CHAPTER 31: A
SEARCH FOR ORDER
Big Picture: Following the Vietnam War,
Americans searched for order but their
political leaders stumbled badly. President
Nixon, accused of covering up a crime, was
forced to resign. President Carter was denied
a second term for failing to provide strong
leadership in relations with Iran and the
Soviet Union.
CHAPTER 31 SECTION
1: THE NIXON YEARS
Main Idea: Beyond the ongoing
turmoil of the Vietnam War, the
Nixon administration did enjoy
some notable success.
Nixon’s Politics and Domestic Policies
Nixon the Conservative
The Southern Strategy
• Nixon had a reputation as a strong
conservative and tough on
communism
• He believed that government had
grown too big under Democrats
and wanted to return power to the
states through a plan called New
Federalism
• A key part of this plan was
revenue sharing: the federal
government would give states
block grants to spend with more
freedom instead of telling them
exactly what to spend the money
on
• Nixon wanted to appeal to white
Southerners upset about civil
rights gains
• His goal was to slow down
integration to encourage white
Southerners to vote Republican
• During his tenure, most
traditionally Democratic Southern
states began voting Republican
Nixon’s Politics and Domestic Policies
Drugs and Crime
The Other Side of Nixon
• Nixon believed the government
was not doing enough to combat
drug use and crime
• He was concerned about giving
the accused too many rights and
limiting the power of the police to
combat crime
• He appoints several conservative
judges to promote his more
conservative views
• Even though Nixon was a
champion for conservative causes,
he was willing to take a more
liberal stance in some issues
• He increased funding for food
stamps
• He also increased payments for
Social Security
Nixon’s Politics and Domestic Policies
Nixon’s Environmentalism
Other Nixon policies
• 1962: Rachel Carson publishes
Silent Spring about the harmful
effects of chemicals like pesticides
on the natural world
• 1970: Earth Day launched to share
ideas about environmental
protection
• 1970: Clean Air Act: regulated
levels of air pollution by factories
and other sources like cars
• Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA): enforces government laws
and regulations about pollution
• 1970: Occupational Health and
Safety Administration (OHSA):
works to prevent work related
injury and illness through safety
standards and training
• Also encouraged affirmative action
for the hiring of minorities and
women
Nixon’s Foreign Policy
Realpolitik and Détente
Nixon in China
• Nixon changes from containment
to realpolitik: basing foreign policy
decisions on power and on what is
best for the US, not ideology (deal
with the most powerful countries,
ignore those that are weak)
• Détente: easing tensions with old
Cold War enemies
• Began talks with the USSR that led
to the signing of the Strategic
Arms Limitations Treaty 1 (SALT1)
reducing the number of nuclear
weapons the US and USSR built
• Nixon wanted to improve relations
with China to increase US trade
and put pressure on the Soviets
• Nixon had to be careful because
the US never formally recognized
the communists government in
China, only the exiled nationalist
government based in Taiwan
• 1972 Nixon travels to China
establishing trade and putting
pressure on the Soviets to sign
SALT I
Trouble in the Middle East
Oil Embargo
• US sided with Israel in conflicts with its
Arab nation neighbors like the Six-Day
War and the Yom Kippur War (both US
and USSR intervened)
• During the Yom Kippur War in 1973,
OPEC placed an embargo on oil
exports to the US (1/3 of US oil came
from OPEC)
• Gas prices rose sharply and shortages
were common
• Higher gas prices also meant higher
prices for everything due to increased
cost of production and
transportation
Kissinger and shuttle diplomacy
• National Security Advisor Henry
Kissinger used shuttle diplomacy
(traveling to all of the countries
involved in the crisis) to work out
an agreement to end the fighting
and the embargo
• There were separate deals
between Israel and Egypt & Israel
and Syria
• Eventually both the conflict and
the embargo came to an end
Major Events At Home
Space Achievements
Inflation and Price Controls
• Major goal of NASA was a manned
moon mission
• July 1969: Apollo 11 sends Neil
Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and
Michael Collins to the moon
• Armstrong is first man to walk on
the moon  millions of Americans
watched on TV
• As Nixon approached re-election in
1972, he faced major economic
trouble
• Both inflation and unemployment
were high
• To try to halt inflation, in August of
1971, Nixon instituted a 90-day
price and wage freeze
• This worked during the freeze, but
prices continued to rise after the
freeze ended
CHAPTER 31 SECTION
2: FROM WATERGATE
TO FORD
MAIN IDEA: The Nixon presidency
became bogged down in scandal,
leading to the first presidential
resignation in American history and
the administration of Gerald Ford.
The Election of 1972
• Nixon was very concerned about his re-election in 1972 and wanted to do
everything possible to win
• Ehrlichman and Hadleman created a group called the “Plumbers” tasked
with digging up dirt on Nixon’s opponents
• When Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers criticizing Nixon’s handling
of Vietnam, they broke into his psychiatrist’s office to find information to
damage his credibility
• Early 1972, Nixon’s team breaks into the Democratic Party headquarters at
Watergate to collect information on their election strategy and to bug the
phones
• They were caught and two reporters with the Washington Post, Bernstein
and Woodward investigated the break-in and found links to the White
House
• At first, not many people paid attention and Nixon was re-elected
The Scandal Unfolds
The Washington Post Digs
• Feb 1973: seven men connected to
the break-in go to prison for their
crimes
• During the trials, details emerge
pointing to other White House
officials involved in the break-in
• Washington Post continued to
report and the public took
increasing interest
• Nixon announces his own
investigation in April- several
members of the administration are
fired or resign, including Erlichman
and Haldeman
• Congress asks for an independent
investigation headed by Archibald
Cox
Butterfield’s Bombshell
• May- Senate committee begins its
own investigation with televised
hearings
• Major question was “What did the
President know and when did he
know it?”
