Nixon and The United States since 1974

1973 - 2000

APUSH 4°

Roe v. Wade (1973)

• established the Right to Privacy
• number of illegal abortions was unbelievably high during the 1960s and 1970s

• therefore Supreme Court ruled it illegal to perform abortions unless the woman’s life was risk
• "Jane Roe" (an unmarried mother) wanted an abortion but did not meet the necessary requirements
• the Court sided with Roe and said that a woman had a constitutional right to privacy that extended to cover a decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy
• prohibited state legislatures from interfering with a woman's right to abortion

Watergate Scandal (1972-1974)

• five men working for the Republican Committee for the Re-election of the President [Nixon] were caught breaking into the Watergate Hotel
• provoked the improper of illegal use of the FBI and the CIA
• in lengthy hearings Senator Sam Erving and John Dean III testified about all the corruption, illegal activities, and scandal that took place
• due to scandal, many prominent administrators resigned.

The Great Tape Controversy [Watergate Scandal]

• tapes with recorded conversations were found
• Nixon refused to hand over tapes
• had also earlier denied participation in the Watergate Scandal to the American people
• Congress become suspicious

Saturday Night Massacre (Oct. 20, 1973)

• Nixon then had Archibald Cox [prosecutor of Watergate Scandal] fired
• the attorney general and deputy general resigned because Cox was fired

• Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign in 1973 due to tax evasion
• Nixon then submitted Gerald Ford as new VP to Congress– in accordance with 25^th Amendment
• prosecutors asked for tapes à Nixon refused
• case go to Supreme Court à rule against Nixon
• House of Representatives starts process to impeach Nixon
• Nixon hands over tapes and resigns a few months later
• never admitted guilt

• secret bombing raids had been occurring since 1969 in Cambodia
• US lied to the people about respecting Cambodia’s neutrality à people suspicious of government
• Nixon ends bombings in June of 1973

War Powers Act (1973)

• restricted Presidential powers dealing with war
• passed over Nixon’s veto
• required President to report to Congress within 48 hours after committing troops to a foreign conflict

New Isolationism: that discouraged U.S. troops in other countries, but Nixon fended off all efforts at this.

GERALD FORD(1974-1976)

• first un-elected President
• all the other VP’s that had ascended to presidency had been supported as running mates of the president that had been elected
• seen as a "stupid jock of a president"
• pardoned Nixon à seen as "buddy deal" à lose popularity and public’s respect
• Democrats won control of both Houses in Congress
• Ford spent rest of his term fighting Congress and vetoing legislation

• formed in the 1970s by Middle Eastern petroleum exporting countries
• purpose: to form a monopoly and raise the price of oil

Helsinki Accords (July 1975)

• recognized Soviet boundaries and kind of helped the situation.

Vietnam (1975)

• South Vietnam à American troops had to be evacuated à ending the Vietnam War
• America lost the war and respect

• Jimmy Carter (Democratic) vs. Gerald Ford (Republican)
• Carter promised to never lie to the American public
• Carter won

JIMMY CARTER(1976-1980)

• first pardoned all draft dodgers
• focused on the environment and education with some success
• 1978, he decided to stop aid to countries if the dictator violated human rights
• caused the pro-American governments of Nicaragua and Iran collapsed
• issued Carter Doctrine: US would use military force to prevent Soviet expansion in the Middle East

• US economic report revealed more was imported than exported
• the balance of trade was thrown off and the economic experts feared another crash
• Nixon began such programs as "revenue sharing" and wage and price controls for regulation
• Stagflation
• combination stagnation and inflation à severely worsened the American economy
• government borrowed money to offset the loss of tax revenue but interest rates still increased
• federal government could not repay the loan
• it was forced to find other methods to collect revenue
• no simple solution à lowering interest rates would prevent stagnation would worsen inflation

Camp David Accords (1978)

• Camp David: place where the Egyptian leader and the Israeli prime minister met with Carter
• discussed peace treaty for the Middle East
• represented peace and harmony in the modern world

Iran (1979)

• pro-American Shah of Iran was overthrown by Muslim fundamentalists
• the shah had cancer fled to the United States for treatment
• new Iranian government demanded that he be returned to their country for trial à Carter refused
• Fundamentalists invaded the American Embassy in Teheran [Iran] and took the employees hostage
• All negotiations to free them failed so Carter initiated military action
• two helicopters crashed à disaster à US embarrassed
• Republicans blamed Carter for all the failures but their candidate in the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan threatened to use the military to free the hostages à contradiction
• the hostages were released eventually released a year later

Soviet Union (1979)

• negotiated the SALT II agreement with Soviet Premier
• Second Strategic Arms Limitations Talks
• Senate refused to ratify the agreement to limit strategic weapons
• when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, Carter withdrew the treaty
• prohibited American athletes from participating in the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow
• ended sale of US grain to the Soviets

• Biggest problem: Dependence on foreign oil and OPEC's price increases
• Inflation increases (13%)
• Debt increased (20%)
• Interest rates increased
• Department of energy created

