I. Introduction
“The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire”, said Nixon (Brainy Quote). Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th President of United States had won his presidential seat in 1960. Nixon was a worthy president and without his ability to pass legislation, there would have not been an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), better relationship with China and also stopped the Vietnam War. He also supported President Eisenhower’s former policies including, stopping the spread of communism and opposing the use of atomic bombs.
II. Background
Nixon ran for presidency against John Kennedy on September 26, 1960 election and lost. He ran for the presidency again and won, entering the office in January 20, 1969. Nixon was later re-elected twice. The second election was against Democrat George McGovern, who lost to Nixon by a landslide of 60% major votes.
He had planned to better U.S.’s relationship with China before he became the president, writing in Foreign Affairs a year before his election, “There is no place on this small planet for a billion of its potentially most able people to live in angry isolation.”(Office of the Historian), these were thoughts like those of President Lincoln, who did not want a war between the Union and the Confederate States.
The Watergate scandal linked Nixon to espionage like activities. The scandal led to the encounter of several exploitations of his political power by the Nixon’s administration. As a result, Nixon later resigned in 1974 after being exposed and is the only United States president to resign till date.
III. Argument
Heavy fogs near the Washington Bridge in New York, pollution from the smoke of discarded automobile batteries in Texas, dumping trash near the John Kennedy ai...
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...t been an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which would have improved the wasteland into green-lands, better relationship with China resulting in profits and a new market and also stopped the Vietnam War which in turn reduced the amount of soldiers dying. Most presidents can rarely manage government, Nixon was re-elected and he held it strong for 8 years. Keeping aside this Watergate scandal, Nixon can be studied in depth and be found out on how much of effort he actually did put in. A hundred years on from his birth, his years looked solid strong and now his flaws are fading. It is important to research in depth so that the only president resigned from US doesn’t have to be known as a villain, because he did do some superhero work. “Failure is not falling down. Failure is falling down and not getting up again to continue life’s race,” said Nixon. (Telegraph UK)
The "Checkers Speech" saved Nixon's career, what was left of it.. Eisenhower kept him on the ticket just because of his looks and he went on to serve eight years as Vice President. He wanted to win by a lot. In 1960 Nixon ran for President, losing a close race to John F. Kennedy. The smell of hope. He was paranoid. Two years later he lost a bitter race for Governor of California to Pat Brown and retired from politics, telling the press, "There is always next year. He was paranoid.
The documentary entitled, Watergate Plus 30: Shadow of History, documents the political decisions and environment within the Nixon Administration from 1969-1974. The documentary specifically details and describes the environment and culture in which the Watergate scandal could occur and the events and abuses of power that lead to its occurrence. Setting the tone and the political climate of the Nixon Administration was the Vietnam War; making him a wartime President, a war that he inherited from his predecessor. The Vietnam War faced a lot of opposition from the general public, with massive protests and political demonstrations by the younger generations and overall general public. Nixon’s presidency was surrounded by this climate amidst the
President Clinton and President Nixon both associated themselves with criminal actions. Both the presidents misled the American public, causing personal as well as professional problems. For instance, President Clinton released a false statement about his affair with Monika Lewinsky, causing a lengthy and costly trial, and greatly affecting his presidential career. Also, President Nixon caused a scandal associated with Watergate, which ended up with his leaving the office. Even though they caused trouble for themselves and others around them, Clinton and Nixon did influence the American economy to a great degree. Clinton practically saved the economy and lowered the US inflation rate, through gradual and advocated plans of reform. Moreover, Nixon was the first to go into China territory for negotiations. Ultimately, they have attracted the media with their antics, making themselves? targets of controversy and embarrassment. In fact, President Clinton and Nixon have become the subjects of public mockery and have been an embarrassment to the American people in the office of the President. Moreover, both men have been involved in humiliating situations.
When Nixon was inaugurated, he took a sworn oath to protect the people and the country. He lied to his people. He states, “The major problem on the Watergate is simply to clean the thing up by having whoever was responsible admit what happened. Certainly I am satisfied that nobody in the White House had any knowledge or approved any such activity.” (Memoirs 646).
On January 20, 1969 our 37th president, Richard Milhous Nixon, was sworn into Presidency. His main focus as president was to pull forces out of Vietnam in order to end the War that began in 1961. Nixon began this process by pulling 75,000 troops out of Vietnam in the first year he was president. Nixon also worked to improve US relations with China as well as with the Soviet Union. He was the first president to visit China. He also imposed a wage price freeze to combat inflation that was replaced by a system of wage price controls, to be later removed. Nixon?s term as President will forever be remembered due to his resignation from presidency over the Watergate scandal.
The politics of the ultratight resonated deeply with Richard Nixon. Nixon had cut his political teeth as a young Red-hunting member of the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s. His home district in Orange Country, California, was widely known as a Birch Society stronghold. The Los Angeles-area Birch Society claimed the membership of several political and economic elites, including members of the Chandler family, which owned and published the Los Angeles Times. According to the writer David Halberstam (1979, 118) the Times, which was once described as “the most rabid Labor-bating, Red-hating paper in the United States,” virtually created Richard Nixon.
