APUSH CHAPTER 38 NOTES – THE 1970s

ECONOMY: STAGFLATION
- U.S. productivity was way down
- Wages were stagnant
- Inflation was way up

VIETNAM:
- Nixon’s “Vietnamization”
o To withdraw 540,000 U.S. troops over time
o To continue to assist the South Vietnamese with $ and arms (so that they can
continue to fight for themselves)
- Nixon Doctrine
o Change from the Truman Doctrine
o NOT open ended!
 The U.S. would always send $ and arms to countries to resist communism
 BUT no more sending of American soldiers!!!!
- Cambodian Incursion:
o Nixon ordered troops into Cambodia without consent of Congress
 This violated the Tonkin Gulf Resolution
 Anti-war protests grew worse – more violent
 Kent University
 Jackson State College
 Huge gap between Hawks and Doves
 Nixon withdrew all troops from Cambodia
 26th Amendment: Lowered voting age to 18
o Pentagon Papers:
 Daniel Ellsberg: former Pentagon official
 Gave classified info to the NY Times
o Evidence of deception that the U.S. provoked the Vietcong
to attack the 2 U.S. ships in the Tonkin Gulf
 Americans were FURIOUS!
 1973: Cease fire agreement was signed
 U.S. began withdrawing all troops from Vietnam

HENRY KISSINGER:
- Nixon’s National Security Advisor
o He worked with the North Vietnamese at the Paris Summit to discuss terms of
peace
o He also urged Nixon to strengthen ties with China and the USSR

NIXON’S FOREIGN POLICY AND VISITS:

- Feb. 1972: Nixon went to China
 o 1st steps in re-establishing formal ties
- May 1972: Nixon went to the USSR
o This improved U.S./USSR relations
o Arms Treaties:
 ABM: anti-ballistic missile treaty
 This limited the number of missile clusters
 SALT: Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
 Froze the number of ICBMs for 5 years
o (intercontinental ballistic missiles)
- BOTH very successful visits…
o Created a détente within the Cold War (1972-1979)
o Nixon was much more successful in foreign policy than domestic policy

NIXON’S “GREAT SOCIETY”:

- Expansion of welfare programs…
o Food Stamps, Medicaid, AFDC (Aid to families with dependent children)
o Philadelphia Plan: beginning of the idea of “Affirmative Action”
o EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
o OSHA: Occupational Health and Safety Administration)

ELECTION OF 1972:
- Nixon was nominated by the Republicans
- George McGovern was nominated by the Democrats
o Nixon won in a landslide

SUPREME COURT CASES OF THE 1970s:

- Chief Justice Earl Warren
- Griswold V Connecticut: est. “rights of privacy”
- Miranda V Arizona: est. “Miranda Rights”
- Engel V Vitale: ended prayer in public schools
- Many cases favoring civil rights

END OF THE VIETNAM WAR:

- Cease-fire signed on Jan. 23, 1973
o Immediate withdrawal of 27,000 troops
- However, Nixon increased bombing raids on North Vietnam and Cambodia
- Congress opposed this expansion of war
o Passed the War Powers of 1973:
 Nixon had to report ANY military commitment to Congress 48 hours in
advance
- Early 1975: North Vietnam led a major attack of South Vietnam
o Ford asked Congress to send U.S. troops
o Congress said NO!
 o All remaining U.S. troops were evacuated
 The last American troops left in April, 1975
SCANDALS:
- VP Spiro Agnew
o Forced to resign in Oct. 1973
o He had taken bribes from Maryland contractors while he had been governor and
while he was VP
o Gerald Ford was Speaker of the House; he became VP
- Watergate:
o June 17, 1972: a burglary of the Watergate building offices
o 5 men were arrested
 They were all members of CREEP (committee to re-elect the president)
 CREEP had raised millions for Nixon’s campaign
 They were involved in many unethical and illegal activities
 “Dirty Tricks” campaign
o To sabotage the Democrat’s campaign
o More scandals within CREEP:
 Aides and advisors were forced to resign
 Criminal obstruction of justice
 Cover-ups and hush money
 Illegal use of the CIA and FBI (to “plug up leaks”)
o The Nixon Tapes:
 Recorded conversations of Nixon and others while he was president
*At this point, Nixon denied knowing ANYTHING
 The Senate asked Nixon for the tapes
 Nixon said NO, claiming executive privilege
o Saturday Night Massacre: Oct. 20, 1973
 Nixon fired Archibald Cox (lead Watergate investigator)
 He also fired his Attorney General and Deputy AG
o The House Judiciary Committee demanded the tapes from Nixon
 Spring of 1974, Nixon was forced to turn them over
 BUT when he did, there were 9 missing (erased) segments on the tapes
 The Supreme Court demanded the missing sections of tape
 Nixon had no choice
o Impeachment: July 1974 – Nixon had 3 Articles of Impeachment against him:
 Obstruction of Justice
 Abuse of Powers
 Contempt of Congress
o The tapes revealed Nixon’s first-hand knowledge of everything, as well as his
attempts to cover it up!
 Nixon resigned on August 8, 1974
 Gerald Ford became president
1976 ELECTION:
- Ford was nominated by the Republicans
- Jimmy Carter was nominated by the Democrats
o He was perceived as very honest (and NOT a career politician)
o Carter won, but it was fairly close

CARTER’S FOREIGN POLICY:

- Based on the idea of human rights
- Sept. 1978: Camp David Accords
o Meeting with Carter, Anwar Sadat (Pres. Of Egypt), and Menachim Begin (PM of
Israel)
o They did come up with a compromise to reduce tension in the Middle East over
the creation of Israel….
 But, Sadat was assassinated shortly after he returned to Egypt and the
compromise fell apart.

1979 HOSTAGE CRISIS:

- A Muslim extremist group seized the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, Iran
o This was encouraged by the Ayatollah Khomeini
o 54 Americans were taken hostage for 444 days
o Why? They demanded that Shaw Pahlavi be returned to Iran
o Carter tried multiple ways of rescuing the hostages
o They were finally released on Jan. 20, 1980

DECEMBER 29, 1989: THE USSR INVADED AFGHANISTAN:

- This violated all treaties made with Nixon
- Carter placed an embargo on the USSR
- U.S. boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow
- U.S. back to open-ended commitment to containment
- End of SALT
- End of détente

FEMINISM:
- Equal Rights Movement
o Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement
o Title IX : educational amendment
 Equal opportunity and funding for women’s sports and female athletes in
college
- Equal Rights Amendment: (ERA)
o That equality cannot be denied based on gender
o THIS HAS NEVER PASSED!!!
o Why not?
 People were split over 2 women’s issues:
 Divorce rates were way up! Anti-feminists blamed the Women’s
Rights Movement for this.
 Abortion
o Roe V Wade _: 1973
 Supreme court case ruling that abortion is legal
 Based on the right to privacy

Analyze the following political cartoon

1. What is the above image referring to? (be more specific than just answering Watergate)
This is referring to the Nixon tapes
2. What is the point of view of the cartoon?
This point of view was the people had on the White House/President.
3. What message does this cartoon portray about Watergate?
How the public now view the White House/President.
Analyze the following political cartoon

1. What is the above image referring to? (be more specific than just answering the
Vietnam War)
2. What is the point of view of the cartoon?
3. What message does this cartoon portray about the American defeat in Vietnam?