RICHARD M. NIXON: 1968-1974 APUSH - Cornwell

Nixon Fact Sheet Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974 (37th President) Background

� Republican from southern California � House of Representatives and Senate � HUAC – 1940s-1950s � “Checkers” Speech � Vice President – 1953-1961 � Presidential Election of 1960

o television debates o close election

� Presidential Election of 1968 o Law and Order o Peace With Honor out of Vietnam

� Identified the great ‘silent majority’ of law abiding American citizens � Vietnam – de-escalation � Cambodian invasion – 1970 � More student protests – Kent State, Jackson State � Election of 1972 – landslide victory (60% of popular vote) � Watergate – June 1972-August 1974, Impeached, not convicted b/c resigned � Resignation - August 9, 1974

Domestic Policy New Federalism - $ distributed to states Opposed Federal Busing Increased funding for domestic legislation Appointed William Rehnquist to Supreme Court Foreign Policy Détente - Relaxation Vietnam – “Vietnamization” and Peace with honor. China - 1972 Soviet Union = 1972 Henry Kissinger – National Security Advisor – ‘realpolitik’

Nixon Notes APUSH – Cornwell I. 1968: The Politics of Strife • The Tet Offensive in Vietnam = doubt in American minds• • LBJ decided to not seek re-election amid antiwar sentiment• • April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated = set of numerous riots• • June 5, 1968, Robert Kennedy assassinated in LA• • Democrats nominated Hubert H. Humphrey at '68 convention in Chicago• • Major protest in Chicago gave Democrats a poor national image• • Republican candidate Richard M. Nixon promised• • to end civil strife• • achieve peace with honor in Vietnam• • crack down on radicals• • uphold law and order• • George Wallace appealed to people fed up with counterculture and radicalism• • Together Nixon and Wallace garnered 57% of the vote, Nixon won with 43%• • Liberal ideals had been repudiated• • Identification of the great “Silent Majority” of law abiding American citizens II. Nixon and World Politics • Nixon and Henry Kissinger = realpolitik. -Deal with world in terms of national interest, no reference to morality or ideology• • 1969 Nixon Doctrine = US aid in $ but the countries would do their own fighting• • Vietnam became Nixon's war as he stepped up bombing of N. Vietnam• • Widened it to Cambodia and Laos• • Jan. 1973 - Paris Accords• • Vietnam by the numbers:• • 58,000 dead (US)• • 300,000 wounded (US)• • $150 billion (US)• • 2 million casualties (VN)• • Communists in Cambodia killed 40% of its people between 1975-1979 (The Killing Fields)• • Détente with China and USSR• • Nixon visited Beijing in 1972 and USSR• • Signed SALT 1 Treaty with Russians• • October 1973, Israel attacked by Egypt and Syria (Yom Kippur War)• • US aided Israel• • Middle Eastern oil producers placed embargo on US causing shortages, skyrocketing prices and rampant inflation in USA• • Kissinger began "shuttle diplomacy" to get a cease-fire•

• US continued to offer aid to any country key to US financial and strategic interests• • Shah in Iran• • Ferdinand Marcos in Philippines• • overthrew Salvador Allende (Marxist) in Chile• III. Domestic Problems and Divisions • Nixon was intelligent, energetic, focused and possessed keen concentration capabilities• • Also paranoid and secretive• • Moderate domestically• • Inherited deficit and inflation from LBJ years• • Nixon admin. purposely harassed "enemies" to ensure law and order• • Used IRS, FBI, CIA and established "plumbers" to stop leaks of information deemed harmful to admin.• • Swung conservatively as he appointed Chief Justice Warren Burger and 3 other conservatives (William Rehnquist - Chief Justice until 2005)• • 1972, Nixon portrayed Democrats as the party of the New Left, hippies, drug culture, abortion and disorder• IV. The Election of 1972 • Democrats = George McGovern• • Nixon wanted to ensure victory so he established CREEP to destroy the opposition• • plumbers broke into DNC headquarters at the Watergate complex to install wiretaps• • burglars were caught and Nixon admin. began cover-up• • Nixon was easily re-elected• V. The Crisis of the Presidency • Watergate cover-up began to unravel in 1973• • one of the convicted burglars confessed White House aides were involved• • Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (Washington Post) wrote series of articles exposing "dirty tricks"• • Feb. 1973, special committee in Senate to probe the matter• • Learned that conversations in the oval office had been taped and demanded they be turned over• • Nixon appointed a new attorney general, Elliot Richardson who selected special Watergate prosecutor, Archibald Cox (Democrat)• • Cox requested the tapes and was fired. Richardson resigned. "Saturday Night Massacre"• • Prompted impeachment proceedings against the president• • Unrelated to Watergate, VP Spiro Agnew resigned due to bribe taking and tax evasion while governor of Maryland•