Nixon although considered one of the most controversial politicians used his political experience, his background and the communist scare of the late forties and early fifties to become President. It took Nixon about four years but eventually he put an end to the Vietnam War. He promised the American people that when he took office his highest priority would be putting an end to the horrible war. He did what he promised and deserves credit for that. Although things did not always work out for him he came back from the events a smarter man. He used his knowledge to win the election. It takes a smart man to learn from his mistakes and Nixon did that. That is why he deserved to be President of the United States.
Richard Nixon was president during 1969-1974 and was the first president to resign from office. During this time there was a scandal known as the Watergate Scandal. It was about five men who broke into the watergate building and stole secret documents. They were caught, but some people believe Nixon was involved. He may have even tried to cover up the investigation using bribes.
Richard Nixon's first term as president will always be connected with the Watergate scandal, the biggest political scandal in United States history. Various illegal activities were conducted including burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, sabotage, and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents to help Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. There were about 40 people charged with crimes related to the scandal. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty. Watergate involved more high-level government officials than any previous scandal. It has been etched in the minds of millions and is still being recalled today when faced with the present day scandal of President Clinton. In All The President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, former Washington Post reporters, recount, illustrate, and analyze the Watergate scandal time and their work in reporting and revealing these events for the newspaper.
Richard Nixon begins off his memoir by explaining the times of his most, greatest failure in life. It describes the writings of his most important comings with Chou En-lai. His worst failure was having no source of communications, whatsoever with the country of China for at least 25 to 26 years. Nixon talks about both of the sides of his feelings with the significance of his greatest triumph. (Richard Nixon, pg 13, 343) He also goes through his life, previous to the Watergate event, in San Clemente and the other sites near the end of his time as president when he did large amounts of writing and traveling. (Richard Nixon, pg 27) Then writes about the political issues that landed between the years of 1989 and 1990. Richard was raised as a Quaker, but showed no resemblance or sign, towards the beginning of his adult years. He recalls all the lessons he had remembered during his school years. They helped him become the person he was, and how his wealth after his presidency was fare more fortunate. Primarily this book shows his struggles and happiness, throughout the many years of his hard life. The promotion of peace and decisions to make it made him want to create it even more, towards the end of his political career. (Richard Nixon, pg 335-337, 353)
Despite the national attention the Watergate scandal had gained President Nixon, he won the second term presidency. The major problem for Nixon would come later. The investigations of the Watergate scandal lead to the discovery of other criminal acts by officials including Nixon. During the investigation many things begin to surface. It was discovered that documents had been destroyed that may have made a link between Nixon and the Watergate scandal. These documents may have shown that he had some acknowledgement in what had happened. There was evidence that people involved in the Nixon campaign had been wire tapping phones illegally for a long time according to “dummies.com”. The greatest issue would come to light during the 1973 Watergate hearings. During testimonies it came to light that every conversation was recorded in the Oval office according to “study.com”. It was demanded that these tapes be reviewed to learn how much involvement President Nixon had in the Watergate burglary. The President felt that he had the right to withhold these tapes through what he referred to as executive privilege. This means that if it is the best interest of the public the president has the right to keep information from the
When Regan became president, his administration established a program of voluntary compliance with Clean Water Act standards. Regan sent around memos to big business asking, “What regulation do you want relief from?” Nixon wasn’t much better. He was out of step with the country. Nixon may have given the EPA the authority to sue and penalize polluters that exceeded those limits, but he would veto any new legislation And we did not care.
Nixon’s hamartia, a fatal flaw that leads to the character’s downfall, was his hunger for power and insecurity. Many people have reported that he would lash out at his enemies. The cause of the Watergate Scandal, the incident when burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee’s office and tried to wiretap phones and steal documents, was Nixon’s insecurity. He didn’t think he was going to be reelected and resorted to unethical actions. This event forced Nixon to resign from office, thus displaying that his insecurity led to his downfall.
In conclusion President Nixon had some ups and downs like most Presidents. He was the first modern President that brought out globalized criticism, and where the White House conflicts became the household problems. If anyone wonders where America stands, or even how we got here, Nixonland will be a good place to start.
Nixon was long associated with American politics before his fall from grace. He was along time senator before finally being elected president in 1968. During his first term, his United States went through the Vietnam War and a period of economic inflation. In 1972 he was easily re-elected over Democrat nominee George McGovern. Almost unnoticed during his campaign was the arrest of five men connected with Nixon’s re-election committee. They had broken into the Democrats national head quarters in the Watergate apartment complex, in Washington D.C. They attempted to steal documents and place wire taps on the telephones. By March of 1973, through a federal inquiry, it had been brought to light that the burglars had connections with high government officials and Nixon’s closest aids. Despite Nixon and his lawyers best efforts, it was shown that the president had participated in the Watergate cover-up. On August 8, 1974 Nixon announced, without admitting guilt, that he would resign. He left the Oval Office the next day: an obvious fall from grace.