• guiding principle: concern for human rights (South Africa)
• Panama Canal Treaty: pledge to return Panama Canal to Panama by 2000
• Camp David accords with Egypt and Israel
• Iranian dictator overthrown by another one à Iran seized U.S. embassy
• Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan on December 27, 1979
• resumed full diplomatic relations with China in 1979

• Jimmy Carter (Democratic) vs. Ronald Reagan (Republican)
• Reagan’s values resembled FDR’s values
• favored small government
• looked down on favoritism for minorities
• championed free-market capitalism.
• Reagan won – landslide

RONALD REAGAN (1980-1988)

• Republicans regained control of the Senate.
• major goal: reduce the size of the federal government, the federal budget, lower taxes
• advocated a more laissez-faire policy through lessening of government spending

• government budget had been rising for 20+ years
• by the 80s, the public was tired of the New Deal and ready to slash bills à just as Reagan proposed
• his federal budget had cuts of some $35 billion
• Reagan’s Economic Recovery Act [Tax-Cut Bill]
• belief that tax cuts would stimulate investment
• tax cuts: 25% over 3 years
• used supply side economics – similar to trickle down economics
• lowered individual taxes, eliminated federal estate taxes
• created new tax-free savings plan for small investors
• nation slid into worst recession since the Great Depression à BAD
• banks start failing, unemployment up to 11%
• recession not caused by Reagan but Carter’s "tight money" policy
• income gaps between rich and poor widened
• massive military spending finally upped the American dollar

• Reagan saw the Soviet Union as the focus of evil in the modern world
• plan to defeat USSR: wage a super-expensive arms race à force USSR into bankruptcy à powerless

Strategic Defense Initiative [SDI] or the Star Wars (1983)

• proposed a system of lasers that could fire from space and destroy any nuclear weapons fired by Moscow before they hit America — a system that many experts considered impossible
• upsetting to the "balance of terror" (fear of retaliation) kept nuclear war from being occurring
• Soviet oligarchs kept dying à prevent following of arms-control negotiations in 1983

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (1987)

• arms race à spent billions of dollars on rearmament à mid-1980s: the Soviets can’t keep up
• new Soviet leader was Mikhail Gorbachev wanted to negotiate an end to the arms race
• introduced the ceasing of intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) at Geneva meeting
• at a third conference in Washington: treaty signed: banned all INF’s from Europe

• Reagan Doctrine: promised military and economic help to governments fighting communism
• leads to American aiding Angola, Nicaragua, Granada

Israel and Lebanon (1982)

• Israel invades Lebanon à Reagan sends US forces as part of an international peace-keeping force
• withdraws troops when some die due to suicide bomber
• became known as the "Teflon president" – nothing harmful would stick to him

• Walter Mondale (Democrat) vs. Ronald Reagan (Republican)
• Mondale’s VP was a woman – first to appear on presidential ballot
• Reagan easily won

• call for a "Second American Revolution"
• lower federal and state taxes & shrink government activities

The Iran-Contra Imbroglio (1985)

• revealed that American diplomats had secretly sold arms to Iran for release of hostages
• money from sales gone to help Nicaraguan contra [anti] rebels
• violated the congressional ban on helping Nicaraguan rebels
• violated Reagan’s personal vow not to negotiate with terrorists.
• revealed that even if Reagan had no knowledge of such events, he should have known
• cast a dark cloud over Reagan’s foreign policy success
• brought out a picture of Reagan as a senile old man who slept through cabinet meetings
• Reagan remained ever popular.

• cut many programs, reduced spending, but increased the military budget to fight Communism
• economy improved but increased military spending caused the deficit to increase again
• belief: fewer government regulations, lower taxes, and reduction in the role of the welfare system
• cut back social spending, deregulated the saving and loan industry, and reduced the environmental restrictions on businesses
• due to the tax cuts, Reagan had to borrow heavily to support his agenda à national debt increased
• interest rates increased à American products more expensive abroad à foreign imports cheaper
• result: massive trade deficit à forces the government to devalue the dollar
• supply-side economics was supposed to increase government revenue à did the opposite
• in two terms, debt was $2 trillion à more than all Reagan’s presidential predecessors combined
• helped contain the welfare system: prevent success of future programs
• federal budget and international trade deficit continue to soar

• Michael Dukakis (Democratic) vs. George Bush (Republican)
• Bush wins

GEOREGE BUSH (1988 – 1992)

• American with Disabilities Act: landmark law banning discrimination against citizens with disabilities

Creation of Russia (1990)

• Cold War ends: Boris Yeltsin takes over Russia and disassembles the USSR into the Commonwealth of Independent States [Russia created as a member]
• START II Accord
• Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
• US and Commonwealth pledge to reduce long-range nuclear weapons by 2/3

Persian Gulf Crisis (1990)

• Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded oil-rich Kuwait hoping to annex it as a 19^th province
• wanted its oil fields to replenish debts incurred during the Iraq-Iran War
• UN responded by placing economic embargoes on Iraq and preparing for military punishment

