Chapter 30

From Camelot to Watergate

Kennedy

• The “Best and the Brightest”• Camelot – a time of

excitement and energy• Style versus substance

Vigor – ill health Intellectual – intellectual

lightweightPerfect wife – adulterous affairs

The Cuban Crisis

• Break from Eisenhower’s reliance on nuclear weapons – directly challenge communism

• Established Peace Corps to spread American ideals

• Approved Bay of Pigs operation – disaster tightened Cuban-USSR relationship

• Made Kennedy look weak

The Cuban Crisis

• Responses made by USSR included construction of Berlin Wall and test blasts of hydrogen bomb

• Kennedy countered with Minutemen missiles and space program

• Kennedy also resolved to get rid of Castro – Operation Mongoose plan to use spies, saboteurs, and assassins under direction of RFK

• Planned invasion of Cuba

The Cuban Crisis

• 1962 – Khrushchev moved tanks, bombers, and soldiers to Cuba to forestall US invasion

• Also secretly installed nuclear missiles

• US spy planes detected missile sites

• What action to take?• JFK ordered “quarantine” of Cuba –

called on USSR to remove missiles

The Cuban Crisis

• After two weeks USSR removed missiles – US lifted blockade and agreed not to invade Cuba

• US also removed nuclear missiles from Turkey

• Both sides sobered by crisis – determined to communicate better

• Khrushchev removed due to humiliation of USSR

The Vietnam War

• Fall of Dien Bien Phu caused French to pull out of Vietnam

• Vietnam split at 17th parallel – both sides to conduct elections – none done

• North Vietnam communist under Ho Chi Minh

• South Vietnam under Ngo Din Diem

The Vietnam War

• Communists in the south became known as Viet Cong

• Eisenhower gave military aid and some training to South Vietnamese army

• Kennedy, afraid to look weak, greatly expanded aid and military assistance to Diem

• By 1963 there were over 16,000 US soldiers in Vietnam with 120 KIA

The Vietnam War

• Diem, a Catholic, repressed majority Buddhist peasantry

• Buddhist riots and demonstrations – monks burned themselves in protest

• Diem overthrown by cabal of Vietnamese army officers and CIA

Assignment – Civil Rights

• Create a timeline that traces the events, achievements, and key people in the Civil Rights Movement

Civil Rights Movement

• Kennedy not a leader in movement for civil rights due to position of Democratic Party

• Movement began slowly - based on industrialization, impact of GI Bill, and rise of black middle class

• 1955 – Rosa Parks – Boycott• Emergence of Martin Luther King

Jr.• Resulted in desegregation of public

transportation

Civil Rights Movement

• 1957 – Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) formed – headed by King

• SCLC joined by Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)

• 1960 – Greensboro “Sit-In”• 1961 – Freedom Ride – intent to

test effectiveness of anti-discrimination laws in transportation

• Resultant court cases broke down legal racial barriers

Civil Rights Movement

• Some blacks, impatient with progress, called for rejection of white society

• Black Muslim Movement – led by Elijah Muhammad – called for a “Black America”

• Malcolm X• Martin Luther King – “Letter from

Birmingham Jail”• Very tepid support from Kennedy

The Kennedy Assassination

• November 22 1963• Lee Harvey Oswald• Jack Ruby• Warren Commission (Chief

Justice Earl Warren)• Secrecy of Dulles and CIA

encouraged conspiracy theories

Lyndon Baines Johnson

• Johnson had great experience in Congress

• Used knowledge of people and politics to push through legislation

• Championed racial equality• Pushed through Civil Rights Act of

1964 – outlawed discrimination by employers, segregation in public places, and voting rights

Lyndon Baines Johnson

• Declared war on poverty – created the “Great Society”

• 20-25 % lived below poverty line• Poor regions like Appalachia• Technology required greater skills• 1964 Economic Opportunity Act –

established Job Corps, financing for local anti-poverty efforts, and training programs

