Editorial
Richard Nixon entered office on January 20, 1969. He was a senator from California and Vice President from 1953 through 1961. He also served as the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. He served as vice president to him for eight years. He ran again against John F. Kennedy in 1960 and lost. In 1968 he ran once again for presidency and was elected. Although he added more involvement of America in the Vietnam War, he ended the involvement of the US in the year 1973. He visited the People’s Republic of China in 1972 and opened communications between China and America. This led to the normalization of diplomatic relations. He also made a détente and an Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. This was a treaty in which the United States and the Soviet Union put a limitation on the anti-ballistic missile systems that were used in defending against missile-nuclear weapons. Back at home, he took a stance to fight cancer and illegal drugs from entering the states. He imposed wage and price controls as well as enforced desegregation of schools in the south. He also created more environmental reforms. Americans saw the first Earth Day in 1970 when Congress passed the National Environment Policy Act the same exact year. This promoted and called for American to treat the environment more properly. Some things that NEPA included were setting up procedural requirements for federal government agencies that would make environmental impact statements. These impact statements included the vast promotion of the well keeping of all national parks, conservation of water, and the reduce, reuse, and recycle policies. The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were other environmental reforms that followed two years after. The Clean Water Act (CWA) was the first federal law in the US that discussed and took hold of water pollution. It was passed in 1972 and the significance of this particular act to restore and conserve as well as maintain physical, chemical, and biological well keeping of all the bodies of water that surround the nation. It also enforced policies of conservation of water as well as maintained and continues to maintain the well keeping of wetlands. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 called for an expansion of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act in 48’. He replaced space exploration such as the Apollo 11 with shuttle missions which were launching vehicles that could carry 4 to seven astronauts and up to 50,000 lb of “payload into space”. It used the Orbital Maneuvering System, which is a system of hypergolic liquid-propellant. He also made healthcare and welfare reforms. As Nixon’s second term came about, there was a crisis in the middle east and that dealt with the oil embargo. This led to the controversial series of events known as the Watergate scandal. The scandal costed Nixon most if not all his political support and on August 9th, 1974, he resigned as president. His new successor would be Gerald Ford.
Gerald Rudolph Ford entered office on August 9th, 1974. Prior to becoming president, he served as vice president to Nixon from 1973-1974. He was the first vice president to be appointed under “terms of the 25th Ammendment. He was the first to serve as both Vice President and President in his political career. He served nearly 25 years as a Representative of Michigan’s congressional district. One of the first things he did as president was sign the Helsinki Accords which marked “détente move” in the Cold War. Nine months into Ford’s presidency, the US involvement in Vietnam ended. Although this was good news, the economy back home was facing a horrible recession. With growing inflation, this had become the worst economic downfall since the Great Depression. One very controversial and shocking act that occurred was when Ford decided to pardon Nixon from the Watergate incident. In 1976, Ford defeated Reagan for the Republican nomination. He stated a very popular quote from his speech to the people when he was sworn in as president:
“I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and confirmed me as Vice President were my friends and are my friends. They were of both parties, elected by all the people and acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them and to you that I will be the President of all the people.”
He also stated:
“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice, but mercy. ... let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and hate.”
Another very controversial event that occurred was dealing with Ford’s choice of vice president Nelson Rockefeller. It was revealed through hearings that he made and gave large gifts to senior aides which included Henry Kissinger. Although Republicans were not pleased they still voted for him. Secretary of State Kissinger and Secretary of Treasury William E. Simon remained from Nixon’s cabinet. As in fixing the economic crisis President Ford made the Economic Policy Board by Executive Order on September 30, 1974. As part of the Whip Inflation Now program, he urged Americans to wear “WIN” buttons. “WIN” urged all Americans to reduce consumption and spending. Ford gave a speech in front of a joint session of Congress and kicked off the “WIN” program. With the “WIN” program, the nine days following 101,240 Americans mailed in their pledges to the program. The significance of Ford’s speech was to have Congress introduced to a one-year-five- percent income tax increase on corporations as well as the upper class. It would include 4.4 billion dollars out of the nation’s budget. Inflation rose to over 12 percent.
On top of it all, Ford had been faced with a swine flu pandemic. It began in the early 1970s when H1N1 (swine flu) had shifted form of flu caused by pigs to humans. On the fifth of February 1976 an army recruit at Ford Dix died and four were sent to the hospital. The diagnosis was swine flu. This urged that every person in the United States to be vaccinated. Only 25 percent of the population was vaccine because of the delays within the program. The vaccine caused 25 deaths. Ironically there were more deaths made by the vaccination rather than the actual illness. As for equal rights, Ford was an outspoken member. He issued the Presidential Proclamation no.4383 in 75’:
“In this Land of the Free, it is right, and by nature it ought to be, that all men and all women are equal before the law. Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, to remind all Americans that it is fitting and just to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment adopted by the Congress of the United States of America, in order to secure legal equality for all women and men, do hereby designate and proclaim August 26, 1975, as Women's Equality Day.”
Ford’s position on abortion otherwise was said to be “a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 states to make the choice”. As for when Ford pardoned Nixon, the public lost interest in Ford and elected President Jimmy Carter as president.
