President Nixon, Ford, and Carter Power Point Notes

Challenges of the 1970’s
1954 - 1980
1. War in Vietnam – 1954- 1975
2. From Nixon ( to Ford) to
Carter – 1968 - 1980
•After World War Two, the United States
took a very strong stance against the
containment of communism anywhere in the
world.
•In the mid 1960’s, the United States got
involved in a war with Vietnam, which had won
its independence from the French in 1954.
•The conflict, which lasted longer than a
decade, left bitter feelings between the
United States and Vietnam.
1954 - 1980

From Nixon to Carter
1. The Nixon Years
2. From Watergate to Ford
3. Carter: The Outsider
4. Life in the 1970’s
Carter
Nixon
Ford
1954 - 1980

1. The Nixon Years
• “As I saw it, America in the
1960’s had undergone a
misguided crash program aimed
at using the power of the
presidency and the federal
government to right past wrongs
by trying to legislate social
progress. This was the idea
behind Kennedy’s New Frontier
and Johnson’s Great Society.
The problems were real and the
intention worthy, but the
method was foredoomed [bound
to fail]. By the end of the
decade its costs had become
almost prohibitively high in
terms of the way it undermined
[weakened] fundamental
relationships within our federal
system, created confusions
about our national values, and
corroded American belief in
ourselves as a people and as a
nation.”
– Richard Nixon, The Memoirs of
Richard Nixon
1954 - 1980

Courting the Silent
Majority
– Silent Majority -the forgotten middle
class Americans who did not like the
social unrest of the 1960’s.
– Believed that the liberal system had
made people too dependent upon the
federal government.
– Nixon suggested replacing the welfare
system with the Family Assistance Plan,
which would guarantee families a
minimum income. The Senate voted the
FAP down.
1954 - 1980

Seeking southern support
• Southern Strategy -not to
ask for any new civil
rights legislation to woo
conservative southern
white voters away from
the Democratic Party.
• President Nixon also
appointed a conservative
as chief justice of the
Supreme Court. Warren
Burger replaced Earl
Warren as Chief Justice.
Warren Burger
1954 - 1980

Tackling the Economy
» During the 1960’s, the United States enjoyed
economic prosperity, but by the time Nixon took
office, heavy government spending on the
Vietnam War and social programs promoting civil
rights legislation led the country into a recession.
» Stagflation -rising unemployment and inflation
1954 - 1980

Prices hikes
– In Oct. 1973, several Arab nations cut
off oil shipments to the United States
as punishment in its involvement in the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
– Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)-a group of five oil
producing countries that wanted to
increase oil process.
– The oil embargo and the price hike
triggered an energy crisis in the United
States in the winter of 73 and 74.
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

Energy policy
– President Nixon called for energy conservation.
– Government replaced fossil fuel with nuclear
energy.
1954 - 1980

Cleaning up the Environment
– first Earth day -1970-Richard Nixon
– Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-power
to enforce environmental laws
– Endangered Species Act -protect wildlife from
extinction
1954 - 1980

Foreign Affairs under Nixon
• The Nixon-Kissinger Approach
– Realpolitik -practical politics-national
interests rather than ideals that
spread democracy and human rights
should guide foreign policy
– Nixon wanted to establish a balance
among the five world powers.
•“The only time in the history of the
world that we have had any extended
period of peace is when there had been a
balance of power. It is when one nation
becomes infinitely more powerful in
relation to its potential competitors
that the danger of war arises. “
•Richard Nixon, Years of Discord,
John Morton Blum
1954 - 1980

The China Visit
– President Nixon visited China (“the enemy of
my enemy is my friend”). He was referring to
Russia and China.
– The two nations agreed to work together to
promote peace in the Pacific.
1954 - 1980

The Moscow Summit
– Nixon, after visiting China, met with Soviet
Leader Leonid Brezhnev and they both agreed
to promote trade between the two nations.
– Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)-treaty
to limit nuclear weapons, which led to a détente
-lessening of military and diplomatic tensions
between the two countries.
• Trouble Spots in Chile and the Middle East seemed
to put détente to the test.
Leonid Brezhnev
1954 - 1980

2. From Watergate to Ford
• “Nixon had three goals: to win by
the biggest electoral landslide in
history; to be remembered as a
peacemaker; and to be accepted
by the ‘Establishment’ as an equal.
He achieved all these objectives
by the end of 1972 and the
beginning of 1973. And he lost
them all two months later-partly
because he turned a dream into
an obsession.
• Henry Kissinger, Years of
Upheaval
1954 - 1980

