An Age of LimitsChapter 32

The Nixon Administration (1969-1974)

O New Federalism: O Decrease size and influence

of the Federal GovernmentO Great Society had given too

much power to the Federal Government (give power to the state and local government)

O Revenue sharing-state and local governments can spend the federal money as they see fit

O When it ended in 1986- $6 billion given

New FederalismO Welfare Reform: Nixon didn’t

oppose welfare-O Family Assistance Act: every

family of four with no outside income would receive $1600/year

O Can earn up to $4000/ year with incentives

O Take job training and accept any reasonable work available

O Bill fails in the Senate-Liberals- too low minimum payment

O Conservatives objected to guaranteed money

Two Faces of New Federalism

O Enhanced some Federal programs dismantled some

O Increased Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid payouts, made food stamps more assessable, supported subsidized housing, expanded Job corps

O Nixon used impoundment to hold up laws he opposed-Means to withhold funds ($15 billion)

O Eventually federal courts forced him to release the money

O Abolished Office of Economic Authority-Johnson’s cornerstone to the Great Society

Law and OrderO Fought with CongressO Also more liberal elements of societyO Pledged to end Vietnam and the

divisiveness it brought (1969 Campaign promise)

O Deescalated the war and upped the “Law and Order” of the United States

O Took on Urban rioting, anti-war demonstration

O “Silent Majority”O Used full resources-sometimes illegally- FBI

wiretapped left winged individuals, infiltrated groups such as SDS and radical African-American groups

O CIA compiled documents on thousands of American Dissidents

O Used the IRS to audit tax returns of antiwar and civil rights activists

O Built an “enemies list”-administration would harass and destroy

O Got help from Spiro T. Agnew, VP-scorned media

Southern StrategyO Conservative coalitionO Appeal to Southern conservative Democrats

by appealing to their distaste for desegregation and the Supreme Court

O Southern Democrats thought party had become too liberal

O Went after the George Wallace>, Governor of Alabama, voters in the South (13.5% as an independent running for President in 1968)

O Integration slows: attract voters in the SouthO Nixon: “There are those who want instant

integration and those who want segregation forever. I believe we need to have a middle course between those two extremes.”

O Reversed several Civil Rights PoliciesO Supreme court orders Nixon to abide by the

2nd Brown v. Board of Education ruling and integrate schools at all deliberate speed

O By 1972 90% of children attended desegregated schools in the South

O Opposed busing

The Supreme Court Battle

O Nixon criticized the Warren Court as too liberal

O Nixon changes four justices (death, retirement, resignation) including Warren

O Appointed Warren Burger> as Chief Justice

O Put 3 more conservative leaning justices on the bench

O Didn’t always go conservative-1971 ruling to integrate schools through busing

EconomyO Stagflation-High

unemployment-and inflationO Causes-massive deficit

spending by Lyndon JohnsonO Began to lose in

international trade markets to Japan and West Germany, etc.

O Flood of new workers (Baby boomers)

O OPEC-oil cartel-1973 Yom Kippur War-sent massive aid to Israel against Syria and Egypt

O OPEC cut off oil sales to US

Nixon’s attempts to cure economy

O Raised taxes and cut the budget (Congress refused to go along)

O Reduced the amount of money in circulation-by raising interest rates (sent US into a mild recession)

O Price and wage controls-froze worker’s wages and business prices for 90 days (inflation eased, but recession continued)

Foreign PolicyO Wins hereO Henry Kissinger-

Realpolitik and détenteO Nixon in China-take

advantage of decade long rift between USSR and Chins

O 1972-visits-at Great Wall, Imperial Palace, and toasting top Communist leaders

O Nixon and Mao>

Foreign PolicyO USSR Trip:O 1972 three months after

ChinaO Soviet Premier-Leonid

BrezhnevO Free access to West

Berlin in return for recognizing East Germany

O Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I Treaty)limit ICBM and Sub launched missiles to 1972 limits

WATERGATEO The Imperial

Presidency: Executive Branch had taken an air of Imperialism (supreme authority)

O Nixon expanded the power of the Presidency

WATERGATEO Men in Nixon’s inner

circle:O H.R. Haldeman: Chief of

StaffO John Ehrlichman: Chief

Domestic AdviserO John Mitchell: Attorney

GeneralO Secrecy and

consolidation of powerO Somehow above the lawO Leads to cover-up

WATERGATEO Nixon lived with the fear of losing

electionsO Campaign team sought advantagesO June 17, 1972-2:30am-guard at the

Watergate complex caught 5 men breaking into the headquarters of the DNC

O “the plumbers”-plug any government leaks and aid the Nixon administration in other ways

O Intended to photo documents and place “bugs” (wiretap0 phones

O Group’s leader-James McCord-former CIA agent also in a group called the Committee to re-elect the President

O H.R. Haldeman notes in diary of Nixon’s obsession with how to respond to the break-in

WATERGATEO Should have disowned the break-

in-fired anyone involvedO Instead cover it upO Workers shredded anything

incriminating in Haldeman’s office

O Nixon urged the FBI to pressure the CIA from investigating (National Security)

O Bought silence from burglars for $500,000

O Generated little interest from media throughout the ‘72 election

O Only the Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward> kept on the story.

