Vietnam, the 1960s, and Nixons Presidency

Vietnam: Americas Longest War - roots in Truman Doctrines goal of containing communism - after defeat of French by commie forces of Ho Chi Minh in 1954, emerged as major zone of cold war contention - JFK thinks it is a barrier to the spread of communism throughout region LBJ sounded same note at beginning of his presidency o Told public that NV intent on taking SV, defeating the US and extending communism had little choice but to fight Johnsons War - JFK greatly increased the number of military advisors in SV, but LBJ decided to engage the US in a major war there - LBJ determined to avoid the fate of Truman who had bogged down politically after losing China, stalemate in Korea did utmost to help SV win - Winter/spring 1964 conditions grew worse in SV o LBJ and advisors laid groundwork for sustained bombing campaign against NV o Early August found pretext to set plan in motion 2 US destroyers in Gulf of Tonkin report attacks by NV patrol boats LBJ retaliates w/ airstrikes against bases in NV - appealed to Congress to pass resolution giving him authority to take all necessary measures to defend US forces and protect SE Asia - Tonkin Gulf Resolution unanimous through House, only 2 against in Senate served as the functional equivalent of a declaration of war - LBJ campaigned with call for restraint in Vietnam assured voters would not send boys 9k miles away to do what Asian boys ought to be doing o Helped him win landslide against R candidate Barry Goldwater - limited bombing raids against NV failed to slow Vietcong across border into SV govt in Saigon also seemed near collapse Deeper into the Quagmire - Feb 1965 LJB finds rationale to justify massive bombing o Vietcong fired at the barracks of US Marine base at Pleiku, killing 8 o Emergency meeting of NSC to announce that the time had passed for holding back ordered immediate reprisal bombing o Fed 13 Operation Rolling Thunder campaign of gradually intensifying air attacks o Hoped this would make the use of ground forces unnecessary but bombing had lilttle impact now had to use them o Belief that escalation of US force would drive enemy to defeat w/ minimal loss on both sides didnt work o South Vietnamese becoming spectators in own war as fighting becomes Americanized

once Rolling Thunder began, LBJ found it difficult to speak frankly w/ public about policies o 6 weeks later 50k in Vietnam; by Nov 65 over 165k; up to 431k by mid 66 - strategy pursued by LBJ and implemented by Gen William Westmoreland war of attrition based on premise that bombing would eventually exhaust NVs resources; meanwhile ground forces would defeat the Vitecong in S, forcing soldiers to defect - in practice, US wreaked havoc in SV tore apart society, ecological devastation o search and destroy missions to eradicate the support network of the Vietcong turns 4 million people into refugees o by 68, dropped more than 3 million tons of bombs; eventually used 3x the tonnage dropped by the Allies during WWII o also conducted most destructive chemical warfare in history Agent Orange 65-71 17.6 million gallons sprayed over 3.6 million acres of SV - LBJ fearing losing momentum on domestic reform, antipoverty programs, wanted to keep attention away from foreign policy held to a course of intentional deceit The Credibility Gap - LBJ popularity surged at time of Tonkin Gulf Resolution waned rapidly afterward - War dragged on; every night news reported latest body count scenes of suffering and devastation - During early 60s, news had either ignored Vietnam or had been patriotically supportive of US policy; but after report on a ground operation against the SV village of Cam Ne by Morley Safer for CBS in August 65, tenor of news reporting changed o Showed pictures of Marines setting fire to homes of civilians more critical commentary soon followed; print media also became more skeptical of LBJs policies - most vocal congressional critic of policy was Dem Sen J. William Fulbright o strong supporter of cold war o decided that war in Vietnam was unwinnable and destructive to domestic reform o in book Arrogance of Power, proposed negotiated withdrawal from neutralized SE Asia o stood nearly alone at first but gained support - impact of war at home: LBJ convinced Congress to levy 10% surcharge on individual and corporate taxes; later adjustments tapped the SS fund; inflation raced up, fed by spending on the war A Generation in Conflict - as war escalated, people demanded end to US involvement eventually antiwar movement won over majority - b/t 65-71, antiwar movement had distinctly generational character w/ coming of age baby boomers at the forefront - sixties generation largest generation in history; also best educated of adults b/t 18-21 in college

