HIS CH 24-1B MORE NIXON

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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

A BATTLE OVER THE SUPREME COURT

Civil rights was not the only issue over which President Nixon and the Supreme Court clashed . During the 1968 campaign, Nixon had criticized the Warren Court for being too liberal. Once in the White House, Nixon suddenly found himself with an opportunity to change the direction of the court. During Nixon's first term, four justices, including chief justice Earl Warren, left the bench through death, retirement, or resignation . President Nixon quickly moved to put a more conservative face on the Court. In 1969, he appointed U.S. Court of Appeals judge Warren Burger as chief justice. Burger's Senate confirmation went smoothly. However, Nixon's effort to fill a second vacancy could not have been rougher. The Senate rejected Nixon's next two nominees-two conservative Southerners . The Senate claimed that one judge had engaged in questionable business dealings, while the other one was under qualified.

Eventually, Nixon placed on the bench three justices-Harry A. Blackman, William H. Rehnquist, and Lewis Powell-who tilted the Court in a more conservative direction . However, the newly shaped Court did not always take the conservative route-for example, it handed down the 1971 ruling in favor of racially integrating schools through busing

Who appoints people to the supreme court when there are vacancies?

a.	the Chief Justice	c.	the Senate
b.	the President	d.	none of these

Who must approve appointments to the supreme court?

a.	the president	c.	the chief justice
b.	the Senate	d.	the House of Representatives

Nixon tried to appoint conservatives to the supreme court. Did his appointees always make conservative rulings?

yes

Nixon Confronts a Stagnant Economy

One of the more pressing issues facing Richard Nixon was a troubled economy. Between 1967 and 1973, the nation's inflation rate doubled, from 3 percent to 6 percent. Inflation means that prices are rising. In addition, the unemployment rate, at nearly 4 percent when Nixon took office, climbed to almost 6 percent by 1971 . Economists referred to the double hit of rising inflation and unemployment as stagflation. Nixon's attempts to fight stagflation mostly failed, and the nation's economic downswing would continue on throughout the 1970s, frustrating other administrations as well.

In 1971 the U.S. economy experienced, “stagflation.” What happens during stagflation?

a.	prices rise and unemployment goes down	c.	prices rise and unemployment rises
b.	prices fall and unemployment falls	d.	unemployment rises and prices fall

THE CAUSES OF STAGFLATION

The economic problems of the late 1960s and early 1970s had several causes . One cause lay in Lyndon Johnson's attempt to pay for the Vietnam War and the Great Society through massive deficit spending, or spending more money than the government had collected in taxes . This influx of money into the economy had spurred the growth of inflation. Second, America had begun losing out in international trade markets to West Germany, Japan, and other rising industrial powers . Third, the nation could not absorb a flood of new workers-mainly baby boomers and women into the labor market. Between 1965 and 1980, America's labor force grew by almost 30 million workers . The number of new jobs could not keep pace, leaving many unemployed.

Finally, the nation had begun to suffer for its heavy dependency on foreign oil. America received much of its petroleum from the oil producing countries of the Middle East. Many of these countries belonged to a cartel called the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. (A cartel is an organization that controls enough of the production of a commodity to set the price.) During the 1960s, OPEC gradually raised oil prices . Then in 1973, the Yom Kippur War broke out, with Israel against Egypt and Syria. When the United States sent massive military aid to Israel, its longtime ally, the Arab OPEC nations responded by cutting off all oil sales to the United States .

From the fall of 1973 until March of 1974, when the oil embargo ended, American motorists faced long lines at gas stations. Across the nation, factories and schools closed . One New England mother of three lamented that her children were no better off at home . "We'll have heating problems at home, too," she said. "And I'm not sure I can keep them much warmer here." Moreover, when OPEC resumed selling its oil to the United States, the price had quadrupled. This sharp rise in oil prices only worsened the problem of inflation

What is it called when the government spends more money than it takes in through taxes.

a.	inflation	c.	deficit spending
b.	stagflation	d.	none of these

President Johnson dumped a great deal of money into the economy through government spending. What effect did this have on prices of products?

a.	made prices fall	d.	all of these
b.	made prices rise	e.	none of these
c.	made more products available

What is OPEC?

a.	an organization of countries that export oil to the rest of the world	c.	Oil Property Economic Council
b.	an organization of countries that import oil from the rest of the world	d.	an organization of Arab nations and Israel

