Nixon + Ford 1969 - 1976 Flashcards
While President Nixon’s foreign policy efforts earned praise from admirers and critics alike, the Watergate Scandal tarnished the Presidency, and America entered a period of economic malaise. The administrations of Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter are described, covering the period from 1968-1979.
What was the Nixon Doctrine?
The Nixon Doctrine was announced during President Nixon’s speech to the nation about Vietnam in 1969, known as the Silent Majority Speech. Nixon told the country that while the United States would assist its allies in defending themselves, his doctrine meant that each nation was responsible for its own security.
During the speech, Nixon asked for the support of the silent majority, those Americans who did not participate in the counterculture, did not agitate in the protests against the Vietnam War, and did not actively engage in politics.
What was “Vietnamization”?
Vietnamization was Nixon’s strategy to achieve victory in Vietnam. The policy called for replacing American ground troops by training South Vietnamese forces supported by American money, air power, and war materials.
By his fourth year in office, Nixon had reduced American forces in Vietnam from 540,000 to 30,000.
Complete the sentence:
During his Presidency, Richard Nixon focused primarily on foreign policy efforts, and was assisted by his National Security Advisor _____ _____.
Henry Kissinger
A former Harvard professor, Kissinger later became Nixon’s Secretary of State. A master of foreign policy, he earned a Nobel Prize for his efforts at ending the war in Vietnam, achieved détente with China and the Soviet Union, and arranged for peace between Israel and Egypt after the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
In an effort to shore up South Vietnam as the United States cut troop levels, Nixon ordered U.S. troops to attack which ostensibly neutral country?
Cambodia
Bordering on South Vietnam, Cambodia was a poor country used by the North Vietnamese and the Việt Cộng as a supply route and to store arms and ammunition.
Secret bombings had been going on for years (outraging the country when they were uncovered), but Nixon made no secret of the invasion with U.S. ground troops, announcing it on live television.
Negotiations to end the Vietnam War, occurring primarily between Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese diplomat Lê Ðức Thọ, took place in which city?
Paris, France
The negotiations had begun in 1968, but had gone nowhere for years. By October 1972 Kissinger and Thọ had worked out a compromise, and Kissinger declared that “peace was at hand.” The treaty broke down when it was opposed by the South Vietnamese, who hadn’t been consulted.
In October 1972, the treaty negotiated between Kissinger and Thọ to end the Vietnam War had broken down due to South Vietnamese opposition, and the North threatened to push for all-out victory. Nixon also faced widespread domestic oppostion to continuing the war.
Q: How did Nixon and Kissinger respond?
Nixon and Kissinger exerted strong diplomatic pressure against South Vietnam, guaranteeing U.S. support in the event the North resumed hostilities. South Vietnamese leaders reluctantly agreed to sign the Paris Peace Accords.
To keep North Vietnam at the bargaining table, the U.S. Air Force conducted a full-scale bombing campaign of the North’s military production facilities in the largest air campaign since World War II.
In 1971, Nixon shocked the world by announcing an official visit to Mainland China in February 1972. The U.S. had had no diplomatic contact with China since 1949, when it had fallen under Communist control. Why did Nixon go to China?
Nixon was engaged in an aggressive foreign policy maneuver. Although both China and the U.S.S.R. were Communist, they were also historic rivals. China sought an ally against the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union in turn sought to placate the U.S., resulting in a visit from Nixon in May of 1972.
Desiring to foster good relations with the United States, both countries curtailed aid to the North Vietnamese, leading in part to that country’s acceptance of the Paris Peace Accords.
Define:
Détente
Détente is a French term referring to the easing of a strained relationship.
Détente with the Soviet Union occurred during the Nixon Administration, as the President and Henry Kissinger successfully negotiated several agreements with the U.S.S.R. to relieve tensions and forestall nuclear war.
At least in part, Nixon’s détente resulted from renewed relations between the U.S. and China (a traditional Russian rival, though both were Communist).
During the early 1970s, Nixon negotiated two arms control treaties with the Soviet Union. What were they?
The two treaties were:
- Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT): froze the number of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).
- Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty: ABMs were capable of destroying inbound missiles, and their use would have started a new arms race; both sides agreed not to further develop them.
Complete the sentence:
In 1971, President Nixon signed legislation establishing the _____ ______ Agency, whose purpose was to protect human health and the environment.
Environmental Protection
The EPA, under authority granted to it by the Congress, regulates water, air, and soil pollutants.
On March 28, 1979, what happened at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania?
Three Mile Island was a nuclear facility that suffered a partial nuclear meltdown in 1979.
Although only limited amounts of radiation were released, it enhanced the credibility of anti-nuclear groups, who had predicted just such an accident. In partial response to the accident, there has been no new groundbreaking on nuclear plants in the United States since 1974.
Although Nixon did not focus much attention on domestic policy during his administration, he did advocate for New Federalism. What was New Federalism?
New Federalism called for shifting much of the burden of the welfare programs onto the states. The federal government provided block grants to the individual states, who then administered those programs at the state level.
Beginning in 1970, the United States entered a period of low economic growth but rapidly increasing prices, which continued almost without interruption until the early 1980s.
What was this economic phenomenon called?
Stagflation
The term came from the combined low growth rate (stagnation) and increasing prices (inflation). Nixon announced a 90-day wage and price freeze to aid the economy.
In an attempt to alleviate the economic crisis, Nixon announced an end to the linkage between the U.S. dollar and a set amount of gold in the U.S. Treasury. Nixon’s announcment was known as “The Nixon Shock.”
Define:
Sun Belt
The Sun Belt is the region of the United States stretching from Southern California to Florida. Beginning in the 1960s, the Sunbelt saw a large population influx, driven by temperate weather, cheaper land, and lower taxes. Manufacturers also chose Sunbelt states, based on tax breaks and the availability of non-union labor.
Many of the new Sun Belt residents came from states such as Michigan and Ohio, which became known as the Rust Belt.
In 1972 George Wallace was once again competing for the Presidential nomination for the Democratic Party and was receiving high poll numbers, but he dropped out of the race. Why?
In Maryland, Wallace was the victim of a failed assassination attempt. Arthur Bremer, the shooter, hoped to become famous.
Many of Wallace’s statements during his two presidential campaigns became famous, such as “the only two four-letter words that hippies don’t know are w-o-r-k and s-o-a-p.”
