nixon test

“one of us”

Nixon’s appeal to the “silent majority”—a phrase used to stress his connection to ordinary Americans, often contrasted with elites or protestors.

The Philadelphia Plan

Nixon’s policy promoting minority hiring in the construction industry - an early form of affirmative action.

Yahya Khan

Pakistani leader who helped facilitate Nixon’s secret diplomacy leading to the U.S. opening to China

Executive Privlege

presidential power to withhold things from congress or courts. controversially used during Watergate

“My child was not a bum”

From a letter Nixon read during his “1970 cambodia speech” expressing parental support for U.S. soldiers and law enforcement after the Kent State shootings.

John Sirica

federal judge who presided over the Watergate trials; known for pressing witnesses to reveal the truth

Archibald Cox

The first Watergate special prosecutor; fired during “Saturday Night Massacre”

The SALT Talks

Strategic Arms Limitations Talks; key part of Nixon’s hostility with Soviet Union

George Shultz

Served in Nixon’s cabinet (secretary of labor and treasury); associate with Nixon’s economic and domestic policy agenda

The Gold Window

Nixon’s shock 1971 decision to suspend dollar convertibility into Gold, which ended the Breton Woods system.

Daniel Moynihan

Domestic policy advisor in Nixon administration; designed the Family assistance plan.

The Huston plan

Proposal to expand domestic surveillance on antiwar and civil rights groups; initially approved by Nixon but it was later rebuked

Clement Haynsworth

Nixon’s failed 1969 SCOTUS nominee

Leon Jaworski

replaced Archibald Cox as special prosecutor after Saturday night massacre

John Mitchell

Nixon’s attorney general and campaign manager; very involved in Watergate cover-up

H.R. Haldeman

Nixon’s chief of staff, controlled access to the President and played a major role in watergate tapes and cover-up

Winston Lord

Aide to Henry Kissinger; key participant in Nixon’s China diplomacy

“The Sons and Daughters of the Silent Majority”

Nixon’s rhetorical framing of young Americans who supported traditional values and his administration’s policies

The Plumbers

White House unit created to stop leaks of classified information (including Pentagon papers) - later tied to Watergate Break-in

de facto vs. de jure school segregation

distinction between segregation by practice/custom (de facto) and by law (de jure); relevant to Nixon’s stance on civil rights and busing

The New Economic Policy (NEP)

Nixon’s 1971 economic reforms: wage and price controls, import surcharges, and the gold window closure.

The Family Assistance Plan (FAP)

Nixon’s proposal for welfare reform offering a guaranteed minimum income to families—never enacted.

The “Nixon Doctrine”

Foreign policy principle: allies should take more responsibility for their own defense; U.S. would provide support but not fight every war.

Triangular Diplomacy

Nixon’s foreign policy strategy of balancing relations among the U.S., China, and the Soviet Union to enhance U.S. leverage.

David Ellsberg

Leaked the Pentagon Papers; became a target of the Plumbers’ operations.

Charles Colson

Nixon aide known for his political “dirty tricks” and later for his conversion to Christianity after Watergate.

John Dean

White House Counsel who testified against Nixon during Watergate, exposing the cover-up.

Elliot Richardson

Attorney General who refused to fire Archibald Cox and resigned during the Saturday Night Massacre.