Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, in office from 1969 to 1974. One of only two men (with Franklin Roosevelt) to be five times nominated for President or Vice President by a major party, he remains the only President to resign from office(SONY Vaio VGC-LB15 Battery), leaving office over the Watergate scandal. After his resignation, Nixon spent the remaining twenty years of his life working to rehabilitate his image, and eventually gained respect as an elder statesman.
Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing his undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/B Battery). He and his wife, Pat Nixon moved to Washington to work for the government in 1942, but Richard Nixon subsequently joined the United States Navy. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate In 1952, he became the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party nominee, in the 1952 Presidential election. Nixon waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/P Battery), narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California in 1962; following these losses, Nixon announced his withdrawal from political life. In 1968, however, he ran again for President of the United States and was elected.
The most immediate task facing President Nixon was a resolution of the Vietnam War. He initially escalated the conflict(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ50B/W Battery), overseeing incursions into neighboring countries, though American military personnel were gradually withdrawn and he successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam in 1973, effectively ending American involvement in the war. His foreign policy initiatives were largely successful: his groundbreaking visit to the People's Republic of China in 1972 opened diplomatic relations between the two nations(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ51DB/B Battery), and he initiated détente and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with the Soviet Union. On the domestic front, he implemented the concept of New Federalism, transferring power from the federal government to the states; new economic policies which called for wage and price control and the abolition of the gold standard; sweeping environmental reforms(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/N Battery), including the Clean Air Act and creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency; the launch of the War on Cancer and War on Drugs; reforms empowering women, including Title IX; and the desegregation of schools in the deep South. He was reelected by a landslide in 1972. He continued many reforms in his second term, though the nation was afflicted with an energy crisis(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/P Battery). In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. He was later controversially pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office.
In his retirement, Nixon became a prolific author and undertook many foreign trips. His work as an elder statesman helped to rehabilitate his public image. He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18, 1994, and died four days later at the age of 81(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52B/W Battery).
Early life
Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, to Francis A. Nixon and Hannah Milhous Nixon in a house his father had built in Yorba Linda, California. His mother was a Quaker, and his upbringing was marked by conservative Quaker observances of the time, such as refraining from drinking, dancing, and swearing(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ52DB/B Battery). His father converted from Methodism to Quakerism after his marriage. Nixon had four brothers: Harold (1909–1933), Donald (1914–1987), Arthur (1918–1925), and Ed (born 1930). Four of the five Nixon boys were named after early English kings; Richard was named after Richard the Lionheart(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ53B/W Battery).
Nixon's early life was marked by hardship, and he would later quote a saying of Eisenhower to describe his boyhood: "We were poor, but the glory of it was, we didn't know it." The Nixon family ranch failed in 1922, and the family then moved to Whittier, California, in an area with many Quakers, where his father opened a grocery store and gas station(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ54B/W Battery). Richard's younger brother Arthur died in 1925 after a short illness, At the age of twelve, Richard was found to have a spot on his lung, and with a family history of tuberculosis—his older brother, Harold, died of the illness in 1933—Richard was then forbidden to play sports. Eventually, the spot was found to be scar tissue from an early bout of pneumonia(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ90HS Battery).
Frank and Hannah Nixon believed that attendance at Whittier High School had caused Harold, who lived a vivacious lifestyle before his illness, to display poor behavior, and instead sent Richard to the larger Fullerton High School in Fullerton. He received strong grades, even though he had to ride a school bus for an hour each way his freshman year—later, he lived with an aunt in Fullerton during the week(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ90S Battery). He played junior varsity football, and rarely missed a practice, even though the coaches rarely used him in games. He had greater success as a debater, winning a number of championships and taking his only formal tutelage in public speaking from Fullerton's Head of English, H. Lynn Sheller. Nixon later remembered Sheller's words, "Remember, speaking is conversation ... don't shout at people(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ91HS Battery). Talk to them. Converse with them." Nixon stated that he tried to use the conversational tone as much as possible.
In 1928, the Nixons permitted him to transfer to Whittier High School for his junior year, beginning in September 1928. At Whittier High, the young Nixon suffered his first electoral defeat, for student body president. Richard generally rose at 4 a.m., to drive the family truck into Los Angeles and purchase vegetables at the market(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ91S Battery), then drove to the store to wash and display it, to put in a full school day. When Hannah Nixon took Arthur, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis the previous year, to Arizona in the hopes of improving his health, the demands on Richard increased, causing him to give up football to put in more hours in the store. Despite this, Nixon graduated from Whittier High third in his class of 207 students(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ92HS Battery).
Richard Nixon was offered a tuition grant to attend Harvard University, but Harold's continued illness and the need for Hannah Nixon to care for him meant Richard could be ill-spared. Instead, he stayed in his hometown and attended Whittier College; his expenses there covered by a bequest. Rather than fraternities and sororities, Whittier had literary societies; Nixon was snubbed by the only one for men(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ92S Battery), the Franklins. He responded by helping to found a new society, the Orthogonians. In addition to the society, schoolwork, and work at the store, Nixon found time for a large number of extracurricular activities, becoming a champion debater and gaining a reputation as a hard worker. In 1933, Nixon became engaged to Ola Florence Welch; daughter of the Whittier police chief; the two broke up in 1935(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ94HS Battery).
Nixon received a full scholarship to Duke University School of Law. At the time, the law school was new and sought to attract the top students by offering scholarships. This high-expense approach to building a law school applied to the faculty as well, which was given high salaries; most professors had national or international reputations. The number of scholarships were greatly reduced for second and third year students(SONY Vaio VGC-LJ94S Battery), forcing the students into intense competition. Nixon was elected president of the Duke Bar Association and graduated third in his class in June 1937. Nixon later spoke about the influence of his alma mater, saying, "I always remember that whatever I have done in the past or may do in the future, Duke University is responsible in one way or another(Dell Vostro 1310 battery)."
Early career; marriage and war service
Nixon's first choice after graduation from Duke was to get a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Nixon never received a response to his application; he learned years later that his application had been successful, but his appointment was canceled due to budget cuts. Instead, he returned to California and was admitted to the bar in 1937. He began practicing with Wingert and Bewley(Dell Vostro 1320 battery), where he worked on commercial litigation for local petroleum companies and other corporate matters as well as on wills. In later years, Nixon proudly stated that he was the only modern president to work as a practicing attorney. There was little litigation conducted in the office, and Nixon was reluctant to work on divorce cases, disliking to hear frank sexual talk from women(Dell Vostro 1510 battery). In 1938, he opened up his own branch of Wingert and Bewley in La Habra, California, becoming a full partner in the firm the following year.
In January 1938, Nixon was cast in the Whittier Community Players production of The Dark Tower. There he played opposite a high school teacher named Thelma "Pat" Ryan. Nixon described it in his memoirs as "a case of love at first sight"—for Nixon only, as Pat Ryan turned down the young lawyer several times before agreeing to date him. Once they began their courtship, Ryan was reluctant to marry Nixon(Dell Vostro 1520 battery); the relationship stretched two years before she agreed to his proposal. They wed at a small ceremony on June 21, 1940. After a honeymoon in Mexico, the Nixons moved began their married life in Whittier.
In January 1942, the Nixons moved to Washington, D.C., where Richard Nixon took a job at the Office of Price Administration(Dell Vostro 2510 battery). In his political campaigns, Nixon would suggest that this was his response to Pearl Harbor, but Nixon had sought the position throughout the latter part of 1941. Both spouses believed that Richard Nixon was limiting his prospects by remaining in Whittier. Nixon was assigned to the tire rationing division, where he helped respond to correspondence(Dell Vostro A860N battery). He did not enjoy being a bureaucrat, and after four months applied to join the United States Navy. As a birthright Quaker, he could claim exemption from the draft, and deferments were routinely granted for those in government service. He was inducted into the Navy in August 1942.
After completing Officers Candidate School and being commissioned, he was assigned as aide to the commander of the Ottumwa Naval Air Station in Iowa, for seven months(Dell Vostro A860 battery). Seeking more excitement, he requested sea duty. He was subsequently reassigned as the naval passenger control officer for the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command, supporting the logistics of operations in the South West Pacific theater. After requesting more challenging duties, he was given command of cargo handling units. Nixon returned to the United States with two service stars (although he saw no actual combat) and a citation of commendation(Dell Inspiron 1088N battery), and became the administrative officer of the Alameda Naval Air Station in California. In January 1945, he was transferred to the Bureau of Aeronautics office in Philadelphia to help negotiate the termination of war contracts, and received another letter of commendation for his work there. Nixon was transferred to other offices to work on contracts, and finally to Baltimore(Dell Inspiron 1088 battery). In October 1945, he was promoted to lieutenant commander. He resigned his commission on New Year's Day 1946.
