Chapter 39
The Stalemated Seventies
AP Notes
Objectives….

Describe Nixon’s policies toward the war in Vietnam, the Soviet Union, and
Communist China

Examine the conflicts created by the secret bombing of Cambodia, the
American withdrawal from Vietnam, and the “new isolationism” represented by
the War Powers Act
Who was Richard M. Nixon?

Shy and remote

Born into poverty – always felt an outsider

Often seemed stiff and lacking in humor and charm

Few close friends – spent time with family at estates in Cal. and Fla. (lavishly
redone at government expense)
Nixon’s Vice President?

Spiro T. Agnew

Treated dissent as treason

Called the media “an effete corps of impudent snobs” and “nattering nabobs
of negativism”
The Democratic candidates?

Hubert H. Humphrey (LBJ’s Vice President)

Edmund Muskie the senator from Maine
American Independent Party?

George Wallace – Alabama governor

“Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!”

Against school busing, antiwar demonstrations, urban uprisings

Running mate – Curtis LeMay proposed nuclear weapons in Vietnam –
“bomb the North Vietnamese back to the Stone Age”
Henry Kissinger

National Security Council Advisor 1969-1973

U.S. could not appear weak and retain global leadership

Shaped Nixon’s foreign policy
Vietnamization…

1968 – Nixon said he had a plan to end the war – but wouldn’t explain

Remove Am. forces and replace with S. Vietnamese
o 1968 – 543,000
o 1972 – 39,000

Did not want to lose – resumed bombing of N. Vietnam

Widened the war beyond Vietnam

Nixon spoke of “peace with honor” while the US continued bombing
campaigns into Laos and Cambodia to cut supply lines

Nixon appealed to the “silent majority”
My Lai Massacre…

In Nov. 1969 Americans learned of the massacre of 504 of S. Vietnamese
civilians – mostly women, children, and elderly

Lt. William Caley, Jr. was the leader of the platoon responsible

Caley was court-martialed and convicted of premeditated murder
Extending the war beyond Vietnam…

Cambodia – communist camps from which the enemy was mounting attacks on
South Vietnam

U.S. announced bombing of Cambodia in April, 1970

Fresh wave of protests on college campuses –

Largest series of student demonstrations in U.S. history
Kent State University

May 2, 1970 – student protesters burnt down the ROTC building

Gov. Rhodes sent Ohio National Guard to Kent State

May 4 – classes were held – guardsmen were on campus – 200 students and
protestors

After several confrontations – guard opened fire on crowd
Campus unrest…

4 students killed at Kent State – 9 wounded

May 14 – Jackson State University – state troopers shot 2 students and
wounded 12

900 college campuses closed down after shootings

37 college and University presidents signed a letter calling for war’s end

100,000 march on Washington
The Hardhats…

Construction workers

Building and Trades Council
o 100,000 members held rally supporting government
o
broke up an anti-war rally

Many Americans supported the National Guard and felt the students “got
what they deserved”
The War Continued…

1971 Nixon directed S. Vietnamese to invade Laos to cut supplies –
defeated

1972 Nixon ordered the mining of N. Vietnamese harbors and bombing of
Cambodia and N. Vietnam

December, 1972, Kissinger met in Paris with Le Duc Tho

Cease-fire

Withdrawal of U.S. troops

Return of U.S. prisoners of war
The war…

Nixon unleashed the “Christmas Bombings” of Hanoi and Haiphong,
100,000 bombs over 11 days

Jan 27, 1973 an agreement was reached

On March 29, 1973 the last US troops left for home

February 12, 1973 - Operation Homecoming begins the release of 591
American POWs from Hanoi

April, 1973 -The last soldiers arrive home from Vietnam
The Fall of Saigon

Within months of the US departure the cease fire was broken

In March 1975 North Vietnamese launched a full scale invasion

The US sent $ to South Vietnam but no troops

Pres. Ford did not want another nightmare

On April 30th, 1975 North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon - renamed
Ho Chi Minh City
What was the Vietnam legacy?

