Moon Landing

Foreign Policy Primary focus NSA advisor Henry Kissinger sought to reduce Cold War tensions

The Nixon Doctrine Nixon calls on the Silent Majority He stated that the US would no longer provide direct military protection in Asia (“VIETNAMIZATION”) 1970—Nixon ordered the invasion of Cambodia to break up the Ho Chi Minh trail Protests erupt over America’s campuses (Kent State)

My Lai Incident 1968

The Pentagon Papers  In 1971, the New York Times published the “Pentagon Papers,” a secret Defense Department study of US involvement in Vietnam prepared during the Johnson administration This report offered proof that in the past the government had lied to the public about the situation in Vietnam  Presidents had publicly claimed that the US was fighting to keep South Vietnam free from communism  The “Pentagon Papers” suggested that the LBJ had planned US involvement before the 1964 elections  The US expanded the bombing into Laos and Cambodia  Americans began, more than ever before, to distrust the government “The Leakey Faucet”

1972 Nixon expands bombing when N. Vietnam fails to compromise a settlement N. Vietnam agrees to an armistice 1.US would withdraw 2.US would get POW’s back Paris Accords promised free elections and a cease fire

Détente Nixon worked to bring about détente, or an easing of tensions with the USSR He demonstrated his commitment to détente by visiting the USSR in 1972 SALT While in Moscow, Nixon initiated the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) These talks led to the 1972 SALT Agreement which set limits on the number of defensive missile sites and offensive missiles each nation would keep

A New Relationship with China Presidential Visit In 1972, Nixon visited communist China During this visit Nixon and Mao Zedong agreed to resume normal diplomatic relations between the US and China Reopening the Door RESULT: Reopening the Door Nixon’s visit also paved the way for trade agreements between the US and China

Ping Pong Diplomacy

The War Powers Act –In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act limiting the Presidents wartime authority by requiring him to … »Notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into a foreign country »Bring troops home within 60 days unless both houses of Congress voted for them to stay

New Federalism Nixon, in 1968, had also promised to balance the budget As a result, he was very critical of Johnson’s costly Great Society programs Nixon instead proposed a New Federalism policy which would lessen federal control over social welfare programs and place them more in the domain of state and local governments Nixon also sought to cut several Great Society programs Example: Welfare becomes a state issue and not a Federal issue

Stagflation Economy Causes of Stagflation 1.Spending by LBJ 2.Lack of US production 3.Reliance on oil 4.Baby boomers working Cut Federal spending and raise taxes (Congress disagrees) Result: recession and unemployment (Keynesian approach) Removal from the Gold Standard

Nixon and the Court Nixon was able to appoint four judges Roe v. Wade ’73 –Pro choice, right to privacy Judges would deny his claim of presidential power in United States vs. Nixon Bakke vs. Regents of California –Quota restriction –violated under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment The Burger Court rules many times to increase the number of desegregated schools

Resignation of a President Nixon was never impeached In 1972 Nixon's reelection team (CREEP) was caught burglarizing the Democratic headquarters Prior to this Nixon had ordered wiretaps on gov’t employees and reporters to stop future leaks The group known as the Plumbers would also were known to break in to peoples offices to try and find information to publicly discredit them

A Presidents fall from Grace  Although “Tricky Dickey” apparently never ordered the break in he was involved in the cover up  It was discovered that Nixon had taped the conversations where he promised he would pardon anyone convicted of burglary  In 1974 the Supreme Court (United States vs. Nixon) ordered the President to turn over the tapes

Fallout from Watergate 1)October , in what would become known as the Saturday Night Massacre—Nixon fired Archibald Cox (lead prosecutor on the case) 2)U.S. Attorney General resigns in protest 3)August 9, 1974-President Nixon resigns before he is to be impeached an removed from office m/speeches/richardnixonresign ationspeech.html =6aZ8vNagvks

What were the positives and negatives from the Watergate Scandal?