Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Stalemated Seventies (1968-1980)

  1. Could any of Nixon's achievements in office compensate for his Watergate crimes? What should history say about the Nixon Presidency?
  2. What were the short-term and long-term consequences of the communists victory in Vietnam?
  3. How was the civil rights movement affected by federal policies in the 1970s, especially affirmative action?
  4. What were the consequences of America's new economic vulnerability? How did it affect politics at home and abroad in the 1970s?

12 comments:

Stephanie Welch said...

Even though the Watergate crimes majorly damaged Nixon's reputation as a president, some of his actions can somewhat compensate for his crime. One example is his furtherance of detente. Nixon was known as being severely anti-communist but he pushed aside his dislike to help the nation. Nixon's actions to better the relationship with communist nations such as Russia and China helped America because now some wars can be further prevented. There is no excuse for Nixon's foul actions to be re-elected but he did try to better the nation and that should be the main focus of Nixon's legacy.

Dani Waite said...

1- 1) None of Nixon’s achievements could compensate for his Watergate crimes. He secretly entered into Cambodia which soon became the battle ground for S.E. Asia and was then was destructed. Nixon used the “Plumbers” to break into Ellsberg’s office to look for scandalous documentation. And while he may have opened the doors to China or met with Moscow, Nixon was constantly saved from his mistakes by derailing the American people’s focus to something else. The President lied about Watergate, he lost the war which really shouldn’t have started, and he abused the privilege of power as president in commanding illegal orders. Nixon committed a criminal act by covering up another crime. The Constitutions checked the abused power of Nixon and balanced it out through his retirement. And just like that shameful Nixon was resigned and was out of the White house.

Dani Waite said...

To Steph- did he try to better the nation or was that part of the way he moved politically. If you look Nixon is constantly moving, rarely is he settled down in America. Furthermore, in an attempt to aid the nation wouldn’t you rather cure the turmoil at home? Nixon knows he cannot go to war if there is a war at home, and essentially that is happening. So does he open up china and visit Moscow in to help the nation or in an attempt to save face and avoid domestic troubles for the upcoming election?

Nadirah Morgan said...

Because of americas unhealthy dependence on foreign oil and a high inflation due to Nixon's want to expand money supply, there was a horrible recession. Because Nixon continued to fund the war and spent a lot at home concerning domestic affairs, the economy became unstable causing people to began to revert back to the idea of communism.

Diana Youssef said...

3. In 1972 the Equal Rights Amendment prohibited all discrimination based on sex, but after failing to win ratification in several states it was abandoned. Racial quotas for affirmative action brought charges of reverse discrimination in the late 70's.

Anonymous said...

3) the affirmative action federal policy in the 70's had an influence on blacks. Civil rights paved the way for this plan making it so that other races and cultures were not discriminated against. All different groups of people now earned preferable treatment,whites protested that this was an excuse for "reverse discrimination"

Anonymous said...

Kaci Kelsey

Latrice Smith said...

4. The 70's were the worst time for the economy since the great depression, the foreign oil crisis as well as foreign conflicts are what attributed to the recession of this time. Economic uncertainties also created an environment that fostered the spread of communism. There was a lot of division in America due to the Vietnam War.

Khadijah Dixon said...

4) The consequences of america's economic worries came during Gerald Fords presidency. It caused Americans to learn that they could never seriously consider an economic isolation. At home this made prices of products rise and for abroad it causes a lot of tension especially in the north eastern part of the country.

Dao Tang said...

After the communists won victory in Vietnam, it was considered an embarrassment towards the United States. The war started off with nothing to do with us, but since we were so determined to get involved and having great confidence in it, it was then expected that we will help the South Vietnamese win. However, the war turned out otherwise. In a way, it was seem as a humiliating, considering America had won several “bigger” wars over the past few years, And with losing to the North Vietnam, America, in a way, lacks its military strategies and wasn't as glorious as it claimed to be.

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

I'm taking the same class this year. All of the answers here have helped :)