The Rise and Fall of Richard Milhouse Nixon – Part One (13 Slides)

Themes to Consider • Nixon and Kissinger and a new look foreign policy • Nixon’s Vietnam • The End of Vietnam and the Legacy of Defeat Nixon and Kissinger and Foreign Policy • Nixo n won election largely on the promise of a “secret plan” to achieve “peace with honor” in Vietnam Nixon and Brezhnev Nixon and the Post-Colonial World Nixon’s Vietnam • A four-pronged approach: 1) Strengthening the S. Vietnamese government and military as much as possible 2) Gradually replace American ground forces with S.V. troops (and MUCH more American bombings) in order to lessen anti-war tensions at home 3) Open negotiations with both N. Vietnam and the Soviet Union simultaneously 4) Apply intensive bombing throughout N. Vietnam to force Hanoi to accept American terms at the negotiating table. Referred to as “Jugular Diplomacy” by Kissinger*