63-72 Nixon Flashcards
context of the 1968 election
-LBJ not running for another term
-1968 convention where activists attacked the interior and exterior of the hall
-Vietnam war
-DNC convention 1968- riots
-assination of MLK and Bobby Kennedy
-riots in most cities- troops were deployed
-Nixons previous election campaigns and VP for eisenhower
-Democrat Hubert Humphrey seend as LBJs partner in Vietnam war
-Democrats divided- nominating a pig called Pigasus
Canidates for the 1968 election and percent of vote they got
Richard Nixon- 43.4%
Hubert Humphrey- 42.7%
George Wallace- 13.5%
What was nixons priority in 1968
Peace with honour- end vietnam war
Law and order - stop riots
New federalism
What was hubert humphreys priorities
Continue to expand thecgreat society
What was georg3 Wallace priority
Hates the Democrats and oppos3d desegregation and the great society
Overturn the voting rights act
States rights
Who voted for nixon
The silent majority
He blew the dog whistle
Who voted for hubert humphrey
Diverse voting base- students,women, African-Americans
Democrats and people happy with the way the country was going
Who voted for George wallace
Women’s in the southern states
Appeals to segregation8sts
Won a proportion of the working class votes
Southern strategy
Opposed the busing of school children to enforce desegregation.
Promised to appoint a southerner to the supreme court
Law and order
Mobilised the fbi and cia to infiltrate and disrupt protectors, even infiltrating their tax returns
Silent majority
Appealed to 55% of Americans who wanted law and order and return to traditional value
New federalism
Decrease the influence and size of the federal government.
Greater federal involvement with social problems had given the federal government too much responsibility and should be redistributed back to state and local governments
How did Nixon successfuly implement new federalism
Nixon proposed a plan to give local governments more freedom over thier money.
Under the revenue sharing, state and local governments could spend their money however they saw fit, with certain limitations.
in 1972 this became law and was passed as the Revenue-sharing bill.
Revenue Sharing Bill
gave state and local authoritys greater control over how they spend their federal money with certain limitations
Failures at in implicating New Federalism
Nixon found it difficult to overhaul welfare, in 1969 he advocated for the Family Assistance Plan. Nixon presented the plan through a conservative view point where it would reduce the supervisory roles of the federal government in personal lives. However the plan was attacked from both sides, with liberals thinking it was to little and conservatives thinking it was too much.
The bill went down in defeat.
How did Nixon go against New Federalism?
He supported a number of congressional measures to increase federal spending in some social programmes.
Without fanfare the Nixon Adminstration increased social security, medicare, medicaid and made food stamps more accesible.
Family Assistance Plan (FAP)
Under the FAP every family of four with no outside income would recieve a basic federal payment of $1,600 a year.
Unemployed participants, excluding mothers of preschool children would have to do job training and take any reasonable job which was offered to them.
The house approved of the plan on both sides in 1970, however in the senate it was attacked from both sides.(Liberals thought the minimum payments were too low and Conservatives rejected the notion of guranteed income)
How did Nixon implement Law and Order:
-he faced opposition from both houses of congress and liberal elements of society like the anti war movements. (1971 Kent State Massacre)
-Nixon used the full resources of his office, sometimes illegally, like ordering wire traps in left wing individual places like the Watergate building
-The CIA investigated and compiled documents of thousands of Americans dissidents and those who objected to government policies. Even investigating civil rights and anti war protestors tax returns
-Nixon created an “enimies list” prominent individuals who his administration woul harrass
-In 1969 he minimised the Black Panthers as a threat, with 28 party memebrs being killed by the police with more imprisoned
What were Nixons views on civil rights? (Southern strategy)
in 1969 he made hiw view clear, “There are those who want instant intergration and those who want segregation forever. I believe we need to have a middle course between the two extremes.”
Throughout his first term Nixon tried to reverse several civil rights policies. In 1969 he ordered the department of health, education and welfare to delay plans for desegregation in schools in Mississippi and Southern Carolina. This violated Brown vs Board of education. Due nothing the high court ordered Nixon ti abide by this law, he did although reluctantly.
He opposed the extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Despite this Congress voted to extend the act.
Sch
Desegregation in schools
1972 nearly 90% of children in the south attended desegregated schools. This was an increase from about 20% in 1969.
Southern strategy: Busing
In 1971 the supreme court ruled in favour of busing to end the pattern of all white of all black institutions. White students and parents in Boston and Detroit angrily protested this.
Southern strategy: supreme court
Nixon placed 3 justices on the supreme court to make it more conservative.in 1969 Warren Burger was accepted onto the court.
However the newly shaped court did not always go in 5he conservative direction, for example it ruled in favour of busing in 1971
In the water gate scandal the supreme court ordered Nixon to reveal his tapes, this shows their strained relationship
Why did Nixon struggle to fulfil his electoral promise?
