Ch. 32 Sect. 2
The Nixon Administration
Objectives:
1.  Describe how Nixon’s personality might have affected his
choice of staff members.
2.  Describe how Nixon’s domestic policy differed from that
of his predecessors.
3.  Explain how Nixon applied his “southern strategy” to the
issue of civil rights and to his choice of Supreme Court
justices.
Main Idea:
As president, Richard Nixon relied on several close advisers
to help him move the country in a new direction.
Nixon’s Personality
• Richard Nixon was a very shy man
from a poor family, but he knew how to
play to crowd and loved politics.
• Many Americans felt he did a great job
as Vice President, but other Americans
didn’t trust him.
• Because of these characteristics, Nixon
had a long, but difficult political career.
Nixon’s Staff
•  Nixon wanted an Imperial Presidency, meaning the
executive branch would dominate the other
branches of government.
•  To try and achieve this, Nixon’s administration used
a closed, secretive style. Nixon’s cabinet was
wealthy, white men who shared his views, but he
trusted a very small group of advisors.
•  Henry Kissinger (Secretary of State), H. R.
Haldeman (Chief of Staff), John Mitchell
(Attorney General), and John Ehrlichman (First
Legal Counselor) were the four men Nixon trusted
and relied on for political advice.
Kissinger & Nixon
Nixon’s Domestic Policy
•  Nixon’s domestic policy had to deal with economic
problems, social issues, law and order, and “Southern
Strategy.”
•  Economic Problems:
High unemployment (9%), high
inflation (bread .28 to .89), huge government debt (Vietnam
War), and high gas prices (.25 to .65) due to OPEC restricting
the oil supply to the U.S. due to U.S. support of Israel.
•  To try and reduce government spending, Nixon cut some
“Great Society” programs saying it led to “Welfare
Cheaters.” Nixon felt many Americans had enough of the
counterculture and student protests, so he called the
students “bums” and said he would restore law and order.
1973 OPEC Embargo
Domestic Continued
•  Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” was to try and gain
white support by slowing the civil rights movement.
•  Nixon for example was against using busing to
desegregate schools. Nixon’s approach led to very
few civil rights gains, but did win him reelection.
•  Nixon was given a rare opportunity to name four
Supreme Court justices. Nixon choose justices who
were more conservative and drastically changed the
make up of the Supreme Court.
•  One of the justices was William Rehnquist who
became Chief Justice and died in 2006.
Warren Burger 15th Chief Justice &
William Rehnquist 16th Chief Justice