Nixon’s Domestic Policy

Nixon in Person

• Unlike most politicians, Richard Nixon was a reserved and remote man

• Many respected him for his experience and political strategies

• He had few close friends, and often people thought he was cold and even had a mean side with his enemies

• Nixon avoided his Cabinet and used his White House staff to help develop policies

Domestic Policy

• Restoring law and order was one of them most important aspects of Nixon’s domestic policy

• Inflation– Inflation had doubled between 1965 and 1968

– Nixon began deficit spending or spending more money in a year than the government receives in revenues

– He also proposed a 90-day freeze on wage, prices, and rents

Domestic Policy

• Oil Crisis– The nation’s growing population and economy used more energy every year

– Coal had environmental concerns– Americans depended on cheap oil for about 1/3 of energy needs

– After the U.S. backed Israel, Arab members of OPEC imposed an embargo or ban on shipping oil to the U.S.

– Oil prices skyrocketed– The result was a recession

Domestic Policy

• Social Programs– Nixon hoped to cut spending by shutting down some of the Great Society programs

– Nixon called for a new partnership between the federal government and the state governments know as the New Federalism

– States would assume greater responsibility for the well-being of their own citizens

The “Southern Strategy”

• Nixon believed he had little to gain by supporting advances in civil rights

• “There are those who want instant integration and those who want segregation forever, I believe that we need to have a middle course between those two extremes.”

• Southern strategy was to win over white southern Democrats

• Nixon repeatedly opposed acts to help African Americans

The First Moon Landing

• On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong descended from the Eagle lunar landing craft and set foot on the moon’s surface

• Television viewers around the world witnessed this triumph of the Apollo program

• The astronauts of Apollo 11 were welcomed back as heroes

Richard M. Nixon

Foreign Policy: 1968-1974

“I’ve always thought this country could run itself domestically without a

President.”

Henry Kissinger• Nixon’s National

Security Advisor (1969-1973) Secretary of State in 1973

• Nixon’s closest and most trusted advisor

• Believed in ‘realpolitik’ - practical politics– Decisions based

on maintaining strength, not moral principles

– Détente - a relaxing of tensions between two nations.

Nixon and China

• Nixon and Kissinger took different approach to dealing with Communist China.

• US began series of moves to improve relations with China.

• “Ping-pong diplomacy”• Nixon traveled to China

in Feb. of 1972• Met with Chairman Mao

and Premier Zhou Enlai (to Nixon’s right).

• Nixon politically popular as a result.

The Soviet Union and China

• Soviet Union (Russia or USSR) communist but enemies of China.

• Nixon exploited this difference.

• Vietnam received majority of aid from Russia.

• Better relations with China could be a bargaining chip to end Vietnam War.

Nixon, the USSR, and China

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Strategic Arms Limitations Talks

(SALT I)• Nixon visited Soviet Union in

1972.• First US President inside the

Kremlin• SALT I Treaty signed in 1972

by US and USSR– Wanted to limit the

proliferation (expansion) of offensive nuclear weapons.

– Froze the number of ICBMs and SLBMs at 1972 levels.

– Restricted the development of antiballistic missile systems.

Missiles… ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic)

SLBMs (Submarine Launched Ballistic)

Personal Diplomacy begins to pay off

• Paris Peace talks stalled since 1968. Renewed periodically.

• China relations, USSR visit created a bargaining ploy to end the war in Vietnam

• National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger claimed ”peace is at hand” - just before 1972 election.

• December 1972, new round of bombing - “Christmas bombings” (Nixon - a “mad bomber”)

• Bombed Hanoi, North Vietnam, mined the harbor

• Vietnam resumes negotiations with US

1973 - Paris Peace Accords

• The United States would withdraw all its forces from South Vietnam within 60 days.

• All prisoners of war would be released.

• All parties to the agreement would end military activities in Laos and Cambodia.

• The 17th parallel would continue to divide North and South Vietnam until the country could be reunited.

Paris Peace Accords: Vietnam

QuickTime™ and aSorenson Video 3 decompressorare needed to see this picture.

Nixon’s Foreign Policy Legacy• Nixon’s focus and

most intense interest was always foreign policy

• His achievements are often overshadowed by the Watergate scandal.

• Nixon effectively ended the war in Vietnam

• Nixon ushered in a period of détente with former US enemies

ARAB-ISRAELI RELATIONS

Arab-Israeli Tensions

• Since Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948, Arab nations had engaged in wars with the Jewish state, and none had opened up diplomatic relations with Israel by the 1970s.– The Arabs, especially Palestinians, considered Israeli

territory rightfully theirs.– The Muslim (and Jewish) holy city of Jerusalem was located

within Israel’s borders.– United States was Israel’s steadfast ally from the

beginning.

The Six-Day War (1967)

• Israel won a stunning victory against the Arabs in the Six-Day War of 1967.

• Expanded the nation’s borders to include: – the Golan Heights– the West Bank– the Gaza Strip– the Sinai Peninsula.

• Israel assumed the Arabs would not dare to attack them again so soon.

• Arabs were as determined as ever to reclaim their territory and eliminate the Jewish state.

Israeli Territorial Gains

• The pale blue indicates Israeli territory before the Six-Day War.

• The slightly darker blue indicates Israeli territorial gains.– Six-Day War (1967)

resulted in massive territorial expansion for Israel especially on the Sinai Peninsula.

The Yom Kippur War (1973)

• October 6, 1973, the Arab nations of Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel.– The Arabs chose the date with a very

specific reason in mind: it coincided with Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest holiday.

• The Arabs correctly assumed that Israel would be most vulnerable on this day.

• Indeed, for the first two days of the war, the Israelis could not stop their enemies’ advance.

• The war lasted a mere 20 days with intense fighting and thousands killed.

American Involvement

• America actively supported Israel, both politically and militarily, from the beginning.

• Nixon personally ordered that American arms be airlifted to Israel.

• The conflict resembled a proxy (Cold War) war, since it pitted America-friendly Israel vs. Egypt and Syria, long under Soviet influence.

The Oil Crisis

• In response to highly effective American involvement in the war, Arab nations declared on October 19 that they would not sell oil to the U.S., because of its expressed support for Israel.– They later cut exports to the Netherlands and other nations

backing Israel.• Within a few months, the price of a barrel of oil

quadrupled!– This marked the first time Arab nations would use oil as a

political and economic weapon.

Effects of the War• No territorial concessions were made; each side

claimed victory for itself.• Egypt drifted away from the Soviet Union and

towards America, largely because of Kissinger’s developing relationship with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.– Israel remained America’s close ally; likewise, Syria

retained its alignment with the U.S.S.R.– As a result of the diplomatic shift, Egypt became

more willing to negotiate with Israel.• In 1978, the Camp David Accords would make Egypt the

first Arab nation to formally recognize the Jewish state.

• The oil embargo had a devastating impact on the U.S. economy.

Did Nixon Succeed in the Middle East?

• In keeping with the Nixon Doctrine, he stood by an American ally, providing aid and supplies, but not manpower, for a successful defense.

• With Kissinger’s aid, he also reduced the Soviet sphere of influence, of which Egypt was no longer a part by war’s end.

Nixon’s Foreign Policy Legacy

• Nixon’s focus and most intense interest was always foreign policy

• His achievements are often overshadowed by the Watergate scandal.

• Nixon effectively ended the war in Vietnam

• Nixon ushered in a period of détente with former US enemies