Lyndon Baines Johnson

• Election of 1964 – LBJ versus Barry Goldwater• 1965 – Established Medicare (65 and above) and

Medicaid (poor)• 1965 – Elementary and Secondary Education Act –

supplied federal funds to school districts and set up Head Start

• 1965 – Voting Rights Act – federal protection for black registration

Lyndon Baines Johnson

• ScorecardHead Start – successEducation Act – failure as

districts used funds for ordinary expenses

Medicare / Medicaid – caused dramatic rise in health costs

Job Corps – failure as few finished expensive courses and even fewer found jobs using new skills

Assignment - The Vietnam War

• Create a booklet that discusses American involvement in Vietnam from Kennedy through Nixon. Opposition to the war should also be part of the discussion

• Booklet should show key events, their impact, and key people

Johnson Escalates the War

• Political instability in South Vietnam caused LBJ to increase support

• Tonkin incident

• 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution – gave president broad powers to increase troop levels and conduct bombings of North Vietnam

Johnson Escalates the War

• By 1968 US troop levels at 538,000• Success judged by “body count”

through “search and destroy” missions

• Opposition to the war increased especially over bombings, defoliants (Agent Orange), and killing of civilians

• Was war justified?

Election of 1968

• Opposition to the Vietnam War intensified

• Protests against involvement in “civil war,” the draft, and deferments

• Senator Eugene McCarthy entered Democratic race for nomination – LBJ deemed invincible

• The 1968 Tet Offensive turned public opinion against the war

Election of 1968

• Tet caused support to turn to McCarthy

• Now LBJ vulnerable, Robert Kennedy also announced his candidacy

• LBJ withdrew from the race• VP Hubert Humphrey announced

his candidacy with backing of LBJ• RFK and MLK assassinated• Kennedy’s assassination ensured

the nomination of Humphrey

Election of 1968

• Nixon easily won the Republican primary and presidential nomination

• Spiro Agnew (who?) was chosen as running mate

• Governor George Wallace ran for the American Independent Party (anti-black and anti-intellectual)

Election of 1968

• Democratic Convention held in Chicago

• Mayor Daley surrounded convention center with police

• Police attacked anti-war demonstrators – television coverage shocked nation

• Nixon took advantage and called for tougher treatment of criminals

Election of 1968

• Nixon called for ending the war with an “honorable” peace

• The Democratic campaign was poorly organized but eventually made it a close race

• Nixon won the election – though the Democrats controlled Congress

“Vietnamizing” the War

• Nixon called for phased withdrawal of US troops followed by elections – North Vietnam refused – wanted no conditions

• Nixon in quandary – did not want to end war on communists’ terms

• Nixon decided to build up ARVN forces so US could pull out = Vietnamization

• Huge shipments of materiel were made to South Vietnam (had world’s 4th largest air force)

“Vietnamizing” the War

• Nixon began withdrawing US troops • Withdrawal did not stop protests• My Lai massacre increased

opposition to the war• 1970 - Nixon ordered attack on

communist sanctuaries in Cambodia

“Vietnamizing” the War

• Campus demonstrations increased• At one demonstration at Kent State

University, four students were killed• Two students were killed at

Jackson State University• Student radicals caused hundreds

of colleges to shut down• Protests caused Nixon to pull

troops out of Cambodia

“Vietnamizing” the War

• The withdrawal continued• 1972 – North Vietnamese

attacks on South Vietnam caused Nixon to order bombing raids on the North and the mining of Northern harbors to cut off supplies

Detente

• Nixon decided to treat China and the USSR as separate powers

• 1972 – Nixon and Kissinger flew secretly to Beijing

• Nixon agreed to support communist China’s bid for admission into UN and to seek greater economic and cultural ties

Detente

• As a result exports to China rose dramatically

• Nixon’s trip was hailed around the world• Nixon also visited the USSR • SALT – both powers agreed to stop

making missiles and reduce their numbers to 200 each

• Kissinger and North Vietnam came to agreement on Vietnam – cease fire, return of American POWs, and US withdrawal from Vietnam

