Luis Veras

APUSH Review
John F. Kennedy: JFK had a policy of being very aggressive toward the Soviet
Union. He had a mission to land a man on the moon. He was known for being a
charming young president and many people liked him. He was also a Catholic. He
failed in the Bay of the Pigs where he called off an air strike. Many exiles were killed
and he took blame for it. He was also involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis where the
Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba. America secretly had missiles in Turkey.
Lyndon B. Johnson: Had difficulty in the Vietnam War. Created the Tet Offensive
where they cant win against student protests
Richard Nixon: The 37th president, most remembered for the watergate scandal, he
has been the only president to resign. Had a foreign policy of detente. SALT
treaties. Induced recession, tax cuts and 90 day price freeze. He also brings up
government distrust
Jimmy Carter: From Georgia, he campaigned as an outsider and because of that he
had no political vision. His positives were the Camp David Accords. Negatives were
Iranian hostage crisis and crisis of confidence speech.
Ronald Reagan: Elected as revamping the republican party, also because Carter
failed he was elected. His positives were the economy and foreign policy. Negatives
were civil rights and does not support feminist movement
George Bush: he was elected from his position in the CIA. He led many military
campaigns in Panama and the Persian Gulf. His main thing he was remembered for
is the war on drugs
Khrushchev: President of Russia. Threat to give Berlin to East Germany. Part of the
De-Stalinization movement in the Soviet Union. Known for being involved in the
Cuban Missile Crisis. Threat as a nuclear power.
Brezhnev: General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union. Was a major part of the global influence of the Soviet Union. He
pushed for detente between Western and Eastern countries. Also he was known for
a significant expenditure in the military of the Soviet Union. His last major decision
was to send soldiers to fight in Afghanistan. He was blamed for creating the
beginning of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

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Ellsberg: Famous for releasing the Pentagon Papers. Revealed that government
knew that war could not be won and that the continuance of the war would lead to an
increase of the number casualties. Proved that government was lying to the people.
Kissinger: He pioneered the policy of detente for the Soviet Union. He started
making relations with the Peoples Republic of China and negotiated Paris Peace
Accords that ended the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Played a very big role
in U.S. foreign policy. Secretary of State under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
Sandra Day O Connor: The first female justice appointed by Ronald Reagan served
from 1983 to 2006
Rehnquist: Served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. He 4th longest
serving Chief Justice. Struck down an act of Congress as exceeding its power under
the Commerce Clause.
Warren Burger: 15th Chief Justice of America. Made a lot of transformative decisions
on abortion, capital punishment, religious establishment, and school desegregation.
Riesman: Wanted higher education. Clerked for U.S. Supreme Court. Stated that
post WW2 societies compel people to abandon inner direction of their lives.
Cesar Chavez: Civil rights leader for the Latino-Americans, he founded the National
Farm Workers Association (later the United Farm Workers union, UFW)
Vietcong: Who the United States was fighting in the Vietnam war, used Guerilla
warfare and used civilians and other plain sight war tacts
Barry Goldwater: Senator from Arizona. Rejected New Deal and created a large
Conservative movement. Ran for President against Lyndon B. Johnson. He also
urged Richard Nixon to resign.
Robert McNamara: Secretary of defense for JFK and LBJ. Played a large role in
escalating the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He also had leadership with the
Defense Intelligence Agency and Defence Supply Agency.
Spiro Agnew: During his fifth year as Vice President, late in the summer of 1973,
Agnew was investigated by the United States Attorney's office for the District of
Maryland, on charges of extortion, tax fraud, bribery, and conspiracy. On October 10,

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1973, Agnew was allowed to plead no contest to a single charge that he had failed to
report $29,500 of income received in 1967, with the condition that he resign the
office of Vice President.
George Bush (CIA): He is white and country. Went into CIA and fixed the problems
with them. Deep down he is a pretty nice guy and is still alive. Restored companys
morale. Has a toll road
G. Gordon Liddy: Mrs. Webb met him. He broke into watergate, went to jail.
Jerry Falwell: Led an Old Time Gospel Hour that converted many to Christianity.
Sponsored Ronald Reagan as president. He was pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Israel.
and favored a strong national defense.
JFK- JFK was determined to succeed where he believed Eisenhower had failed. He
was extremely critical of Eisenhowers frugal spending on the military, which he
believed allowed the Soviet Union a dangerous lead in ICBMs. JFK gave foreign
policy top priority. Kennedys obsession with foreign policy was a mix of his personal
intensity as well as the dangers around the world. He gained a seat in the Foreign
Relations Committee and published a book of speeches called The Strategy of
Peace. The new administration was intent on putting the Soviets on the defensive
and constructed an awesome nuclear arsenal. He expanded the Special Forces unit
at Fort Bragg, NC.
Robert Mcnamara- Secretary of defense McNamara developed plans to add five
combat ready army divisions, three tactical air wings, a ten division strategic reserve.
These vast increases led to a $6 billion dollar jump in the defense budget in 1961
alone. This led to the U.S having a variety of options to call on in case of a war or
conflict with the Soviet Union.
Berlin Wall- The first confrontation came in Germany. Since 1958, Krushchev had
been threatening to sign a peace treaty that would put access to the isolated western
zones of Berlin under the control of East Germany. The steady flights of skilled
workers to the West through the Berlin escape route weakened the East German
regime dangerously, and the Soviets believed they had to resolve this issue quickly.
Kennedy and the Russian met in Vienna to discuss Germany but could not reach an
agreement. Russia was aware of Americas military power and decided to just seal
off the flow of the talent to the west with the Berlin Wall.
Alliance for Progress- A massive economic aid program for Latin America.
Kennedys Handling of Vietnam- Kennedy advocated financial and technical
assistance designed to help Third World nations achieve economic modernization
and stable pro-Western governments. Southeast Asia offered the gravest test.

