The Late World and Modern

Politics
Chapter 12
 Standard 25

United States History

 Standard 25
• You will describe changes in national politics since 1968.
a. Describe President Nixon’s opening of China, his resignation due to the Watergate
scandal, changing attitudes towards government, and the Presidency of Gerald Ford.
b. Explain the impact of the Supreme Court decisions on ideas about civil liberties and civil
rights; include such decisions as Roe v. Wade (1973), and the Bakke decision on
affirmative action.
c. Explain the Carter administration’s efforts in the Middle East; include the Camp David
Accords, his response to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the Iranian hostage crisis.
d. Describe domestic and international events of Ronald Reagan’s presidency; include
Reaganomics, the Iran-contra scandal, and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
e. Explain the relationship between Congress and President Bill Clinton; include the North
American Free Trade Agreement and his impeachment and acquittal.
f. Analyze the 2000 presidential election and its outcome, emphasizing the role of the
electoral college.
g. Analyze the response of President George W. Bush to the attacks of September 11,
2001, on the United States, the war against terrorism, and the subsequent American
interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
 Nixon Opens China
• Nixon’s visit to China in 1972 was a major
success
• He visited to seek scientific, cultural, and trade
agreements
• He was also taking advantage of a 10 year
stand off between China and the USSR
• He was trying to get China on the U.S. side in
case of a conflict with USSR
 Watergate Scandal
• A scandal that occurred during Richard Nixon’s 2nd term in office
• The scandal centered on an attempt to cover up a burglary of the
offices of the Democratic Party in the Watergate office complex in
Washington, D.C.
• The crime was committed by Nixon’s reelection team in 1972
• Nixon and other top government officials attempted to cover-up
the crime but were not successful
• Eventually Vice-President Spiro Agnew and President Nixon
resigned from office rather than face an impeachment trial
• The scandal left Americans dismayed by Nixon’s actions and cynical
about politics in general
• It also led to changes in campaign financing and to laws requiring
high-level government officials to disclose their finances
Richard Nixon
Watergate Complex
Woodward and Bernstein
Deep Throat
 Gerald Ford
• Nixon was succeeded by Gerald Ford in 1974
• Ford’s reputation was damaged when he pardoned
Nixon
• A major bright spot for Ford was ending the Vietnam
War by following a path established by Nixon
• Domestically, Ford failed to stop growing inflation
and unemployment
• America experienced its worst economic recession
since the Great Depression under Ford
Gerald Ford
 Roe v. Wade (1973)
• Addressed the right of women to choose
whether to have an abortion under certain
circumstances
• By expanding the constitutional right of
privacy to include abortion, the Supreme
Court extended civil liberty protections
Norma McCorvey aka Jane Roe
 Jimmy Carter
• Elected president in
1976
• His presidency was
dominated by
international issues
 EOCT 1 Review
1. C 10. B
2. C 11. C
3. C 12. C
4. A 13. B
5. A 14. A
6. B 15. C
7. B 16. A
8. A 17. B
9. D 18. B
Regents of University of California v. Bakke
(1978)
• The Supreme Court ruled race can be used
when considering college applicants but NOT
racial quotas
• The Court barred the use quota systems in
college admissions
• It expanded American civil rights by giving
constitutional protection to affirmative action
programs that give equal access to minorities
 Camp David Accords
• He negotiated a peace in the Middle East
between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin with
the Camp David Accords in 1978
• Camp David Accords was the first time there
had been signed peace between Middle East
nations
 Iranian Hostage Crisis
• In 1978, the Iranian Revolution replaced a shah (king)
friendly to America with a Muslim religious leader
unfriendly to America
• When Carter let the shah enter the U.S. for medical
treatment, angry Iranian Revolutionaries invaded the
U.S. embassy in Iran and took 52 Americans hostage
• The Iranian Hostage Crisis lasted 444 days, until the
captives were released after the election of Ronald
Reagan as president
• It nurtured anti-Americanism among Muslims around
the world
 Ronald Reagan
• Elected president in
1980 & 1984
• Reagan was a
conservative who
wanted to decrease the
size and role of the
federal government
 Reaganomics
• Nickname given to Reagan’s economic policies
• It included budget cuts, tax cuts, and
increased defense spending
• His policies hurt lower-income Americans by
cutting social welfare budgets
• Reaganomics ultimately led to a severe
recession
 Iran-Contra Scandal
• Reagan’s biggest international policy failure
• Administration officials sold weapons to Iran and
then used those profits to help fund a rebellion in
Nicaragua fought by rebels known as Contras
• Details of the scandal are still largely unknown to the
public
Collapse of the Soviet Union
• Reagan’s biggest success in international policy
• Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet’s last leader, set up
policies allowing freedom of speech, freedom of the
press, and other reforms
• This put the Soviets on a path to democratic
government
• These reforms got out of Gorbachev’s control and led
to the break up of the 15 states that were the Soviet
Union
• Five of those states now comprise Russia and the
other 10 are independent countries
Mikhail Gorbachev
 EOCT Review #3
1. B (16) 11. C (15)
2. B (15) 12. D (19)
3. D (16) 13. C (13)
4. A (18) 14. B (19)
5. A (12) 15. A (16)
6. A (19) 16. C (12)
7. A (17) 17. C (18)
8. A (14) 18. C (12)
9. C (14)
10. A (15)
 EOCT Review #4
1. D (21) 10.A (22)
2. C (24) 11.B (23)
3. B (21) 12.D (25)
4. C (25) 13.A (25)
5. C (22) 14.B (24)
6. A (20) 15.C (20)
7. D (23) 16.B (22)
8. D (25) 17.B (25)
9. C (20) 18.C (21)
 Bill Clinton
• Elected president in
1992 and 1996
 NAFTA
• North American Free Trade Agreement
• NAFTA brought Mexico into a free-trade (tariff-free)
zone already existing between the U.S. and Canada
• Opponents believed NAFTA would send U.S. jobs to
Mexico and harm the environment
• Supporters believed it would open up the growing
Mexican market to U.S. companies
• These pros and cons are still argued today
 Impeachment
• Clinton became the 2nd U.S. President to be
impeached (Andrew Johnson)
• The House charged him with perjury and obstruction
of justice
• The charges were based on accusations of improper
use of money from a real estate deal and allegations
he lied under oath about an improper relationship
with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern
• Clinton denied the Charges and the Senate acquitted
him
• Clinton remained in office to finish his 2nd term
Monica Lewinsky
 2000 Presidential Election
• Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore,
was running against the
Republican governor of Texas,
George W. Bush
• Ralph Nader was running as a
third party candidate too
• Polls predicted a close race and it
turned out to one of the closest
in American history
• Gore won the popular vote by
over 500,000 (out of over 105
million votes total)
• Bush won the electoral college
vote by 271 – 266 for Gore
• Bush became the 43rd president
of the U.S.

