AMSCO 29 – LIMITS OF SUPERPOWER
Richard Nixon
promised to bring americans together after the turmoil of the 1960s; Elected 1968
Henry Kissinger
Nixon's national security adviser during his first term and secretary of state during nixon's second term
Vietnamization
Nixon announced that he would gradually withdraw US troops from VIetnam and give the South Vietnamese money, weapons and the training needed to take over the full conduction of the war
Nixon Doctorine
Declared that in the future, Asian allies would receive US support but without the extensive use of US ground forces
Kent State
Site where nationwide protest resulted in the killing of four youths by the National Guard troops
My Lai
Vietnamese village; site of the massacre of women and children by US troops
Pentagon Papers
A secret govenrment history documenting the mistakes and deceptions of government policy makers in dealing with vietnam- leaked to the press by Daniel Ellsberg, a former Defense Departament analyst; Published by New York Times
Paris Accords of 1973
Promised a cease fire and free elections in N vietnam
detente
a deliberate reduction of Cold War tensions
China visit
Nixon visited Bejing in Feb.1972; initiated diplomatic exchanges that ultimately led to US recognition of the Communist government in 1979
Soviet Union: Strategic Arms LImitation Talks
US diplomats secured Soviet consent to a freeze on the number of ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads, significant step toward reducing cold war tensions
New Federalism
Known as revenue sharing; Congress approved giving local governments $30 billion in block grants over five years to address local needs as they saw fit
stagflation
combination of economic slowdown and high inflation
southern strategy
Used by Nixon to win over the south; asked the federal court in that region to delay integration plans and busing orders and nominated two southern conservatives to the supreme court
Warren Burger
Appointed as chief of justice in 1969 to succeed earl warren
George McGovern
Democratic nominee for the election of 1972 who was very liberal, anti war and antiestablishment
Watergate
June 1972; A group of men hired by Nixon's reelection committee was caught breaking into offices of the Democratic national headquarters
articles of impeachment
Voted by the house judiciary committee: 1) obstruction of justice, 2) abuse of power and 3) contempt of congress
United States v. Nixon
The 1974 case in which the Supreme Court unanimously held that the doctrine of executive priveledge was implicit in the Constitution but could not be extended to protect documents relevant to criminal prosecutions
War Powers Act (1973)
Required Nixon and any future president to report to Congress within 48 hours after taking military action, it further provided that Congress would have to approve any military action that lasted more than 60 days
Middle East War (1973)
Outbreak of war on october 6 on the jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the Syrians and Egyptians launched a surprise attack on Israel in an attempt to recover the lands lost in the Six Day war of 1967
OPEC; oil embargo
The arab members of this organization placed this on oil sold to israel's supporters; it caused a worldwide oil shortage
Gerald Ford
VP became president after nixon; the first unelected president in US history
Cambodia: Khmer ROuge
a radical communist faction that conducted genocide against over a million of its own people
Bicentennial
1976;The US celebratied its 200th birthday; Americans' pride in their history helped to put Watergate and Vietnam behind them
James Earl Carter
Little known former governor of georgia who competed for the democratic party's nomination in 1976; had success running as an outsider against the corruption in washington
Human rights
Hallmark of Carter's foreign policy;Cause championed by Andrew Young by denouncing the oppression of the black majority in South Africa and Rhodesia
Panama Canal Treaty
1978; Gradual transfer of operation and control of the Panama Canal from the US to the Panamenians
Camp David ACcords
Provided a framwork for a peace settlement between Egypt and Israel
Anwar Sadat
Egyptian president- took first step toward middle east peace by visiting Menachem Begin in Jerusalem
Menachem Begin
Israeli Prime Minister
Iran; hostage crisis
Novemeber 1979- iranian militants seized the US embassy in Teheran and held more than 50 members of the American staff as prisoners and hostages. Carter approved a rescue mission in 1980 but the berakdown of helicopters over the Iranian desert forced the US to abort the mission
Afghanistan invasion
Soviet troops invaded Afganistan in 1979-an aggressive action that ended a decade of improving US soviet union- Us feared that it might lead to a soviet move to control the oil rich perisan gulf
cultural pluralism
Replaced the melting pot as the model for us society, as diverse ethnic and cultural groups strove not only to end discrimination and improve themselves but als oto celebrate their unique values and traditinos
Immigration Act
Ended the ethnic quota acts of the 1920s favoring europeans and thereby opened the US to immigrants form all parts of the world
Immigration Reform and Control Act of1986
Penalized employers for hiring illegal immigrants while also granting amnesty to illegal immigrants arriving by 1982
Hispanic Americans
New arrivals from Puero Rico, Cuba, South and Central America; a large number of thesm were elected to office
Cezar Chavez
Led series of boycotts for mexican americans to gain collective bargaining rights from farmers.
American Indian Movement
followed by militant action; Native americans resisted the loss of cultural identity that would have resulted from a policy to move native americans to leave reservations and assimilate into ameican urban cluture
Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975
Gave reservations and tribal lands greater control over interanal programs, education, and law enforcement
Asian Americans
Fastest growing ethnic minority by the 1980s; were well represented in the best colleges and universities due to a strong dedication to education
gay liberation movement
gay activists urged homosexuals to be open about their identity and to work to end discrimination and violent abuse
environmental movement
many middle class americans lost their earlier optimistic faith in modern technology and industry
Three Mile Island
Accident at nuclear power plant in 1979 - A mechanical failure and a human error at this power plant in Pennsylvania combined to permit an escape of radiation over a 16 mile radius.
Clean Air Act (1970)
rewrote original act,identified critical pollutants,established ambient air quality standards
Environmental Protection Agency
agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
Environmental Superfund
created to clean up toxic dumps
Clean Water Act
employs a variety of regulatory and nonregulatory tools to sharply reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways
Chernobyl
Deadly explosion of nuclear reactor in the Soviet Union (1986)