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Steps Leading to the Vietnam War

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1945 - Japan and England wanted the same territory, Indochina. Indochina was a former French colony. England occupied the region until they turned it back to the French.

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"Domino Theory"

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- "If one country fell to Communism, the next one would do the same." - The U.S. had to intervene and disrupt the expansion of communism for it's security interests in the Far East. - Indochina became ruled by Ho Chi Minh after the French withdrew from the bloody war

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Ho Chi Minh

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- A Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. - He was the greatest accomplishment that came out of everything.

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Geneva Conference 1954

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- The French and Vietnamese signed the Geneva Agreements. - The French agreed to withdraw troops from northern Vietnam. - Vietnam was temporarily divided at the 17th parallel and had two years to choose a president and reunite the country.

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The Fallout of South Vietnam

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- South Vietnam essentially became a carbon copy of the U.S. - With the support of the U.S. they became thoroughly established - Their leader, Diem was extremely unpopular. He was Catholic, close to the landlords. Most citizens were Buddhists and peasants. - He and his supporters were violent

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Kennedy and Vietnam

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- He sent "military advisers" - Only allowed 685, but exceeded that limit by sending 16,000 - Diem was assassinated before Kennedy was in 1963

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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

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- Gave the president the power to initiate hostilities without the declaration of war by Congress in which the Constitution required.

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Richard Nixon

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- Carried a "hands off" approach on many domestic policies - Depended heavily on his staff and lobby congressmen and cabinet members to push for reform - The first to win the race as a Republican since the era of Reconstruction

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"New Federalism"

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- A system which directed money and power away from the federal bureaucracy and toward states and municipalities. - Nixon opposed big government programs and fought to restore political authority to the local level (small government--gives more power to the individual) - Nixon said, "This system could respond more efficiently to the needs of the people."

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Civil Rights Stalemate

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- 14 years after Brown v. Board of Education, schools are still segregated - The South had power (Nixon's New Federalism--giving local government more power) to delay integration - Biracial state committees were set up to plan and implement school desegregation. By the end of 1970, only about 18% of black children in the South attended all-black schools - Schooling has remained structurally separate from and unequal to white america.

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Economy Under Nixon

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- The Vietnam War set back American economic progress. Inflation rose. Deficit spending had risen due to the prolonged participation of the U.S. in Vietnam. - To help, Nixon reduced government spending while encouraging the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates, thus handicapping the rate of business growth - This was bad for Nixon and upcoming presidents - U.S. hits worse recession since the 50s. Unemployment rose and bankruptcy rates rose for businesses - "Go-day freeze" on wages and prices to be regulated by the government later on. This helped the economy recover in time for election time in 1972

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Foreign Policy (China and the Third World)

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- Nixon wanted to establish a cordial relationship with China - Wanted international cooperation to achieve reduction of revenue-draining defense expenditures and costly Third-World conflicts (Vietnam War) - Nixon was aware of the growing strength of China and felt that instead of initiating an aggressive military policy against China, he would reestablish diplomatic relations w/the communist country - Nixon established an American liaison mission in Beijing to set in motion diplomatic recognition of the government

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USSR

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- Nixon wanted to improve relations with Russia by increasing trade of vital resources (grain&technology). - Most important step to limiting the military and arms growth was the SALT Talks - Nixon signed 2 documents while in Moscow.1. Limited the USSR and the U.S. to 200 ABMs a piece. 2. Froze the number of offensive ballistic missiles for a 5-year-period. (basically telling the Soviets to chill with the weapon-making)

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Vietnam and Nixon

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- Nixon encouraged further aggression by the Soviets and the Chinese. This hurt his image. - Following his reelection in 1972, Nixon abandoned his diplomacy. 12 days, the U.S. unleashed a ferocious bombing attack on a North Vietnamese capitol. No explanation for the threats. - Strategy paid off because the U.S. and Vietnam eventually negotiated a peace treaty

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Paris Peace Accords

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- Ended American involvement in the war - Called for a complete ceasefire in South Vietnam, allowed North Vietnamese forces to retain the territory they had captured, released U.S. prisoners of war, and called for both sides to find a political solution to the conflict

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What is Watergate?

