1970s to present Flashcards
(54 cards)
What is “impeachment”?
the process by which a legislative body formally begins charges against a high official of a government. In US, typically a state legislature or the Congress against a governor or a president.
What is ”executive privilege”?
The power to keep certain communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security.
What is SALT I?
SALT stands for Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty. The first one was signed in 1972 by the US and the Soviets to stop building nuclear ballistic missiles for five years.
What is SALT II?
A second treaty signed in 1979 by President Carter and Soviet Leader Brezhnev. It reduced and limited the number of missile launchers and bombers.
What was the Watergate Scandal?
A break-in at the Democratic National Committee Offices in the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C. was carried out under the direction of Nixon administration officials. Disclosure of the White House involvement in the break-in and the cover-up afterwards forced President Nixon to resign in 1974 in order to avoid impeachment.
Who was Bob Woodward?
An investigative reporter for the Washington Post that helped uncover the Watergate scandal.
Who was Carl Bernstein?
A journalist for the Washington Post that helped uncover the Watergate scandal. The Post won a Pulitzer Prize for public service. He later wrote the book “All the President’s Men.”
Who was Gerald Ford?
After Spiro Agnew resigned as Vice President in 1973, Nixon nominated Gerald Ford to be his new VP. Ford had served in Congress for 25 years. He became the first non-elected VP and president when Nixon resigned. He later issued a pardon for Nixon for any crimes he might have committed as president.
Who is Jimmy Carter?
39th president, 1977-1981. Served one term. Created the Department of Energy and Department of Education. He reduced unemployment and eased the energy crisis. His last year in office was marred by the takeover of the American Embassy in Iran, fuel shortages and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. All of these events were crucial in his loss to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election.
What is OPEC?
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a group established in 1960 by some oil-producing nations to coordinated policies on selling petroleum products.
What the oil embargo and energy crisis?
in 1973, an economic crisis occurred when OPEC stopped exporting oil to the US in retaliation for America’s support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. The crisis ended in March 1974 when Henry Kissinger negotiated Israeli troop withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. The embargo led to long lines at gas stations and demonstrated the power of the oil-producing nations.
What was Three Mile Island?
In 1979, a nuclear power plant in PA overheated which caused part of its uranium core to melt. The overheating was caused by human, design, and mechanical errors.
What are the Camp David Accords?
1978-An agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat that led to a peace treaty between their countries. President Carter served as host and assisted in negotiating the accords at the American presidential retreat, Camp David.
What is the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan?
Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan to help the Afghan communist government crush anti-communist Muslim guerillas; anti-communists guerillas received support from the US and Great Britain.
Soviets withdrew and the communist party remained in power.
What was the Iranian Hostage Crisis?
In 1979, Iranian revolutionaries stormed the American Embassy in Tehran, Iran and took hostages, holding 53 American diplomats for over a year. US support for the Shah of Iran led to the supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini to be anti-American. The hostage crisis weakened the Carter presidency. The hostages were finally released on January 20, 1981, President Reagan’s inauguration day.
Who was Ronald Reagan?
. the 40th president of the US, serving two terms as he was elected in 1980 and 1984. He employed supply-side economics, “Reaganomics,” which significantly cut taxes and regulation to stimulate businesses. He increased military spending, including he Strategic Defense Initiative, (Star Wars). He worked with Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev to reduce nuclear weapons.
What was the “Evil Empire” speech?
1983-Ronald Reagan can imagine a “limited nuclear war in Europe” and the Soviet Union is the “focus of modern evil” and an “evil empire.”
What was the “Tear Down this Wall” speech?
“Tear Down this wall!” is a line from a speech made by Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12, 1987, calling for Mikhail Gorbachev to open up the barrier that had divided West and East Berlin since 1961.
What was the Iran-Contra Scandal?
This was a scandal involving the CIA, National Security Council and the Reagan administration. The US sold weapons to Iranians who were friendly to Americans to get them to free hostages. The profit from the sale of weapons funded Nicaraguan rebels fighting the Sandinista government. None of this activity was approved by Congress. Convictions of military and other leaders brought more American skepticism of the government.
What is a “liberal” viewpoint?
One that is open to non-traditional behavior and willing to discard traditional values and morals.
What is a “conservative” viewpoint?
One that is in favor of traditional (usually Biblical) values and morals.
What was the Strategic Defense Initiative or (SDI)?
A defensive project, nicknamed “Star Wars,” introduced by President Reagan. It is a ground and space-based system supposed to keep Soviet-launched nuclear ballistic missiles from reaching US targets before a complete defense attacked could begin. This project caused huge increase in defense spending.
Who was Mikhail Gorbachev?
He was the head of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. He worked with Reagan to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, removed Soviet troops from Afghanistan, helped to liberalize the repressive atmosphere of his country, enacting policies of openness and restructure. He was a key figure in the fall of communism in Russia.
What is the INF Treaty?
signed by Reagan and Gorbachev, providing the dismantling of all intermediate range nuclear weapons in Russia and all of Europe. Some consider this to be Reagan’s single most important piece of foreign policy.
