1. Nixon’s Presidency: Foreign Policy

2. Foreign Policy Seen as Nixon’s greatest achievement
Helped ease Cold War tensions, established ties with China, and crafted stronger relations wit the Soviet Union
Henry Kissinger = Greatly aided Nixon’s foreign policy through his skillful diplomacy

3. Henry Kissinger
Nixon relied heavily on Kissinger in dealing with foreign policy
Public Opinion
Knew how to use media to his advantage
1973: one of the most-admired Americans in the Gallup Poll

4. Relaxing Tensions Détente – relaxation of tensions
Nixon was willing to conduct talks with Communists
this was a complete reversal in direction of postwar American foreign policy
Kissinger realized Soviet Union and China became bitter enemies and this had the potential to reshape global politics

5. China 1949, China became Communist
U.S. did not formally recognize the People’s Republic of China
American and Chinese Ambassadors met in Warsaw, Poland
Nixon began referring to China by its official title (PR of C)
U.S. gov’t lifted restrictions on travel to China
“Ping-Pong Diplomacy” – U.S. table tennis team accepted a Chinese invitation to visit the mainland
Nixon went to China in February 1972
Result: tensions eased between the U.S. and China!

6. Nixon met with Premier Leonid Brezhnev in the Soviet Union
to figure out how to work together to explore space
to ease longstanding trade limits
to complete negotiations on a weapon pact
Arms control was a vital part of Nixon’s foreign policy
U.S. and Soviet Union were making bigger and more powerful bombs
Soviet Union

7. “Shuttle Diplomacy”
Kissinger traveled between Middle Eastern capitals to arrange peace after the Arab-Israeli War in 1973
1974 – Kissinger secured a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria
Nixon visited Middle East to show his support of the efforts to reduce tensions
All Secretary of States since Kissinger have used shuttle diplomacy to further U.S. foreign policy goals