24.1 Richard Nixon :P Flashcards
When was Richard Nixon elected?
1968
Who was Nixon’s special advisor on Foreign affairs
Henry Kissinger
What is one important thing that Nixon and Kissinger did
Ended involvement in war
What did President NIxon want
To limit federal government and reduce power
What direction was the President determined to send us in
A more conservative
What was one of the first things that the president hoped to do
Decrease size and influence of federal government
What did Nixon believe about Great Society
That by promoting greater federal involvement of social problems, expanded government’s power and given too much responsibility
What was Nixon’s plan called
New Federalism
What did Nixon do in New Federalism
Gave greater financial freedom to local government. This was to distribute a portion of the federal power to the state and local government
Normally, what did the Federal Government tell the state government to do with the money
how to use it
Under revenue sharing, what could states and local governments do
Spend the money in whatever way they saw fit within certain limitations
What did this bill become known as
The state and Local Fiscal Act of 1972
What was Nixon not so successful in?
His attempt to overhaul welfare–which he believed had grwon cumbersome and inefficient
In 1969, the president advocated what
teh so Called Family Assistance plan (FAP)
Under the FAP, what happened
every family of four, with no outside income would recieve a basic federal payment of 1600 a year. They had a provision to earn up to 4,000 a year in supplemental income. If you were unemployed, the you would have to take job training and accept any reasonable job offer
How did Nixon present the plan-in conservative terms
He presented it as a program that would reduce the supervisory role of the federal government and make welfare recipients responsible for their own lives
Which part of Congress approved 1970? (FAP)
the House, but when it came to the Senate, it was attacked by both parties. This is because liberal legislators considered the minimum payments too low and the work requirement too stiff while conservatives objected to the notion of guaranteed income.
What was the end result of FAP
it was Dead
In the end, what did nixon’s New Federalism enhance?
Several key federal programs. It also dismantled other programs.
How did Nixon get support from Democrats in his New Federalism?
He supported congressional measures to increase federal spending for some social programs.
What Democrat programs did Nixon increase?
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments. They made food stamps more accesible
What did the president work to dismantle:
Some of the social programs.
What are the programs that Nixon tried to eliminate
Job Corps: provided job training for the unemployed
Housing and Urban Development: Vetoed a Bill to provide additional dunding for it
Nixon also used what rare presidential practice?
Impoundment
What was impoundment
He witheld necessary funds for programs, thus holding up their advancement/implementation
By 1973, how much had Nicon impounded?
15 billion, and that affected more than 100 federal programs, that included those involviong health, housing, and education
What ddi the federal court eventually order with relation to the impounded funds?
They ruled that the presidential impoundment was unconstitutional, and only Congress had the authority to devide how to federal funds should be spent.
What did Nixon eventually abolish
the Offic of Economic Opportunity
Nixon had been elected in 1968 with
he dual promis to end the war in Vietnam and med the dicisiveness within America that the war had created
Nixon had been elected in 1960 with the duel promise to end the war in Vietnam and med the divisiveness within America that the war had created. Throughout his first term, what didhe do?
Moved aggressively to fullfill both pledges
What did the president to in relation to Vietnam?
He de-escalated involvement and oversaw peace negotiations with North Vietnam. However, he began to make law and order policies that had promised his silent majority-middle class americans who wanted order restored to a country beset by violence.
NIxon wanted to please the silent majority with order. How did he do so? And what was the consequence of some of his actions
He started to do this, but in some points he used all of the resources of his office–some times illegally. Nixon and the members of his staff ordered wiretaps of many left wing individuals and the Democratic Party offices at the Watergate complex
What did Nixon order the CIA to do?
investigate and compile a document on thousands of American dissidents-people who objected to the government
How did the administration use the Internal Revenue Service?
To audit the tax returns of antiwar and civil rights activists.
What did Nixon begen building?
A personal enemies list of rominent Americans whom the administration would harass
How did Nixon use VP Spiro T Agnew?
He used him to denouce the opposition/. Agnew was known for his colorful quotes. He thought that the media were cheerleaders of the liberals
What direction did Nixon want to steer the country in?
A more conservative direction
Nixon had won the 1968 election by a
Slim Margin. So, now he had to develop new strategies for his reelection campaign
For his 1972 presidential election, Nixon began to work on a_______
new conservative coalition to build support
What was the Southern Strategy?
It was anew conservative coalition, and Nixon used it to try and attract Southern Conservative Democrats by appealing to their unhappiness with the federal desegregation policies and liberal Supreme Court
Since Reconstruction, what had the South been
a strong democratic stronghold
But, by 1968, what had happened to most Southern Democrats?
They had become to dillusioned with their party. In their eyes, they saw the party which was champion of the Great Society. They thought that it had become too liberal, and as a result their was a conservatice backlash
When did the conservatice backlash first surface?
in the 1968 election when many whicte Southern Democrats helped former Alabama governor George Wallace a conservative segregationist running as an independent carry 5 southern states and capture 13 percent of the vote
Nixon wanted the conservative backlash voters. What did he and his party hope:
That they would not only win the White House again, they would also be able to recapture the majority
What did President Nixon do to attract white voters
He decided on a policy of slowing the country’s desegregation efforts
In September 1969, less than a year after being elected president what did Nixon make clear about his views on civil rights?
There are those who want instant integration and those who want segregation forever. I believe that we need to have a middle course between those two extremes
In relation to civil rights, what did President Nixon work to do during his first term>
He worked to reverse several civil right s policies.
