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Topic 15 – Postwar America (1945-1975)

Lesson 15.6 – The Nixon Years (Vocabulary& Notes)

Key Terms (Vocabulary)

1. silent majority - Americans who were disturbed by unrest in

the 1960s but did not protest publicly

2. stagflation - an economic situation that arises from a

combination of rising prices, high unemployment, and slow economic growth

3. Khmer Rouge - the communist party in Cambodia that

imposed a reign of terror on Cambodian citizens

4. boat people - after the Vietnam War, refugees who

escaped from Vietnam in small boats

5. détente - a policy that promotes he ending of

strained or hostile tensions between countries

6. SALT Agreement - (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) a treaty

between the US and the Soviet Union, to limit the number of nuclear warheads and missiles

7. Watergate - the political scandal involving illegal

activities that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

8. Richard M Nixon - (1913-1994) was the 37th President of the

United States, elected in 1968 ad again in 1972. He resigned from office in 1974 following a scandal that eroded his credibility and support in Congress

Lesson 15.6 – The Nixon Years

Obj: to summarize the accomplishments of President Nixon; to explain how the Vietnam War ended and identify the results of the war; to explain the Watergate scandal and why Nixon resigned from office

As President, Nixon tried to reduce government involvement in people’s lives.

He cut funs or many Ger Society programs, including job training, education, and low-income housing.

He also sought to return power to the states.

He called this transfer of power the “New Federalism”

THE NIXON YEARS

The Silent Majority

During his campaign, Nixon said he wanted to help what he called the “silent majority”.

• Said they were, the “great majority of Americans, the non-shouters, the non-demonstrators”

True to his promise, Nixon began:

• “law and order” program

o Federal funds were used to help local police departments

o Names four conservative justices to the Supreme Court

▪ They tended to deal harshly with lawbreakers

The Moon Landing

Nixon inherited the space program from Kennedy and Johnson.

1969 –

• Its greatest triumph

• July 20, 1969

o Landed a small craft on the moon’s surface

o Millions of tv viewers around the world watched

o Neil Armstrong

▪ Became the first person to step onto the moon

▪ “that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”

o Buzz Aldrin

o Michael Collins

▪ Did not walk on the moon, navigated the ship

• American astronauts visited the moon five more times

The Economy Suffers

During the Nixon years:

• The economy suffered from stagflation

o Nixon froze wages and prices

o He increased federal spending to stimulate economic growth

▪ The economic problems would not go away

• Increased federal spending caused:

o Federal budget deficits

▪ Government spent more than it received in revenues

In Nixon’s early years of his second term:

• Oil embargo

o Added to the pressure of the economy

o High energy prices caused the price of goods to rise even more

NIXON ADDRESSES VIETNAM

At first:

• Nixon widened the war in Vietnam

o Hoping to weaken the enemy

• For years, North Vietnam used tails in nearby Cambodia to supply the Vietcong in South Vietnam

• The Vietcong escaped to Cambodia

o When American and South Vietnamese units attacked

• 1969 –

o Nixon ordered the bombing of communist bases in Cambodia

o Americans and South Vietnamese forces invaded by land

▪ These moves helped plunge Cambodia into its own civil war between communist and non-communist forces

Withdrawal of US Troops

Under pressure at home:

• Nixon began

o to turn the war over to South Vietnam

o Withdraw American troops

January 1973 –

• The two sides reached a cease fire agreement

• Talks held in Paris

1974 –

• The last American combat troops left Vietnam

The US continued to send aid to South Vietnam.

• Even so, the South Vietnamese were unable to stop a North Vietnamese advance

April 1975 –

• Communist forces captured Saigon

o Renamed it Ho Chi Minh City

• Soon after, Vietnam was united under a communist government

Communism in Cambodia

1975 –

• The communist Khmer Rouge

o Won the civil war in Cambodia

o They imposed a brutal reign of terror on their own people

▪ More than 1 million Cambodians starved to death or were killed

1979 –

• Vietnam invaded Cambodia

• Set up a new communist government

o Less harsh than the Khmer Rouge

• Still could not end the fighting

1990s –

• A shaky peace would be restored in Cambodia

The Aftermath

The Vietnam War was a costly conflict

• More than 58,000 American soldiers lost their lives

• Over 150,000 American soldiers were wounded

• Hundreds of thousands of soldiers suffered lingering effects from the psychological stress of the war

• More than 1 million Vietnamese soldiers and perhaps half a million civilians died

• The war shattered the Vietnamese economy.

