US history notes

 The Cuban Missile Crisis was probably one of the most dangerous periods of the Cold War. For
13 days in October 1962, the world appeared to stand on the brink of nuclear war.
 Until 1959, Cuba was closely allied to the United States under the leadership of the right-wing
dictator, General Batista. In 1959, Batista was overthrown in a revolution led by Fidel Castro.
 Cuba adopted communism.
 Castro nationalized all American-owned companies in Cuba, and refused to pay compensation.
 The struggle for Cuba was part of the worldwide Cold War and a belief that communism was on
the move and threatening the USA on its doorstep.
 The USA imposed a trade embargo on Cuban goods, depriving Cubans of a market for their
sugar and tobacco, and the income to import oil and other essential goods.
 In January 1961, the USA cut off diplomatic relations with Cuba.
The Bay of Pigs
 In April 1961, just after he was installed as President of the USA, John F.
Kennedy approved a plan to invade Cuba and overthrow communism.
 The CIA landed 1,400 Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs on the southern coast of
Cuba with the aim of provoking an anti-communist uprising, but it failed.

 After the Bay of Pigs incident, Cuba clearly felt threatened by the United States.
 Castro started to look for a closer relationship with the USSR who could offer the
country protection.
 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev decided to agree to Cuba's request to place
nuclear missiles there to deter future harassment of Cuba.
 Cuba was only 90 miles from the coast of Florida meaning that the USA,
including many of its biggest cities like Washington DC and New York, would be
well within range of these missiles.

 The lives of 80 million Americans were at stake.

Kennedy's response: the naval blockade of Cuba

Kennedy's final decision was a US blockade of Cuba, which Kennedy called a
'quarantine zone'. This could stop further Soviet missiles coming to Cuba, buying him
time to negotiate with the Soviets.

 Both sides considered they had secured a victory - Khrushchev had saved the
communist regime in Cuba from invasion by the USA, and had negotiated a deal with
the USA on the removal of their Jupiter missiles in Turkey. Kennedy had kept his
election promise and stood up to the USSR, and kept nuclear missiles out of Cuba.

Marshall Plan
  The Marshall Plan was a U.S.-sponsored program implemented
following the end of World War II, granting $13 billion in foreign aid
to European countries that had been devastated physically and
economically by World War II.

 The U.S. proposed the Marshall Plan because it was the only
country in World War II that had not suffered damage as a result of
the fighting.
 Marshall believed that the stability of European governments
depended on the economic stability of the people. Europe needed
to rebuild transportation hubs, roads, agriculture, factories, and
cities that suffered major losses during the long war.
 The $13 billion plan started with shipments of food and staples to
European ports in the Netherlands and France. Tractors, turbines,
lathes, and other industrial equipment, plus the fuel to power the
machines, arrived soon afterward. Between 1948 and 1951, the
billions committed in aid to European countries effectively
amounted to 5% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) at the time.
 The Marshall Plan was more than an economic plan. The Secretary
of State thought that the cooperation of all European nations would
lead to greater unity. The foundation of the plan led to the creation
of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a defensive
alliance against any future aggressors. NATO is an
intergovernmental military alliance between 30 European and North
American countries. The treaty was signed on April 4, 1949.
 Marshall earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for his efforts, but
the lasting effects of the plan went well into the future.
 The reliance on American aid opened up trading avenues between
Europe and the United States.
 The call for unity among European nations formed the basic idea
behind the European Union.

Watergate scandal
What Was Watergate?
The Watergate scandal was an infamous political event in 1972 involving President
Richard Nixon hiring a team to break into the Democratic Party Washington, DC
headquarters and planting eavesdropping devices to undermine the party's election
efforts. Watergate was about a sitting U.S. President ordering an espionage operation
on private citizens; this action eventually exposed President Nixon's abuse of power. The
Watergate scandal, in simple terms, was when President Nixon and his senior advisors
created a plan to spy on the Democratic Campaign to gain an advantage in the 1974
election. All the people who broke into the Watergate Hotel were arrested and the
connections were made back to the White House.