Operation Desert Storm (January 1991)

• Congress declare war on Iraq à attack with UN via air
• Iraq launched ineffective scud missiles at Saudi Arabia and Israel
• had biological and chemical weapons if the enemy got to close
• American General Schwarzkopf suffocated Iraqis with air bombing raids and land attack
• Operation Desert Storm: began with overwhelming land attack that lasted four days
• little casualties
• ended with Saddam’s surrender.
• failed to remove Saddam from power

• 1992: economy stalled à Bush forced to break an campaign promise
• adds $133 billion worth of new taxes to try to curb the annual budget.
• later revealed that House members were stealing from the government à public confidence lessen
• 27^th Amendment: banned congressional pay raises from taking effect until an election had seated a new session of Congress
• Bush faced a budget deficit of over $3 trillion
• forced to raise taxes, a direct violation of a campaign promise.
• faced the collapse of the savings and loan industry

• North American Free Trade Agreement: eliminated trade barriers between Canada, US, and Mexico
• Clean Air Act: set stricter regulations on many airborne pollutants

• Bill Clinton (Democrat) vs. George Bush (Republican)
• Clinton promoted growth, strong defense, anticrime policies, and to stimulate the economy.
• Independent Ross Perot took Republican votes away from Bush
• Clinton won

BILL CLINTON (1992-2000)

• few Americans trusted the government: the reverse of the WWII generation.
• supported the NAFTA, helped form World Trade Organization (WTO)
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) succeeded NAPTA and WTO

• by 1996: shrunk the federal deficit to its lowest level in a decade
• passed Brady Bill: a gun-control law
• Congress passed a $30 billion anticrime bill.
• government almost shut down twice due to conflicts between Republican Congress and Clinton
• Republicans imposed federal laws putting new obligations on state and local governments without providing new revenues
• forced Clinton to sign a welfare-reform bill that made deep cuts in welfare grants

• 8 years of unprecedented economic growth.
• lowering of the deficit
• balanced the budget
• reduced national debt by implementing a tax increase and cutting spending
• he instigated major welfare reform

Intervention in Haiti (1994)

• referred to Operation Restore Democracy
• restored President Aristide to power
• but Aristide did little towards turning Haiti into a democracy
• Clinton later withdrew his support

• surge of economic growth from 1950-1970 largely due to cheap energy costs
• national income doubled
• since 1970, U.S. Productivity & Standard of Living has declined
• high inflation rate of 1970's due to spending on Social Welfare Programs and the Vietnam War
• 1980's: declining membership in labor unions (only 19%)
• economic challenges include the rise in poverty, the unequal distribution of income and resources
• wider gap between rich and poor

• "White Flight" from inner cities to the suburbs
• from an age of heavy industry to an age of computerized information and mass culture
• emphasis on science and education
• opened ever-wider doors of opportunity for all
• New York becomes capital of art

• vast new wave of immigration: from Asia and Latin America
• Came from growing countries for jobs: same reasons as prior immigrants.
• Hispanics, Asians, and Indians all asserted their own identity and pride
• Mexican-Americans were the largest of the diverse Hispanic groups
• helped make the American Southwest a "bi-cultural zone."
• many Hispanics below the poverty line
• 1986: Immigration Reform & Control Act: tried to stop flow of illegal immigrants by penalizing employers
• anti-immigrant sentiment resulted in CA initiative to deny benefits to illegals
• 27 million Hispanics (most Mexican-Americans) elected mayors of Miami, Denver, San Antonio
• Hispanics will soon outgrow blacks; equal whites in CA.

• ‘92: Rodney King verdict resulted in riots in South Central LA: many blacks looted, burned Asian-owned stores.
• Showed skepticism of blacks toward judicial system
• OJ trial/verdicts fed white frustration with race relations

• problems of poverty, mainly in inner cities ringed by affluent suburbs, arose
• America’s cities were plagued by problems of drugs and crime
• in the 1990s and 2000s crime dropped and many cities began to show signs of renewal
• more poverty – immigrants, young people
• problems remain: economic equality for women & minorities, adaptation of traditional family, drug abuse, inner city.
• rich/poor gap threatens democracy.
• environmental risks: global warming, nuclear waste, oil spills.

• the African-American community made great strides in education, politics, and other areas
• but there was a growing gap between an upwardly mobile middle class and those left behind

• 80% of African Americans live in cities
• income gap between Blacks & Whites is narrowing
• middle class blacks followed whites to suburbs, left no middle class to sustain urban schools & small businesses: plight of cities worsened.
• blacks made impressive political gains on federal, state, and local levels - 7000 elected officials

• woman still mostly employed in low skill/low prestige jobs (make up 44% of the U.S. workforce)
• Neo-conservative Intellectuals of the 1980's opposed government funded Social-Welfare programs

• Democracy
• Issues of economic inequality, environmental degradation, and ethnic conflict demand urgent attention and engagement by American citizens
• terrorist attacks further challenge American security