Presidents, Presidents, Presidents!
PART 1
Week 2-8
US History 2
Ms. Lyons
Wrapping up Vietnam
Vietnam
• “Dien Bien Phu falls”
• 1954: Ho Chi Minh (North Vietnam) beats French
• 3 presidents sent troops to Vietnam without
Congress declaring war
– Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ
– [It was a guerilla war in the jungle]
• 1964: Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
– US President can use troops for defense only
Resistance to Vietnam
• Congress
– Hawks (pro-war) vs. Doves (anti-war)
• Student protests
– Teach-ins at colleges, SDS (Students for a Democratic
Society)
• Protest marches
– DC, NYC
• Draft resisters (10,000) went to Canada
• 1960’s: anti-war & civil rights movements
– Young, hippies, drugs, rock
Nixon and Vietnam
• The plan was: “Vietnamization”
– South Vietnam troops will take over all fighting
• US bombed Cambodia (Vietnam’s neighbor/friend)
– Student protests
• Kent State: National Guard broke it up (9 wounded, 4 dead)
• 1973: US stopped fighting
• War Powers Act (1973)
– President can only send troops for
60 days without Congress approving it
Vietnam Summary
• We did NOT win.
• The North took over the South 2 years after
the US left.
• 58,000 US soldiers died
– 300,000 wounded
• $150 billion spent
What did we learn from Vietnam?
• The US gov’t responds to public pressure
• Modern technology does not always beat strong
nationalism
• Success in war requires support at home (WWII)
• US must be involved in foreign affairs
Conservative Presidents
Richard Nixon
37th President
1969-1974
Nixon’s Foreign Policy
• 1969: Nixon Doctrine
– No more military protection in Asia
• 1971: open trade with China
– He visited China!
• Détente: “warming” of Cold War tensions
– Kissinger’s “realpolitik” (power politics)
• What will keep the US strong?
• 1972: SALT agreement
– Strategic Arms Limitations Talks
Nixon’s Domestic Policies
• OSHA
– Safe working conditions
• EPA & Clean Air Act
– Environment
• DEA
– Drug Enforcement Agency
• “New Federalism”
– Less federal power
– Give more power and $ to states to spend
• Stop inflation: 90-day wage/price freeze (1971)
– First president to control wages & prices during peacetime
Domestic events under Nixon
• 1969: Neil Armstrong lands on moon
• 1971: 26th amendment
• Women
– more women in “men’s” fields (law, science,
medicine)
– 1971: women paid $0.59 for every man’s $1.00
• Ralph Nader’s protests
– Environment & consumer protection
Supreme Court Cases
• Engel v. Vitale (1962)
– Freedom of religion, separation of church & state
• Gideon v. Wainwright, Escobedo v. Illinois, Miranda v.
Arizona (1963-1966)
– Due process (rights of the accused)
• Heart of Atlanta Motel v. US (1964)
– Federal gov’t can stop racial discrimination in public
• Tinker v. Des Moines (1969)
– Freedom of speech
• NY Times v. US (1971)
– Freedom of press
• Roe v. Wade (1973)
– Woman’s right to privacy (can choose to have an abortion)
Watergate
• Before the 1972 election, Nixon’s people snuck
into Democratic party’s office to steal secrets.
• Nixon didn’t know until after, but he covered it
up!
• Public trial: US v. Richard Nixon
– Forced him to give up tapes of White House
conversations
• Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment
Gerald Ford is President…Wait; Who?
• Spiro Agnew (Nixon’s VP) resigned after he
was accused of not paying his taxes.
• Nixon appointed a new VP (Ford).
• Nixon resigns  Ford takes over.
• Ford = 1st & only non-elected president