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
lightweight
 Perfect 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 antidiscrimination 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
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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
• Scorecard
 Head Start – success
 Education 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 antiintellectual)
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 B52s
• 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
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(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 case
 Large sums had been paid to the burglars at the instigation of the White
House
 The offices of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist had been burglarized
 Large corporations had made illegal political donations to Nixon
 Wiretaps had been placed on phones of officials and journalists
Watergate
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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)