Nixon, Ford, Carter

The 1970s

President

Richard Nixon
(1969–1974)

President

Gerald Ford

(1974 –1977)

President

Jimmy Carter
(1977–1981)

President

Ronald Reagan
(1981–1989) - preview of next

I. Election of 1968

A. Richard Nixon with running-mate Spiro Agnew

​II. Nixon & New Federalism

​A. Nixon promoted to reduce the size of the federal government.

B. Nixon planned to end several federal programs & give more control to state and local governments.

C. Revenue sharing = bills granting federal funds to state and local agencies.

D. Nixon wanted to end many of Johnson's Great Society programs.

E. When Congress appropriated money for programs Nixon opposed, Nixon impounded (refused to release) the funds.

Multiple Choice

____________, Nixon's plan to reduce size and power of the federal government and give more power to state and local governments.

• Great Society

• Detente

• Square Deal

• New Federalism

Multiple Choice

Nixon's policy of allowing the federal government to distribute tax revenue to states and local government was called...

• detente

• detente

• New Federalism

• revenue sharing

A. Nixon used a policy of détente to

decrease Cold War tensions.

1. Nixon with China’s

communist leader Mao Zedong

2. Nixon with Soviet Union

communist leader Leonid Brezhnev

​III. Nixon's Foreign Policy

B. Nixon visits China

1. Since 1949, when China became Communists, the U.S. had refused to recognize the Communists as legitimate rulers.

2. Instead, the U.S. government recognized the exiled regime on the island of Taiwan as the Chinese government.

3. Nixon visits China in 1972 (1st U.S. President to visit China since 1949)

​1. Nixon visits S.U. in May of 1972 (1st President to visit S.U. since end of WWII.)

2. During visit, the two superpowers signed first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, or SALT I. The treaty temporarily froze the number of strategic nuclear weapons.

​C. Nixon visits Soviet Union

D. In 1973, PresidentRichard Nixon

ended the involvement of the U.S. in
the Vietnam War.

1. U.S. leaves Vietnam (March 29, 1973)

Multiple Choice

Relaxing of tensions with the Soviet Union, nuclear slow down. Working together not against.

• NATO

• Warsaw Pact

• Detente

• SALT I Treaty

Multiple Choice

Which of these describes the MOST important outcome of President Nixon's visit to China?

• The United States and China reestablished diplomatic relations.

• The United States and China resolved long-standing trade disputes

• The Chinese government agreed to give up its claims to Taiwan.

• The Chinese government agreed to limit its production of nuclear missiles.

Multiple Choice

When Richard Nixon "opened the door" to China he also brought the US and USSR closer together.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

What were the so-called "SALT 1" talks about?

• increasing mineral trade between the U.S. and Soviet Union

• reducing nuclear weapons/missile

• learning how to store nuclear waste in salt domes

• globally reducing chemical waste dumps

Election of 1972

​IV. Election of 1972

1. Nixon wins electoral landslide.

A. In 1972, it was discovered that

advisors of Nixon tried to spy on the
Democrats, which Nixon illegally
tried to cover-up.

1. Watergate apartment complex;

Washington, D.C.

2. The Washington Post reporters

Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward

​V. Watergate

🡨 3. Watergate hearings (1973)

4. “I’m not a crook!”

5. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns after
being accused of taking bribes and income

tax evasion as Governor of Maryland

(October 10, 1973)

6. Rep. Gerald Ford becomes

new vice president
(December 6, 1973)

7. The Watergate scandal resulted in

Nixon resigning from office in 1974.

Nixon’s resignation speech (August 8, 1974)

VI. ​Impact of Watergate

1. Americans further distrusted the government.

2. Concern the Presidency was becoming too powerful

3. People like Bob Woodward believed the affair proved that no one is above the law.

Multiple Choice

True or False: Nixon was impeached from presedency. 

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which of these events triggered the Watergate scandal?

• the publication of President Nixon's "enemies list"

• the bungled burglary of the Democratic National Headquarters

• the installation of a secret taping system in the Oval Office

• the revelation of bribery charges against Vice President Spiro Agnew

Multiple Choice

Who were the reporters who pursued the investigation into the Watergate break-in?

• Sacco and Vanzetti

• Woodward and Bernstein

• Ethel and Julius Rosenburg

• Carter and Johnson

Multiple Choice

What is a main idea / impact the Watergate era?

• The Supreme Court presides over a presidential impeachment trial.

• The president has the final word involving constitutional issues.

• Congress has to obey the Constitution.

• No person or group is above the law.

A. Gerald Ford sworn in as president (August 9, 1974)

B. Ford pardons Nixon
(September 8, 1974)

​C. Ford's pardon of Nixon drew public criticism and diminished his popularity.

​VII. Ford Presidency

​D. President Ford faces:

1. Rough Economy:

a. high inflation
b. high unemployment
c. energy problems
d. public distrust of govt.

On the Watergate Scandal:
“ Our long national nightmare is over”

A. Jimmy Carter with running-mate Walter Mondale wins the Presidency

VIII. Election of 1976

Multiple Choice

President Ford granted a _____ to Richard Nixon for his crimes in Watergate. 

• Pardon 

• Advice 

• Special Prosecutor 

• Executive Privileges 

Multiple Choice

High unemployment combined with inflation (rising prices).

• Recession

• Stagflation

• Inflation

• Embargo

Multiple Choice

Who won the Presidential election in 1976?

• Ronal Reagan

• Richard Nixon

• Gerald Ford

• Jimmy Carter

■ In 1973, the Organization of Petroleum

Exporting Countries placed an embargo
on oil imported by the U.S., . . .

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
(Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria,

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela)

. . . which increased oil’s cost and hurt

the U.S. economy during the 1970s.

1970s energy crisis

■ In 1978, PresidentJimmy Carter

helped negotiate the Camp David
Accords,which established peace
between Egypt and Israel.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Anwar El Sadat shakes hands

with Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin

Iran’s supreme leader

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

(1979–1989)

Iran hostage crisis (1979–1981):
For 444 days, 52 Americans were
held hostage in Iran

🡨 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi;
Former shah (king) of Iran
until being overthrown during
1979 Iran Revolution

Ronald Reagan with running-mate George H. W. Bush

Election of 1980

January 20, 1981

■ During the 1980s, PresidentRonald

Reagan lowered federal income tax
rates to create an economic boom for
the U.S.

“Supply-side economics”

■ In the Iran-Contra affair of 1986,

Americans learned that the U.S. was
selling weapons to Iran to fund
anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua.

Anti-communist contra rebels

Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini

■ Reagan was cleared of any crimes,

but this affair and the Watergate
scandal undermined public trust in
elected government leaders.

🡨 Lt. Col. Oliver North