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Richard Nixon and the Imperial Presidency, 1968-1976 APUSH Lecture 9C Mrs. Kray

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Who was Richard Nixon? Vice President during Eisenhower administration Ran for president in 1960 and lost to JFK Reputation as a tough politician & enemy of communism Dirty tricks; Tricky Dick Kitchen debate w/Khrushchev Low self-esteem

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Election of 1968 Democratic party in chaos RFK assassinated, riot outside the nominating convention; party torn apart by Vietnam Hubert Humphrey was the nominee Republicans nominate Nixon Promised to bring Americans together and restore stability after tumultuous 1968 Peace with honor in Vietnam Appealed to the silent majority

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Election Results Nixon Wins! George Wallace and the American Independent Party Long-time champion of segregation and states rights Appealed to Americans who were upset by the violence and civil disobedience associated with antiwar and civil rights demonstrations Won 5 states in the South and received strong support in some Northern states

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FOREIGN POLICY: THE FINAL DAYS OF THE VIETNAM WAR

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A New Policy in Vietnam: Peace with Honor & Vietnamization Nixon wanted to reduce domestic opposition to the war to give himself more political maneuverability Supported new lottery system for the draft Vietnamization Train and equip the South Vietnamese army so they could replace American troops and take on more of the fighting burden 1969 First U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam begin

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Escalation in Vietnam, 1970 1969: Nixon begins secret bombings of North Vietnamese bases in Cambodia Destabilized Cambodia Spring 1970: U.S. supports coup detat in Cambodia April 1970: Nixon announces he is sending troops across the border into Cambodia to clear out enemy bases Antiwar movement reignites -- march on Washington; demonstrations on college campuses Nov. 1970: Congress repealed Gulf of Tonkin Resolution President no longer has a blank check in Vietnam

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Kent State Massacre May 4, 1970 Four killed an nine injured when National Guard opened fire on antiwar demonstrators.

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The Pentagon Papers, 1971 Leaked by former Defense official Daniel Ellsberg Nixon now concerned about leaks Revealed government dishonesty in reporting progress of the war and our motives for fighting the war Publicly the government claimed war was fought to protect S. Vietnam Revealed war was also a way to protect American prestige and our reputation around the world

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U.S. Army Nears Exhaustion Signs of decay within the military Desertion, drug addiction, racial hostilities, refusal to obey orders, fragging My Lai Massacre, 1971 Sign of this decay U.S. army massacre of more than 300 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians

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The Paris Peace Accords, Jan. 1974 By 1971, nearly two-thirds of Americans were urging withdrawal from Vietnam The war dragged on for another 3 years Paris Peace Accords Negotiated by National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger Immediate ceasefire American POWs would be handed over South Vietnams government would continue to operate North Vietnams army would remain in the South Peace with Honor?

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The Legacy of Vietnam The Price for the United States War had cost $150 billion; 55,000 killed; 300,000 injured Blow to our confidence and self-esteem Middle-class vs. working-class Hawks vs. doves Loss of trust in government credibility gap grows The Price in Indochina Genocide in Cambodia: Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge kill 1 out 3 Cambodians Vietnam ravaged by decades of war: economy in ruins, remained one of the poorest and most politically oppressive nations in the world

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FOREIGN POLICY: THE COLD WAR THAWS

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A New Cold War Policy: Detente Cold War Background U.S. and USSR locked in Cold War since end of WWII Series of confrontations between U.S. and Soviets: Berlin Airlift, Berlin Wall, Cuban Missile Crisis, etc. U.S. never formally recognized Communist China Nixon and NSA Henry Kissinger believed U.S. needed a new and more flexible foreign policy Communism is not a monolith Dtente called for a relaxation of tensions between the U.S. and the Communist World Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor then Secretary of State

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Dtente and China 1971: Kissinger goes on a secret trip to Communist China to lay the groundwork for Nixon to go 1972: Nixon stuns the world by traveling to China Wanted to normalize relations between the two countries Visit erased much of Americas deep animosity towards Communist China Sought to exploit rift between China and USSR

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Dtente and the Soviet Union 1972: Nixon first American president to visit Moscow SALT I Treaty, 1972 Treaty came out of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Limited the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched missiles each superpower could have in its arsenal Also expanded trade between the two superpowers

