OPEC
"Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries." -this oil cartel doubled their petroleum charges in 1979, helping American inflation rise well above 13%.
Iranian Hostage Crisis
called Carter's and America's bed of nails; captured Americans languished in cruel captivity; American nightly television news cast showed scenes of Iranians burning the American flag; Carter tried to apply economic sanctions and the pressure of world opinion against Iranians. Carter then called for rescue mission; rescue attempt failed; The stalemate with Iran went on through the rest of Carter's term hurting his bid for reelection.
SALT
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks- A pact that served to freeze the numbers of long-range nuclear missiles for five years in 1972. This treaty between Nixon (U.S.), China, and the Soviet Union served to slow the arms race that had been going on between these nations since World War II.
MIRVS (Multiple Independently-targeted Reentry Vehicles)
MIRVS were designed to overcome any defense by "saturating" it with large numbers of nuclear warheads, similar to a rocket.
The Watergate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal was a problem in Washington during the presidency of Richard Nixon. The members of an association working to have Nixon re-elected, CREEP, were involved in a burglary, and it was then linked to Nixon. The CREEP group had also gotten lots of money from unidentifiable places. Suspicion set in and Nixon was accused of getting illegal help in being re-elected. Nixon tried to use government to cover-up his involvement. Impeachment proceedings were started but Nixon resigned from his office in August of 1974.
CREEP
Richard Nixon's committee for re-electing the president. Found to have been engaged in a "dirty tricks" campaign against the democrats in 1972. They raised tens of millions of dollars in campaign funds using unethical means. They were involved in the infamous Watergate cover-up.
War Powers Act
Passed during the Vietnam War, Congress passed this act to restrict Presidential powers dealing with war. It was passed over Nixon's veto, and required the President to report to Congress within 48 hours after committing troops to a foreign conflict or enlarging units in a foreign country.
Nixon Doctrine
During the Vietnam War, the Nixon Doctrine was created. It stated that the United States would honor its existing defense commitments, but in the future other countries would have to fight their own wars without support of American troops.
My Lai massacre
In 1968 American troops massacred women and children in the Vietnamese village of My Lai; this deepened American people's disgust for the Vietnam War.
Kent State Killings
In April of 1970, police fired into an angry crowd of college students at Kent State University. Four students were killed and many others were wounded. The students were protesting against Nixon ordering US troops to seize Cambodia without consulting Congress.
Twenty-Sixth Amendment
This lowered the voting age to 18 years old. It was a result of the Vietnam war, in which young men felt that if they could fight, they should be able to vote.
Pentagon Papers
Papers that "leaked" to "The New York Times" about the blunders and deceptions of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations in Vietnam, especially the provoking of the 1964 N. Vietnamese attack in the Gulf of Tonkin. This is linked to Watergate.
Aytollah Khomeini
He was a Muslim holy man who sparked opposition toward the United States in the Middle East.
D�tente
A period of relaxed tension between the communist powers of the Soviet Union and China and the U.S. set up by Richard Nixon that established better relations between these countries to ease the Cold War. During this time the Anti-ballistic Missile treaty as well as the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks were set up to prevent nuclear war
Executive Privilege
This policy came into effect during the Nixon administration when members of the executive branch were being questioned by authorities. The policy stated that Congress could not question any of the past or present employees about any topic without the president's approval.
Vietnamization
President Nixon's policy to withdraw the 540,000 U.S. troops in South Vietnam over an extended period. It would bring and end to the war in 1973.
Shah of Iran
Pahlavi became Shah in 1941, when the allies of WWII forced the abdication of his father. Communist and Nationalist movements created unrest and tension during the early years of his reign. The Shah distributed royal lands to poverty-stricken farmers. He is known for both social and economic reform in Iran. With the abundance of oil-drinking machines, Pahlavi became a powerful world leader, and the main military power in the Middle East. Muslims and the Ayatollah forced the Shah and his family into exile in 1979, where he died in Cairo on July 27, 1980.
Warren Burger
Burger was the Supreme Court justice during the Nixon administration. He was chosen by Nixon because of his strict interpretation of the Constitution. He presided over the extremely controversial case of abortion in Roe vs. Wade.
George McGovern
A Senator from South Dakota who ran for President in 1972 on the Democrat ticket. His promise was to pull the remaining American troops out of Vietnam in ninety days which earned him the support of the Anti-war party, and the working-class supported him, also. He lost however to Nixon.
Sam Ervin
Ervin was a North Carolinian who headed a Senate committee that investigated the Watergate incident. The hearings, which were held in 1973-1974, were widely televised in order to inform the nation of the White House dealings in the crime. Ervin subsequently became rather well-known across the country for his involvement.
John Dean
He testified against Nixon as well as other cabinet members in the Watergate hearings. His testimony helped led to the removal of several White House officials and the resignation of Nixon. Before his testimony he had been a White House lawyer.
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford was the first president to be solely elected by a vote from Congress. He entered the office in August of 1974 when Nixon resigned. He pardoned Nixon of all crimes that he may have committed. The Vietnam War ended in 1975, in which Ford evacuated nearly 500,000 Americans and South Vietnamese from Vietnam. He closed the war.
Jimmy Carter
He was Georgia's governor for four years before he was elected the dark-horse president of 1976, promising to never lie to the people. He was politically successful at first, but was accused of being isolated with Georgians after a while. His greatest foreign policy achievement was when he peacefully resolved Egypt and Israel relations in 1978.
Spiro Agnew
Governor of Maryland who ran as Vice President with Richard Nixon in 1968. He was known for his tough stands against dissidents and black militants. He strongly supported Nixon's desire to stay in Vietnam. He was forced to resign in October 1973 after having been accused of accepting bribes or "kickbacks" from Maryland contractors while governor and Vice President.
Daniel Ellsberg
He was a former employee of the Defense Department and gave the New York Times the "Pentagon Paper" which was information on how the US government got involved in Vietnam. Very embarrassing to the government.
Henry Kissinger
Nixon's national security adviser. He and his family escaped Hitler's anti-Jewish persecutions. Former Harvard professor. In 1969, he had begun meeting secretly on Nixon's behalf with North Vietnamese officials in Paris to negotiate an end to the war in Vietnam. He was also preparing the president's path to Beijing and Moscow.
Earl Warren
He was the Chief Justice who discussed taboo issues like black civil rights. He made the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which said that segregation in public schools was not equal. He conducted the investigation into Kennedy's assassination. Accepted the ruling of the lone gunman.
