Evaluate the impact of Nixon’s domestic policies.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the impact of Nixon’s domestic policies, weighing up their strengths and limitations. The impact may extend beyond Nixon’s administration, but it must be clearly linked to the issue raised in the question. Candidates may discuss the creation of environmental programmes, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Other domestic policies could be the creation of the Family Assistance Plan and increases in Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. On civil rights matters, Nixon preferred to let states, rather than the federal government, determine how to end segregation. Economically, Nixon was faced with a combination of inflation and recession, which became known as stagflation. He increased tariffs and implemented wage and price freezes to control the economy. Candidates need to evaluate the impact of these programmes, and that impact could be social, economic or political.