SSUSH25A & C

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Election of 1968

• Nixon’s Strategy =

Democratic Candidate

Former V.P. under LBJ

Agreed in a meeting with Senator Strom Thurmond

Independent Candidate

Former Governor of Ala.

Republican Candidate

V.P. under Eisenhower

Appoint only conservatives to the Supreme Court

Oppose court ordered busing in the south

Choose a Southern Politician for Vice President

Former Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew

Southern Strategy

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Domestic Policies

• Southern Strategy included:

Slowing down desegregation in the south

Reversing some of LBJ’s Civil Rights policies

• Set Out to Restore Law and Order:

Targeted Anti-War Protestors who caused civil unrest

Prosecuted hard line Militants who incited riots and rebellion

Enforced laws against Draft Evaders and Military Deserters

Replaced retiring

Liberal Chief Justice

Earl Warren with

Conservative Judge

Warren Burger

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Domestic Policies

• New Federalism:

Dismantling several older Federal Programs

Returning power and authority to state level

Congress passed several Revenue Sharing Bills

Giving states more federal funds and power to help the people

Requiring states to comply with guidelines to obtain funds

Ultimately giving the federal government more power over states

• Sought to Reform Welfare System

Eliminate people claiming welfare checks instead of finding a job

1969 – Proposed a new Family Assistance Plan

Guaranteed a Yearly Grant to supplement current income

1970 – Passed in the House of Representative, but defeated in the Senate

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Foreign Policy

• Ambitious Agenda required strong leadership

Appointed Henry Kissinger as National Security Advisor and Chief Diplomat for Negotiations

Both believed that negotiations with USSR and China was a better policy than aggressive maneuvering

Took on a realistic approach to anti-communist policies

Rejected the old Bipolar world (two superpowers) to a Multipolar one

Dedicated to reducing Cold War tensions by building better relations

New Policy became known as Detente

1972: A Year for Change in World Diplomacy

Feb 1972: Nixon’s Trip to Beijing, China

May 1972: Nixon’s Trip to Moscow, Russia

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Foreign Policy Feb 1972: Nixon’s Trip to Beijing, China

May 1972: Nixon’s Trip to Moscow, Russia

Met with Mao Zedong

Agreed to establish “More Normal” relations

Increase of trade between U.S. and China

Resolve dispute over Taiwan

Hoped to persuade Soviets to agree on a meeting

Met with Leonid Brezhnev

Soviet invitation to a high level “Summit” meeting

Signed agreement to reduce Nuclear Weapons stockpiles

Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I)

Increase Trade & Information

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Presidential Election of 1972

Democratic Candidate

Senator from S.D.

Independent Candidate

Paralyzed by Assassin

Republican Candidate

Incumbent President

Concerns about re-election caused Nixon’s campaign staff to engage in subversive tactics

He had struggled in two previous elections (JFK 1960 / Calif 1962)

Continuing Race Riots and Anti-War Protests affected voters

Paranoid about opponents trying to undermine his Presidency

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Presidential Election of 1972

• Watergate Scandal: Efforts to steal information from the Democratic Party Headquarters in Washington, DC

5 Men broke into offices at Watergate Hotel complex

Attempted to steal info and install telephone wire taps

Security Guard detected the intruders and Police arrested them

• Media alerted to possible connection to the President

Administrative officials destroyed evidence

Advisors asked CIA to block FBI investigation

White House denied President’s involvement

Nov 1972:

President Nixon won Re-Election

Jun 1973:

Watergate Burglars Went on Trial

Nixon, Ford and Carter

1973: The Year for Presidential Disaster

• Jun 1973: Watergate Burglars went on Trial

Burglar James McCord (former CIA) agreed to testify to the Grand Jury

Numerous other campaign officials agreed to testify after McCord

White House Counsel, John Dean, incriminated the U.S. Attorney General:

John Mitchell ordered the break in

White House Aide, Alexander Butterfield, incriminated the President:

President Nixon ordered taping system installed in the Oval Office

Senate Investigators ordered the tapes to be released Nixon Refused

Nixon, Ford and Carter

1973: The Year for Presidential Disaster

• Oct 1973: Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox took the President to Court over the Tapes

Nixon had Cox fired and the new Attorney General resigned

• Fall 1973: Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned over bribery scandal during his Governorship of Maryland

House Republican Majority Leader, Gerald Ford, became the new Vice President

• Apr 1974: House Judiciary Committee voted to impeach President Nixon due to misconduct

• 9 Aug 1974: President Richard M. Nixon chose to resign the office of President

Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Ford Struggles

• Sep 1974: President Gerald Ford granted Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon”

Criticism damaged the president’s credibility with the American voters

• By 1975: Americans and President struggled with the oil shortages and inflation

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had an embargo against the U.S. due to its support of Israel

• 1975-1976: President Ford’s attempts to resolve economic problems failed

• President Ford kept Henry Kissinger on as Secretary of State

• July-Aug 1975: President signed the Helsinki Accords

Agreement to improve East-West relations and continue Détente with the Communist Bloc

Nixon, Ford and Carter

1976 Presidential Election

Democratic Candidate

Former Governor of GA

Republican Candidate

Incumbent President

Rising Inflation and Unemployment

Political Turmoil in Developing Nations

Declining Détente with Communists

Concerns of American Voters included:

Strong Religious beliefs

Dedicated to being Honest and Truthful

Promised to restore morality to politics

Promised to restore integrity to office

Criticized by Media

“Return to Basic American Virtues”

Need for a Strong National Defense

Reconciliation with the Communist Bloc

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Economic Policy

• Several different policies failed to reduce inflation

• Proposed a National Energy Program to get American’s to voluntarily conserve oil and fuel consumption

• 1977: Persuaded Congress to create a Department of Energy to monitor and regulate the safety and use of all Nuclear Power

• 1979: Middle East Crisis caused a second major fuel shortage in America

Foreign Policy

• 1977: Appointed Congressman Andrew Young as first African-American Ambassador to the United Nations

• 1978: Signed a resolution guaranteeing the return of the Panama Canal to the Panamanians in 1999

• 1978-1979: Negotiated the historic Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel

Ending 30 years of hostilities between them

Nixon, Ford and Carter

Foreign Policy

• Jan 1979: Iranian Revolution forced the Shah to flee

• Nov 1979: Revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy and took 52 Hostages

Efforts to negotiate with the Ayatollah Khomeini to release of the hostages failed

• Dec 1979: Soviet Military forces invaded Afghanistan

U.S. imposed a grain embargo against the Soviet Union

U.S. Boycotted the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow

• 20 Jan 1981: Iranian Hostages were released on the day President Carter left office