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- "Watergate" is a general term used to describe a complex web of political scandals. Word specifically refers to the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. - Political investigations began in February of 1973

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What happened at the Watergate Hotel?

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Burglars broke into the Democratic Party's National Committee offices in June. If had not been for the security guard, the scandal may have never erupted.

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The Break-In (Watergate)

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- The security guard that found the door latched open, he called the police. Five men, in business suits and latex gloves, were arrested in the offices of the Democratic National Committee. - The men had been repairing wiretapping equipment and taking pictures of documentation

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The five burglars involved in the Watergate Scandal:

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- Barker, Gonzalez, Martinez, Sturgis, and McCord - McCord was later found responsible for security for the Committee to re-elect Nixon - Another link to the White House was found when the phone number for Howard Hunt, a former White House employee, was found in Barker's notebook

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Woodward and Bernstein's Discovery

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- They reported that burglar, McCord, was on the payroll of President Nixon's reelection committee - This urged Nixon to have a private meeting with Haldeman to discuss how to get the FBI to back off from the burglary investigation

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Why were Hunt and Liddy indicted?

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- They guided the burglars, via walkie-talkies, from a hotel room opposite from the Watergate hotel.

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Mark Felt "Deep Throat"

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- High-ranking official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Confidential source of Woodward - He confirmed or denied what other sources were telling The Post reporters

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Patrick Gray

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- Received and destroyed documents from Ehrlichman (top aide to prez) - Gave FBI Watergate files to Dean

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What did Dean write to Nixon?

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- Dean was warning Nixon that Watergate had become a "cancer growing on the presidency." He also said that Hunt had threatened to tell about the cover-up activities unless he received "hush money". $75,000 was later sent to Hunt.

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John Dean Testimony

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John Dean's revelation of the President's involvement in the Watergate scandal

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The Presidential Tapes

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- Nixon had hidden tapes in the White House - The Committee also uncovered them and this sparked a major political and legal battle between the Congress and the President - Nixon argued that the tapes were the personal property of the President

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The "Smoking Gun"

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- Nixon's published tape with Haldman - Revealed that Nixon had participated in the Watergate cover-up

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Final days of Watergate

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- Nixon was soon to be impeached - Nixon announced his resignation on the evening of August 8, 1974

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Gerald Ford

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- 38th President of the U.S. - First to ascend to V.P. and President without being elected

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"National Nightmare"

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Ford attempted to push the "national nightmare" into memory by granting Nixon a "full, free, and absolute pardon" for any crimes he may have committed during his presidency

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The Economy and Ford

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- Ford made the economy worse - Supported high interest rates, opposed increased federal spending, and resisted pressures for a tax reduction - OPEC raised the price of oil by 400 percent in 1974; major factor contributing to inflations - The result: a serious recession occurred in 1974

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Banning Political Assassinations

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- Ford spilled the beans about the CIA's attempts on assassinating foreign leaders - Ford issued Executive Order 11905, which outlawed assassination as an instrument of American foreign policy; this stating that no employee of the U.S. Government shall engage in political assassination

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Cold War Policy

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- Ford met with Brezhnev in Siberia and signed an arms control accord that was to serve as the basis for SALT II

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Middle East in the 70s

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- Egypt and Israel signed armistice agreement that officially ended the "Yom Kippur War of 1973". Became knows as Sinai I - Israel agreed to return large portions of the occupied Sinai and Egypt - Future differences cannot be settled by force - Agreement also contained long-term commitment from the U.S. to aid Israel

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1976 Election

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- Ford faced tough competition--Ronald Reagan, former California governor

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Jimmy Carter

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- Democrat who was the former governor of Georgia - Carter appealed largely to the unhappiness with Washington amongst the general public - Unhappiness w/the economy and general discontent w/Ford's policies enabled Carter to win a narrow victory

