nixon election, social & economic, Watergate

election

-Robert Kennedy tempted to run for dem nomination due to Johnsons lower popularity then dem Eugene McCarthy. press increasingly pro Kennedy but had divided party who feared he’d split the lib vote. Kennedy massively impressed minorities & ppl disliked Johnsons war involvement. Robert assassinated 5 months before election throwing dems into turmoil, many ppl disillusioned and didnt want to vote.

-yippies (youth international party) disrupted dem national convention (select presidential candidate). only 10,000 yippies & anti war protestors at Chicago but but the dem mayor mobilised 12,000 police who lost their cool and beat protestors to ground chanting “kill kill kill”.

-johnson & Humphrey (VP) manipulated convention so Humphrey won, angering other dems + causing arguments & chaos at convention. McCarthy refused to endorse him. Humphrey had Johnsons viet war policies and many dems hated the war more than they hated nixon, alienating potential dem voters.

-chicago events reminded voters of growth of violence + disorder under Johnson whilst nixon promoted law & order.

-George Wallace former dem ran independently further splitting party & votes as he appealed to those in south w/ similar segregationist views

-nixon won repub nomination depsite “retiring” from 1962-68 due to tireless party fundraising & campaigning, defeat of right wing Goldwater by Johnson showing party needed a more moderate candidate, old guard liked his anti comm & mod/lib repubs liked his domestic policies. he had govt experience as VP & was associated w/ peace + prosperity of ike years. he articulated the concerns of middle america

-won votes through promises to bring peace w/ honour, restore law & order, a less + cheaper govt. appealed to sunbelt by rejecting LBJs policy of cutting fed funds for schools refusing to desegregate, proposing new federalism which would share fed revenue directly w/ states. also liked his socially con stance against the “elite” in north east. appealed to middle America who disliked radicalism/change/disorder

-learned not to exhaust himself w/ campaigning & masterminded TV. running mate Agnew made hard attacks on radicals + libs & appealed to middle america/RW repubs. marriage plans of Nixons daughter + likes grandson boosted campaign & gave the glamour nixon lacked.

-nixon only won 43.4 % of pop vote, Humphrey 42.7%. low turnout so nixon won <27% of vote

social & econ successes

-kissinger had great knowledge of foreign affairs

-silent majority = didnt want revolution & felt like they had no voice/no protest groups (largely sunbelt)

-nixon needed to continue popular GS reforms but reduce welfare spending

-pro GS policies: introduced Supplementary Security Income providing guaranteed income for elderly & disabled. inc SS & medicare/medicaid benefits. proposed federalisation of medicaid. created Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration along w/ 1972 noise control act, 1973 endangered species act & 1974 safe drinking water act. family assistance plan would’ve made 13mill more Americans eligible for fed aid. he was sympathetic to poor due to upbringing + despite anti GS rhetoric he inc fed spending on education/health/SS & actually spent more on social programmes than LBJ

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social & econ failures

-people thought Nixons advisers reflected the worst aspects of his personality: vindictiveness (seeking revenge), cynicism (looking for the worst in things), amorality (don’t consider right & wrong just seek result)

-spent more than wanted on social reforms

-anti GS policies: campaigned against wasteful inefficient welfare, middle America resented the expense. shrank OEO, closed 59 Job Corps centres and cut fed funding for housing & youth programmes. FAP meant that welfare recipients would only get $1600 per year & there were work requirements. nixon vetoed 1971 child development act which would enable poor mothers to work by providing them free childcare (said it was too expensive + communist)

Watergate

-scandal starting w/ break in of dem party headquarters at Watergate 1972

-1972 break in: carried out by “plumbers” in CREEP (c’tee to reelect the president) to gather intelligence on dems & gain advantage in 1972 election. burglars caught in building, liddy + hunt coordinated it from building opposite

-nixons involvement: no clear proof he ordered break in but approved & led coverup, tried to block FBI investigations, & used CIA to interfere. paid hush money to burglars, attempted to obstruct justice & abused presidential power

-escalation: journalists (Washington post) exposed links to the White House and senate investigations began. White House tapes became key evidence + showed nixon had secretly recorded convos. the 7 surrendered tapes had 18 min gap. 1973 Saturday night massacre, nixon tried to stop investigation by sacking Cox (special prosecutor) & abolishing his office, attorney general resigned to avoid being sacked. caused suspicion + outrage, made it look like nixon had smth to hide

-1974 “the smoking gun”: 7 of Nixons aides indicted for the coverup & nixon was named as coconspirator but not indicted. 23 June tape was the smoking gun, proved nixon had ordered the coverup & engaged in conspiracy to obstruct justice

-1974 resignation: faced impeachment + lost republican support so became 1st president to resign to avoid being impeached. 75% Americans saw him as guilty

-Watergate ruined nixons rep despite any other successes. greater checks on presidents from congress in future - war powers act limited military power. loss of public trust in politicians + institutions, distrust & credibility gap. repub party associated w/ corruption. media began to obsess over scandals

-ford pardoned nixon to avoid a trial which would damage nixons health further, to help country move on from trauma, & to fix presidencies reputation. looked like a deal, undermined justice & damaged fords popularity

-reasons for nixons behaviour: predecessors - also behaviour similarly, JFK + LBJ ordered wiretapping just didnt get caught. “us vs them” - dems held congress, bureaucracy, majority of media & groups of lawyers in Washington so CREEP was out to get them. Nixon saw mandate as he had high approval ratings before Watergate whilst