Transcript From Nixon to Obama

The 70s, 80s, 90s, and Today…
Mr. Pagliaro
Seymour High School
@PagsAPUSH
Hawks, Doves, the Silent Majority, and the End of the War
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Doves preferred withdrawal from
Vietnam
 Massive protest
 Immediate withdrawal
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Sen. William Fulbright (Dem.- Ark.)
 The Arrogance of Power (1966) –
critique of war
▪ Stated war wasn’t necessary for
containment
▪ Promoted neutrality; isolationism
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Hawks:
 Supported war in Vietnam
 Believed withdrawal = surrender
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Silent Majority:
 Named by Nixon
 America that quietly supported war policies
 Justified support of So. Vietnam
Easter Offensive – No. Vietnam failure
Operation Linebacker 1 & 2: Heavy
bombings of No. Vietnam, 1972
 Paris Accords, 1973
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 Emerged after secret negotiations btw. Security
Advisor, Henry Kissinger & No. Vietnamese
 Withdrawal of troops
 Freeing of American 500+ P.O.W.s

Final Americans left Saigon, April 30,
1975 – Operation Frequent Wind
The fall of Saigon
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Economic effects:
 US couldn’t afford Great Society & Vietnam War
 War costs + Social Programs = high inflation 60s-70s
▪ Nixon Shock attempted to fight inflation

Foreign Policy effects:
 Public skepticism of American international involvement
 War Powers Act (1973) –
▪ President must inform Congress within 48 hours IF…
▪ Military sent to hostile area w/o declaring war
China, the Soviet Union, SALT talks
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Existence of the Cold War
Tension among US & USSR
 Berlin airlift, Cuban Missile Crisis, Berlin Wall
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US had no diplomatic relationship w/ China
Kissinger convinced Nixon to create flexible foreign
policy
Détente called for relaxed Cold War tensions

1971-Nixon announced visit to China
 “…to normalize relations between the countries.”
 Visited Beijing, Feb. 1972
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Formalized relations w/ PRC
US maintained relationship w/ RoC until 1979
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Nixon = 1st President in Moscow
Visit led to reduced tensions
Agreements included SALT talks, economic
initiatives

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
 SALT I treaty between USSR and USA:
▪ Signed by President Gerald Ford
▪ Limited # of ICBMs
▪ Limited # of nuclear armed subs
Connecting Federal, State, & Local governments, CReeP, Watergate

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Great Society increased federal influence &
spending
Nixon wanted to REDUCE size of federal gov’t

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Distribute federal power to state/local
governments
Revenue sharing
 State/municipalities chose how to spend federal
funding
 Certain limitations
 Increased state autonomy lost in New Deal

Examples
 Legacy of Parks, 1971
 Education $
NIXON - REPUBLICANS
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Good economy
Foreign relations
Desegregation of all
schools w/o busing
MCGOVERN - DEMOCRATS

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Antiwar policies
Guaranteed minimum
income

Nixon kept tabs on rivals & enemies
 Taped conversations
 Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP or creep)

June 17, 1972
 5 men arrested
 breaking into HQ of DNC @ Watergate Hotel
▪ Phone tapping, breaking-and-entering
 Convicted January 1973

Nixon won 520-17 w/ 60.7% of vote

Watergate tapes
 Turned over during impeachment trials
 Forced resignation of Nixon-8/8/74
Sept. 8, 1974
Bicentennial, Election of ‘76, Frostbelt to Sunbelt, the 70s economy, Camp
David Accords, Iran, Election of 1980
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OpSail – Tall Ship “parades”
Opening of Nat’l Air & Space Museum
School House Rock – History Rock specials
TV Specials –
 In Celebration of US (CBS), 14 hour coverage hosted by Walter Cronkite
 The Glorious Fourth (NBC), 10 hour coverage
 The Great American Birthday Party (ABC), hosted by Harry Reasoner
 Happy Birthday, America (NBC),
 hosted by Paul Anka
 Bob Hope's Bicentennial Star-Spangled Spectacular (NBC)

Special commemorative coins
Gerald Ford – Republican
Electoral Votes – 240
States Carried – 27
Popular Vote – 48%
Jimmy Carter - Democrat
Electoral Votes – 297
States Carried – 23
Popular Vote – 50.1

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Mid-70s to 90s– fastest growing States = south of 37°N
Movement of jobs
 Tax incentives

Past 25 years – large increase in both
 Latinos = 78% since 2000
 Latinos=33% TX, CA, AZ, 40% NM

Latino efforts for
educational/economic access
 Cesar Chavez
 Reies Lopez Tijerina
 Rodolfo Gonzalez
 ¡Si, se puede!

