The Presidency of Richard Nixon

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The Presidency of Richard Nixon
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The Republican Resurgence
Nixon was the first candidate to appreciate the
new importance of the Sunbelt military
bases, high-tech industries, retirement
communities, anti-segregationists made the South
more conservative than before

• In 1968, Republicans benefited from the Vietnam
  disaster division in the Democratic party
• Richard Nixon (R) ran as the one candidate who
  could restore order in America
• Humphrey (D) was plagued by anti-war protesters
• George Wallace (3rd) attacked blacks liberals

Nixon claimed to represent the silent majority
who worked, paid taxes, did not protest
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The End of an Era

• The presidential election of 1968 ended 30 years
  of
• Liberal reformAmericans began to favor
  conservative political leaders
• Activist foreign policyVietnam proved that
  Containment failed to be applied to global scale
• A silent majority seemed fed up with protest,
  violence, long hair, drug use, sexual
  promiscuity

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Foreign Policy

• Nixon proved to be an effective foreign-policy
  president
• Most foreign policy decisions were made by Nixon
  National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger
• Developed a plan for détente
• An honorable exit from Vietnam
• Using U.S. trade to induce cooperation from the
  USSR
• Improved relations with China

Nixon hoped for a relaxing of Cold War tensions
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Ending the Vietnam War
These bombings were conducted without the consent
or approval of Congress
In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act
requiring Congress approval to send U.S. forces
into combat for more than 90 days must inform
Congress within 48 hours as to the reasons for
military intervention

• Nixons plan for an honorable peace was
  Vietnamization
• Gradual withdraw of U.S. troops
• Handing over the fighting to South Vietnamese
  troops
• Privately, Nixon hoped for a knockout blow
  ordered U.S. troops into Cambodia Laos
• The effect was the largest series of protests in
  American history

Protests at Kent State Jackson State resulted
in bloody confrontations between students
National Guard
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Ending the Vietnam War

• In January 1973, the U.S. North Vietnam agreed
  to a cease fire
• By March 1973, U.S. troops were withdrawn
• By 1975, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon
  fell Vietnam became unified under the Communist
  government
• Vietnam proved Containment could not be sustained

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In Search of Détente

• In Feb 1972, Nixon became 1st U.S. president to
  visit recognize the Peoples Republic of China
• These improved Sino-American relations helped
  eased Cold War tensions forced the USSR to
  consider diplomacy with the U.S.
• Presented the U.S. with its 1st economic access
  to China

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In Search of Détente
Butthe SALT treaty did not target the
construction of Multiple Independently Targeted
Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs)

• Nixon traveled to Moscow to meet with Soviet
  leader Brezhnev
• The U.S. agreed to sell the USSR 1 billion worth
  of grain
• USSR agreed to Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
  (SALT), the 1st Cold War nuclear arms treaty
• Kissinger negotiated an end to the Yom Kippur War
  in 1973 between Israel Egypt

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Shuttle Diplomacy
In diplomacy and international relations, shuttle
diplomacy is the action of an outside party in
serving as an intermediary between (or among)
principals in a dispute, without direct
principal-to-principal contact. Originally and
usually, the process entails successive travel
("shuttling") by the intermediary, from the
working location of one principal, to that of
another. The term was first applied to describe
the efforts of United States Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger,
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Realpolitik
The policy of Realpolitik was formally introduced
to the Richard Nixon White House by Henry
Kissinger.In this context, the policy meant
dealing with other powerful nations in a
practical manner rather than on the basis of
political doctrine or ethicsfor instance,
Nixon's diplomacy with the People's Republic of
China, despite the U.S.'s opposition to communism
and the previous doctrine of containment. Another
example is Kissinger's use of shuttle diplomacy
after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, where he
persuaded the Israelis to withdraw partially from
the Sinai in deference to the political realities
created by the oil crisis.
Realpolitik is distinct from ideological politics
in that it is not dictated by a fixed set of
rules, but instead tends to be goal-oriented,
limited only by practical exigencies. Since
realpolitik is ordered toward the most practical
means of securing national interests, it can
often entail compromising on ideological
principles.
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Nixons Covert Operations

• Despite Nixons public détente with the USSR
  China, most foreign policy was covert
• CIA funded the leaders of brutal govts in Iran,
  South Africa, the Philippines, Nicaragua
• CIA assassinated Chilean president Salvador
  Allende