No victory parades for Vietnam Vets

Many faced bitterness and hostility

Many had debilitating injuries and drug dependencies

15% or 3.3 million soldiers developed post traumatic stress disorder

58,000 US troops were killed

$150 billion

Millions of Vietnamese were killed -chemicals like agent orange have polluted
the environment and caused birth defects and cancer, 400,000 re-educated by
the communists

The Communists forced 1.5 million people out of Vietnam - 50,000 boat
people perished

Cambodia’s civil war in which Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot killed 3 million
Cambodians

The US abolished the draft

In Nov. 1973 Congress passed The War Powers Act in which the President
must inform Congress within 48 hrs. of sending forces

Troops cannot remain longer than 90 days without authorization from
Congress

In 1982 the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was unveiled in Washington DC
Nixon’s Foreign Policy

Kissinger promoted the idea of the “realpolitik” - political realism (Foreign
policy is based on consolidation of power)

US should confront and deal with the powerful nations
(Negotiations/Militarily)

Nixon and Kissinger had a flexible approach in dealing with communists

Pushed for “détente” or a relaxing of Cold War tensions
“Playing the China Card”

“Ping-pong” diplomacy began in 1971

Take advantage of the rift between the China and the USSR

Feb., 1972 – Nixon visited China -symbolic - opened up diplomatic and
economic relations

Major shift in U.S. foreign policy

Both would cooperate and participate in scientific and cultural exchanges
Nixon’s Visit to the USSR

In May 1972, President to visit Moscow

Nixon met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev

They signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) - limited
ICBM’s and sub missiles to 1972 levels

Nixon offered to sell $ 1 billion in wheat crop to the USSR

Détente
“Shuttle Diplomacy”

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger traveled between Middle Eastern
countries

In January 1974 Egypt and Israel signed a peace accord

In May Israel signed a cease fire with Syria
The Apollo 11 Launch

July 16, 1969

Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins & Buzz Aldrin

Man Walks on the Moon!
Objectives…

Analyze Nixon’s domestic policies, his appeal to the “silent majority,” his
opposition to the “Warren Court,” his “southern strategy,” and his landslide
victory against George McCgovern in 1972…
Nixon appealed to the “silent majority”

Appealed to hostility toward protestors and counterculture

Americans who worked, paid taxes, and did not protest

“People who love their country”

Restore law and order
Nixon promised…

To appoint federal judges who would undercut liberal civil rights
interpretations and be tough on crime

To role back the Great Society

Restore law and order
Southern Strategy?

Democrats alienated the South – Civil Rights Act of 1964

Sunbelt – retirement communities and rise of high tech industries  growing
pop.

Military bases, defense plants, and increasing influence of Protestant
evangelism  conservative region
Nixon’s New Conservatism

Nixon was determined to turn the US into a more conservative direction with
a sense of order

The US was intensely divided over Nam

Nixon felt LBJ’s Great Society programs gave the federal gov. too much
power

Two Sides to Nixon’s New Federalism

The Nixon Administration
o increased Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare
o made food stamps more accessible
o Subsidized housing for the poor
o Oversaw creation of Environmental Protection Agency and the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
o Supported Family Assistance Plan (guaranteeing minimal income for the
poor- defeated in the Senate)
And the other side….

Nixon tried to eliminate the Job Corps, and in 1970 he denied funding for
(HUD)

By 1973 Nixon had impounded more than $15 billion in funds for housing,
health, and education (Courts overturned the impounding)

Nixon abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity
Law and Order Politics

He played to the “silent majority”

Nixon used the FBI and CIA to investigate American dissidents and
political enemies

The IRS was used to audit anti-war and civil rights activists returns

Nixon had a “enemies list” of who to harass

VP Agnew attacked liberals, the media, and anti-war protestors ( Pit-bull)
What was Stagflation?
Inflation…..
Stagnant economy……
What factors contributed to stagnation?

Presence of women and teenagers in job market….

Declining investment in new capital

Cost of government safety and health regulations

Shift – manufacturing  services

Vietnam War…

International economic competition….
What factors contributed to inflation?

Vietnam War + Great Society – inflationary spending with no check (higher
taxes) – put money in people’s hands but fewer goods

Drastic increase in the price of oil
Oil problems?

OPEC raised the price of oil in 1960s

The Six Days War in 1967

The 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and Egypt and Syria

The US military aid to Israel  Arab OPEC nations cut oil sales to the
US (Oil Embargo)

By 1974 price increased 4x

Major gas lines and shortages in the US early, mid 1970s
Nixon Battles Stagflation…

To reduce deficit - raised taxes and cut the budget (Congress opposed)

Tried to reduce the inflation by pushing for higher interest rates

Took the US off the gold standard

In 1971 froze wages, rents, fees and prices for 90 days-it helped temporality
but the recession continued
The Environment…

Nixon supported the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)

Improved the Clean Air Act of 1963

Supported the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1970

In 1973 the Endangered Species Act was passed

Membership in the Sierra Club took off due to new concerns over the
environment

On April 2d, 1970 the first Earth Day was held
The 1972 Election
George McGovern
Liberal Democrat

Anti-war…

Reduce in defense spending

$6,500 minimum income

ERA Amendment & abortion

Amnesty for draft evaders
Results of the 1968 Election
Elector/ % Pop Vote
Nixon:
520… 60.7%
McGovern: 17… 37.5%
Objectives….