Al Gore
 George W. Bush
• Elected president in
2000 and 2004
 9/11
• The terrorist organization known as al-Qaeda attacked the
U.S. on September 11, 2001
• With Congressional and public support, Bush signed a law one
month later allowing the government to hold foreign citizens
suspected of being terrorists for up to seven days without
charging them with a crime
• This law also increased the ability of law enforcement
agencies to search private communications and personal
records
• Bush created the Department of Homeland Security to
protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks and to respond to
natural disasters
 Operation Enduring Freedom
• Code name for the invasion of
Afghanistan by the U.S. military
and allied forces
• Authorized by Bush in October
2001
• Afghanistan’s Taliban government
was harboring al-Qaeda
leadership
• The Allied forces quickly defeated
the Taliban government and
destroyed the al-Qaeda network
in Afghanistan
• al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
escaped however
Osama bin Laden
 Operation Iraqi Freedom

• In March 2003, American and British troops invaded Iraq in

Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Iraq’s president, Sadam Hussein, went into hiding while U.S.
forces searched for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
• Bush was fearful that Hussein had WMD and would supply
terrorist groups for use against the U.S.
• No WMD were found when Hussein was captured
• Hussein was convicted of crimes against humanity and
executed in 2006
Saddam Hussein in Power
Saddam Hussein Captured
Saddam Hussein Punished