The Nixon Administration Chapter 24

Introduction Nixon was elected amidst the turmoil of 1968 He appealed to the silent majority to get elected He promised to end the war & restore law & order He was determined to turn America in a more conservative direction

The New Federalism Nixon wanted to decrease the size & influence of the federal gov which had grown under Gt Society He wanted to distribute fed’l power to the state & local govs To do so he instituted a revenue sharing program in which $ was returned to the states so they could spend it how they saw fit He hoped the states would use the $ for police & civil projects rather than have it used for Great Society programs

Welfare Reform Nixon sought to reduce the role of the fed’l gov in the welfare system. Family Assistance Program – poor families would receive a fixed amount of $1600 but heads of households had to sign up for job training Intended to reduce the fed’l bureaucracy & reduce fraud Program died in the Senate with both liberal & conservative critics

Nixon’s Impact on Great Society Programs Nixon chipped away at Gt Society programs by cutting off federal $ for urban renewal, job training and education. When Congress opposed his bids to reduce funding for certain projects he “impounded” or refused to spend the funds By 1973 he had impounded about $15 billion The courts eventually ruled that impoundment was unconstitutional because only Congress had the authroity to decide how fed’l funds were spent

Law & Order Politics Silent majority was tired of urban riots & antiwar protests To silence antiwar & CR protesters & other critics the admin: Used the IRS to harass enemies by auditing tax returns Used FBI to illegally tap phones & break into homes Nixon created an “enemies list” of 200 individuals Nixon used his VP, Spiro Agnew, to lash out at critics

Nixon’s Southern Strategy Plan to help Nixon win the 1972 election The South had always been a democratic stronghold but Southern Democrats felt the Democratic Party had become too liberal Nixon began to forge new Southern conservative coalition In an approach known as the Southern strategy Nixon tried to attract southern conservative Democrats that were unhappy with the federal desegregation policies, Great Society & civil rights program & liberal supreme court decisions.

Conservative Backlash First surfaced during the 1968 election when Southern Democrats supported George Wallace, an independent candidate. Wallace carried 5 southern states, 13.5% of pop vote Nixon wanted these conservative voters so he pursued his southern strategy which involved Attempt to slow down integration and Attempt to stop busing Nomination of southerners to the Supreme Court

Integration To attract Southern voters Nixon attempted but failed to delay integration. He asked the HEW to delay desegregation. This was in violation of Brown II Supreme Court decision which stated that deseg must take place with “all deliberate speed.” NAACP filed suit and desegregation took place

Controversy Over Busing Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Edu stated that school districts could use busing to integrate schools Nixon went on TV to urge Congress to halt busing. He wasn’t successful but the South heard him loud and clear as did Northern whites who were fed up with the liberalism of the Democratic party

The Supreme Court Nixon criticized the liberal Supreme Court During his 1st term four justices retired which afforded him the opportunity to appoint new ones to change the direction of the Supreme Court Warren Burger replaced Earl Warren as chief justice Nominated two southern judges who were not confirmed – claimed it was prejudice against the So.

Stagflation 1967-1973 High unemployment + inflation = stagflation Causes: Fed funding of federal programs such as Gt Society Increased competition in international trade New workforce including women & baby boomers Dependency on foreign oil

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Western consumption of OPEC oil grew massively during the 1960s-70s. Prices were constantly rising and then in 1973 during the Yom Kippur war the Arab members of OPEC embargoed the US When Arabs resumed selling oil to US the price had quadrupled. This exacerbated the problem of inflation & led to a recession

How did Nixon Battle Stagflation? 1) To reverse deficit spending he proposed budget cuts and rise in taxes – but Congress did not support this 2) Tried to reduce the amount of $ in circulation by urging higher interest rates – led to recession. 3)Wage & price controls for 90 days

Realpolitik Political realism – more pragmatic Foreign policy should be made on considerations of power not ideology or beliefs Reversed the earlier confrontational policy of containment which refused to recognize Communist countries Meant dealing directly with communist nations

Detente More flexible policy Aimed at easing Cold War tensions Startling example was Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 Nixon could pull this off because he had made his earlier political career on his anti-communism

US & China The US never recognized the People’s Republic of China. Nixon announces the reversal of that policy and seeks normalization of relations By visiting China Nixon was exploiting 10-year rift between USSR & China. “We want to have the Chinese with us when we sit down and negotiate with the Russians”

US & USSR 3 months later, Nixon travels to the USSR Successful as well Strategic Arms & Limitations Treaty (SALT) is signed Foreign policy successes & admin’s announcement that “peace was at hand” helped to reelect Nixon. Watergate however, was on the horizon…