The Watergate scandal was a significant event in American politics because of the loss of
trust the government was already experiencing in the 1970s during the Vietnam War
Era. The Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation afterward ushered in an era of no
confidence and low trust from the public.

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Watergate Background
During the late-1960s the U.S. was heavily involved in the Vietnam War, which many in
the American public did not fully understand why the nation was involved in the first
place. During this time period, protests against the war were common events in most
major cities in the U.S., and often many of the protests turned violent. Draft dodging,
draft card burnings, and other direct war protests were becoming very popular in 1970.
Many citizens had lost their faith and trust in the U.S. government. The Watergate
Scandal was a product of the political climate of the period.

The Election of 1968

The Election of 1968 was a three-way race between former Vice President Richard Nixon
(R), Alabama Governor George Wallace (Independent), and incumbent Vice President
Hubert Humphrey (D). President Lyndon Johnson was in the running the year before but
dropped out of the race when he did not receive favorable votes in the Democratic
Primary. President Nixon ran on a campaign platform of bringing an end to the Vietnam
War and a strict law-and-order policy. No candidate won the majority of votes during
the election. This means that President Nixon was voted on by less than half of the
nation's voting population. President Nixon won the electoral vote (301 electoral votes)
but only won about 43% of the majority vote. This is an important part of history to
remember, as not many people wanted him to become president.

The Administration of President Richard Nixon

President Nixon experienced a successful first term and gained support through his
administration's accomplishments:
Established a strong relationship with China
Ended the Vietnam War and eliminated the military draft
Increased military operations against communist regimes in Central and South America
Pushed for nuclear peace with the Soviets
President Nixon was adept in foreign affairs but lacked some skill and effort in domestic
affairs. His policies of "New Federalism" sought to devolve some federal powers and
give grants to state and local governments but faced some pushback in Congress. Nixon
did little to reverse economic damaging policies leftover from President Johnson's
administration.

The Watergate Scandal: Summary

President Nixon ran for re-election in the campaign of 1972. Although he had great
support during his first term, he was worried about his prospects. He had gained a great
following and increased popularity throughout his first term but was using polling
constantly to track his progress. Polling greatly favored Nixon the entire race, and he
won by one of the largest landslide victories in presidential election history.

When Was Watergate?

The Watergate scandal occurred during the 1972 election in June of that year. This was
after the primaries and leading into the general election which was in November of that
year. Nixon was still in the lead but was very skeptical of polling numbers and wanted to
make sure that he secured the victory.

What Happened at Watergate?

High-level espionage and burglary are what happened in the Watergate scandal. Nixon's
Committee to Re-Elect the President (CRP) had planned a break-in to the Democratic
Party's headquarters in the Watergate complex in order to gain information on their
campaign. G. Gordon Liddy, the senior advisor to Nixon's re-election team, Presidential
Counsel John Dean, and two former CIA operatives who were serving as security
contractors were the designers and leaders of the plan. The leadership team tasked five
men to break into the hotel rooms of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and
place listening devices on phones, document any campaign notes, and take pictures or
film of other important campaign strategy plans. A Watergate night-shift security guard
found evidence of the break-in and called the police. All five men that broke in were
arrested. Two of the burglars had the same name in their address books, a man who had
connections to the White House and because of this, the event became a political
scandal. One of the five, James McCord, was on Nixon's re-election campaign security
team and linked to the White House as an aide.
The Political Response to the Watergate Scandal
The initial response to the break-in from the Nixon White House was complete denial
and cover-up. Senior staff in the White House at the time attempted to cover for the
President to make sure it did not ruin his election chances. Nixon responded to the
accusations of his involvement as a political stunt and media conspiracy. After several
months and hundreds of pieces of evidence and witness testimony, investigators were
closing in on pinning the involvement of Nixon in the scandal. There's no evidence that
Nixon knew or didn't know about the break-in, but he did know about and approve
attempts to cover up Republican involvement in the incident

NATO Expansion