Essay On Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was a man of many contradictions. Nixon labeled himself an “introvert in an extrovert’s profession.” Full of insecurity, Nixon virtually had no one in his life that he trusted and as a result became extremely paranoid of those around him. Nevertheless, Nixon achieved the central role in American Politics and became the face of the country as the 37th President of the United States and also became the only president to ever resign from office. Generally Richard Nixon’s name is synonymous with corruption, greed, and deception and the question of how could Americans allow such a person rise to the role of president? What many people forget about the presidency of Richard Nixon is that it wasn’t all bad, after all Nixon was a determined anticommunist who made good efforts in the enhancement of the federal government’s role in the country’s welfare and the environment, and became president only after exhibiting his immense talent, intellect, and after climbing the ranks just like everyone before him. This leaves one to wonder, how did he self-destruct?

Nixon was born on January 9, 1913, in Yorba Linda, California. A bright young man, Nixon excelled in high school and was elected numerous times to leadership positions by his classmates. When offered a Harvard scholarship; he was forced to decline because of his parents’ financial instability and as a result went to Whittier College before graduating in 1934 and attending Duke University Law School. After Duke, he jumped at an opportunity presented to work in the Office of Price Administration (OPA) in Washington. Nixon left the OPA because he was facing the draft of World War II and in order to avoid serving on the front lines, he volunteered to join the Navy. ...

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...t the government, now with suspicion and “time has not altered the sting of Watergate. It remains a profoundly sad and unnecessary scar on the political landscape.”

The legacy of Richard Nixon will never overcome the obscenity of Watergate. In Nixon’s case it certainly holds true that the bad is better remembered more than the good. It is safe to say that Nixon was a contradictory man, a man of intellect and talent but also a man of paranoia, greed, and jealousy and whose self-promotion led to his self-destruction. There were two Richard Nixons, one who made influential accomplishments in both foreign and domestic policy and the other, who was the mastermind behind the Watergate scandal, and sadly, it is the latter for which he is and will always be remembered. Nixon built himself up to the nation’s highest office only to tear himself down over trying to keep it.