Iron Lady, Part II
The most immediate issue the Nixon Administration faced was the rise of the regime of Fidel Castro. Here Nixon had a quandary. Nixon had, perhaps better than the State Department and CIA, known the depth of the anti-American sentiment throughout Latin America, and was under no illusions- there would be no "mass-uprising," in favor of an American-backed invasion. Instead, there would be a long occupation that would serve as an unwanted distraction with turmoil in Southeast Asia and Africa. Nixon desired at some cost to come up with an understanding with Castro so as to free American attention elsewhere. Here, his credibility as an anticommunist crusader gave him credibility where a President with less than perfect credentials might have been stymied. As a result, for the time being he put a kibosh on the poorly-planned and poorly-concealed plan to invade Cuba with exiles. For the time being, so long as Castro maintained a neutral stance, Cuba would be left well-enough alone. Nixon knew, however, that by doing so he might be writing off Florida in the 1964 Presidential Election.
The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 came as little surprise to the Administration, as in contrast many in the administration were mystified that it took so long. That being said, the tide of detente with the USSR stalled at that, and President Nixon visited Berlin later that year to condemn in person this barrier to free passage between East and West Berlin. Hoping to come up with a foreign policy victory on the cheap, the Administration looked to Southeast Asia. After an embarrassment in West Irian where Indonesia nearly went to war with the Netherlands over the territory, which led Sukarno to further embrace the communist party, Nixon needed a win. Consequently, he announced to the nation that repeated violations of the sovereign neutrality of Laos could no longer be tolerated, and a multinational force assist the Royal Family in ousting North Vietnamese occupiers fro the country. In 1962 a bombing campaign began in North Vietnam to disrupt North Vietnamese supply lines in Laos. From there the situation would escalate, until in 1963 American troops were sent in to root out the Pathet Lao and seal the border.
Complicating matters were events in France. In response to DeGaulle's planned withdrawal from Algeria, military forces in Algeria staged a coup, overthrowing the Fifth Republic and reestablishing the French State. In response, the French were suspended from NATO and SEATO, ultimately smoothing the way for intervention, as French intransigence on the matter was one of the major stumbling blocks. By 1963, 40,000 Americans joined about 35,000 troops from other nations in Eastern Laos.
Another pressing matter was the issue of civil rights. Nixon had of course campaigned on the matter, however political reality was a different matter. Wherever possible, in light of the fervent Southern Democratic opposition, Nixon relied on executive fiat rather than Congress. Such was his decision to follow his predecessor's example and call out the Mississippi National Guard to enforce the desegregation of Ole Miss. When Governor Barnett threatened to countermand his orders to the National Guard, Nixon made plain his contempt and sent in the 101st Airborne instead. Similarly, in 1962 Nixon issued an executive order banning Federal contractors from discriminating based on race.
Nevertheless, Nixon pursued a comprehensive civil rights act in Congress. Here is where Vice President Smith proved her worth, whipping votes on the GOP side while leaning heavily on Senator Johnson to get his house in order. The aim wasn't to pass an act on the first try- that was impossible. Instead, the Nixon Administration intended to pull a Harry Truman and run against a "do-nothing Congress." Predictably, the first bill failed in 1962, giving the GOP a cudgel to beat the Democrats about the head with. The results of the 1962 midterms followed, as the Republicans made gains in both houses and put the GOP within spitting distance of a House Majority in 1964.
Nixon made progress on other legislative fronts, however. With the gains made in 1963, the Administration was able to press for healthcare program for the elderly with the option of purchasing a private plan. Nixon also was able to reroute welfare money into block grants to the states rather than specific budget items standardized nationwide.
Nixon returned to civil rights in 1963, making clear his intention to win this battle or die trying. He directed Senator Dirksen, the Minority Leader, to push for a bill as quickly as possible. the comprehensive bill would ban discrimination in business much in the same way that Nixon had banned discrimination in Federal contractors. Regrettably, the bil stalled through the year, as Southern Democratic opposition remained too strenuous to overcome. With Lyndon Johnson out as Majority Leader and George Smathers in, hope seemed lost for such a victory in the next term. As such, President Nixon once again relied on Judicial and Executive fiat.
In light of a March on Washington in the summer of 1963 and the use once again of military force to desegregate a university, this time in Alabama, Nixon was concerned with the lack of practical progress being made. Having given up on the Senate making any headway in 1964, he instead leaned on the Supreme Court. In the Spring of 1964, a number of rulings were handed down from the bench that effectively acted as a substitute for any kind of legislation.
It was with this in mind that President Nixon traveled to Indianapolis on the 18th of May, 1964, to support the GOP's Gubernatorial candidate there at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. After an impromptu speech earlier that morning, the President was eager to get to the main event. At around 3:30 that afternoon, the President stepped up to the lectern on the stage. About a minute into his speech, the unthinkable happened.
Approximately 1 kilogram of dynamite and a timer had been smuggled under the stage by three members of the Klu Klux Klan. A minute into the President's speech, the bomb went off. President Nixon was killed immediately, and White House Communications Director H. R. Haldeman would die of his injuries on the way to the hospital. First Lady Patricia Nixon would suffer several lacerations to the arms and a dislocated shoulder.
At 3:40 PM, while addressing a luncheon for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Vice President Smith was taken to a secure location by the Secret Service. Later that day she took the oath of office and was sworn in as President. As the nation mourned for its slain leader, President Margaret Chase Smith would make history as the first female President of the United States.