Congress and the supreme court
Peace with honour
A vague promise nxn made but there was little strategy to implement this. In 1969bhe began the process of Vietnamisation
Vietnamisation
Where responsibility for fighting in vietnam woul be transferred to the Sout Vietnamese military. This would allow for a reduction of troop numbers but to compensate a required escalation of bombing. This was seen as more acceptable than American troops dying.
Why was nixon known as the imperial president
Extending his powers especially in foreign policy.
In 1970 h3 authorised the bombing of Cambodia without the knowledge of Congress.
What wer3 the components of nixons electoral promise
Vietnam strategy
New federalism
Law and order
Southern strategy
Madman theory
To push north Vietnamese into peace negotiations he wanted them to believe he was capable of using the atoms bomb if they did not negotiate.
How successful was the vietnam strategy
In 1973 he did succeeding removing americantroops from vietnam with the Paris peace accords
But Vietnamese did fall to the communists in 1975
1972 election
Unlike the 1968 election we’re the numbers were close, 1972 was a landslide victory for Nixon
Massachusetts was the only state who didn’t vote for nixon, so when everything transpired they took to wearing bumper stickers ‘don’t blame me I’m from massachusetts’
Why
Why did nixon win in 1972
-Democrats George McGovern, he was anti war and said to stand for acid, anarchy/amnesty, abortion. He was too left wing and sen as a ‘hippie’ candidate
-Economy was okay but not terrible and that’s an important distinction
-nixon dirty tricks, makes democrat look stupid bc he spies on them and know everything
Example of nixon imperial presidency
-gulf of tonkin
-pentagon papers
-bombing Cambodia
- My lai
-death of Fred Hampton
Gulf of tonkin
Used to excuse US involvement in Vietnam
The US were holding covert operation which were intercepted by the north Vietnamese. An incident occurred where the Vietnamese were blamed
Pentagon papers
Revealed the US had secretly enlarged the scope of its actions In the vietnam war with coastal raids on the north vietnam and marine Corp attacks. Non of which were reported to mainstream media.
Eventually they were leaked to NYT by Daniel Ellsburg. Nixon tries to sue the NYT for publishing them ad te case is taken to the supreme court, it proves presidents lie
Bombing cambodia
Nixon ordered ground troops to invade Cambodia in 1970 without informing Congress and people felt he abused his power. This led to the passing of the was powers act 1973
It was know as operation menu
My Lai
American soldiers brutally killed most people in the village of My Lai in 1968. Young girls and women were raped before being murdered. The army covered it up for years.
Nixon was involved in the cover up.
Death of Fred Hampton
Acting under the orders of Edward Harahan, the police covertly show up to Fred Hamptons house (who was chairman of the Black panthers) and stated firing.
2 including Hampton was killed
A decade later it was revealed it was an FBI ploy to try and destroy the black panthers.
A political assignation organised and supported by Nixon
spiro agnew
in 1973 Nixons vice president had to resign as he was exposed for taking bribes
CREEP
Committee to re-elect the president
what was watergate
some members of CREEP into Watergate offives to plant bugging devices. on the 17th of june they were arrested for burgulary, but their real purpose soon became more obvious.
One of the burgulars James McCord admits there was a government cover up. Nixons top advisors were implicated whi triggered a senate committee investigation. Nixon denies involvment
Who were the reporters involved in the case
Woodward and Bernstein
their informant was Deepthroat.
Watergate spiralling out of Nixons control
It was revealded Nixon had been bugging his own office during presidency.
Saturday night Massacre, Nixon fired the general and deputy attorney general when they refuse to fire the special attorney hired to investigate watergate
After much resistance the supreme court orders nixon to relase his offices tapes unedited
Saturday Night Massacre
Nixon fires his attorney general and deputy attorney general when they refuse to fire a special agent hired to investiagte Watergate
What did the tapes show in Watergate
showed Nixon lied, used dirty tricks and tried to obstruct justice. It also transpires he attempted to cover it up using bribes.
The “smoking gun” tape documented the original cover up of watergate
Impeachment and resignitian
In July 1974 Congress proceeded with the impeachment of Nixon.
Instead he resigned on August 8th, rather than face impeachment.
He was later pardoned by Gerald Ford.
Watergate as his legacy
It overshadowed his domestic achievments. He is now always associated with Watergate and not new federalism etc.
Long term impact of the Watergate scandal
-Presidents became more consensual in thier style of leadership
-Republicans moved to the right of the political spectrum
-Congress passed laws to reduce the power of Presidency, e.g War Powers Act
-Position of President and trust in the office of Presidency was damaged
-From 1974 there were limits placed on individual contributions to campaigns to $5000 to limit fundraising in Presedential campaigns
1978 Congress passed the Ethics in governmen
Short term impact of watergate
-Democrats took control of the presidency in 1976
-Nixon was forced to resign
-Voter participation declined, only 54% of eligible voters did so in 1976