• Gerald Ford replaced Agnew• • July 1974, Supreme Court ruled Nixon must turn over unedited tapes• • Nixon released them and they revealed he had personally ordered the cover-up and had lied about his role for 2 years• • Impeachment was a certainty along with a conviction• • August 9, 1974 Nixon resigned• Conclusion: • Nixon's resignation ended an era of tumult and polarization• • Americans had lost faith in Washington due to:• • Vietnam• • rebellious youth• • energy shortages• • declining economy• • failure of Democrats to deliver on JFK's and LBJ's promises• • Nixon was successful in capitalizing to create a new majority coalition for Republicans however, Nixon's legacy left it difficult for his successors to lead effectively in the ensuing years•

APUSH- Cornwell Richard Nixon: 1968-1974 Nixon Presidency – January 1969 – August 1973 Election of 1968 – Nixon (R) defeats Humphrey (D) and Wallace (I) Minority candidate – 43% “Law and Order” & “Peace with Honor” Spiro T. Agnew – Vice President Results reveal shift toward conservatism Democrats control Congress Domestic Policy – New Federalism – slow growth of federal government by transferring responsibility for social programs (Great Society) to states and local government.

� revenue sharing (block grants) � impoundment – bypass Congress (rejected by the courts)

Economy � recession – 1970 � “stagflation” – economic slowdown and inflation � wage and price freeze (Aug ’71) � monetary policy – took the dollar off of the gold standard (improve balance of trade) � COLAs for Social Security benefits

Southern Strategy � Silent Majority – political realignment (southern Democrats, blue-collar workers,

Catholic ethnics) � delay integration and busing – rejected by courts

Burger Court (four new justices, conservative tilt) � Warren Burger – chief justice, 1969 � Blackman, Powell, Rehnquist – associate justices � Roe v. Wade (1973) � U.S. v. Nixon (1974)

Election of 1972 – Nixon v. McGovern (and Wallace*) � Nixon wins 60.8% popular votes, every state except Massachusetts � McGovern – liberal, anti-establishment, anti-war Sen. S. Dakota � Democrats retain control of Congress (split government)

Watergate – break in and illegal cover-up � CREEP – Committee to Reelect the President (John Mitchell) � break in of DNC headquarters � other illegal activities – wire taps, “dirty tricks” � “Plumbers” – stop news leaks � “enemies list” – government investigations (IRS, FBI) � Senate & House Committees – John Dean, Ehrlichman & Haldeman � “secret tapes” – “executive privilege v. obstruction of justice � “Saturday Night Massacre” – Archibald Cox (special prosecutor) and Elliott

Richardson (Attorney General) � Resignation – August 9, 1974 (House Judiciary Committee – three articles of

impeachment Miscellaneous

� October (Yom Kippur) War – U.S. support for Israel � OPEC – oil embargo

� War Powers Act – November 1973

Foreign Policy – Vietnam, Soviet Union, and China Vietnam – “Peace with Honor”

� “Vietnamization” of the war � disengagement – 540,000 troops in 1969, under 30,000 by 1972 � Nixon Doctrine � invasion of Cambodia � Kent State (May 4, 1970) & Jackson State (June 1970) � secret peace talks – Kissinger and Le Duc Tho � B-52s – N. Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh Trail (Laos & Cambodia) � Paris Peace Accord – January 1973

o U.S. withdraws o NVA can remain in the South o N. Vietnam returns 500 POWs

Détente � China

o Nixon to Beijing, February 1972; meets with Mao o diplomatic recognition, 1979 (30 years after revolution)

� Soviet Union o Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT)

� ABM � freeze on missile platforms

62 Close Up on Primary Sources Themed Collection

EC. 2. (a) It is the purpose of this joint reso-lution to fulfill the intent of the framers ofthe Constitution of the United States and

insure that the collective judgment of both theCongress and the President will apply to theintroduction of United States Armed Forces intohostilities, or into situations where imminentinvolvement in hostilities is clearly indicated bythe circumstances, and to the continued use ofsuch forces in hostilities or in such situations.…

SEC. 3. The President in every possibleinstance shall consult with Congress beforeintroducing United States Armed Forces intohostilities or into a situation where imminentinvolvement in hostilities is clearly indicated bythe circumstances, and after every such intro-duction shall consult regularly with the Con-gress until United States Armed Forces are nolonger engaged in hostilities or have beenremoved from such situations.