Crisis in the Presidency
• No limits on a president’s power
• Dark Secrets
– 1971-Nixon-told his staff to compile an “enemies
list” of critics as well as organized a group of
“plumbers” to stop leaks and to carry out a
variety of illegal actions in the name of national
security.
– June- 5 men were caught with wiretap equipment
and spying devices breaking into the offices of
the Democratic National Committee in the
Watergate office in D.C.
– Funded by Nixon’s campaign Committee to Re-elect the
President
– Washington Post Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
received information from “Deep Throat,” and informant in
the federal government. They leaked the information to
the public.
Bob Woodward
Carl Bernstein
1954 - 1980

The investigation
• Despite the Watergate scandal, Nixon was re-elected in 1972 by a
landslide.
• Spring of 1973, the executive and the legislative branch began their
investigations into the scandal.
» Senator Sam Ervin led an investigation of a scandal
know as Watergate
» James McCord, a former CIA agent who was
involved in the break-in had linked the cover-up to
“the very highest levels of the White House.”
» May 1973, the Senate trials were televised and
several top officials were eventually convicted and
jailed.
» Was the president involved? John Dean, White
House attorney, said that he was involved and
another witness said that there were White House
recordings to prove it.
Senator Sam Ervin
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

The Nixon Resignation
• The White House Tapes
– Justice Department special prosecutor
Archibald Cox demanded that the
president hand over the tapes. Nixon
refused citing “executive privilege.”
– Vice President Spiro Agnew, at the
same time, was charged with tax
evasion and resigned. Nixon appointed
the Republican leader in the House of
Representatives, Gerald Ford, as his
Archibald Cox
vice president.
Spiro Agnew
1954 - 1980

Saturday Massacre
– President Nixon, after refusing to hand in the
recordings once again, demanded that Attorney
General Elliot Richardson fire Archibald Cox.
– Both the Attorney General and the Deputy
Attorney General resigned rather than fire
Cox.
– Solicitor General Robert Bark complied.
– Outraged, the public led to calls of
impeachment.
1954 - 1980

Final Days
• Not until July 1974, when the Supreme Court
rejected executive privilege, did Nixon hand over
the tapes.
• With release of the tapes, America discovered the
truth.
• Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as
president. It was the first the president and the
vice president were appointed and not elected.
1954 - 1980

Ford Tries to Reunite the
• Pardon and clemency
Nation
– September, 1974 Gerald Ford granted
Nixon a full pardon.
– Later, he also granted pardons to draft
evaders in exchange for 2 years of
community service.
– Ford’s approval rating dropped from
71% to 505 as a result.
•“We knew the clemency was proclaimed
just to offset [make up for] the Nixon
pardon, which was an insult. We weren’t
criminals, and Nixon was, but Ford proposed
to pardon Nixon unconditionally while
offering ‘alternative punishment’ to us.”
•Dee Knight, From Camelot to Kent
State, Joan and Robert Morrison
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

Trouble continues
– The Democratic Party won control of both
houses and tried to pass social welfare
legislation.
– President Ford vetoed 66 bills in his short
term, more than any other president.
1954 - 1980

Ford’s Foreign Policy
• Asia
– Henry Kissinger stayed on as secretary
of state and Gerald Ford practiced
détente.
– The Mayaguez incident, May 1975-
Cambodian Communists captured an
unarmed U.S. Cargo ship and took the
crew captive.
• President Ford sent the military to get the
crew and eventually the crew had been
released.
• Ford’s approval rating climbed despite some
opposition.
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

The Cold War continues
– Communism in Angola, Africa -the popular front
– Ford authorized a secret funding to the
national front but when Congress found out, the
Senate ordered Ford to stop immediately.
1954 - 1980

3. Carter: The Outsider
• Carter has figured out a
couple of very important
things. What national
leaders and other
candidates perceive as a
political crisis is actually
a spiritual crisis, and that
more symbolic
communication is the best
way to reach Americans
drifting in an atmosphere
saturated with instant
communication.”
– Richard Reeves, New York
Magazine, March 1976
1954 - 1980

The Election of 1976
» Republicans nominated Gerald Ford
and Bob Dole as his running mate.
» Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter
and Walter Mondale as his running
mate.
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

Carter’s Domestic Agenda
• Economic Policy
– Carter issued a tax cut to stimulate the
economy and tried an anti-inflation
program, but it failed to slow inflation
and created more unemployment.
– By 1980, the economy was in a recession
once again.
1954 - 1980