combined protest against war w/ broader critique of society through music, dress, hairstyle, expressed deep estrangement from values and aspirations of parents generation - young people believed they heralded a culture of life against the culture of death symbolized by the war The Times They Are A-Changin - first sign of new kind of protest was free speech movement at Univ of CA at Berkeley in 64 o began to picket Bay Area stores that practiced discrimination in hiring o univ moved to prevent them from setting up info booths on campus o protest broken up by police; univ pres Clark Kerr met w/ students agreed to not press charges and was set to grant them small space on campus for political activity reversed himself under pressure and announced that planned to press new charges against free speech movements leaders o movements social critique resonated among college students and across country they began to demand a say in the structuring of their education new curriculum, grading policies o most schools relinquished in loco parentis policies and allowed students to live off campus and set own hours - In San Francisco new form of community a counterculture o 1967 Summer of Love population of Haight-Ashbury swelled by 75k o masses of long haired young men and women in bell bottoms and tie dyed shirts congregated in the Haight to listen to music, take drugs o Time magazine announced appearance of new hippie enclavesin every major US city.. - generational rebellion took many forms including a revolution in sexual behavior more premarital sex, pill, living together outside marriage, communes all enrage parents - Psychedelic and hallucinogenic drugs play large part in counterculture o Harvard prof Timothy Leary turn on, tune in, drop out o Advocated use of LSD (not criminalized until 1968) - Music plays large part in defining counterculture o Emergence of rock and roll in 50s; Beatles in 64; Folk music gains popularity o Woodstock, NY, August 1969 400k for 3 day concert Woodstock Nation did not actually represent the sentiments of most young Americans, but did speak for large minority seeking a peaceful alternative to intensifying climate of war - Charles Reich, The Greening of America 1970 defined counterculture as generations attempt to create a form of community in which love, respect, and a mutual search for wisdom replace the competition and separation of the past From Campus Protest to Mass Mobilization - 3 weeks after announcement of Operation Rolling Thunder, peace activitst called for day long boycott of classes so students and faculty could meet/discuss war - students also began protest against war related research on campuses

o expansion of higher ed depended much on federally funded programs on counterinsurgency tactics and new chemical weapons protesters demanded end to this, no response from univ admin so turned to civil disobedience o 1967 Dow Chemical Co sent job recruiters to Univ of Wisconsin students stage sit-in and ordered to disperse call in city police who broke glass doors, dragged students through glass and clubbed those that refused to move campus erupted; students boycotted classes for week during next 3 years, hundreds of similar strikes take place throughout country - by late 60s, peace movement spread beyond campus marches, prayer vigils, art fairs, anti war rallies - Vietnam Veterans Against the War began to organize returning soldiers cast off medals and ribbons won in battle - Increasing size of antiwar demonstrations provoked conservatives and prowar democrats to take stronger stand in support of war o VFW Loyalty Day parade in NYC only 7500 participate but event signaled a hardening of opposition to the peace movement o Call for arrest of antiwar leaders on charges of treason - demonstrators concluded that mass mobilizations had little impact on US policy - Congressional act of 1965 provided for 5 year jail term and $10k fine for destroying draft card many do it anyway o Protestors even doused clothes w/ gas and set fire to themselves like the Buddhist monks o 40k bombing incidents or threats took place from 69-70; over $21 million in property damage, 43 killed Teenage Soldiers - Vietnam war era witnessed not only a generation gap but a fissure within the generation of young adults - Avg age in WWII 26; Vietnam 19 - Until late 1969, Selective Service System gave deferments to college students and to workers in selected occupations o Also recruited hard in poor communities, advertising armed forces as provider of vocational training and social mobility o African American and Latinos signed up in large numbers and also bore the brunt of combat o College grads 12% of all soldiers and 9% of those killed o High school dropouts most likely to serve in Vietnam and most likely to die - as war dragged on, some soldiers began to show their frustration o by 71, many putting peace symbols on helmets, staging events like Armed Farces Day o some companies refuse to carry out assignments or enter battle o took revenge by fragging commanding officers with grenades - nature of war fed feelings of disaffection in the armed forces

