President Blog Discussions
Richard Nixon (R)- 37th 1969-1974
- Vice-President of Eisenhower
- Lost 1960 election to JFK
- the only person to be elected twice to both the presidency and vice presidency
- only president to resign from office
Elections
- 1968- against Humphrey and George Wallis (segregation/anti-black)
- trouble with Civil rights
- JFK and MLK Jr had just been assassinated
- Nixon promised to end Vietnam
- got 43.3% of the votes, Humphrey 42.7
- no one had half the votes
- 72 election
- blowout
- appear to be a staged/unfair election
- The Dirty Tricks Campaign- organization used to play tricks (like sending stuff to motels)
- distracted democrats from the campaign
- caused democrats to fight amongst themselves caused
- them to drop out so that he could go up against the worst candidate
- took a good candidate away from the people
Major Accomplishments
- Vietnam- took control
- Promised to end the war- "Peace with honor"
- Expanded the war to Cambodia and Laos bombing Ho Chi Minh Trail
- people believed he wasn't ending the war but making it bigger and worse
- many, massive protests
- Started pulling troops out of Vietnam as promised eventually
- The Nixon Doctrine- "Vietnamization" of the war; training the Vietnamese then pulling our troops out so they could fight by themselves
- Paris Peace Accords signed in 1973 stopped the fighting and got the US out of the war
- Very Green president - Clean Air Act of 1970, National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Water Pollution Control Act
- Established many government agencies:
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- War on Drugs - hippies with many drug wars; he pushed fighting back against illegal drug use
- Desegregation of schools with state committees
- Supplemental Security Income- giving money to low income who are 65+, bling, or disabled
- Signed Title 9(1972)- prohibiting gender discrimination in all federally funded schools (as many boys programs as girls)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Act - enforces laws against workplace discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, perceived intelligence and disability
- Approved the development of NASA's space shuttle program
- moon landing
- Abortion was legalized during his presidency
- Eased tensions with China and US
- Nixon went and visited them and made trade deals
- Opened relations with communist China
- Went to Soviet Union and SALT I was signed which limited nuclear weapons
- Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty was signed- banned development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles
Watergate
- Watergate was an office/hotel complex in D.C. - home to the democratic national headquarters (for election campaigns)
- 5 people were arrested for breaking and entering and then Nixon said he didn't know anything about this; said they were getting dirt on the democrats- were trying to bug the phones
- Caught the 2nd time, put tape in the door the wrong way
- Two Washington Post reporters investigated it; why were they wearing suits? why were they bugging the phones? why did they have 100 dollars in their pocket?
- criminals were Nixon's former employees
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