The Nixon Administration Ch 32 Section 1 Limits

The Nixon Administration Ch 32 Section 1

Limits on Gov’t. Power • Nixon plans to turn America in a conservative direction. • He wanted to bring order to a divided nation

New Federalism • Nixon wants to decrease the size of the federal government. • Under LBJ’s Great Society, gov’t took on much responsibility • Nixon wanted to distribute more of this power to state and local governments

Revenue Sharing • State and local gov’ts get more freedom for how to spend federal money

Family Assistance Plan (FAP) • Plan to give a family of 4 federal payments (must prove work towards employment) • Defeated by both Republicans and Democrats

2 faces of New Federalism • Nixon cut funding and abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity • At the same time he increased funding for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

Law and Order Politics • Nixon wanted to end the Vietnam War and mend divisiveness in U. S. • Nixon sometimes engaged in illegal activities to combat enemies • Spiro Agnew assists

“Silent Majority”

Spiro Agnew • Resigned October 1973 • Bribes from MD contractors as governor and VP

25 th Amendment • Invoked by Congress to replace Agnew • 12 term Michigan Congressman – Gerald Ford

Nixon’s Southern Strategy • Nixon focused on 1972 election • He tried to attract Southern conservative Democrats by appealing to their unhappiness with federal desegregation policies and a liberal Supreme Court

Southern Strategy (continued) • Nominated 2 conservatives for SC – rejected – Clement Haynsworth – G. Harold Carswell

Democrats 1972 • • • George Mc. Govern – 25. 34% Hubert Humphrey – 25. 77% George Wallace – 23. 48% Edmund Muskie – 11. 51% Henry Jackson – 3. 16% Shirley Chisholm – 2. 69%

George Mc. Govern • Liberal, antiwar, antiestablishment • From S. Dakota • Running Mate – Thomas Eagleton of Missouri – Dropped due to electroshock treatment for depression

Nixon wins because: • Foreign policy successes in China and USSR • George Wallace assassination • Mc. Govern’s liberalism/ dropping Eagleton

New South • South had become a Democrat stronghold since Reconstruction • Many Southerners started to think that Dems. were becoming too liberal.

Nixon slows integration • Nixon slowed integration of public school to attract white voters in the South

Busing • Swann v. Charlotte. Mecklenberg Board of Education (1971) – school districts may bus students to end all-white or all-black schools

Nixon appoints new Supreme Court Justices • Nixon used 4 appointees to put a more conservative face on the Supreme Court

Stagflation • Combined high unemployment and high inflation • Nixon’s “New Economic Policy” – Took US off gold standard – Ended Bretton Woods System

OPEC • Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries • Cause gas prices to go up during the Yom Kippur War of 1973

Nixon’s Foreign Policy • Realpolitik – “political realism” – Paying attention to more powerful countries – Departure from Containment policy

War Powers Act • Passed over Nixon’s veto • Limited president’s ability to send troops overseas – 48 hour reporting period to Congress – Limited authorization for 60 days • Congress could extend for 30 days Part of “New Isolationism”

The Nixon Doctrine • Also known as the Guam Doctrine • US would continue to aid its allies in fight against communism – Weapons and money – Use their own ground forces – “nuclear umbrella” • Vietnamization

detente • A policy aimed at easing Cold War tensions

Ping Pong Diplomacy • US Ping Pong team invited • 20 year trade embargo ended

China • Nixon visits China in 1972

Soviet Union • Nixon is first U. S. president to visit Moscow • Nixon and Brezhnev sign the SALT I treaty (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) • Limited # of ICBMs