SEC. 4. (a) In the absence of a declaration ofw a r, in any case in which the United StatesArmed Forces are introduced—

(1) into hostilities or into situationswhere imminent involvement in hos-tilities is clearly indicated by the cir-cumstances;

(2) into the territory, airspace orwaters of a foreign nation, whileequipped for combat, except fordeployments which relate solely tos u p p l y, replacement, repair, or train-ing of such forces; or

(3) in numbers which substantiallyenlarge United States Armed Forcesequipped for combat already locatedin a foreign nation; the President shallsubmit within 48 hours to the Speakerof the House of Representatives andto the President pro tempore of theSenate a report, in writing…

(b) Within sixty calendar days after a report issubmitted… pursuant to section 4(a)(1),whichever is earlier, the President shall termi-nate any use of United States Armed Forceswith respect to which such report was sub-mitted (or required to be submitted), unlessCongress (1) has declared war or has enacteda specific authorization for such use ofUnited States Armed Forces, (2) has extendedby law such sixty-day period, or (3) is physi-cally unable to meet as a result of an armedattack upon the United States.…

Themed Collection: CHECKS AND BALANCES

The War Powers Resolution, 1973

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Questions for Discussion

1. According to the Resolution, what must the President do in “every possible instance”?

2. Whose power is checked by the application of the resolution? How and by whom is it checked?

Largely in response to the Vietnam Wa r, which was never officially declared by Congress butcost billions of dollars and thousands of lives, many lawmakers in the 1970s wanted to ensure a congressional role in decisions to use military force. Many members of Congress felt that during the Vietnam War, Presidents Johnson and Nixon had denied Congress its proper role inissues of defense and foreign policy. The result was the War Powers Resolution (excerptedbelow). Critics of the legislation believed it unconstitutionally invaded the President’s foreignpolicy and war powers. Supporters believed it restored some of the balance that was originallyintended in the Constitution.

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The Watergate Scandal

SECTION 3

A. AS YOU READAs you read Section 3, fill in the boxes in the sequence chain below to show howthe Watergate scandal unfolded, ending with Nixon’s resignation.

B. REVIEWING KEY TERMSExplain the significance of each of the following terms to Nixon’s presidency.

10. Watergate scandal

11. special prosecutor

12. impeach

1. With Nixon’s approval,a special White Houseunit is organized, whichbreaks into the office of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist.

2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

7. 9.8.

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Taking over as President when Nixonresigned, Gerald Ford faced the effects ofthe Watergate scandal and an economy in

trouble. One of his first acts wasto pardon Nixon for any crimes,an action that brought instantcriticism from many sides, andFord lost a great deal of his popu-larity. Many felt it was unfair forNixon to escape punishmentwhen many of his advisers andaides went to prison.

Economically, Ford had todeal with a recession. Both inflation andunemployment had soared in the early1970s, causing stagflation, a stalledeconomy. Favoring limited government,Ford hesitated to take direct action, but hewas finally forced to support tax cuts andmore federal spending to try to improvethe economy. Ford was also often at oddswith a Democratic Congress, which con-sistently overrode his vetoes of programsfor housing, education, and health care.

In foreign affairs, Ford followedNixon’s policy of détente. He continuedimproved relations with China and devel-oped relationships with several newlyindependent African nations. However,his power in Southeast Asia was limitedby the War Powers Act, whichCongress had passed to curtail the powerof the President to involve the UnitedStates in foreign conflicts. When he askedfor aid for South Vietnam, Congressrefused, and in 1975 South Vietnam final-ly fell to North Vietnam.

On the European front, Ford signed theHelsinki Accords, agreements with 30European nations, Canada, and the SovietUnion to cooperate economically andpromote human rights. He also continuedthe SALT talks with the Soviet Union tolimit nuclear weapons.

Near the end of Ford’s term, the nationcelebrated its bicentennial, or 200thbirthday, and the festivities seemed torevive the nation’s sense of optimism.

THE FORDADMINISTRATION

SECTION 4

TEXT SUMMARY

124 CHAPTER 25 Guide to the Essentials © Pearson Education Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall.

As President, GeraldFord faced econom-ic difficulties andthe lasting effectsof the Watergatescandal.