o troops entering SV expected warm welcome from the people they were sent to defend, but hostile Vietnamese civilians viewed the Americans as invaders - approx 8.6 million served o many returned to civilian life quietly and w/out fanfare, denied glory earned by vets of previous wars o reentered society divided over cause for which they had risked lives o many suffered physical injuries, 40% w/ drug dependencies or PTSD o finding/keeping jobs proved to be hard in shrinking economy of 70s o many vets felt betrayed by own generation and govt Wars on Poverty - civil rights movement spurred new awareness of and concern with poverty - as poor African Americans in N and S got involved in political protests, they added the issues of unemployment, low wages, and slum housing to the demands for desegregation and voting rights - Michael Harringtons The Other America 1962 1/5 of nation suffered from bad housing, malnutrition, poor med care o Other America is populated by failures, by those driven from the land and bewildered by the city, by old people suddenly confronted with the torments of loneliness and poverty, and by minorities facing a wall of prejudice o Arguments motivated LBJ to expand the antipoverty program inherited from JFK The Great Society - State of the Union in 1964 Great Society - Used political momentum of civil rights movement; D majorities in both houses to push through most ambitious reform program since New Deal - 1964 Economic Opportunity Act launched War on Poverty o estab office of Economic Opportunity that coordinated network of fed programs dsigned to increase opportunities in employment and education mixed results o Job Corps vocational training learned factory skills that were obsolete, high dropout rate o Neighborhood Youth Corps low paying jobs for inner city o Volunteers in Service to America domestic Peace Corps some success o Community Action Program most innovative and controversial program invited local communities to estab community action agencies empower the poor by giving them a direct say in mobilizing resources to attack poverty Most successful and popular offshoots of CAP Legal Services Program help poor in legal battles with housing authorities, welfare depts. Police, slumlords Head Start and Follow Through improve long range educational achievement Comprehensive Community Health Centers basic med services to poor

 Upward Bound low income teens skills for college root cause of poverty lay in unequal income distribution LBJ admin never committed to the redistribution of income or wealth o of social welfare payments went to nonpoor largest sums to Medicare and to expanded SS payments and unemployment major surge in fed spending on poor from explosive growth of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) - War on Poverty, like the Great Society, became a forgotten dream - Having made the largest commitment to federal spending on social welfare since the New Deal, LBJ could take pride in the gains scored in the War on Poverty - At same time though, had raised expectations higher than could be reached; even in short run, could not sustain welfare programs and fight lengthy and expensive war at same time Crisis in the Cities - poorest communities in Appalachain Mts and in Deep South - since WWII, urban areas suffered from steady process of decay - White Flight exodus of whites to the suburbs; reduced tax base for public services of all kinds - postwar boom took place in suburbs, housing stock in cities diminished and deteriorated - FHA encouraged trend by insuring loans to support the building of new homes in suburbs - Slumlords took advantage of situation - Urban employment opportunities declined w/ urban housing stock o Industries automated plants, scalilng back workforces; some relocate to suburbs that promised lower corporate taxes and nonunion labor - Vietnam war brought unemployment rate down to 4% o Black unemployment 2x that of white o New jobs concentrated in defense related industries in S and SW o N cities high paying manufacturing jobs decline while min wage service industries rose at fast rate - pollution becomes increasingly urban problem o industrial cities o smog from exhause; high lead levels - despite deteriorating conditions, millions continue to move to cities Urban Uprisings - deteriorating conditions brought urban pressures to boiling point in mid 60s - long, hot summers of 64-68 100 urban uprisings - unlike race riots of the 20s and 40s, when angry whites assaulted blacks, masses of African Americans now took revenge for the white domination of their communities and specifically for police abuse - 1964 Harlem, Rochester, Philly - First major uprising in August 1965 in Watts section of LA o Male unemployment rate about 30%; city lacked health care facilities; little public transportation and fewer than 1/5 owned cars -

