Richard Nixon
- Elected 37th President in 1968
- Promised to end the Vietnam war
- Pulled troops but increased bombing campaign, implemented Vietnamization
- Began a policy of Detente to lessen Cold War tensions
- Resigned after being implemented in Watergate scandal, 1972
The Watergate Scandal
- When Nixon was running for the 1972 elections, the Republicans were accused of a crime
- men were aught trying to brea into the Watergate hotel
Detente (A Relaxation of Tension)
- Reasons why USA sought detente:
- Nuclear and Strategic Parity- the Russians had caught the USA in most military areas
- Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treat (limit the spread of Nuclear weapons) Signed by Johnson in 1968 (France and China do not sign it)
- Henry Kissinger: thought the dente was just a new form of conformation
Ostpolitik
- German for 'east politics'
- WEster German leader, Willy Brandy wished to unite the Germans
Summary
Nixon wanted to bring in detente, or basically ease the tension between the USSR and the United States.