• John Dean told the committee that
he spoke with Nixon about the
break-in and cover up many times
• July 1973- former presidential aide
Butterfield revealed that Nixon
tape-recorded all conversations in
his offices
The Scandal Unfolds
Saturday Night Massacre
Crisis and Resignation
• Nixon refused to give investigators
access to the tapes, claiming
executive privilege- he had the right
to keep his conversations private to
ensure open and honest advice
• Nixon goes on TV, asserts to the
public “I am not a crook.”
• White House eventually releases
tapes, but 18 min are missing
• People began calling for
impeachment (formal charges of
criminal activity)
• Spring 1974: Nixon releases
transcripts of tapes…not good
enough
• Supreme Court orders Nixon to turn
over tapes (Nixon v. US)
• House Judiciary Committee votes to
bring impeachment charges to the
full house
• August 8, 1974: Nixon resigns
• Any conversation about Watergate
is not protected by executive
privilege- subpoenas are issued for
the tapes
• Saturday Night Massacre: Nixon
orders attorney general Richardson
to fire Cox, he refused and resigned,
as did his assistant…3 rd ranking
official agrees to fire Cox
Gerald Ford’s Presidency
• Nixon’s VP Spiro Agnew had been
forced to resign earlier over tax
evasion charges
• House Republican leader Gerald
Ford took over for Agnew and
became president when Nixon
resigned
• Ford promised a time of national
healing, but angered many
Americans when he granted Nixon
a full pardon
• Ford attempted to tackle inflation
by cutting government spending,
but ran into opposition because
Democrats controlled Congress
• They pass several new spending
bills
• Ford was also blocked when trying
to send additional aid to South
Vietnam
• Communist North Vietnam takes
over the entire country
• Ford also unable to send aid to
forces fighting communist rule in
Angola
• Ford attempted to continue policy
of détente and realpolitk, kept
Kissinger as Secretary of State
• Relations with Soviet Union
continue to improve
• Ford faced serious political
problems and barely got the
nomination from the Republicans
in 1976
CHAPTER 31 SECTION
3: CARTER’S
PRESIDENCY
MAIN IDEA: Jimmy Carter used his
reputation for honesty to win the
presidency in 1976, but he soon met
challenges that required other
qualities as well.
Challenges Face the Nation
The Economy and Energy
Environmental Concerns
• Carter was elected due to his deep
faith and his Washington outsider
reputation
• Kept his campaign promise to
pardon Vietnam draft dodgers
• Carter was unable to bring down
rising inflation, but had more
success in energy policy
• Created the Department of Energy
• He reduced energy consumption by
increasing fuel efficiency standards
• Reduced dependence on foreign oil
by lifting regulations on domestic oil
production
• Also invested in alternative energy
sources like wind and solar
• Carter also believed conservation of
energy would reduce pollution
• passed the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act setting aside
100 million acres in Alaska and
doubled the size of the national
parks and wildlife refuge system
• 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear
facility in PA suffered a partial
meltdown
• Love Canal NY discovered toxic
chemicals buried in the
neighborhood yards
• The state bought all 200 homes and
the federal government cleaned up
the toxic mess
Carter’s Foreign Policy
A focus on Human Rights/Soviet Relations
• Carter had no previous foreign
policy experience
• Wanted to focus on human rightsmaking sure that all nations gave
their people freedoms
• Appointed 1st African American to
the UN- Andrew Young
• Criticized the Soviet Union’s
restrictions on free speech
• Soviet Union refused to reform
• US and USSR were still able to sign
SALT II in 1979 limiting certain
types of nuclear weapons
Panama, China, and the Camp David
Accords
• 1977 Carter signs a treaty with
Panama agreeing to turn over
control of the Panama Canal to
Panama in 1999
• 1979 Carter officially recognizes
the communist government in
China
• Carter’s greatest foreign policy
achievement was the Camp David
Accords: a peace agreement
between Israel (Menachem Begin)
and Egypt (Anwar al-Sadat)
International Crises
Soviets Invade Afghanistan
• 1978- government of Afghanistan
overthrown and communist
government backed by USSR takes
over
• When that government was
threatened with a coup in 1979,
the Soviets invade to prop up the
government
• US responds by blocking shipment
of grain to USSR and boycotting
the 1980 Olympics in Moscow
• Many thought the action was too
weak
Iranian Hostage Crisis
• 1979- the Shah of Iran is overthrown
and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini,
an Islamist leader comes to power
• His message was strongly antiAmerican
• When the US allowed the shah to
come to the US for cancer
treatment, Iranians attacked the Us
embasy and took 52 Americans
hostage
• They were held for 444 days– Carter
is unable to get them released
(major foreign policy failure)
• This leads to his failure to win reelection in 1980 (hostages released
minutes after Reagan takes the oath
of office)