Minor arrest sets off uprising and spread 50 miles 50k turned out; 20k National Guard sent in after 6 days, 34 dead, 900 injured, 4000 arrested LA police chief William H Parker blamed civil rights workers, mayor accused communists next summer San Fran, Milwaukee, Dayton, Cleveland July 13, 1967 Newark NJ o Severe housing shortage, highest black unemployment rate o Beating of black taxi driver by white cop provoked protest o 5 days of looting and burning of white owned buildings o 25 killed 1 week later Detriot Great Rebellion o became the scene of bloodiest uprising and costliest in terms of property damage o tanks, paratroopers brought in to quell o lasted week; 34 dead; 7000 arrested uprisings seemed to prompt badly needed reforms, but Congress ignored recommendations and warnings; costs of war left little fed money for antipoverty programs o o o o

1968 - bloodiest and most destructive fighting of war and resulted in hopeless stalemate - 2 of most revered political leaders assassinated The Tet Offensive - Jan 30, 1968 NV and Vietcong allies launched Tet Offensive (named for Vietnamese lunar new year holiday), stunning the US in SV - Veitcong pushed into major cities and capitals of the S as far as the courtyard of the US embassy in Saigon - US troops halt offensive 1600 dead, 8000 wounded (US); NV and Vietcong suffer over 40k deaths; civilian casualties in hundreds of thousands; 1 million SV became refugees - Tet Offensive shattered credibility of American officials who had repeatedly claimed the enemy to be virtually beaten; press coverage dismays public newscasters warn parents that scenes not suitable for kids - US chalked up major military victory during Tet but lost the war at home o 49% conclude entire operation was mistake and stalemate was hopeless o sectors of antiwar movement began to shift from resistance to open rebellion o Congress turns down request fro general increase in troops by Gen Westmoreland o LBJs popularity plummets to all time low; decided on march 31 would not seek Ds nomination like HST almost 30 years earlier, had lost his presidency in Asia King, the War, and the Assassination - 1968 civil rights leadership firmly in opposition to war - FBI harassing MLK tapped phones, spread rumors

MLK abandones customary caution in criticizing US policy in Vietnam Fall 1965 began to connect domestic unrest w/ war calling US govt the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today - 1968 chose Memphis, home of striking sanitation workers as place to inaugurate a Poor Peoples Campaign for peace and justice o delivered what would be his final speech message of hope o next evening, April 4, 1968, shot in head by James Earl Ray on balcony of his hotel o world mourned, but cheers from FBI; LBJ declined to attend funeral, sent VP o riots in more than 100 cities; by weeks end, 27k African Americans jailed The Democratic Campaign - events have direct impact on presidential campaign - Robert F. Kennedy emerged as candidate of choice strong record on civil rights and began to interpret the war as a mirror of injustice at home - D opponent Eugene McCarthy witty philosopher; had support from liberal Ds and white suburbanites, popular with students - RFK support of African Americans and Latinos o Won all but the Oregon primary o Appeared to be D party candidate as began CA primary June 4 o As final tabulation of victory came in just past idnight, was assassinated by Jordanian Sirhan Sirhan - VP Hubert Humphrey was now sole D with credentials to succeed LBJ o Supported Vietnam War, scorned peace activists as cowards and unAmerican The Whole World is Watching - D convention Chicago, Aug 21-26 demonstrated how deep the divisions w/in the US had become - Anti war activists demonstrate at delegates hotel and at convention center o Media focused on Yippies Youth International Party imaginary organization of politicized hippies led by jokester and counterculture guru Abbie Hoffman o Called for Festival of Life, nude-in on Lake Michigan beaches and release of greased pig (Pigasus), the Yippie candidate for pres o Mayor Daley refused parade permits, sent undercover cops into crowds to incite violence so that retaliation seemed necessary o Strategy boomeranged officers staged police riot assaulting demonstrators, passersby and TV crews - inside convention hall, debate over peace resolution underscored depth of division within party o Rep Wayne Hays of Ohio beards for brainspot for patriotism o Peace resolution failed, McCarthy delegates put on black armbands and sang We Shall Overcome o Tear gas used against demonstrators outside o H Humphrey praised Daley and LBJs conduct of war

