Unit 8 Ch. 29

 Vietnamization Gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam  Opposition to Nixon’s policies Expanded war to Cambodia to destroy communist strongholds Resulting protests ended in deaths at Kent State and Jackson State  Paris Accords Armistice that promised elections and a cease-fire for the withdrawal of U.S. troops

 Visit to China Nixon arranged a meeting to China to meet with Mao in February 1972  SALT I Relations with China were used to pressure the U.S.S.R. into agreeing to limit antiballistic missiles in May

 reduce the amount of government spending by revenue sharing  bills to help the environment  OSHA -to monitor the health and safety of workers  Consumer Products Safely Commission was made to do the same for consumers

 The White House asked the FBI to wiretap and investigate several journalists and staff of the White House  Pentagon Papers showed that the government had lied about Vietnam for years  The White House used the “plumbers” to look for leaks  CREEP-Committee to RE-Elect the President Conducted illegal fundraising efforts to get Nixon reelected broke into the Watergate building to wiretap Democrats and were arrested

 Nixon’s Actions approved a cover-up of the break-in within 6 days approved giving the burglars “hush” money for their silence  Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of the Washington Post investigated the story  Nixon had recorded tapes of conversations in the Oval Office and was requested to turn it over by the Supreme Court  Nixon refused at first, but then gave them edited tapes

 The “Saturday Night Massacre” firings of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and other White House staff  Congress was moving to impeach Nixon  Vice-President Spiro Agnew resigned over illegal kickbacks while he was a governor Gerald Ford now became VP  Nixon became the first President to resign (August 1974)  Ford becomes president  Congress passed new laws to investigate illegal dealings of political officers

 Gerald Ford granted Nixon a full and unconditional pardon of any he may have committed  South Vietnam fell to the North in April 1975  The U.S. supported government in Cambodia also fell to the Khmer Rouge, confirming the domino theory to many

 In 1973 OPEC placed an embargo on the U.S. for backing Israel when Egypt and Syria attacked them in the Yom Kippur War  This sent inflation high and unemployment high as industries closed their plants  Stagflation is when there is a combination of inflation and unemployment

 New environmental problems brought attention to the need for intervention  Earth Day was established as April 22  Rachel Carson’s The Silent Spring helped encourage Nixon to start the EPA Environmental Protection Agency People started getting sick at the Love Canal in New York because houses were built over an underground chemical waste-disposal site  In 1979 at three-mile island a nuclear reactor came close to meltdown  Clean Air act required stiffer emissions for autos “If you’re hungry and out of work, eat an environmentalist”

 Carter pledged to restore morality to the government  To help the economy the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to 20%  The economy still inflation as high as 13%  Carter helped bring attention to human rights violations and took aid from many countries who committed them  In 1977 Panama was given the rights to the Panama Canal to take place December 31,1999  The U.S. would still be able to send military ships through the Canal in the event of a war

 Camp David Accord-Carter helped to bargain a peace agreement with Egypt and Israel  SALT II was signed but Congress didn’t ratify it because the Soviets invaded Afghanistan  Because of the invasion of Afghanistan the U.S. boycotted the Olympics in Moscow and slowed down grain sales to them  The U.S. had backed the Shah in Iran for years  When the Shah was overthrown the U.S. allowed him medical treatment in the U.S.  In outrage Iran took 55 Americans hostage from the American embassy and held them for 444 days

 Ronald Reagan brought a new conservative presidency which wanted less government intervention  The New Right went with the Republicans and wanted to outlaw abortion, voluntary prayer in schools, and a mandatory death penalty  Reagan won the election of 1980 and just as Carter turned over the presidency, the Iranians released the hostages