Richard Nixon Flashcards
Terms
1969-1974
New Federalism
A system that diverts money and power from the Federal Government to the state and local governments
Nixon believed that money spent at local levels of the government would be more useful because it would focus funds at the specialized needs of each state, rather than using the approach of a ‘one size fits all’ system.
Nixon had been a practicing New Federalist since he entered congress in 1946. So this wasn’t a totally new idea by the time he was running for president
In 1972 Nixon created the State and Local Assistance Act- initially redistributed 4 billion dollars to state and local authorities
Pres. Reagan canceled this, and by this time it redistributed 83 billion dollars
Court Ordered Bussing/Civil Rights
Nixon did not support the Burger Court’s decisions on school busing, wiretapping, the death penalty, or abortion.
Nixon opposed busing students to integrate schools. The Burger Court insured that Mississippi was ordered to desegregate all of the schools in every district.
Parents largely protested the order to desegregate schools. In Michigan, upset parents firebombed school buses.
Nixon opposed forced busing; however he played a large role in fighting discrimination in the workplace.
In 1969 Nixon ordered construction-trade unions in Philadelphia to work towards accepting black apprentices. This Philadelphia plan was soon extended to construction contracts throughout the nation.
Civil rights changes were soon expanded to women and educational institutions as well. The Supreme Court prevented not hiring women or minorities on the grounds of artificial hurdles such as physical strength or intelligence tests when the tests did not reflect the demands of the position.
Changes in desegregation were beginning surface.
Drug Enforcement Agency
Nixon created the DEA with an executive order.
The DEA was created to wage “an all-out global war on the drug menace.”
Nixon designated the week of May 24th as Drug Abuse Prevention Week in 1970.
Environment Protection Agency
Nixon created the EPA in 1970.
Previous environmental laws were ineffective, so Nixon fixed the national guidelines.
Federal departments were compiled into the new EPA.
The EPA took care of the Clean Air Act of 1970, the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972, and the Clean Water Act of 1972.
The EPA made a deal with car manufacturers to install catalytic converters, thereby reducing emissions of unburned hydrocarbons by 85 percent.
Clean Air Act
Set and achieve NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) in every state by 1975 in order to improve public health and address welfare risks posed by various dangerous air pollutants
States were instructed to develop SIP’s or State Implementation Plans to insure that the NAAQS were being followed.
This act was amended in 1970 and 1990 to set new goals for achieving the NAAQS because a lot of states had failed to meet the deadlines and requirements.
Power to local, state, and municipal governments
In order to help the social problem of segregation, Nixon gave power to local governments to decide for themselves if they wanted to desegregate schools. This was supported by both the south and the north.Because of this, the number of black children who went to all black schools in the south went down to 18% from 70%.
In an effort to figure out a solution to the problem of taxes, Nixon created revenue sharing where the federal government would collect the taxes and give them to local governments. This idea was very supported by the american people, but the Family Assistance Plan went down hill. The Family Assistance Plan was designed to get rid of programs like Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Food Stamps, and Medicaid and replace them with direct cash to those who needed it. This was never passed because many people were very against it because it only offered $16,000 per year to families which was not enough, it might have lowered minimum wages, and case workers feared that they would be out of work.
Watergate
When Nixon was trying to get re-elected, the party, Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP) was created, however they took millions of dollars from Republican coffers to do bad things like breaking in to the Democratic campaign headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. They wanted to plant wiretaps to hear the Democrat’s plans for the election but were caught and arrested. Eventually the trail led to Nixon’s administration under the code name “Deep-throat.” After investigation, 40 high ranking members of Nixon’s administration were indicted. Nixon pleaded innocent but was found guilty and instead of being impeached, he resigned in August 1974. After this, Congress passed laws to limit the president’s power, like amending the Freedom of Information Act, so that the President cannot wage undeclared wars, and the Ethics in Government Act, which was about financial disclosure. However, the scandal proved the importance and effectivity of checks and balances, but destroyed the god-like image of presidents.
South America
During the Cold War, __________between the U.S. and South America were extreme. South America wanted economic and social aid but the U.S. wanted South American support in the Cold War, so instead of trying to help the people, the U.S. gave them weapons. This really angered people in South America, and the tipping point was when the U.S. supported dictators like Marcos Perez Jimenez. In an effort to better relations in the America’s, Vice President Nixon traveled through South America in April and May 1958. However, it did not go very well as Nixon was _______ and mean during debates in Peru and Uruguay. When he reached Venezuela, Nixon’s car was attacked by angry protesters shouting anti-american threats. Nixon escaped and left his tour early. The U.S. then understood the extreme amount of unhappiness in South America and increased economic and military aid to the South American Countries, though this did not do much for their relations.
Vietnam War
The situation surrounding the Vietnam War before Nixon took office:
The U.S had been deploying troops to fight in Vietnam since 1965, and a total of about 31,000 American lives had been lost in that time.
