I Am Not a Crook: The Watergate Scandal

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The 37th President, Richard Milhous Nixon, marred the reputation of not only himself, but of every president after him. The Watergate Scandal was a major upheaval in the trust of a president. When it came to electing officials, President Nixon wasn't the best; he often elected corrupt officials. The Cambodian Campaign, which was ordered by Nixon, prolonged America's involvement in the Vietnam War, which was driven by heavy anti-communist views, not with the best interest of America in mind.. Using evidence from his life, education, political career, and the mistakes of his presidency, we will determine whether or not his presidency was positive or negative.
On January 9, 1913, on a little lemon ranch in Yorba Linda, California, Francis Nixon and Hannah Nixon gave birth to Richard Nixon. The eventual President Nixon was the second of five brothers whose early death of Harold and Arthur Nixon, would impact is life greatly in later years. After his father's lemon farm eventual failure in 1922, forcing them to move to Whittier, California, his family opened and worked at a gas station to get by.(nixonlibrary.gov).
Richard Nixon performed well in Whittier elementary school, but due to his brother Harold being diagnosed with tuberculosis, Nixon's parents sent him to Fullerton High School instead of Whittier High School(Black). His education would continue on to Whittier College, once again to Harold being ill with tuberculosis, which he helped take care of and work at the family gas station. Nixon's field of study would include student government, drama, and football (nixonlibrary.gov). He would graduate from Whittier in 1934 and go on to receive a full scholarship to Duke University of Law. Nixon would go on to graduate third in hi...

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...in was biased against Nixon, but I didn't use this book for the opinion, I needed a book with some factual evidence, which is what it provided.
President Nixon had a few things going for him, including his diplomacy and the funding of the space program. This is overshadowed by his mistakes and ineptitude. I believe that Nixon was all around a bad president. His escalation of the Vietnam War, his poorly chosen officials, and the Watergate Scandal all added up to the American people losing their trust in the presidency. This was the flaw that broke his presidency in my eyes.

Works Cited

Black, Conrad. Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full. New York: PublicAffairs, 2007. Print.
Gitlin, Todd. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. Toronto: Bantam, 1987. Print.
"Nixon Presidential Library & Museum." Nixon Presidential Library & Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

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