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diff --git a/smith/19_nixon b/smith/19_nixon new file mode 100644 index 0000000..227b068 --- /dev/null +++ b/smith/19_nixon @@ -0,0 +1,241 @@ +- Nixon opposed to Vietnam War. Promised to alleviate public fear about + leaders. But he made the biggest scandal since Andrew Johnson in 1898. + First president to resign +Vowed to "restore law and order," but 5 top aides convicted. +- In the end, brought together the American people, but not intentional. + +How did the political environment of the late 1960s influence Nixon's +election strategy and domestic policy? +What were Nixon's strategies in the Vietnam War? +How did the Watergate Scandal unfold? What were its consequences? + +1968: The Year of Fracture +- A traumatic year in a traumatic decade +- James Earl Grey, thief and white racist, assassinates Dr. King. + - Riots erupted. Many black people died in those riots. +- That night, Robert Kennedy stands on the bed of a flatbed truck: + "Those of you who are black can be filled with hatred, a desire for + revenge...Or we can make an effort, as Dr King said, to understand + and fill ourselves with love" (anti-division, anti-violence) +- Bobby Kennedy appeared at a hotel to celebrate his senatorial victory + - Pledged to end division and violence + - Jordanian Arab shot at Kennedy eight times over Kennedy's support + of Israel, killing him at 42. +- The assassinations "framed the 60s" and killed a wealth of idealism +- Made many people lose hope of democracy + - Some turn to radicalism + - Others drop out of society + +The Chicago Riots of 1968 +- Protestors beaten by Chicago police +- Fragments Democratic party +The Election of 1968 +- Nixon, and the Republicans, claimed to be spokesmen for Middle America + - Appealed to "silent majority" of working and middle-class + Americans with contempt of the protestors + - "those who are not guilty of the crime that plagues the land" + - Promised to end the war +- George Wallace, running on independent ticket + - Against "little Pinkos" (communists). White supremacist + - Appealed forcefully to white working class voters' disgust with + civil rights protests, antiwar protests, growing federal welfare + - Savage wit + - The American public will realize "there are a lot of rednecks in + this country" + - Gained appeal outside of his native South. + - He hoped to deny either other candidate a majority and make the + House decide. +- Nixon + - Willing to do anything to win, including violating the law to tell + South Vietnamese people to stall negotiations because Nixon + promised to provide better terms. + - Pres Johnson's last-minute attempt to end the war was sabotaged by + Nixon. + - Johnson was furious and called Nixon a traitor + - "Of all Nixon's actions, this was the most reprehensible + for he chose winning an election over ending a war." + - But he didn't have enough proof to tell the public +- Hubert Humphrey was the Dem running candidate +- Nixon got a 1% popular vote margin, large victory of electoral college + - He gets California, weird. + - OH and NJ, traditional dem strongholds went to Nixon. + - More Southern whites vote republican than democrat. + - Deep South (AL, LA, AK, GA, MS) vote for Wallace. + +Nixon said he wanted to unify the country, but said he was a polarizing +figure. +- His key to reelection was having a good Southern Strategy to win over + white Southerners angered by the Civil Rights movement and gov. + programs that helped black people. + - Waves of businesses moved to the South because of poor pro-worker + legislation. + - Business growth was 7x greater than NY or PA, for ex. + - Merl Haggard, country singer, sings song to this group: they hated + antiwar protestors, civil rights demonstrators. + - Kevin Phillips argued that the key to Southern majority was + capturing the Sun Belt (evangelical protestants, suspicious of + "liberal elites") + - Advised Nixon to veer rightward and capture Wallace's racist + groups + - The avoidance of mandatory school busing (he "played the race + card") + - SC appointments to fit this + - The media focused on growing white backlash. + - Urban ethnic whites were angry at black people "taking + their jobs" + - High levels of division: conservatives saw feminism, civil + rights as assualts on traditional values. + - "Ascendancy through polarization" + - Nixon carried every Southern state. "Greatest political + realignment since Franklin in 1932" + - Brought together Country Club Republicans with poor whites + who were always voting for segregationist Dems. + +Nixon and the War +- Nixon and Henry Kissinger develop a plan for a NWO to pursue peaceful + coexistence with Sovs and Chinese + - Want sercecy + - Bypass Congress and State Dept to pursue peace. + - By 1969 realized there is no way to win the war + - Sought "peace with honor" + - Honor = uphold credibility of US alliances + - Peace was long and coming + - Wanted to begin negotiations to end the war + - The "Mad Man" Strategy + - Wanted Viet Minh and Viet Cong to believe he was obsessed with + ending communism, including use of nuclear weapons. + - Wanted them to fear the total annihilation of Vietnam. + - Improve relations with Russian and Chinese -> prevent them + from joining the war. + - New Cold War policy: Détente + - Cooperation and accomodation + - Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) + - In 1969, announced Vietnamization: equip Southern Vietnamese + to take over in combat + - Increased bombing while doing this to buy time + - Secret bombing campaign from Cambodia + - Still, Hanoi did not flinch + - 4x the tonnage dropped on Japan. + - US military incursion in Cambodia to "clear hidden military + Communist bases" + - Cambodia was neutral, but Nixon didn't care + - Ohio National Guard shoots Kent State bystanders, because antiwar + protestors were throwing rocks; investigation concludes + unwarranted. Many of Kissinger's aides resigned in protest. + - Widespread demonstrations against Nixon at 300 colleges + - Nixon Doctrine: America cannot and will not concede all the + plans, design all the programs, and take on all the defense of + free nations of the world. + - Supported proxy warfare: weapons and funds + - Pursued partnerships with Comm. countries + - Ex: US recognized PRC. + - Kssinger said Nixon took "leave of reality" + - Infuriated Japan and Taiwan. UN expelled Taiwan. + - Democratic predecessors could not get this same breakthrough w/ + PRC and Sovs for being called "soft on communism." + - Negotiation on SALT I had been going on since 1962. + - US sold much of wheat crop to Soviets at a favorable price. +- Kissinger continued private meetings with North Vietnamese in France + - He announced that peace was at hand. + - To win votes for Nixon's reelection. + - Peace talks broke off in December, so Nixon bombed two largest + cities in North Vietnam. (Christmas Bombings) + - Also put explosive underwater mines in Hai Phong Harbor + - Paris Peace Accords was a carefully disguised surrender by the + US. Kissinger and Nixon claimed the North Viets altered stance +- In 1973, North Vietnamese released US PoWs and the last troops left on + the same day. + - In a few weeks, the war resumed. Communists gained the upper hand. + - Congress denied South Vietnam's request for support +- The war divided the Baby Boomers + - Deeply eroded respect for the military + - Youth regarded military service as corrupting and dishonorable + +The Wategrate Scandal +- Nixon deliberately subverted his Democratic opponents' chances at + reelection, even though he had a virtual landslide guarantee because + of his own paranoia. So strong it paralleled +- 5 burglars previously associated with Committee to Re-Elect the + President (CREEP) broke into DNC headquarters to infiltrate it. The + conspiracy unraveled after he was successfully reelected. + - Bob Woodward, reporter on Metropolitan Desk of Washington Post was + told by his editor to check on the Watergate break-in. Bernstein. + - Discovered the "Plumbers" had expensive cameras and electronic + equipment + $2300 in cash. Well-dressed, false names. + - All were heavily involved in CIA anti-Castro activities. + - Large political sum, laundered through a Mexican bank, funded + the robbery. + - White House Aides working with the re-election knew about the + break-in and the bugging of Watergate, including John + Mitchell, Attorney General. + - Nixon declared that John Dean, WH Counsel, discovered that no + one in the staff or administration was involved. (Cover-up) +- The secret source, called "Deep Throat" in their subsequent book, is + Mark Felt, 2nd-in-command at FBI. + - Systematically pointed Woodward and Bernstein to the full breadth + of the scandal: illegal fundraising, subversion of opposition + political candidates, WH "plumbers" to break-in and wiretap + enemies, use of IRS to discredit foes, and counter-intelligence. + Watergate was the tip of the iceberg. +"Dirty tricks" were paid for with IRS funds. +- HR Haldeman, WH chief of staff. +Accused Dems of sexual indiscretions and infiltrated campaign staff. +- G Gordon Liddy entrapped Dems into many bad things. + - Mastermind behind Watergate, authorized by AG. "Plumbers" = WH + investigations group. Created in 1971 to destroy Nixon's enemies + +Daniel Ellsberg and The Pentagon Papers +- Former aide to Henry Kissinger +- Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, a Defense Department official + - Revealed that intelligence agencies lied to the public about the + war + - Only about events up to 1965, but Nixon argued their release would + prolong the war and hurt nat. sec. Supreme Court ruled against. + - Pres launched a crusade to destroy Ellsberg. + +- Nixon tried to divert attention from crimes on Jun 20 in a plot with + his aides. "Crush the Inquiry by telling the deputy CIA director that + the FBI investigation would compromise 'sensitive CIA ops.'" + - Actually worked temproraily + - But various officials continued to leak to Woodward and + Bernstein, "smelling a set-up" + +James McCord presented the Judge on the case with a letter. + - It alleged that "high-level gov officials had committed perjury + during the investigation" and "pressure was applied to + force...participants to keep their silence" and "various + participants...were never identified." + - John Dean, WH Counsel, whose fake investigation was cited by + Nixon, started talking to prosecutors and negotiating for immunity + - Former AG John Mitchell admitted meeting with conspirators and + other officials found themselves caught in lies. +- Senators Sam Ervin and Howard Baker helped lead the investigation. +- WH aide Alexander Butterfield announced that Nixon had installed a + sophisticated tape system in WH to record all words the pres. said. + - Drama continues to unfold and Nixon digs himself deeper and deeper + - Archibald Cox, Special Prosecutor, appointed by Nixon to + investigate Watergate. Both the prosecutor and the senate + inquiry subpoenaed tapes + - Nixon pleaded Executive Privilege, willing to give them + transcripts but not the tapes. Archibald Cox refused and + petitioned the courts to order Nixon to turn it over + because it was a criminal org. Nixon wanted to fire Cox + so fired the AG and his deputy who refused, finally using + Solicitor General to fire him. "Saturday Night Massacre" +- The replacement eventually had enough info to indict the Pres, but + didn't do so because he believed sitting presidents weren't subject to + indictment. + - Congressional resolutions to impeach (which didn't pass until + Jul 1974) began after the firing of Cox. Some tapes Nixon handed + over were erased. + - It turns out Nixon approved hush money payments for the WH + burglars to prevent them from confessing their crimes and + their relation to CREEP. + - Felony obstruction of justice. + +Jul 1974: Impeachment proceeds with a Dem majority in the House passing +articles of impeachment. House Judiciary Committee demands tapes from +Nixon. +- Nixon ultimately releases the tapes that document his crimes. + - On 1974 Aug 8, Nixon resigns. Gerald Ford sworn in + - "Our long national nightmare is over" |