1. Nixon’s Presidency

2. Richard Nixon’s Foreign policy
Promised to bring America together after the turmoil of the 60’s
Secretive and suspicious by nature
“Imperial presidency”
Nixon’s primary focus and first priority was on foreign policy, not domestic issues
Nixon’s foreign policies did help reduce Cold War tensions

3. Nixon & Vietnam
Over half a million troops in Vietnam by the time Nixon took office
Wanted to gradually reduce U.S. involvement in Vietnam without appearing to concede defeat
“Peace with honor”
Called this process “Vietnamization”

4. Vietnamization
Gradually reduce U.S. troops and give South Vietnamese money, weapons, and training to continue fighting the war
1969: 540,000 troops
1972: 30,000 troops
The Nixon Doctrine declared future Asian allies would receive U.S. support without the use of U.S. ground forces

5. Opposition to Nixon’s War Policies
Nixon expanded the war in April 1970 by using U.S. troops to invade Cambodia
Destroy Vietnamese Communist bases and parts of the Ho Chi Minh Trail that were located in Cambodia
Touched off a nation-wide protest across college campuses
Four students were killed at Kent State, Ohio and two were killed at Jackson State in Mississippi
In reaction to the escalation and protests, the Senate (but not the House) voted to repeal the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

6. My Lai and the pentagon Papers
1970: American public learned about My Lai
In the same year, the New York Times published the Pentagon Papers
Secret government documents of the many mistakes and deceptions by the government in dealing with Vietnam
The Nixon administration went to great lengths to keep the Pentagon Papers secret

7. Peace and Armistice
Henry Kissinger conducted secret meetings with North Vietnam’s foreign minister
When both sides could not reach a deal, Nixon ordered the largest bombing attack of the war against North Vietnam
North Vietnam agreed to an armistice to which U.S. would withdraw its troops and receive POWs
Paris Accords of January 1973 promised a cease-fire and free elections, but in reality the fighting continued with thousands of enemy troops still in South Vietnam
The war had claimed 58,000 American lives and cost $118 billion that hurt the economy for years afterward

8. Détente with China & The Soviet Union
Détente policies were opposite of brinkmanship policies
Deliberate reduction of Cold War tensions
February 1972: Nixon astonishes the world by traveling to Beijing to meet with Chairman Mao, the first time a U.S. president had set foot in the People’s Republic of China
These exchanges ultimately led to U.S. recognition of Communist China in 1979
Nixon used his new relationship with China to put pressure on the Soviets
Part of meeting with China was to deliberately drive a wedge between them and the Soviets
Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT I) saw U.S. and Soviet diplomats agree to limit the number of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads
Did not end the arms race, but a big step in reducing Cold War tensions

9. Nixon’s Domestic Policies
Laid the foundation for a shift in public opinion towards conservatism that would challenge/overthrow Democratic control of Congress in 1980s-1990s
Shifted funding of social programs from the federal to the state and local governments
Allowed states to spend federal funds as they saw fit, instead of being determined by Congress
New Federalism or “revenue sharing”
Tried to impound (not spend) federal funds appropriated for social programs, but Congress and the Supreme Court agreed it was the president’s job to carry out the laws of Congress
Whether Nixon agreed with them or not

10. Nixon’s Economic Policies
U.S. economy in the 1970s faced the unusual combination of stagflation
Economic slowdown (stagnation) plus high inflation
After an attempt to cut federal spending resulted in a continued recession and high unemployment, Nixon adopted Keynesian economics and deficit spending
Imposed a 90-day wage and price freeze, took the dollar of the gold standard, and put a 10% surtax on imports
1972: recession was over, Congress approved increases for Social Security benefits and also passed Title IX
Provided women with equal opportunities in schools, athletics, and the work place

11. The Burger Court
Nixon replaced retiring liberal justices with more conservative members
Warren E. Burger was the next Chief Justice after Earl Warren
The Burger Court was much more conservative than the Warren Court, but some decisions made by this court angered Republicans and Nixon himself

12. The Burger Court Ordered busing to achieve racial balance in schools
Issued stricter guidelines that made carrying out the death penalty harder
Roe v. Wade (1973) struck down state laws prohibiting abortions as a violation of a woman’s right to privacy
In the Watergate Scandal, the Burger Court denied Nixon’s claims to executive privilege, ordered him to turn over the Watergate tapes

13. 1972 Campaign
Referred to conservative Americans as the “silent majority” who disagreed with the liberal drift of the nation in the 1960s
Millions of voters disaffected by antiwar protests, black militants, desegregation, counterculture
Gained support from southern voters by:
Asking Congress to delay integration and busing
Electing two southern Conservatives to the Supreme Court
Allowed V.P. Spiro Agnew to verbally assault antiwar protesters and attack the press as liberal

14. The Election of 1972
Nixon won reelection thanks to three major factors:
Foreign policy successes with China and Soviet Union
Removal of George Wallace from the race after an assassination attempt
George McGovern was very liberal, antiwar, and antiestablishment, and his campaign was a disaster
Nixon won every single state except for Massachusetts and carried 61% of the popular vote
Nixon’s reelection signaled a major political realignment of voters towards the Republican party

15. Watergate
Resulted in the public humiliation of President Nixon and the jailing of 26 White House officials
Damaged the political system and reputation of the U.S. at home and abroad
June 1972: a group of men hired by Nixon’s reelection committee were caught breaking into the offices of the Democratic national headquarters at the Watergate complex in D.C.

16. Watergate
The break-in and attempted bugging of the offices were only a small part of a series of illegal activities
Before, Nixon had ordered wiretaps on government employees to stop news leaks
Like the ones that exposed the expanded bombings in Cambodia
President’s aides created a group called “the plumbers”
Stop leaks and discredit political opponents
White House created an “enemies list” of prominent Americans who opposed Nixon and/or his policies on Vietnam
People on this list were investigated/harassed government agencies like the IRS

17. The investigation into Watergate
Only after months did it become clear Nixon was active in the cover-up
Tough questioning and sentencing of the Watergate burglars led to information about money and promise of pardons by the White House staff to keep them quiet
Testimony of White House lawyer John Dean linked Nixon to the cover-up
Nixon’s top aides resigned to protect him, but were later indicted on charges of obstructing justice

18. The investigation into Watergate
Discovery of a taping system in the Oval Office led to a year-long struggle between Nixon and investigators
Important parts of conversations recorded on the tapes Nixon initially handed over were completely erased
When questioned, Nixon’s secretary kept changing her story over how this happened
Nixon claimed executive privilege for the tapes, saying he couldn’t turn them over in the name of national security

19. Nixon’s Resignation
Nixon appeared to further interfere with the Watergate investigation when he fired Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor assigned to the case
House of Representatives began impeachment hearings
Caused Nixon to reveal transcripts of some of the Watergate tapes
It would take a Supreme Court ruling to force Nixon to turn over all of the tapes to the courts and Congress
Upon hearing the tapes, the House Judiciary Committee voted for three reasons for Nixon’s impeachment:
Obstruction of justice, abuse of power, contempt of Congress

20. Nixon’s Resignation
The transcripts of the tapes clearly implicated Nixon and his role in the cover-up days after the break-in occurred
Faced with certain impeachment, Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974
First and only president to resign from office
Former V.P. Spiro Agnew resigned earlier in 1973 after it was discovered he took bribes as the governor of Maryland
When Nixon resigned, Gerald Ford became the first and only vice president AND president to never actually be elected to office
For some, Nixon’s resignation proved our system of checks and balances worked but for others, the scandal represented a dangerous shift of power to the presidency
Regardless, contributed to growing loss of faith in the federal government