o Sen Abraham Ribicoff, CT protested Gestapo tactics of police TV cameras on Daley saying You Jew son of a _____go home! o Crowd outside chants The whole world is watching! - antiwar movement gains steam throughout US and world The Politics of Identity - events of 1968 brought whole sectors of counterculture into political activism - baby boomers also sought to empower themselves in many smaller but vital movements o gay liberation, womens liberation, etc Black Power - Great Society programs failed to lessen poverty; black men die disproportionally in war, faith in old ways lapsed - Younger activists spurned tactics of civil disobedience of Kings generation for direct action and militant self defense - Stokely Carmichael helped turn SNCC to all black organization, began to advocate black power as means for African Americans to take control of own communities - Key tenets: self determination and self sufficiency - Conferences adopt separatist resolutions, including plan to partition US into black and white nations - Boldest expression was Black Panther Party for Self Defense o Founded Oakland, CA by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale o Armed self defense was strategy o Adopted paramilitary style black leather jackets, shoes, berets, firearms o Monitoring local police patrolling the pigs was major activity o Also ran breakfast programs, medical clinics, educational classes o 30 raids on Panther offices in 11 states b/t68-69; arrested, long term jail sentences destroyed organization - black power continued to grow in late 1960s - cultural nationalism became most enduring component of Black Power o students call for more scholarships and more classes on African American history o trend setters dress in African style dashikis and hairdos, parents gave children African names, famous Americans change names (Muhammad Ali) to reject slave names o Kwanzaa began to replace Christmas Sisterhood is Powerful - Betty Friedans Feminine Mystique swelled feelings of discontent among middle class white women - Sparked formation of National Organization for Women NOW in 1966 - Enforcement of laws banning sex discrimination, maternity leaves, funding for day care, Equal Rights Amendment, repeal laws that prohibited abortion and birth control - Attracted women who were active in civil rights and antiwar movements - Other small groups:

o Radical Women, Redstockings, Womens Liberation Union, Bread and Roses, Cell 16 - developed critique of patriarchy was prime cause of exploitation, racism, and war - most women in liberation movement less flamboyant most activism in consciousness raising groups to discuss relationship b/t public events and private lives - movement remained bastion of white middle class women did not unite women across race or class Gay Liberation - gay community gained visibility during WWII - during 60s movements encouraged many men and women to proclaim publicly their sexual identity Say it Loud, Gay is Proud - major event prompting to organize grew out of repeated police raids of gay bars in NY - Gay Liberation Front took stand against war and supported Black Panthers - Used street demonstrations and sit-ins - Changes in public opinion and policies followed - 1973 American Psychiatric Assoc, which since WWII had viewed homosexuality as a treatable mental illness reclassified it as a normal sexual orientation - decriminalization of acts begins The Chicano Rebellion - mid 60s; mainly high school and college students - adopted slang term Chicano in preference to Mexican American to express a militant ethnic nationalism demanded not only equality but cultural and political self determination - peaked in 65-69 students stage blowouts or strikes in East LA high schools to demand educational reform and curricular emphasis on Mexican American studies - 1968 LBJ signed the Bilingual Education Act which reversed state laws that prohibited the teaching of classes in any language but English - Brown Berets modeled on Black Panthers address issues like housing and employment - Activists soon discovered that economic powers remained out of community hands; ordinary Mexican Americans had less confidence in political process and many fell back into apathy after hopes of great sudden change Red Power - Civil Rights Act of 1968 restored the legitimacy of tribal laws on reservations - American Indian Movement organized for self defense to protect Indians from police harassment o Activities include direct challenge of Bureau of Indain Affairs guidance over tribal life o Most dramatic events in Nov 1972 occupied HQ of BIA for week; also took over Wounded Knee, South Dakota and hold position by force o Asked only that govt honor treaty rights; FBI invaded under shoot to kill orders, killed 2 - several tribes won in court or by legislation small parts of what had earlier been taken from them

