help Nixon win the election of 1972?

• CREEP= Committee to Re-elect the President

• Head by John Mitchell• Collected $60 million in illegal fundsWhat were the Pentagon Papers?• Plumbers

– Special investigative unit created to stop leaks (of information) that might damage Nixon

– Broke into office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist

• Wanted to embarrass him for releasing the Pentagon Papers

– Showed government since Truman lied to people during Vietnam War

Above: John Mitchell; below: Daniel Ellsberg

Capture from clip: video summary of Watergate

Mischief at Watergate ‘Hotel’, 6-17-72

• Plumbers broke into Democratic National Committee headquarters– Led by G. Gordon Liddy

• Wanted to wiretap phones, copy documents

• Nabbed by police with lock picks, 40 rolls of film, two cameras, 2 ‘bugs’, over $3 thousand in cash

• Also a black address book – Next to the name Howard Hunt was a

telephone number with a note W. House

Above: Gordon Liddy; below: Howard Hunt

Capture: clip from All the President’s Men

How was Watergate discovered?• Bob Woodward and Carl

Bernstein of the Washington Post• Discovered that Hunt and Liddy

worked for CREEP• Their investigations uncovered

that Watergate was one of a series of illegal activities

• Nixon denied that the White House was involved– Said Washington Post had

liberal bias• Secretly paid over $400 thousand

in hush money• Few other journalists wrote about

the story…blew up just after Election of 1972

W. Mark Felt,AKA Deep Throat

Above: The real Bernstein and Woodward; below: the deathbed confession of Deep Throat

Capture from another clip on Watergate

What finally brought down Nixon?• James McCord• One of Watergate burglars said White

House was involved and pressured him to keep his mouth shut

• Senate Hearings• Led by Sam Ervin• John Dean

– White House lawyer said Nixon directed Watergate cover-up

• The Tapes• During hearings Alexander Butterfield

revealed existence of tape recording machine in White House

Above: James McCord; below: Nixon waits to give a speech

Capture from another Watergate clip: If this were Pinocchio, Nixon’s nose would be growing… (Nah, it was always that big )

Describe the controversy regarding the Tapes:

• Tapes would prove what Nixon knew and when

• Senate and special prosecutor Archibald Cox called on Nixon to give up tapes

• Nix claimed Executive Privilege• Ordered his attorney general and

deputy attorney general to fire Cox– Both refused– Known as Saturday Night

Massacre

Above: Nixon, on the phone plotting cover-up; below: more Nixon

Capture from clip: The scandal deepens and the stench increases

Controversy regarding the Tapes Continued• John Sirica, District Justice ordered tapes turned

over.• April ’74 Nixon released transcripts of some of

the tapes– Illegal comments were edited out– But Americans were shocked by profanity,

pettiness, ethnic insults in the President’s remarks

• Special prosecutor Leon Jaworski took Nixon to Supreme Court– Nixon v. United States Supreme Court:

ordered the president to turn over the tapes– House of Representatives began procedures

for impeachment• Aug. ’74: Nixon handed over tapes

– Revealed that he had obstructed justice

Above: Judge Sirica; below: cartoon mocking Nixon’s claim that he was ‘not a crook’

Capture from clip on Nixon’s legacy: The Final Comeback

Ford Pardons Nixon• Can a president ‘forgive’ someone if they commit a

crime?

• Are they totally off the hook?

• Why did Ford do it?

• Do you agree with Ford’s decision?

• Would you have held it against him when he ran for a full term in 1976?

How did Congress react to Nixon’s presidency?

• Passed a series of laws meant to curb executive branch’s power

• War Powers Act of 1973

– President must consult with Congress before sending troops into prolonged action

• Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act

– Prohibited president from impounding federal money

• Federal Election Campaign Act

– Limited campaign contributions

• Privacy Act

– Expanded the Freedom of Information Act by allowing citizens to have access to files that the government may have on them