The Industrial Powers of North America

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Ending the Vietnam War

• President Richard Nixon hoped to avoid complete defeat in Vietnam and searched for ways to end America’s involvement in the conflict “with honor.”

• Vietnamizaton- The plan for the South Vietnamese to take over the fighting as American troops gradually withdrew.

• On January 27, 1973 communist leaders accepted an agreement called the Paris Peace Accords. The agreement stated that all US and allied forces would leave Vietnam in exchange for the release of all prisoners of war.

Watergate and Its Legacy• Watergate- In 1972 burglars were caught breaking into the

headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel. President Nixon was behind the break in and was forced to resign in August of 1974.

• Gerald Ford took power followed by Jimmy Carter. Carter presidency was troubled by the economy and the Iranian hostage crisis.

• Ronald Reagan would win in 1980 and in 1984. In his second term a scandal known as the Iran-Contra Affair came to the publics attention.

• Members of Reagan’s National Security Council staff had arranged the sale of weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of US hostages in Lebanon.

• George Bush Bill Clinton George W. Bush Barrack Obama

The US Economy

• In the 1970s and 1980s the US began to lose its lead in heavy industry. Job loss and more importing then exporting created a trade deficit.

• The US began to dominate the fields of aerospace engineering, pharmaceuticals, and information technology.

• The US today?

The US and Energy

• The US and oil

The US-Soviet Relations

• President Nixon signed the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty with the Soviet Union in 1972. The treaty limited each nations nuclear weapon supplies.

• Détente- easing of strain.• When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, President

Carter issued the Carter Doctrine. He declared that the US would regard any attempts by outside forces to control the Persian Gulf as an assault on US interests.

• In 1991 the Soviet Union dismantled and the US was the only world superpower.

Relations with China

• Relations with China have always been stable, but differences over human rights, trade, missile defense, and the status of Taiwan have often put the relationship on the rocks.

Canada

• Separatism– Most Canadians are of English-speaking descent.

However, in the province of Quebec, French-speaking Canadians form the majority. This group has struggled to preserve its distinct culture.

– Meech Lake Accords- Quebec is a “distinct society”

Canada and US

• 1988 US and Canada Free Trade Agreement- eliminate almost all tariff barriers between the two nations.

• 1992 NAFTA- US, Mexico, and Canada.