United States v. Nixon

The Cover-up

1. Regardless of the outcome, should the President of the United States have a right to privacy in regards to the Oval Office tapes? Explain.
The President of the United States should not have a right in regards to the oval office tapes because as President he gives up certain rights of privacy in order to serve the American people. The public deserves to have knowlage of what is on the tapes if it could be used to clear up an issue about the presidency, or if they could be used in court. It is very simular to the police searching a home, if it could help the case than it is nessessary to do.

2. Was President Nixon justified when he fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox? Explain.
Nixon was no justified when he fired SP Cox because if he was in a normal trial than he would basicaly be the defendant fireing the prosecution because he didn't like them. This means that he was above the law, which no one is.

3. Was Nixon creating a Constitutional crisis by refusing to hand-over the tapes? Explain.
Nixon was creating a Constitutional crisis be refusing to hand-over the tapes because he did something no other president had done in a situation that no other president had been in, and claimed that things that were to be used in a case were dangeorus for national security, and that they were his own property.

Closure

4. Why do you think the American public was so outraged by Watergate?
The American public was so outraged with Watergate because Nixon had lied to them for so long and that he would try to fix an election.

5. Do you think President Nixon should have resigned? Explain.
I do think that Nixon should have resigned because he had tarnished the presidency, and would only have done this further if he was impeached, being the first president to be done that to.
6. Do you think President Nixon should have been prosecuted? Explain.
I do think that Nixon should have been prosecuted because no one is above the law, and if he wasn't prosecuted it would have been saying that he was.

Watergate: Nixon's Downfall

1. How were the "plumbers" connected to President Nixon?
NOT IN READING
2. Who was the judge? Why did he hand out maximum sentences?
The judge was John Sirica
3. How were Mitchell and Dean connected to Nixon?
Mitchell was Nixon's former attorny general, he was also the director of CRP, Dean was a White House councel and he was the first to start to convict Nixon.
4. How were Haldeman and Erlichman connected to Nixon?
Halderman was the White House Chief of Staff and Erlichman was the cheif domestic advisor to the president.
5. What did the following men tell the Senate about Nixon?

a. Dean
Dean to told the Senate that Nixon was deeply involved in the cover up.
b. Butterfield
Butterfield revealed that the president had taped all of his conversations as president.
6. Who was fired or forced to resign in the "massacre"?
In the massacre Richardson, Cox, and Jaworski had to leave office.
7. Why weren't investigators satisified with the transcripts?
The investigaters weren't satisfied with the trascripts because they were eddited, and were not of all of the tapes.
8. What did the tapes reveal?
The tapes confermed that the allagations against Nixon were all true, and that he did try to coverup the break it.
9. Why did Vice President Spiro Agnew resign?
Agnew resigned because he had accepted bribes from engeneering firms while govemer of Maryland.
10. What did the House Judiciary Committee charge President Nixon with?
The house judiciary committee charged Nixon with obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of congress.
11. How did the Watergate scandal create a constitutional crisis?
The Watergate scandal created a constitutional problem because Nixon claimed that they were his personal properaty, and that they were a matter of national security.

Women Fight for Equality

Directions: As you read about the rise of a new women’s movement, take notes to explain how each of the following helped to create or advance the movement.

1. Experiences in the workplace
Women's experiences in the workplace caused them to feel like they deserved to work in the same jobs and for the same wages as men, and that they shouldn't be discriminated against in the work place because of their gender
2. Experiences in social activism
Many women involved in social activism were discriminated against even there, so some decided to form small groups that discussed their experiences with discrimination.
3. "Consciousness raising"
Consciousness raising sessions showed women that there were other women that also faced discrimination, and that they were not alone in their plight.
4. Feminism
Feminism was a product of the movement that made women feel that they were equal to men in all ways and deserved to be treated as such.
5. Betty Friedan and The Feminine Mystique
Betty Friedan and the Feminine Mysitque was a magazine that captured the feelings of many discontent women, and helped bring attention to the movement by people who otherwise may have not noticed it, and strengthened the resolve of those who belonged to it.
6. Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Ace of 1964 not only prevented racial discrimination, but also prevented that of gender, allowing many women to get jobs and be payed better.
7. National Organization for Women (NOW)
The National Organization for Women promoted women's advancement through things such as daycare facilities which allowed women to do things outside of the house, as well as pushing for equal working rights.
8. Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine
Gloria Steinem formed a political group for women who were running for political office, she also formed Ms. Magazine, which organized protests and also showed people that women writers could write about more than trivial things.
9. Congress
Congress passed a ban on using gender discrimination in educational programs or any activities that were government founded.
10. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court decided on Roe vs Wade on the matter of abortion, however this issue is still not resolved to this day.
11. The Equal rights Amendment would have guaranteed equal rights under the law, regardless of gender. Who opposed this amendment? Why?
The Equal Rights Amendment was opposed by Phyllis Schafly because she felt that it would cause women to experience the bad things men got as well as the good such as the draft, an end to homemakers care, an end to the husband providing for the family, and same sex marriage.

Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?

Why did the USA lose the Vietnam War?

The Americans did not lose purely for military reasons. There were other factors as well.

Write an explanation AND cite a source which shows the importance of the following six factors:

1. US military tactics in Vietnam
These military tactics caused many acts of inhumanity that shocked the American public. For example, the My Lai massacre. These caused the public to wonder what was actually happening in Vietnam, and if it was worth it. Also, the tactics were less effective in the jungle conditions in Vietnam, then that of the Vietcong, which were more suited for fighting in the confusing conditions of the dense jungle.
2. The unpopularity of the South Vietnamese regime
The South Vietnamese regime was very corrupt, and treated its people horribly, so much so that there were monks that burned themselves in protest to the intolerance of their religion. This caused the South Vietnamese at large to dislike their government, thus making them partial to the North. Furthermore, US public did not approve of the actions of the South Vietnamese government, lowering public opinion in support of the war.
3. The experience of the Viet Cong and the inexperience of the American soldiers
The soldiers in the Vietcong had to fight the entire war, making most, if not all of them veterans, and also had less of a chance to return home and influence public opinion. The US troops on the other hand cycled once a year, just as the troops were becoming accustomed to the war and also were able to come home and influence the public opinion again the war by sharing stories.
4. Domestic opposition to the war in the U.S.
The domestic opposition against the war in the US played a very large part in ending the war. First, there were extremely large antiwar protests, and second, most of the protesters were the young men who were scheduled to be drafted and go and fight in the war, making them unmotivated to fight, and want to fight the draft even harder. Finally, some refused to go to the war all together, and had to be arrested.
5. Chinese and Soviet support for the Viet Cong
The Chinese and Soviet support for the Vietcong gave them access to state of the art supplies from the Soviets, that while they were not as good as the American's, definitely helped them keep from being completely being overwhelmed by the American superior technology. As well as providing for the support of nuclear weapons support.
6. 'But did they really lose?' Summarize the argument put forward in Source 57, and your view on it.
The US did not actually loose the war for a few reasons. First the US left, the South Vietnamese lost afterwards, and the only reason the US left was public opinion, not military defeats. So, in essence I do agree with Source 57, but that does not mean agree with the war, just that there was no loose on the US's part. Also, it was not a war from the US's standpoint, just an 'armed conflict', so the US technically could not loose anyway.
Add other if you think there are factors you should consider.

Vietnam War Opposition

You are an opponent of American involvement in Vietnam. Use the evidence in this chapter to begin formulating ideas to make a poster or a leaflet putting forward your views. You will work on this in class on Friday. You can include stories and images from pages 353-61. However, you must also include an explanation that will convince the supporters of containment that the policy is not working in Vietnam. OPTIONAL: Instead of opposing the war, you can support it. Feel free to make a COUNTER-ARGUMENT that the war is necessary to contain Communism.

1. Note all of the reasons why you feel the war in Vietnam is wrong.
-no reason to be there; let them solve their own problems
-killing millions
-wasting billions of dollars
-isn't morally justified
-far away from the US
-domino effect is absurd
2. Note what you re trying to achieve with this poster. (e.g. to convince people to write to their Congressmen to get the troops out.)
-convince people to vote out congressmen who support the war
-convince people the war is wrong
-get people to join the antiwar movement
-get people to talk to their congressmen about it
3. List possible images for your poster. Think about: background (e.g. destroyed villages); the central image (e.g. picture of a young soldier); whether you will need words to explain your image.
-monks burning themselves; this is what the US backs
-My Lai massacre
-young soldier
-burning forests and villages
-dead bodies
-peace symbol
-south Vietnamese police officer killing the young Vietcong man
4. List some possible slogans for your poster.
-Hey hey LBJ...
-make love not war
-End the War Today
-Stop the Atrocities Now

