The Nixon Years, 1968-74
KEY THEMES & ISSUES
1. Conservative backlash…
2. Nixon’s Southern Strategy
3. Foreign Affairs
4. Domestic Affairs
1968: Conservative Backlash
Domestic Anxieties:
black power, gay rights, women’s lib., hippies, counterculture, new sexual attitudes, drugs, rock, antiwar movement
Violence: Death of MLK (April); RFK (June)
Urban Riots:
Detroit & Newark, 1967
Everywhere, 1968
Nixon’s Southern Strategy, 1
1964-1968:
Republicans exploit southern white opposition to Democrats’ civil rights stance
Early signs of change
1964: Barry Goldwater [R] wins 5 southern states
Strom Thurmond joins Republicans
1966: Republican mid-term success
Nixon’s Southern Strategy, 2
1968: Nixon wins Va, Tn, Ok, Fl, NC & SC
1972: Nixon sweeps South
(’64, 68 & ’72: The George Wallace factor)
Nixon’s Vietnam, 1
RN’s policy mixed
1969: Vietnamization of war
reduces US ground troops
Tentatively begins talking with Russians & NV about negotiated peace (Détente)
But: increases bombing of NV
secretly bombs Cambodia
April 30, 1970 US invades Cambodia
Feb 1971, Nixon encourages S. Vietnam to invade Laos
Nixon’s Vietnam, 2
War increasingly unpopular
Oct. 15 1969: “Vietnam Moratorium”
Huge Protests following invasion of Cambodia:
Deaths at Kent State &
Jackson State, May 1970
1970: News of 1968 My Lai Massacre breaks
June 1971: Pentagon Papers
Neil Young, Ohio
Tin soldiers & Nixon’s coming, we’re finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming, 4 dead in Ohio.
Gotta get down to it, soldiers are gunning us down (‘Should have been done long ago’). What if you knew her & found her dead on the ground? How can you run when you know?
Bread,This Isn’t What the Governmeant
Then the war, don’t know what for, somebody said it had to be fought. Supposed to go, but I said no, ‘cause I’s afraid I might get shot.
Here I am on my hands & knees, scrubbing in my dungarees. I got burned, but I finally learned - this is what the Govern-meant….
Nixon’s Vietnam, 3
April 1972, Mining of NV harbors; bombing ctd.
Dec. 1972, final massive bombing raids.
Détente
Henry Kissinger
Paris Peace Negotiations, 1969-73.
Peace signed 1973 (US accepts same terms as offered in 1969)
US troops withdraw; NV occupy Saigon in April 1975
Assessing Vietnam
Strategic Value
Human Costs
US
Vietnamese
Ecological Costs
Economic Costs
Psychological Effects
“Vietnam Syndrome”
“End of Victory Culture”
Detente
Chinese-Soviet tensions mount in late1960s.
RN exploits rift by opening discussions with both
Ping-Pong Diplomacy
Spring 1971: US embargo of China eased; sporting links established
Feb 1972: RN meets Mao Zedong in Beijing,
RN improves relations with USSR
both want end to Vietnam & arms race
May 1972: Strategic Arms Limitation Talks agreement
Nixon’s Mixed Domestic Record, 1
Economic Problems:
“Stagflation”
Rising prices; rising unemployment; slow economic growth
Depression
Oil Crisis ’73-4
OPEC
Post-Industrial Era
demise of old heavy industries
Nixon’s Mixed Domestic Record, 2
Strong on Law & order
“Benign Neglect” on racial issues
“New Federalism”
increased local control
But some “liberal” surprises:
expanded Social Security
Environmental Protection Agency
Subsidized housing schemes
Some affirmative action
Supreme Court (Warren Burger)
Swann decision on busing, ’71
Roe vs Wade, ’73
Conclusions
1. RN’s presidency reflected anxieties about the apparent collapse of law, order & morality in the US.
2. It signaled a partial return to a culture of “rugged individualism”, with opposition to expansive govt. social, welfare & economic policies, & a rejection of the ‘60’s “spirit of sacrifice & service.”
3. Republican success depended heavily on white opposition to more pro-minority legislation.
4. Despite his conservatism, Nixon modified, rather than dismantled, the New Deal social welfare apparatus.
5. Détente helped end Vietnam War & ease international tensions.