T H E BIG I D E A

1. Why did the public see Ford’s pardoning of Nixon as unfair?

2. Diagram Skills According to theWar Powers Act, how long canAmerican troops stay overseas with-out the approval of Congress?

REVIEW QUESTIONS

GRAPHIC SUMMARY: The War Powers Act

After the Vietnam War,

Congress decided to limit the

President’s power to send

American troops overseas.

Passed over President Nixon’s veto in 1973, the War Powers Act gave Congress more power in dealing with international conflicts.

The President cansend troops overseas,

but must informCongress within

48 hours.

Troops may not stayoverseas more than

60 days withoutapproval of Congress.

Congress has thepower to force thePresident to bring the troops home.

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Even though President Ford was theincumbent, the current office holder, hewas defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter,the former governor of Georgia, in 1976. Anewcomer to national politics, Carter wasalso a deeply religious man. Once inoffice, his lack of experience in nationalpolitics caused him trouble with Congressand often with his own party.

To improve the economy, Carter sup-ported deficit spending, which angeredCongress. When inflation still rose, he cutspending on social programs, which costhim Democratic support. He had moresuccess with deregulation, the removalof government controls on certain indus-tries to stimulate the economy.

Deeply concerned with civil rights,Carter promoted many African Americansto government posts. (Affirmativeaction, policies that increase job andeducation opportunities for minorities,was, however, set back by the Bakke deci-

sion in 1978.) Carter granted amnesty, ageneral pardon, to those whohad evaded the Vietnam Wardraft.

Human rights were a corner-stone of Carter’s foreign policy.In 1978 he acted as peacemakerbetween Israel and Egypt withthe Camp David Accords.Carter promoted détente withthe Soviet Union, but his supportof dissidents, Soviet activists who criti-cized their government, undermined this.

Carter concluded a SALT II treaty withthe Soviet Union, but he withdrew it andenacted a boycott of the 1980 MoscowOlympics after they invaded Afghanistan.

Carter’s most serious foreign policy crisisoccurred in 1979 when 52 Americans at theU.S. embassy in Iran were seized and heldfor more than a year. The Iran hostage crisisand rising inflation lost Carter the 1980election to Republican Ronald Reagan.

THE CARTERADMINISTRATION

SECTION 5

TEXT SUMMARY

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Democrat JimmyCarter won the1976 presidentialelection by stress-ing trust and honesty.

T H E BIG I D E A

1. How did Carter support humanrights in his foreign policy?

2. Map Skills Which candidate wonmore votes in the South?

REVIEW QUESTIONS

GRAPHIC SUMMARY: Presidential Election of 1976

Carter won a close elec-

tion, in spite of Ford’s

strong support in the

Midwest and West.Electoral Popular % PopularCandidate/Party Vote Vote Vote

Jimmy Carter (Dem.) 297 40,827,394 49.9

Gerald R. Ford (Rep.) 240 39,145,977 47.9

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The Camp David Accords (source apGrolier) The U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was the setting for a historic moment in September 1978. With the help of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin reached agreements that would end a 30-year state of war between their countries. Carter (center), Sadat (left), and Begin (right) are shown here at the White House ceremony marking the Camp David Accords. (Jimmy Carter Library/National Archives)

APUSH – Cornwell Ford – Carter Notes Ford Presidency – August 1974 – January 1977 (restore dignity to the White House) The Pardon – Nixon Economy – W.I.N. (Whip Inflation Now!)

� growing stagflation � oil crisis

Vietnam � Congress cut off funding – 1974 � fall of Saigon – April 30, 1975

Miscellaneous Foreign Policy � Mayaguez incident – May 1975 (Cambodia) � Helsinki Accords – August 1975 (Human Rights)

Election of 1976 – Ford (R) v. Carter (D) Carter Presidency – January 1977 – January 1981 (“outsider”) Domestic Policy

� Economy o energy crisis o inflation – 13% o slow growth, high interest rates – 20% o Three-Mile Island nuclear accident (1979)

� “National Malaise” – moral and spiritual crisis – a crisis of confidence Foreign Policy

� Human Rights � Panama Canal (1977) � Iran Hostage Crisis (1979) � Camp David Accords (1979)

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GUIDED READING AND REVIEWMany

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SECTION 1

Guided Reading and Review • 133Chapter 33 Survey EditionChapter 26 Modern American History Edition

Roots of the New Conservatism

A. AS YOU READAs you read Section 1, fill in the graphic organizer. Explain the relationship ofeach person to the conservative movement.

