Nixon and Foreign Affairs President Nixon was hailed

Nixon and Foreign Affairs President Nixon was hailed for his foreign affairs savvy One key reason for this was his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger

Detente (Nixon Foreign Policy) n Relaxing the tension between USA and USSR, and USA and China n Kissinger's influencen They were commiesdeal with it n Played one against the othern Keep them guessing

China (Nixon Foreign Policy) n 1949 -1970 US act if China doesn’t exist n 25% of world’s Population - TOO Big to ignore China and USSR not on good terms n Nixon- Recognizes China 1970; visits 1972 n n Set up formal relations This put USSR on edge…why would US do this? US and China now on speaking terms n Helped ease some Cold War Tension

USSR (Nixon’s foreign policy with the Soviets) n Nixon visited USSR as well n n China now wondering what the heck is going on Agreed to work together on space, trade and weapons n SALT I & II signed n Limited the quality of nuclear weapons built by both countries but… § Both countries built more powerful smaller warheads n Cold War Tensions are reduced

Election of 1972 Nixon re-elected in a rout

Roots of Watergate The release of the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times angered Nixon He thought others were out to sabotage his presidency and undermine him, leading to…

On August 5, 1974, when the “smoking gun tape” became public, Nixon was told that he would not survive the vote in the Senate

Nixon Resigns On August 9, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first American president to resign

Aftermath of Watergate § Gerald Ford became the nation’s 37 th president. § More than 30 government officials went to prison for their role in Watergate. Nixon was not one of them. § In September 1974, Ford gave Nixon a full pardon. § There was a public distrust of the government that continues to this day.

Election of 1980

Reagan and the ’ 80 s

Reagan Doctrine Reagan believed the U. S. should support groups that were fighting to overthrow Communists governments. This policy was called the Reagan Doctrine. Two places Reagan In Afghanistan, Reagan implemented this policy were sent aid to the Afghanistan in the Middle freedom fighters known East and Nicaragua in as the Mujahedeen, who Central America. were fighting off a Soviet invasion. Reagan’s involvement in Nicaragua led to a scandal that came to be known as the Iran-Contra scandal.

Iran-Contra Scandal The Iran-Contra affair was a scandal during Reagan’s presidency over an arms-forhostages deal with Iran in exchange for funds for Nicaraguan rebels known as the Contras Members of the Reagan administration secretly arranged for the illegal sale of arms to Iran in exchange for hostages The money was then illegally funneled to support an attempted over-throw of Nicaragua's communist government

Iran-Contra Scandal The key figure in the Iran. Contra scandal was a military aide to the National Security Council, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North Democrats called for an investigation and wanted to find out if President Reagan knew of the illegal activities, but no evidence implicating Reagan was ever found

Reagan wins re-election Reagan’s win in 1984 was the largest landslide in U. S. history

Reagan and the Cold War • President Reagan abandoned the belief in détente. He viewed the Soviet Union as evil and believed that the U. S. should not negotiate with the Russians • Reagan believed the U. S. had to be strong militarily to deal with the Soviet Union. He began a huge military buildup called Star Wars. • The Star Wars program was a defense system that would shoot Soviet missiles out of the sky in space before they reached the United States.

Reagan and the Cold War In a speech at the Brandenburg Gate by the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987, Reagan challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this [Berlin] wall. ”

Fall of the Berlin Wall With democratic ideas spreading throughout Eastern Europe, change came quickly. In November of 1989, the Berlin Wall gates were opened. East Berliners came streaming through as free people for the first time in 40 years. Within days, the wall was leveled.

Tiananmen Square Massacre • In 1989, Chinese students held protests for democracy in Tiananmen Square, the town center of Beijing. • Hundreds were executed and thousands more were either jailed or exiled. • The U. S. responded by placing trade sanctions on China.

End of the Cold War Within a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany – a country divided the previous 40 years – was reunited. While Germany was reuniting as a democratic country, by 1991 the Soviet Union was beginning to break apart. In December of 1991, Gorbachev announced the end of the Soviet Union. The Cold War was over.