The Election of 1968
 Richard Nixon only narrowly won the 1968 election, but the combined total of popular
votes for Nixon and Wallace indicated a shift to the right in American politics.
 The 1960's began as an era of optimism and possibility but ended in disunity and
distrust.
 The Vietnam war and a series of assassinations and crises eroded public trust in
government and produced a backlash against liberal movements and the Democratic
party.
“Vietnamization” and
Withdrawal

The Paris peace talks
Nixon’s Vietnamization
policy entailed removing
U.S. troops as South
Vietnamese began to fight
1973 Paris Accords ended
direct U.S. military
involvement
North Vietnam took
Saigon in 1975 and
reunified Vietnam under a
communist government
Realpolitik

A German word meaning
“political realism”
Promoted by Henry
Kissinger
U.S. should conduct
foreign policy based on
practicality, not ideology
Change in philosophy from
communist containment
Henry Kissinger
Détente

 “Thawing” of Cold War tensions
President and Mrs. Nixon at the
Great Wall of China, 1972
during Nixon, Ford, and Carter,
and Reagan Administrations
 Included visits by Nixon to China
and USSR – Presidential
diplomacy
 Opening of China to trade
 Recognition of Communist
Chinese Government
 Several arms limitation treaties
ratified during period (SALT I and
II)
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan Interrupts Thaw
 In 1978, the USSR invaded Afghanistan
Movie poster for
Charlie Wilson’s
War about US
efforts to support
the mujahedin
and tried to set up a friendly government.
 It became the USSR’s Vietnam, a long
war with no clear victory possible and
many casualties and high costs.
The US supported the Afghani rebels
known as the mujahedin.
Mujahedin – religious guerilla fighters in the
Afghanistan mountain (similar to Viet Cong)
 In 1989 the Soviets finally withdrew.
Islamic extremists used the opportunity to
take over the country.
 The defeat weakened the Soviet’s
economy and morale.
Mujahedin became Taliban fighters!
Mujahedin celebrate the downing of a Soviet helicopter
The Oil Crisis Begins
 By the late 1950's, the demand for oil in the United States
outstripped domestic production capabilities.
 By 1970's, the US imported a third of its oil, making the American
economy vulnerable to geopolitical upsets in the Middle East.
Stagflation
 Throughout 1970's, the American
economy was plagued by the
unprecedented combination of
soaring prices, the high
unemployment, and low
economic growth.
 Economists dubbed the
phenomena "Stagflation," a period
of rising prices in a stagnant
economy.
 The high standard of living in the
US following World War II
suddenly began to lag behind that
of Western Europe and Japan.
 Americans found it increasingly
difficult to sustain a middle class
lifestyle.
Stagflation

GDP measures the total market value of all the goods
and services produced within a region. Note the sharp
decline in GDP beginning in 1973.
Stagflation

In 1975, unemployment reached almost 9%, the
highest level since the Great Depression at that time.
Oil Embargo 1973

 Oil Producing and Exporting Countries
 Saudi Arabia and others refused to sell oil to U.S.
due to its policies in Middle East
 Economic disaster, gas lines, riots
 Illustrated short-sighted policy based on nonrenewable energy controlled by foreign countries
 OPEC = Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries - is a permanent, intergovernmental
Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on
September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia and Venezuela.
The Oil Crisis Begins
 Gas prices suddenly doubled and fueling stations frequently ran out of gas.
 The oil crisis effected almost every sector of the economy .
The Oil Crisis Begins
On October 6, 1973, the
Yom Kippur War began
when Egypt and Syria
attacked Israel from two
sides.
The US airlifted supplies
to Israel, prompting
OPEC to levy an oil
embargo against Israel's
allies that lasted until
March 18, 1974.
Fuel Shortages
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpE
VUqrNa5M
Coping with the Energy
Crisis
 The oil embargo led to
dramatically increased prices
for all types of fuel, including
gasoline, home-heating fuel,
and electricity.
 Prices for virtually everything
else rose in response to high
energy costs, causing record
inflation.
 Long lines for gasoline
became everyday occurrences.
Coping with the Energy
Crisis
 President Nixon appealed to the
nation to make sacrifices in the
name of conserving energy.
 He warned that the country was
"heading toward the most acute
shortages of energy since World
War II.”
 The President asked Americans
to reduce air travel, reduce work
and school hours, turn down
thermostats by 6 degrees, and
reduce highway speed limits to
conserve energy.
Coping with the Energy
Crisis
 Nixon also urged the use of
coal and nuclear power rather
than the limited commodity
of oil.
 Alternative Energy Options
Needed!
 He asked Congress to
approve measures for
increased exploration and
extraction of domestic oil and
to relax environmental
standards that impeded
energy requirements.
Paranoid Politics - Cold War since
World War II

