C40 - The Stalemated Seventies 1968-1980

Question 1

Pentagon Papers

Answer 1

This top secret study showed that there were mistakes and lies related to the Vietnam war from the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (including the LBJ administration’s story about the 1964 Golf of Tonkin incident, which helped to start the war). A former Pentagon official leaked the Pentagon Papers to the NY Times, which published the information.

This set off more violent anti-war protests in the US.

Question 2

southern strategy

Answer 2

Nixon’s plan to win the 1972 Presidential election, which involved domestic issues like opposing busing to achieve racial balance in schools.

Question 3

Warren Burger

Answer 3

1969 - Nixon appointed and congress approved him as the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

He was known as an chosen by Nixon for his reputation as a conservative who would strictly interpret the Constitution. As many said that the former Chief Justice, Earl Warren did not.

Question 4

Helsinki accords

Answer 4

1975. Gerald Ford signed this pact, which led to better relations between European countries.

Question 5

OPEC

Answer 5

Organization of Arab oil-producing nations, which worked together to raise prices on oil. This caused big economic troubles for the US

Question 6

Engel v. Vitale

Answer 6

Supreme Court case (1962) that ruled it is unconstitutional for a state to impose an official school prayer in a public school.

Question 7

SALT

Answer 7

Agreement signed in 1979 by Carter and Russian leader Brezhnev, which would limit production of certain lethal weapons. Congress never approved this as tensions rose in Iran.

Question 8

shah of Iran

Answer 8

Leader of Iran.

Question 9

Saturday Night Massacre

Answer 9

10/20/1973 - Nixon ordered the firing of Archibald Cox who was a special prosecutor who ordered Nixon’s white house to turn over all tapes related to Watergate.

Nixon responded by ordering the firing of Cox, plus the Attorney General and deputy attorney general, who both refused to fire Cox.

Question 10

CREEP

Answer 10

Republican Committee for the Re-election of the President - a group in 1972 that was working to re-elect Nixon. They did some questionable things/dirty-tricks.

Question 11

Ayatollah Khomeini

Answer 11

Led 1979 Iranian revolution which overthrew the American-backed Shah of Iran.

Deeply anti-American leader.

Question 12

Earl Warren

Answer 12

Appointed to the US Supreme Court in 1953.

The Earl Warren court was well known to some as an “activist” court…meaning that they got involved in social issues of the day, rather than just strictly interpreting the Constitution.

Many big rulings came down like: laws that made it illegal for states to limit access to birth control; made it mandatory that people accused of a serious crime be given an attorney, paid for by the state if they could not afford one. Also the Miranda ruling in 1966, ensured the right of someone accused to remain silent. Another major ruling made it easier for people to criticize public figures.

Question 13

executive privilege

Answer 13

The President’s right to withhold certain evidence during an investigation. Nixon tried to use this, but the Supreme Court ruled against him.

Question 14

Richard Nixon

Answer 14

Became President in 1/1969. Republican. Skilled at foreign policy.

Won in a landslide in 1972.

He resigned on 8/4/1974, before he could be impeached by Congress due to his involvement in Watergate and the coverup afterward.

Question 15

Kent State killings

Answer 15

1970 in OH. When students at Kent State heard about the US invasion of Cambodia, they reacted with violent demonstrations (rock throwing, arson, window smashing).

National Guard members responded by shooting into the crowd, killing 4 people and wounding others.

Question 16

War Powers Act

Answer 16

Passed in 1973 after what some considered to be unchecked power of the President to get troops involved in War (after Johnson and Nixon had done so in Vietnam). Congress now had some power to stop or extend a war.

Question 17

Twenty-sixth Amendment

Answer 17

1971 - lowered voting age to 18.

Question 18

Watergate scandal

Answer 18

Started with a 6/1972 burglary at the Democratic HQ, located int he Watergate office building in DC.

By early 1974, 29 people, including White House aides had been indicted.

Nixon aides had also involved the FBI, CIA and IRS to get involved in illegal ways.

Question 19

My Lai massacre

Answer 19

Village where US troops killed innocent Vietnamese women and children in 1968. When US citizens found out about this in 1970, they were outraged. Further eroded support for the war.

Question 20

MIRVs

Answer 20

Military vehicle with multiple warheads.

Question 21

Iranian hostage crisis

Answer 21

11/4/1979, Iranian extremists took over the US embassy in Iran and took all Americans hostage.

Question 22

energy crisis

Answer 22

October 1973, Arab nations put in place an embargo, which kept oil-rich countries from selling oil to the US. They did this because of US’s defense of Israel. Americans had to use less heat and deal with lines at gas stations as supplies were limited.

Question 23

Henry Kissinger

Answer 23

Nixon’s National Security adviser who helped pave the way for talks to negotiated an end to the war with the North Vietnamese.

Question 24

enemies list

Answer 24

List found in Nixon’s White House, which included many innocent citizens. These people were targeted to be harassed or prosecuted because they disagreed with Nixon or were outspoken against his administration.

Question 25

George McGovern

Answer 25

Democratic candidate for the 1972 Presidential election. He ran on a platform of ending the Vietnam war in 90 days.

Question 26

Gerald Ford

Answer 26

1974 - Congress appointed Ford VP since Agnew was forced to resign after news that he accepted bribes.

He lost to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election.

Question 27

Sam Erwin

Answer 27

Senator from NC who conducted the 1973-1974 Watergate hearings.

Question 28

Daniel Ellsberg

Answer 28

Former Pentagon official who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the NY Times. This top secret study showed that there were mistakes and lies related to the Vietnam war from the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

This set off more violent anti-war protests in the US.

Question 29

Spiro Agnew

Answer 29

VP under Richard Nixon.

Question 30

Jimmy Carter

Answer 30

Became President in 1977.

Question 31

Nixon Doctrine

Answer 31

Proclaimed that US would honor its existing defense commitments, but in the future Asians and other countries would have to fight their own wars with minimal US soldier involvement.

Question 32

Cambodian incursion

Answer 32

April, 1970, Nixon ordered US troops to join South Vietnamese in invading Cambodia. Cambodia had been aiding the North Vietnamese.

Many US citizens were outraged by this widening of the war.

Question 33

d’tente

Answer 33

Referred to relaxed tensions between the US and China and Russia, a policy of Nixon’s in 1972. This new cooperation.

Nixon’s goals with this policy: slowing the nuclear arms race and using the relationship with both Russia and China to prepare a way for the US to get out of Vietnam.

Question 34

John Dean

Answer 34

Former White House lawyer who testified in 1974 that Nixon and his aides were involved in wrongdoing related to Watergate.

Question 35

Vietnamization

Answer 35

Nixon announced his plans to begin withdrawing 540,000 US troops from South Vietnam; while providing US money, weapons and training so the South Vietnamese could defend themselves.

Question 36

ABM treaty

Answer 36

US-Soviet Union treaty to limit certain weapons.

Question 37

Rachel Carson

Answer 37

1962 wrote Silent Spring - known as the mother of the modern conservation movement.

Question 38

Anwar Sadat

Answer 38

Leader of Egypt who came to Camp David in 1978 for peace talks with Israel.

Question 39

Andrew Young

Answer 39

President Carter’s UN ambassador.