After 1975 –

• Hundreds of thousands of people fled Vietnam and Cambodia

o Refugees from Vietnam escaped in small boats

o These “boat people”:

▪ Many drowned

▪ Died of hunger and thirst

▪ Others made it to safety

▪ Eventually, may were allowed to settle in the US

The Vietnam War was a painful episode in American history.

Besides its huge cost:

• The war produced no victory

• The war divided the nation

• Some returning soldiers:

o Faced protests

o Many came home without a welcome

▪ A much different experience than soldiers from previous wars who returned home to admiration from the American people.

Vietnam left Americans wondering about how far the nation should go to fight communism.

FOREIGN POLICY DECREASES TENSION

1971 –

• Americans were still fighting in Vietnam

• The Cold War showed signs of thaw

• Nixon moved to ease world tensions

• His first move:

o To seek improved relations with the People’s Republic of China

Recognizing Mao’s China

Since 1949 –

• The US refused to recognize Mao Zedong’s communist government in China.

• Instead –

o It recognized the Chinese Nationalists

▪ Now confined to the island of Taiwan

▪ The US gave them arms and aid and supported their claim to being the legitimate government of all China

Nixon had long been a most outspoken opponent of recognizing communist China

As President, he:

• Allowed secret talks with Chinese officials

o Would lead to new openings for the two countries

• To show good will, China:

o Invited the American ping pong team for a competition in Beijing

o 1972 – Nixon surprised many Americans when he visited China

• The visit was a new era in relations with China

• As tensions eased:

o 1979 - The US and China established formal diplomatic relations

Détente

President Nixon followed his visit to China with another historic trip.

May 1972 –

• He became the first American President to visit the Soviet Union since the beginning of the Cold War

o This was part of Nixon’s effort to reduce tensions between superpowers

o This policy was known as:

▪ Détente

• A French word meaning “loosening”

• It represented an end to strained relations between countries

• It eased tensions of the Cold War by establishing more trade and other contacts between the superpowers

• It led to the SALT Treaty (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks)

The next two Presidents, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, continued the policy of Détente.

Trade between the US and Soviet Union increased.

Under President Ford:

• Soviet and American astronauts conducted a joint space mission

• 1979 –

o President Carter met with Soviet Union Leonid Brezhnev

o They worked out details for SALT II Treaty

THE WATERGATE SCANDAL

During Nixon’s second term:

• While campaigning for re-election, a major scandal erupted:

o Watergate

▪ June 17, 1972

▪ The Watergate building in Washington, DC –

• Police caught five men breaking into Democratic party headquarters

• They were there to steal information about the Democrats

o Taking secret documents and wiretapping phones

• It was suspected that the spies were linked to Nixon, but no solid evidence was found at first

• The President assured the public:

o No one in the White House was involved in the break-in

• Nixon won the 1972 election by a landslide.

The Scandal Deepens

Watergate did not go away with Nixon’s reelection.

• American people would learn that Nixon was indeed involved

o After the break-in:

▪ Nixon gave the spied money to keep quiet about his involvement

▪ Enlisted the CIA to obstruct the investigation

• seven men were charged in the scandal

o two were convicted

o five pleaded guilty

• despite Nixon’s denials of involvement:

o Senate committee began public hearings

• May 1973 –

o Hearings revealed Nixon had made secret tape recordings of conversations in his office.

o Nixon refused to give the committee the tapes

▪ Knowing the tapes would prove his guilt

• Fall 1973 –

o Another unrelated scandal erupted

o VP Spiro Agnew –

▪ Accused of takin bribes and evading taxes

▪ He was forced to resign

o Nixon chose Representative Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to replace him.

Nixon Resigns

July 1974 –

• Nixon was ordered by the Supreme Court to surrender the tapes

• The Watergate crisis cam to a head when Nixon continued to hold onto the tapes

• House of Representatives committee passed articles of impeachment against the President

• One of the several charges:

o Obstructing, or blocking, justice

August 1974 –

• Nixon handed over the tapes

o They proved he and several close advisers had tried to cover up the truth about Watergate break-in

• Three days later

o Before an impeachment trial could begin –

▪ Richard Nixon became the first President to resign from office

Ford Takes Office

The new President, Gerald Ford, had a difficult job.

• Faced a troubles economy

• Faced the challenge of helping the nation emerge from a major political scandal

• He granted Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon”

o This was done a month after Nixon resigned

• Some felt that Nixon should have been brought to trial

• Ford:

o Wanted to save the country from a bitter debate over Watergate

o He lost a great deal of public support because of his decision

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