Nixon had “enemies list” – list of people who
objected his policies of which he was “out to get”
– Ordered tax audits on antiwar protestors and civil rights
activists
– Fired people in appointed positions within the gov’t
approval
Nixon a “Cold War Warrior”
 Time of suspicion and espionage
 Remember Alger Hiss, and the Rosenberg’s

Paranoid Politics

Before the Watergate scandals, Herb Block
was pointing out excessive use of
government power to wiretap or otherwise
investigate the activities of citizens an
administration felt were at odds with its
policies.
 In 1970, the Civil Service Commission
admitted to having a Security Investigations
Index with over 10 million entries, and the
armed forces revealed surveillance of
Americans involved in anti-Vietnam war
activities. *See next slide – Political Cartoon
- January 18, 1970
Watergate office complex where the
Democratic National Committee headquarters
were located.
A security guard noticed an exit door had been taped to keep the
latch open. He removed the tape but on his second round found
that it had been retaped and called the police.
The Watergate Break-in
 When initial polls showed
Nixon in the Election of 1972,
the Plumbers turned their
activities to political
espionage.
 On 17 June 1972, 5 men were
arrested while attempting to
bug the headquarters of the
Democratic Party inside the
Watergate building in
Washington D.C.
 One of the men arrested,
James McCord, was the head
of security for the Republican
Party.
 The Nixon campaign denied
any involvement.
When police
arrived, they
found five
burglars who
were attempting
to bug the offices
of the Democratic
National
Headquarters.
All five men
worked for the
Committee to
Reelect the
President,
President Richard
Nixon's campaign
committee.
Seized wiretapping evidence
The Election of 1972
 Despite the growing stain of Watergate, which had not yet reached the
President, Nixon won by the largest margin in history to that point.
Woodward, Bernstein and the
Washington Post
 Watergate came to public attention largely through the work of Bob
Woodward and Carl Bernstein, investigative reporters from the
Washington Post.
 Despite enormous political pressure, Post editor Ben Bradlee, publisher
Katherine Graham, Woodward and Bernstein, aided by an enigmatic
source nicknamed “Deepthroat” kept the story in the public
consciousness until Nixon’s resignation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHnmriyXYeg (watergate explained)
Watergate Enters the Nixon
Campaign
 The break-in was eventually
tied to the Nixon reelection
campaign through a $25,000
check from a Republican donor
that was laundered through a
Mexican bank and deposited in
the account of Watergate
burglar Bernard Barker.
 Later it was discovered that
Former Attorney General John
Mitchell, head of Nixon’s
“Committee to Re-Elect the
President,” (CREEP) controlled
a secret fund for political
espionage.
 Mitchell would later go to
prison for his role in the scandal
The Watergate Investigations:
Judge John Sirica
 Watergate came to be investigated
by a Special Prosecutor, a Senate
committee, and by the judge in the
original break-in case.
 Judge Sirica refused to believe that
the burglars had acted alone.
 In March 1973, defendant James W.
McCord sent a letter to Sirica
confirming that it was a conspiracy.
 Sirica’s investigation transformed
Watergate from the story of a “thirdrate burglary” to a scandal reaching
the highest points in government.
“Maximum John”
Senate Investigation and
the Oval Office Tapes
 The Senate began hearings into Watergate
in May 1973.
 The hearings were televised in their
entirety.
 They focused on when the President knew
of the break-in.
 In June 1973, former White House legal
counsel John Dean delivered devastating
testimony that implicated Nixon from the
earliest days of Watergate.
Howard Baker
Sam Irvin
U.S. v Nixon, July 1974
During the investigation it was revealed that there were audio
tapes from the White House. Nixon claimed executive privilege in
an attempt to keep the tapes secret, however the Supreme Court
ruled that executive privilege did not apply in criminal cases and
