Decline and Rebirth (1968-1988)

Question 1

Southern Strategy

Answer 1

political strategy implemented by President Nixon to win over Southern whites to the Republican party. This succeeded through administration policies such as delaying school desegregation plans.

Question 2

Détente

Answer 2

foreign policy of decreasing tension with the Soviet Union; this began in the first term of the Nixon administration

Question 3

Watergate Affair

Answer 3

series of events beginning with the break-in at the Democratic party headquarters in the Watergate complex in DC that led to the downfall of Nixon. He resigned as the House of Representatives was preparing for an impeachment hearing.

Question 4

OPEC

Answer 4

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; the group of 14 countries that produce most of the world’s oil and by determining production quantities they influenced worldwide oil prices.

Question 5

Camp David Accords (1978)

Answer 5

peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that was mediated by President Carter and was considered to be the height of the Carter presidency.

Question 6

Iranian Hostage Crisis

Answer 6

diplomatic crisis triggered on November 4, 1979, when Iranian protesters seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 66 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. Carter was unable to free the hostages despite several attempts and this symbolized the paralysis of American power in the late 1970s

Question 7

Religious Right

Answer 7

right-leaning evangelical Christians who increasingly supported Republican candidates beginning with Ronald Reagan

Question 8

Iran-Contra Affair

Answer 8

scandal that erupted ruing the Reagan administration when it was revealed that the government had secretly sold arms to Iron to raise money to fund anti-Communist forces in Nicaragua. These acts directly contravened an ongoing U.S. trade embargo with Iran as well as federal legislation limiting aid to the Contras. Several Reagan administration officials were convicted of federal crimes.

Question 9

deficit spending

Answer 9

economic policy where a government spends money it “doesn’t have” thus creating a budget deficit. Although economic theory disapproves of this, it’s common during times of crisis or war

Question 10

nuclear proliferation

Answer 10

the massive buildup of nuclear weapons by the U.S. and U.S.S.R. in the 1950s-60s; in the states, this was fostered in the belief that the threat of “massive retaliation” was the best way to keep the Soviets under control. The psychological effects of the atomic pomp on both populations were also profound.

Question 11

SALT I treaty

Answer 11

The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks treaty was signed in 1972 by Nixon and Soviet premier Brezhnev limited the development of additional nuclear weapons and defense. SALT I was only partially effective in preventing nuclear development.

Question 12

realpolitik

Answer 12

pragmatic leadership policy where the leader “does what they had to do” to be successful. Morality has no place in this mindset. The late 19th-century German leader Bismark is an example of a realpolitik leader.

Question 13

Plumbers

Answer 13

intelligence officials who worked for the committee to reelect Nixon in 1972. The job of this group was to stop leaks of information and perform “dirty tricks” on political opponents. They broke into the office of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist, looking for damaging information, and discredited the campaign of Edmund Muskie.

Question 14

special prosecutor

Answer 14

an official appointed to investigate specific government wrongdoing. Archibald Cox was the special prosecutor for Watergate and Kenneth Starr was the special prosecutor to investigate the connections between Clinton and Whitewater. Nixon’s order to fire Cox was the beginning of the famous “Saturday Night Massacre”

Question 15

Saturday Night Massacre

Answer 15

October 20, 1973, event when Nixon ordered the firing of Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal. Attorney General Richardson and others refused to carry out the order and resigned. This event damaged Nixon’s popularity, both in the eyes of the public and Congress.

Question 16

stagflation

Answer 16

economic situation faced political leaders in the 1970s where inflation and signs of economic recession occurred at the same time. Previously, in times of inflation, the economy was improving and vice versa. Nixon utilized wage and price controls to address this problem.

Question 17

affirmative action

Answer 17

policies beginning in the 1970s to make up for past discrimination and gave minorities and women advantages in applying for jobs and universities.

Question 18

New Right

Answer 18

conservative movement beginning in the 1960s and triumphed by Ronald Regan in 1980. The New Right attracted middle-class and Southern voters to the Republican party by emphasizing patriotism, smaller government, and “traditional values”

Question 19

supply-side economics

Answer 19

economic theory adopted by Reagan stating that economic growth would be best encouraged by lowering the taxes of the wealthy. This would give them more cash to start businesses and make more investments to stimulate the economy. This theory of “Reaganomics” disagreed with the New Deal theories that claimed to more efficiently stimulate the economy (saying that more money should be held by consumers).

Question 20

New Federalism

Answer 20

policies during the Reagan administration that began to give some federal power back to the states. Some tax dollars were returned to the state and local governments in the form of “block grants”; the state and local governments could spend this money the best they could.

Question 21

Tax Reform Act of 1986

Answer 21

The biggest tax cut in American history, this cut taxes by $750 billion over five years and cut personal income taxes by 25%. Tax cuts were consistent with Regan’s belief that the more money in the hands of the wealthy, the better the economy. Critics of this tax cut would argue that the wealthy benefitted more than anyone else from this and little of the money “trickled down”.