Changes

==Carter's Presidency and Further Trouble==

Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon to the Presidency and pardoned him in September 1974. Ford's Presidency had to handle the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, as well as economic struggles. Ford had not been elected Vice President in 1972, but entered that position when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in October 1973 in the midst of a bribery scandal. South Vietnam fell to North Vietnamese forces in 1975. All of these factors combined to cast doubt on Ford's presidency.

Foreign policy realities began to weigh on American policy. American ally Shah Reza Pahlavi was overthrown and replaced by a hardline Islamic fundamentalist government in 1979. Oil shipments to the United States again slowed, leading to a second shortage and price hike. The Islamic Republic of Iran took Americans hostages from the U.S. embassy and held them for over a year. Later that same year, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prop up a puppet communist regime. The Soviets benefited from the stark rise in oil prices, and in 1980 became the world's largest oil producer. As the Soviets were awash in cash and increasingly aggressive, President Carter appeared lost and without control.<ref>Dumbrell, John, ''The Carter Presidency: A Re-Evaluation.'' Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1995. Page 188.</ref>

Facing these various challenges, Carter held a summit with leaders to discuss the nation's problems. Out of this meeting, Carter made an important July 1979 speech to the country, describing these issues as a "crisis of confidence" facing the nation. This speech was criticized as the "malaise" speech, further deteriorating public trust in Carter. Carter appointed Paul Volcker as the new Federal Reserve Chairman and pursued a sharp hike in interest rates to quell inflation. This effort would work in the long run but also caused a sharp recession right as Carter sought re-election. <ref>Hargrove, Erwin, ''Jimmy Carter as President: Leadership and the Politics of the Public Good''. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, 1988. Pages 48, 66-68</ref>