B. REVIEWING KEY TERMSExplain how each of the following relates to the conservative movement.

7. New Right

8. televangelism

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt

3. Lyndon Johnson

5. Jerry Falwell

The Conservative Movement

2. Barry Goldwater

4. Richard Nixon

6. Ronald Reagan

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With the Congressional elections of 1994, the Republican Party won control overboth houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years. This change in power wasdubbed the “Republican Revolution.” Popular conservative radio talk show hostRush Limbaugh published his bestseller, See, I Told You So, in 1993—not longbefore the Republican Revolution of 1994. In this excerpt, Limbaugh outlines his“blueprint” for reuniting the Republican Party and the conservative movement.

As you read Limbaugh’s ideas, think about how his words might have inspired conserva-tive lawmakers, candidates, and voters in 1993.

NAME _______________________________________________ CLASS ___________________ DATE _________________

The Republican Revolution

LITERATURE ACTIVITY

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMWe need to publicize the message that federalintervention has contributed to the deteriorationof our schools. People need to understand thelunacy that abounds in our public schools. . . . Notall public schools are bad, but overall the systemis bankrupt. It is estimated that three-fifths of ourhigh-school students either drop out or graduatewith no more than the equivalent of a seventh-grade education. Why should we continue toprop up this manifestly failed system? The left isobviously more interested in protecting the edu-cational system from much-needed reform thanin the welfare of our children and improving theireducation. We should vigorously promote educa-tional choice and the voucher system to instillcompetition in our failing schools. By doing so,we will be giving lower- and middle-class fami-lies the same mobility as the wealthy by provid-ing them the means to choose the best schools fortheir children, rather than imprisoning many ofthem in inferior public schools that are all toooften urban war zones. The teachers’ unions, theeducation bureaucrats, and many Democraticpoliticians believe they should have the preroga-tive to tell middle-class Americans where theirchildren should attend school. How often, forexample, have you heard government officialsdiscuss the possibility of “giving parents theright” to choose the school their children willattend. Give parents the right?! Good grief, this isthe United States of America! Who do these peo-ple think they are, that they can grant (or deny)parents that right? As Bill Bennett says inresponse to this idiocy, “Let my people go.”

FAMILY VALUESWe must become a people who believe in some-thing—a people of conviction. Despite the con-stant sermonizing by the media, Republicans didnot lose the presidency because they were “co-opted by the right wing” on values. The case onvalues was simply not made effectively and per-suasively. Few Americans would disagree thatsome of the most serious problems facingAmerica today—crime, drug abuse, AIDS,teenage pregnancy, child abuse, and so on—allresult from a breakdown of values. But don’t gethung up on labels here. Call it family values, tra-ditional values, or whatever you want; what isimportant is that conservatives capitalize on thisopportunity for them to explain that traditionalfunctional values are what make a society work—what hold it together.

THE ENVIRONMENTEnvironmental issues will be a fertile battle-ground during the years to come. . . . All we canreasonably ask for is a thorough public discussionguided by facts and reason rather than hysteria.We need to do our part to expose the true anti-people, anti-business, anti-capitalist agenda of theenvironmentalists as the dialogue continues.Once people are made to see that the environ-mental movement is the new home for socialismand that there is an enormous cost to the environ-mentalist agenda, both economic and political,they will reject its excesses. . . .

LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTWe must focus on local and state government.Some of us have forgotten that our movement

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[conservatism] is not dependent on the presiden-cy alone. Let’s not forget the concept of federal-ism. We say we believe in the governing unit clos-est to the people, but some of us have become, asgrass-roots conservative organizer and FreeCongress Foundation founder Paul Weyrich says,“monarchists at heart.” The real energy of ideasoccurs at the local level. Liberalism survived inthe Reagan revolution because liberals were sowell entrenched in Congress, the state legisla-tures, the city councils, and the school boards.That is from where the power flows, and that iswhere conservatism needs to flourish.

FOREIGN POLICYIn redefining their platform, Republicans mustnot ignore the critical issue of foreign policy, justbecause the Cold War is over and the SovietUnion has disintegrated. In fact, some wouldargue that our world, even including Russia, ismuch less stable today than before because thereis no balance of power to preserve the peace. AsThird World nations develop weapons of massdestruction and delivery systems for them, it isimperative that we construct a cohesive and con-sistent foreign policy. As guiding principles inthis area, I suggest that Republicans advocate thepromotion of the national interest as our highestpriority. We can vigorously support democraticmovements all over the world and promotehuman rights, but we must always be guided bymilitary and diplomatic realities and our nationalinterest. With such guiding principles it will beeasy to justify our interventions in some areas,e.g., the Persian Gulf; and not others, e.g., theBalkan states.

