The Nixon Administration Chapter 24

Key Features of Nixon’s Politics and Domestic Policies Nixon the Conservative Believed the federal government was too large Enacted “southern strategy” to appeal to former segregationists Nixon the Liberal Tried to pass welfare reforms Took special interest in environmental issues Created a new organization to prevent work-related injuries and deaths Advanced Affirmative Action

The New Conservatism One of Nixon’s 1st goals was to Limit the federal government & reverse some of LBJ’s liberal Policies. New FederalismNew Federalism - shrink the federal government & distribute some of the load to state & local gov’ts. revenue sharingInstituted revenue sharing - state & local gov’t. could spend money how they saw fit within certain limits.

New Conservatism Cont. New Conservatism Cont. Southern Strategy Nixon wanted to expand his support in the Democratic south He went after conservative Democrats who were unhappy with the desegregation & the liberal supreme court. Tried to weaken the 1965 Voting Rights Act Urged a slowdown in forced integration and busing Wanted local governments to take action themselves

Nixon the Liberal Welfare Reform Family Assistance program (FAP)‏ – Every family of 4 with no outside income would receive $1600/yr. with a provision to earn up to $4000 in supplemental income – Those that took $$$ would have to take job training and take any reasonable job offered to them. (excluded mothers of preschoolers)‏ – Passed the House but failed in the Senate Liberals thought the payments were to low & work requirements to stiff Conservatives objected to the idea of guaranteed money The bill failed.

Nixon the Liberal Cont. Environmentalism Environmental concerns had been growing in the U.S. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring – alerted Americans to the dangers of pesticides Earth Day Earth Day - April 22, 1970 encouraged people to learn about environmental issues and to take action to improve the environment. Clean Air Act Clean Air Act – gave gov't authority to regulate levels of air pollution created by factories and other sources. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Established regulations for, and enforcement of, the nation's environmental protection policies.

Nixon the Liberal Cont. Occupational Safety and Health Act - Act created the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to prevent work-related death and injuries Advanced affirmative action - set specific hiring goals and timetables for overcoming discrimination and extended it to the hiring of women

Law & Politics Nixon was looking for ways to silence the antiwar people & demonstrations FBI had illegal wiretaps on left wing individuals & the Democratic party offices at Watergate He enlisted the CIA to help keep paperwork on those that objected to the gov’ts. Policies He even used the IRS to target people creating an “enemies list” that his administration could harass

Stagflation Between 1967 & 1973 the U.S. faced high inflation and high unemployment. Nixon announced a 90-day freeze of wages and prices in order to stop inflation from rising. The wage and price controls did work temporarily. Why did it occur? – Funding of the Vietnam war & Johnson's social programs. – Increased competition in international trade – A flood of new workers in to jobs – Dependency on foreign oil (OPEC –organization of petroleum exporting countries) continually raised prices on the U.S.

Man on the Moon On July 16, 1969 the Apollo 11 successfully lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center. Three astronauts were on board—Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. On July 20 Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon.

Foreign Policy Nixon had great success with his foreign policy issues. Henry Kissinger was Nixon’s national security advisor and later secretary of state. Kissinger shaped much of Nixon’s foreign policy. Kissinger promoted a policy of realpolitik — Evaluating a country on its power not its ideals or morals. realpolitik marked a significant change from earlier policies such as containment preferred the approach known as détente- a policy that was to ease cold war tensions and allow for flexibility. Nixon traveled to both China & the Soviet Union..

Foreign Policy Cont. The Soviet Union In 1969 Nixon began talks with the Soviet Union in order to slow the arms race. Known as the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT)- 5 year agreement to limit ICBM’s & sub missiles. Both nations had increased their number of weapons and made innovations in weapons technology (Ex. antiballistic missiles, or ABMs).China Nixon wanted to improve relations with the Communist People’s Republic of China. Believed that friendlier relations with China would force a more cooperative relationship with the Soviet Union (China’s rival). His efforts were done secretly Nixon surprised Americans by visiting China in 1972 where he met with Chinese leaders and Mao Zedong. They agreed to disagree about Taiwan.