Presidents: Richard Nixon (1969-1974) Gerald Ford (1974-1977) Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) George Bush Sr. (1989-1993)
Leaders: Mao Zedong (Chinese leader during Nixon's presidency) Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet leader during the end of the Cold War) Saddam Hussein (Leader of Irag during the Persian Gulf War)
Events: Nixon in China Camp David Accord 1991 Persian Gulf War
Richard Nixon
President Nixon improved relationships between the U.S. and China -- and with the Soviet Union. In 1972, he went to visit Chinese leader, Mao Zedong. This meeting opened communication/trade between our country and many others.
When war broke out in the Middle East, we were allies with Israel. Many oil-producing countries were upset, which created problems for the United States and these countries for years to come.
Richard Nixon was forced to resign from office in 1974. Gerald Ford took his place. Find out more on the link below, which shows Nixon's address to the nation.
President Reagan was a Hollywood actor before becoming a U.S. leader! He believed in a strong economy and wanted to use our government to help businesses. He also wanted a strong military to keep us safe during the Cold War. Having a big military costs money, and some feel we increased our national deficit (debt) by spending money on the military.
President Reagan is remembered for meeting with Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1985. Over the next two years, their meetings began to relationships that lessened the threat of nuclear war on both sides.
Jimmy Carter
In 1978, President Carter was successful at repairing damaged relationships with the Middle East. (FYI - He was a peanut farmer from Georgia!)
He met with leaders form Israel and Egypt at Camp David in Maryland. (It's a place where our Presidents go for important meetings.) At the end of his presidency, however, gas prices were even higher than during Nixon's term. After he left office, Jimmy Carter continued to work for peace and human rights. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
President Bush was in office when the Berlin wall came don in 1989! He also worked with the United Nations to stop Saddam Hussein's when he invaded Kuwait. (Hussein wanted to take over the country's oil fields.) In 1991, the United States started the war against Iraq, called the Persian Gulf War. It lasted 7 weeks. We were successful in our efforts, but Hussein stayed in office and caused fear for years to come!