When the middle east countries cut oil exports to America, what effect did it have on the economy?

a.	gasoline prices went higher	d.	all of these happened
b.	there was a shortage of gasoline and oil	e.	none of these happened
c.	home heating oil prices went higher

Why did the Arab Oil cartel cut oil supplies to the U.S.?

a.	The U.S. tried to invade Iraq	c.	The Arab nations were communist and wanted to defeat capitalist America
b.	the U.S. supported Israel in the Yom Kippur war	d.	none of these

NIXON BATTLES STAGFLATION

President Nixon took several steps to combat stagflation, but none met with much success . To reverse deficit spending, Nixon attempted to raise taxes and cut the budget . Congress, however, refused to go along with this plan. In another effort to slow inflation, Nixon tried to reduce the amount of money in circulation by urging that interest rates be raised . This measure did little except drive the country into a mild recession, or an overall slowdown of the economy.

In August of 1971, the president turned to price and wage controls to stop inflation. He froze workers' wages as well as businesses' prices and fees for 90 days. Inflation eased for a short time, but the recession continued.

10.

How did Nixon attempt to battle staglation

a.	raise taxes	d.	all of these
b.	cut government spending	e.	none of these
c.	raise interest rates

11.

What did Nixon do to control inflation?

a.	Nixon took a “hands off” policy toward the economy in 1971	d.	Nixon told businesses not to raise wages but allowed them to raise prices.
b.	Nixon forced businesses to hire more workers	e.	none of these
c.	Nixon ordered companies not to raise wages for workers and not to raise prices

Nixon's Foreign Policy Triumphs

Richard Nixon admittedly preferred world affairs to domestic policy. "I've always thought this country could run itself domestically without a president," he had said in 1968 . Throughout his presidency, Nixon's top priority was gaining an honorable peace in Vietnam . However, he also made significant advances in America's relationships with China and the Soviet Union.

12.

Domestic policies are policies that refer to things happening inside the United States. Foreign affairs refers to events that are happening outside of the United States, such as relationships with foreign countries. Which type of policies did President Nixon prefer to work with?

a.	foreign affairs	c.	the economy
b.	domestic policies	d.	civil rights

KISSINGER AND REALPOLITIK The architect of Nixon's foreign policy was his adviser for national security affairs, Henry Kissinger. Kissinger, who would later become Nixon's secretary of state, promoted a philosophy known as realpolitik, from a German term meaning "realistic politics ." In terms of foreign policy, realpolitik meant dealing with other nations in a practical and flexible manner, rather than by following a rigid policy . Kissinger believed in evaluating a nation's power, not its philosophy or beliefs. If a country was weak, Kissinger argued, it was often more practical to ignore that country, even if it was Communist.
On the other hand, Kissinger's philosophy called for the United States to fully confront the powerful nations of the globe . In the world of realpolitik, however, confrontation meant negotiation as well as military engagement. Realpolitik marked a departure from the policy of containment, which refused to recognize the world's major Communist countries. Kissinger urged the United States to recognize and deal directly with these nations. It was impractical, for example, to deny the existence of mainland China, which contained at least one-fifth of the world's population . It also was impractical not to ease relations with the Soviet Union, with its massive stockpile of nuclear weapons. Nixon shared Kissinger's belief in realpolitik, and together the two men adopted a more flexible approach in dealing with Communist nations . They called their policy detente-a policy aimed at easing Cold War tensions . One of the most startling applications of detente came in early 1972 when President Nixon-who had risen in politics as a strong anti-Communist-visited Communist China.

13.

Nixon and Kissinger believed that the U.S. needed to deal with all powerful countries in a practical way, even if they were dictatorships. What was this philosophy called?

a.	human rights	c.	capitalism
b.	socialism	d.	realpolitik

14.

Nixon was an anti-communist but because he believed in realpolitik he was able to visit and negotiate with

a.	Communist China	c.	both China and the Soviets
b.	the Soviet Union	d.	neither China nor the Soviets

15.

Nixons policy for easing the tensions between the United States, Communist China and the Soviet Union through negotiation was called

a.	detente	c.	the Marshall Plan
b.	the Truman Doctrine	d.	the capitulation

16.

