Richard Nixon
Jan 03, 2016
Richard Nixon
Born: Yorba Linda, California on January 9, 1913 to Frank and
Hannah Nixon
Nixon Library and Museum
Nixon Library and Museum
Education of Nixon
Duke University
Law School
1930 1934
Personal Successes
• Jan. 9, 1937 is admitted into the California Bar.
• Joins law firm Wingert and Bewley and in a little over a year is a full partner
• June 21, 1940 marries Thelma Catherine (Pat) Ryan
Gravesite of Richard and Pat Nixon
He died in NYC on April 22, 1994 from a massive stroke
but is buried back in California in his home town
of Yorba Linda
Served in WWII (Navy)(1942 – 1946)
• 1942 - Moves to Washington DC to join the Office of Price Admin – agency in charge with regulating wartime prices and rationing
• 1943 – Applies for and is accepted into the Navy – serves as a ground officer
• 1945 through ‘46 – He begins to work on Navy contracts
Start of Political CareerNeeded an issue:
US House of Representatives (1947)
Anti-Communist Stance
House Term
• Is elected as the Representative for the 12th Congressional District in California– Member of the House Un-American Activities
Committee– Investigates Alger Hiss: lawyer, young Harvard grad
who worked for the State Dept. but was also a member of the communist party
– Nixon pursues case even though he is pressured to drop it. Succeeds in convicting Hiss of perjury (lying under oath).
• The case and conviction captivate Americans and propels Nixon’s political career
Senate Term
• Due to his popularity, he runs for Senate. Defeats another incumbent Helen Douglas in 1950
• 1952 – Allegations arose that he misused campaign funds. He and his campaign funds purchase a tv spot to defend his use of funds.
• In his “Fund Crisis” speech or as it is commonly called “Checkers” speech, he tells America that the only gift he received during the election was…
…Checkers -a cocker spaniel
Senate RaceNeeded an issue:
Senator (1951)
Anti-Communist Stance
Earned the Nickname:
“Tricky Dick”For his derisive
comments directed at Helen Douglas after he accused her of being a left-wing (communist)
sympathizer
Vice-President Nixon (1953-1961)
• His “Checkers” speech came right in the middle of his campaigning as the potential VP for Dwight Eisenhower
•Afterwards, thousands of telegrams came to the campaign headquarters asking Eisenhower to keep him on the ticket.
•November 4, 1952 – Elected VP with Eisenhower
•November 6, 1956 – Elected VP again with Eisenhower
Political Defeats / Setbacks
• 1960 Presidential Election Lost to JFK
• Participated in the first televised presidential debate
• 1962 Gubernatorial Race Lost to Jerry Brown• Afterwards, Nixon reports, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”
President Nixon (1969 – 1974)
Indecision on future
• 1963 - Practiced Law in NY• 1966 – campaigns on behalf of Republican
candidates for the 1966 Congressional elections and takes extensive trips to S. America and the Middle East (’67)
• Towards end of ’67, he is really undecided about whether to run for President again– Consults Bill Graham, who urges him to run;
gets support from Pat and formally announces his bid for President on Feb. 1, 1968
1968 Campaign: “Bring Us Together”
End Fighting in:
Vietnam and Streets of America
“The Great Silent Majority” Speech
November 3, 1969
“Silent Majority”• Appealed to the
socially conservative Americans who disliked the hippie counterculture and anti-war demonstrators
• His VP candidate-Spiro Agnew-was also a very vocal critic of these group
• Together, Nixon and Agnew solidified the support of the Conservatives
Democratic Troubles
• LBJ was consumed with the Vietnam War and had already announced that he would not seek re-election – Democratic hopefuls – Hubert Humphrey and
Robert Kennedy – battled in a tight race with Humphrey having a narrow edge
• Kennedy was assassinated before the election
• As the Dems were digging deeper into the mud of Vietnam, Nixon was promising peace with honor – His campaign slogan was “Nixon’s the One”
Presidential Election
• National election was a three-way race– Nixon, Humphrey, and
George Wallace (3rd party candidate)
• Nixon defeats Humphrey by nearly 500,000 votes and becomes the 37th President of the US
Nixon Fun Facts
• First US President to visit all 50 states.
Bowling Alley (1969)
Julie Nixon married David EisenhowerDecember 22, 1968
Tricia Nixon and Edward CoxJune 12, 1971
• There have been 9 White House Weddings
President with most appearances on Time cover
56
2nd Lowest Approval Rating: 24%(August 2 – 5, 1974)
Lowest: Harry Truman – 22%
Only President who resigned and did not
finish his term
He was a practicing Quaker even until
his death. His mother had hoped
he’d become a missionary but his beliefs mellowed,
especially after the Navy
Nixon’s Domestic Affairs
Nixon’s Domestic Issues
• His administration marked the end of a long, post-WWII period of prosperity– Entered a period called stagflation
StagflationInflation Employment
Prices go up but less people are working to make money
Causes for the 1970s Stagflation Recession
• Vietnam spending• Tax cuts• Oil prices increased
New Economic Policy
• 90 day freeze on prices and wages
• Tax cuts
• Temporary closure of “gold window”
• 10% import tax
Economy
• Experienced an economic boom following Nixon’s NEP– Began in 1971 and lasted well into 1972 which
served him well during the 1972 elections
• However, 1973 saw the economy continue its downturn– Food shortage (massive Soviet purchases of
wheat)– Oil shock – rise in oil prices and Arab/OPEC oil
boycott
Energy Crisis• Worry about the dependency of foreign oil and
rising American consumption
Alaskan Oil
1969
Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act (1973)
Alaskan Pipeline
Construction
Started: March 27, 1975
Completed: May 31, 1977
Length: 800 miles– Crosses 3 mountain ranges and over
800 rivers and streams
Cost: $8 billion
Speed: 5.4 mph
Time: 6.2 days
Barrels of oil per day:
1 million
Environmental Benefit?
