The document discusses the Nixon presidency in the 1970s. It summarizes that Nixon campaigned on a message of "law and order" and gained support in the South through his Southern Strategy. His domestic policies aimed to devolve power to state and local governments through New Federalism. However, tensions grew due to conflicts in the Middle East and the Vietnam War. Nixon established détente with China and the Soviet Union but the Watergate scandal erupted over his administration's cover-up of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. This led to Nixon's resignation in 1974, making him the first US president to resign from office.

1. Nixon and the ’70s By Brad Harris, Grand Prairie HS

2. The Election of 1968 The 1968 presidential election marked a shift to the right in American politics . The 1960's began as an era of optimism but the events of the decade led to public trust in the government and produced a backlash against liberal movements and the Democratic party.

3. The Election of 1968 The “Silent Majority” were Americans who paid taxes, did not demonstrate, and desired a restoration of "law and order.” Nixon campaigned as a champion of the “Silent Majority"

4. The Southern Strategy An important reason for Nixon’s victory was the support he received in the South The effort to sway southern voters to the Republicans was known as the Southern Strategy Nixon gained the South’s support by promising several things: To oppose court-ordered busing of students to integrate schools To choose a vice-presidential candidate who was from the South To only appoint conservatives to federal courts To appoint a Southerner to the Supreme Court Since the Election of 1968, the South has been a Republican stronghold in elections

6. New Federalism Nixon’s domestic policies became known as “New Federalism” It called for eliminating several federal programs and giving more control to state and local governments Nixon claimed that this would give the government agencies that were the closest to the people the opportunity to address problems Although “revenue sharing” was suppose to give state and local governments more power, the federal government became more powerful

7. Crisis in the Middle East Tensions in the Middle East escalated in 1956 when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal This led to a war over control of the canal between Egypt, Israel, the UK and France

8. Middle East Conflicts Tensions in the Middle East escalated during the Nixon administration Fighting broke out on two occasions between Israel and Arab countries

9. The Six-Day War The Six-Day War was fought in 1967 between Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Syria over control of land in the Middle East The conflict led to Israel taking control over the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

10. Yom Kippur War In 1973, Egypt and Syria retaliated against Israel in a conflict known as the Yom Kippur War In this conflict, Egypt regained control of the Sinai Peninsula and Syria reclaimed parts of the Golan Heights

11. U.S.-Israeli alliance The conflicts in the Middle East strengthened the ties between the U.S. and Israel These ties have led to tensions between the U.S. and some Arab nations

12. Vietnam War The biggest foreign policy issues Nixon had to deal with during his presidency was dealing with the Vietnam War

13. 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

14. Détente with Russia, China President Nixon tours the Great Wall of China One of Nixon’s foreign affairs goals was friendlier relations with China and the Soviet Union Nixon and Kissinger developed a foreign affairs policy known as détente , which means cooperation

15. Mao Tse-tung greets Nixon Nixon opened U.S. relations with China and became the first U.S. president to visit China

16. Strategic Arms Limitations Talks Summit meeting between U.S. and Soviet Union when the two countries agreed to limit nuclear arms Nixon also strengthened relations with the Soviet Union, including holding a historic meeting -- SALT

17. Détente with Russia From 1972 to 1974, tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union eased

18. Election of 1972 Nixon re-elected in a rout

19. The Pentagon Papers In 1971, a former Defense Department worker leaked what were known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times The documents showed how our leaders had deceived Congress, the media, and the public about how the war was going The government had not been honest with the American people

20. 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…

21. Coming up: Nixon and Watergate

22. Nixon and Watergate By Brad Harris, Grand Prairie HS

23. What was Watergate? Watergate was one of the largest political scandals in the history of the United States

24. What was Watergate? The Watergate scandal occurred when the Republicans were caught spying on the Democrats at the Democratic Headquarters

25. What was Watergate? Watergate became a major scandal when President Nixon lied about his role in the break-in and tried to cover it up

26. Roots of Watergate When the New York Times and Washington Post began to publish the Pentagon Papers, the Nixon Administration sued them.

27. Roots of Watergate It was Richard Nixon’s paranoia that his enemies wanted to ruin his presidency that was at the root of the Watergate scandal

28. The White House Plumbers Howard Hunt G. Gordon Liddy James McCord Chuck Colson This unit was called the “Plumbers” because they were put in charge of stopping information “leaks”. After the release of the Pentagon Papers, the White House created a unit to ensure internal security.

