U.S. History Since 1945
Setting the Scene!  After the events of the Pentagon Papers, Vietnam War, Watergate, & Nixon’s resignation many Americans were disgruntled by the American political system.  Many Americans had lost their trust in their government and faith in politicians.  The preceding presidencies of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter would have to try to mend this relationship with the American people.  Today, you are a political analyst in the 1970s and will have to determine if Ford & Carter were successful in instilling trust in our politicians & government.  You will be presented with a series of puzzles.  Each puzzle has a specific answer(s) on your Activity Sheet.  You must solve the puzzles in chronological order!  After you have the answers, you will notice circled letters.  Put these circled letters in order at the bottom of your activity sheet to reveal a hidden message.  Then, check with Mrs. Salazar to see if you have the correct message.  The first 2 people to get the message correct will win prizes!  Everyone who completes the challenge will receive a Homework Late Pass!  Let’s go!
Puzzle #1
President _ _ _ _     was the only president not elected into the office of President.  He pardoned
 _  _  _ _ _ & asked Americans to put Watergate behind them.  His economic reforms were: successful or unsuccessful  (circle one) .  
Examine the political cartoon.  The _ _ _ _  _ _ is the  nickname the political cartoon assigned to Ford.  Do you agree or disagree based on what you know about his administration so far?  Explain!
These were the two big foreign events Ford had to address during his presidency.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _  _  _ _ _ _ _ & the  _ _ _  _  _ _ _ _ Incident!
Puzzle #2
In the election of 1976, Ford ran against the Democratic nominee _ _  _   _   _ _ and the Independent Republican _  _  _ _ _ _ .   _ _  _  _ _ _ won the election!
Puzzle #3
Carter was a _ _ _ _ _ _ farmer from Georgia, joined the Navy & became the governor of Georgia before being elected president.  He was considered a political   _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
Puzzle #4
The Department of _ _ _  _  _ _ was created as a result of the National Energy Crisis.  Carter also passed the _ _ _ _  _  _ _ _   _ _ _  _  _ _  _ _ _ which placed taxes on gas guzzling cars & gave tax credits to companies developing alternative energy sources.  Carter also created the 

Department of _  _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ to ensure federal funding for schools, collect school data & enforce education laws.
Puzzle #5
The book _ _ _  _  _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _ raised awareness of environmental issues.  
This agency established pollution standards, conducted environmental research & became the main instrument for dealing with environmental issues.

As president, Carter also passed the _ _ _  _  _ Air Act, Endangered _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Act & the Alaska Native _ _ _ _ _ _ Settlement Act.  Despite his environmental accomplishments, the nuclear reactor disaster in Pennsylvania called _ _  _   _ _   _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _  _   _  overshadowed these environmental accomplishments.
Puzzle #6
Carter was known to be a human rights activist which would eventually lead him to be awarded the
 _ _ _ _ _  _ _  _ _ _  Prize for his efforts.  In addition to human rights initiatives, Carter also looked to stabilize the Middle East with the  _  _ _ _  _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _ _  _  _ _.  As a result of these Accords, Israel  returned land to Egypt & Egypt _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _   the Israeli state.  This however was not a popular move & _  _    _ _ _ was assassinated by Arabs who viewed him as a traitor.  One last foreign initiative included the U.S. turning over control of the _ _  _  _ _ _  Canal to Panama by the early 1990s.
Puzzle #7
1979 was a busy year for President Carter.  He refused to sign the SALT II agreement because of the Soviet invasion of _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _    _  _ _ and when he supported the Shah of _  _  _ _ despite his unpopular government the followers of the Ayatollah _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ would storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran & hold _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _  Americans hostage for _ _ _ _  _  _  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  _  _  _ _ _ _ days!
Uncover the statement below by filling in the blanks with the circled letters!  
_ _ _  _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _  F _ _ _  _ _ _ _  _ _ e _ _ c _ _ _   _ _ _ s _?
Answer this one:
Now, determine whether you think the administration of Ford or Carter was more successful in repairing the relationship between the presidency & the American people.  Think of it this way, which president do you think tried to do the most for this nation!  Write a paragraph on a separate sheet of paper providing your thoughts backed up by evidence from this activity