An Age of Limits
Chapter 32
The Nixon Administration
(1969-1974)
O New Federalism:
O Decrease size and influence
of the Federal Government
O Great Society had given too
much power to the Federal
Government (give power to
the state and local
government)
O Revenue sharing-state and
local governments can spend
the federal money as they see
fit
O When it ended in 1986- $6
billion given
New Federalism
O Welfare Reform: Nixon didn’t
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O
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oppose welfareFamily Assistance Act: every
family of four with no outside
income would receive
$1600/year
Can earn up to $4000/ year
with incentives
Take job training and accept
any reasonable work available
Bill fails in the SenateLiberals- too low minimum
payment
Conservatives objected to
guaranteed money
Two Faces of New Federalism
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Enhanced some Federal
programs dismantled some
Increased Social Security,
Medicare and Medicaid payouts,
made food stamps more
assessable, supported subsidized
housing, expanded Job corps
Nixon used impoundment to hold
up laws he opposed-Means to
withhold funds ($15 billion)
Eventually federal courts forced
him to release the money
Abolished Office of Economic
Authority-Johnson’s cornerstone
to the Great Society
Law and Order
O
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Fought with Congress
Also more liberal elements of society
Pledged to end Vietnam and the divisiveness
it brought (1969 Campaign promise)
Deescalated the war and upped the “Law and
Order” of the United States
Took on Urban rioting, anti-war demonstration
“Silent Majority”
Used full resources-sometimes illegally- FBI
wiretapped left winged individuals, infiltrated
groups such as SDS and radical AfricanAmerican groups
CIA compiled documents on thousands of
American Dissidents
Used the IRS to audit tax returns of antiwar
and civil rights activists
Built an “enemies list”-administration would
harass and destroy
Got help from Spiro T. Agnew, VP-scorned
media
Southern Strategy
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Conservative coalition
Appeal to Southern conservative Democrats
by appealing to their distaste for
desegregation and the Supreme Court
Southern Democrats thought party had
become too liberal
Went after the George Wallace>, Governor of
Alabama, voters in the South (13.5% as an
independent running for President in 1968)
Integration slows: attract voters in the South
Nixon: “There are those who want instant
integration and those who want segregation
forever. I believe we need to have a middle
course between those two extremes.”
Reversed several Civil Rights Policies
Supreme court orders Nixon to abide by the
2nd Brown v. Board of Education ruling and
integrate schools at all deliberate speed
By 1972 90% of children attended
desegregated schools in the South
Opposed busing
The Supreme Court Battle
O Nixon criticized the Warren
O
O
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Court as too liberal
Nixon changes four justices
(death, retirement,
resignation) including Warren
Appointed Warren Burger> as
Chief Justice
Put 3 more conservative
leaning justices on the bench
Didn’t always go conservative1971 ruling to integrate
schools through busing
Economy
O Stagflation-High
O
O
O
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unemployment-and inflation
Causes-massive deficit
spending by Lyndon Johnson
Began to lose in international
trade markets to Japan and
West Germany, etc.
Flood of new workers (Baby
boomers)
OPEC-oil cartel-1973 Yom
Kippur War-sent massive aid
to Israel against Syria and
Egypt
OPEC cut off oil sales to US
Nixon’s attempts to cure
economy
O Raised taxes and cut the
budget (Congress
refused to go along)
O Reduced the amount of
money in circulation-by
raising interest rates
(sent US into a mild
recession)
O Price and wage controlsfroze worker’s wages and
business prices for 90
days (inflation eased, but
recession continued)
Foreign Policy
O Wins here
O Henry Kissinger-
Realpolitik and détente
O Nixon in China-take
advantage of decade
long rift between USSR
and Chins
O 1972-visits-at Great
Wall, Imperial Palace,
and toasting top
Communist leaders
O Nixon and Mao>
Foreign Policy
O USSR Trip:
O 1972 three months after
China
O Soviet Premier-Leonid
Brezhnev
O Free access to West
Berlin in return for
recognizing East
Germany
O Strategic Arms Limitation
Treaty (SALT I Treaty)limit
ICBM and Sub launched
missiles to 1972 limits
WATERGATE
O The Imperial
Presidency:
Executive Branch
had taken an air of
Imperialism
(supreme authority)
O Nixon expanded the
power of the
Presidency
WATERGATE
O Men in Nixon’s inner
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circle:
H.R. Haldeman: Chief of
Staff
John Ehrlichman: Chief
Domestic Adviser
John Mitchell: Attorney
General
Secrecy and
consolidation of power
Somehow above the law
Leads to cover-up
WATERGATE
O
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Nixon lived with the fear of losing
elections
Campaign team sought advantages
June 17, 1972-2:30am-guard at the
Watergate complex caught 5 men
breaking into the headquarters of the
DNC
“the plumbers”-plug any government
leaks and aid the Nixon administration
in other ways
Intended to photo documents and
place “bugs” (wiretap0 phones
Group’s leader-James McCord-former
CIA agent also in a group called the
Committee to re-elect the President
H.R. Haldeman notes in diary of
Nixon’s obsession with how to respond
to the break-in
WATERGATE
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Should have disowned the breakin-fired anyone involved
Instead cover it up
Workers shredded anything
incriminating in Haldeman’s
office
Nixon urged the FBI to pressure
the CIA from investigating
(National Security)
Bought silence from burglars for
$500,000
Generated little interest from
media throughout the ‘72 election
Only the Washington Post
reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob
Woodward> kept on the story.