Rising politician
Congressional career
In 1945, Republicans in California's 12th congressional district, frustrated by their inability to defeat local Congressman Jerry Voorhis, sought a consensus candidate who would run a strong campaign against Voorhis. After the "Committee of 100" failed to attract higher-profile candidates, Whittier Bank of America branch manager Herman Perry suggested Nixon, a family friend with whom he had served(Dell Vostro 1015 battery), before the war, on the Whittier College Board of Trustees. Perry wrote to Nixon in Baltimore. After a night of excited talk between the Nixons, the naval officer responded to Perry with enthusiasm. Nixon flew to California and was selected by the committee. When Nixon was discharged from the Navy at the start of 1946, they returned to Whittier, and Richard Nixon began a year of intensive campaigning(Dell Vostro 1015N battery). Nixon contended that Voorhis had been ineffective as a congressman, and contented that Voorhis's endorsement by a group linked to communists meant that he had radical views. Nixon won the election by over 15,000 votes.
In Congress, Nixon supported the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and served on the Education and Labor Committee. He was part of the Herter Committee, which went to Europe to report on the need for US foreign aid(Dell Vostro 1014N battery). Nixon was the youngest member of the committee, and the only Westerner. Advocacy by Herter Committee members, including Nixon, led to congressional passage of the Marshall Plan.
Nixon first gained national attention in 1948 when his investigation on the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) broke the impasse of the Alger Hiss spy case. While many doubted Whittaker Chambers' allegations that Hiss(Dell Vostro 1014 battery), a former State Department official, had been a Soviet spy, Nixon believed the allegations to be true. He discovered that Chambers saved microfilm reproductions of incriminating documents by hiding the film in a pumpkin. Hiss was convicted of perjury in 1950 for denying under oath he had passed documents to Chambers. In 1948, Nixon successfully cross-filed, winning both major party primaries. and was comfortably reelected in 1948(SONY Vaio VGN-NW Battery).
In 1949, Nixon began to consider running for the United States Senate against the Democratic incumbent, Sheridan Downey, and entered the race in November 1949. Downey, locked in a bitter primary battle with Representative Helen Gahagan Douglas, announced his retirement in March. Nixon and Douglas won the primary elections, and engaged in a contentious campaign with the Korean War raging(SONY Vaio VGN-NW21EF/S Battery). Nixon focused attention on Douglas's liberal voting record, distributing a "Pink Sheet" in which the Nixon campaign suggested that as Douglas's voting record was similar to that of New York Congressman Vito Marcantonio (believed by some to be a communist), their political views must be nearly identical. Nixon won the election by almost twenty percentage points(SONY Vaio VGN-NW21JF Battery).
In the Senate, Nixon took a prominent position in opposing the spread of global communism, traveling frequently and speaking out against "the threat." He also criticized what he perceived to be President Harry S. Truman's mishandling of the Korean War. He supported statehood for Alaska and Hawaii, voted in favor of civil rights for minorities, and supported federal disaster relief for India and Yugoslavia(SONY Vaio VGN-NW21MF Battery). He voted against price controls and other monetary controls, benefits for illegal immigrants, and public power.
1952 campaign; vice president
General Dwight Eisenhower was nominated for president by the Republicans in 1952. He had no strong preference for a vice presidential candidate, and Republican leaders met and recommended Nixon to the general, who agreed to the senator's selection. Nixon's youth (he was then 39), stance against communism(SONY Vaio VGN-NW21MF/W Battery), and the fact he was a Californian, from one of the largest states, were all seen as vote-winners by the leaders. On the campaign trail, Nixon attacked the Democrats, while the general took the high road in his campaigning. In mid-September, the fact that Nixon had a political fund maintained by his backers, which reimbursed him for political expenses, was reported in the media(SONY Vaio VGN-NW31EF/W Battery). Such a fund was not illegal, but it exposed Nixon to allegations of possible conflict of interest. With the pressure building for Eisenhower to demand his running mate's resignation from the ticket, Nixon went on television to deliver an address to the nation on September 23, 1952. In the address, later termed the Checkers speech, Nixon emotionally defended himself, stating that the fund was not secret(SONY Vaio VGN-NW21ZF Battery), nor had donors received special favors. The speech obtained its popular name as Nixon stated that he would not return one gift his family had received: a dog named Checkers by his daughters. The speech prompted a huge wave of support for Nixon from the public, and he was retained on the ticket, which was victorious in the November election(SONY Vaio VGN-NW31JF Battery).
Eisenhower had pledged to give Nixon responsibilities which would enable him to be an effective successor as president. Nixon attended Cabinet and National Security Council meetings, and chaired them in President Eisenhower's absence. A successful 1953 tour of the Far East was both effective in increasing local goodwill towards the United States, and in causing Nixon to appreciate the potential of the region as an industrial center(SONY Vaio VGN-NW320F/B Battery). He visited both Saigon and Hanoi, then in French Indochina. On his return to the United States at the end of 1953, Nixon increased the amount of time he devoted to foreign relations.
Despite intense campaigning by Nixon, who vigorously attacked the Democrats, the Republicans lost control of both houses of Congress in the 1954 elections. These losses caused Nixon to contemplate leaving politics, once he served out his term(SONY Vaio VGN-NW320F/TC Battery). On September 24, 1955, President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack. His condition was initially believed life-threatening. Eisenhower was unable to perform his duties for six weeks. The 25th Amendment had not yet been proposed, and the Vice President had no formal power to act. During this time, Nixon acted in Eisenhower's stead, presiding over Cabinet meetings and ensuring that aides and Cabinet officers did not seek power(SONY Vaio VGN-NW35E Battery). According to Nixon biographer Stephen Ambrose, Nixon "earned the high praise he received for his conduct during the crisis ... he made no attempt to seize power".
Vice President Nixon with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, 1959
With his spirits buoyed by his successful time in Eisenhower's absence, Nixon desired a second term, but now it was Eisenhower's turn to balk. Some of Eisenhower's aides sought to displace the Vice President. In a December 1955 meeting, Eisenhower proposed to Nixon that to give him administrative experience before a 1960 presidential run, that he not run for re-election(SONY Vaio VGN-NW11S/S Battery), but instead become a Cabinet officer in a second Eisenhower administration. Nixon believed that such an action would destroy his political career. Although no Republican was opposing Eisenhower, Nixon received a substantial number of write-in votes against the President in the 1956 New Hampshire primary. In late April, President announced that Nixon would again be his running mate. Eisenhower and Nixon were comfortably re-elected in the November 1956 election(SONY Vaio VGN-NW11Z/S Battery).
In the spring of 1957, Nixon undertook another major foreign trip, this time to Africa. On his return, he helped shepherd the Civil Rights Act of 1957 through Congress. The bill was weakened in the Senate, and civil rights leaders were decided over whether Eisenhower should sign or veto it. Nixon advised the President to sign the bill, which he did. Eisenhower suffered a mild stroke in November 1957, and Nixon gave a press conference(SONY Vaio VGN-NW11S/T Battery), assuring the nation that the Cabinet was functioning well as a team during Eisenhower's brief illness.
On April 27, 1958, Richard and Pat Nixon embarked on a goodwill tour of South America. In Montevideo, Uruguay, Nixon made an impromptu visit to a college campus, where he took questions from students on US foreign policy. The trip was uneventful until the Nixon party reached Lima, Peru, where he was met with student demonstrations(SONY Vaio VGN-NW11Z/T Battery). Nixon went to the campus and got out of his car to confront the students, and stayed until forced back by a volley of thrown objects. At his hotel, Nixon faced another mob, and one demonstrator spat on him. In Caracas, both Richard and Pat Nixon were spat on by demonstrators, and their limousine was attacked by a pipe-wielding mob. According to Ambrose, Nixon's courageous conduct "caused even some of his bitterest enemies to give him some grudging respect"(Dell Latitude E4300 battery).
In July 1959, President Eisenhower sent Nixon to the Soviet Union for the opening of the American National Exhibition in Moscow. On July 24, while touring the exhibits with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, the two stopped at a model of an American kitchen and engaged in an impromptu exchange that became known as the "Kitchen Debate" about the merits of capitalism versus communism(Dell Latitude 2110 battery).
