What important events occurred during the 1970s and the 1980s What important events occurred during the 1970s and the 1980s? Notes #64 President Richard Nixon (1969–1974) President Gerald Ford (1974 –1977) President Jimmy Carter (1977–1981) President Ronald Reagan (1981–1989)

Richard Nixon with running-mate Spiro Agnew Election of 1968 Richard Nixon with running-mate Spiro Agnew

U.S. leaves Vietnam (March 29, 1973) In 1973, President Richard Nixon ended the involvement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War. U.S. leaves Vietnam (March 29, 1973)

After the Vietnam War, the War Powers Act was passed in 1973 to limit the president’s ability to send the U.S. military into combat abroad.

Under Nixon, the U.S. used a policy of détente to decrease Cold War tensions. Nixon with China’s communist leader Mao Zedong Nixon with Soviet Union communist leader Leonid Brezhnev

Election of 1972

In 1972, it was discovered that advisors of Nixon tried to spy on the Democratic Party, which Nixon illegally tried to cover up. Watergate apartment complex; Washington, D.C. The Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

 Watergate hearings (1973) “I’m not a crook!”

Rep. Gerald Ford becomes new vice president (December 6, 1973) Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after being accused of taking bribes and income tax evasion as Governor of Maryland (October 10, 1973) Rep. Gerald Ford becomes new vice president (December 6, 1973)

Nixon’s resignation speech (August 8, 1974) This Watergate scandal resulted in Nixon resigning from office in 1974. Nixon’s resignation speech (August 8, 1974)

Ford pardons Nixon (September 8, 1974) Gerald Ford sworn in as president (August 9, 1974)

Jimmy Carter with running-mate Walter Mondale Election of 1976 Jimmy Carter with running-mate Walter Mondale

In 1973, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries placed an embargo on oil imported by the U.S., . . . Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): (Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela)

. . . which increased oil’s cost and hurt the U.S. economy during the 1970s. Energy crisis of the 1970s

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter helped negotiate the Camp David Accords, which established peace between Egypt and Israel. Egypt’s Prime Minister Anwar El Sadat shakes hands with Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini  Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; Former shah (king) of Iran until being overthrown during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1979–1989) Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981): For 444 days, 52 Americans were held hostage in Iran

Ronald Reagan with running-mate George H. W. Bush Election of 1980 Ronald Reagan with running-mate George H. W. Bush

January 20, 1981

Supply-side economics During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan lowered federal income tax rates to create an economic boom for the U.S. Supply-side economics

Iran’s leader Ayatollah Khomeini Anti-communist Contra rebels In 1986, under Reagan, it was discovered that the U.S. was illegally selling weapons to Iran to fund anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua. Iran’s leader Ayatollah Khomeini Anti-communist Contra rebels

Reagan was cleared of any crimes, but this Iran-Contra affair and the Watergate scandal undermined the American public’s trust in elected officials.