[21.b.2] West to Cambodia
Remnants of the Vietcong retreated to Cambodia after their defeat in the 1968 Tet Offensive. US troops invaded Cambodia to knock out these VC sanctuaries. The offensive west into Cambodia, the US hoped, would secure the government of South Vietnam. A stable South Vietnam safe from communist incursions would enable full implementation of the Nixon Doctrine.
[21.b.4] Forcing North Vietnam to Negotiate
To force China and North Vietnam to the bargaining table, Nixon ordered the 1972 Christmas Bombings of Hanoi. The “madman” image worked.
[21.b.6] Signs of Detente 1972
Nixon and Kissinger sought detenté with the major communist powers. President Nixon cooled down the arms race by signing the SALT I Agreement that capped the amount of nuclear warheads the US and USSR would build and deploy in certain categories.
Nixon and Kissinger also wanted better relations with China. If the US would get out of Vietnam, it was reasoned, maybe Peking would reduce its military support of Hanoi. To normalize relations (The US had not recognized China since the communist revolution of 1949), Nixon visited China in 1972 and spoke to Mao Zedong. Vietnam fell anyway. In 1976 US extended full diplomatic recognition of the Peoples Republic of China.
[21.c.2] Nixon attempts to fix economy with executive action
To check inflation Nixon imposed wage and price controls and took the United States off the gold standard. In response to critics Nixon said, “I am now a Keynesian in economics.”
[21.g.1] Oil Crisis
oil and OPEC
[21.h.1] Blowback
President Carter’s foreign policy produced mixed results. To start, dictators like Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines continued to rule. Also, Carter’s human rights rhetoric accidentally inspired anti-American movements in Nicaragua and Iran.
[21.i.1] Rights Revolution
Chief Justice Earl Warren earned the reputation of leading the Supreme Court to invent liberties not found in the Constitution. In the “Rights Revolution,” suspected criminals were the chief beneficiaries. Examples are the 1966 Miranda warning and public defender provided at government expense.
[21.i.3] Indian Activism
The American Indian Movement (AIM) drew attention to broken treaties Tactics included a 1969 sit-in at Alcatraz, occupation of BIA offices in 1970, and in 1973 a violent clash at Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota. The latter incident started in protest of a corrupt tribal leader but activists also used the protest to also indict the Federal government for failure to completely honor its treaties with several Native-American tribes.
[21.i.4] High Karate Indian Activism
The film Billy Jack (1971) lionized the efforts of do-gooders acting on behalf of Native-Americans. Tom McLaughlin, who played Bill Jack, used karate learned in the Green Berets to defend Indians at a boarding school from small town rednecks. “One Tin Soldier” was the theme song of this hit film.
atino Activism
Examples showing Mexican-American activist and political success in the United States.
1. La Raza / Unida
2. Henry Cisneros--President Clinton's Housing and Urban Secretary
3. Linda Chavez--nominated by George Bush (43) as Labor Secretary (she declined)
4. MALDEF