Chapter 28: Decline and Rebirth (1968–1988)

Southern Strategy

Political strategy implemented by President Richard Nixon to win over Southern whites to the Republican party; the strategy succeeded through administration policies such as delaying school desegregation plans

Détente

Foreign policy of decreasing tensions with the Soviet Union; this began in the first term of the Nixon administration

Watergate

Series of events beginning with the break-in at the Democratic party headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, DC, that led to the downfall of President Richard Nixon; Nixon resigned as the House of Representatives was preparing for an impeachment hearing

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

The group of 14 countries that produce most of the worlds oil and, by determining production quantities, influence worldwide oil prices

Camp David Accords (1978)

Peace agreement between Israel and Egypt that was mediated by President Jimmy Carter; many consider this the highlight of the Carter presidency

Iranian Hostage Crisis

Diplomatic crisis triggered on November 4, 1979, when Iranian protesters seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 66 American diplomats hostage for 444 days

Religious right

Right-leaning evangelical Christians who increasingly supported Republican candidates beginning with Ronald Reagan

Iran-Contra Affair

Scandal that erupted during the Reagan administration when it was revealed that U.S. government agents had secretly sold arms to Iran in order to raise money to fund anti-Communist "Contra" forces in Nicaragua

1968

Richard Nixon elected president

1971

Nixon imposes wage and price controls

1972

Nixon visits China and Soviet Union

1973

Watergate hearings in Congress

1974

Inflation peaks at 11 percent

1975

South Vietnam falls to North Vietnam, ending Vietnam War

1976

Jimmy Carter elected president

1977

Carter signs Panama Canal treaty

1978

Camp David Accords

1979

Americans taken hostage in Iran

1980

Ronald Reagan elected president

1981-1982

Major recession

1981-1983

Major tax cuts instituted

1983

Reagan proposes "Star Wars"

1984

Reagan reelected

1985

Gorbachev assumes power in Soviet Union

1986

Additional tax reform measures passed

1987

"Black Monday"

1988

George H. W. Bush elected president

1971

Pentagon Papers released

1972

Watergate break-in

1972

SALT I signed

1972

Nixon reelected

1973

Spiro Agnew resigns as vice president

1973

“Saturday Night Massacre”

1974

Nixon resigns; Gerald Ford becomes president

1974

Ford pardons Richard Nixon

1974

WIN economic program introduced

1977

Carter issues Vietnam-era draft amnesty

1981

Assassination attempt on Reagan

1983

Americans victorious in Grenada

1986

Iran-Contra Affair

H.R. Haldeman

Nixon’s chief of staff

John Ehrlichman

Nixon’s domestic affairs adviser

Henry Kissinger

Nixon’s national security advisor

George Wallace

In 1968, ________, the combative former governor of Alabama, ran a third-party campaign for president as the candidate of the American Independence Party.

Southern Strategy

Nixon’s “______” aimed at wooing conservative Southerners into the Republican party.

**Roe v. Wade**

The court became generally more conservative, though in 1973 it endorsed a right to abortion in **__________**.

**détente**

Nixon established "**_________**" with the USSR. He felt that reducing cold war tensions would lessen the chance of global war and allow the US greater diplomatic influence in dealing with problems like Vietnam.

SALT I

The ________ accord ended the cold war's armaments race, a historic occasion.

Nationalist China

Since the 1950s, Nixon has supported ___________________— the non-Communist territory established by refugees from the Chinese civil war on the island of Taiwan.

realpolitik

By the time he became president, Nixon and Henry Kissinger were ___________ advocates.

**Watergate Affair**

Nixon's 1972 reelection makes the **_________**'s actions incomprehensible. Nixon's political paranoia influenced them.

enemies list

Nixon created an "_________" and had the Internal Revenue Service wiretap and harass some of the persons on it, believing, with some reason, that the media establishment, government bureaucracy, and Democratic party were implacably opposed.

White House Plumbers

The ___________ were formed in 1971 after Daniel Ellsberg, a former State Department employee, leaked the Pentagon Papers.

**Committee to Reelect the President** (CREEP)

* The **____________** used shady persons to "dirty trick" Democrats. These operatives lied about Democratic candidates and ordered 200 pizzas to a Democratic campaign headquarters.

bugs

By duplicating papers and installing electronic "__________" in workplaces, they hoped to collect information on Democrats.

hush money

As the investigation progressed, CREEP leaders lied about their Watergate activities. To keep them quiet, thieves received "_________."

**Deep Throat**

**Bob Woodward** and **Carl Bernstein** of the Washington Post pursued the Watergate story. They received scoops from "___________."

Mark Felt

The FBI's assistant director at the time of the Watergate break-in, was their informant in 2005.

John Dean

the White House attorney, acknowledged a Watergate cover-up during the committee's proceedings.

Richard Kleindienst

After the political uproar, Attorney General __________ and presidential advisors H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman resigned.

**Archibald Cox**

Watergate was investigated by a special prosecutor Nixon hired to preserve his presidency. Nixon then opposed ______________'s attempts to get the White House recordings.

Saturday Night Massacre

On October 20, 1973, the "__________" occurred with Cox's resignation and dismissal.

25th Amendment

Under the _______, Congress approved Nixon's choice of Michigan Congressman Gerald Ford to replace Agnew.

Whip Inflation Now (WIN)

Ford's __________ button campaign failed to promote morale and economic confidence.

National Energy Act

In 1978, Congress deregulated the oil and gasoline markets and promoted energy conservation through the ___________.

Panamanian sovereignty

Carter signed a pact with Panama to restore the Canal Zone to __________ in 1999.

Leonid Brezhnev

Carter and Soviet leader ________ struck a SALT II agreement in 1979 to restrict their nuclear arsenals.

1980 Moscow Summer Olympics

Carter withdrew from the ____________ because to this action and what seemed to be a Soviet push into the oil-rich Middle East.

Camp David Accords

The _____________, mediated by President Carter, were Israel's Menachem Begin and Egypt's Anwar Sadat's greatest diplomatic triumph.

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1967 Six Day War

Egypt acknowledged Israel's right to exist after Israel restored the Sinai Peninsula, which it had taken in the ___________.

**Strategic Defense Initiative** (SDI)

Reagan increased the military budget by $13 billion. His pricey _____________, dubbed "Star Wars," also drew criticism.

**Evil Empire**

Despite opposition, he stationed American cruise missiles in Western Europe to counter Soviet short-range nuclear missiles in Eastern Europe. Reagan called the Soviet Union a "___________," but voters liked his honesty.

**Tax Revenue Act of 1986**

In his second term, Reagan cut taxes further. The wealthiest Americans' federal tax rate dropped from 50% to 28% under the __________. Unemployment and inflation continued to fall during this period.

Black Monday

Stock prices fell 20% on "________," October 19, 1987.

**Iran-Contra**

**___________** rocked the Reagan administration in 1986 and 1987. In Lebanon, Iranian-backed Shiites held Americans hostage.

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arms for hostages

This "_________" scheme was used by National Security Advisor John Poindexter, Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, and other administration officials to aid Nicaragua's "Contras" rebels.

Berlin discotheque bombing

In April 1986, Gadhafi was blamed for the ___________ that killed an American serviceman and wounded many others.

Muammar al-Gadhafi

Since the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident, when American naval jets shot down two Libyan jets that challenged them, relations with ____________ had been poor.

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty

The ________________, signed by Reagan and Gorbachev in 1987, required both nations to eliminate an entire class of missiles.