THE ECONOMYAny discussion about building political coalitionsmust ultimately deal with the economy. As eco-

nomic issues are always paramount in politics,especially during peacetime, we need to directour heaviest artillery to this area. Supply-side eco-nomic policy should be our rallying point. Allpeople abhor taxes. Cutting marginal tax ratesand capital-gains taxes to stimulate productivityis a populist theme that conservatives andRepublicans have exclusively owned. As long aswe can convince the people that: a) cutting taxrates did work in practice during the 1980s and b)tax cuts are not responsible for the exploding fed-eral debt (spending is), we can again make this awinning issue. By talking about growth andopportunity we can cut across cultural, economic,social, and racial lines to reach all people. If weapproach this with optimism and confidence, wecan rebuild the conservative tent to include notonly Reagan Democrats, but Perot’s volunteersand minorities as well.

THE PARTY OF GROWTH, HOPE, AND THEAMERICAN DREAMI can’t state strongly enough that the RepublicanParty must be the party of growth. It is notacceptable for House or Senate Republicans mere-ly to respond to Bill Clinton and the DemocraticCongress that they want to cut spending first. Thisvagueness and vacillation about their willingness toraise taxes have got to go. Either they areRepublicans or they are not. And if they are goingto sit there and go along with tax increases whentaxes are as high as they are, they have no busi-ness calling themselves Republicans; they have noright to expect people to vote for them instead ofthe Democrats, and they do not deserve to be re-elected. The Republican Party is and must alwaysbe the party of growth, of private enterprise andentrepreneurship, of rugged individualism; ofhope; of the American Dream.

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(continued)LITERATURE ACTIVITY

Chapter 34 Survey EditionChapter 27 Modern American History Edition

90 • Literature Activity

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1. How does Limbaugh say that Republicans must present themselves? Why?

2. Determining Relevance What impact do you think Limbaugh’s “blue-print” for the Republican Party had on the Congressional elections of 1994?Explain.

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KEY DOCUMENTS

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Ronald Reagan, “These Are the Boys of Pointe du Hoc,” 1984

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On June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave the following speech at Pointe du Hoc, France, markingthe fortieth anniversary of D-Day—the day the Allies launched an invasion of German-occupied Francealong Normandy, France’s northern coast. The speech showcases Reagan’s masterful conversational style.

We’re here to mark that day in history whenthe Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim thiscontinent to liberty. . . .

We stand on a lonely, windswept point on thenorthern shore of France. The air is soft, but fortyyears ago at this moment, the air was dense withsmoke and the cries of men, and the air was filledwith the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon.At dawn, on the morningof the 6th of June, 1944,225 Rangers jumped offthe British landing craftand ran to the bottom ofthese cliffs. Their missionwas one of the most diffi-cult and daring of theinvasion: to climb thesesheer and desolate cliffsand take out the enemyguns. The Allies had beentold that some of themightiest of these gunswere here and they wouldbe trained on the beachesto stop the Alliedadvance.

The Rangers looked upand saw the enemy sol-diers—at the edge of thecliffs shooting down atthem with machine guns and throwing grenades.And the American Rangers began to climb. Theyshot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs andbegan to pull themselves up. When one rope wascut, a Ranger would grab another and begin hisclimb again. They climbed, shot back, and heldtheir footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangerspulled themselves over the top, and in seizing thefirm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to

seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundredand twenty-five came here. After two days offighting, only ninety could still bear arms. . . .

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These arethe men who took the cliffs. These are the cham-pions who helped free a continent. These are theheroes who helped end a war. . . .

The men of Normandy had faith that whatthey were doing wasright, faith that theyfought for all humanity,faith that a just Godwould grant them mercyon this beachhead or onthe next. It was the deepknowledge—and prayGod we have not lost it—that there is a profoundmoral difference betweenthe use of force for libera-tion and the use of forcefor conquest. You [sol-diers who have returnedto Normandy] were hereto liberate, not to conquer,and so you and those oth-ers did not doubt yourcause. And you wereright not to doubt. . . .Here, in this place where

the West held together, let us make a vow to ourdead. Let us show them by our actions that weunderstand what they died for. . . . Strengthenedby their courage, heartened by their valor, andborne by their memory, let us continue to standfor the ideals for which they lived and died.

Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

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