ordered Nixon to surrender the subpoenaed White House tapes to
John Sirica, U.S. District Court Chief Judge. The tapes revealed
widespread involvement, including by the President.
The Smoking Gun Tapes
 When the Supreme Court forced Nixon to
surrender the tapes.
 Nixon was implicated from the earliest days of
the cover-up:
 authorizing the payment of hush money
 attempting to use the CIA to interfere with
the FBI investigation.
 One tape had an 18 ½ minute gap.
 Nixon’s secretary Rosemary Woods
demonstrated how she could have
inadvertently erased the tape, but no one
bought it.
 “The smoking gun tapes,” were released in
August 1974, just after the House Judiciary
Committee approved Articles of Impeachment
against Nixon.
The 22 month investigation involved the press,
House of Representatives, Senate, special
prosecutors, and the Supreme Court; it uncovered
covert action on the part of the president and his
advisers.
The Watergate break-in and cover-up led to
the resignation of several members of the
government.
Halderman,
Chief of Staff
Pictured: Front Row: Donald Rumsfeld, Sec. of Transportation John
Volpe, Sec. of Commerce Peter Peterson, Sec. of Defense Melvin
Laird, Richard M. Nixon, Sec. of State William Rogers, Sec. of the
Interior Rogers C.B. Morton, Sec. of HEW Elliot Richardson, Director
of OMB Casper Weinberger Back Row: Robert Finch, Sec. of HUD
George Romney, Sec. of Agriculture Earl Butz, Sec. of the Treasury
George Shultz, Vice President Spiro Agnew, Attorney General
Richard Kleindienst, Sec. of Labor James Hodgson, Ambassador at
large David Kennedy, Ambassador to the UN George Bush.
Ruckelshaus,
Deputy Attorney
General
Ehrlichman,
Assistant to
the President
for Domestic
Affairs
Dean, Counsel to
the President
By July 14, 1974, President Richard Nixon stood
almost alone. His vice-president Spiro Agnew,
pleaded nolo contendere to a charge of tax evasion, and
was forced to resign. Many of Nixon's closest aides
had been convicted of illegal activities. Nixon himself
was named an "un-indicted co-conspirator" by the
Watergate grand jury. A few days later, the House
Judiciary Committee recommended impeachment,
and the Supreme Court required him to turn over all
subpoenaed tapes. When even his closest friends,
reviewing these tapes, agreed that the evidence
against him was overwhelming, Nixon bowed to the
inevitable, resigning on August 9.

Nixon Resigns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE
OGJJ7UKFM
 On 27 July 1974, the House
Judiciary Committee approved
Articles of Impeachment
against Nixon.
 The House was to vote on the
matter soon.
 Nixon conceded that
impeachment in the House
was likely, but he believed
that the Senate vote to remove
him would fail.
 On 5 August 1974, when the
“smoking gun tape” became
public, a delegation from the
Republican National
Committee told Nixon that he
would not survive the vote in
the Senate.
 On 9 August 1974, Richard
Nixon became the first
American president to resign.
The Nixon’s
left the White
House.
Nixon was forced to resign the
presidency on August 9, 1974 because of
the Watergate scandal. Gerald Ford was
appointed Vice President and later
became president after the corrupt Spiro
Agnew resigned.
1974 to 1981
Gerald R. Ford became 38th President,
August 9, 1974
Ford immediately damaged his
Presidency by granting Nixon a pardon.
Ford announced the pardon
Aftermath
Ford announcing the pardon
 More than 30 government officials went to prison for their role in
Watergate.
 Richard Nixon was not one of them.
 In September 1974, President Gerald Ford gave Nixon a full pardon.
 Woodward and Bernstein won the Pulitzer Prize.
 They collaborated on 2 books, All the President’s Men and The Final Days.
 In 1976 All the President’s Men was adapted into an Oscar winning film.
 The identity of Deepthroat was kept secret until W. Mark Felt unmasked
himself in 2005.
25th Amendment
Amendment XXV- deals with succession to the Presidency and
establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of
the VP , as well as responding to Presidential disabilities.