WATERGATE
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Wins ‘72 election in a landslide
over George McGovern
All Watergate Burglars changed
their pleas from innocent to guilty,
except McCord who was found
guilty by a jury
Judge John Sirica> makes it clear
that this is just the beginning
Supervisors include G. Gordon
Liddy and E. Howard Hunt and
hinted that higher authorities lied
under oath.
Sirica receives a letter from
McCord stating that he is guilty
and it goes higher up
WATERGATE
O April 30, 1973: Nixon
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dismisses John Dean and
Ehrlichman and Haldeman
resign
Nixon goes on TV to deny
involvement in the Watergate
Affair
May, 1973- Senate begins
investigation
Special Committee headed by
Sam Ervin paraded in
testimony
The President’s Men one-byone dropped bombshells
WATERGATE
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John Dean-Howard Baker: “What
did the President know and when
did he know it?”
Deeply involved in the cover-up
Nixon sends John Mitchell to deny
the claim-Mitchell also denied
approving the break-in and the
wiretap and Nixon had no
knowledge of it
July-Alexander Butterfield>Presidential aide-Nixon taped
virtually all his presidential
conversations to help write his
memoirs.
Tapes are the key
WATERGATE
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Saturday Night Massacre
Year-long battle for the tapes
Archibald Cox>-Special Prosecutor, took
President to court to get the tapes
Cox appointed by Elliott Richardson-who Nixon
appointed to Attorney General after Mitchell
Nixon refused to give up the tapes and
ordered Richardson to fire Cox
Richardson refused the order and resigned
Deputy Attorney General refused and was
fired
Solicitor General Robert Bork finally fired Coxreplace with Leon Jaworski
Jaworski demands the tapes
The House begins impeachment proceedings
Days before-Spiro Agnew resigned after it was
revealed that he accepted bribes in Maryland
before and during his term as VP
Nixon nominated Gerald Ford as Agnew’s
replacement
Agnew’s scandal makes investigators look at
Nixon’s finances and they found that Nixon
paid $1000 on a $200,000 salary.
WATERGATE
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“People have the right to know whether
or not their President is a crook. Well I
am not a crook.” Nixon response to
investigation of his finance
March 1974-grand jury indicts Mitchell,
Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and four others
April 30, 1974-Nixon released edited
transcripts of the conversation about
Watergate
Hoped to show he was truthful
Turned out his bad language-and lack
of concern about the scandal turned
people off
Edited manuscript was not enough for
the investigators
Wanted the unedited tapes-Nixon
refused
July 24, 1974-Supreme Court rules
unanimously that he must give up the
unedited tapes
WATERGATE
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House Judiciary recommends Impeachment
July 27-three articles of impeachment
adopted
Charges-obstruction of justice, abuse of
power, contempt of Congress
August 5 releases transcripts of the tapesmysterious 18 minute gap-evidence is still
there
June 23, 1972 conversation with H.R.
Haldeman-Nixon knew and planned the
obstruction a week after the break-in
August 8, 1974- Nixon resigns-admitted no
guilt-”some judgments are wrong”
Gerald Ford becomes the President
EFFECTS:
Deep disillusionment with the imperial
presidency
Ford and Carter could not work on the image
of the presidency, too involved in economic
problems
Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
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“Our long national nightmare is over.”
Economy is the problem, however
Likable and honest: “I’m a Ford, not a
Lincoln.”
September 8, 1974-pardons Nixonmove cost Ford
WIN (Whip Inflation Now)-cut back on
use of oil and gas, other energy saving
measures
Ford fights Congress on job packagevetoing 50 bills
Foreign Policy-relied on Kissinger
Helsinki Accords-greater cooperation
between East and West
Communist Cambodia seizes the
American ship, Mayaguez-Ford sends
in air strikes, marines to rescue crew41 US troops die
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
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Former Governor of Georgia
Peanut Farmer
As far from Washington as you could get
Down-to-earth style
Carter walked rather than rode in the Limo
Energy crisis is domestic policy
Cut consumption of oil and gas energy
Turn down their thermostats to 65* and 55*
at night
Proposed a Department of Energy cabinet
position
National Energy Act-tax on gas guzzling carsremoved price controls from natural gas and
oil made in the US
Crisis Worsens: Carter asks for voluntary
price and wage freeze, spending cuts,
deregulated trucking, railroad, shipping
Convinced Federal Reserve to raise interest
rates
None worked and it looked like there was no
policy at all