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The Nixon Doctrine The 3 rd World remained the most volatile and dangerous source of international tension U.S. would participate in the defense and development of allies and friends but would leave the basic responsibility for the future of those friends to the nations themselves What the Nixon Doctrine meant in practice: Less interest in contributing to 3 rd world development a growing contempt for the UN where less-developed nations were gaining influence through their sheer numbers increasing support to authoritarian regimes attempting to withstand radical challenges from within

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DOMESTIC POLICY: NEW FEDERALISM

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Dismantling the Great Society Nixon wanted to restore balance to government Great Society programs had led to a dramatic increase in federal influence and federal spending Wanted to reduce the size and influence of the federal government Many of his policies were a response to the demands of his own constituency, conservative, middle class people whom he liked to call the silent majority New Federalism Plan for distributing a portion of federal power to state and local governments Under a program called revenue sharing, state and local governments could spend their federal dollars however they saw fit, within certain limits Difficult economic circumstances limited Nixons success with these programs

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Nixon Battles the Warren Court Liberal rulings of the Warren Court had angered the silent majority who felt balance of power had shifted away from middle class & law and order. Engel v. Vitale (1962) ruled that prayers in public schools were unconstitutional Roth v. United States (1957) sharply limited the authority of local governments to curb pornography Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Court confirmed the obligation of authorities to inform a criminal suspect of his or her rights Baker v. Carr (1964) required state legislatures to apportion electoral districts more fairly one man, one vote increased voting power of minorities & cities Nixon wanted to use his judicial appointments to create a more conservative court

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The Burger Court 1969: Chief Justice Earl Warren retired Nixon replaced him with a conservative, Warren Burger Nixon also made three other Supreme Court appoints Burger Court not as conservative as Nixon had hoped for Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenberg Board of Education (1971) ruled in favor of using forced busing to achieve racial balance in schools Furman v. Georgia (1972) restricted death penalty Roe v. Wade (1973) legalized abortion Bakke v. Board of California Regents (1978) upheld priniciple of affirmative action but established strict new guidelines for such programs in the future

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An Economy in Trouble For three decades (1940s, 50s, 60s) U.S. economy had grown at an amazing rate U.S. economy in the 1970s struggled Biggest problem was soaring inflation Caused by deficit spending, rising energy costs (OPEC) 2 nd problem was a decline in manufacturing jobs Aging infrastructure in factories made us less efficient, facing more competition from countries like Japan that had rebuilt themselves after WWII, American labor costs are high Manufacturing jobs shipped out of America, never to return Nixon tried many things to deal with these issues, none were successful

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Election of 1972: Nixons Southern Strategy Nixon noticed George Wallaces success as a 3 rd party candidate in Election of 1968 American Independent Party Nixon used policies to court the votes of white Southerners to get them to shift their allegiance from Democrat to Republican Played on their racial prejudice wouldnt openly support civil rights, opposed forced busing Played on their fears of a loss of law and order appointed conservatives to Supreme Court; talked about the silent majority Strategy was a success

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Election Results Nixon wins in a landslide The Solid South is now solidly Republican

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Watergate: The Downfall of a President The Imperial Presidency Public expectations of the president had increased dramatically since WWII; yet the constraints placed on the authority of the office by Congress, the courts, interest groups, the media and elsewhere had grown as well In response, a succession of presidents had sought new methods for the exercise of power, often stretching the law Facing a Democratic Congress hostile to his goals, Nixon attempted to find ways to circumvent the legislature whenever possible Nixon considered any challenge to his policies a threat to national security Operated within a rigid, even autocratic staff structure He became mired in a pattern of illegalities and abuses of power

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The Watergate Break-In & Cover- Up June 1972: 5 men are arrested for breaking in to the Democratic National Committees headquarters in the Watergate Hotel Some of those arrested have connections with Nixons Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) An investigation by Congress follows It is discovered that the break-in was ordered by members of Nixons inner circle Question becomes what did president know and when did he know it? Discovery: all conversations in the White House were recorded Saturday Night Massacre Nixon v. United States, 1974 Nixon refused to hand over tapes, cites executive privilege Supreme Court rules President is not above the law, must had over tapes

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Nixon Resigns, 1974 Tapes reveal Nixon did not order break- in but he helped cover it up.

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The Fall of Saigon, 1975 1974 Paris accords collapsed Civil War erupts in Vietnam March 1975 N. Vietnamese launched full- scale offensive against the south S. Vietnam appealed to the U.S. for further assistance Congress refused April 1975 Communist forces marched into Saigon S. Vietnamese officials and staff at the U.S. embassy flee

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Images of the Fall