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Americans decided to back Ngo Dinh Diem who sought to establish a separate
government in South Vietnam with large scale American economic assistance. The
president decided against sending in combat troops in 1961 but authorized
substantial increases in economic aid to Diem. Kennedy eventually overthrew Diem
doe.
Bay of Pigs- Kennedys determination to check the communist regimen peaked in
Cuba. The Eisenhower administration had been training a group of Cuban exiles in
Guatemala since March 1960 as part of a CIA plan to topple the Castro regime. On
April 17,1961, fourteen hundred Cuban exiles moved ashore on the Bay of Pigs on
the Southern coast of Cuba. U.S called off their airstrike and the exiles got wrecked.
Cuban Missile Crisis- Throughout the summer and early fall, the Soviets engaged in
a massive arms buildup in Cuba to protect Castro. American U-2 planes finally
discovered the missile sites that were nearing completion. The U.S and Soviet Union
finally made an agreement. The Russians would remove missiles and in return the
U.S would not invade Cuba. Russia and the Soviet Union later decided itd be
awesome to build a hot line.
Kennedy Economic Work- Kennedy was determined to stimulate the economy to
achieve a much higher rate of long-term growth. In part, he wanted to redeem his
campaign pledge to get the nation moving again. There were two solutions for the
economic slump. One claimed the issue was in technology and urged man power
training and area redevelopment programs. Others called for federal spending to
rebuild the nations public facilities. Kennedy sided with the first group. Actual
stimulation of the economy came from increased spending in space and defense.
Also a tax-reduction act stimulated the economy.
G.Gordon Liddy- A, former FBI agent, he and E.Howard Hunt, a veteran of the CIA
headed the plumbers who Nixon appointed to stop the leaking of secret documents
and information. Hunt and Liddy set out to embarrass Daniel Ellsberg, the Defense
Department official who had leaked the Pentagon Papers.
CREEP- Committee to Re-elect the President was headed by Attorney General John
Mitchell. Specialists in dirty political tricks they harassed Democratic Contenders,
while Liddy developed an elaborate plan to disrupt the Democratic convention in
Miami to spy on party activities.
Barry Goldwater- Described Nixon as the most complete loner Ive ever known.
Ellsberg-Hunt and Liddy set out to embarrass Ellsberg and broke into his
psychiatrists office.

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Agnew- Nixons Vice president who blamed all of societys problems-from drug
abuse and sexual permissiveness to crime in the streets- on Democratic liberals and
their allies in the media.
Nixon- 36 president of the United States on January 20, 1969 seemed to be a new
Nixon. Gone were the fiery rhetoric and the penchant for making enemies. Nixon had
loyal suboridinates such as H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman. Foreign policy
was Nixons great passion, and here he relied heavily on Henry Kissinger. Nixon
feared everyone and basically cut himself off from everything. Nixons moderation
promised a return to the politics of accommodation that had characterized the
Eisenhower Era. Instead of massive overthrow of the Great Society he wanted to
make the federal bureaucracy function more efficiently. Nixon developed the concept
of revenue sharing and shared billions of dollars to local governments. He also
integrated black and white school systems and then blamed all of it on the U.S
supreme courts. The economy was a huge issue for president Nixon, he opted for a
reduction in government spending while encouraging the Federal Reserve to raise
interest rates. This was a disaster. To halt the economic decline, Nixon announced a
ninety day freeze on wagesand prices to be followed by federally imposed guidelines
in both areas.
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Warren Burger- An experienced federal judge with moderate views, to replace the
retiring Earl Warren as Chief Justice.
Kissinger- He was a White House specialist who had devoted his life to the study of
diplomacy. He was a refugee from Nazi Germany and the author of several
influential books. He and Nixon viewed the Cold war as an ideological struggle for
survival with communism, a battle to be managed and controlled rather than to be
won. Kissinger planned to use American trade to induce Soviet cooperation, while at
the same time improving U.S relations with China.
Dtente- China was the first card to achieving a relaxation of tensions. Nixon made a
tour to China and established American Liason mission to Beijing as a first step
toward diplomatic recognition.
SALT- President Nixon signed two vital documents with Soviet leader Leonid
Brezhnev. The first limited the two superpowers to two hunnit antiballistic missiles
apiece; the second froze the number of offensive ballistic missiles for a five-year
period. They were the most important as a symbolic first step towards the control of
the nuclear arms race.
Nixon and the Vietnam War- 3-part plan to end the conflict- gradual withdrawal of
American troops and training of South Vietnam forces to take over the combat role.
Domestic opposition to the war dropped because of fewer casualties and reductions

