HIS-450 Topic 6: The 1970s Worksheet - US History Assignment

This document presents a comprehensive analysis of the 1970s in US History, addressing key events and policies as outlined in the assignment brief. The solution begins by defining "Nixonomics," explaining its impact, including wage and price controls, and evaluating its overall effect on the United States' economy. The assignment then explores the Watergate scandal, detailing its impact on US politics and public trust. Next, it examines Nixon's China Policy, analyzing its significance within the context of the Cold War. The analysis proceeds to discuss the energy crisis of the 1970s, its origins, and the US response, including President Carter's strategies. Finally, the assignment delves into the Iranian Hostage Crisis, highlighting its implications for the Carter administration's foreign policy and drawing lessons the US could learn from the experience. The solution is well-researched, supported by credible references, and provides insightful answers to each prompt.

Running head: US HISTORY
US History
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1US HISTORY
Table of Contents
Answer to Question 1.................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 2.................................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 3.................................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 4.................................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 5.................................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................4

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Answer to Question 1
Nixonomics refers to the combination of two words that is ‘Nixon’ and ‘Economics’
denotes to the economic performance of US President ‘Richard Nixon’. The President has
won a weak economy that leads to passing several Nixon idea, including wage and price
controls. Nixon has used the cost of wages and price controls for long-term trade-off and
short-term political gain by securing his re-election in the year 1972 (Melloan, 2017). As per
this, the order has been passed to freeze on entire prices and wages for 90 days to the whole
of the United States that do not tend to work in a free-market economy.
Consequently, workers were getting less money to purchase products or services,
which lowers the demand. The business also resulted in cut-off hiring hence in demand.
Additionally, Nixon closed up a gold window that supports the value of dollars to gold
standards (De Beaufort Wijnholds, 2015). The US would be no longer able to honor its
Bretton Woods Agreement that was earlier supporting the value of the dollars. These moves
have generated an era of stagflation instead of controlling it within the nation. As a result, the
value of dollars fell indefinitely, and the US economy has declined.
Answer to Question 2
The term Watergate emerges from the hotel that exists in Washington D.C., where the
first crime happened, and that was often associated with the political scandals. Nixon was in a
zone where he can comfortably win the election, but this was the second raid on the building
where the burglars were stealing the data, planting hearing devices into the office phones and
abusing his presidential power to remain in office. The five men caught at this time with the
charge of burglary, and an interception.
Nixon gets involved in this scandal, as he was worried about the damage disclosure
where his election team was involved. Instead of being impeached for Watergate, Nixon has

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resigned and created a recession that did not end until the year 1975 after Fed has decreased
the rate of interest. The monetary policy reached to a great depression, and the unemployment
rate increased up to 10.8% that remained for a year. Watergate has battered the confidence of
the public from the government, as it felt betrayed (Shepard, 2015). The missing trust in the
government resulted in the election of Ronald Reagan in the year 1980, which created a pubic
faith in the theory of trickle-down economics, hence arose economic inequality.
Answer to Question 3
In the year 1972, the United States President Richard Nixon has visited the People’s
Republic of China. This visit was an essential strategic and political approach, which marked
the conclusion of the resumption of Nixon administration with pleasant relations amongst the
US and China after some years of political isolation. Nixon has visited three cities of China
for seven days as an official visit of PRC by the US president for the first time. The strategic
approach by Nixon through this visit as Nixon China Policy has ended a communication gap
of 25 years with Beijing and tied the two countries (Campbell & Ratner, 2018). This was the
crucial step in normalising the relationship between China and the US.
The visit of Nixon to China has enhanced leverage over relations with the Soviet
Union. Nixon China Policy was focus on agreement with the Republic of China as well as the
Soviet Union that ease the cold war tensions amongst these two countries (Cohen, 2017).
This détente period was from the tear 1967 to the year 1979. The era was a period of
improved trade and cooperation with the Soviet Union as well as the relation cooled with the
Soviet incursion of Afghanistan.
Answer to Question 4
An energy crisis is a substantial blockage in the supply of energy resources to a
country’s economy. The energy crisis has played an essential role in the downturn of the

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economy of the 1970s. The occurrence of the energy crisis in the 1970s had taken place at
the time when the Western countries mainly the US, Canada, New Zealand, Western Europe
and Australia had a shortage of petroleum and prices.
The energy crisis has its emergence in the US during the wake of the Iranian
revolution. With the OPEC oil embargo of 1973, oil prices raised 350% and higher costs
flowed by the economy. The crisis in the US began to uphold as the production of petroleum
where world oil production began a decline of per capita for an extended period after 1979.
President Carter has responded to the energy crisis through outlining his plans in July
1979 regarding reduction in the oil imports and an increase in the efficiency of the energy
(Camp, 2014). He has highlighted such points in his ‘Crisis of Confidence’ or ‘Malaise’
speech. There has been the installation of solar hot water panels and wood-burning stove on
the roof of the white house and living quarters. Further, he encouraged the public to do
whatever they can do to decrease their use of energy.
Answer to Question 5
The Iranian hostage crisis was a political impasse amongst the United States and Iran.
Fifty-two people were held as a hostage for 444 days, a day until the group of students
supported the Iranian revolution by seizing the US embassy in Tehran (Hamilton, 2017). The
President of America Jimmy Carter named the hostage-taking as an act of ‘blackmail’ and the
hostages as ‘victims of terrorism and anarchy’.
The Iranian Hostage Crisis had weakened Carter’s Conduct of foreign policy. Carter
lost re-election in 1980 to Ronald Reagan. The crisis had become the headlines and news
broadcasted made the administration an image to show weak and incompetent (Jones, 2015).
The diplomacy during the crisis has also made the foreign policy team weaker.

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The Iranian hostage crisis has possible lessons to the United States that can made
think to develop a proper understanding of nationalism, willingness to talk and listen to the
other sides, the courage to protect the long-term goals by resisting the domestic pressures and
patience to work out of any differences. The leader must have courage and patience that helps
to handle the situation in an appropriate manner.

6US HISTORY
References
Camp, M. (2014). Carter’s Energy Insecurity: The Political Economy of Coal in the
1970s. Journal of Policy History, 26(4), 459-478.
Campbell, K. M., & Ratner, E. (2018). The China reckoning: how Beijing defied
American expectations. Foreign Aff., 97, 60.
Cohen, W. I. (2017). The United States and China During the Cold War. The Gilder
Lehrman Institute of American History.
De Beaufort Wijnholds, O. (2015). The Dollar. In Gold, the Dollar and
Watergate (pp. 37-154). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Hamilton, M. L. (2017). Strategic Reality and Tactical Mirages: Special Operations
and the Iranian Hostage Rescue, 1979-1980. Air Command and Staff College,
Air University Maxwell AFB United States.
Jones, B. W. (2015). “How Does a Born-Again Christian Deal with a Born-Again
Moslem?” The Religious Dimension of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Diplomatic
History, 39(3), 423-451.
Melloan, G. (2017). Free People, Free Markets: How the Wall Street Journal
Opinion Pages Shaped America. Encounter Books.
Shepard, G. (2015). The Real Watergate Scandal: Collusion, Conspiracy, and the
Plot That Brought Nixon Down. Simon and Schuster.