Richard M. Nixon
37th President
Election of 1968
- After JFK's assassination, Republican Richard M. Nixon won against Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey
- There was a third candidate: George Wallace of the American Independent party
- Nixon did not win the majority in even one major city, but still became President due to overall votes
- Nixon won with 301 electoral votes, while Humphrey had 191 and Wallace had 46
Election of 1972
- Nixon won against Democrat George McGovern by a landslide
- McGovern based his election campaign on the fact that he had gotten the Americans out of Vietnam in only about 90 days
- Nixon had 520 electoral votes, while McGovern had 17
- One of the biggest reasons why people re-elected Nixon was due to his tremendous military tactics in Vietnam
Vietnam War Overview
- Nixon came up with the policy "Vietnamization" which basically was to help South Vietnam, but also reduce the number of American troops in the war - to do this, South Vietnam troops were trained to fight better
- The Nixon Doctrine said that while Americans would aid the Asian nations by helping in the Vietnam War, in the future, they would not be able to call upon America for war aid
On November 3, 1969, Nixon gave a televised speech to what he considered the “silent majority” in an attempt to gain more supporters
- When North Vietnam troops broke through the border between the North and the South, Nixon ordered massive bombing attacks to stop them
Cambodia
Cambodia:
- With Cambodia being used by North Vietnam as a supplier for weapons and troops, Nixon's goal was to get rid of the enemies in what should've been a neutral nation
- US troops went to Cambodia to aid them, and were there until June 29th, 1970
War Powers Act
War Powers Act:
- The act stated that the President would have a maximum of 48 hours to let other countries know about American involvement
- Brought the feeling of "New Isolationism" to American troops
"Detente"
- Nixon's way of gaining peace
- Detente = releasing of tension
- Dr. Henry A. Kissinger strongly supported the idea of detente and would meet with Nixon for negotiations and ideas as to how to end war in Vietnam
- Nixon was able to successfully improve USA's relationship with China through "detente" as well as China's relationship with the Soviet Union
- Ended in the deal of 1972 when a 3-year arrangement between USA and the Soviet Union was made in which USA would sell to the Soviets atleast $750 million worth of food
Watergate Scandal
- In June 1972, Republicans working for Nixon's reelection were caught bugging rooms in the Watergate Hotel
- When tapes with conversation were found, Nixon was forced to hand them over due to the Supreme Court's decision
- Eventually led to Nixon's resignation in 1974 - making him the first President to ever resign in the middle of his term