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in draft call. Renewed bombings proved the most controversial part of the plan. He
ordered bombings in neutral Cambodia and resulted in massive anti-war protests at
home. Negotiation at Hanoi finally proved successful. Beginning in the Summer of
1969, Kissinger held a series of secret meetings with North Vietnams foreign
minister. In return for the release of All American prisoners of war, the United States
agreed to remove its troops from South Vietnam with sixty days. Vietnam was
basically guaranteed to the communists.
Kent State- After rioters had firebombed an ROTC building, the governor sent in
National Guard troops who were taunted and harassed by irate students. The
guardsmen then opened fire, killing four students and wounding eleven more. A
week later, two African American student demonstrators were killed at Jackson State
College in Mississippi.
Election of 1972- The Democrats had self-destructed. First, Edmund Muskie,
replying in the New Hampshire primary to a letter accusing him of prejudice against
French Canadians, lost his composure. George Wallace was then injured and had to
withdraw. George McGovern emerged as the Democratic nominee. He ran on a
platform that advocated a negotiated settlement in Vietnam, the right to abortion, and
tolerance of diverse lifestyles. His strong stand against the Vietnam War and in favor
of income redistribution at home was perceived as antiestablishment by the middle
class an strengthened Nixons appeal. Nixon let other campaign for him, relying
heavily on the recent improvement in the economy and his foreign policy triumphs
with China and Russia to sway the nations voters. The result was a landslide victory
for Nixon.
Watergate Scandal- Despite efforts by John Dean, the Watergate coverup began to
unravel in early 1973. James McCord became the first to break the silence. By April
1973, Nixon was forced to fire John Dean. Unlike previous executive Branch
scandals such as the Whiskey Ring and Teapot Dome, Watergate involved a lust for
power. Judge Sirica proved that an independent judiciary was still the best bulwark
for individual freedom.
Yom Kippur War- On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on
Israel. Kissinger used the October War as an opportunity to shift American policy
from its traditional pro-Israeli position to a more neutral stance. On October 17, the
Arab members or OPEC announced a 5 percent cut each month until Israel gave up
the lands it had taken. Nixon announced a $2.2 billion aid package for Israel. Led by
the shah of Iran Opec raised crude oil prices four fold. Ended when Kissinger
negotiated with Israel to putback Sinai.
Oil Shocks- Cheap energy had been the underlying force behind the amazing growth
of the economy after WWII. The first great oil shock of the 1970s came with the
October War. As the U.S caught up in the production of oil, OPEC nations started to
raise prices. Everything related to gas increased in price. The effect on the America

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economy was devastating, a sharp decline in consumer spending and the worst
recession since WWII. President Gerald R. Ford responded with a tax-cut which
somewhat worked.
Iranian Revolution- Touched off another oil shock and led to a 3% short fall of world
oil. OPEC once again increased their prices and American gas reached a $ a gallon.
Energy Crisis- Gerald Ford favored expanding production to overcome shortage. The
Republicans advocated removing price control. Democrats- stressed price controls
and conservation. Congress eventually approved a mix of the two. It constructed the
Alaskan pipeline which brought in more oil and continued the price controls on
domestic oil for another forty months. It also forced the factories of Detroit to create
more efficient cars.
1970s Shifting of the economy- Most obvious of the oil shocks was the slowing
economy and losing of primacy in the world markets. Most serious losses were in the
industries America once dominated such as steel. Foreign competition also
destroyed the automobile industry. Chrysler was saved. The computer industry was
still thriving despite failures everywhere. This resulted in a geographic shift from the
Midwest to the Sunbelt.
Fords Pardon of Nixon- On Sept. 8, 1974 he shocked the nation by announcing he
had granted Richard Nixon a full and unconditional pardon. This led to a public loss
of faith in the government.
George Bush (CIA)- Was assigned by Ford as the CIAs new director and gave him
the authority both to reform the CIA and to strengthen its role in shaping national
security policy. Ford issued an executive order outlawing assassination as an
instrument in American foreign policy.
Election of 1976- Fords lackluster record and the legacy of Watergate made the
Democratic nomination a prize worth fighting for in 1976. A large field of candidates
entered the contest, but a virtual unknown, former Georgia governor James Earl
Carter, quickly became the front runner.
Camp David- After a series of meetings, Carter gave a speech in which he seemed
to blame his failure on the American people, accusing them of creating a crisis of
confidence. November 1977, Anwar Sadat stunned the world by traveling to
Jerusalem in an effort to reach an agreement directly with Israel. The next year
President Carter invited both Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menchem Begin to
negotiate under his guidance at Camp David. The Camp agreements dealt gingerly
with the problem of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas.

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Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan- It appeared as a Soviet thrust towards the Indian
Ocean and the Persian Gulf. Carter responded to this aggression by banning sale of
high technology to Russia, embargoed the export of Grain, resumed draft
registration, and even boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics.