1. Defining America’s Society and Global Role
Effects of the Cold War
Defining America’s Society and Global Role

2. OVERVIEW In this lesson we examine:
Social and economic costs of Vietnam
The causes and effects of Watergate
America and the end of the Cold War

3. Costs of the Vietnam War
Context Question:
What social and economic issues did Europe face between WWI and WWII?

4. Costs of the Vietnam War
Reduced government spending
Price and wage freezes to control inflation and unemployment
Extended Medicare to disabled citizens under 65
Helped China join the UN
Visited and negotiated economic development with China
Signed the SALT 1 Agreements to limit nuclear weapons
Signs Paris Accords in 1973 to end American involvement in Vietnam
Unlike in previous wars, veterans from Vietnam were not seen as ‘heroes’ by a large portion of the American population. Political and social divisions were numerous and deep. Nixon attempted to restore faith in American domestic and foreign policy
In what way could a less aggressive foreign policy compliment domestic policy?

5. Watergate
Burglars were caught trying to “bug” and wiretap the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate Hotel
The burglars confessed that they had been ordered by leaders of CREEP (Committee to Re-elect the President) to break into the office
Senate investigations revealed that Nixon had many conversations about Watergate taped from Whitehouse offices
Nixon’s success in the economy, Vietnam and in normalizing relations with China resulted in his successful re-election in 1972, but during his campaign, certain events would ruin his presidential career

6. Watergate Nixon said, “I am not a crook”
In an attempt to retrieve the tapes, Congress takes Nixon to court; he argues that “executive privilege” meant that the tapes did not have to be disclosed
Evidence later showed that the President’s office did not order or know about the break-in but attempted a cover up
As the Senate investigation focused on Nixon’s tape recordings, Nixon defended himself

7. Watergate
Congress immediately voted for impeachment (to put the President on trial) for withholding the tapes
Nixon handed over the tapes and resigned on Aug 9, 1974 because the tapes would show his involvement in a cover-up
President Ford gave Nixon a Presidential pardon
How might American allies have reacted to the effects of the Vietnam conflict and the Watergate Scandal?
When the case was brought to the Supreme Court, they ruled that the tapes had to be released.

8. The End of the Cold War Context Question:
Without competition from the Soviet Union for spheres of influence, what might happen to US foreign policy?

9. What were the possible long-term consequences of Reagan’s policies?
The End of the Cold War
“Reaganomics” reduced income taxes and capital gains taxes; most reductions were for the rich - “trickle-down”
Reduced support for many welfare and social programs that had been installed since the days of Roosevelt
Did not favour policies friendly to feminists, unions and minorities
US budgetary deficits skyrocketed and US debt would rise from $995 billion to $2.5 trillion by the end of his presidency
Reduced restrictions on oil prices and lifted embargo on exporting wheat to the USSR
In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected president. His domestic and foreign policies were dramatically different from his predecessors, Carter and Ford
What were the possible long-term consequences of Reagan’s policies?

10. Were these actions more internationalist or unilateral?
The End of the Cold War
1991: The US led a UN coalition against Iraq, which had invaded Kuwait
1999: The US led a NATO operation against Serbian military actions against its own population in the province of Kosovo
2001: The US attacked the Taliban government of Afghanistan for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden
2003: The US led a pre-emptive war against Iraq for possibly possessing weapons of mass destruction – no considerable amount was ever found
Up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States was no longer faced with a major global competitor for social, economic and political influence. In the immediate years which followed, America followed different paths
Were these actions more internationalist or unilateral?

11. SUMMARY QUESTIONS
Why was the Vietnam War so different for American society when compared to previous wars?
What was Nixon’s dual purpose of trying to reduce tensions in the Cold War through détente?
What did the Watergate scandal represent for the US and the world?
Why did US foreign policy struggle to find purpose after the Cold War?