Introduction
THE NIXON YEARS
Richard Nixon came into office in 1969 as a respected and ambitious political figure. Despite the Watergate scandal, Nixon left office with a number of accomplishments. Most notable among these achievements was his build-down of troops in Vietnam, referred to as Vietnamization. The Vietnam War was fought for approximately sixteen years and resulted in over fifty thousand American casualties. The seemingly endless war inspired a variety of anti-war movements including the hippie subculture. Of the four presidents that were in term during the war, Nixon was the one who managed to withdraw our involvement.
Task
TASK
You’re going to gather a basic understanding of Nixon’s greatest achievements and notable aspects of his career as president, most prominantly his involvement in Vietnam. You will be provided with a list of websites, though your research is not limited to them. Using trusted internet sources, you will organize a timeline of the most important events of his presidency. To test what you’ve learned, you will then complete a crossword puzzle. Continue on to the "Process" to read step-by-step instructions.
Process
PROCESS
1. Before formally beginning your task, you should research Nixon on the internet. The following websites will be helpful in your investigations:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon
http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/richard-m-nixon
http://www.biography.com/people/richard-nixon-9424076
2. Now that you’ve gathered some fundamental knowledge of Nixon, you will organize a timeline of his presidency, including both his accomplishments as well as his failures.
The incomplete timeline on the handout that we’ve given you is composed of a series of dates. If you do not have a physical copy of the timeline, we have attached it to the bottom of this page.
Please organize the following information in chronological order, writing it above or below its correlating date -
a) Nixon visits the Soviet Union for a summit meeting, making him first sitting President to visit the U.S.S.R.
b) The New York Times begins to publish the “Pentagon Papers”, which are documents disclosing confidential government information. Within a week of the release, a special group referred to as the “Plumbers” is organized to prevent any further leaks.
c) Nixon proposes a five-point peace plan for the situation in Indochina on live television. The plan includes the negotiated withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam.
d) Nixon announces a plan to withdraw 25,000 U.S. troops from South Vietnam by August 31.
e) Nixon affirms his desire to withdraw U.S. troops from southeast Asia and declares that individual nations will bear a larger responsibility for their own security. Initially referred to as the “Guam Doctrine,”
f) Nixon admits responsibility for the Watergate affair on television, but continues to assert no prior knowledge of it.
g) Nixon resigns the presidency, effective at noon the next day, in a televised address.
h) President and Mrs. Nixon arrive in China. A joint communique, later known as the Shanghai Communique, is released by the United States and China. It calls for both countries agree to increase their contacts, and for the United States to withdraw gradually from Taiwan.
i) Nixon is sworn into office as the thirty-seventh President of the United States.
j) President Nixon is inaugurated for his second term.
3. Now, you will fill out a crossword puzzle to test your knowledge of Nixon. All terms in the puzzle were acquired from the websites listed above. However, you may use any other websites that you find helpful.
If you do not have access to a printed copy of the crossword puzzle, it is attached below.
Evaluation
RUBRIC
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Exceptional (All points earned) |
Admirable - 3 points |
Developing - 6 points |
Needs Improvement - 10 points |
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Use of Internet (Links Provided) |
Successfully uses suggested Internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Usually able to use suggested Internet links to find information and navigates within the sites easily without assistance. |
Occasionally able to use suggested Internet links to find information and navigates within these sites easily without assistance. |
Needs assistance or supervision to use selected Internet links and/or navigate within these sites. |
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Web Quests Tasks Completed |
All areas of the project were addressed and handled with a high degree of sophistication. Project is interesting and completed. |
The project is only partially completed. The project submitted demonstrates a great deal of thought. (Between 75% and 100%) |
The project is only partially completed. The project submitted demonstrates a moderate level of thought. (between 50% and 75% complete) |
The project is incomplete, and/or it is apparent that little effort went into the development of the project, and/or project is less than 50% complete. |
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Power Point/Publisher Project- Attractivness |
Makes excellent use of font, colour, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance the presentation. |
Makes good use of font, colour, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance to presentation. |
Makes use of font, colour, graphics, effects, etc. but occasionally these detract from the presentation content. |
Use of font, colour, graphics, effects, etc. but these often distract from the presentation content. |
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Time Use |
Classroom time was used to work on the project. Conversations were not disruptive and focused on the work. |
Classroom time was used to work on the project the majority of the time. Conservations were not disruptive and focused on the work. |
Classroom time was used to work on the project the majority of the time, but conversations often were disruptive or did not focus on the work. |
The student did not use classroom time to work on the project the majority of the time, and/or was highly disruptive. |
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Grammar, Format, and Spelling |
The final body of the work was free of grammar, spelling and formatting errors. |
The final body had 1-2 errors related to grammar, spelling and formatting errors. |
The final body of work had 3-5 grammar, spelling and formatting errors. |
The final body of work had major grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. |
Conclusion
CONCLUSION
Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal resulted in his resignition from the presidency. Despite his questionable morals, Nixon had many irrefutable accomplishments. He was successful in the build-down troops in Vietnam, and shocked the public by forming a peaceful relatioship with the Republic of China and the Soviet Union. His achievements in no way overpowered his failures, but America definitely benefited from his term as president.