30. When initial polls showed Nixon only slightly ahead in the Election of 1972, the Plumbers turned their activities to political espionage. The Watergate Break-in

31. The Watergate Break-in On June 17, 1972, 5 men were arrested attempting to bug Democratic headquarters inside the Watergate building in Washington D.C.

32. The Washington Post Watergate came to public attention largely through the work of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, investigative reporters from the Washington Post

33. Sirica’s investigation transformed Watergate from a “third-rate burglary” to a major scandal. Watergate Investigations In March 1973, defendant James McCord informed Judge John Sirica that Watergate was a conspiracy.

34. Congressional Hearings Congress began hearings to investigate the scandal and found that Nixon’s Attorney General, John Mitchell, controlled a fund to pay for espionage operations

35. In June 1973, former White House legal counsel John Dean delivered testimony that implicated Nixon from the earliest days of Watergate Congressional Hearings

36. The Oval Office Tapes In an effort to discredit Dean’s testimony, the White House announced that Nixon had secretly been tape-recording conversations. These tapes would become the focus of the investigation.

37. When the Supreme Court forced Nixon to surrender the tapes, he refused invoking “executive privilege” The Smoking Gun Tapes

38. The Saturday Night Massacre The Administration reached an agreement with the Senate Watergate Committee that its Chairman would be allowed to listen to tapes and provide a transcript to the Committee and to Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. The deal broke down when Cox refused to accept the transcripts in place of the tapes. Since the Special Prosecutor is an employee of the Justice Department, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Cox. Archibald Cox

39. The Saturday Night Massacre When Richardson refused, he was fired. Nixon ordered Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. When he refused, he was fired. Nixon then ordered Solicitor General Robert Bork (who was later nominated for the Supreme Court by Reagan) to fire Cox and he complied. The Washington Post reported on the “Saturday Night Massacre.” Robert Bork

41. The Oval Office Tapes On October 23, 1973 Nixon agreed to turn over White House tape recordings requested by the Watergate special prosecutor to Judge Sirica.

42. Many of the conversations on the tapes indicate Nixon’s knowledge of the Watergate break in and the following cover-up. One tape had an 18½ -minute gap that people questioned. The Smoking Gun Tapes

43. On July 27, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee approved Articles of Impeachment against Nixon. The House was set to vote on the matter. Nixon’s Final Days

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

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

46. 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.

47. Carter and the ‘70s

48. U.S. celebrates Bicentennial On July 4, 1976, the United States celebrated its bicentennial (200 th birthday)

49. Election of 1976 In the 1976 Presidential Election, the Republicans nominated the sitting president Gerald Ford as their candidate The Democrats nominated a relative unknown, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, who had once been a peanut farmer In a close election, Carter defeated Ford to become the nation’s 39 th president. Texas was a key state in the victory for Carter. Gerald Ford, Republican Jimmy Carter, Democrat

50. Election of 1976 Carter won 40.8 million votes and 297 electoral votes Ford won 39.1 million votes and 240 electoral votes

51. The Carter Years Jimmy Carter was liked by many because he was a Southern Democrat who was not a Washington insider But Carter’s Presidency was troubled by the Iran hostage crisis and an economic downturn

52. Middle East Turmoil Trouble began in the Middle East following World War II with the creation of Israel. During the wars, the United States supported Israel due to our close Judea-Christian ties. The conflict led to two wars between Israel and numerous Muslim-dominated Arab countries

53. OPEC oil embargo OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and it was founded in 1960 by five founding members: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. In response to the U.S. support of Israel, in 1973 OPEC placed an oil embargo on the U.S.

54. Gas Shortages The OPEC oil embargo led to gas shortages in the United States and throughout the world. Gas prices skyrocketed and people were limited to the amount of gasoline they could buy.

55. Gas Shortages Long lines and hours of waiting to get gas were common sights in the 1970s.

56. Iran Hostage Crisis The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the U.S. when 53 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981

57. Iran Hostage Crisis The hostages were taken captive by Islamic militants who took over the American Embassy in response to the U.S. allowing the former Shah of Iran to come to the U.S.

58. Iran Hostage Crisis The American hostages were held in captivity for 444 days and not released until after Carter was defeated in the 1980 election and left office.

