Nixon Doctrine In Foreign Policy example essay topic

The assassination of John Kennedy led to the arrival of another accidental president. Kennedy now becomes the third president killed in office after Garfield and McKinley and Texan Lyndon Johnson became the fifth accidental president in modern American history. Lyndon Johnson was a well experienced politician; this Texas cowboy started his political career in Texas policies and had earned a reputation as a successful congressman. He became the master of political manipulation and the art of power politics. He now planned to expand upon the New Frontier policies of John Kennedy; his slogan was the Great Society- an expansion of the New Frontier.

This is the last major political slogan in our modern history and this slogan represents the climax of an active federal government. The Great Society was a drastic expansion of the powers of the federal government. Johnson planned a war on poverty and during his five year presidency, he became the most productive modern president. Yet he is rated only average as president; this is greatly due to his foreign policy which featured the most criticized and most expensive war in our modern history- the Vietnam War.

The Johnson accomplishments are numerous and they clearly show that he worked with congress better than most modern presidents. Medicare- health insurance for the elderly- is considered one of his most important and most significant programs. He is also to be remember as one of the most effective civil rights presidents; Kennedy talked of the necessity of legislation to protect the civil rights of all Americans, especially minority Americans. Johnson took Kennedy's ideas and push congress to pass the Civil Rights Act- which effectively killed Jim Crow in American society. Johnson is also to be remembered for the passage of the Voting Rights Act which ended the voting restrictions for black Americans. Johnson is also referred to as our freeway president due to the fact that most of our major freeway systems were built with federal government money during his presidency.

Johnson expanded community action programs, low income housing projects and created the Office of Economic Opportunity. This became the government agency for minority programs. With pressure from his wife Lady Bird, he adopted the City Beautiful programs to plant trees and flowers where signs and billboards had stood. He also expanding upon Truman's idea of urban renewal. Effective in education reform, he was responsible for education legislation which instituted bilingual education in schools across the nation as well as purchasing equipment for classrooms with federal funding. He created the agency for the humanities and the arts and went a long way toward the establishment of Public Television in America.

Social welfare was expanded with the raising of minimum wage and the raising of social security payments; he created the welfare program and expanded unemployment benefits. Congress was well aware that an effective politician was in the white house and while this politician was crude, he really knew now to be effective with congress. Johnson's achievements also include major expansion of space projects, attack on disease through federal funding for medical research and development of depressed regions. The Great Society was a major expansion of the New Deal approach to government and represents the high point of government programs toward individual citizens. The Johnson programs at home were limited by his foreign policy.

Johnson believed that he could use the same political manipulation in foreign policy. Johnson believed in the Truman Doctrine and in the Domino Theory; he decided to expand upon Kennedy's military aid to South Vietnam. Johnson became the president of the Vietnam War; this war was his undoing. Criticism mounted as did the price tag; Americans could also watch television nightly and see that were not winning the war. This war was the undoing of Johnson and the Great Society; the war took away major funding for his Great Society programs. This war was one situation that Johnson could not control.

By 1968 he indicated that he felt isolated in the white house and he announced on national television that he would not seek re-election. The Johnson legacy in domestic programs is a very important one and a very detailed one, but he is still remembered today as the president of the Vietnam War- the only war that America ever lost in our entire history. The Johnson rated of average is a mixed bag; here is one of the most effective congressman / presidents, but here is one of the most criticized war presidents. In 1968 the anti-Johnson votes would be very numerous; Democratic Herbert Humphrey was in the shadow of Johnson. Republican Richard Nixon was now elected president. Richard Nixon by 1968 had made a remarkable political comeback.

He had lost a close election to Kennedy in 1960 and then he lost when he ran for governor of California. After that loss Nixon announced to the media that he was leaving public office and that "they would not have Nixon to kick around anymore". But Nixon remained active behind the scenes in Republican politics and his hard work paid off when he was nominated for president in 1968 and elected on the anti-Johnson votes. Insecure Richard Nixon now took over the job of president, always aware of the polls and his overall rating as president.

To achieve popularity, Nixon tried to appeal to both the conservatives and liberals in America. Actually Nixon was a conservative Republican who planned to cut back the programs of the Great Society and he did just that. The Office of Economic Opportunity, for example, was discontinued. On the other hand, many of his programs appealed to liberals and seemed to try to expand the Great Society.

To say that Nixon was inconsistent as a domestic leader is correct. He is responsible for the fact that 18 year olds could vote, for an independent post office, and for major ecology programs. He also ended the draft system and pushed anticrime laws. And during his first term he took major credit for his achievements in space when a man landed on the moon.

