Download Nixon Years Lecture

The Nixon Years
Politics, War, and Watergate
Democratic Weaknesses
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Lessons from ‘Weather Underground’ film:
Political Strategies: Campaign
Ads?
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Blame Dems for war – he’d be more effective
at fighting the war
Blame Dems for instability, domestic
violence, protests, riots, negatives in Vietnam
– provide stability, law and order
Correct mistakes of the past
Political Strategies
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Appealing to ‘Taxi Driver’ America?
Views of City?
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Scum
Sewer
Anti-urban
Problems
Views on Politics?
Views on Politics?
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Apathetic
Angry
Frustrated
Non-idealistic
Interested himself
Individualistic
Views on Power and Justice?
Views on Power and Justice?
Nixon’s Political Strategies
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Kevin Phillips’, ‘Emerging Republican Majority’:
Republicans could win (and did) from 1968-1992
Southern Strategy – use “hostility to blacks and
browns” as political strategy (like George Wallace)
Get white Catholics, ethnic whites, and white
southerners to permanently switch to GOP
Appeal to ‘Silent Majority’ of Americans: patriotic,
anti-protester, anti-urban
Law and Order campaign: used images of riots,
protests, and fear to sway voters
Silent Majority of Americans were the real victims (of
protests, draft, taxes, civil rights, economy)
Foreign Policies and Actions
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Focus on Big Fish – wanted to open up trade, talks
with China and USSR, decrease Cold War tension
Vietnam - Policy of Vietnamization – turn over war to
South Vietnamese army
Secrecy - secret bombings of N.V., Cambodia, Laos;
secret negotiations w/ N.V.
U.S. detachment from Vietnam conflict – use
rhetoric of peace and withdrawal, while continuing
bombings to force N.V. to accept split Vietnam
Heightened rhetoric against protesters = protesters
were anti-American, helping North Vietnam
Vietnamization
Secrecy
Secret Wars: Cambodia & Laos
Vietnam Policies, 1968-1974
Watergate
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Connections to Vietnam War
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Nixon’s insecurity and fear of political opposition
Use of FBI to spy on and undermine antiwar and
civil rights movements
Political dirty tricks to hurt political rivals
Covered up instead of coming clean
Conclusions
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Nixon’s foreign policies towards China and USSR
were fairly successful, opened up lines of
communication
Deceitful policies in Vietnam: rhetoric of peace,
while bombing and prolonging war
U.S. involvement in Vietnam War dragged on for 6
more years as he used it as pawn in larger foreign
policy
Nixon’s southern strategy and appeals to ‘silent
majority’ widened political and social rifts in U.S.
Watergate and corruption further weakened people’s
trust in government
Republicans benefited in long run from increasing
distrust of government