Legacy

Nixon is known as the one of the chief builder of modern Republican Party. He was the only Republican to be elected and vice president and as president twice. He settled tensions between Russia and USA about the nuclear weapons and fear of nuclear war. He also started relationship with China which still continues today. He also proposed many programs that helped the environment, health care, etc. However many of his legacies are covered by Watergate Scandal. Because of him, Watergate became a term used to refer to political burglary, bribery, phone tapping, conspiracy, tax fraud, illegal use of government agencies, campaign contributors, etc. Also he is well known as the first president to get impeached.

Domestic Policy and Affairs

When Nixon was in his presidential seat, USA was suffering from stagflation, which means high inflation and high unemployment rate. The unemployment rate reached 6%, and Nixon’s worries grew. Nixon announced wage and price freeze, tax cut, and called for 10 percent import tax. Things looked better during the early 1970s, during the economic boom. Then in 1973, Oil shock reached USA and the inflation was raised again up to 12% and the economy continued to get worse.

While he was in presidential seat, he passed on many laws. In the year of 1970, Nixon proposed to create Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which tried to prevent on the job accidents and deaths. Also to help the environment, he proposed an Environmental Protection Agency, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He also proposed Clean Air Act, which reduced air pollutions that was produced from cars. He also passed the National Health Insurance Partnership Program, which promoted health maintenance organizations. Nixon proposed lot more programs that benefited many people, and increased Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. He also tried to bring diversity between races and end segregation in school. He proposed the desegregation busing, which helped to overcome effect of local segregation.

However, there was one domestic event that ended his presidential life. On June 17, 1972, five men were caught for sneaking into the Democratic National Committee. They were Virgilio Gonzalez, Bernard Barker, James W. McCord Jr., Eugenio Martinez, and Frank Sturgis. During the investigation, they found out that they were all somehow involved with the Committee to Re-elect the President. (CREEP) Soon they found out that E. Howard Hunt Jr. and G. Gordon Liddy were behind this. Hunt was part of the CREEP during the reelection of Richard Nixon, which bought suspicions that Nixon might be behind this. During the investigation, they found letters that was from the White House to the verdicts to remain silence and admit their guilt. Then Nixon tried to cover up all of their misdeeds and audio tapes of conversation that he recorded. However many w witnesses, such as Alexander P. Butterfield, revealed about the audio tapes. Watergate special prosecutors asked for the tapes for evidence, but Nixon refused. However, because the public was upset and required Nixon to turn in the tapes, Nixon had to turn in the tapes on July 23, 1972 including the tapes known as the “Smoking Guns”. Soon people turned their backs on him and his presidency was over. On August 8, 1974, Richard M. Nixon announced his resignation.

Foreign Policy and Affairs

Nixon had a lot of impact on foreign policies and affairs. One huge foreign affair he got involved in was the Vietnam War. He and his security of state, Henry Kissinger, had negotiations with North Vietnam and threatened, saying “we will be compelled – with great reluctance – to takes measures of greatest consequences.” Nixon continued to use aircrafts and bomb North Vietnam. Then he planned a bombing of Ho’s supply lines in Cambodia. However his plan didn’t work and North Vietnamese didn’t retreat. Nixon told people that his strategy was the “Vietnamization” which was training the South Vietnamese and withdrawing the American troops. Finally in 1973, last American troops left from Vietnam and South Vietnam soon lost to the North, and was united into one communist country.

He also tried to ease tensions between Communist countries, such as China and Russia. Nixon and Kissinger shaped their foreign policy around philosophy called Realpolitik which means realistic in German. It meant dealing with other powerful countries based on power instead of ideals or moral. One powerful communist country was China. When Mao invited American table tennis players to come to China for friendly match, Nixon thought this was the chance to develop relationship with China. Nixon sent Kissinger to China to arrange a visit by Nixon. Surprisingly, Mao allowed, and Nixon was the first president to visit China.

Nixon also tried to ease tension with Russia. Soon after Nixon’s visit to China, he went to Russia to meet with Leonid Brezhnev. He was again, the first president to visit Moscow. When he went to Russia, Nixon and Brezhnev improved relationship between Russia and the US. One example of this was the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, or SALT, and Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which reduced and limited the number of nuclear weapons. This policy of easing tensions between communist country and USA is called as Détente.

Election and Reelection

Richard Nixon had to go through a lot of hardships to get elected as a president of the United States. In 1960, he started his campaign for president, with his running mate, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. His democrat opponent was John F. Kennedy and the race seemed real close. They went on first-ever televised U.S presidential election debate. However, Nixon was sick during the debate, and many people thought that he appeared weak in contrast of young JFK. In the end, Nixon lost just by 0.2% to JFK. He gained a reputation as a loser, after he lost a seat as a governor of California in 1962.

After he lost, he spent 6 years practicing law as a lawyer in California. Nixon decided to run for president again in 1968 presidential election in spite of his reputation. He selected Spiro Agnew, a governor from Maryland as his running mate. He had to compete against Hubert Humphrey (Democrat) and George Wallace (Third-Party). Richard Nixon appealed to the group of people he referred to as the silent majority, socially conservative Americans who dislike the hippie counterculture and anti-war demonstrations that were uprising during the 1960s. Nixon promised people that he has a “secret plan” to end the Vietnam, which was tiring many citizens. In the end Nixon beat Humphrey by a margin of less than 1% of votes.

Election of 1972 was an easy one for Nixon. His opponent McGovern selected Thomas Eagleton as his running mate, but found out that he had treatments for his mental illness. Many people began to turn away from McGovern and turn to Nixon. On the other hand, Nixon was gaining favors of people by bringing peace in Vietnam, and with China and Russia. In the end, Nixon won by the largest landslide. He won 49 states out of 50, except Massachusetts.

Life and Background

- Richard Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 to Francis A. Nixon and Hannah Milhous Nixon in Yorba Linda, CA.

- He had four brothers, Harold, Donald, Arthur and Ed

- He went through hardships since his early life. Two of his brothers died before getting to 21, and his father’s business kept on failing.

- He graduated high school at Whittier High School with an outstanding grade, second in his class in 1930.

- He earned scholarships from Harvard and Yale, but couldn’t go due to financial problems. Instead he went to Whittier College.

- In his college, he was a well known debater, was involved in drama production, student body president, football, basketball player, and a track runner.

- In 1934, he graduated second from Whittier College, and got full scholarship from
Duke Univ. and graduated third.

- On June 21, 1940, he got married to Thelma Pat Ryan, and had 2 daughters, Patricia and Julie

- He returned to California and practiced law at La Habra, until he went off to fight at the Pacific as a lieutenant commander during the WWII.

- 1946, he was elected as a republican to a house of representatives, and to the Senate in 1950.

- He was selected as a running mate for Dwight D. Eisenhower and in 1952 Presidential Election, he got to be the youngest vice president in history at the age of 39.

- In 1960, he lost presidential election to JFK very closely and a seat as a governor of California in 1962.

- In 1968, he made a dramatic comeback and won the election as a president.