The Nixon rating is similar to the Johnson rating- both men are rated average, but there strength lies in opposite areas. While Johnson was successful at home, Nixon was successful in foreign policy. Nixon created the Nixon Doctrine which took a new approach to foreign policy. The Truman Doctrine was directed at containment of world communism; the Nixon Doctrine embraced reality in foreign policy. This reality in foreign policy involved dtente- open communications with Russia. Nixon became the first American president to visit Moscow and to take our relations with Russia in a new direction.

Nixon felt that we must begin to accept world communism and deal with it in a realistic way. We see this clearly with his China diplomacy. Nixon first invited the Chinese ping pong team to visit the United States; this ping pong diplomacy led to Nixon's historic trip to China and to the beginning of diplomatic relations with China. China was even allowed to participate in the United Nations.

While Nixon found the Vietnam situation a difficult one to get untangled from, by 1973 he had gotten us out of Vietnam. This is Vietnam ization and is part of the Nixon Doctrine. Nixon also felt that the United States could not longer send massive foreign aid to western Europe, so he began the New Atlantic Charter which saw a cutback in foreign aid. Today the United States in foreign policy is clearly in the tradition of the Nixon Doctrine; the Truman Doctrine has disappeared as has much of world communism. Americans owe a great deal to Nixon's leadership in foreign policy. But Nixon's quest for a high rating as president as well as his insecurity and his sensitivity to criticism would be his undoing.

Nixon was renominated for president in 1972, while most Americans felt that Democrat George McGovern was too liberal for them. But during the campaign there was a break in at the Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate Office Building. This break in did not become an issue during the campaign and Nixon was easily re-elected. But the Watergate break in would become Nixon's Watergate Scandal. A special congressional committee was established to investigate the break in and committee research revealed that the committee established to re-elected Nixon was responsible for the break in and for other illegal uses of government power such as wiretapping's.

Members of Nixon's staff became to resign and some of them were charged with crimes. Recorded conversations from the Nixon white house made it clear that Nixon was responsible for the misuse of government powers. While Nixon continued to plead his innocence, a House committee charged him with crimes as president that would lead to his impeachment. Polls showed that Nixon would be found guilty during the trial in the Senate.

So in August, 1974, Richard Nixon became the first president to resign the presidency. When Nixon was elected in 1972, Spiro T. Agnew was elected vice president. But before Nixon resigned, Agnew had resigned. He had been charged with crimes when he was governor of Maryland. Before the Nixon resignation, House minority leader Gerald Ford of Michigan had been appointed vice president.

With the resignation of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford now became the most accidental president of all. Richard Nixon became the third major scandal president after Grant and Harding. Watergate destroyed his presidency and his presidential rating. He was a real leader in foreign policy but he is still not rated any better than average.

Gerald Ford now had a very difficult task. He must restore confidence to government and to move beyond the Watergate Scandal. Gerald Ford had earned a reputation as a hard working, honest congressman who was a former athlete and football center at the University of Michigan. But his goal of restoring confidence was hurt by his early decision to pardon Nixon for any possible crimes he may have committed as president. In addition, Ford was an uninspiring speaker and was viewed as a clumsy president when he nearly fell down all the stairs when he was exiting an airline. This image of a clumsy, dull president who had pardoned Nixon would stay with him for his two years.

Ford actually accomplished little. He said that he was a moderate in domestic affairs, a fiscal conservative, and an internationalist in foreign policy. But he would be hurt by runaway inflation and a slow down in the economy. His WIN-whip inflation now- campaign was not successful and he would accomplish little in his relations with congress.

Meanwhile the Nixon Doctrine was becoming reality in foreign policy as dtente with Russia continued. Ford never could overcome the Nixon shadow and the anti-Nixon and anti-Republican votes would elected Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976. James Earl Carter, Jr., now became president in 1976 and would only serve one term. Carter was the only president in modern history from the deep south. He rose from being a successful peanut farmer to Georgia state politics to governor of Georgia to president in 1976.

His goal was to create a "competent and passionate" government, but he had major problems in achieve that goal. Carter was hurt by his lack of experience in national politics along with his thick southern accent which was not always accepted well by the media. While Carter developed a national energy policy, worked for civil service reform and brought about deregulation of the airlines, he was identified with rising prices (inflation) as well as the slowdown of the economy (recession). Plus he was hurt by his alcoholic brother Billy who frequently embarrassed Jimmy Carter; it was during this time that a beer was named after the president's brother.

