Chapter 24: The Post-Watergate Period 1974-1980

The Post-Watergate Period 1974-1980

            Even after the Nixon presidency, the American society felt a great they could no longer trust the President. People wondered whether any President could heal the rifts that destroyed the peace of the country apart. Even after President Gerald Ford tried to receive the confidence that had sustained the United States through past troubles. Yet, after two years in office democrat Jimmy Carter won the presidency. Gerald Ford faced difficulties with the presidency he inherited. Although he wanted to help the nation recover from the Watergate affair, he never managed to step forward as a strong leader to deal effectively with problems that dodged the economy. Although time had passed after the Watergate scandal, people continued to influence greatly on the voting for a president based on that even, therefore in 1976 people chose the democrat candidate Jimmy Carter. Also President Jimmy Carter was influenced in his foreign policy in which he emphasize peacemaking  and human rights, his religious beliefs also influenced his decision not to run again for president. During Presidents Jimmy Carter’s presidency he had trouble passing reforms in his energy program which would stabilize the economy.

            The new President, Gerald R. Ford, was a decent man who faced a difficult job. He had to help the US emerge from its worst political scandal at a time when the economy was in trouble and the war in Vietnam was being lost. Also Gerald Ford was not a vice president whom was not elected, so due to the circumstances he also named Nelson Rockefeller – Governor of New York- as his vice president once he was in power, this was something new to the country. During Ford’s administration Nixon had left a country with a troubling economy, so inflation and unemployment rose, therefore the economy was in a state of stalled and stagnant, this became known by economist as stagflation. Nevertheless Ford’s administration was not all that negative, he continued with the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) and signed the Helsinki Accords in which a series of agreements with thirty five nations including the USSR in which they would promote human rights movements.

President Gerald Ford and Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller

            In reaction against the Watergate scandal and economic woes, voters elected a Democrat, Jimmy Carter, as President in 1976. James Earl Carter, Jr., a businessman and former naval officer who had been governor of Georgia, promised to bring a fresh approach to the White House. At first Carter enjoyed his status as a "Washington outsider," but in time that position lessened his ability to lead effectively. Also Jimmy Carter to make the American public feel that the president was with them decided to walk with his family to the White House. President Carter achieved his greatest successes in foreign policy. Some of Carters successes were his involvement with Israel and the Arab Nations in which Henry Kissinger used shuttle diplomacy, moving back and forth between nations in and am attempt to arrange peace in the region, but conflicts continued. Anwar el-Sadat made a historic visit to Israel to negotiate with Prime Minister Menachem Begin. This made President Carter intervene by sending Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to invite them to Camp David to find a solution for their affairs. This resulted in the Camp David Accords in which would make Israel take their troops from Sinai Peninsula, and Egypt would recognize Israel's Existence as a nation. Yet President Carter faced the worst foreign policy crisis which occurred in Iran. The US supported Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, but was later overthrown by Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini. The conflict went as far as having Iranian students overtake the Tehran embassy and took sixty-six American Hostages.

President Jimmy Carter 

            While Jimmy Carter had several triumphs in foreign affairs, he had little success in programs at home. He had a hard time working with Congress and its leaders to work on his energy and economic policies. One of the 70's energy projects were the nuclear energy, yet many people were concerned with such use of nuclear power and it became demonstrated its failure in the Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Due to this president Carter proposed a reorganization in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency in charge of nuclear power, and called on utility companies to improve standards. Another of Carter's actions was the deregulation, or reducing or removing government controls, in several industries. Another of Carter's actions was the amnesty-a general pardon- to those who had evaded the draft during the Vietnam War.

            The Carter administration and Post-Watergate scandal were hard times for the American People. From a president who lied, a new president who never was elected, and a successful foreign policy maker president who did not achieve much in his own country. The US was passing difficult times and the nation was like a boat without a captain and a course. Nevertheless, Nixon, Ford, and Carter all had their positive roll during their presidency. Nevertheless, Carter was the one out of those three who played the best role as the President of the United States of America.