The Policies of President Richard Milhous Nixon

Nixon was a Moderate Republican--more conservative on some issues, more liberal on others

Conservative Policies• “New Federalism”•Revenue Sharing

•Appointment of Conservative

Justices

--appealing to the need for a stricter criminal justice system--turning away from solving the “root causes” of civil disorder toward protecting personal security & property

“Law & Order” Politics

Reagan later tripled prison population

“Southern Strategy”

Ordered delays in school integration in SC, MS

--gaining political support in the South by appealing to racism

Opposed integration thru busing

Liberal Policies• Increased Spending for Social Security (Old age pensions) & Medicare (health care for those 65+)• Oversaw Creation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)•Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act

Nixon’s Foreign Policy:

“Realpolitik” replaces “Containment”

Realpolitik = Dealing with nations in a practical manner based on how much power they have

i.e. diplomacy with China despite U.S. opposition to communism and previous focus on containment

Secretary of State Henry

Kissinger

Ping Pong ” Diplomacy

Nixon Visits China Feb. 1972

Mao Zedong

SALT I TreatyNixon Visits Moscow May 1972

Détente”—a thawing out or “un-freezing” of relations betweenthe U.S. and Soviet Union

Leonid Brehzhnev

All Nixon’s Actions & Accomplishments

Eventually Overshadowed by Watergate Scandal