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Chapter 30 Review Joe Puccio
Key Terms
Environmental Protection Agency
American Indian Movement
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
People To Identify
Spiro Agnew- vice president under Nixon; charged with income tax evasion and accused of accepting bribes for political favors; resigned in October, 1973.
Warren Burger- was appointed by Nixon to replace Chief Justice Earl Warren; was a conservative judge from Minnesota.
Sam Ervin- was the head of the Senate committee that investigated the Watergate scandal; was a conservative North Carolinian that had the trust of Americans to protect the Constitution.
Henry Kissinger- the National Security Advisor under Nixon; with Nixon’s support, he launched a series of diplomatic missions.
George McGovern- Democratic presidential nominee in the 1972 election, running against Nixon; was a liberal senator from South Dakota who ran into trouble early on in the election.
Ralph Nader- a leading figure in the consumer movement; targeted the automotive industry to make cars safer; he and his supporters took up other causes such as clean water, safe toys for children, and nuclear power.
Places To Locate
B
A
E
C
D
Reviewing the Facts
In 1971, American economy was slowed and there was a raise in unemployment because of the Vietnam War. Billions of dollars were going into the war, leading to inflation. In August 971, Nixon tried to half inflation by imposing a wage and price control on the American economy, temporarily freezing waged, rents, and prices.
American Indians and Latin Americans were both large minority groups in America. Both of these groups were inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and they began to demand changes in government policies to benefit them. American Indians wanted more federal aid for their land, to stop the seizure of their native land, and to stop pollution on their reserves. Latin Americans wanted better jobs, pay, and housing.
The counterculture was a culture with values opposed to those of the established culture. Long hair, flared jeans, mini-skirts, long peasant dresses, and a few Civil War uniforms were some of the symbols of the counterculture. This new culture greatly varied from the established culture in a few ways, two being that they listened to new types of music and greatly experimented with illegal substances.
The industrial boom of World War II was what led to the environmental movement. There was an increase in population that was brought on by a high demand of goods and a growth in production rate. The mass population also led to environmental destruction. The environment was being harshly hit by pollutants such as DDT, leading to the destruction of ecosystems.
A counterculture grew out of young people’s opposition to the Vietnam War and dissatisfaction with established values. The rapid pace of change disturbed many Americans and they responded to Nixon’s promise to defend traditional American values. Nixon attempted to establish a balance of power among the world’s major military and industrial nations. Nixon renewed American ties with China and signed an arms control agreement with the Soviets by trying to take advantage of the split between China and the Soviet Union. Nixon’s policies helped produce a relaxation of cold war tensions.
Nixon renewed American ties with China and signed an arms control agreement with the Soviets by trying to take advantage of the split between China and the Soviet Union. China’s breakthrough followed a change in cold war politics. For years, policymakers in the United States had assumed that China was just a pawn of the Soviet Union. However, by the late 1960s, that view seemed to be false. The opening to China was indeed a political risk for Nixon, but the potential payoffs were astonishing. They included economic, scientific, and cultural relations with the world’s most populous nation. Plus, the United States could increase its leverage over both China and the Soviet Union by exploiting the rivalry between the two countries.
In 1973, conflict in the Middle East brought the superpowers to the brink of war. Long-standing hostilities between Israel and its Arab neighbors once again led to war. The United States supported Israel while the Soviets sided with the Arab states during the fighting. The Arab oil embargo caused major economic problems in the United States.
The Watergate scandal arose out of illegal activities connected to Nixon’s re-election campaign in 1972. Investigations revealed that the Nixon administration had violated people’s civil liberties and was guilty of abuses of power. The executive branch was pitted against Congress and the judiciary branch during Congressional investigations of the scandal. The Watergate crisis ended with the resignation of President Nixon on August 9, 1947.
The misdeeds of the Watergate scandal began to surface in January 1973, two months after Nixon had won the presidential election. Investigations soon revealed that the break-in had been approved by the Attorney General, John Mitchell. Even though Mitchell was one of his most trusted advisers, President Nixon still denied knowing anything about the break-in or the cover-up that followed it.
After the House committee voted to impeach the President, the matter when to the full House for a final decision. By this time, Nixon could still count on the backing of loyal supporters across the nation who believed that his guilt had not fully been established. The crucial evidence appeared just days after the committee vote when the Supreme Couth ruled, in a unanimous decision, that the President must finally release the complete Watergate tapes, leaving Nixon no choice but to comply. He had claimed that he had not known about the cover-up and that he had overheard it. It was now obvious that the House and the Senate would vote to convict Nixon of misdeeds in office. Two days after a small group of Republican leaders met with Nixon and asked him to resign, he did on August 9, 1974. He became the first President in American history to do so.
Critical Thinking
In the short term realpolitik would prove to be useful. However there would be a huge downside. Over time it would create many enemies around the world.
A president might rely on his private staff rather than his cabinet for two reasons. The first is trust, he might consider them to be more able to be trusted. The second is speed. It is faster than having to call cabinet meetings.
Reasons for downfall:
Johnson: Foreign policy in Latin America, Vietnam, American people became divided and lost faith in leadership.
Nixon: Watergate scandal, Illegal things that he did to try to cope with the Watergate scandal.