Mr. White’s US History 2

THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION

Main Idea: President Richard M. Nixon tried to steer the country in a conservative direction and away from federal control.

Big Question: What makes an effective, successful leader?

After we finish this section, we should be able to: Describe Richard Nixon’s political

philosophy and approach to the federal government

Explain Nixon’s Southern strategy to win re-election

Describe Nixon’s efforts to fix problems of the United States economy

Evaluate Nixon’s successes in foreign policy

MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES

Nixon’s administration laid the groundwork for the modern conservative movement

PART I: NIXON’S NEW CONSERVATISM

One of Nixon’s main goals as president was to decrease the size and influence of the federal government – small government conservatism

Nixon believed that Lyndon Johnson and Kennedy’s social programs over-extended the government’s power Nixon felt much of this power should go to the states

Nixon instituted a policy of revenue-sharing – federal money given to the states could be spent any way the states wanted

NEW FEDERALISM

As part of Nixon’s efforts to decrease the size and influence of the federal government, he addressed the social welfare system

Nixon Proposed the Family Assistance Plan: Families of four with no income could receive federal support in

a fixed amount Unemployed participants would have to take job training, accept

any reasonable work offered, as part of the programNixon’s plan passed the House of Representatives, but not

the Senate Liberals – Program was too stringent, didn’t offer enough money Conservatives – Opposed guaranteed income

FAMILY ASSISTANCE PLAN

Nixon strengthened some federal programs to win support for other things that he wanted Supported increased spending for Social Security,

Medicare, Medicaid, and made food stamps more accessible

At the same time, he worked to dismantle other programs: Opposed the Job Corps and additional funding for Housing

and Urban Development Used “impoundment” to try to underfund programs, but

federal courts ordered him to stop Abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity

BUILDING AND DISMANTLING

Nixon had made two campaign promises: to de-escalate the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and to bring law and order to American society – end protests, riots, moral decay

Nixon did begin the de-escalation of the war in Vietnam (Vietnamization), and also oversaw peace talks between the two sides

To bring law and order to the U.S., Nixon and his administration used many resources, some illegal, to keep an eye on political opponents Wire-tapping, CIA investigations, IRS audits Created a personal “enemies list”

TWO PROMISES

Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” was policy that he designed to win support for him in the southern states

PART II: NIXON’S SOUTHERN STRATEGY

As Nixon had only won the 1968 election with a slight majority, he created his Southern strategy to attract southern conservative voters De-segregation policies

of the federal government weren’t popular with southern democrats

Also promised to name a southerner to the Supreme Court

THE SOUTHERN STRATEGY

Governor George Wallace opposes federal de-segregation in Alabama.

Since the end of the Civil War, the south had been a strongly Democratic region

But the liberal policies of Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson (all Democrats, and all who favored de-segregation to some degree) had angered many southern Democrats

George Wallace, a presidential candidate in the 1968 election, had won a handful of southern states as an independent candidate, using a pro-segregation platform

Nixon hoped to attract many of these same voters

THE NEW SOUTH

Nixon first decided to slow the country’s desegregation1969 – Ordered the Department of Health, Education, and

Welfare to delay desegregation in South Carolina and Mississippi This violated the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of

Education (desegregate “with all deliberate speed”), and Nixon was ordered to abide by this

Nixon also opposed: Voting Rights Act of 1965, but Congress successfully extended it Busing urban children to different schools to desegregate them –

it continued in many cities

NIXON SLOWS DESEGREGATION

Nixon also worked to influence the Supreme CourtFelt that the Warren Court was too liberal, especially in racial policies

Four justices retired from the Supreme Court, and Nixon appointed justices to make the Court more conservative

The Court did not always follow what Nixon wanted – ruled in 1971 that schools could be racially integrated by busing

NIXON’S SUPREME COURT

Nixon’s administration confronted an economy with high inflation and high unemployment

PART III: A STAGNANT ECONOMY

As the prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s wound down, the economy began to have many problemsHigh unemployment, high inflation – known as “stagflation”

What caused these problems?LBJ’s spending for war and social programs Increased international competition, flood of workers in the workforce

Heavy dependence on foreign oil – price fluctuations

A TROUBLED ECONOMY

Nixon tried to solve these problems by:Raising taxes and cutting the budget – Congress didn’t go for this

Urging an increase in interest rates – didn’t really work, drove country into recession

Froze workers’ wages and business prices and fees for 90 days – inflation eased slightly, but the recession continued

NIXON’S REMEDIES

Nixon’s administration had many successes in the area of foreign policy

PART IV: NIXON’S FOREIGN POLICY

TRIUMPHS

Nixon said that he very much wanted to focus on foreign issues in his presidency Gain an honorable peace in Vietnam Better relationships with China and the Soviet Union

Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s Secretary of State, helped him develop his foreign policy Realpolitik – foreign policy should be based on power, not ideals

or moral principles If a country is weak, ignore it If a country is strong, deal with it accordingly

The previous policy of containment had refused to recognize communist nations

NIXON’S FOREIGN POLICY AND REALPOLITIK

Kissinger and Nixon adopted a more flexible approach to communist nationsDétente – openness designed to ease Cold War tensions

In 1972, president Nixon exercised this policy when he visited China

KISSINGER, NIXON, AND DÉTENTE

When China went communist in 1949, the United States had refused to recognize it – Nixon reversed this

Nixon went to China to try to better relations between the U.S. and China, and also increase the division between China and the U.S.S.R., China’s ally and the U.S.’s rival

When Nixon arrived in China, he made it a point to personally do things to thaw relations

This resulted in many important agreements between the United States and China No domination of the Pacific,

cooperation in settling disputes, scientific and cultural exchanges, reuniting Taiwan to mainland China

ONLY NIXON COULD GO TO CHINA

Nixon shakes hands with Chinese leader Chou En Lai, upon his arrival in China.

Nixon also travelled to the U.S.S.R. to try to thaw relations there

Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) TreatyBoth countries agreed to not increase their ICBM and submarine-launched missiles

Nixon was able to use these successes with China and the Soviet Union, plus the approach of peace in Vietnam, to win re-election in 1972

NIXON IN THE U.S.S.R.

Main Idea: President Richard M. Nixon tried to steer the country in a conservative direction and away from federal control.

Big Question: What makes an effective, successful leader?

After we finish this section, we should be able to: Describe Richard Nixon’s political philosophy and approach

to the federal government Explain Nixon’s Southern strategy to win re-election Describe Nixon’s efforts to fix problems of the United States

economy Evaluate Nixon’s successes in foreign policy

MAIN IDEA AND OBJECTIVES

Complete the sentence! One of Nixon’s main goals for his presidency was to… Nixon adopted his Southern Strategy in order to…

One part of Nixon’s Southern Strategy was to… One of the problems that the U.S. economy was facing was…

One of the ways that Nixon tried to fix the economy was to… One of Nixon’s successes in foreign policy was…

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