1960 and 1962 elections; wilderness years
In 1960, Nixon launched his campaign for President of the United States. He faced little opposition in the Republican primaries and chose former Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. as his running mate. His Democratic opponent was John F. Kennedy, and the race remained close for the duration. Nixon campaigned on his experience, but Kennedy called for new blood and claimed the Eisenhower-Nixon administration allowed the Soviet Union to overtake the US in ballistic missiles (the "missile gap")(Dell Latitude 2100 battery). A new medium was brought to the campaign: televised presidential debates. In the first of four such debates, Nixon was recovering from illness and, wearing little makeup, looked wan and uncomfortable, in contrast to the composed Kennedy. Nixon's performance in the debate was perceived to be mediocre in the visual medium of television, though many people listening on the radio thought that Nixon had won(Dell Latitude D830 battery). Nixon lost the election narrowly, with Kennedy ahead by only 120,000 votes (0.2%) in the popular vote. There were charges of vote fraud in Texas and Illinois, both won by Kennedy, however Nixon refused to consider contesting the election.
Following the end of his term of office in January 1961, Nixon and his family returned to California, where he practiced law and wrote a bestselling book, Six Crises(Dell LATITUDE D820 battery).
Local and national Republican leaders encouraged Nixon to challenge incumbent Pat Brown for Governor of California in the 1962 election. Despite initial reluctance, Nixon entered the race. The campaign was clouded by public suspicion that Nixon viewed the governorship as a political "stepping-stone" to a higher office, some opposition from the far-right of the party, and his own lack of interest in being California's governor. He lost to Brown by nearly 300,000 votes(Dell Latitude D810 battery). This loss was widely believed to be the end of his career; in an impromptu concession speech the morning after the election, Nixon famously blamed the media for favoring his opponent, saying, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference." The California defeat was highlighted in the November 11, 1962, episode of ABC's Howard K. Smith(Dell LATITUDE D800 battery): News and Comment entitled "The Political Obituary of Richard M. Nixon." The program saw the appearance of Alger Hiss, a convicted felon, causing many members of the public to complain. The furor drove Smith and his program from the air, but caused public sympathy for Nixon.
The Nixon family traveled to Europe in 1963; Nixon gave press conferences and met with leaders of the countries he visited(Dell Latitude D630 battery). The family moved to New York City, where Nixon became a senior partner in the leading law firm Nixon, Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & Alexander. Nixon had pledged, when announcing his California campaign, not to run for president in 1964; he believed it would be difficult to defeat Kennedy, or after his assassination, his successor Lyndon Johnson. In 1964, he supported Barry Goldwater for the Republican nomination for president(Dell Latitude D620 battery); when Goldwater was successful in gaining the nomination, Nixon was selected to introduce the candidate to the convention. Although he thought Goldwater unlikely to win, Nixon campaigned for him loyalty. The election was a disaster for the Republicans; Goldwater's landslide loss to Johnson was matched by heavy losses in Congress and among state governors(Dell Latitude D610 battery).
Nixon was one of the few leading Republicans not blamed for the disastrous results, and sought to build on that in the 1966 congressional elections. He campaigned for many Republicans seeking to regain seats lost to the party in the Johnson landslide. Nixon received credit for helping the Republicans make major gains in the elections(Dell Latitude D600 battery).
1968 presidential election
At the end of 1967, Nixon told his family he planned to run for president a second time. Although Pat Nixon did not always enjoy public life, she was supportive of Nixon's ambitions. Nixon believed that with the Democrats torn over the issue of the Vietnam War, a Republican had a good chance of winning, although he expected the election to be as close as 1960(Dell Latitude D520 battery). One of the most tumultuous primary election seasons ever began with the Tet Offensive and the withdrawal of President Johnson as a candidate after doing unexpectedly poorly in the New Hampshire primary and concluded with the assassination of one of the Democratic candidates, Senator Robert F. Kennedy. On the Republican side, Nixon's main opposition was Michigan Governor George Romney(Dell Latitude D510 battery), though New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and California Governor Ronald Reagan each hoped to triumph in a brokered convention. Nixon secured the nomination on the first ballot He selected Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew as his running mate, a choice which Nixon hoped would unite the party, appealing to both Northern moderates and also Southerners disaffected from the Democrats(Dell Latitude D505 battery).
Throughout the campaign, Nixon portrayed himself as a figure of stability during a period of national unrest and upheaval. He appealed to what he called the "silent majority" of socially conservative Americans who disliked the hippie counterculture and the anti-war demonstrators. Agnew became an increasingly vocal critic of these groups, solidifying Nixon's position with the right(Dell Latitude D500 battery).
Nixon waged a prominent television campaign, meeting with supporters in front of cameras and advertising on the television medium. He stressed that the crime rate was too high, and attacked what he perceived as a surrender by the Democrats of the United States' nuclear superiority. His campaign was aided by turmoil within the Democratic Party: President Lyndon B. Johnson, consumed with the Vietnam War(Dell Latitude D430 battery), announced that he would not seek reelection. After a contentious Democratic primary campaign, Vice President Hubert Humphrey held a moderate but not decisive lead over Senator Robert F. Kennedy; however, Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles following the final, California primary. Humphrey was nominated at a convention marked by mass protests(Dell Latitude D420 battery). Nixon appeared to represent a calmer society. With regard to the Vietnam War, he promised peace with honor, and campaigned on the notion that "new leadership will end the war and win the peace in the Pacific." He did not give specific plans on how to end the war, resulting in media intimations that he must have a "secret plan". His slogan of "Nixon's the One" proved to be effective(Dell Latitude D410 battery).
In a three-way race between Nixon, Humphrey, and independent candidate George Wallace, Nixon defeated Humphrey by nearly 500,000 votes to become the 37th President of the United States on November 5, 1968. In response to a congratulatory message from Humphrey, Nixon said: "I have received a very gracious message from the Vice President, congratulating me for winning the election(Dell Latitude CPX battery). I congratulated him for his gallant and courageous fight against great odds. I also told him that I know exactly how he felt. I know how it feels to lose a close one."
Presidency (1969–1974)
Nixon is sworn in as the 37th President on January 20, 1969, with the new First Lady, Pat, holding the family Bibles.
First term (1969–1973)
Nixon was inaugurated on January 20, 1969. Pat Nixon held the family Bibles open to Isaiah 2:4, reading, "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." In his inaugural address, which received almost uniformly positive reviews, Nixon remarked that "the greatest honor history can bestow is the title of peacemaker(Dell Latitude CPI battery)." He spoke about turning partisan politics into a new age of unity:
"In these difficult years, America has suffered from a fever of words; from inflated rhetoric that promises more than it can deliver; from angry rhetoric that fans discontents into hatreds; from bombastic rhetoric that postures instead of persuading. We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another, until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices(Dell Latitude C840 battery)."
Nixon set out to reconstruct the Western Alliance, develop a relationship with China, pursue arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, activate a peace process in the Middle East, restrain inflation, implement anti-crime measures, accelerate desegregation, and reform welfare. The most immediate task, however, was the Vietnam War.
Richard Nixon with French president Georges Pompidou in Reykjavík, Iceland, May 31, 1973(Dell Latitude C810 battery).
Vietnam War
When Nixon took office, 300 American soldiers were dying per week in Vietnam. The Johnson administration had negotiated a deal in which the U.S. would suspend bombing in North Vietnam in exchange for unconditional negotiations, but this faltered. Nixon faced the choice of devising a new policy to chance securing South Vietnam as a non-communist state, or withdrawing American forces completely(Dell Latitude C800 battery).
Nixon approved a secret bombing campaign of North Vietnamese positions in Cambodia in March 1969 (code-named Operation Menu) to destroy what was believed to be the headquarters of the National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam. The Air Force considered the bombings a success. He then proposed simultaneous substantial withdrawals of North Vietnamese and American forces from South Vietnam one year after reaching a mutual agreement(Dell Latitude C640 battery). In June 1969, in a campaign fulfillment, Nixon reduced troop strength in Vietnam by 25,000 soldiers, who returned home to the United States. From 1969 to 1972 troop reduction in Vietnam was estimated to be 405,000 soldiers.
In July 1969, the Nixons visited South Vietnam, where President Nixon met with his U.S. military commanders and President Nguyen Van Thieu. Amid protests at home, he implemented what became known as the Nixon Doctrine(Dell Latitude C610 battery), a strategy of replacing American troops with Vietnamese troops, also called "Vietnamization". He soon enacted phased U.S. troop withdrawals but authorized incursions into Laos, in part to interrupt the Ho Chi Minh trail that passed through Laos and Cambodia. Nixon's 1968 campaign promise to curb the war and his subsequent Laos bombing raised questions in the press about a "credibility gap"(Dell Latitude C600 battery), similar to that encountered earlier in the war by Lyndon B. Johnson. In a televised speech on April 30, 1970, Nixon announced the incursion of U.S. troops into Cambodia to disrupt so-called North Vietnamese sanctuaries. This led to protest and student strikes that temporarily closed 536 universities, colleges, and high schools(Dell Latitude C540 battery).
