Richard Nixon, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate Era

Richard Nixon and the 1968 Election

Political Context: At the time of his election, Richard Nixon was considered a conservative, though the political landscape has shifted significantly since then. A Republican standing for what Nixon did in $1968$ would likely be viewed as a moderate Democrat by modern standards.
Campaign Messaging: Nixon ran on a platform of restoring order. Key components of his message included: - The goal to "restore order." - Getting things "back" to a perceived prior stability. - Stopping the "boat from rocking." - A promise to slow down "fussing integration stuff" occurring in schools, which resonated with many voters at the time.

The Southern Strategy and Voting Patterns

Historical Shift in the South: Historically, the South was a Democratic stronghold because the Democratic Party supported segregation. Nixon shifted this with his Southern Strategy.
The Southern Strategy Definition: This was Nixon's belief that he could attract Southern voters by signaling opposition to the Civil Rights movement. The strategy focused on: - Preserving aspects of segregation. - Arguing that "hard-earned tax money" should not go to "undeserving nonwhite people."
Election Results Statistics: - Since $1964$ , a majority of white voters in America have never voted for a Democrat in a presidential election. - Despite this, Democrats have won the popular vote in $7$ out of the last $8$ or $7$ out of the last $9$ elections.
Motivation of Voters: The shift was often less about overt racism and more about a feeling that "undeserving people" were receiving benefits that the average voter was not. This sense of being "left out" of identity politics remains a resonant message.

The Voting Rights Act and Gerrymandering

Voting Rights Act of 1965: This landmark legislation aimed to prevent racial discrimination in voting.
Shelby v. Holder (2013-2014): The Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Previously, states with a history of discrimination had to have redistricting or voting guideline changes reviewed by the Justice Department to ensure they were not racially motivated. The Court ruled this "outdated," effectively saying racism was no longer a sufficient threat to justify the provision.
Louisiana Redistricting Case (2022): Louisiana drew a map with $6$ districts but concentrated most Black voters into a single district to limit their representation to only $1$ representative. The Supreme Court recently overturned a ruling that had labeled this map illegal.
Current Supreme Court Stance on Gerrymandering: - Political gerrymandering is considered legal. - The Court argues it is difficult to differentiate between political and racial gerrymandering. - Using race as a factor to fix a gerrymandered map is now viewed by the Court as potentially violating the $14^{th}$ Amendment because it discriminates based on race to fix the problem. - This has rendered the Voting Rights Act largely unenforceable.
State-Level Impacts: Since this ruling, states like Louisiana (where the governor declared an emergency to redraw lines) and several others have moved to REDRAW districts even mid-election cycle to maximize partisan advantage. Historically, districts were only redrawn every $10$ years following the census.

The Electoral College and Structural Reform

Mechanics of Gerrymandering: It allows a minority of voters to create an artificial majority. Examples include: - Austin, Texas: A liberal city divided into $7$ different voting districts to ensure liberal voters remain a minority in each. - Lawrence, Kansas: Historically divided because it is the most liberal city in Kansas.
Proposed Solutions: - Drawing lines along natural borders. - Using non-partisan commissions or federal judges (viewed as the most non-partisan option). - Moving to a direct popular vote for the presidency, which would make every vote in states like Kansas matter.
Origins of the Electoral College: It was designed before the existence of political parties. The Founding Fathers intended it to be undemocratic, believing "smart and rich people" (electors) should choose the president because they did not trust the general public. This also applied to the Senate, which was originally chosen by state legislatures.
Resistance to Change: The party benefiting from the current system (currently Republicans) has no incentive to change it. A significant push for change occurred in $1972$ when both parties feared George Wallace might win enough electoral votes to influence the outcome despite not having a majority.

Ending the Vietnam War

Nixon's "Secret Plan": Nixon claimed to have a secret plan for "Peace with Honor." It consisted of two main parts: - Intensified Bombing: In $1969$ , Nixon increased bombing on North Vietnam to pressure the Viet Minh/North Vietnamese to negotiate. - Illegal Bombing of Cambodia/Laos: Nixon secretly bombed these countries to destroy the Ho Chi Minh Trail, used to funnel weapons to the Viet Cong. These bombings were unauthorized by Congress.
Vietnamization: A strategy to pull out US troops and force the South Vietnamese military to take over the fighting burdens.
Key Atrocities and Turning Points: - My Lai Incident: Reported by Seymour Hersh in the New York Times in $1969$ . Lieutenant William Calley ordered his platoon to kill all civilians in a village, including women and children. This led to a massive loss of public support for the war. - The Khmer Rouge: The US destabilization of Cambodia allowed the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot to rise to power, eventually leading to genocide. Pol Pot is often ranked among the top five most evil dictators of the $20^{th}$ century. - Kent State and Jackson State ( $1970$ ): Public protests against the invasion of Cambodia led to the National Guard shooting and killing student protesters at Kent State (Ohio) and Jackson State (an HBCU). - The Pentagon Papers ( $1971$ ): Daniel Ellsberg, a Pentagon contractor, leaked files to the New York Times showing that every administration since Truman had lied about the Vietnam War, knowing the US was stuck and lacked a clear path to victory.