Vietnam War Turning Points

1. Why was the Tet Offensive a turning point? Explain your answer.
The Tet Offensive was not a turning point. Neither side gained anything from it, in fact both sides probably lost an equivalent amount of man power and resources as a result of it. Furthermore, it did not sway public opinion in the US to thoroughly, and public opinion was what in the end decided the outcome of the war. However it was around the point that Johnson decided that the war could not be won militarily, however his successor, Richard Nixon did not share this belief continued to fight in Vietnam. NOTE: The article does not agree with this but Nixon's own memoirs admit that he tried to end the war with the US in a honorable way, however this was not going to be possible without further involvement in Vietnam.

2. Are Sources 51 and 52 making the same point about the My Lai Massacre?
Sources 52 and 2 do not agree. 51 is opposes the reasons behind the My Lai Massacre, calling it a Nazi thing to do. However, it also says that many of the soldiers did not know what they were doing. Source 52 says that it was not a massacre of people at all, just the killing of pawns who supported a bad idea; communism.


3. Why do you think it took 12 months for
anyone to do anything about the massacre?
It probably took 12 months for anything to be done about the massacre because 1), manny people thought that nothing incredibly inhumane or different from anything else in war had happened, and 2) it was greatly discrediting to the US military and would have enraged many antiwar protesters who were already angry about the war.

4. Why was the massacre so shocking to
the American public?
The massacre was so shocking to the American public because no one thought that the US military would ever do something so evil as to kill around 400 innocent civilians, and it was done by ordinary Americans, many who were drafted into the war. Furthermore, it was the type of thing that they were led to believe that Communists would do, not Americans.

The U.S. struggles against the Communist in Vietnam

1a) Were the armies finely balanced or was the balance strongly weighted to one side or the other?
In size and technological advantage, the US army was heavily superior to that of the Vietcong. However, the Vietcong managed their army and resources much better than the US did, as well as using better tactics for the situation. Thus army wise the US was superior, but in reality they were either balanced, or even tipped in the favor of the Vietcong.
1b) Which quality was most important in determining who won the war? Was one feature so important that being ahead in that area meant that other advantages or disadvantages did not matter?
The one feature that was the most important in determining who won the war was the strategy each side used. The only feature that could come close to having in itself won the war was the way the Vietcong managed to use guerilla tactics to negate the US's advantages in numbers and technology. They did this by evading US forces by retreting, hiding in the Jungle and using tunnel networks.
Stage 3: Explaining your conclusions
The failure of the U.S. army to beat the Communist in Vietnam was the result of its own weaknesses and Viet Cong strengths.

2. Now write up your answer. Use this structure:
a. The U.S. weaknesses were: the anti war movement, and the fact that it tried to fight guerilla tactics with either conventional or inhumane tactics.

b. At the same time, the Communist strengths were:
motivation, the use of good tactics, and the support of the peasants as well as not caring if they used inhumane means to an end.
c. The U.S. forces did have some successes. For example:
They repelled the Tet offensive, they destroyed many Vietcong supply routs, and they did destroy some of the Vietcong tunnels.
d. However, there were some major failures as well. Examples of these were:
Their strategy was terrible, they lost the war in the end, they caused many civilian casualties, and the loss to gain ratio many times was not worth it.
e. The Viet Cong had some major successes, such as:
They were able to fend off the US with significantly less troops, they did not allow the US to gain any North Vietnam land and they did eventually conquer the South.
f. However, they also suffered defeats, for example:
The Tet offensive failed causing a major loss of troops and supplies as well as not gaining any ground, they also were not able to acutely drive the US out, the US chose to leave based on public opinion in the US.
g. If I had to identify one major American weakness, it would be the anti war movement because it demotivated US soldiers, who were mainly draftees that did not want to be there or to fight, caused public opinion in the US to go against the war, made the war seem evil, and caused many to refuse to be drafted, or resist once they were, or flee the country.

h. The key Viet Cong strength the use of guerilla tactics because: It allowed them to avoid direct contact with the superior US forces, and the use of tunnels (a guerilla tactic) allowed them to menuver troops without letting the US know and provided protection from bombing raids, and other assaults, as well as providing a place to retreat that the US could not follow them into.