Transcript The End of the Cold War

The End of the Cold War
Nixon’s Administration
Cold War Review
Who were the Presidents that
were involved in the Cold War
that we have learned about so
far?
Truman
Eisenhower
JFK
LBJ
Nixon
Ford
Carter
Reagan
Cold War Review
Who were the Soviet Premiers
that were involved in the Cold
War that we have learned about
so far?
Stalin
Khrushchev
Brezhnev
Gorbachev
Cold War Review
What was the policy that the
United States used during the
Cold War?
Containment
What was the theory that the
United States believed in that
justified the use of containment?
The Domino Theory
What year did the Cold War
begin and when would it
eventually end?
1945 to 1991
Election of 1968
Hubert Humphrey
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon & Spiro Agnew win
George Wallace
Nixon & Foreign Issues
1. Vietnam
2. China
3. The Soviet Union
What was Nixon’s strategy
for exiting Vietnam?
QUESTION.
Ending the War in Vietnam
The United States had aIn
“moral
1973: dilemma” on its hands.
The UnitedIf States
ends military
in Vietnam
the nation
stayedinvolvement
in Vietnam?
Loss of American life would continue, people would remain unhappy at home.
In 1975:
Saigon
fallsleft
to the
North Vietnamese
If the
nation
Vietnam
immediately?
Breaking a promise to South Vietnam, admitting defeat in the area, lose
respect as a superpower, and soldiers died for nothing.
BUT
Vietnamization was doomed to fail.
“One North Vietnamese negotiator asked Henry Kissinger how Nixon’s plans for the
South Vietnamese to conduct their own defense could succeed when America had not
been able to prevail in the war with a half million of its own troops. This question
foreshadowed the inevitable end to the conflict.”
China & The USSR
China & The USSR
Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of
China in 1949, the Soviet Union and China did not get
along. Why do you believe this would happen despite
both being communist and superpowers?
The United States & China
“In spite of its hardline, anti-West posture, China also welcomed
opening lines of communication with the United States in order to
develop an ally against the Soviet Union, whom [China] had
come to distrust as much or more than it distrusted America.”
Outcome?
The United States recognized the government in Peking (Beijing)
and began to trade with each other.
The United States & China
In Feb 1972, President Richard Nixon became the first
President to visit the People’s Republic of China.
"The Week That Changed The World"
The United States & The USSR
“In May of 1972, just three months after his China visit, Nixon
again had an opportunity to exercise his negotiating abilities…
[The USSR] approached Nixon about nuclear reduction talks, but
[their] real agenda was that the USSR needed to purchase U.S.
grain, and [they] were deeply concerned that the new U.S. China relationship would leave Russia out in the cold.”
Outcome?
The United States recognized the government in Peking (Beijing) and
began to trade with each other.
The United States & The USSR
Nixon would fly to Moscow and negotiate on nuclear
reduction, trade, and more.
Nixon & Brezhnev
What is the term we use to describe Nixon’s
actions resulting in the relaxation of tension
Detente
between
governments?
QUESTION.
The United States & The USSR
What came from Nixon’s trip to Moscow?
1.$750 million deal on wheat, corn, and grain.
2.The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) was signed. Agreement to
stop production on nuclear ballistic missiles.
However, the arms race would NOT end due to SALT I.
By 1974…
South Vietnam was falling
The Middle East was unstable
Communism was spreading to South America
Soon, the monumental Nixon/Kissinger team would
fade from the scene and exit the world stage forever.
Nixon & Domestic Issues
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
The Government
The South
Space
The Environment
Stagflation
Watergate
Nixon & Domestic Issues
The Government
The South
Examples
Nixon believed
of the Burger
the federal
Court’s
government had
Rulings?
too much power
& the
responsibility.
Ruled that
death penalty was
unconstitutional
Nixon wanted to tweak Johnson’s
Great Society.
New Federalism was his answer.
Upheld the ruling in Roe v. Wade
How?
Nixon’s “Southern Strategy”
To combat what Nixon believed
was a “liberal” Supreme Court,
Nixon appointed new Supreme
Court judges.
His goal?
To win over the southern
Democrats who voted for Wallace
in the 1968 Election.
Consequence?
The new judges did not have to
side with Nixon once appointed.
Would he succeed?
Yes & No.
Nixon & Domestic Issues
Space
The Environment
In 1962, JFK promised to get
America on the moon before the
end of the decade.
Back on earth…
The impact of industrial pollutants
on wild & human life raised
concern.
On July 20th, 1969?
Apollo 11 reaches the moon
carrying Buzz Aldridge & Neil
Armstrong.
Nixon’s Administration created:
Environmental Protection Agency
Clean Air Act of 1970
Endangered Species Act of 1973
Consequences?
Without raising taxes the federal
deficit grew even larger.
Stagflation
What causes it?
A “shock” to the system in the supply category.
In this case?
The Oil Embargo during the 70s.
Inflation rates rose from 9% (1973) to 12% (1974) and would stay in the double
digits through the 70s & 80s.
STAGNATION + INFLATION =
STAGFLATION
Consequences?
Well, what do people do when they need more money?
HIGHER UNEMPLOYMENT.
Watergate
A Quick Review