Asian American Movement - inspired by Black Power sought to unite Asian Americans in struggle against racial oppression through consolidated power Asian American Political Alliance Chinese, Japanese, Filipino American activists - strong stand against Vietnam - campus strikes demand estab of ethnic studies programs b/t 68-73 major universities introduced Asian American studies The Nixon Presidency - sharp divisions due to LBJs policies in Vietnam paved way for election of Nixon - inherited unpopular war and nation riddled by internal discord - promised peace in Asia, restoration of order at home - in office, ordered unprecedented illegal govt action against private citizens while agreeing w/ Congress to enhance several welfare programs and improve environmental protection - widened/intensified war yet made moves toward dtente with China The Southern Strategy - 1968 built on voter hostility toward youthful protesters and counterculture - said he represented the silent majority people who worked, paid taxes, did not demonstrate, picket or protest loudly not haters - after signing Civil Rights Act of 1964 LBJ said I think we just delivered the South to the Repbulicans o R strategists moved quickly to make prediction come true o Also recognized importance of the Sunbelt where pops grew with rise of high tech industries and retirement communities powerful conservatism dominated region o RMN appealed directly to these voters by promising to appoint to fed courts judges who would undercut liberal interpretations of civil rights and be tough on crime; promised to roll back the Great Society - VP running mate Spiro T. Agnew attacked critics of war as an effete corps of impudent snobs - D nominee Humphrey chose Maine Sen Edmund Muskie - George Wallace 3rd party (Segregation Now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever! 1963) waged national campaign around conservative hate list that included school busing, antiwar demonstrations, and urban uprisings o Running mate Curtis LeMay use nukes to bomb the North Vietnamese back to the stone age - Nixon-Agnew barely win popular vote Nixons War - RMN promised peace but war raged for 4 more years - Much responsibility for prolonged conflict rested w/ Henry Kissinger dominating personality on the NSC insisted the US could not retain global leadership by appearing weak o Helped RMN centralize foreign policy making in White House; overpowered those in State Dpet who concluded that majority of US no longer supported war - in public, RMN followed policy of Vietnamization

o May 14, 1969 announced soon that SV will be able to take over some of the fighting o During next months ordered withdrawal of 60k US troops o Mulled over the option of a Knockout blow to NV - April 30, 1970 RMN most controversial decisions o W/out seeking congressional approval, added Cambodia to war zone o Authorized secret bombing raids in 69 and now ordered US troops to invade the tiny nation hoped to end NV infiltration into the South - outpouring of protest followed invation of Cambodia largest series of demonstrations and police-student confrontations in history o Kent State 28 National Guardsmen panic, shooting into unarmed crowd of 200; kill 4 wound 9 o Jackson State troopers enter dorm, began shooting wildly, kill 2 wound 12 o Demonstrations on 50 other campuses - Feb 1971 RMN directed the SV army to invade Laos and cut supply lines; suffered quick defeat - April 1972 ordered the mining of NV harbors and B-52 massive bombing missions in Cambodia and NV - Sent Kissinger to Paris for secret negotiations w/ delegates from NV; agree to cease fire specifying withdrawal of all US troops, return of US POWs o SVs pres refused to sign agreement - Christmas day 1972 RMN ordered one final wave of bomb attacks on NVs cities o NV offers to resume negotiations o Paris Peace Agreement beginning in March 1973, the withdrawal of US troops left outcome war a foregone conclusion o By Dec, only 50 US military personnel remained - April 1975 NV troops took over Saigon and communist led Democratic Republic of Vietnam united the small nation - War cost US 58k lives and $150 billion; failed to achieve stated war goal and lost important post in SE Asia - Policy of containment impossible to sustain The China Card - RMN cultivate relations w/ Peoples Republic of China rising world power more communist than the USSR to form an alliance against the USSR - Ping Pong diplomacy begins April 1971 when Chinese hosted team from US - Nixons flew to Beijing in Feb 1972 - Marked new era in East-West diplomacy successfully increased diplomatic pressure on the USSR but simultaneously weakened the Nationalist Chinese govt in Taiwan - RMN next went to Moscow to negotiate w/ Leonid Brezhnev who was anxious about US involvement in China and eager for economic assistance o RMN offers to sell $1 billion of grain to Soviets wins favor of US wheat farmers, relieved US trade deficits and crop surpluses o Afterward, Brezhnev became more cautious about supporting revolutions in 3rd world

