THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION 1968 1974 Introduction The Arab
THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION 1968 – 1974
Introduction The Arab oil embargo of 1973 threatened Americans’ love affair with the automobile. As gas prices rose and supplies dwindled, service stations cut their hours of operation and restricted the amount of gasoline customers could buy. Long lines of cars circled around gas stations as motorists waited to buy fuel for their cars. (Divine)
The Republican Resurgence Nixon/Agnew (R) Humphrey (D) Wallace (American Independent) Election was a rejection of the politics of protest & the cultural insurgency of the mid-1960 s
The Watergate Break-in June 17, 1972, five men broke in the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex CREEP (the Committee to Re-Elect the President) Admin. denied any White House involvement in the
The Watergate Break-in, cont. Criminal act was direct outgrowth of the paranoia that characterized Nixon presidency Authorized wiretaps on phones of both reporters & key aides Pentagon Papers (1971) & Daniel Ellsberg
The Watergate Break-in, cont. Nixon took measures to plug any further leaks “Plumbers” unit w/in White House G. Gordon Liddy & E. Howard Hunt “Enemies list”
The Watergate Break-in, cont. Nixon appt. Attorney General John Mitchell to head CREEP Probably didn’t have advance knowledge of break -in, but he committed a criminal act by authorizing a far-reaching cover-
The Watergate Break-in, cont. Cover-up began to unravel in 1973 Hunt & Liddy Mc. Cord John Sirica John Dean Haldeman & Ehrlichman
The Watergate Break-in, cont. Taped conversations in the Oval Office since 1970 Nixon tried to invoke executive privilege to w/hold tapes SCOTUS ruled unanimously that tapes had to be turned over to Judge Sirica House Judiciary Committee voted 3 articles of impeachment Resigned on August 9, 1974 Legacy
Nixon in Power Assembled a WH staff whose main task was to isolate him from Congress, the press, & cabinet H. R. Haldeman & John Ehrlichman Henry Kissinger – National Security Adviser
Reshaping the Great Society Moderation Accept main outlines of welfare state Focused on making fed. bureaucracy function more efficiently Revenue sharing
Reshaping the Great Society, cont. Civil Rights Shift focus of school integration to courts Southern Strategy Reshape SC along more conservative lines CJ Warren Burger No massive overturn of Warren Court’s decisions, though
Nixonomics Growing inflation Heavy deficit spending Balance of trade became negative Increasing unemployment 90 day freeze on wages & prices Improved balance of trade
Building a Republican Majority “Southern strategy” Appeal to “middle Americans” Southern whites, Catholic ethnic groups, blue-collar workers, suburbanites of the South & West VP Agnew
In Search of Détente Gave foreign policy top priority Cold War should be managed & controlled China vs. Soviet Union 1972 visit to China SALT (1972) Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev
The Election of 1972 Nixon (R) Senator George Mc. Govern of South Dakota (D) Political realignment GOP made significant gains in the Sunbelt states of the South & West
Energy and the Economy Outbreak of war in the Middle East threatened the supply & price of oil Energy crisis sparked an inflationary crisis
The October War Six Day War (1967) Added to Middle East tensions Oct. 6, 1973, Egypt & Syria launched surprise attack on Israel Yom Kippur War OPEC
The October War, cont. Embargo had a disastrous impact on Am. economy Produced a worldwide shortage of oil Dramatic increase in oil prices Nixon responded w/a series of temp. measures
The October War, cont.
The Oil Shocks Cheap energy was force behind Am. economic growth after WWII October War & Arab oil embargo OPEC raised price per gallon Devastated Am. economy
The Oil Shocks, cont. Ford Carter Budget deficits High interest rates Iranian Revolution (1979) touched off another oil shock Gas prices climbed
The Search for an Energy Policy Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 Clean Air Act Earth Day (Apr. 1970) Three Mile Island (PA) 1979 Alaska pipeline
The Great Inflation Causes: Budget deficits of Vietnam War Worldwide shortage of food Sixfold increase in petroleum prices Impact on consumers
The Shifting American Economy Slowing of the rate of economic growth Am. industry losing its position of primacy Foreign competition Shifts in labor mvmt. Geographic shift of industry to the Sunbelt
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