Nixon and the ’70s By Brad Harris @ Grand Prairie HS Adapted by David Balmer @ Heritage High

The Election of 1968 The 1968 presidential election marked a shift to the right in American politics. The 1960's began as an era of optimism but the events of the decade led to public trust in the government and produced a backlash against liberal movements and the Democratic party.

Crisis in the Middle East Tensions in the Middle East escalated in 1956 when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal This led to a war over control of the canal between Egypt, Israel, the UK and France

Middle East Conflicts Tensions in the Middle East escalated during the Nixon administration Fighting broke out on two occasions between Israel and Arab countries

The Six-Day War The Six-Day War was fought in 1967 between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria over control of land in the Middle East The conflict led to Israel taking control over the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

Yom Kippur War In 1973, Egypt and Syria retaliated against Israel in a conflict known as the Yom Kippur War In this conflict, Egypt regained control of the Sinai Peninsula and Syria reclaimed parts of the Golan Heights

These ties have led to tensions between the U.S. and some Arab nations U.S.-Israeli alliance The conflicts in the Middle East strengthened the ties between the U.S. and Israel These ties have led to tensions between the U.S. and some Arab nations

Vietnam War The biggest foreign policy issues Nixon had to deal with during his presidency was dealing with the Vietnam War

Nixon and Foreign Affairs President Nixon was hailed for his foreign affairs savvy One key reason for this was his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger

Détente with Russia, China One of Nixon’s foreign affairs goals was friendlier relations with China and the Soviet Union Nixon and Kissinger developed a foreign affairs policy known as détente, which means cooperation President Nixon tours the Great Wall of China

Mao Tse-tung greets Nixon Nixon opened U.S. relations with China and became the first U.S. president to visit China

Strategic Arms Limitations Talks S.A.L.T. Nixon also strengthened relations with the Soviet Union, including holding a historic meeting -- SALT Summit meeting between U.S. and Soviet Union when the two countries agreed to limit nuclear arms

Détente with Russia From 1972 to 1974, tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union eased

Nixon re-elected in a rout Election of 1972 Nixon re-elected in a rout

The Pentagon Papers In 1971, a former Defense Department worker leaked what were known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times The documents showed how our leaders had deceived Congress, the media, and the public about how the war was going The government had not been honest with the American people

The release of the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times angered Nixon Roots of Watergate The release of the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times angered Nixon He thought others were out to sabotage his presidency and undermine him, leading to…

On August 5, 1974, when the “smoking gun tape” became public, Nixon was told that he would not survive the vote in the Senate

Nixon Resigns On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first American president to resign

Aftermath of Watergate Gerald Ford became the nation’s 37th president. More than 30 government officials went to prison for their role in Watergate. Nixon was not one of them. In September 1974, Ford gave Nixon a full pardon. There was a public distrust of the government that continues to this day.

Carter and the ‘70s

U.S. Celebrates Bicentennial On July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its bicentennial (200th birthday)

Election of 1976 In the 1976 Presidential Election, the Republicans nominated the sitting president Gerald Ford as their candidate The Democrats nominated a relative unknown, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, who had once been a peanut farmer In a close election, Carter defeated Ford to become the nation’s 39th president. Texas was a key state in the victory for Carter. Gerald Ford, Republican Jimmy Carter, Democrat

Election of 1976 Carter won 40.8 million votes and 297 electoral votes Ford won 39.1 million votes and 240 electoral votes

The Carter Years Jimmy Carter was liked by many because he was a Southern Democrat who was not a Washington insider But Carter’s Presidency was troubled by the Iran hostage crisis and an economic downturn

Middle East Turmoil Trouble began in the Middle East following World War II with the creation of Israel. The conflict led to two wars between Israel and numerous Muslim-dominated Arab countries During the wars, the United States supported Israel due to our close Judea-Christian ties.