What were some of President Nixon’s actions with relation to Civil Rights policies
He ordered the Department of Health Education and Welfare to delay desegergation plans for school districts in South Carolina
How did The Supreme Court react to Nixon’s civil rights acts ( what did it violate)
It violated Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling which called for the desegregation of schools with DELIBERATE SPEED:
In response to an NAACP suite, the high scourt ordered Nixon to abide by the second Brow ruling. The president did so
By 1972, what percent of chidren in the South attended desegregated schools
90, up from 20 in 1969
Even though he could do nothing about the BVBE decision, what did Nixon do to chip away at civil rights advances?
He opposed the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act added one million African Americans to the voting list. but, Congress voted to pass it
What was another initiative that Nixon attempted to stop with civil rights.
Integration of school buses.
Where did the initiative to integrate busing come about?
From 1971 case Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education.
It was ruled that school districts may bus students to other schools to end the pattern of all black or all white educational institutions.
Where did parents protest the integration of buses?
In places such as Boston and Detroit.
How did Nixon show that he opposed integration through busing
he went on National TV and wanted to urge Congress to halt the practice. Even though this continued, he had made a point to the SOUTH
During the 1968, what had Nixon criticized, and why?
He had criticized the Warran Court for being too liberal
During Nixon’s first term, what happened to the Warren Court?
Many of the Justices left the court to retire
Who did Nixon replace in the couts
more conservative people. In 1969, the Senate approved Nixon’s chief justive appointee Warran Burger
What did Nixon hope for when he appointed three new judges?
A more conservative tilting by the court. However, the court was not always conservatives
What was one of the more pressing issues that Richard Nixon was facing?
a bad economy.
The united states was facing a situation that involved high unemployment and high inflation. What did economists call this?
Stageflation
What were causes of the economic problems?
High inflation: because of LBJ’s policy to fund the war and social programs through deficit spending
- There was increased competition in international trade and a flood of new workers including women and baby boomers
- Heavy dependency on foreign oil. During the 1960s, America recieved a lot of the petrol from oil prodcing countries in the middle east
Many middle eastern oil producing countries belonged to what was called:
OPEC: Organization of PEtroleum Exporting Countries.
What ddi OPEC gradually do?
They gradually raised oil prices. Throughout the 1960s
In 1973, what event rocked the world?
Egypt started the Yom Kippur war against Israel
What was the united State’s role in the YK war, and what did this result in
They provided massive military aid to Israel. Arab nations pcutted off all oil sales to the United States
When Arab nations resumed selling oil to the United States, what had happened to the prices
They had quadrupled and this worsened inflation
What did President Nixon do to combat stageflation
- He attempted to raise taxes and cut the budget to reverse deficit spending. But Congress refused to go along with this.
- He tried to reduce the amount of money in circulation by urging that interst rates be raised. This drove the country into a mild recessions.
In August 1971, what did the president do?
He turned to price and wage controls to stop inflation. In this, he froze price and wage fees for 90 days. But the recession continued
What type of policy did President Nixon prefer?
Foreign policy
Throughout his presidency, what was Nixon’s top priority
Gaining honorable peace in Vietnam. At the same time, he advanced in America’s relationships with China and the Soviet union
Who was the architect of Nixon’s foreign policy
His adviser for national security affairs-Henry Kissinger
What would Kissinger later become
What philisophy did Kissinger promote?
realpolitik from a german term meaning political reaism
What was realpolitik
It was foreign polcy that was solely based on consideration of power, not ideals or moral principles. Kissinger believed in evaluating a nation’s power, not its philosophy or beliefs. If a country was weak, Kissinger argued that it was more practical to ignore that country even if it was communist,
What did the usage of realpolitik mark?
A departure from the former confrontal policy of containment which refused to recognize the major Communist countries.
What was another thing that Kissinger’s policy called for?
The United States to fully confront the powerful nations of the globe. In the world of of realpolitik, the confrontation meant military negotiation as well as military engagement.
Nixon shared Kissinger’s belief in realpolitik and together, the two men adopted what
A more flexible approach in dealiing with Communist nations
What was NIxon’s and Kissinger’s policy called?
Detente and it was aimed at easing Cold War tensions.
Nixon visited China
Since the takeover of mainland China by the Communists in 1949, what had the United States not done
they had not formally recognized the Chinese Communist government.
When did Nixon visit Chian
1971 because he wanted to seek to normalize the relations between the two countries
By going to China, what was Nixon trying to do?
Take advantage of the decade long rift between China and the Soviet Union
Why was there a rift between China and the Soviet Union?
Because, China had criticized the countryfor being too soft in its policies against the west
When did China and the Soviet Union break ties
in 1960
What had nixon thought about exploiting
the fractured relationship between the two superpowers
” We want to have the Chinese with us when we sit down and negotiate with the Russians:
Besides the symbolic value of the visit to china, what was another thing
It was huge with the public
What did the visit open up?
Diplomatic and economic relations between the US and China
What was an important agreement between the United States and China
That the two nations agreed that neither would try to dominate the Pacific and that both would cooperate in settling disputes peacfully. They also agreed to participate in scientific and cultural exchanges as well as eventually reunite Taiwan with the Mainland
In May 1972, three months after visiting Beijing, where did Nixon go
Moscow, he was the first US president to ever visit the Soviet Union
Like his trip to China, what did Nixon’s trip to China recieve
wide acclaim.
What were the series of meetings that Nixon had in the Soviet Union
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
What did Nixon and Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev sign
SALT 1 TREATY
What did the SALT do
It was a five year agreement that limited the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine launched missiles to 1972 levels.
What helped to reelect Nixon in 1972
His foreign policy and visits
But, Peace in Vietnam proved to be what?
Elusive- the Nixon administration had to deal with for six more months before withdrawing tropps and ending America’s involvement in Vietnam