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The Economy Under Carter

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- He failed to balance the budget - Entering office during a recession, he first reduced unemployment by raising public spending & cutting federal taxes - Unemployment declined, inflation soared bc of OPEC's raising of prices in energy - During his last two years in office, retail prices rose - OPEC increased prices again and Carter retreated to Camp David and remerged w/a series of proposals for resolving the energy crisis - "Crisis of Confidence" speech, the one where he basically blamed the American people for his mistakes

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Camp David Accords

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- Between Israel and Egypt - Provided for the gradual return of the entire Sinai to Egypt but left the fate of the Palestine Arabs unsettled - He excluded the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the Soviet Union out of the negotiations, thus the U.S. alienated Egypt from other Arab nations and drove the more radical states to the Soviet Union

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China and the USSR

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- Washington and China announced the resumption of formal diplomatic relations - SALT II, arms ctl. agreement (setting limits on the number of long-range missiles, bombers, and nuclear warheads), was being finished .

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The Iranian Hostage Crisis

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- Nov. 4, 1979 a mob of young Islamic revolutionaries overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages. No one knew their motivation for their move/achievements - This crisis had more extensive coverage on TV and in the press than any other event since WWII

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The Raid on the Embassy

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- The students vowed not to release the Americans until the U.S. returned the Shah for trial, along with billions of dollars they claimed he had stolen from the Iranian people

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Return of Hostages

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- Carter's all-night effort to bring the 52 hostages home failed - The Iranians released them minutes after Reagan was inaugurated

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Reagan's Early Political Career

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- He served as president on the Screen Actors Guild. He fought against communist infiltration in the guild - He cooperated in the blacklisting of actors, directors, and writers suspected of leftist sympathies - Was once a Democrat and then began supporting Republican opinions and former Republican presidents ; officially changed his affiliation to Republican in 1962

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Reagan and the Economy

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- President Reagan swept economic reforms and deep across-the-board tax cuts, market deregulation, and sound monetary policies to contain inflation - Resulted in the largest peacetime economic boom in American history (one-hit wonder) - By the late 1980s, middle-class incomes were barely higher than they had been a decade before and the poverty rate had actually risen

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White House Culture Under Reagan

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- Staff members began to notice a lack of concentration - Reagan worked 9-5 and had midday breaks - NSC briefing sessions were kept as short as possible and the President began regularly neglecting his official reading

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"The Big Picture"

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- Reagan utilized televised speeches to promote his vision of the American way. Free markets, freedom from the government, personal freedoms in general

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Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union; The "Evil Empire"

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- "Let us be aware that [the Soviet Union] are the focus of evil in the modern world." - The "Evil Empire" speech disturbed the political universe. - HIs approach was laced with evangelical fervor and consistently pitted the U.S. and the Soviet Union as "good vs. evil"

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Reagan's Mission Against Communism

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- He believed it was his mission to defeat communism - He used to defend the "Captive Peoples" behind the Iron Curtain - In 1950, Reagan joined "The Crusade for Freedom", which called for the liberation of Eastern Europe from the Soviet Union

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SDI aka "Star Wars"

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- Reagan pushed for an elaborate, antimissile space shield to protect America from Soviet missiles - Critics linked the scheme to Star Wars - Reagan argued that it wasn't about war, but about peace.

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Star Wars ending Soviet Russia

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- Some believe Star Wars led to the demise of communist Russia

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Reagan's Reelection in 1984

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- He won by a landslide - But his second term was plagued w/problems. He was 73, oldest president in American history, his hearing was poor, he was battling cancer, and his memory was not what it had been

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American Hostage Flight

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- Three months after his second inaugural, Islamic terrorists hijacked a flight and took 39 Americans hostage - Reagan approved a secret deal: the sale of U.S. missiles to Iran in exchange for seven previously captures hostages - Reagan had secretly sold arms to Iran and was later disclosed in hearings that the arrangement turned into an arms-for-hostages swap

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The Backlash

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- Some of the money raised by selling arms to Iran was illegally funneled to a cause in Nicaragua. Reagan believed in the cause, but couldn't get support from Congress. - Found out about it after Congress found out what was done w/the profits

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