Billy Beer had limited appeal and did not last long. Carter was also hurt by his morality in foreign policy. His deep roots in Baptist religion were evident in his foreign policy. Wilson and Carter had a similar approach to foreign policy and both had little successful as moral world leaders.

Carter found that Russia did not appreciate his comments about their treatment of Russian Jews, while he had little success as a peacemaker in the Middle East. Carter was so upset when Russia invaded Afghanistan that he did not allow our Olympic athletes to participate in the Olympics in 1980 in Russia. Americans were also upset that Carter did little to release the American hostages that were being held in the American embassy in Iran. Carter's inability to deal with the Iran hostage crisis along with economic problems in particular inflation led to his defeat in 1980 and to the election of Republican Ronald Reagan.

Today Carter is rated no better than a below average president; his humanitarian work in the world has caused him to be rated a much better ex-president. Ronald Reagan became the first actor president in American History and the oldest president in American history. Reagan was a radio sport announcer who became a movie star and started in 53 films. He eventually became a conservative and was elected governor of California. Six nine days into his presidency, he was nearly killed, but he made a full recovery. With his media background, Reagan was an effective media president along with his sense of humor.

But Reagan was still very much an actor as president; to make sure that his live press conferences were limited, he had helicopters in the background and because of the noise his press conferences were often cut short. Reagan wanted "a smaller government and a greater America". The decline of the Great Society program was well underway. Meanwhile Reagan offered Americans a new economic program known as Reaganomics.

Reaganomics involved the following: 1. Taxes were cut so that consumer spending would increase, 2. Social welfare programs were cut back, 3. Defense spending was increased 53%, and 4. Foreign loans were increased. This economic program curtailed inflation and created the longest period of prosperity since World War II.

Reagan was identified with this economic prosperity and his popular rating caused him to be re-elected over Democrat Walter Mondale in 1984. In foreign policy Reagan wanted "peace through strength". He began to move in a major way from the Truman Doctrine to the Nixon Doctrine. He had many major talks with Russian leaders, while he declared war on terrorism. While he was moving away from foreign aid for containment, his often gave a little too much power to his advisors.

This was clearly seen in the Iran-contra scandal which involved selling arms to Iran and using the money to help the contra fight communism in Central America. While this scandal hurt his rating near the end of his second term, many Americans loved the prosperity of the Reagan years and wanted him nominated for a third term. But the Republicans now turned to his vice president George Bush and the Reagan popularity saw Bush elected in 1988. Today experts rate Ronald Reagan an above average president due to the changes his policies brought to the economy and to his use of the media. George Bush wanted a "kinder and gentler government". This man had a varied background.

He was the youngest pilot in the Navy during World War II and distinguished himself well. After a college education, he entered the oil business in West Texas and then was elected to two terms in the House of Representatives from the state of Texas. He then worked in government and became Director of the CIA and under Reagan was vice president. Bush was never able to work well with congress and his achievements are home are limited. He made many promises, but they were hollow promises. He was hurt by his inability to work with congress, by a declining economy that led to a recession, to inner city violence and by increasing deficit spending.

In foreign policy Bush saw the end of the Soviet Union and the major decline of world communism. Then Nixon Doctrine became American foreign policy. Bush sent troops into Panama to capture Noriega and he was the president of the successful Gulf War. The Gulf War was the best time of the Bush presidency, but it was not enough to make him a successful president or to ensure his re-election. Bush today is rated below average. The anti-Bush votes would lead to the election of William Clinton in 1992.

William Clinton better known as Bill Clinton entered the presidency and promised a "better tomorrow". Clinton at 46 became the youngest presidency since Kennedy. Clinton was a hardworking student and was known as a capable sax player. He went from law to local politics and eventually became governor of Arkansas. Clinton continued the Nixon Doctrine in foreign policy while he still had to deal with the effects of the Gulf War.

At home he tried to work with congress on a deficit reduction plan and national service program. But he failed with his major health reform and crime plan and by his second term his private life entered his presidency. Clinton had been accused for years of being a womanizer, but it was not clear that these were more than accusations. Clinton's involvement with Monica Lewinsky caused the House committee to recommend his impeachment which led to a senate trial. There had never been an impeachment trial since the presidency of Andrew Johnson in the 1860's. Clinton's presidency was never in doubt and the Republicans could not get 2/3rd of the senate to vote for his impeachment.

While Clinton's private life hurt his presidency, his rating remained high due to declining unemployment and continued prosperity. Clinton still has not been rated by experts until he leaves office in 2000, but he will be remembered for his womanizing as well as his general ineffectiveness with congress.