Nixon formed the Gates Commission to look into ending the military service draft, implemented under President Johnson. The Gates Commission issued its report in February 1970, describing how adequate military strength could be maintained without conscription. The draft was extended to June 1973, and then ended. Military pay was increased as an incentive to attract volunteers, and television advertising for the United States Army began for the first time(Dell Latitude C510 battery).
In December 1972, though concerned about the level of civilian casualties, Nixon approved Linebacker II, the codename for aerial bombings of military and industrial targets in North Vietnam. After years of fighting, the Paris Peace Accords were signed in 1973. The treaty, however, made no provision that 145,000–160,000 North Vietnam Army regulars located in the Central Highlands and other areas of S. Vietnam had to withdraw(Dell Latitude C500 battery). Under President Nixon, American involvement in the war steadily declined from a troop strength of 543,000 to zero in 1973. Once American support was diminished, in 1975, North Vietnam was able to conquer South Vietnam and formed one country.
Economy
Under Nixon, direct payments from the federal government to individual American citizens in government benefits (including Social Security and Medicare) rose from 6.3% of the Gross National Product (GNP) to 8.9%(Dell Latitude C400 battery). Food aid and public assistance also rose, beginning at $6.6 billion and escalating to $9.1 billion. Defense spending decreased from 9.1% to 5.8% of the GNP. The revenue sharing program pioneered by Nixon delivered $80 billion to individual states and municipalities.
In 1970, the Democratic Congress passed the Economic Stabilization Act, giving Nixon power to set wages and prices(Dell Latitude 131L battery); Congress did not believe the president would use the new controls and felt this would make him appear to be indecisive. While opposed to permanent wage and price controls, Nixon imposed the controls on a temporary basis in a 90 day wage and price freeze. The controls (enforced for large corporations, voluntary for others) were the largest since World War II; they were relaxed after the initial 90 days(Dell Latitude D400 battery). Nixon then spoke to the American public, saying that by "Working together, we will break the back of inflation."
A Pay Board set wage controls limiting increases to 5.5% per year, and the Price Commission set a 2.5% annual limit on price increases. The limits did help to control wages, but not inflation. Overall, however, the controls were viewed as successful in the short term and were popular with the public, who felt Nixon was rescuing them from price-gougers and from a foreign-caused exchange crisis(Dell XPS 1647 battery).
Nixon was worried about the effects of increasing inflation and accelerating unemployment, so he indexed Social Security for inflation, and created Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In 1969, he had presented the only balanced budget between 1961 and 1998. However, despite speeches declaring an opposition to the idea, he decided to offer Congress a budget with deficit spending to reduce unemployment and declared, "Now I am a Keynesian"(Dell XPS 1645 battery).
Nixon in the Oval Office
Another large part of Nixon's plan was the detachment of the dollar from the gold standard. By the time Nixon took office, U.S. gold reserves had declined from $25 billion to $10.5 billion. Gold was an underpriced commodity, as the dollar was overpriced as a currency. The United States was on the verge of running its first trade deficit in over 75 years(Dell XPS 1640 battery). The price of gold had been set at $35 an ounce since the days of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency; foreign countries acquired more dollar reserves, outnumbering the entire amount of gold the United States possessed. Nixon completely eradicated the gold standard, preventing other countries from being able to claim gold in exchange for their dollar reserves, but also weakening the exchange rate of the dollar against other currencies and increasing inflation by driving up the cost of imports(Dell XPS 16 battery). Nixon felt that the dollar should float freely like other currencies. Said Nixon in his speech:
"The American dollar must never again be a hostage in the hands of international speculators.... Government... does not hold the key to the success of a people. That key... is in your hands. Every action I have taken tonight is designed to nurture and stimulate that competitive spirit to help us snap out of self-doubt(Dell XPS 13 battery), the self-disparagement that saps our energy and erodes our confidence in ourselves... Whether the nation stays Number One depends on your competitive spirit, your sense of personal destiny, your pride in your country and yourself."
Other parts of the Nixon plan included the reimposition of a 10% investment tax credit, assistance to the automobile industry in the form of removal of excise taxes (provided the savings were passed directly to the consumer) (Dell XPS M140 battery), an end to fixed exchange rates, devaluation of the dollar on the free market, and a 10% tax on all imports into the U.S. Income per family rose, and unionization declined.
Nixon wanted to lift the spirits of the country as polls showed increasing concern about the economy. His program was viewed by nearly everyone as exceptionally bold, and astounded the Democrats. Nixon soon experienced a bounce in the polls. His economic program was determined to be a clear success by December 1971(Dell Inspiron Mini 12 battery). One of Nixon's economic advisers, Herbert Stein, wrote: "Probably more new regulation was imposed on the economy during the Nixon administration than in any other presidency since the New Deal."
Initiatives within the federal government
Noam Chomsky remarked that, in many respects, Nixon was "the last liberal president." Indeed, Nixon believed in using government wisely to benefit all and supported the idea of practical liberalism(Dell XPS M2010 battery).
Nixon initiated the Environmental Decade by signing the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act of 1970 and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments of 1972, as well as establishing many government agencies. These included the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Council on Environmental Quality(Dell XPS M1730 battery). The Clean Air Act was noted as one of the most significant pieces of environmental legislation ever signed.
In 1971, Nixon proposed the creation of four new government departments superseding the current structure: departments organized for the goal of efficient and effective public service as opposed to the thematic bases of Commerce, Labor, Transportation, Agriculture, et al. Departments including the State(Dell XPS M1710 battery), Treasury, Defense, and Justice would remain under this proposal. He reorganized the Post Office Department from a cabinet department to a government-owned corporation: the U.S. Postal Service.
On June 17, 1971, Nixon formally declared the U.S. War on Drugs.
On October 30, 1972 Nixon signed into law the Social Security Amendments of 1972 which included the creation of the Supplemental Security Income Program, a Federal Welfare Program still in existence today(Dell XPS M170 battery).
Nixon cut billions of dollars in federal spending and expanded the power of the Office of Management and Budget. He established the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 1972 and supported the Legacy of parks program, which transferred ownership of federally owned land to the states, resulting in the establishment of state parks and beaches, recreational areas, and environmental education centers(Dell XPS M1530 battery).
Civil rights
The Nixon years witnessed the first large-scale integration of public schools in the South. Strategically, Nixon sought a middle way between the segregationist George C. Wallace and liberal Democrats, whose support of integration was alienating some Southern white Democrats. He was determined to implement exactly what the courts had ordered—desegregation—but did not favor busing children(Dell XPS 1340 battery), in the words of author Conrad Black, "all over the country to satisfy the capricious meddling of judges." Nixon, a Quaker, felt that racism was the greatest moral failure of the United States and concentrated on the principle that the law must be color-blind: "I am convinced that while legal segregation is totally wrong, forced integration of housing or education is just as wrong(Dell XPS M1330 battery)."
Nixon tied desegregation to improving the quality of education and enforced the law after the Supreme Court, in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education (1969), prohibited further delays. By the fall of 1970, two million southern black children had enrolled in newly created unitary fully integrated school districts; only 18% of Southern black children were still attending all-black schools(Dell XPS M1210 battery), a decrease from 70% when Nixon came to office. Nixon's Cabinet Committee on Education, under the leadership of Labor Secretary George P. Shultz, quietly set up local biracial committees to assure smooth compliance without violence or political grandstanding. "In this sense, Nixon was the greatest school desegregator in American history," historian Dean Kotlowski concluded. Author Conrad Black concurred(Dell INSPIRON MINI 9 battery) : "In his singular, unsung way, Richard Nixon defanged and healed one of the potentially greatest controversies of the time." Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Nixon's presidential counselor, commented in 1970 that “There has been more change in the structure of American public school education in the last month than in the past 100 years(Dell STUDIO 1450 battery).”
In addition to desegregating public schools, Nixon implemented the Philadelphia Plan, the first significant federal affirmative action program in 1970. Nixon also endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment after it passed both houses of Congress in 1972 and went to the states for ratification as a Constitutional amendment. Nixon had campaigned as an ERA supporter in 1968(Dell VOSTRO 1400 battery), though feminists criticized him for doing little to help the ERA or their cause after his election, which led to a much stronger women's rights agenda. Nixon increased the number of female appointees to administration positions. Nixon signed the landmark laws Title IX in 1972, prohibiting gender discrimination in all federally funded schools and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act(Dell VOSTRO 1500 battery). In 1970 Nixon had vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act, denouncing the universal child-care bill, but signed into law Title X, which was a step forward for family planning and contraceptives.