OPEC Oil Embargo
• Oil could be used as a “weapon”
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Africa-Algeria (1969)-Angola (2007)-Libya (1962)-Nigeria (1971)
Middle East-Iran (1960)-Iraq (1960)-Kuwait (1960)-Qatar (1961)-Saudi Arabia (1960)-United Arab Emirates (1967)
South America-Ecuador (2007)-Venezuela (1960)
Southeast Asia-Indonesia (1962)
Energy Crisis Solutions
Emergency Highway Energy
Conservation Act
(1974)• National Speed Limit: 55
• Benefits: 400 lives saved
• Energy saved: ~1%
Environmental Concerns
Environmental Protection
Agency
National Air
Quality
Standards Act
Water Quality
Improvement Act
Equality and Civil Rights: African-Americans
The Philadelphia Plan: Affirmative Action
Equality and Civil Rights: Women
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• Enforced rules and standards for workplace safety and health
Ended Military Draft (1973)
26th Amendment
Gave 18 year olds the right to vote in national elections
Roe v. Wade (1973)
Legalized abortion in the first trimester of a pregnancy
Apollo 11
• Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin
Moon Landing –July 20, 1969
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” -Armstrong
528 million people watched
Nixon’s Foreign Policy
Detente
Relaxation of tensions with communist nations
Triangular Diplomacy:
Pit everyone against each other
Why did all 3 major powers want to pursue detente ?
• China– fearful of isolation in the world– She was also fearful of what USA had done in Vietnam
• Stockpile of nuclear weapons was a lot smaller than that of USA– Worried by her worsening relations with USSR.
• USA – Realized there were better ways of containing communism than the
ways done in previous years– Cost of weapons production and maintaining a huge armed force– A peaceful relationship with the USSR would be very beneficial to
USA especially after the cost of the Vietnam War.• USSR
– was spending a huge amount on weapons at the expense of basic household goods
– Living standards were poor– Was aware that relations with China were poor while USA was
trying to improve hers with China.
Nixon could not get a breakthrough in peace negotiations
What helped sport
improved relations
with China?
Ping Pong
Championships
Nagoya, Japan
(April 4, 1971)
Glenn Cowan (19)
Nixon’s Visit to ChinaFebruary 21 – 28, 1972
Mao and NixonWidely televised and heavily viewed
Nixon’s Visit
to Russia
May 22-30, 1972
Soviet Leader
Leonid Brezhnev
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks(SALT) –May 26, 1972
• Limited offensive and defensive nuclear weapons
Why run in 1972?
Vietnam Policy
“Peace with Honor”
CeasefireJanuary 27, 1973
Success: Nixon and Detente
• China
• Russia
• North Vietnam
• Ping Pong Match
• Official Visit
• SALT
• Official Visit
• Cease-fire
Watergate
Watergate Complex
Hotel complex where the Democratic National Committee had
its offices
“Plumbers”Special Investigation Unit: a team created by Nixon to investigate potential leaks
about his foreign policy secrets
CREEP
(Committee to Re-Elect
the President)
June 17, 1972: The Break In
“The Break-in” - 2:30 am arrest
“Plumbers” –Ex-CIA and FBI Agents
October 10, 1972FBI Connected Break-In to CREEP
1972 Election: Nixon Landslide
Bumper Sticker: “Don't blame me – I'm from Massachusetts”
Low Level Nixon Aides Convicted in the Watergate Break In
January 30,1973
G. Gordon Liddy James McCord
High Level Government Officials Resigned April 30, 1973
White House Top Aides
H.R. Haldemann
John Ehrlichman
Attorney General
Richard Kleindienst
Senate Committee HearingsSummer of 1973
4/30/1973
White House fires John Dean
John Dean:Nixon discussed cover-up
over 35 times
White House Taping System
Nixon Refused to Turn Over TapesJuly 23, 1973
“I am not a crook”November 17, 1973
United States v. NixonJuly 24, 1974
US 8 – Nixon 0: subpoena to acquire tapes was upheld as legal
Smoking Gun Tape: August 5, 1974 (released)
Nixon: When you get in these people when you...get these people in, say: "Look, the problem is that this will open the whole, the whole Bay of Pigs thing, and the President just feels that”…ah…without going into the details... don't, don't lie to them to the extent to say there is no involvement, but just say this is sort of a comedy of errors, bizarre, without getting into it, "the President believes that it is going to open the whole Bay of Pigs thing up again. And…ah because these people are plugging for, for keeps and that they should call the FBI in and say that we wish for the country, don't go any further into this case", period!
This took place June 23, 1972--six days after the Watergate break-in
August 9, 1974 –Nixon resigned
August 9, 1974 –President Ford
Inauguration: Our long nightmare is over.
Grants Nixon a full pardon one month
later
Results of Watergate
Positive Negative
• Checks and balances worked– No one is above
the law not even the President
• President broke the law – lied
• Credibility gap widened