Richard Nixon (Highs)

• Served in the U.S. Navy during WWII

• Elected to the House of Representatives (1946) and later the Senate (1950)

• Became Vice President under Eisenhower in 1952

TruecrimeincEvaluate the success of 1960s era presidents’ foreign and domestic policies (SS.912.A.7.4)

Richard Nixon (Lows)

• Lost presidential election to Kennedy in 1960

• Career low – lost race for Governor of CA

1968 Election• Narrowly defeated Hubert

Humphrey to win the Presidency

• Called himself the spokesperson for the “Silent Majority”

• Believed America was tired of “big” government

• Wanted to address social ills like crime & pollution

Government Expansion

• “New Federalism”• Retuned power and money to

the States• Sponsored many new federal

programs• OSHA• DEA• EPA• Tried to establish the Family

Assistance Program (FAP) which would provide a guaranteed income to every American family

• Medicare and Public Housing grew steadily during his presidency

Struggling Economy

• Troublesome economy began during Johnson’s presidency and grew worse during Nixon’s years in office

• New term stagflation was coined to describe the combination of recession and inflation

Stagflation (Causes)• Expanding budget deficit

due to the Vietnam War (inflation)

• Rising foreign competition cost thousands of Americans to lose jobs (auto industry)

• Rapid increase in the price of oil

OPEC• Organization of • Petroleum• Exporting• Countries• Group of mostly Arab countries that sells

oil to other nations and cooperates to regulate the price and supply of oil

Evaluate the success of 1960s era presidents’ foreign and domestic policies (SS.912.A.7.4)

OPEC (Cont.)• Why was the cost of oil

rising for Americans?• During the 1973 Arab war

against Israel OPEC placed an embargo (ban) on Israel’s allies

• Including the United States

• The ban lasted until Spring 1974 and gas prices still remained high

• Odd/Even Days

“Southern Strategy”

• Nixon set out to win over the blue-collar workers and the Southern whites (both traditionally Democrats)

• Hoped to make the Republican party strong in the South

“Southern Strategy”

• Nominated Conservative Southerners to serve as judges on Supreme Court (failed Senate confirmation b/c they supported segregation in the past)

• Froze court-ordered busing of Children in the South

• Busing was protested by mostly Southern whites and blue-collar workers

New Civil Rights Initiatives

• Mixed stance on issue• Philadelphia Plan –

required labor unions and federal contractors to submit goals and timelines for hiring minorities

• Affirmative action – a policy that gives special consideration to women and minorities for education and jobs

1972 Election• Nixon’s 2nd term• High approval ratings• Some popularity based on trips to

China and Soviet Union• Ran as a moderate against

McGovern (antiwar senator) & Wallace (extremist)*

• Won 61% of popular vote and was 1st Republican to sweep the South

Watergate Scandal• The botched burglary of

Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate Complex (June 1972) received little attention

• Investigators began to unravel connections between the burglars and the White House

• Watergate began to dominate the national news

Burglars Tried (1973)• One of them, James McCord

claimed that administration officials had been involved

• Led to a Senate Investigation and televised hearings

• Numerous witnesses stated that the President and his top aides had taken part in a cover-up

• Nixon denied wrongdoing

Washington Post Journalists

• Bob Woodward• Carl Bernstein • Crucial role in unveiling cover-up• 2 reporters followed tips provided

by a secret government informant known as “Deep Throat”

• He was later revealed to be a top official of the FBI

• Woodward and Bernstein reported that the burglars had close ties to Nixon’s reelection committee

“I am not a crook.”

The Public’s View• The public

disagreed with Nixon’s statement

• Poll – taken one month after Nixon’s denial of involvement showed that less than 1 in 5 Americans believed the President

AboutEvaluate the success of 1960s era presidents’ foreign and domestic policies (SS.912.A.7.4)

New Developments

• Fall 1973• Vice President

Spiro Agnew resigned

• Unrelated corruption scandal

25th Amendment• Presidential

succession• Nixon

nominated Gerald Ford as new Vice President

Nixon’s Troubles Multiply

• Summer 1973• It was revealed the

Nixon had been secretly taping his Oval Office conversations

• Speculations that these tapes would confirm that he played a leading role in the cover-up

Executive Privilege• Nixon refused to turn

tapes over to prosecutor• Justified this by claiming

executive privilege• Almost 1 year later, in the

case of United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn the tapes over

The Tapes• Investigators noticed crucial

parts were missing from the conversations

• Nixon claimed his secretary had accidentally erased them

• Still, proved enough evidence to prove Nixon’s involvement

• Could now vote on impeaching the President

Impeachment Process• February 6, 1974 -- the House of

Representatives approved giving the Judiciary Committee authority to investigate impeachment of the President

• July 27, 1974 -- The House Judiciary Committee voted (27-11)

• 1st article: obstruction of justice • 2nd article: abuse of power• 3rd article: contempt of Congress • Articles were passed on July 29, 1974 & July

30, 1974

Nixon Resigns• He saw that the full House

of Rep. would vote in favor of impeachment

• On Aug. 8, 1974, Nixon informed the Nation that he would resign the following day.

• 1st U.S. President to resign

Further Investigations• Revealed Nixon had committed further abuses

of power• His re-election team had engaged in dirty tricks

to secure re-election• Had developed an “enemies list”• Used federal agencies to go after “enemies”• Ordered FBI to place wiretaps on phones of

government employees and reporters suspected of leaking information deemed harmful to his administration

Watergate’s Lasting Impact

• Reputation of the United States President was scarred

• The public’s confidence in the government was also damaged

• Polls revealed that approval of government fell from 80% to 33% after Nixon’s resignation

New Reforms

Post-Watergate Government Reforms

Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments (1974)

Set limits on campaign contributions, provided partial federal funding for presidential campaigns, created the Federal Election Commission to enforce these laws

Freedom of Information Act Amendments (1974)

Penalized government officials who withheld documents illegally

Government in the Sunshine Act (1976) Opened meetings of many government agencies to the public.

Ethics in Government Act of 1978 Required financial disclosure forms from public officials, restricted government officials’ ability to lobby, created the office of special prosecutor

• Congress enacted reforms reestablish the public’s confidence in government and to prevent future abuses of power

Strength of the Nation

• The Watergate affair demonstrated that we could endure a crisis

• Showed the strength of our checks and balances system

• Demonstrated that no one, not even our president, was above the law.