- Ann M.
Richard M. Nixon
(1969-1974)
One of the first plans instilled by Richard Nixon when he entered office was known as New Federalism, Federal government power distributed to state and local governments. Nixon believed that the Federal Government had too many responsibilities; he wanted to revise the society programs set up by Lyndon B. Johnson. Nixon, the US was dealing with Stagflation, High unemployment and high inflation. Nixon took several unsuccessful approaches to end stagflation, he tried to increase taxes and cut the budget and he also encouraged high interest rates to reduce the amount of money in circulation.
In preparation for the 1972 elections Nixon needed more support, he used an approach called the Southern Strategy. Nixon attracted southerner Conservative Democrats by appealing to their displeasure with the federal desegregation policies. He slowed down integration by working to reverse some civil rights policies. He ordered a delay in the desegregation efforts in schools and this violated the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Board of Education. After a law suit from the NAACP, the President followed the Supreme Court ruling and nearly 90% of southern schools were integrated by 1972.
When Nixon was elected, he promised to end the war in Vietnam and fix the divide in the country created by the war. Nixon kept to his promises by reducing American involvement in Vietnam and negotiating peace agreements as well as ending riots and anti-war demonstrations to bring order back into the country. In order to fulfil the needs of the citizens Nixon made some illegal decisions, he ordered wiretaps of the Democratic Party Office in the Watergate building in Washington D.C and used the Internal Revenue Service’s to alter the tax return of Civil rights Activist and those who opposed war and he created an “enemies list” of prominent people that the government planned to publicly harass. These illegal actions became known as the Watergate scandal and it lead to the impeachment of President Nixon.
(1969-1974)
One of the first plans instilled by Richard Nixon when he entered office was known as New Federalism, Federal government power distributed to state and local governments. Nixon believed that the Federal Government had too many responsibilities; he wanted to revise the society programs set up by Lyndon B. Johnson. Nixon, the US was dealing with Stagflation, High unemployment and high inflation. Nixon took several unsuccessful approaches to end stagflation, he tried to increase taxes and cut the budget and he also encouraged high interest rates to reduce the amount of money in circulation.
In preparation for the 1972 elections Nixon needed more support, he used an approach called the Southern Strategy. Nixon attracted southerner Conservative Democrats by appealing to their displeasure with the federal desegregation policies. He slowed down integration by working to reverse some civil rights policies. He ordered a delay in the desegregation efforts in schools and this violated the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Board of Education. After a law suit from the NAACP, the President followed the Supreme Court ruling and nearly 90% of southern schools were integrated by 1972.
When Nixon was elected, he promised to end the war in Vietnam and fix the divide in the country created by the war. Nixon kept to his promises by reducing American involvement in Vietnam and negotiating peace agreements as well as ending riots and anti-war demonstrations to bring order back into the country. In order to fulfil the needs of the citizens Nixon made some illegal decisions, he ordered wiretaps of the Democratic Party Office in the Watergate building in Washington D.C and used the Internal Revenue Service’s to alter the tax return of Civil rights Activist and those who opposed war and he created an “enemies list” of prominent people that the government planned to publicly harass. These illegal actions became known as the Watergate scandal and it lead to the impeachment of President Nixon.
Gerald R. Ford
(1974-1977)
Gerald R. Ford became the President of the United States after the impeachment of Richard Nixon; he tried to restore the countries faith in a good leader while dealing with a troubling economy. He urged the country to put the water gate scandal behind them and it resulted in huge public support for him. Stagflation was still on the rise when Ford took office and an increase in oil prices causes gasoline and heating prices to rise, which only resulted in more inflation. President Ford’s solution to “Whip” inflation was to cut gov. spending and advised the Federal Reserve Board to restrict credit by increasing interest and he also encouraged American citizens to cut back on their use of oil, gas and energy. His plans failed and only put the nation into the worst economic recession since the 1930's. President Ford fared better in foreign policy; he continued Nixon’s negotiation with China and the Soviet Union. Ford greatest presidential accomplishment was signing the Helsinki Accords, a series of agreements between Eastern and Western Europe to cooperate better in the future. President Ford faced some troubles in Southeast Asia when the cease-fire broke in Vietnam and the heavy fighting resumed. Congress denied Ford $722 million to help South Vietnam and they fell into the communists North Vietnam. The communist government in Cambodia detained a US merchant ship in that same year. The president sent the military to rescue the 39 crew members aboard the ship, the operation ended up costing more lives than saved.