Biggest domestic concern – INFLATION
 US – increasing inflation over 70s
▪ Slow economic growth
▪ Led to unemployment

Rising inflation +
Rising unemployment=
STAGFLATION
 Caused by Nixon price/
wage controls, OPEC
embargo of US (due to
Yom Kippur war)
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Increased inflation
Increased unemployment
Increased government spending
Increased gas prices due to:
 Arab oil embargo (1973)
 Iranian Revolution (1979)

Increased interest rates
1973 Arab Oil
Embargo
1979
Iranian
Oil
Crisis

Carter’s “Crisis of Confidence Speech”
 White House solar panels

Detroit improved fuel economy
 Smaller engines
 Electronic fuel injection

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Vietnam spending
Rising energy costs
Federal budget deficits
Healthcare costs

Foreign policy based on human rights
 Made it an international issue

Camp David Accords
 Leaders of Israel & Egypt met @ Camp David, MD
 12 day negotiations
▪ Peace agreement over Sinai region

Signed 1979 – Reduction in #s and use of MIRVs
 Never ratified  Soviets invaded Afghanistan, 1979

Jan. 78-Feb. 79-Shah overthrown
 Religious leaders take controlAyatollah
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US provided healthcare to Shah
US ally = Israel
Iranian revolutionaries overthrow US
embassy
 Take 52 hostages
▪ Nov. 4, 1979 to Jan. 20, 1981

Carter vs. Ronald Reagan
 Issues –
▪ Iranian Hostages
▪ Weak economy/high inflation (double digits)
▪ Hostility towards big government
▪ Call for conservative Supreme Court

Republicans successfully defeated the Democrat
Coalition on…
 Social issues such as –
▪ Affirmative action
▪ Women’s rights
▪ Sexual freedom
▪ Blue collar workers moved towards Republicans
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The New Right – religious right, military, blue collar
Reagan promised to increase military; cut taxes
Reagan – 489
Carter – 44
 Reagan – 50.7%
Carter – 41%
 Republicans
controlled Senate
after 1980

Iran, Reaganomics, USSR Summits, Grenada, Iran-Contras

Supply-side economic policy goals
 Reduce tax rates for businesses/wealthy
 Reduce corporate tax rates
 Encourage private investment
 Limit Federal regulation of business
 “Trickle down” Theory
1.
2.
3.
4.
Reduce Government spending.
Reduce Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
Reduce Government regulation.
Control the money supply to reduce inflation.
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Airlines
Railroads
Trucking
Telephones
Natural gas
Oil/Energy
Banking
Reduced funding of
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)
1981 – Reagan fires 11,500,
striking FAA air traffic controllers

1981 – Federal Taxes cut 5%
 Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (Kemp-Roth Tax Cut)

1982 – cut 10%
 Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982
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1983 – cut 10%
Government social spending reduced:
 Education aid
 Urban housing programs
 Arts
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Reagan’s defense budget increased $13 billion
1981-83
Proposed Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
 “Star Wars”

Fighting communism or American
Imperialism?
President of the
United States
General
Secretary or
Premier of the
Soviet Union
Date
Site
November 19–21,
1985
Geneva, Switzerland
Ronald Reagan
Mikhail
Gorbachev
October 10–12,
1986
Reykjavík,Iceland
Ronald Reagan
Mikhail
Gorbachev
December 7–10,
1987
Washington, D.C.,
United States
Ronald Reagan
Mikhail
Gorbachev
May 29–June 1,
1988
Moscow, Soviet
Union
Ronald Reagan
Mikhail
Gorbachev
December 7, 1988
New York City, United
States
Ronald Reagan
Mikhail
Gorbachev
Shipment of weapons to anti-Ayatollah
Iranian Group
 Payments siphoned to Nicaraguan “Contras”

 Attempt to overthrow communist government
▪ Once public: Nicaragua sued US at “World Court”

Scapegoat: Lt. Oliver North
 Acquitted because plea deal testimony wrongly
used in Congressional hearings

The Teflon President
End of the Cold War, Desert Storm, LA Riots, Free Trade, The E-Boom &
Bust

1990 – Iraq invaded Kuwait
 UN Security council voted economic sanctions
 US & Coalition forces to Kuwait – Desert Shield
 US Military to Saudi Arabia

1991-Jan. 15-Feb. 28-Active War
 Iraq = 40,000 casualties
 USA = 150 lives lost

Gulf War Syndrome
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1991 – 4 white LAPD taped beating motorist,
Rodney King
April 1992 – Acquittal of officers
 Riots, looting, arson
 Cost $1 Billion – 53 dead – 3600 fires
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War on Drugs
HIV/Aids
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Bush – 37.5%
Perot – 18.9%
Clinton – 43%

NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement
 North American economic bloc
 US Joined Dec. 8, 1993

Impact:
 Mexican Factories: increased 15.5% since 1994
 US Jobs Lost: 879k by 2008 – 78% = manufacturing
 No tariffs between members

Provided frameworks for international trade
agreements
 Replaced Post-WWII General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade
 US joined in 1995

International
Mergers
Dot-Com Trades
0n NASDAQ

Nov. 2008 –Election of President Obama
 Largest Voter turnout ever - >120,000,000 votes

1970s – Present –Migration to Sunbelt
 South & West largest growing areas of nation
▪ Growing in Latino & Asian population regionally &
nationally
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Social Security
 Larger aging population = threat to system