Nixon
- Early Background
- Richard Nixon first came to nation attention as an anti-communist congressman. It was because of is anti-communist credentials that he was able to later open up relations with communist china.- “Only Nixon could go to China”
- He served as vice-president under Eisenhower, and narrowly lost the 1960 election to JFK.
- Nixon and Civil Rights
- Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” was designed to appeal to white Southern Democrats who thought their party had become too liberal.
- Nixon attempted to slow integration of public schools, and opposed busing to achieve integrated schools.
- He also opposed extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had added one million African Americans to the voting rolls.
- Nixon and the Economy
- Stagflation- (stagnation + inflation)- high inflation and unemployment rates
- Causes of stagflation
- Massive deficit spending of LBJ administration on Vietnam and Great Society programs increased the money supply, causing inflation.
- Japan and West Germany begin to control world markets formerly services by the U.S., decreasing demand for U.S goods.
- Baby Boomers come of age, and he economy doesn’t have jobs for all of them.
- OPEC oil embargo- The Middle East oil cartel stopped selling oil to the U.S. to punish it for supporting Israel, causing gas and heating oil shortages. Because of the U.S.’s dependence on oil, inflation soared because the supply was limited.
- Nixon’s response to economic problems
- Nixon tried to cut government spending to reduce he deficit, but Congress did not agree.
- He imposed wage and price controls that provided only temporary relief from inflation.
- Nixon and Foreign Policy
- By far the greatest triumphs of Nixon’s presidency came in the area of foreign policy.
- Secretary of State Henry Kissinger convinced Nixon to follow a policy of realpolitik- dealing with foreign countries in a practical, not ideological, manner. The U.S. abandoned the policy on containment and began to deal with communist countries more realistically. Nixon became the first U.S. President ever to visit Communist China and the Soviet Union.
- Nixon and China
- The United States had never formally recognized he Communist government in China, which had been in power for over 20 years.
- The U.S. saw the Communist revolution in China as evidence of the spread of communism, and thought of the Soviet Union and China as being part of a worldwide conspiracy to destroy democracy.
- But in fact the Soviet Union and China had become bitter enemies. Nixon pursued better relations with both countries in order to further drive a wedge between them.
- By traveling to China, Nixon paved the way for economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries, as well as formal diplomatic recognition of Red China. He also caused the Soviet Union to wonder what China was up to.
- Nixon and the Soviet Union
- Nixon pursued a policy of détente- an easing of Cold War tensions between the two nuclear superpowers.
- Nixon was able to achieve the first limitations on the nuclear arms race. The SALT I Treaty (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) limited the number of ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) on both sides.
- Watergate
- Nixon became the first and only President to resign as a result of the Watergate scandal.
- The power of the Presidency had grown as a result of the New Deal, World War II and the Cold War ( the “Imperial Presidency”, and he President put himself above the law and the Constitution.
- Members of Nixon’s staff organized a break-in of Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, in attempt to discover information to help Nixon win re-election. The White House orchestrated a massive cover-up of this illegal operation when the burglars were discovered.
- Seeking evidence that the President authorized the break-in or participated in the cover-up, a Special Prosecutor demanded that Nixon turn over tapes he had secretly made of all his Oval Office conversations.
- Nixon refused to turn over the tapes