Happy Wednesday Today’s Agenda Go over Test Introduce (Nixon, Ford, Carter) Presidential DVD’s

“OK, so maybe I okayed the break in of the Democratic National Committee Headquarters, but has everyone met my dog Checkers?”: The Nixon Administration

Nixon’s Foreign Policy With his national security advisor, HENRY KISSINGER, Nixon determines that NEGOTIATION might be a better way to handle Cold War tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. The two craft a policy, known as DÉTENTE, or a “relaxing of tensions” between the two countries. Nixon visits China in Feb – the first U.S. leader to do so since its Communist takeover.

SALT Talks After the U.S. gets friendly with China, the Soviets are more willing to talk. In May 1972, Nixon visits the U.S.S.R., and the two countries establish the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) to limit the production of nuclear arms in the countries. U.S.-Soviet relations are at their best during this time.

Watergate After his close political defeats and the Pentagon Papers debacle, Nixon comes up with a long ENEMIES LIST – people who he felt would hurt his chances at keeping the presidency. Although his opponent in the Election of 1972, George McGovern, didn’t look to be a problem, Nixon wanted to assure a big victory.

On June 17, 1972, 5 burglars are caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in D.C. They wore business suits, had tear- gas guns, and had $2,000 with them. Most importantly, they had a phone number with the name Howard Hunt at the “W. House”

Woodward and Bernstein At the Washington Post, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein find out that the phone number belonged to a White House consultant, and the money could be traced back to the Nixon reelection campaign (CREEP)

Woodward and Bernstein

Facing a stiff jail sentence, one of the Watergate burglars admits the White House was involved in a cover-up. After this, two Nixon aides resign. During Senate hearings, White House counsel JOHN DEAN told the nation that Nixon had been involved in the cover-up. Since Nixon recorded all of his White House conversations, people called for the tapes to be public.

Nixon had appointed a special prosecutor, ARCHIBALD COX, to handle the Watergate investigation. When Cox asked Nixon to hand over the tapes, Nixon fired him. This becomes known as the SATURDAY NIGHT MASSACRE. Immediately, members of Congress get ready to IMPEACH the president.

Eventually, Nixon hands over the tapes. Although 17 minutes are “missing,” there is enough to implicate Nixon in Watergate. Facing removal from office, Nixon resigns on August 8, 1974.

Two Really Nice Guys (but not so Great Presidents): The Ford and Carter Administrations

The 1970s: Economic Problems The Watergate scandal wasn’t the only problem the U.S. faced in the early 1970s. The economy SLOWS DOWN, leading to INFLATION (higher prices). In addition, many older factories close, putting people out of jobs (higher unemployment). Finally, OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) cut off oil supplies to the U.S. because America supports ISRAEL (high gas prices).

Gerald Ford

“I’m a Ford, not a Lincoln…” In 1974, Gerald Ford (from Michigan) becomes president. He is not really a flashy guy or a dynamic leader. His first major act is to PARDON Nixon for any Watergate crimes. Although he believes this is right, his approval rating drops 20 pts. To deal with inflation, he comes up with the WHIP INFLATION NOW or “WIN” plan – which essentially asks Americans to use less oil and gas.

Election of 1976: The Klutz vs. the Peanut Farmer Ford runs again in 1976, but no one is really excited about him. His Democratic opponent is former Georgia governor and peanut farmer JIMMY CARTER. People like Jimmy Carter because he seems to be MORAL, and he was an OUTSIDER to Washington D.C. politics. After Watergate, folks find this refreshing.

Jimmy Carter

“Meow…” Carter’s energy plan doesn’t work out much better than Ford’s plan. He launches a “Moral Equivalent of War” on energy waste, asking America to find alternate energy sources and cut back on usage. Most people ignore him. As another bad oil shortage hits in 1979, Carter gives a speech and says the U.S.had a “crisis of confidence” that needed to be fixed. People feel like Carter is blaming them. This is known as the MALAISE speech.

Carter’s Foreign Policy The highlight of Carter’s presidency comes with the CAMP DAVID ACCORDS, where he brings Israel and Egypt together to form a peace treaty. His other foreign policy doesn’t go so well: He proposes to give the Panama Canal back to Panama in He has the U.S. BOYCOTT the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because he said the U.S.S.R. violated human rights.

IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS As Carter is running for re-election in November 1979, Iranian revolutionaries took 52 Americans hostage at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. The revolutionaries were mad that the U.S. had supported the Shah (an unpopular leader there). Carter can’t get the hostages rescued, and it drags on for over a year. This makes many see him as ineffective, and it hurts his ability to get votes.