Nixon in Triumph

• Nixon easily reelected• South Vietnam rejected the peace proposal (communist

forces still in the South) • US resumed bombing the North though losing many B-

52s• 1973 – South Vietnam agreed as Nixon promised forceful

response if the North resumed their offensive

Nixon in Triumph

• POWs were released and all US troops withdrawn

• The war was over• US lost 57,000 dead and >300,000

wounded• South Vietnamese dead at 185,000• Communist losses at almost a million• Kissinger shared the Nobel Peace Prize

with North Vietnamese minister Le Duc Tho

Nixon’s Domestic Policy

• Main problem was inflation due to war and Johnson policies

• Nixon cut spending, balanced the budget, and the Fed raised interest rates – inflation still rose

• Congress allowed Nixon to regulate prices and wages (wage and price controls)

• Labor angered but inflation checked

Nixon’s Domestic Policy

• Public opinion favored environmental protection – Clean Air Act 1970 and establishment of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Nixon sought to strengthen the power of the presidency and decentralize the administration by encouraging state and local control of many programs

Nixon’s Domestic Policy

• Nixon called for tough treatment of criminals and an end to special concern for blacks and other minorities

• This brought Nixon into conflict with liberals and minority leaders

• In second term, Nixon ended price/wage controls and prices spiraled

Nixon’s Domestic Policy

• Nixon set rigid budget limits for government

• He cut back spending, abolished some welfare programs, cut grants for science and education, and impounded funds already approved by Congress for spending

• Efforts to override Nixon in Congress failed

• The “Imperial Presidency”

Watergate

• (CREEP) Committee to Reelect the President • “The Plumbers”• “Tricky Dick”• 1973 – most Watergate burglars pleaded guilty• James McCord did not – claimed the administration

sanctioned the break-in and paid “hush-money” to burglars

Watergate

• The head of CREEP, Jeb Magruder and John Dean, Nixon’s private lawyer admitted their involvement

• Also admitted:Director of the FBI, Patrick Gray, destroyed documents related to the caseLarge sums had been paid to the burglars at the instigation of the White

HouseThe offices of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist had been burglarizedLarge corporations had made illegal political donations to NixonWiretaps had been placed on phones of officials and journalists

Watergate

• Most of Nixon’s closest advisors resigned

• Nixon denied any personal involvement

• John Dean testified Nixon personally involved in cover-up

• It was revealed that Nixon secretly taped conversations and phone calls in Oval Office

• Nixon refused access to the tapes

Watergate

• Public calls for resignation or impeachment caused Nixon to appoint a special prosecutor (Archibald Cox) to investigate the affair

• Cox subpoenaed the tapes – Nixon appealed but lost

• Nixon ordered the Attorney-General to fire Cox – he refused and he and his deputy resigned (Saturday Night Massacre)

Watergate

• Congress began calling for impeachment

• Nixon backed down – appointed a new special prosecutor (Leon Jawarski)

• Many tapes missing – another had a section deliberately erased

• Many of Nixon’s closest advisors were indicted and Nixon was named “unindicted co-conspirator”

Watergate

• IRS announced most of Nixon’s tax deductions unjustified – Nixon owed half million dollars in taxes

• Tapes released to public – many shocked by Nixon’s attitudes towards the public and his language (expletive deleted)

• Jaworski called for additional tapes – Nixon refused

Watergate

• United States v. Richard Nixon – wanted to compel Nixon to hand over tapes

• 1974 – Congress publicly debated the case and articles of impeachment were drawn up

• Supreme Court ruled Nixon must turn over 64 tapes – Nixon complied reluctantly

Watergate

• Nixon calculated his fate in Congress – how many votes could he count on? Needed 34 senators

• Tapes revealed he was complicit in cover-up – Nixon lost Republican support

• Nixon resigned August 1974• VP Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon

as president (Spiro Agnew had already resigned 1973 due to charges of tax evasion)