Discuss the Watergate scandals and Nixon’s resignation….
The Imperial Presidency

Nixon expanded the power of the Presidency with little thought of
Constitutional Checks

Impoundment of funds for fed. programs

Invading Cambodia without the approval of Congress

Nixon felt the office of the Presidency was above the law

The President’s Men

Fierce loyal advisors
•H.R. Haldeman –Chief of staff
•John Ehrlichman – Chief Domestic Advisor
•John N Mitchell – Attorney General
•John W. Dean III – White House Council
Nixon’s dirty tricks…

Nixon used the FBI to gather info on political rivals

Manufactured, irrelevant, cruel & incorrect rumors

Nixon laundered $ to accept illegal campaign contributions
Hunt and Liddy
Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP or CREEP)
A private group supporting RMN by using its money to pay for & later cover up
"dirty tricks”
The Plumbers
July, 1971

RMN’s covert White House group

Established to stop info from leaking to the media

Employed by CREEP… Responsible for Watergate
The Pentagon Papers

A secret study prepared by the D of D - Analysis & summary of U.S.
political & military involvement in Vietnam

The PPs show that the gov. deceived the public
Daniel Ellsberg

Department of D efense employee who releases the PPs to The NY Times
The significance of the Pentagon Papers…

Eroded public support for the war & made it difficult for RMN to fight the
war

As SC case it establishes the people’s right to privileged gov. info
Ellsberg & dirty tricks…

RMN orders the D of D to prosecute

The Plumbers break into Ellsberg’s psychiatrist office seeking info. that will
discredit him

CIA is given orders to “incapacitate“ Ellsberg
Watergate

CREEP breaks into the DNC (Watergate Hotel) - 5 arrested & convicted

RMN denies knowledge
The Cover-Up

Documents were shredded in Haldeman’s office

The White House asked the CIA to urge the FBI to stop investigating the
break-in

CREEP passed out $450,000 to the burglars to buy their silence

The burglary was of little interest to the public and the press

Washington Post Reporters (Woodward & Bernstein) follow evidence back
to the oval office… “Deep Throat”
The Cover-Up Unravels

In Jan. 1973 McCord (burglar) sent a letter to Judge John Sirica (Presiding
Judge)

He lied under oath, and hinted others were involved

On April 30th, Nixon fired John Dean and announced the resignations of
Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and Attorney General Richard Kleindiest

Nixon went on TV to promote his new Attorney General Elliot Richardson
and he suggested a “Special Prosecutor” be appointed to investigate
Watergate

The Senate Investigation

Senator Sam Ervin began called Administration officials to give testimony

Dean admitted the President had been deeply involved in the cover-up (White
House denial)

Presidential Aide Alex Butterfield revealed the tapes of Oval Office
Conversations

A year long battle for the tapes began
The Saturday Night Massacre

The special prosecutor (Cox) demanded the tapes… Nixon refused claiming
“executive privilege”…

Nixon ordered Attny. Gen. Richardson to fire Cox

Richardson refused and was fired

The Deputy Attny Gen refused to fire Cox

He was fired

Solicitor General (Robert Bork) fired Cox

Nixon apptd. new special prosecutor – Jaworski
So what did Jaworski do?

He asked for the tapes

The Supreme Court ordered Nixon to turn the tapes over
The Fall of Nixon

March 1974 a Grand Jury indicted seven presidential aids on charges of
conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury

Nixon released 1,254 pages of edited transcripts

In July 1974 The Supreme Court ordered Nixon to give up the unedited
tapes “I am not a crook!”

In Aug. Nixon released the tapes with an 18.5 min. gap (Rose Mary Woods
accidentally erased the most crucial part)
The Nixon tapes reveal…

Anti-Semitic attitudes

Nixon ordering government agencies to harass private citizens

Nixon ordering the Watergate break-in & cover-up
What? No Vice –President?

10 days before the Saturday Night Massacre

Spiro Agnew resigned – accused of income tax evasion and taking bribes

Gerald Ford appointed Vice President under the 25th Amendment
Impeachment or Resignation?

The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment:
obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress

On August 8th , 1974 Nixon announced his resignation

Nixon admitted no guilt, some judgments “were wrong”

Gerald Ford was sworn in as President

Ford gave Nixon a full Presidential pardon

25 administration members served prison terms
RMN: Resigns August 9, 1974
Gerald Ford