Nixons presidency:

• the start to the new right in society, after Johnsons great society marked a significant shift in American politics, emphasizing conservative values and a pushback against what many viewed as excessive government intervention in social issues.

• This movement laid the groundwork for Nixon's election in 1968, where he campaigned on a platform promoting law and order, appealing to those disenchanted with the turmoil of the 1960s.

Detente:

• tried to establish more of a peaceful relation with the Soviet Union and China, aiming to ease tensions of the Cold War through diplomatic engagement and strategic arms limitation.

• Nixion meets with china—- to negotiate and reach peace terms and even trade with them

• SALT 1- stoping production of nuclear weapons and limiting the number of strategic ballistic missiles deployed, which paved the way for future arms control agreements. In addition, Nixon's administration also emphasized the importance of economic cooperation, recognizing that mutual benefits could be derived from open trade and interaction.

  • Nixon meets with Soviet union- to come to better terms and even instates the Grain deal of 1972 which the US gave the soviets an abundance of grain which they greatly needed. But this was also bad bc it led to a lack of grains in the world which severly effected other nations which led to vast inflation

• Nixon takes US off the gold standard—-led to immense economic stagnation (people aren’t buying products but inflation is going up and causing prices to rise)

  • Helsinky Conference- officially ends WW11

    • The Oil Crisis of 1973

      • Arab oil embargo- effect US bc of our support to isreal and they cut US off from their oil, which effected the economy

The imperial presidency

• the idea was that ever since the beginning of US presidents, slowly, they have been getting too powerful and seeming more and more like a dictatorship.

• Laws passed such as the Privacy act — required citizens to be able to see more into the government and not as much secrecy; this aimed to curb the flow of unchecked power and promote transparency in governmental decision-making.

  Watergate scandal - This event further highlighted the issues of executive overreach, leading to a significant loss of trust in the Nixon administration and raising questions about the limits of presidential power.

  • led to severe distrust in the Nixon administation and caused him to resign from office in 1974, marking a significant moment in American political history that underscored the need for accountability among those in power.

  • Ford took over for Nixon as the 38th president of the United States and faced the daunting task of restoring public confidence in the government, which had been severely shaken by the Watergate scandal.