Chapter 25 FROM NIXON TO CARTER

1
Chapter 25 FROM NIXON TO CARTER

• Section 1 The Nixon Years
• Section 2 From Watergate to Ford
• Section 3 Carter The Outsider as President
• Section 4 Life in the 1970s

2
Objectives
Section 1 The Nixon Years

• How did President Nixons policies differ from
  those of Presidents Johnson and Kennedy?
• How did President Nixon respond to economic
  problems?
• What were the causes and effects of the energy
  crisis?
• What did Americans and the government do to help
  clean up the environment?
• What beliefs guided Nixons foreign-policy
  decisions?

3
Differences between Nixon and Johnson/Kennedy
Section 1 The Nixon Years

• Nixon pledge to cut back Democratic programs.
• The welfare system under the Great Society gave
  most aid in the form of services Nixon wanted
  the Family Assistance Plan, which would guarantee
  families a minimum income.
• Kennedy and Johnson both proposed and supported
  civil rights legislation Nixon delayed
  pressuring southern schools to desegregate and
  opposed the Supreme Courts busing ruling.

4
Nixons response to economic problems
Section 1 The Nixon Years

• Nixon responded to stagflation by ordering a
  temporary freeze on wages, prices, and rents.

5
Causes of the energy crisis
Section 1 The Nixon Years

• U.S. dependence on foreign oil
• U.S. support of Israel
• the oil embargo and OPEC price hikes
• Effects of the energy crisis
• support for energy conservation speed limit
  reduced to 55mph
• oil pipeline from Alaska
• development of nuclear energy

6
Cleaning up the environment
Section 1 The Nixon Years

• creation of the EPA
• passage of the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality
  Improvement Act, and the Endangered Species Act
• Earth Day activities

7
Beliefs behind Nixons foreign policy decisions
Section 1 The Nixon Years

• Nixon and Kissinger believed in realpolitik, the
  proposition that national interests should take
  precedence over ideals such as democracy or human
  rights.

8
Objectives
Section 2 From Watergate to Ford

• What were the issues surrounding the Watergate
  scandal?
• What role did the White House tapes play in
  President Nixons resignation?
• Why was President Ford unable to achieve his
  domestic-policy goals?
• How did Ford attempt to continue Nixons foreign
  policies?

9
Issues behind Watergate
Section 2 From Watergate to Ford

• Nixon behaved as though there were no limits to
  his power.
• Nixon shifted authority from the Senate-approved
  cabinet to his personal staff.
• Nixon hid vital information from Congress and the
  public.
• Nixon engaged in a cover-up when Congress
  investigated him.

10
The White House tapes
Section 2 From Watergate to Ford

• Nixon refused to release the tapes and had the
  special prosecutor fired.
• Americans were outraged and began to call for his
  impeachment.
• Supreme Court ordered Nixon to release all tapes.
• The tapes were key to proving Nixons involvement
  in the cover-up.

11
Ford and domestic policy
Section 2 From Watergate to Ford

• Fords approval rating dropped after he pardoned
  Nixon.
• Congressional Democrats blocked presidential
  legislation Ford vetoed their legislation.
• Congress failed to approve Fords budget cuts.

12
Ford and foreign policy
Section 2 From Watergate to Ford

• retained Kissinger as secretary of state
• tried to maintain U.S. influence in Southeast
  Asia
• supported anticommunist forces in Angola
• tried to continue the policy of détente toward
  the Soviet Union

13
Objectives
Section 3 Carter The Outsider as President

• Why did voters think that Jimmy Carter was a
  different kind of politician?
• How did President Carters handling of domestic
  issues cause some Americans to lose faith in his
  administration?
• How did Carters foreign policy differ from that
  of Nixon and Ford?
• How did Carter weaken U.S.-Soviet relations, and
  how did he help achieve peace in the Middle East?

14
Carters differences
Section 3 Carter The Outsider as President

• was a Washington outsider
• held strong religious beliefs
• held regular town meetings and call-in sessions
  to keep in touch with Americans
• walked instead of riding in a limo on
  Inauguration Day

15
Carter and domestic policy
Section 3 Carter The Outsider as President

• Programs failed to revive the economy.
• Energy proposals significantly changed by
  Congress.
• Response to Three Mile Island accident ignored
  doubts about nuclear power.

16
Carters foreign policy
Section 3 Carter The Outsider as President

• rejected realpolitik
• tried to inject moral principles, especially
  about human rights
• tried to improve U.S. image to developing world

17
Weakening of U.S.-Soviet relations
Section 3 Carter The Outsider as President

• Carter responded to the invasion of Afghanistan
  by cutting grain sales to the Soviet Union and
  boycotting the Moscow Olympics.
• Support of peace process for the Middle East
• Carter hosted meetings between Israelis and
  Egyptians at Camp David, and these led to the end
  of the 30-year state of war between the two
  countries.

18
Objectives
Section 4 Life in the 1970s

• How did the American population and family
  structure change during the 1970s?
• Why did some observers argue that Americans were
  self-absorbed?
• What forms of entertainment were popular during
  the 1970s?
• How did new technologies affect the lives of many
  Americans?

19
Changes in America during the 1970s
Section 4 Life in the 1970s

• immigration from Asia and Latin America
• movement to the Sunbelt
• rise in single-person households
• rise in divorce
• few children per family
• rise in single-parent households

20
Possible indications of self-absorption
Section 4 Life in the 1970s

• rising divorce rate
• self-improvement fads

21
Entertainment in the 1970s
Section 4 Life in the 1970s

• movies, especially blockbusters
• rock music, disco, and punk

22
New technologies in the 1070s
Section 4 Life in the 1970s

• Space program raised national pride, improved
  relations with the Soviet Union, and expanded
  peoples view of the universe.
• Personal computers changed the way business was
  done and made the information revolution and the
  Internet possible.
• Video games, VCRs, and answering machines
  increased convenience and changed habits and
  leisure time activities. Video games have
  negative potential impacts on childrens social
  skills and health.