Ch. 31, Age of Limits
Terms
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- War Powers Act
- ('73) required the president to consult Congress whenever possible before committing troops, to send an explanation for his actions within 2 days, and to withdraw any troops after 60 days unless Congress voted to retain them
- The Smoking Gun
- the tapes were produced, Nixon couldnt deny, ends up Resigning, new VP Ford becomes President
- SALT II
- another nuclear weapon limitation treaty that is not passed this time
- Barry Commoner & Ecology
- "The Closing Circle" ('71) argued that modern society courted disaster by trying to "improve on nature"
- Department of Energy
- created by Carter in response to more conservation woes, Congress ignored some more of Carters more progressive initiatives (fuel taxes & solar energy)
- Ralph Nader attacks GM
- attacks them about safety of the Chevy Corvair, GM tries to find dirt on him but can't
- Jimmy Carter
- democratic hopeful for president in 1976 (wins)
- Earth Day
- suggested by Gaylord Nelson to celebrate new consciousness of a healthy environment (April 22)
- The Iranian Revolution
- ('78) Iranian Islamic Fundamentalists took over Iran creating worry for US that Soviets would prey on them in the Middle East
- Saturday Night Massacre
- Nixon fired Prosecutor Archibald Cox b/c he demanded the Watergate Tapes
- Agnew resigns
- VP Spiro Agnew resigns to avoid jail, replaced by Gerald R. Ford
- CIA & FBI abuses
- spying on Americans, helping kill foreign leaders, Senate creates oversight committee to monitor intelligence agencies
- Brzezinski & Central America
- Dominated Carter administrations foreign policy in Latin America, pushed to reimpose a cold war framework (against communism even if it meant brutal dictatorships Nicaragua & El Salvador) Sec of State Vance pushes US to return property of Canal Zone in Panama to the Panamanians & US operates there under lease ('77)
- Human Rights
- Carter's aim to exert "leadership without hegemony", previous knee jerk US reactions to Soviet power had forced American to support heavy right-wing leaders
- Crisis of Confidence
- US power is waning, economic problems at home
- The Plumbers
- group of people to plug and secure security leaks formed by Nixon and Ehrlichman after info on the Vietnam War (Pentagon Papers) was leaked
- The Chrysler Bailout
- On brink of bankruptcy Congress bails out w/ $1.5 bil loan (to avoid unemployment)
- Camp David Accords
- ('78) Carter brought Egypt and Israeli leaders together to work out a an end to their fighting, Israel withdraws from Sinai Peninsula & gets $3 bil in US military Aid
- Nixon & the Court
- wanted a more conservative judicial system appted '69:Warren Burger, Harry Blackmun,'71:Lewis Powell & William Rehnquist, all conservative
- The Soviet Union Invades Afghanistan
- to subdue anti-communist Muslim guerrillas; Carter responds symbolically mainly, removes US from Olympics in Moscow that year
- Fair Campaign Practices Act
- ('74) increase financial accountability on campaigns, response to unchecked imperial power of President!
- Senate Hearings
- hearings over the Watergate break in
- Three Mile Island
- nuclear nightmare in Pennsylvania, power plant accident ('79) very close to reactor meltdown & nuclear disaster
- George McGovern
- Democrat running against Nixon on antiwar platform in 1972 election
- S. Vietnam Falls
- it falls, we don't help this time, Vietnam United under the VietMinh govt of the North
- EPA
- Environmental Protection Agency, established by Nixon- made public responsible for public interest and required environmental impact statements of most public projects
- Impoundment
- Nixon refuses to pay for programs he opposes that pass through Congress
- Conservation vs Preservation
- proper use (smart development) vs. no use (maintain pristine original state)
- Nixon Reforms
- no crusader for the environment but supported Clean Air/Water Acts & established OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Agency)
- Helsinki Summit
- US, Soviets & European leaders decide to recognize political boundaries that had divided Eastern and Western Europe since 1945
- Family Assistance Plan
- workfare not welfare, required recipients to register for employment (brainchild Daniel Patrick Moynihan, attempts died in Congress but proved basis for welfare reform in the 90s)
- Coup in Chile
- Kissenger/CIA backed coup against the democratically elected communist/socialist leader of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens
- Revenue Sharing
- Fed money to State & Local Govt's rather than getting money for one specific thing they get lump sum and split for what is locally important
- Yom Kippur War & Energy Crisis
- Syria and Egypt attack Israel, OPEC countries sided with Syria and Egypt and boycotted oil sales to friends of Israel (who we were helping), terrible oil shortage
- Reviving the China Card
- playing China vs. Russia
- School Busing
- Help enforce end to segregation in schools established by Brown decision