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Nixons Domestic Policy

• Nixon entered office as a moderate who kept LBJs
  Great Society in place
• But, Nixon shifted responsibility for social
  problems to state local governments
• Nixon reshaped the Supreme Court along
  conservative lines when 4 justices retired

Replaced retiring chief justice Earl Warren with
Warren Burger
Nominated Harry Blackmun, Lewis
Powell, William Rehnquist
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Nixons Domestic Policy

• Nixon oversaw the creation of
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Occupational Safety Health Administration
  (OSHA)
• A failed plan to replace welfare benefits with a
  minimum income
• Quotas for minority construction firms for govt
  projects
• Ended the gold standard in 1971

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Nixonomics

• The economy was a challenge
• Nixon inherited inflation deficit spending from
  the Vietnam War
• Nixons decrease in government spending
  increase in interest rates led to the 1st
  American recession since 1958
• In 1971, Nixon responded with a 90-day freeze on
  wages prices imposed a 10 tax on imports

Democrats coined Nixonomics to describe Nixons
failed plan
This Great Nixon Turnaround ended the recession
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Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon
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Pentagon Papers
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Busing
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of
Education, (1971) was an important United States
Supreme Court case dealing with the busing of
students to promote integration in public
schools. After a first trial going to the Board
of Education, the Court held that busing was an
appropriate remedy for the problem of racial
imbalance among schools, even where the imbalance
resulted from the selection of students based on
geographic proximity to the school rather than
from deliberate assignment based on race. This
was done to ensure the schools would be
"properly" integrated and that all students would
receive equal educational opportunities
regardless of their race.
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The Election of 1972
The 1972 election saw a shift in voting patterns
Only blacks, Jews, the poor voted
overwhelmingly Democratic while the GOP continued
its dominance in the Sunbelt

• In 1972, Nixon ran for re-election
• Democrat George McGovern was
  labeled an outsider who
  supported acid, abortion, amnesty
• Nixon won in the 4th largest margin of victory in
  history
• Butthe Watergate scandal ended the Nixon
  presidency

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Watergate A Crisis of Democracy
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The Watergate Scandal

• In 1972, a break-in at Democratic candidate
  George McGoverns headquarters revealed a
  well-funded plan of espionage sabotage by the
  Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP)
• The Watergate cover-up led to Nixons resignation
  a changed American perception of the govt
  the role of the media

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The Watergate Complex
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Bob Woodward Carl Bernstein of the Washington
Post broke the Watergate story
Their investigation revealed
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The Burglars
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Formation of the Plumbers
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All the President's Men
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Daniel Ellsbergs Pentagon Papers
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Nixons Enemies List

• Jane Fonda
• Paul Newman
• Edward Kennedy
• Joe Namath
• Daniel Schorr
• Bill Cosby
• Several 100 more U.S. citizens

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The Watergate Scandal

• The Watergate scandal began to unravel in 1973
• The discovery that Nixon recorded conversations
  proved most damning
• The Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn over all
  tapes to a Senate investigative committee
• The House brought 3 articles of impeachment
  against president

Due largely to Washington Post reporters Bob
Woodward Carl Bernstein
Obstruction of justice
Abuse of power
Contempt of Congress
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Stonewalling
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The Watergate Scandal
Teddy Roosevelt began the trend of a stronger
president than Congress a trend that continued
throughout the 20th century until Nixon

• Impact of the Watergate scandal
• 26 members of Nixons administration were sent to
  jail
• The press began to be seen as a watchdog over
  the govt
• An independent judiciary branch was vital to
  protect individual freedom national interests
• Power shifted from the president to Congress

After Nixon, Congress enacted campaign finance
reform, made it easier for the Justice Dept to
investigate the Executive Branch, took back some
control of the federal budget, passed the
Freedom of Information Act, reigned in CIA
covert operations
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Conclusions Politics After Watergate

• The Watergate scandal eroded public trust in
  their own govt
• The growing tension between president Congress
  prevented strong, effective leadership from
  meeting foreign domestic problems in the 1970s
• The discontent of the 1960s 1970s revealed an
  America at war with itself

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Ranking Presidential Scandals

• Examine rank order presidential scandals in
  American history
• Ulysses Grant Crédit Mobilier Whiskey Ring
• Warren Harding Teapot Dome
• Richard Nixon Watergate
• Ronald Reagan Iran-Contra Affair
• Bill Clinton Whitewater Monica Lewinski Affair