(Class 25) Restoring Dignity and Trust to America

Question 1

Gerald Ford the accidental President

Answer 1

• born Leslie Lynch King Jr.
• July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006 (died at 93)
• Legally changed his name on December 3, 1935
• 25 years as U.S. Representative from Michigan’s 5th congressional district (nine as the House Minority Leader) His goal was to be speaker of the House
• October 10, 1973 Spiro Agnew resigned as Vice President – charged with multiple crimes
• October 12, 1973 Ford was Nominated to be VP
• November 27, 1973 Senate Confirmed Ford (92 to 3)
• December 6, 1973 House Confirmed Ford (387 to 35)
• Became Vice President on December 6, 1973
• Never elected either Vice President or President by Electoral College, yet he served as both
• In the shadow of Watergate several safeguards were put in place
• Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 – established public financing of elections and limited contributions
• Ford established new controls on all covert operations
• Congress created oversight committees for all intelligence agencies (namely the CIA, and FBI)
• Ford Struggled with issues that were largely overlooked/ignored by Nixon because of Watergate

Question 2

James Earl Carter

Answer 2

• Born and Raised in Plains, Georgia
• Graduate of the Naval Academy
• Member of the Georgia Senate for 4 years
• Governor of Georgia for 4 years
• Preceded by Lester Maddox
• His lieutenant governor was Lester Maddox
• Civil Rights advocate
• Worked to make Georgia Government more Efficient
• Had 2% national name recognition when he entered the race for President – “Jimmy who?”

Question 3

Stagflation

Answer 3

• Term that combines stagnation (economic) and inflation
• persistent high inflation combined with high unemployment and slow economic growth
• An Economic conundrum – Raises a Dilemma for economic policy formulation
• actions designed to lower inflation may exacerbate unemployment, and vice versa
• Usually rising prices (inflation) accompany a humming economy with strong demand for labor – but not here
• It Created a substantial federal budget deficit

Question 4

Camp David Accords

Answer 4

• The crowning achievement of the Carter Presidency
• Promoting peace in the middle east
• In 1979, Carter invited Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel to Camp David
• Met for 13 days
• Meetings led to the Camp David Accords
• Egypt became first Arab state to recognize the existence of Israel
• Israel agreed to withdraw from Sinai Peninsula (seized by Israel in 1967) and restore to Egypt
• The first meaningful peace in the Middle East

Question 5

Iran Hostage Crisis

Answer 5

• Carter allowed Shah, who was sick, to enter the US for medical treatment
• This further enraged Iranians
• On November 4, 1979 A crowd broke into the US Embassy in Tehran and seizes 66 Americans
• Ransom for the hostages was the return of Shah to Iran for Trial
• Carter Refuses and freezes Iranian assets in US banks and places embargo on Iranian Oil
• A rescue attempt in April 1980 failed Miserably

Question 6

Supply-side Economics

Answer 6

• Reagan’s first domestic objective was a massive Tax Cut
• Justified it in the face of large federal deficit by using theory of supply-side Economics
• Cutting taxes would increase revenue by enabling businesses to expand
• Encourage individuals to work harder because they could keep more of their earnings
• Increase the production of goods and services – the supply – which would boost demand
• Reagan promised this would grow the economy so much that government could easily recoup money lost in taxes
• Did not work – INSTEAD the Deficit grew tremendously

Question 7

Strategic Defense Initiative – Star Wars

Answer 7

• Reagan announced plans for this initiative in march 1983
• Also called Star Wars
• Deploy lasers in space to destroy enemy missiles before they could reach their targets
• Such Defense would allow the US to strike first without fear of retaliation
• Did little but cost a lot and fueled the Arms Race
• Never produced a Working system
• But talk now by trump people of revisiting in light of North Korean actions

Question 8

Iran Contra Scandal

Answer 8

• Reagan administration were fearful of left-wing movements (communism) in Central America
• In Nicaragua, the Reagan administration secretly aided the Contras, an armed coalition seeking to unseat the left-wing Sandinistas in power
• Congress repeatedly instructed the president to stop aiding the contras
• But the administration continued to aid them with weapons and training
• Scheme: National security council and CIA began in 1985 secretly selling arms to Iran
• Purpose was to get Iran to pressure Hezbollah to release American hostages in Lebanon
• Funds from the sale were then channeled through Swiss bank accounts to aid the contras in Nicaragua
• Reagan approved the arms sale to Iran but denied knowing the proceeds were diverted to the contras