Jimmy Carter entered the oval office on January 20th 1977 winning against opponent Gerald Ford. He is of the democratic party and served as the 39th President of the United States. During his term as president he created a two new cabinet-level departments: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He also established a national energy policy. Nixon and Carter can be most notable for their involvements with nature preservation. He began his political career by becoming a senator for Georgia as well as governor. He declared in his inaugural speech that “the time of racial segregation was over, and that racial discrimination had no place in the future of the state” within Georgia as well as all of the south. He also expanded African-Americans’ rights. Also as governor he advocated for life in prison without parole in the state of Georgia. During Carter’s presidency he faced the continuing recession and energy crisis. On April 18th, 1977 Carter made a televised speech declaring the US energy crisis during the 70s was “moral equivalent of war”. He installed solar water heating panels on the White House. In 1978, Carter had declared a federal emergency in the neighborhood of Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York. More than 800 families had been evacuated. The neighborhood was buily on a toxic waste landfill. The Superfund law was then created in response. Money was put into the disaster relief funds to help with the destruction. Another act that Carter made was the Deregulation Act. Carter had also won the Nobel Peace Prize in his later years. Carter lost the election to Reagan in 1981.
Gerald Rudolph Ford entered office on August 9th, 1974. Prior to becoming president, he served as vice president to Nixon from 1973-1974. He was the first vice president to be appointed under “terms of the 25th Ammendment. He was the first to serve as both Vice President and President in his political career. He served nearly 25 years as a Representative of Michigan’s congressional district. One of the first things he did as president was sign the Helsinki Accords which marked “détente move” in the Cold War. Nine months into Ford’s presidency, the US involvement in Vietnam ended. Although this was good news, the economy back home was facing a horrible recession. With growing inflation, this had become the worst economic downfall since the Great Depression. One very controversial and shocking act that occurred was when Ford decided to pardon Nixon from the Watergate incident. In 1976, Ford defeated Reagan for the Republican nomination. He stated a very popular quote from his speech to the people when he was sworn in as president:
“I have not sought this enormous responsibility, but I will not shirk it. Those who nominated and confirmed me as Vice President were my friends and are my friends. They were of both parties, elected by all the people and acting under the Constitution in their name. It is only fitting then that I should pledge to them and to you that I will be the President of all the people.”
He also stated:
“My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works; our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here, the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice, but mercy. ... let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and hate.”
Another very controversial event that occurred was dealing with Ford’s choice of vice president Nelson Rockefeller. It was revealed through hearings that he made and gave large gifts to senior aides which included Henry Kissinger. Although Republicans were not pleased they still voted for him. Secretary of State Kissinger and Secretary of Treasury William E. Simon remained from Nixon’s cabinet. As in fixing the economic crisis President Ford made the Economic Policy Board by Executive Order on September 30, 1974. As part of the Whip Inflation Now program, he urged Americans to wear “WIN” buttons. “WIN” urged all Americans to reduce consumption and spending. Ford gave a speech in front of a joint session of Congress and kicked off the “WIN” program. With the “WIN” program, the nine days following 101,240 Americans mailed in their pledges to the program. The significance of Ford’s speech was to have Congress introduced to a one-year-five- percent income tax increase on corporations as well as the upper class. It would include 4.4 billion dollars out of the nation’s budget. Inflation rose to over 12 percent.
On top of it all, Ford had been faced with a swine flu pandemic. It began in the early 1970s when H1N1 (swine flu) had shifted form of flu caused by pigs to humans. On the fifth of February 1976 an army recruit at Ford Dix died and four were sent to the hospital. The diagnosis was swine flu. This urged that every person in the United States to be vaccinated. Only 25 percent of the population was vaccine because of the delays within the program. The vaccine caused 25 deaths. Ironically there were more deaths made by the vaccination rather than the actual illness. As for equal rights, Ford was an outspoken member. He issued the Presidential Proclamation no.4383 in 75’:
“In this Land of the Free, it is right, and by nature it ought to be, that all men and all women are equal before the law. Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, to remind all Americans that it is fitting and just to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment adopted by the Congress of the United States of America, in order to secure legal equality for all women and men, do hereby designate and proclaim August 26, 1975, as Women's Equality Day.”
Ford’s position on abortion otherwise was said to be “a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 states to make the choice”. As for when Ford pardoned Nixon, the public lost interest in Ford and elected President Jimmy Carter as president.
Jimmy Carter entered the oval office on January 20th 1977 winning against opponent Gerald Ford. He is of the democratic party and served as the 39th President of the United States. During his term as president he created a two new cabinet-level departments: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He also established a national energy policy. Nixon and Carter can be most notable for their involvements with nature preservation. He began his political career by becoming a senator for Georgia as well as governor. He declared in his inaugural speech that “the time of racial segregation was over, and that racial discrimination had no place in the future of the state” within Georgia as well as all of the south. He also expanded African-Americans’ rights. Also as governor he advocated for life in prison without parole in the state of Georgia. During Carter’s presidency he faced the continuing recession and energy crisis. On April 18th, 1977 Carter made a televised speech declaring the US energy crisis during the 70s was “moral equivalent of war”. He installed solar water heating panels on the White House. In 1978, Carter had declared a federal emergency in the neighborhood of Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York. More than 800 families had been evacuated. The neighborhood was buily on a toxic waste landfill. The Superfund law was then created in response. Money was put into the disaster relief funds to help with the destruction. Another act that Carter made was the Deregulation Act. Carter had also won the Nobel Peace Prize in his later years. Carter lost the election to Reagan in 1981.