It was during the Nixon Presidency that the Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade ruling, legalizing abortion. First Lady Pat Nixon had been outspoken about her support for legalized abortion(Dell XPS M1210 battery), a goal for many feminists (though there was a significant pro-life minority faction of the Women's Liberation Movement as well). Nixon himself did not speak out publicly on the abortion issue, but was personally pro-choice, and believed that, in certain cases such as rape, abortion was an option.
U.S. space program
In 1969, Nixon's first year in office, the United States sent three manned missions to the moon, becoming the only nation in the world to do so(Dell XPS M1330 battery). On July 20, Nixon addressed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, two of the astronauts, live over radio during their historic Apollo 11 moonwalk. Nixon also placed a telephone call to Armstrong on the moon, the longest distance phone call ever, and called it "the most historic phone call ever made from the White House(Dell XPS 1340 battery)." He observed their landing in the ocean from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. All U.S. Project Apollo moon landings, and the attempted moon landing of Apollo 13, took place during Nixon's first term. On November 14, 1969, he became the first incumbent president to attend a rocket launch, Apollo 12. Nixon's signature is included on the plaque left by the Apollo 11 astronauts on the Moon in 1969(Dell XPS M1530 battery).
On January 5, 1972, Nixon approved the development of NASA's Space Shuttle program, a decision that profoundly influenced American efforts to explore and develop space for several decades thereafter. Under the Nixon administration, however, NASA's budget declined. NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine was drawing up ambitious plans for the establishment of a permanent base on the Moon by the end of the 1970s and the launch of a manned expedition to Mars as early as 1981(Dell XPS M170 battery) . Nixon, however, rejected this proposal.
On May 24, 1972, Nixon approved a five-year cooperative program between NASA and the Soviet space program, culminating in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, a joint-mission of an American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft in 1975.
Indo-Pakistani War
A conflict broke out in Pakistan in 1971 following independence demonstrations in East Pakistan(Dell XPS M1710 battery); President Yahya Khan instructed the Pakistani Army to quell the riots, resulting in widespread human rights abuses. President Nixon liked Yahya personally, and credited him for helping to open a channel to China; accordingly, he felt obligated to support him in the struggle. There were limits to how far the U.S. could associate itself with Pakistan, however(Dell XPS M1730 battery) . American public opinion was concerned with the atrocities and the emigration of over 10 million people into India.
Nixon relayed messages to Yahya, urging him to restrain Pakistani forces. His objective was to prevent a war and safeguard Pakistan's interests, though he feared an Indian invasion of West Pakistan that would lead to Indian domination of the sub-continent and strengthen the position of the Soviet Union, which had recently signed a cooperation treaty with India(Dell XPS M2010 battery). Nixon felt that the Soviet Union was inciting the country.
Nixon met with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and did not believe her assertion that she would not invade Pakistan. Having previously met her in 1969, he did not trust her and once referred to her as an "old witch". On December 3, Yahya attacked the Indian Air Force and Gandhi retaliated, pushing into East Pakistan(Dell Inspiron Mini 12 battery). Nixon issued a statement blaming Pakistan for starting the conflict and blaming India for escalating it because he favored a cease-fire. The United States was secretly encouraging the shipment of military equipment from Iran, Turkey, and Jordan to Pakistan, reimbursing those countries despite Congressional objections. A cease fire was reached on December 16 and Bangladesh was created(SONY VGP-BPS9A/S battery).
China
Relations between the Western powers and Eastern Bloc changed dramatically in the early 1970s. In 1960, the People's Republic of China publicly split from its main ally, the Soviet Union, in the Sino-Soviet Split. As tension along the border between the two communist nations reached its peak in 1969 and 1970, Nixon decided to use their conflict to shift the balance of power towards the West in the Cold War(SONY VGP-BPS9/B battery).
Nixon had begun entreating China a mere month into office by sending covert messages of rapprochement through Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania and Yahya Khan of Pakistan[173] in December 1970. He reduced many trade restrictions between the two countries, and silenced anti-China voices within the White House(SONY VGP-BPS9/S battery).
In April 1971, the Chinese table tennis team invited the American table tennis team to attend a demonstration competition for a week in China. The invitation came upon the order of Mao Zedong himself, who had taken note of Nixon's "subtle overtures" to improve U.S.-Chinese relations, including the conflict in Pakistan. This was significant in that the fifteen-member table tennis team were allowed to enter mainland China after a period of over twenty years in which Americans(SONY VGP-BPS9A battery), except on very rare occasions, had been denied visas (the term "ping pong diplomacy" arose from this encounter).
Chinese Premier Chou En-lai, through Pakistani intermediaries, had relayed a message to Nixon reading: "The Chinese government reaffirms its willingness to receive publicly in Peking a special envoy of the president of the United States, or the U.S. secretary of state, or even the president himself." Nixon sent then-National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger on a secret mission to China in July 1971(SONY VGP-BPS9A/B battery), to arrange a visit by the president and first lady. Soon, the world was stunned to learn that Nixon intended to visit Communist China the following year.
President Nixon greets Chinese Party Chairman Mao Zedong (left) in a historic visit to the People's Republic of China, 1972.
In February 1972, President and Mrs. Nixon traveled to China, where the president was to engage in direct talks with Mao and Chou. Kissinger briefed Nixon for over forty hours in preparation(HP Pavilion DV6-1210SA battery). Upon touching down, the President and First Lady emerged from Air Force One and greeted Chou. According to Nixon biographer Stephen Ambrose:
"Nixon knew that when his old friend John Foster Dulles had refused to shake the hand of Chou En-lai in Geneva in 1954, Chou had felt insulted. He knew too that American television cameras would be at the Beijing airport to film his arrival. A dozen times on the way to Peking, Nixon told Kissinger and Secretary of State William Rogers that they were to stay on the plane until he had descended the gangway and shaken Zhou Enlai's hand(SONY VGP-BPS11 battery). As added insurance, a Secret Service agent blocked the aisle of Air Force One to make sure the president emerged alone."
Over one hundred television journalists accompanied the president. On Nixon's orders, television was strongly favored over printed publications, as it would capture the trip's visuals much better while snubbing the print journalists Nixon despised.
Nixon and Kissinger were soon summoned to an hour-long meeting with Mao and Zhou at Mao's official private residence(SONY VGP-BPL11 battery), where they discussed a range of issues. Mao later told his doctor that he had been impressed by Nixon, who was forthright, unlike the leftists and the Soviets. He also said he was suspicious of Kissinger, though the National Security Advisor referred to their meeting as his "encounter with history." A formal banquet welcoming the presidential party was conducted that evening in the Great Hall of the People(SONY VGP-BPL12 battery). The following day, Nixon met with Chou; during this meeting he stated that he believed “there is one China, and Taiwan is a part of China.” When not in meetings, Nixon toured architectural wonders including the Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall. Americans received their first glance into China via Pat Nixon, who toured the city of Beijing and visited communes, schools, factories, and hospitals accompanied by the American media(SONY VGP-BPS12 battery).
The visit ushered in a new era of Sino-American relations. Fearing the possibility of a Sino-American alliance, the Soviet Union yielded to American pressure for détente.
Soviet Union
Nixon used the improving international environment to address the topic of nuclear peace. Following his successful visit to China, the Nixon administration drew up plans for the president to visit the Soviet Union. The President and First Lady arrived in Moscow on May 22, 1972 and met with Leonid Brezhnev(SONY VGP-BPS14 Battery), the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers Alexei Kosygin and Nikolai Podgorny, the Soviet head of state among other leading Soviet officials.
Nixon meets with Brezhnev during the Soviet Leader's trip to the U.S. in 1973
Nixon met with Soviet leader Brezhnev, and engaged in intense negotiations regarding international issues with his Soviet counterpart(SONY VGP-BPS14/B Battery). Out of this "summit meeting" came agreements for increased trade and two landmark arms control treaties: SALT I, the first comprehensive limitation pact signed by the two superpowers, and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which banned the development of systems designed to intercept incoming missiles. Nixon and Brezhnev proclaimed a new era of "peaceful coexistence" and established groundbreaking new policy of détente (or cooperation) between the two superpowers(SONY VGP-BPS14/S Battery). Détente would replace the hostility of the Cold War and the two countries would enjoy peaceful relations. A banquet was held that evening at the Kremlin.
