Vietnam War & Political Crises - Thematic Guided Notes (Johnson → Bush Jr.)

Main Cold War strategy guiding Vietnam policy

containment

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution allowed the president (Johnson) to…

Use military force without a formal declaration of war

Type of warfare used by the Viet Cong

guerrilla warfare

Nixon’s Vietnamization

Gradual withdrawal of US troops while training South Vietnamese troops

Overall lesson learned from Vietnam

Avoid prolonged land wars

what did Carter emphasize in foreign policy?

human rights

Example of Carter’s diplomacy

Camp David Accords

Limitation of Carter’s approach

Limited success with hostile regimes

what role did Reagan believe the US should take?

a more aggressive role

Increased military spending by Reagan was intended to pressure the…

USSR

Collapse of the Soviet Union during Bush Sr. led the U.S. to become the sole…

global superpower

Goal of the Gulf War

Remove Iraq from Kuwait

Clinton’s U.S. foreign policy focused on…

peacekeeping

Example of U.S. peacekeeping involvement during Clinton’s presidency

NATO involvement

9/11 caused a shift to the…

War on terror

Bush Doctrine supported…

preemptive war

Two wars launched after 9/11

-Afghanistan war

-War in iraq

Government claimed the Vietnam war was going to be…

quick & winnable

Vietnam War media coverage showed…

casualties and destruction

The gap between US government claims and reality was called the…

credibility gap

Watergate resulted in Nixon…

resigning

Watergate’s effect on public trust

sharp decline

Carter attempted to restore trust through…

honesty and morality

despite Carter’s efforts in the 1970s, public confidence remained…

low

Reagan restored confidence through…

optimism and patriotism

Iran-Contra Affair revealed…

illegal arms sales and cover-up

Gulf War’s effect on public trust

temporarily increased public trust

Clinton-era scandal involved Clinton being…

impeached

how was public trust effected immediately after 9/11?

public trust rose sharply

As wars continued after 9/11, trust…

declined

Johnson expanded war powers through…

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Term used to describe this expansion of war powers

Imperial Presidency

War Powers Act required presidents to do what before engaging in a war?

consult Congress

purpose of the War Powers Act

Restore some checks and balances

Ford & Carter’s Presidency was viewed as more…

limited/restrained in terms of presidential power

Reagan expanded executive power by…

building up the military

Iran-Contra showed limits of…

government/executive overreach

Bush Sr. sought congressional approval for…

the Gulf War

Clinton faced increased scrutiny from…

the media

Authorization of Military Force gave the president (Bush Jr) broad authority to…

fight terrorism

examples of the authorization of military force expanded power

Surveillance/Detentions

War spending during the Vietnam War led to…

inflation and debt

Stagflation (during 1970s, intensified after Vietnam war but began during) combined…

high inflation and high unemployment

Crisis during Carter presidency

energy crisis caused by an embargo on oil

Economic impact of the oil crisis during Carter

recession and energy shortages

Reaganomics

-Focused on tax cuts and deregulation

-Goal: stimulate growth in the economy

-Criticism: Increased wealth gap/deb

Bush Sr. faced a…

recession

Clinton benefited from…

economic growth/budget surplus

War on terror spending…

increased national debt and created the long-term economic concern of long-term deficits