Nixon and Vietnamization
In the fall of 1969, Nixon announced a reduction of troops in Vietnam, and by 1972, 60,000 remained on the ground.
Unfortunately, in 1970, President Richard Nixon also believed that an attack on Vietnam’s neighbor, Cambodia,
would hasten the war to an end, cutting off enemies from crossing in and out of Vietnam. The American public
erupted into mass anti-war protests once again, especially after the publication of the controversial Pentagon
Papers (later, the Court case U.S. vs. NYTimes Co.). Hoping to quell unhappy popular opinion, Nixon relied on his
policy of “Vietnamization,” or the training and equipment of the South Vietnamese military to take over the
burden of war from the U.S. After heavy bombing of Vietnam in December of 1972, a cease-fire agreement between
the United States and the North Vietnamese was signed. In February, 1973, 591 American POWs were repatriated
to the United States in "Operation Homecoming."
On February 1, 1973, however, Nixon sent a secret letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong promising
four and one half billion dollars in postwar reconstruction aid. Apparently, the Vietnamese felt they could not trust
any of the Western Powers, in part because the national elections slated to be held in 1956 had been cancelled by
U.S. intervention. On his deathbed, Ho Chi Minh allegedly said, “Don't sign the next agreement until we're certain
of the political outcome.” Vietnamese fears of the United States failing to fulfill its $4.5 billion promise were well
founded, as the United States Congress refused to approve this aid after the cease-fire in 1973. When the Watergate
scandal caused Nixon to resign from the presidency several months later, the Vietnamese were left with a broken
promise.
1) The failure of the U.S. to deliver its promise of aid may have caused what?
2) What events are causing a wedge between the American people and the government? How are the
citizens reacting?
Video questions:
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_T9ZU9f-nY
3) Why did Nixon place an emphasis on placing security in the hands of the Vietminh/South Vietnamese?
4) Why do you think Nixon wanted to place guilt on those who did not follow his Vietnamization plan?
Who/what groups was he targeting?
5) What was the “poll-tested bombing” mentioned in the video title? Why was it significant?
Nixon and China
On February 17, 1972, a crowd of thousands gathered on the White
House lawn for a historic send-off. For Richard Milhous Nixon, the
trip to Beijing would be the journey of a lifetime. He would be the
first U.S. president to go to China. "He knew that for this flight,"
wrote the New York Times, "no matter what else occurred, he would
always be remembered." A former member of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, he rose to national prominence for
his role in the Alger Hiss espionage case, quickly establishing his
reputation as a hard-line anti-Communist. It is no small irony that
the man who accused the Truman administration of "losing" China
to the Communists in 1949 would be responsible for establishing friendly relations with the People's Republic
of China some 20 years later.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1950, Nixon was chosen by Dwight D. Eisenhower as his vice-presidential
running mate. The ticket swept into office in 1952, and was re-elected four years later. As vice-president,
Nixon traveled extensively and took an active interest in U.S. foreign affairs. However, Nixon's loss in 1960 to
John F. Kennedy -- the closest presidential race in U.S. history-- was followed by a stinging defeat in the 1962
California gubernatorial election. However, by 1968 Nixon became the nation's 37th president, elected largely
on his campaign promise of a speedy end to the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam. He hoped to get
American troops out in six months. In the end, it took more than four years; Nixon's critics accused him of
widening and prolonging the conflict in Southeast Asia. While the U.S. did ultimately withdraw from Vietnam
during Nixon's tenure, the resolution was far from the "peace with honor" he had promised.
Nixon entered the White House in 1969 eager to create a more responsive, more efficient system of government
at home and a new role for the U.S. abroad. In the domestic sphere, he called for a “New Federalism,” a
movement of money and power toward states and away from the federal government. In the foreign policy
arena, Nixon sought to establish a more stable balance of power with the USSR and China. Along with his
national security adviser Henry Kissinger, Nixon's pursuit of détente (easing of hostilities) with the USSR
ultimately paid off in the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) agreement of 1972. In 1967, writing in
Foreign Affairs, Nixon cautioned that continuing to ignore China was both unrealistic and unwise: "...we
simply cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations, there to nurture its fantasies, cherish
its hates, and threaten its neighbors." Upon assuming office, Nixon had Secretary of State William Rogers
announce that the U.S. favored increased cultural and scientific exchanges with the People's Republic of China
(PRC), loosened trade and visa restrictions, and began pulling U.S. troops out of Vietnam and military bases
near China.
One of the first public hints of improved U.S.-China relations came in April 1971, when the American pingpong team, in Japan for the World Table Tennis Championship, received a
surprise invitation from their Chinese colleagues for an all-expense paid
visit to the People's Republic. Time magazine called it "The ping heard
round the world." On April 10, nine players, four officials, and two spouses
stepped across a bridge from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland, ushering
in an era of "Ping-Pong diplomacy." They were the first group of
Americans allowed into the PRC since the Communist takeover in 1949,
ending the information blockade. Chinese Premier Chou En-lai noted, “You
have opened a new chapter in the relations of the American and Chinese
people…I am confident that this beginning again of our friendship will
certainly meet with majority support of our two peoples.”
That same day, the U.S. announced plans to remove a 20-year embargo on
trade with China. Despite the public warming trend, Nixon kept secret his
plans to visit China until 1972, when he became the first American
president to visit China. The highly televised mission in February 1972 was
the crown jewel of the president’s career -- and his most lasting success.
"The week that changed the world," as he called it, was enormously popular with the American public, and
helped Nixon gain a landslide re-election in 1972. Unfortunately, Nixon's China initiatives were soon
overshadowed by the Watergate scandal. On August 9, 1974, with an impeachment trial imminent, Nixon
became the only president in American history to resign from office. It took until 1979, with the establishment
of full U.S. diplomatic relations with China, to see Nixon's groundwork brought to fruition.
QUESTIONS:
1. Why was Nixon’s push to establish a relationship with China a surprise?
2. What was “ping pong diplomacy” and how did it influence U.S.-China relations?
3. Nixon’s meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong set a precedent for U.S. foreign policy. Why do you think
Nixon was the first president to visit China?
Source: “Nixon’s China Game (PBS)” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/china/peopleevents/pande01.html and “Ping Pong
Diplomacy” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/china/peopleevents/pande07.html