Nixon extended the Nixon Doctrine from Vietnam to his policy toward the Soviet Union, believing that helping Iran become stronger would check the Soviets' power. To win American friendship, both China and the Soviet Union cut back on their diplomatic support for North Vietnam and advised Hanoi to come to terms. Nixon laid out his strategy(SONY VGP-BPS14B Battery):
"I had long believed that an indispensable element of any successful peace initiative in Vietnam was to enlist, if possible, the help of the Soviets and the Chinese. Though rapprochement with China and détente with the Soviet Union were ends in themselves, I also considered them possible means to hasten the end of the war. At worst, Hanoi was bound to feel less confident if Washington was dealing with Moscow and Beijing(SONY VGP-BPS22 battery). At best, if the two major Communist powers decided that they had bigger fish to fry, Hanoi would be pressured into negotiating a settlement we could accept."
Having made great progress over the last two years in U.S.-Soviet relations, Nixon planned a second trip to the Soviet Union in 1974. He arrived in Moscow on June 27 to a welcome ceremony, cheering crowds, and a state dinner at the Grand Kremlin Palace that evening. Nixon and Brezhnev met in Yalta, where they discussed a proposed mutual defense pact, détente, and MIRVs(SONY VGP-BPS18 battery). While he considered proposing a comprehensive test-ban treaty, Nixon felt that it would take far too long to accomplish. There were not any significant breakthroughs in these negotiations.
1972 presidential campaign
Nixon entered his name on the New Hampshire primary ballot on January 5, 1972, effectively announcing his candidacy for reelection. Largely assured the Republican nomination, the President had expected his Democratic opponent to be Senator Ted Kennedy(SONY VGP-BPS22/A battery), but Senator Edmund Muskie instead became the front runner, with Senator George McGovern in a close second place. Though Muskie defeated McGovern in the New Hampshire primary, his showings were poorer in Florida and he soon ended his campaign. Alabama Governor George Wallace entered the race as an Independent; popular in Florida, he would create havoc among the Democrats and boost Nixon's campaign(SONY VGP-BPS22A battery).
Nixon campaigns during the 1972 presidential campaign
Prominent issues of the early campaign included school busing and heated relations between the three branches of the government. Nixon addressed the nation on March 16 about the school busing issue, reiterating that it was wrong to force a child onto a school bus and that busing lowered the quality of education. He announced the Equal Education Opportunities bill that would seek a moratorium on local school busing; the bill later passed(SONY VGP-BPL10 battery). Vietnam was still ongoing, though Nixon had reduced troop levels dramatically.
On June 10, McGovern won the California primary and secured the Democratic nomination. The following month, Nixon was renominated at the 1972 Republican National Convention. He dismissed the Democratic platform as cowardly and divisive. Nixon was ahead in most polls for the entire election cycle, and was reelected on November 7, 1972 in one of the largest landslide election victories in U.S. political history(SONY VGP-BPS10 battery). He defeated McGovern with over 60% of the popular vote, losing only in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
Nixon's victory made him the first former Vice President since Thomas Jefferson to win two terms as President. Nixon and Franklin Roosevelt are the only candidates in U.S. history to appear on five presidential tickets for a major party(Dell Latitude E6500 battery).
Second term (1973–1974)
Nixon is sworn in for a second term in 1973
On October 10, 1973, Vice President Agnew resigned, amid charges of bribery, tax evasion and money laundering from his tenure as Maryland's governor. Nixon chose Representative Gerald Ford, Republican Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, to replace Agnew(Dell Latitude E6400 battery).
Continuation of economic changes
After he won reelection, Nixon found that inflation was increasing, and the legislation authorizing price controls expired April 30, 1973. The Senate Democratic Caucus recommended a 90-day freeze on all profits, interest rates, and prices. Nixon re-imposed price controls in June 1973, echoing his 1971 plan, as food prices rose; this time, he focused on agricultural exports and limited the freeze to 60 days(Dell Latitude E5400 battery).
The price controls became unpopular with the public and businesspeople, who saw powerful labor unions as preferable to the price board bureaucracy. Business owners, however, now saw the controls as permanent rather than temporary, and voluntary compliance decreased. The controls produced food shortages, as meat disappeared from grocery stores and farmers drowned chickens rather than sell them at a loss(SONY Vaio VGN-CR23/W battery). The controls were slowly ended, and by April 30, 1974, the control authority from Congress had lapsed. However, the controls on oil and natural gas prices persisted for several years. Nixon also dramatically increased spending on federal employees' salaries while the economy was plagued by the 1973–1974 stock market crash.
In his 1974 State of the Union address, Nixon called for comprehensive health insurance(SONY Vaio VGN-CR23/N battery). On February 6, 1974, he introduced the Comprehensive Health Insurance Act. Nixon's plan would have mandated employers to purchase health insurance for their employees, and in addition provided a federal health plan, similar to Medicaid, that any American could join by paying on a sliding scale based on income. The New York Daily News writes that Ted Kennedy rejected the universal health coverage plan offered by Nixon because it was not everything he wanted it to be(SONY Vaio VGN-CR23/L battery). Kennedy later realized it was a missed opportunity to make major progress toward his goal.
Yom Kippur War and 1973 oil crisis
The Nixon administration supported Israel, a powerful American ally in the Middle East, during the Yom Kippur War. When an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria attacked in October 1973, Israel suffered initial losses and pressed European powers for help, but (with the exception of the Netherlands) the Europeans responded with inaction(SONY Vaio VGN-CR23/R battery). Nixon cut through inter-departmental squabbles and bureaucracy to initiate an airlift of American arms. By the time the U.S. and the Soviet Union negotiated a truce, Israel had penetrated deep into enemy territory. A long-term effect was the movement of Egypt away from the Soviets toward the U.S. But Israel's victory came at the cost to the U.S. of the 1973 oil crisis(SONY Vaio VGN-CR23/P battery); the members of OPEC decided to raise oil prices in response to the American support of Israel.
After Nixon chose to go off the gold standard, foreign countries increased their currency reserves in anticipation of currency fluctuation, which caused deflation of the dollar and other world currencies. Since oil was paid for in dollars, OPEC was receiving less value for their product. They cut production and announced price hikes as well as an embargo targeted against the United States and the Netherlands(SONY Vaio VGN-CR23/B battery), specifically blaming U.S. support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War for the actions.
On January 2, 1974, Nixon signed a bill that lowered the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 miles per hour (88.5 km/h) to conserve gasoline during the crisis. This law was repealed in 1995, though states had been allowed to raise the limit to 65 miles per hour in rural areas since 1987(SONY Vaio VGN-CR220E/R battery).
Watergate
The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of illegal and secret activities undertaken by members of the Nixon administration. The activities became known in the aftermath of five men being caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972. The Washington Post picked up on the story, while reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward relied on an FBI informant known as "Deep Throat" to link the men to the Nixon White House(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21Z/R battery). This became one of a series of scandalous acts involving the Committee to Re-Elect the President. Nixon downplayed the scandal as mere politics, and his White House denounced the story as biased and misleading. As the FBI eventually confirmed that Nixon aides had attempted to sabotage the Democrats, many began resigning and senior aides faced prosecution(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21Z/N battery).
Nixon's alleged role in ordering a cover-up came to light after the testimony of John Dean. In July 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified that Nixon had a secret taping system that recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office. Unlike the tape recordings by earlier Presidents, Nixon's were subpoenaed. The White House refused to release them, citing executive privilege(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21S/W battery). A tentative deal was reached in which the White House would provide written summaries of the tapes, but this was rejected by Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, a former member of the Kennedy administration. Cox was fired at the White House's request and was replaced by Leon Jaworski, a former member of the Johnson administration. Jaworski revealed an audio tape of conversations held in the White House on June 20, 1972, which featured an unexplained 18½ minute gap(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21S/P battery). The first deleted section of about five minutes has been attributed to human error by Rose Mary Woods, the President's personal secretary, who admitted accidentally wiping the section while transcribing the tape. The gap, while not conclusive proof of wrong-doing by the President, cast doubt on Nixon's claim that he was unaware of the cover-up(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21S/L battery).
Nixon displays the V-for-victory sign as he departs the White House for the final time.
Though Nixon lost much popular support, including from some in his own party, he rejected accusations of wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. He insisted that he had made mistakes, but had no prior knowledge of the burglary, did not break any laws, and did not learn of the coverup until early 1973(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21E/W battery). On November 17, 1973, during a televised question and answer session with the press, Nixon said,
People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
Richard Nixon's resignation speech
Resignation speech of President Richard Nixon, delivered August 8, 1974.
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In April 1974, Nixon announced the release of 1,200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides. Despite this, the House Judiciary Committee, controlled by Democrats, opened impeachment hearings against the President on May 9, 1974. These hearings resulted in bi-partisan votes for Articles of Impeachment(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21E/P battery), the first vote being 27–11 in favor on July 27, 1974 on obstruction of justice. On July 24, the Supreme Court (including 5 Republican-appointed Justices, three of them appointed by Nixon) then ruled unanimously in the case of United States v. Nixon that the tapes must be released to Jaworski; one of the secret recordings, known as the Smoking Gun tape, was released on August 5, 1974, and revealed that Nixon knew of the cover-up from its inception and had suggested to administration officials that they try to stop the FBI's investigation(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21E/L battery).
Resignation
In light of his loss of political support and the near certainty of impeachment, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974, after addressing the nation on television the previous evening.
The resignation speech was delivered on August 8, 1974, at 9:01 pm Eastern time from the Oval Office and was carried live on radio and television(SONY Vaio VGN-CR21/B battery). The core of the speech was Nixon's announcement that Gerald Ford, as Vice President, would succeed to the presidency, effective at noon Eastern time the next day. Around this announcement, he discussed his feelings about his presidential work and general political issues that would need attention once he left. He never admitted to criminal wrongdoing, although he conceded errors of judgment. During the Watergate scandal, Nixon's approval rating fell to 23%(SONY Vaio VGN-CR190E/W battery). On May 28, 2009, speaking to Republicans in Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, Ed Nixon said that his brother did not resign "in disgrace" but "resigned in honor. It was a disappointment to him because his missions were cut short." He also said that his brother "held the office of president in high regard(SONY Vaio VGN-CR190E/R battery)."
Judicial appointments
The highlighted countries are those visited by Richard Nixon during his presidency. He was the first president to visit many high profile countries.
Nixon appointed the following justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: Warren E. Burger as Chief Justice in 1969, Harry Andrew Blackmun in 1970, Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. in 1972, and William Rehnquist later that year. Along with his four Supreme Court appointments, Nixon appointed 46 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals(SONY Vaio VGN-CR190E/P battery), and 181 judges to the United States district courts. Nixon formally nominated one person, Charles A. Bane, for a federal appellate judgeship, who was never confirmed.
During his presidency, Nixon decided to grant clemency in over 20% of requests.
Later years and death
Pardon and illness
Following his resignation, the Nixons returned to their home La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, California. According to Aitken, after his resignation, "Nixon was a soul in torment". Congress had funded Nixon's transition costs, including some salary expenses, though reducing the appropriation from $850,000 to $200,000(SONY Vaio VGN-CR190E/L battery). With some of his staff still with him, Nixon was at his desk by 7 a.m.—with little to do. His former press secretary, Ron Ziegler, sat with him alone for hours each day.
Nixon's resignation had not put an end to the desire among many in Congress and the media to see him punished. The Ford White House considered a pardon of Nixon, though it would be unpopular in the country. Nixon, contacted by Ford emissaries, was initially reluctant to accept the pardon, but then agreed to do so. Ford, however, insisted on a statement of contrition(SONY Vaio VGN-CR190 battery), which Nixon, who did not feel he had committed any crimes, was reluctant to agree to. The former president eventually agreed, and on September 8, 1974, Ford granted him a "full, free, and absolute pardon". This ended any possibility of an indictment. Nixon then released a statement:
I was wrong in not acting more decisively and more forthrightly in dealing with Watergate, particularly when it reached the stage of judicial proceedings and grew from a political scandal into a national tragedy(SONY Vaio VGN-CR15/B battery). No words can describe the depth of my regret and pain at the anguish my mistakes over Watergate have caused the nation and the presidency, a nation I so deeply love, and an institution I so greatly respect.
In October 1974, Nixon fell ill with phlebitis. Told by his doctors that he could either be operated on or die, a reluctant Nixon chose surgery. He was visited by President Ford in the hospital, Nixon was at the time under subpoena for the trial of Ehrlichman, Dean, and Haldeman, and the Post, disbelieving his illness, printed a cartoon showing Nixon with a cast on the "wrong foot"(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13T/W battery). Judge Sirica excused Nixon's presence despite the defendants' objections. Meanwhile, Congress instructed Ford to retain Nixon's presidential papers, beginning a legal battle over the paper which would last three decades, and which would be won by the former president and his estate. While Nixon was in the hospital, the 1974 midterm elections took place. Watergate and the pardon were factors in the Republican loss of 43 seats in the House and three in the Senate(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13T/R battery).
Return to public life
Beginning in December 1974, Nixon began planning his comeback, despite the considerable ill-will against him in the country. He wrote in his diary, referring to himself and Pat Nixon,
So be it. We will see it through. We've had tough times before and we can take the tougher ones that we will have to go through now. That is perhaps what we were made for—to be able to take punishment beyond what anyone in this office has had before particularly after leaving office(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13T/P battery). This is a test of character and we must not fail the test.
By early 1975, Nixon's mental and physical health was improving. He maintained an office in a Coast Guard station 300 yards from his home, at first taking a golf cart and later walking the route each day; he mainly worked on his memoirs. He had hoped to wait before writing his memoirs; the fact that his assets were being eaten away by expenses and lawyer fees compelled him to begin work quickly(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13T/L battery). He was handicapped in this work by the end of his transition allowance in February, which compelled him to part with much of his staff, including Ziegler. In August of that year, he met with British talk-show host and producer David Frost, who paid him $600,000 for a series of sit-down interviews. They began on the topic of foreign policy, recounting the leaders he had known(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13G/R battery), but the most remembered section of the interviews was that on Watergate. Nixon admitted that he had "let down the country" and that "I brought myself down. I gave them a sword and they stuck it in. And they twisted it with relish. And, I guess, if I'd been in their position, I'd have done the same thing." The interviews were the most-watched program of their kind in television history, garnering between 45 and 50 million viewers(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13G/P battery).
The interviews helped improve Nixon's financial position—at one point in early 1975 he had only $500 in the bank—as did the sale of the Key Biscayne property to a trust set up by wealthy Nixon friends such as Bebe Rebozo. In February 1976, Nixon visited China at the personal invitation of Mao. Nixon had wanted to return to China, but chose to wait until after Ford's own visit in 1975(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13G/W battery). Nixon remained neutral in the 1976 primary battle between Ford and Reagan, which was won by Ford in a close fight at the convention in Kansas City at which the name of Nixon, nominated by five of the last six conventions, was not mentioned once. Ford lost narrowly in the general election to Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, leading to suggestions that had Ford not pardoned Nixon, he would have been elected(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13G/L battery). Nixon biographer Black points out that had no pardon been issued, it was very likely that Nixon would have been on trial in November 1976, causing a loss by a much greater margin. The Carter administration had little use for Nixon, and blocked his planned trip to Australia, causing the government of Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to withhold an official invitation(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13G/B battery).
In early 1978, he went to the United Kingdom. He was shunned by American diplomats and by most ministers of the Callaghan government. He was welcomed, however, by the Leader of the Opposition, Margaret Thatcher, as well as by former prime ministers Lord Home and Harold Wilson, though two other former prime ministers, Harold Macmillan and Ted Heath declined to meet with him. Nixon addressed the Oxford Union regarding Watergate(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13G battery):
Some people say I didn't handle it properly and they're right. I screwed it up. Mea culpa. But let's get on to my achievements. You'll be here in the year 2000 and we'll see how I'm regarded then.
Author and elder statesman
Nixon joins Presidents Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter at the White House, 1981(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13/W battery)
In 1978, Nixon published his memoirs, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, the first of ten books he was to author in his retirement. The book was a bestseller, and attracted a generally positive critical response. Nixon journeyed to the White House for the first time as a former president in 1979, invited by Carter for the state dinner for Chinese Premier Deng Xiaoping. Carter had not wanted to invite Nixon(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13/R battery); Deng had stated he would visit Nixon in California if the former president was not invited. Nixon had a private meeting with Deng, and visited Beijing again in mid-1979.
In early 1980, the Nixons moved into a New York City townhouse, purchased after being rejected by two Manhattan co-ops. When the former Shah of Iran died in Egypt in July 1980, Nixon defied the State Department, which intended to send no US representative, by attending the funeral(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13/P battery). He supported Ronald Reagan for president in 1980, making numerous television appearances portraying himself as, in biographer Steven Ambrose's words, "the senior statesman above the fray." He wrote guest articles for numerous publications and participated in many television interviews. After 18 months in the New York City townhouse, Nixon and his wife moved to Saddle River, New Jersey in 1981(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13/L battery).
Throughout the 1980s, Nixon maintained a arduous schedule of speaking engagements and writing, traveled, and met with many foreign leaders, especially those of Third World countries. He joined former Presidents Ford and Carter as representatives of the United States at the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat. On a trip to the Middle East, Nixon made his views known regarding Saudi Arabia and Libya, which attracted significant U.S. media attention(SONY Vaio VGN-CR13/B battery); The Washington Post ran stories on Nixon's "rehabilitation." Nixon journeyed to the Soviet Union. On his return from the Soviet Union, Nixon sent President Reagan a lengthy memorandum that contained foreign policy suggestions and his personal impressions of Mikhail Gorbachev. Following this trip, Nixon was ranked in Gallup's most admired man and woman poll as one of the ten most admired men in the world(SONY Vaio VGN-CR11Z/R battery).
