A Rhetorical Analysis Of Richard Nixon's Resignation

Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president, gave his “Resignation Address to the Nation (1974)” speech explaining that he wasn’t going to be the president any more. Through his speech, Nixon demonstrates logos, pathos, ethos, repetition and anaphora to the citizens of the United States. Nixon’s goal is to suggest that the Watergate issue was not his fault, and also to resign from his presidency profoundly in order to avoid impeachment by the people. The tone of his voice was apologetic as he addressed the nation on his resignation.
Who is Richard M. Nixon and how did he get to be president? Richard Nixon was the 37th president of the United States. He is important to know because he was the first and the only president to resign from office.

Nixon was born to a family of five boys. He lived on a ranch. However, the ranch was not successful, it had several financial issues and the Nixons were dealing with fatalities of two children. This ranch is currently known as the Presidential Library and Museum. (Biography)
Richard went to many different colleges. He attended them intending to go for governmental studies. Then Nixon had attended law school at Duke University. After college he had joined the Office of Price Administration in Washington D.C. and then the navy. Nixon’s early political career consisted of running and achieving congress position, becoming senator, vice president, and then lastly he became president of the United States in 1968, which would bring us to the Watergate scandal.
Richard Nixon’s resignation speech is an important piece of history.

Many people may not know about the reason for his resignation, but it all started at a hotel called Watergate. One night a security guard had found tape over the lock on the Democratic National Committee headquarters. This was held in the Watergate hotel. The break-in was made to receive extra money to fund Nixon’s re-election. As soon as this story of the break-in had hit the news, Nixon had recalled the surveillance tapes which had proved his part-taking in the scandal. The FBI, CIA, and the White House had all attempted to cover up for Richard Nixon. Sometime later, the Supreme Court had ordered the tapes to be revealed. Nixon had distinguished that this would have a result of impeachment, so he had resigned on the day of August 9, 1974.

(Biography)
Looking deeper into the speech, shows the flaws and miscommunications of Nixon giving his speech. There are multiple rhetorical devices used throughout the speech. Although Nixon had used ethos, logos, and pathos, he did not quite linked with the American people. The way he talked to the audience was apologetic, but he had skeptical body language. As he appeared on television, he looked as though he was uncomfortable, stiff, and nervous. He did not address the citizens directly, but he read his speech directly from his piece of paper. However, he did have an American flag and a presidential seal hung behind him to help promote his position and power.
Along with his negative experience with ethos, Richard Nixon also used logos.

He was a smart man who used extravagant words along with logical reasoning to help cover up and avoid the main conflict. Nixon claims “As president, I must put the interest of America first”. He attempts to convince the audience that he is doing what is best for the nation. However, he knows that this is the best thing that he can do for himself to avoid impeachment and criminal charges. His logic is false compared to his actual intentions. He implied that he didn’t want to go to court for these charges brought against him because it would “take too long” away from the presidential duties, even though he knew that he wouldn’t have a choice but to be removed from office.

(Nixon)
For pathos, Nixon was being humiliated in front of the entire nation, yet he showed no physical emotion toward the audience. Then, he lies to the nation saying that he was never a quitter. He says that his family tried to convince him to stay in office, but yet again he wanted to seek the best interest of the nation.
President Nixon tries to seeks sympathy from the citizens stating, “I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is complete is abhorrent to every instinct in my body.” “I would have preferred to carry through to the finish, no matter the personal agony it would have involved.” This is not true because he didn’t want to be pressed with criminal charges. (Nixon)
The way Nixon was forced to address his resignation would be a nearly impossible task to accomplish. There wasn't any way that he could give his speech and not be looked down upon. He was in too much of a hurry to prepare and calm himself, so he failed to present ethos, logos, and pathos effectively to the Americans watching. He appeared to be apologetic, but he was stiff, fidgety, and seemed nervous. Nixon avoided the truth and tried to win sympathy by using large words and using the repetitive phrase, “..in the nations best interest”. He did not directly include information on the Watergate scandal. President Richard Nixon is currently the most disliked president in history.