How did U.S. foreign policy change under Nixon?

> CHRONOLOGY

1970
  • Nixon orders invasion of Cambodia.

  • Students killed at Kent State and Jackson State.

1971
  • Portions of Pentagon Papers published.

1972
  • Nixon visits China.

  • Nixon signs arms limitation treaties with Soviets.

1973
  • Paris Peace Accords end U.S. fighting in Vietnam.

  • CIA backs military coup in Chile.

  • Arab oil embargo follows Yom Kippur War.

1975
  • North Vietnam takes over South Vietnam, ending war.

  • Helsinki accords signed.

Richard M. Nixon hoped to make his mark on history by applying his broad understanding of international relations to a changing world. Diverging from Republican orthodoxy, he made dramatic overtures to the Soviet Union and China. Yet anticommunism remained central to U.S. policy. Nixon backed repressive regimes around the world and aggressively pursued the war in Vietnam, despite mounting opposition. He expanded the conflict into Cambodia and Laos and ferociously bombed North Vietnam. In the end, however, he was forced to settle for peace without victory.