Facing the energy crisis
• National Energy Act -created as a result of the oil
crisis of the late 1970’s.
• Department of Energy -1977-created to oversee
energy issues.
• Three Miles Island Accident -nuclear reactor failed in
Pennsylvania and almost caused a catastrophic
meltdown. “We cannot simply shut down our nuclear
power plants.”
• A loss of faith -With the nation facing recession, Americans lost
confidence in Carter’s leadership.
•“I want to talk to you right now about a
fundamental threat to American democracy
. . . . In a nation that was once proud of hard
work, strong families, close-knit communities,
and our faith in God, too many of us now tend
to worship self-indulgence [pampering] and
consumption.” Jimmy Carter, speech, July 15,
1979
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

A New Foreign Policy
• Morality into United States foreign policy-strong
diplomacy and economic pressure on any countries
that violated human rights.
•“We are deeply concerned . . . By the . . . Subtle
erosion in the focus and morality of our foreign
policy. Under the Nixon-Ford administration, there
has evolved a kind of secretive ‘Lone Ranger’ foreign
policy-a one-man policy of international adventure.
This is not an appropriate policy for America.”
•Jimmy Carter, speech, June, 1976
1954 - 1980

The Panama Canal
– Panama Canal Treaties -granted control of
canal operations to Panama by the year
2000.
– Helped to improve the image of the United
States and diminish appeal of communism
1954 - 1980

Africa
– The United States and the Soviet Union
competed over influence in Africa.
– Apartheid -white minority ruled and black
majority had fewer rights.
1954 - 1980

U.S. Soviet Relations
– United States and the Soviet relationship
reached a low point.
– Soviets invaded Afghanistan and as a result we
refused to participate in the Olympics in the
Soviet Union in 1980.
1954 - 1980

Carter and the Middle East
– Carter’s Foreign Policy -triumph; one of his
greater achievements.
– Egyptian-Israeli armed conflict which led to
Camp David Accords. President Carter met
with Egyptian Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime
Minister Menachem Begin and negotiated peace
that ended 30 years state of war.
1954 - 1980

Anwar Sadat
Carter
Menachem Begin
1954 - 1980

4. Life in the 1970’s
• “Did the way in which Americans commemorated the nation’s
200th birthday contribute to the American dream embodied
in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and
the Bill of Rights? Having witnesses, along with all other
Americans, the renewed spirit of dedication, patriotism and
friendship that flowed across the land on the Bicentennial
weekend, it seems to me that the answer is an unqualified
[without reservation] yes. Americans used the Bicentennial
to renew their faith in themselves, to gain knowledge and
understanding of their neighbors, and to begin again the
quest for liberty, justice, and equality for all.”
– Edward W. Brooke, The Bicentennial of the United
States of America
1954 - 1980

A Changing Population
• Immigration
– 1970’s-the United States population
affected by Asian and Latin American
migration.
– Voting Rights Acts of 1975 -required
states and communities with a large
number of non-English-speaking
residents to print voting materials in
foreign languages.
1954 - 1980

Rise of sunbelt
• States of the south and the west
(California, Florida, Texas)
• The attraction of living in the suburbs led
to an increase in the population in the
Sunbelt.
1954 - 1980

Family life
– End of the 1970’s the idea of the “average
family” changed.
– An increase in divorce and people waited until
later to remarry.
1954 - 1980

American Attitudes
• Improving the self
• Fitness and food
– Self-actualization movement -looking
for ways to improve yourself (Yoga,
Meditation)
– Non traditional religious groups
• Physical fitness -health spas and tennis clubs
• Nutrition and improved diet
1954 - 1980

Entertainment
• During the 1970’s, Americans spent more money
than ever before on music and motion pictures.
1954 - 1980

Movies
• 1970’s-boom in the motion picture industry
• Steven Spielberg -Jaws, Schlinder’s List,
ET, Saving Private Ryan
•“Fear is a very real thing for me. One of the best ways to
cope with it is to turn it around and put it out to others. I
mean, if you are afraid of the dark, you put the audience in a
dark theater. I had a great fear of the ocean.”
•Steven Spielberg, Steven Spielberg, by Joseph McBride
ET phone home!
1954 - 1980

Music
• 1970’s-Rock music changes. Changes from
counterculture to a big business.
• Rock n Roll was replaced by disco and punk
rock.
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

Technological Advances
• Sophistical technological developments changed the
way that Americans viewed the universe. Other
innovations of the 1970s would eventually change
the ways that Americans worked, played, and
communicated.
1954 - 1980

The Space Program
• July 20, 1969-Apollo 11-lunar module landed
on the Moon- Neil Armstrong and Edwin
“Buzz” Aldwin
• Skylab -first United States Space Station
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

We read the newspaper
back then!
1954 - 1980

Innovations
• Apple Computer -Steven Jobs and Stephen
Wozniak-two college dropouts founded
Apple Company (PC)
• Atari games and Videocassette Recordings
(VCR)
• VCR is now replaced by horrible DVD
1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980

1954 - 1980