In 1986, Nixon gave an address to a convention of newspaper publishers, impressing his audience with his tour d'horizon of the world. Author Elizabeth Drew wrote that "even when he was wrong, Nixon still showed that he knew a great deal and had a capacious memory as well as the capacity to speak with apparent authority, enough to impress people who had little regard for him in earlier times." Newsweek ran a story on "Nixon's comeback" with the headline "He's back." (SONY Vaio VGN-CR11S/W battery)
Nixon with Wichita, Kansas Police Chief Rick Stone, 1992
On July 19, 1990, the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California opened as a private institution, with Nixon and Pat in attendance. They were joined by a throng of people, including Gerald Ford, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, and their spouses Betty, Nancy, and Barbara, respectively. The property was owned and operated by the Richard Nixon Foundation and was not part of the National Archives' presidential libraries system until July 11, 2007(SONY Vaio VGN-CR11S/P battery), when the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum was officially welcomed into the federal presidential library system. In January 1991, the former president founded the Nixon Center, a policy think tank and conference center.
Pat Nixon died on June 22, 1993 of health problems, including emphysema and lung cancer. Her funeral services were held on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace during the week leading up to her burial on June 26(SONY Vaio VGN-CR11S/L battery). Richard Nixon was deeply distraught during the service. Inside the building, he delivered a tribute to her. Nixon was comforted by his family while former presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan and their wives attended the ceremony. Some commented that without Pat, Nixon would not "last a year." (SONY VAIO VGN-NR11Z battery)
Death and funeral
Nixon suffered a severe stroke at 5:45 pm EDT on April 18, 1994, while preparing to eat dinner in his Park Ridge, New Jersey home. It was determined that a blood clot resulting from his heart condition had formed in his upper heart, then broken off and traveled to his brain. He was taken to New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, initially alert, but unable to speak or to move his right arm or leg(SONY VAIO VGN-NR11S battery). Damage to the brain caused swelling (cerebral edema) and Nixon slipped into a deep coma. On April 22, 1994, he died at 9:08 pm, with his daughters at his bedside; he was 81.
Nixon's funeral took place on April 27, 1994, the first for an American president since that of Lyndon B. Johnson in 1973, which Nixon had presided over as president. Held at the Nixon Library, eulogists included then-President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole(SONY VAIO VGN-NR110E battery), California Governor Pete Wilson, and the Reverend Billy Graham. Also in attendance were former Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush and their respective first ladies. Richard Nixon rests beside his wife Pat on the grounds of the Nixon Library. He was survived by his two daughters, Tricia and Julie, and four grandchildren(SONY VAIO VGN-NR110E/T battery). In keeping with his wishes, his funeral was not a full state funeral, though his body did lie in repose in the Nixon Library lobby from April 26 to the morning of the funeral services. Despite heavy rain, police estimated that roughly 50,000 people waited in lines up to 18 hours to file past the casket and pay their respects(SONY VAIO VGN-NR110E/S battery).
Legacy
The graves of President Richard and first lady Pat Nixon.
No other American has held office in the executive branch of the federal government as long as Richard Nixon did. He is the only person in American history to appear on the Republican Party's presidential ticket five times, to secure the Republican nomination for president three times, and to have been elected twice to both the vice presidency and the presidency(SONY VAIO VGN-NR110E/W battery). With Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon was the chief builder of the modern Republican party. From 1952 to 1992, at least one of these three men appeared on the Republican ticket for nine of the eleven presidential elections. Throughout his career, he was instrumental in moving the party away from the control of isolationists and as a Congressman was a persuasive advocate of containing Soviet Communism(SONY VGN-CR11SR battery).
Although he did not achieve all that he had wished for in the Middle East, Nixon virtually expelled the Soviet Union from the region and initiated a long peace process. He began formal relations with China and improved relations with the Soviet Union. Domestically, he decentralized government by revenue sharing, greatly reduced segregation in schools, reduced inflation (until it rose again as a result of the oil cartels) (SONY VGN-CR11Z battery), ended the gold standard, reduced the crime rate, and pioneered positive environmental measures. As a result of the Watergate scandal, however, the mood of the nation was severely affected and the office of the presidency was demeaned.
Though often referred to as a conservative in politics because of his "Southern strategy" and his victory in numerous southern states in 1968(SONY VGN-CR11S battery), Nixon had a considerable share of detractors on the right of the political spectrum. Columnist George Will questioned Nixon's conservatism, citing the wage-and-price controls as "the largest peacetime intrusion of government in the economy in American history, surpassing even the dreams of the New Dealers"(SONY VGN-CR11M battery).
Personality and public image
Nixon meets Elvis Presley in December 1970 "The President & The King."
Nixon's career was frequently dogged by his persona, and the public perception of it. Editorial cartoonists and comedians often exaggerated Nixon's appearance and mannerisms, to the point where the line between the human and the caricature version of him became increasingly blurred. He was often portrayed with unshaven jowls, slumped shoulders, and a furrowed, sweaty brow(SONY VGN-CR11E battery).
Nixon had a complex personality, both very secretive and awkward yet strikingly reflective about himself. He was inclined to distance himself from people and was formal in all aspects, always wearing a coat and tie even when home alone. He advised people not to care about what others thought of them. Some experts have described him as having a narcissistic and paranoid personality(SONY VGN-CR21E battery). Conrad Black described him as being "driven" though also "uneasy with himself in some ways." According to Black, Nixon "thought that he was doomed to be traduced, double-crossed, unjustly harassed, misunderstood, underappreciated, and subjected to the trials of Job, but that by the application of his mighty will, tenacity, and diligence he would ultimately prevail." Biographer Elizabeth Drew summarized Nixon as a "smart(SONY VGN-CR21S battery), talented man, but most peculiar and haunted of presidents." In his account of the Nixon presidency, author Richard Reeves described Nixon as "a strange man of uncomfortable shyness, who functioned best alone with his thoughts". Nixon's presidency was doomed by his personality, Reeves argues: "He assumed the worst in people, and he brought out the worst in them. He clung to the idea of being 'tough'(SONY VGN-CR21Z battery). He thought that was what had brought him to the edge of greatness. But that was what betrayed him. He could not open himself to other men and he could not open himself to greatness".
Nixon is photographed with Washington Redskins head coach George Allen and other Redskins coaches and players, November 1971.
Nixon frequently brandished the two-finger V sign (alternately viewed as the "Victory sign" or "peace sign") using both hands, an act that became one of his best-known trademarks(SONY VGN-CR21SR battery).
James MacGregor Burns observed of Nixon, "How can one evaluate such an idiosyncratic President, so brilliant and so morally lacking?" George McGovern, Nixon's former opponent, commented in 1983, "President Nixon probably had a more practical approach to the two superpowers, China and the Soviet Union, than any other president since World War II... I think, with the exception of his inexcusable continuation of the war in Vietnam, Nixon really will get high marks in history(SONY VGN-CR31SR battery)."
Former president Harry Truman had a low regard for Nixon, stating in 1961: "Nixon is a shifty-eyed goddamn liar, and the people know it." In 1968, he added "He's one of the few in the history of this country to run for high office talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time and lying out of both sides." Martha Mitchell, the outspoken wife of Nixon's Attorney-General John Mitchell, said of Nixon in 1973(SONY VGN-CR31S battery), "He bleeds people. He draws every drop of blood and then drops them from a cliff. He'll blame any person he can put his foot on."
In October 1999, a volume of 1971 White House audio tapes were released which contained multiple statements made by then-President Nixon to his staff and advisors which have been deemed by some authors to be derogatory towards Jews.[280] In one conversation with H.R. Haldeman(SONY VGN-CR31E battery), Nixon said that Washington was "full of Jews" and that "most Jews are disloyal," making exceptions for some of his top aides. He then added,"But, Bob, generally speaking, you can't trust the bastards. They turn on you. Am I wrong or right?" Nixon also drew connections between Jews and the Communist conspiracy, declaring "the only two non-Jews in the Communist conspiracy were Whitaker Chambers and Alger Hiss... The only two non-Jews. Every other one was a Jew. And it raised hell with us(SONY VGN-CR31Z battery)."
Elsewhere on the 1971 recordings Nixon denies being anti-Semitic, saying, "If anybody who's been in this chair ever had reason to be anti-Semitic, I did... And I'm not, you know what I mean?"
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