OPEC oil embargo OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and it was founded in 1960 by five founding members: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. In response to the U.S. support of Israel, in 1973 OPEC placed an oil embargo on the U.S.

Gas Shortages The OPEC oil embargo led to gas shortages in the United States and throughout the world. Gas prices skyrocketed and people were limited to the amount of gasoline they could buy.

Gas Shortages Long lines and hours of waiting to get gas were common sights in the 1970s.

Iran Hostage Crisis The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the U.S. when 53 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981

Iran Hostage Crisis The hostages were taken captive by Islamic militants who took over the American Embassy in response to the U.S. allowing the former Shah of Iran to come to the U.S.

Iran Hostage Crisis The American hostages were held in captivity for 444 days and not released until after Carter was defeated in the 1980 election and left office.

One of the greatest achievements of Carter was in his foreign policy. Camp David Accords One of the greatest achievements of Carter was in his foreign policy. Carter negotiated a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that was known as the Camp David Accords, signed in September 1978. Carter’s work with foreign countries eventually earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Election of 1980

Reagan and the ’80s

Reagan Doctrine Reagan believed the U.S. should support groups that were fighting to overthrow Communists governments. This policy was called the Reagan Doctrine. Two places Reagan implemented this policy were Afghanistan in Southwest Asia and Nicaragua in Central America. In Afghanistan, Reagan sent aid Afghani freedom fighters known as the Mujahedeen, who were fighting off a Soviet invasion. Reagan’s involvement in Nicaragua led to a scandal that came to be known as the Iran-Contra scandal.

Iran-Contra Scandal The Iran-Contra affair was a scandal during Reagan’s presidency over an arms-for-hostages deal with Iran in exchange funds for Nicaraguan rebels known as the Contras Members of the Reagan administration secretly arranged for the illegal sale of arms to Iran in exchange for hostages The money was then illegally funneled to support an attempted over-throw of Nicaragua's communist government

Iran-Contra Scandal The key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal was a military aide to the National Security Council, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North Democrats called for an investigation and wanted to find out if President Reagan knew of the illegal activities, but no evidence implicating Reagan was ever found

Iran-Contra Scandal $$$ = Arms Iran Money Contras Hezbollah Nicaragua Hezbollah No more hostages

Reagan wins re-election Reagan’s win in 1984 was the largest landslide in U.S. history

The United States launched the first space shuttle on April 12, 1981 Space Shuttle launched The United States launched the first space shuttle on April 12, 1981 The space shuttle Columbia was the first of over 100 shuttle missions flown

Challenger Disaster Disaster hit the program on January 20, 1986 when the shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff The crash killed the entire seven member crew, including teacher Christa McAuliffe

Reagan and the Cold War President Reagan abandoned the believe in détente. He viewed the Soviet Union as evil and believed that the U.S. should not negotiate with the Russians Reagan believed the U.S. had to be strong militarily to deal with the Soviet Union. He began a huge military buildup called Star Wars. The Star Wars program was a defense system that would shoot Soviet missiles out of the sky in space before they reached the United States.

Reagan and the Cold War In a speech at the Brandenburg Gate by the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall”.

Fall of the Berlin Wall With democratic ideas spreading throughout Eastern Europe, change came quickly. In November of 1989, the Berlin Wall gates were opened. East Berliners came streaming through as free people for the first time in 40 years. Within days, the wall was leveled.

Tiananmen Square Massacre In 1989, Chinese students held protests for democracy in Tiananmen Square, the town center of Beijing. Hundreds were executed and thousands more were either jailed or exiled. The U.S. responded by placing trade sanctions on China. Tiananmen Square Massacre

End of the Cold War Within a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany – a country divided the previous 40 years – was reunited. In December of 1991, Gorbachev -- now a leader of a government that no longer existed -- announced the end of the Soviet Union. The Cold War was over. While Germany was reuniting as a democratic country, by 1991 the Soviet Union was beginning to break apart.