Richard Nixon: A Brief

Introduction
LUCAS FOSTER
Nixons Presidency
Nixon was as the 37th President of the United States, a position he occupied from 1969-1974
In 1974, Nixon became the first (and only) president to resign from office, paving the way for
Gerald Ford to succeed him and assume the presidency
Nixon from the Beginning
Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California in 1913. Consequently, his Presidential Library was
built there. (Nixon Library)
Nixon attended Whittier College, and later Duke Law School. After obtaining his JD, Nixon
returned to California to practice law and was admitted to the California Bar in 1937. (Nixon
Library)
The next year, Nixon met his future wife Pat after the pair were cast opposite each other in a
community play.
Feeling limited by the confines of Whittier, Nixon and his wife decided to move to Washington
DC in order to help Nixon jumpstart his political career.
However, Nixons plans would have to wait: Nixon joined the Navy in 1942 and would remain in
active duty until 1946.
Nixon in the House
Nixons political career began in 1947, when he was elected to the House of Representatives,
where he represented Californias 12th Congressional District
While in the House, Nixon supported the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, which tempered and monitored
the power and actions of labor unions (Nixon Library)
Nixon also served as a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and
gained national attention in 1948 when his investigation broke the Alger Hiss case (Nixon
Library)
Nixon in the Senate
After a 1950 campaign tour (where his nefarious antics earned him the nickname Tricky Dick),
Nixon was elected to the US Senate
As a senator, Nixon criticized President Harry S Truman's handling of the Korean War and gave
speeches across the nation warning of the threat of global Communism. (Nixon Library)
Nixon as VP
In 1952, Nixon ran alongside Dwight D. Eisenhower when the latter defeated the Democratic
candidate Adlai Stevenson. Nixon was chosen as the running mate by Republican party officials
in a smoke filled room and was considered to be a strong choice because of his political base
in California and history of strong positions against Communism. (Nixon Library)
In 1960, Nixon ran for the Presidency on the Republican ticket, but lost and returned to
California.
In 1962, Nixon was convinced to run for Governor of California, but he lost this race to the
Democratic Incumbent. (Nixon Library)
It looked as though Nixons political career was over and, looking back on this time, Nixon would
later refer to this period as the wilderness years. (Nixon Library)
Nixon Takes the White House
In 1968, Nixon ran for President again, this time defeating the Democratic candidate Hubert
Humphrey and a third party challenger, George Wallace.
Nixon was aided by tumult within the Democratic party, including LBJs decision not to seek re-
election, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, and mass protests outside of the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago. (Nixon Library)
Nixon in the White House: Vietnam
As President, Nixon immediately focused on the problem of how to end the Vietnam War, using
a nationally televised address to call on the silent majority of Americans to rise up and back
his governments policy of seeking a negotiated peace in Vietnam. (Nixon Library)
Nixon also supported a policy of Vietnamization, which entaled reducing American troop
levels in Vietnam and transferring the burden of fighting to South Vietnam. (Nixon Library)
However, although the Nixon administration reduced the presence of American troops, they also
drew criticism for stepping up bombing raids in Cambodia. (Nixon Library)
Nixon in the White House: China and
Russia
Nixon also sought to reduce international tensions with old rivals China and Russia
Nixon traveled to China to talk to Chairman Mao Zedon and Premier Zhou Enlai, a trip that was
the first high-level contact between the United States and the Peoples Republic of China in
more than twenty years, and it ushered in a new era of relations between Washington and
Beijing. (Nixon Library)
Moreover, Nixon met with Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow and the two leaders talks led to the
signing of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT). (Nixon Library)
Nixons Second Term
In 1972, Nixon won re-election, defeating Democratic challenger George McGovern by one of
the widest electoral margins ever. (Nixon Library)
However, the Watergate Scandal (which began in June of that year when a break-in at the DNC
offices at the Watergate office complex was discovered) revealed a broad pattern of abuse of
power by the Nixon administration and led to his resignation. (Nixon Library)
Nixon was succeeded by Gerald Ford, a Republican leader in the House of Representatives (not
Vice President Spiro Agnew who was being investigated by the Department of Justice)
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