1. What’s Happening? 1969- Woodstock Music Festival took place
1971 -First Starbucks opens in Seattle
killed in terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics
1975- “Jaws” becomes first motion picture blockbuster

2. Richard M. Nixon 37th President 1969-1974

3. Nixon Republican from California First Lady- Pat 2 daughters
VP Spiro Agnew then Gerald Ford
1st president to visit China while in office
Only president to resign

4. Vietnamization
Nixon’s strategy to end America’s involvement in Vietnam
Called for gradual withdrawal of US troops from South Vietnam
Over next 3 years # of US troops in Vietnam dropped from 500,000 to less than 25,000
Even though the pullout was in effect, Nixon secretly ordered a massive bombing campaign against supply routes and bases in North Vietnam

5. July 20th, 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon
Armstrong said as he stepped onto the moon’s surface, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Millions of Americans watched the historic landing on tv

6. My Lai Massacre
Nov 1969 NY Times issued an article on what would become known as the My Lai Massacre
In March 1968, a US platoon under command of Lt. Wm Calley Jr. entered the small village of My Lai looking for Vietcong rebels
Finding no Vietcong, the troops rounded up the villagers and shot and killed them
Soldiers massacred more than 100 innocent Vietnamese- mostly women and children
25 army officers were charged w/ involvement in the massacre and subsequent cover up, but only Calley was convicted and imprisoned

7. Invasion of Cambodia
April 30th, Nixon announced that US troops had invaded Cambodia
Cambodia was invaded to clear out N Vietnamese and Vietcong supply centers
Upon hearing of invasion, college students across the country erupted in protest
More than 1.5 million students closed down campuses across the US

8. Kent State
Massive student protest at Kent State University in Ohio led to the burning of the ROTC building on campus
The mayor called in the National Guard
On May 4th, 1970, the guards fired into a crowd of campus protesters who were hurling rocks at them
Gunfire wounded nine and killed four, including two who had not even participated in the rally

9. Pentagon Papers
June 1971 fmr Defense Dept worker Daniel Ellsburg leaked what came to be known as the Pentagon Papers
A 7,000 page document written for Sect of Defense Robert McNamara revealed that the gov’t drew up plans for sending more troops even as LBJ promised he wouldn’t send any more
Showed there was never any plan to end the war
Confirmed many Americans’ belief that the gov’t had not been honest about its war intentions
On March 29th, 1973 the last US combat troops left for home and the North Vietnamese Communists took control of South Vietnam- still in control today

10. Watergate
2:30am on June 17th, 1972 a guard at the Watergate apartment/office complex caught 5 men breaking into the campaign HQ of the Democratic party
Men were part of team known as the “plumbers” who job was to plug any gov’t leaks to the media and aid the Nixon admin in other ways-some illegal
The burglars intended to photograph documents outlining the Dem’s election strategy and to place wiretaps on the phones
Press later found out that the group’s leader was a fmr CIA agent and an official of the Committee to Reelect the President
White House then tried to cover up its involvement
Nixon was reelected in November 1972

11. Scandal Deepens
Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein began investigating White House involvement and found an inside source only identified as “deep throat”
Senate began investigation of what the president knew and when he knew it
July 27th, 1974 the House Judiciary Committee adopted 3 articles of impeachment against President Nixon- next step was for full House of Reps to vote on them

12. Nixon Resigns
On August 8th, Nixon told Americans again that he was not guilty of any wrongdoing but that he was going to resign effective at noon the next day
On August 9th, Richard Nixon and his wife Pat left the White House on the presidential helicopter and Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States