 Section 1.
 In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death
or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.
 Section 2.
 Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President,
the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take
office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of
Congress.
 Section 3.
 Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his
written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and
duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written
declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be
discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
I.) Tough Road Ahead
A. President Ford faces:

1. Rough Economy
a. high inflation
b. high unemployment
c. energy problems
d. public distrust of president
e. renewed faith in constitution
On the Watergate Scandal:
“ Our long national nightmare is over”
After becoming vice president:
“I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln”
II.) Ford’s Policy

A. September 8, 1974: President Ford
pardon’s Nixon (Limits of
executive privilege questioned)
B. Economy:
1. “Whip Inflation Now” (WIN):
Ford calls Americans to cut back
use of oil and gas
2. “Tight Money Policy”: cut govt.
spending & higher interest rates
Outcome: worst economic
recession in 40 years
C. Foreign Policy:

1. Henry Kissinger remains secretary of state
2. Détente: negotiates with China & Soviet Union
3. Helsinki Accords: 35 nations agree to cooperation
Outcome: Ford’s greatest accomplishment
4. 1975 - South Vietnam surrenders to Communism
- Congress sends no aide
III.) Election of 1976

Republican Nominee:
Democrat Nominee:
Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
“I will never lie to
the American
people”
Election Day Results: Jimmy Carter wins with 40.8
million votes to Gerald Fords 39.1 million
IV.) Carter Faces Problems
A. Energy Crisis:
1. reliance on foreign oil
Outcome: National Energy Act of 1979

B. Economic Crisis:
1. violence in Middle East produces fuel shortage in U.S.
2. inflation rises from 7.6% to 11.3% in 1979; 14% 1980
3. Standard of living goes from 1st to 5th place in world
3. Changing Economy
a. less manufacturing and more service jobs
b. overseas competition

V.) Carter’s Policy

A. Civil Rights:
1. administration include
more African-Americans and
women than any before
2. Regents of UC v. Bakke (pg 726)
B. Human Rights & Foreign Policy:
1. rejected “Realpolitik”
2. used moral principles as guide (Wilson)
3. commited to promoting human rights
V.) Carter’s
Policy

C. Establishing Human Rights Foreign Policy:
1. 1977 U.S. & Panama Treaty
(U.S. give up ownership of Panama Canal Dec. 31. 1999)
Outcome: improves U.S.-Latin American relations
2. Carters human rights policies end Détente & raise Cold War tensions
a. Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
b. SALT II signed by Carter/Brezhnev but not ratified by Senate
V.) Carter’s Policy

D. Camp David Accords:
1. 1977: peace negotiations begin between Israel
(Menachem Begin) and Egypt (Anwar el-Sadat)
2. 1978: Carter, Sadat, & Begin meet at Camp David
& agree to agreement
-
Israel withdraws from Sinai
& Egypt recognizes Israel
E.
Iran Hostage Crisis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w4Ku6l7OEI (Iran Revolution History)
1. Jan. 1979: revolution in Iran
overthrows the shah of Iran with
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
2. Nov. 4, 1979: 66 Americans taken
hostage from U.S. embassy in
Tehran
3. 13 released (women and A-A)
4. Outcome: negotiations for 444
days result in release Jan. 20, 1981
on Reagan’s first day as president
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8b
C1DEYbI4 (abc news report)