o Also completed negotiations of Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty first success at strategic arms control since opening of cold war Domestic Policy - desired to restore order in society - supported new SS benefits and subsidized housing for poor - oversaw creation of Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Admin - accepted idea of deficit spending - took nation off gold standard dollars value would float on the world market rather than being tied to the value of gold - 90 day freeze on wages, rents, and prices designed to halt the inflation caused by massive war spending - lined up w/ conservatives on most civil rights issues, enlarged S Republican votes accepted school integration but rejected busing programs to implement racial balance - SC nominees far more conservative - July 21, 1969 Apollo 11 lands on moon Watergate and the Age of Dirty Tricks - as approached 72 campaign, tightened inner circle who assisted him in withholding information from public, discrediting critics and engaging in assorted dirty tricks o solicited illegal contributions and laundered money through Mexican bank accounts o formed secret squad the plumbers to halt the leaks of info team headed by former CIA agent E. Howard Hunt and former FBI agent G. Gordon Liddy - first on hit list was Daniel Ellsberg 1971 turned over to the press secret documents outlining the military history of US involvement in Vietnam o Pentagon Papers exposed the role of presidents and military leaders in deceiving the public and Congress about the conduct of the US in Asia o In weeks became bestselling book o RMN directed Dept of Justice to prosecute on charges of conspiracy, espionage and theft o Hunt and Liddy break into Ellsbergs former phychiatrists office to find discrediting info on him found nothing o By 1973 charges dropped - at same time RMN ran skillful negative campaign charging Goerge McGovern, liberal Democrat, with supporting abortion, acid, and amnesty o informed media that McGoverns running mate Thomas Eagleton had undergone electric shock therapy for depression, forcing resignation from the D team o McGovern lost every state but Mass - Committee to Re-Elect the President (CREEP) had huge $ and spent much on dirty tricks to divide the Ds and discredit them most ambitious plan was wiretapping the Democratic National Committee HQ o June 17, 1972 security team trips up intruders hired by CREEP to install listening devices in Watergate offices

o Police arrest 5; RMN disclaims any knowledge o Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstien follow trail of evidence to white house o Televised Senate hearings showed attempt to impede investigations of case o Former Nixon aide reveals existence of secret tape recordings of oval office conversations o Special prosecutor Archibald Cox refused to allow RMN to claim executive privilege RMN orders fired Saturday Night Massacre o June 24, 1974 SC votes unanimously that RMN must release tapes The Fall of the Executive - tapes documented Nixons ravings against his enemies - proved that he knew about plans to cover up Watergate break in and also ordered it - July 1974 House Judiciary Committee adopted 3 articles of impeachment for obstructing justice - 1972 Spiro Agnew admitted accepting kickbacks while gov of MD; plead no contest to this and charges of income tax evasion; resigned; Gerald Ford replaces - facing certain impeachment, RMN resigns August 9, 1974 first to resign from office