From what we have learned about Nixon and Kissinger, we can assume that they were _____ politicians.

a.	ideological	c.	rigid
b.	extremist	d.	practical

NIXON VISITS CHINA

Since the takeover of mainland China by the Communists in 1949, the United States had not formally recognized the Chinese Communist government . In late 1971, Nixon reversed that policy. In a 90- second television speech, the president announced that he would visit China "to seek the normalization of relations between the two countries and to exchange views on questions of concern to both sides." By going to China, Nixon was trying, in part, to take advantage of the decade-long rift between China and the Soviet Union. China had long criticized the Soviet Union as being too "soft" in its policies against the West. The two Communist superpowers officially broke ties in 1960. Nixon had thought about exploiting the fractured relationship for several years. "We want to have the Chinese with us when we sit down and negotiate with the Russians," he told a reporter in 1968. Nixon's visit to Beijing in February of 1972 scored high marks from the American public .U.S. television crews flooded American living rooms with news reports and film clips of Nixon at the Great Wall of China, at the Imperial Palace, and even toasting top Communist leaders at state dinners. Observers noted that an important reason for the trip's popularity back home was Nixon's strong anti- Communist background . It

Nixon and Mao

seemed that Nixon, and no one else, could convince the American people that the time was right to negotiate with the Communists Besides the trip's enormous symbolic value, it also resulted in important agreements between the United States and China. The two nations agreed that neither would try to dominate the Pacific and that both would cooperate in settling disputes peacefully. The two nations also agreed to participate in scientific and cultural exchanges as well as to eventually reunite Taiwan with the mainland .

17.

There is a phrase, often used in political discussions, that says, “Only Nixon could go to China.” What does that phrase mean?

a.	The American people might not trust a liberal politician to go to China because liberals might not stand up to the communists	c.	means neither of these
b.	The American people trusted Nixon to negotiate with Communist China because he was so anti-communist	d.	means both of these

18.

What did the U.S. and China agree to because of Nixon’s trip to China?

a.	cooperate in settling disputes peacefully	d.	neither would try to dominate the Pacific
b.	eventually reunite Taiwan with the mainland China	e.	all of these
c.	scientific and cultural exchanges

19.

Communist China was a sworn enemy of the United States for many years. Why did Nixon go to China?

a.	he wanted to drive a wedge between the Soviet Union and China	c.	he was an ideological politician
b.	he was afraid of the technology of China	d.	he was plotting to attack North Korea and wanted China’s help

20.

When did the communists take over mainland China?

a.	1949	c.	1960
b.	1952	d.	the communists did not take over mainland china, they took over Taiwan

21.

The majority of American people _______ Nixon’s trip to China

a.	opposed	c.	supported
b.	did not care about	d.	protested

NIXON TRAVELS TO MOSCOW

In May of 1972, three months after visiting Beijing, President Nixon headed to Moscow-the first U.S . president ever to visit the Soviet Union. By the time the president arrived for a summit meeting with Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev, relations with the Soviet Union had already warmed. In 1971, the United States and the Soviet Union had crafted an agreement about Berlin . The Soviets promised to guarantee Western nations free access to West Berlin and to respect the city's independence . In return, the Western allies agreed to officially recognize East Germany.

Like his visit to China, Nixon's trip to the Soviet Union received wide acclaim. After a series of meetings called the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), Nixon and Brezhnev signed the SALT I Treaty. This five-year agree ment limited the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched missiles to 1972 levels .

The foreign policy triumphs with China and the Soviet Union, which came just months before the 1972 presidential election, helped Nixon win a second term in the White House. The administration's announcement October of 1972, that peace was imminent in Vietnam also played a significant role in Nixon's reelection.

However, peace in Vietnam proved elusive, and the Nixon administration grappled with the war for nearly six more months before finally ending America's involvement in Vietnam. By that time, another issue was about to dominate the Nixon administration- one that eventually led to the downfall of the president.

22.

What was the First Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty about?

a.	open access to Berlin in East Germany	c.	opening trade with the Soviets
b.	freeing Poland	d.	limiting nuclear missiles

23.

We can safely assume that Nixon’s trips to China and the Soviet Union

a.	was opposed by most people in the world	c.	made world war more likely
b.	promoted peace in the world	d.	made the U.S. weaker

24.

After Nixon visited Communist China and the Soviet Union, North Vietnam quickly agreed to peace in Vietnam

true

false

25.

The trips to the Soviet Union and China _____ Nixon in the 1972 presidential election.

a.	had no effect on	c.	helped
b.	hurt