Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 - April 22, 1994) was the 37th (1969-1974) president of the United States and was the only president to have resigned from office. This followed the scandal after the uncovering of the Watergate conspiracy.
He attended Whittier College, Duke University Law School, served in World War II, and was elected to Congress in 1946, in a class of ex-GI freshmen that included his future rival John F. Kennedy, of Massachusetts.
Nixon climbed the ladder swiftly; he made his name as an anti-Communist (he was a strong supporter of Joseph McCarthy's House Un-American Ativities Committee); was elected to the Senate in 1950, and in 1952 was elected Vice President on Dwight Eisenhower's ticket when he was only 39 years old.
In 1960, he ran for President on his own but lost to John Kennedy. A crucial factor in his loss was the first televised presidential debate. Nixon refused television makeup and was feeling sick. He expected to win voters with his foreign-policy expertise, but people only saw a sickly man sweating profusely and wearing a gray suit that blended into the scenery while his rival, Kennedy, looked great.
In 1962, he lost a race for Governor of California, but in 1968, he completed a remarkable political comeback by beating Hubert Humphrey to become the 37th U.S. president. Nixon's appeal was to the "silent majority" of moderate Americans who disliked the "hippy" counterculture. Nixon also promised "peace with honor" by his "secret plan" to end the Viet Nam War.
Major initiatives during his presidency:
- Re-establishment of diplomatic relations with China and the Soviet Union as part of Realpolitik, a program of realistic politics. Nixon made famous visits to both nations.
- Establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- Establishment of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
- "Vietnamization": the slow withdrawl of US troops from Vietnam.
- Space Shuttle program started.
Nixon was eventually investigated for the instigation and coverup of the burglary of the Democratic Party offices at the Watergate office building. His secret recordings of White House conversations were subpoenaed, and revealed details of his complicity in the cover-up. Apparently threated by impeachment, Nixon resigned. His successor, Gerald R. Ford, issued a pre-emptive pardon, ending the investigations.
His tapes continue to produce revelations; for instance, in 2002 a tape of an anti-semitic conversation between Nixon and Billy Graham was released.
Major Legislation
Supreme court Appointments
Inaugural Addresses:
- Inaugural Address
- Previous President: Lyndon Johnson
- Next President: Gerald R. Ford
- Vice Presidents: Spiro Agnew (who was elected with Nixon, but resigned because of his own scandal prior to Nixon's), Gerald R. Ford (appointed to replace Agnew)