________________ was a strategy that Nixon introduced as he took power in 1969, and the aim of this strategy was to end American involvement in the Vietnam war which lasted from 1954-1975.
This would be done by transferring all of the military ____________ to South Vietnam
The Vietnam War was extremely unpopular amongst the__________________, and Nixon believed that Vietnamization would be the best strategy to take because it would gradually withdraw troops from Vietnam, and at the same time strengthen South Vietnam’s military forces so that it would be able to __________ and fight against a Communist takeover. This in turn would allow the U.S to leave Vietnam with its dignity intact, according to Nixon
-A quote from Nixon explaining this strategy:
“The defense of freedom is everybody’s business, not just America’s business. And it is particularly the responsibility of the people whose freedom is threatened,” Nixon explained. “In the previous administration, we Americanized the war in Vietnam. In this administration, we are Vietnamizing the search for peace.”
*Nixon implemented programs to strengthen the Vietnamese government
In addition, “Nixon`s secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, negotiated a withdrawal of American troops that resulted in the collapse of the American-backed regime in the south in 1975.”
Bombing of Cambodia and Laos
Background- Prince Sihanouk of ____________ had proclaimed it neutral since 1955, however in order to keep order he tolerated communists in their territory to avoid a larger conflict, under pressure from Washington the prince changed this policy in 1969, the start of Nixon’s presidency
- March 18, 1969 began a four year long “carpet-bombing campaign” in Cambodia, Nixon sends _________ to Laos in 1971
“In June of 1969, [Nixon] announced the withdrawal of 25,000 troops from Vietnam and in September, another 35,000. To counter this loss of troop strength, the U.S. increased aerial bombing of North Vietnam and stepped up the arming and training of the South Vietnamese.”
-In 1970 a joint U.S and South Vietnam ground invasion of Cambodia had failed to “root out Vietnamese communists”, and in response Nixon decided to increase the intensity of air attacks (covertly). His main goal in doing this was to destroy the mobile _________________ of the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army in the Cambodian Jungle (Ho Chi Minh Trail). Nixon then continued to demand even more bombing. These bombings were not revealed to the public until 1973.
A quote from Nixon to Henry Kissenger “They have got to go in there and I mean really go in..I want everything that flies to go in there and crack the hell out of them. There is no limitation on mileage and there is no limitation on budget. Is that clear?”
This went against Nixon’s promise to congress that U.S planes would remain within 30 km of the Vietnamese borders. American forces believed that Cambodia was being used as a ______________ route from North to South Vietnam, and they used bombing as a method to put an end to it.
- This use of covert \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ was not only hidden from the American public but congress as well, because Nixon believed it was a necessary action to keep South Vietnam from turning to a Communist country. - The bombings of Cambodia lasted until August of 1973, and it is estimated that almost 100,000 Cambodians lost their lives. - According to a report from the UN, Laos is the most bombed country per capita in the world, with an estimated .84 tons dropped per person from 1965-1974
-In 1972 Paris Peace talks were re-opened and the U.S agreed to allow N.V troops to remain in S.V, the draft included a cease-fire, return of American POW’s (prisoners of war), and U.S withdrawal from Vietnam. This agreement fell apart however when Thieu (Pres. of S.V from 1965-75) felt wary about communists being allowed to stay in S.V and refused to sign the agreement. In response Nixon wasn’t happy and ordered massive bombings on the cities of Hanoi Haiphong on Dec. 18 otherwise known as the ______________ bombings
Detente
Detente was a “warming” of the cold war between the years of 1967 to 1979. This encompassed a safer and more _______________ feeling throughout the USSR, the US, and China.
Ping Pong Diplomacy
On April 6, 1971 the American Ping Pong team was invited to China for a match against the __________ Ping Pong team.
The American team, and their associates, along with 10 Journalists, were the first Americans allowed into The People’s Republic since 1949 (the communist takeover).
This prompted the end of a 20 year long embargo on trade between the US and China.
The Chinese ping pong team in turn visited the US.
This was an enormous step for the “thaw” of The Cold War and helped lead to a vastly more positive relationship between the US and China.
Nixon’s trip to China
Nixon’s trip to China in 1972 established diplomatic relations between China and the US.
Nixon had notable diplomatic ________ and his visit to China ended 25 years of separation between the US and China.
Nixon’s trip was also productive for the National zoo, as China allowed the US to have two___________.
Salt 1
(Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) SALT 1 (1972) was a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ between the USSR and the US in order to put an end to the manufacturing of missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. One of the most important parts of SALT 1 was the Treaty on Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Systems and the Interim Agreement. The ABM treaty made sure that both nations could not \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ themselves from an attack by the other, therefore furthering the idea of mutually assured destruction. Another important part of SALT 1 was the Interim Agreement and Protocol on Limitation of Strategic Offensive Weapons. This made sure that neither nation could make any more submarine missiles for five years. Nixon signed both the ABM and the Interim Agreement and Protocol on Limitation of Strategic Offensive weapons.