The Legacy and Impact of the Vietnam War

Casualties: $58,000$ Americans died, while over $3.5 imes 10^6$ Vietnamese individuals died.
War Powers Act ( $1973$ ): Congress passed this to check executive power. - The President must inform Congress within $48$ hours of military action. - The President can conduct hostilities for only $60$ days without express Congressional approval. If not approved, troops must withdraw.
Vietnam Syndrome: A period of isolationism where the US was "gun-shy" and hesitant to intervene in foreign conflicts for fear of another Vietnam-style quagmire. This lasted roughly $20$ years until the $1990$ Iraq War (e.g., the US did not go to war when $83$ Americans were held hostage in Iran for $444$ days in $1979$ ).
Loss of Faith in Government: The combination of the Pentagon Papers and the failing war effort initiated a general lack of trust in elected officials. This paved the way for Ronald Reagan’s $1980$ campaign message: "Government is not the solution; government is the problem."

The Imperial Presidency and Executive Power

Imperial Presidency/Unitary Theory of the Executive: Nixon asserted that the President, as chief law enforcement officer, is above the law. - Nixon Quote: "When the president does it, it can't be illegal." - Modern Context: The current Supreme Court has partially endorsed this, ruling that a president cannot be prosecuted for official duties.
Impoundment of Funds: Nixon claimed the right to "impound" or refuse to distribute money allocated by Congress (e.g., for food stamps). Congress responded by passing the Impoundment Act to make this practice illegal.
The Justice Department: Nixon was the first to assert that the Justice Department should serve the president rather than remain independent.

The Watergate Scandal

The Break-in (June $1972$ ): Five men broke into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate Hotel to plant listening devices.
The Plumbers: A secret group created by Nixon to stop leaks (like the Pentagon Papers). Key figures included G. Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt. They once broke into Daniel Ellsberg's doctor’s office to steal medical records to discredit him.
CREEP: The Committee to Re-elect the President (informally known as CREEP), which maintained a "slush fund" of cash for illegal "dirty tricks."
The Investigation: - Reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (Washington Post) were fed information by a confidential informant known as Deep Throat (revealed in $2005$ to be FBI official Mark Felt). - Nixon ordered the FBI to drop the investigation, which constituted Obstruction of Justice.
The Tapes: Alexander Butterfield revealed during hearings that Nixon had a secret recording system in the White House.
United States v. Nixon: The Supreme Court ruled that executive privilege does not protect a president from being subpoenaed for evidence in a criminal case.
Outcome: The "smoking gun" tapes proved Nixon's involvement in the cover-up as early as $1972$ . Nixon resigned in $1974$ after his own party informed him they would vote to remove him from office.
The Pardon: Gerald Ford (the only unelected president, as he was appointed VP after Spiro Agnew resigned for taking bribes) pardoned Nixon to avoid long-term national litigation.
Anecdote: The instructor once got kicked out of the Watergate Hotel while wearing a carrot costume for a public relations promotion for "Blackie’s House of Beef."

Nixon’s Domestic Policy: The "Liberal" Conservative

Despite his conservative reputation, Nixon passed several policies that would be considered very liberal today:

Expanded welfare and food stamps.
Increased funding for Medicaid.
Created the Philadelphia Plan (the first formal affirmative action plan using quotas for hiring women).
Established OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).
Founded the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
Passed the Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act.
Created Earth Day.

Detente and Foreign Policy

Detente: Defined as a thawing or relaxing of Cold War tensions.
Ping Pong Diplomacy ( $1971$ ): Cultural exchange between the US and Chinese ping pong teams led to formal diplomatic openings.
China Visit (February $1972$ ): Nixon became the first US president to visit communist China.
Soviet Visit (May $1972$ ): Sparked by Soviet jealousy of the China visit, leading to treaties: - ABM Treaty: Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. - SALT I: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, reducing nuclear warheads.

The Rise of Stagflation

Economic Crisis: Towards the end of Nixon's term, the US entered Stagflation.
Stagflation Definition: A rare economic condition where inflation (rising prices) and recession/unemployment occur at the same time.
Historical Norms: Usually, high inflation occurs when the economy is growing too fast ( $5$ to $6\%$ , low unemployment). Conversely, recessions usually feature high unemployment but low inflation. Stagflation combines the worst of both worlds and was a defining challenge of the $1970$ s.