(1974-1977)
Gerald R. Ford became the President of the United States after the impeachment of Richard Nixon; he tried to restore the countries faith in a good leader while dealing with a troubling economy. He urged the country to put the water gate scandal behind them and it resulted in huge public support for him. Stagflation was still on the rise when Ford took office and an increase in oil prices causes gasoline and heating prices to rise, which only resulted in more inflation. President Ford’s solution to “Whip” inflation was to cut gov. spending and advised the Federal Reserve Board to restrict credit by increasing interest and he also encouraged American citizens to cut back on their use of oil, gas and energy. His plans failed and only put the nation into the worst economic recession since the 1930's. President Ford fared better in foreign policy; he continued Nixon’s negotiation with China and the Soviet Union. Ford greatest presidential accomplishment was signing the Helsinki Accords, a series of agreements between Eastern and Western Europe to cooperate better in the future. President Ford faced some troubles in Southeast Asia when the cease-fire broke in Vietnam and the heavy fighting resumed. Congress denied Ford $722 million to help South Vietnam and they fell into the communists North Vietnam. The communist government in Cambodia detained a US merchant ship in that same year. The president sent the military to rescue the 39 crew members aboard the ship, the operation ended up costing more lives than saved.
James E. (Jimmy) Carter Jr.
(1977-1981)
James Earl Carter, a soft-spoken, personable peanut farmer and former governor of Georgia became the President after Gerald Ford. During this post-Watergate era, he promised to never lie to the American people and he kept the citizens updated by holding radio and television chats. Like President Ford, Carter failed to terminate the nation’s economic problems. His main issue was the energy crisis, he believed that the major problem was the reliance on imported fuel and he also urged citizens to cut back on oil and gas. Many of the economic difficulties that Carter faced stemmed from previous years. The rise of foreign competition and automation resulted in a decline in manufacturing jobs, at the same time retail trade, communication and transportation industries increased. Unemployment increased because the higher paying jobs required more education and experience. Iron, steel, rubber, clothing and automobile industries closed down and lay off workers. Jimmy Carter had a great Civil Rights record; his administration included more women and African Americans than before. He appointed Andrew young as the first African American US ambassador to the UN. He appointed 28 African American, 14 Latinos and 29 women to a Judicial Branch. However, President Carter did fall short in legislation; he gave most of his attention to the economy and energy. Carter passed the National Energy Act, placed a tax on cars that used a lot of gas and removed price controls on oil and natural gas produced in the US, this eases the dependence on foreign petroleum. Carter was committed to promoting Human Rights, putting this to practice, he cut off military aid to Argentina and Brazil because they imprisoned and tortures many of their own citizens. He also created the Bureau of Human Rights in the state department.
(1977-1981)
James Earl Carter, a soft-spoken, personable peanut farmer and former governor of Georgia became the President after Gerald Ford. During this post-Watergate era, he promised to never lie to the American people and he kept the citizens updated by holding radio and television chats. Like President Ford, Carter failed to terminate the nation’s economic problems. His main issue was the energy crisis, he believed that the major problem was the reliance on imported fuel and he also urged citizens to cut back on oil and gas. Many of the economic difficulties that Carter faced stemmed from previous years. The rise of foreign competition and automation resulted in a decline in manufacturing jobs, at the same time retail trade, communication and transportation industries increased. Unemployment increased because the higher paying jobs required more education and experience. Iron, steel, rubber, clothing and automobile industries closed down and lay off workers. Jimmy Carter had a great Civil Rights record; his administration included more women and African Americans than before. He appointed Andrew young as the first African American US ambassador to the UN. He appointed 28 African American, 14 Latinos and 29 women to a Judicial Branch. However, President Carter did fall short in legislation; he gave most of his attention to the economy and energy. Carter passed the National Energy Act, placed a tax on cars that used a lot of gas and removed price controls on oil and natural gas produced in the US, this eases the dependence on foreign petroleum. Carter was committed to promoting Human Rights, putting this to practice, he cut off military aid to Argentina and Brazil because they imprisoned and tortures many of their own citizens. He also created the Bureau of Human Rights in the state department.