WARM UP

I.  Complete the Nixon Presidency reading worksheet to review from yesterday

II.  Pages 1-4

III.  You may work together in pairs

NIXON VIDEO

“THEFORDANDCARTERYEARS”

1974to1981

AFTER NIXON & WATERGATE

I.  After Richard Nixon resigned as POTUS in 1974 his VP Gerald Ford became acting president

II.  The American people now greatly distrust the president and the US government

THE FORD ADMINISTRATION

I.  Ford’s major concern as president was the U.S. economy

II.  The US faced: A.  High inflation, high unemployment &

energy concerns (oil)

III.  Ford upset many Americans when he pardoned Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal

A.  Ford officially forgave Nixon & gave him no jail time

B.  The people are angry that Nixon did no jail time for his crime

THE FORD ADMINISTRATION

I.  Gerald Ford failed to gain back public confidence after Watergate

II.  Ford’s only successes were in foreign policy:

A.  Negotiated détente (nuclear disarmament) with China and Soviet Union

B.  He revealed past CIA assassination attempts & appointed George Bush to reorganize the CIA

C.  Signed the Helsinki Accords: 35 nations agreed to regulate nuclear weapons

III.  However South Vietnam fell to communism in 1975 and it seemed many Americans died for nothing

THE 1976 CAMPAIGN I.  In 1976 Jimmy Carter (Democrat) campaigned

as an outside, honest man who promised not to tell a lie to the American people

II.  Carter ran against Gerald Ford (Republican) who many believed was a crooked politician

III.  Carter won a very narrow victory in 1976 becoming the 39th POTUS

A.  Carter’s victory was mainly won on racial and social divides

B.  Affluent, educated people voted for Ford C.  Poor, uneducated minorities voted for Carter

THE FORD YEARS READING

FORD VIDEO

THE CARTER YEARS

I.  Jimmy Carter’s biggest problem was that he lacked meaningful political experience (only governor of Georgia for one term)

II.  Carter’s presidency began with an energy crisis in the USA

A.  The USA relied very heavily on foreign oil purchased from the Middle East

B.  Violence in the Middle East led to a drop in oil production C.  The US experienced the worst oil/gas crisis in American

history D.  Prices skyrocketed, demand soared and the American

people struggled to purchase fuel

CARTER’S PRESIDENCY

I.  Jimmy Carter faced serious economic problems during his one term as president

II.  The US lost millions of manufacturing jobs to foreign nations

A.  Unemployment rose and many blamed Carter for the poor economic climate

III.  The US standard of living dropped from 1st to 5th and Americans grew unhappy

THE SUCCESSES OF THE CARTER YEARS

I.  1977 – US & Panama Treaty: gave Panama the Panama Canal

A.  Greatly improved US and Latin American relationships

II.  Carter worked for global human rights and protested the unfair treatment of humans worldwide

III.  Carter signed the SALT II agreement limiting nuclear arms

IV.  The Camp David Accords: a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt ending war in the Middle East

THE FAILURES OF THE CARTER YEARS

I.  The energy crisis in the 1970’s and the economic recession were Carter’s biggest failures as president

II.  The Iranian Hostage Crisis in 1979 also shed a negative light on Carter

A.  Jan of 1979 Iran experience a revolution B.  Iran replaced their US backed government led by Shah

with an Islamic government C.  Iranians grew upset when the Shah was allowed into the

USA and took 52 Americans working in the US embassy in Tehran hostage for 444 days

THE FORD & CARTER YEARS

I.  Ford and Carter both faced serious economic issues while president

A.  US economy was in a recession, unemployment was high B.  Oil shortages led to high gas prices and little supply C.  Foreign policy issues like the Cold War and Iranian

Hostage crisis led to negative opinions of Ford & Carter nationwide

D.  The American people blamed Ford and Carter for the political, social and economic problems

II.  The problems faced by the US during the late 1970s led to a growth of conservative ideology and the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980

THE CARTER YEARS READING

CARTER VIDEO