WATERGATEO Wins ‘72 election in a landslide

over George McGovernO All Watergate Burglars changed

their pleas from innocent to guilty, except McCord who was found guilty by a jury

O Judge John Sirica> makes it clear that this is just the beginning

O Supervisors include G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt and hinted that higher authorities lied under oath.

O Sirica receives a letter from McCord stating that he is guilty and it goes higher up

WATERGATEO April 30, 1973: Nixon

dismisses John Dean and Ehrlichman and Haldeman resign

O Nixon goes on TV to deny involvement in the Watergate Affair

O May, 1973- Senate begins investigation

O Special Committee headed by Sam Ervin paraded in testimony

O The President’s Men one-by-one dropped bombshells

WATERGATEO John Dean-Howard Baker:

“What did the President know and when did he know it?”

O Deeply involved in the cover-up

O Nixon sends John Mitchell to deny the claim-Mitchell also denied approving the break-in and the wiretap and Nixon had no knowledge of it

O July-Alexander Butterfield>-Presidential aide-Nixon taped virtually all his presidential conversations to help write his memoirs.

O Tapes are the key

WATERGATEO Saturday Night MassacreO Year-long battle for the tapesO Archibald Cox>-Special Prosecutor, took

President to court to get the tapesO Cox appointed by Elliott Richardson-who Nixon

appointed to Attorney General after MitchellO Nixon refused to give up the tapes and

ordered Richardson to fire CoxO Richardson refused the order and resignedO Deputy Attorney General refused and was

firedO Solicitor General Robert Bork finally fired Cox-

replace with Leon JaworskiO Jaworski demands the tapesO The House begins impeachment proceedingsO Days before-Spiro Agnew resigned after it was

revealed that he accepted bribes in Maryland before and during his term as VP

O Nixon nominated Gerald Ford as Agnew’s replacement

O Agnew’s scandal makes investigators look at Nixon’s finances and they found that Nixon paid $1000 on a $200,000 salary.

WATERGATEO “People have the right to know whether

or not their President is a crook. Well I am not a crook.” Nixon response to investigation of his finance

O March 1974-grand jury indicts Mitchell, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, and four others

O April 30, 1974-Nixon released edited transcripts of the conversation about Watergate

O Hoped to show he was truthful O Turned out his bad language-and lack

of concern about the scandal turned people off

O Edited manuscript was not enough for the investigators

O Wanted the unedited tapes-Nixon refused

O July 24, 1974-Supreme Court rules unanimously that he must give up the unedited tapes

WATERGATEO House Judiciary recommends

ImpeachmentO July 27-three articles of impeachment

adoptedO Charges-obstruction of justice, abuse of

power, contempt of CongressO August 5 releases transcripts of the tapes-

mysterious 18 minute gap-evidence is still there

O June 23, 1972 conversation with H.R. Haldeman-Nixon knew and planned the obstruction a week after the break-in

O August 8, 1974- Nixon resigns-admitted no guilt-”some judgments are wrong”

O Gerald Ford becomes the PresidentO EFFECTS: O Deep disillusionment with the imperial

presidencyO Ford and Carter could not work on the

image of the presidency, too involved in economic problems

Gerald Ford (1974-1977)

O “Our long national nightmare is over.”

O Economy is the problem, howeverO Likable and honest: “I’m a Ford, not

a Lincoln.”O September 8, 1974-pardons Nixon-

move cost FordO WIN (Whip Inflation Now)-cut back on

use of oil and gas, other energy saving measures

O Ford fights Congress on job package-vetoing 50 bills

O Foreign Policy-relied on KissingerO Helsinki Accords-greater cooperation

between East and WestO Communist Cambodia seizes the

American ship, Mayaguez-Ford sends in air strikes, marines to rescue crew-41 US troops die

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

O Former Governor of GeorgiaO Peanut FarmerO As far from Washington as you could getO Down-to-earth style O Carter walked rather than rode in the LimoO Energy crisis is domestic policyO Cut consumption of oil and gas energyO Turn down their thermostats to 65* and

55* at nightO Proposed a Department of Energy cabinet

positionO National Energy Act-tax on gas guzzling

cars-removed price controls from natural gas and oil made in the US

O Crisis Worsens: Carter asks for voluntary price and wage freeze, spending cuts, deregulated trucking, railroad, shipping

O Convinced Federal Reserve to raise interest rates

O None worked and it looked like there was no policy at all