60. Camp David Accords One of the greatest achievements of Carter was in his foreign policy. Carter negotiated a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that was known as the Camp David Accords, signed in September 1978. Carter’s work with foreign countries eventually earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

61. Americans were shocked in 1978 when The Peoples Temple, a religious cult, had a mass suicide that left nearly 1,000 people dead Jonestown Massacre

62. Three Mile Island disaster The Three Mile Island disaster is when a nuclear power facility in Pennsylvania had a core meltdown. The meltdown led to radioactive gases being leaked into the air. The incident occurred in March of 1979 and was the worst nuclear power accident in U.S. history

63. Election of 1980

64. Pop Culture of the 70s Bellbottoms CB Radios Jogging Pet Rocks Disco

65. Pop Culture of the 70s All in the Family Happy Days The Brady Bunch Top TV Shows Mary Tyler Moore Show

66. Pop Culture of the 70s Top in Movies

67. Pop Culture of the 70s Top in Music

68. Coming Up Next Reagan and the ’80s

69. Reagan and the ’80s

70. The Miracle on Ice The U.S. victory over Russia in the 1980 winter Olympics restored American pride after a difficult decade for the nation

71. Rise of Conservatism Conservative ideas gained support for two main reasons Some Americans believed that the government’s role in the economy was leading the U.S. towards communism Many Americans saw the Cold War as a battle between good and evil Conservative Republican Right Capitalism Liberal Democrat Left Socialism Fiscally: Limited government spending, lower taxes Socially: Strict enforcement of laws, moral values Fiscally: Government programs to help poor, elderly, children Socially: Protection of personal freedoms and liberties

72. Rise of Conservatism The leading voice of the conservative movement became a former actor named Ronald Reagan Conservatism grew throughout a region of the nation known as the Sunbelt. Because most people in this region are religious, the area was known as the Bible Belt

73. Ronald Reagan had gained popularity as a Hollywood movie star before becoming Governor of California in 1967 Reagan rises to power Left, Ronald Reagan with Marilyn Monroe; above, Reagan following his victory in California governors race

74. Ronald Reagan takes over Because people saw Reagan as a symbol of hope and pride, Reagan defeated Carter in a landslide People were upset with Carter over the economy, Iran hostage crisis

75. Election of 1980

76. Reagan brought to the presidency new economic policies, advocating a limited government and economic laissez-faire philosophy. Reagan believed that the government should not regulate big businesses that would keep them from prospering. Reagonomics

77. Reagonomics Reaganomics believed in: Cutting taxes would help businesses use money they didn’t have to pay to the government to make new investments Increasing the growth of the business and create new jobs More goods for consumers, lower prices, while consumers would have more money to spend.

78. Reagan Reshapes Court President Reagan was able to sway the U.S. Supreme Court to the right with the appointments of two conservatives – Antonin Scalia and Sandra Day O’Connor O’Connor was the first woman chosen for the Supreme Court

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

80. Iran-Contra Scandal The Iran-Contra affair was a scandal during Reagan’s presidency over an arms-for-hostages deal with Iran in exchange 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

81. 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

82. Arms Iran Contras Hezbollah No more hostages Money Iran-Contra Scandal Nicaragua Iran $$$ =

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

84. Space Shuttle launched The United States launched the first space shuttle on April 12, 1981 The space shuttle Columbia was the first of over 100 shuttle missions flown

85. Challenger Disaster Disaster hit the program on January 20, 1986 when the shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff The crash killed the entire seven member crew, including teacher Christa McAuliffe

86. Reagan and the Cold War President Reagan abandoned the believe 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.

88. 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 wall”. Reagan and the Cold War

89. Bush takes over In the Election of 1988, most people saw Reagan’s vice-president – George Bush – as a solid choice to continue the Reagan policies Bush made a pledge to the American people when he said “read my lips, no new taxes.” Democrats nominated Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, who promised more programs to help minorities and the poor Most saw Dukakis as too liberal, leading to a landslide election victory by Bush

90. Election of 1988 George Bush Michael Dukakis

91. Exxon Valdez disaster In March of 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground at Prince William Sound in Alaska. The result was an oil spill of 10.8 million gallons that was the nation’s worst environmental disaster in it’s history to date.

92. 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.

93. 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.

94. 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 -- now a leader of a government that no longer existed -- announced the end of the Soviet Union. The Cold War was over.

95. Pop Culture of the 80s Valley Girl Look Original Nike’s Jogging Chiai Pet Pac-Man

96. Pop Culture of the 80s The Cosby Show Top TV Shows The A-Team Married with Children Dallas

97. Pop Culture of the 80s Top in Movies

98. Pop Culture of the 80s Top in Music

99. COMING UP NEXT: Clinton and the ’90s