Richard Nixon Essay, Research Paper
Richard Nixon was known as the 37th president that resigned from office. I?m going to tell you the whole story. Nixon was born in 1913 in Yorba Linda, California, the second of five sons of Francis Nixon and Hannah Nixon. The Nixons were Scots-Irish and the Milhouses were of Irish and English descent, were known as Quakers. Richard Nixon attended public schools in Whittier, California, and went to Whittier College, a Quaker institution, where he majored in history. He won a scholarship to Duke University Law School and received his law degree in 1937. Nixon joined an established law firm in Whittier and there met his future wife, Thelma Ryan. They married on June 21, 1940, and had two daughters; Patricia in 1946 and Julie in 1948.
In 1946 Nixon was persuaded by California Republicans to be their candidate to challenge the popular Democratic Congressman Jerry Voorhis for his seat in the United States House of Representatives. Nixon?s campaign was an example of the vigorous and aggressive style characteristic of his political career. He accused Voorhis of being soft on Communism. The two men confronted each other in a series of debates, and Voorhis was forced into a defensive position. Nixon won the election by a vote of 65,586 to 49,994. As a new member of the Congress of the United States, Nixon
gained valuable experience in international affairs while serving on a special committee that helped establish the European Recovery Program. Nixon also served on the House of Education and Labor Committee, where he helped draft the Taft-Hartley Act on labor-management relations. In 1948, he was reelected to Congress after winning both the Republican and Democratic nominations.
In 1950 the Republicans chose Nixon as their candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. His opponent was the liberal Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas. In another bitterly fought campaign, Nixon linked her voting record with American-Labor-Party congressman Vito Marcantonio, who was widely regarded as pro-Communist. Nixon won the election by 680,000 votes. In 1952 Nixon was selected to be the running mate of General Dwight Eisenhower, who had won the Republican presidential nomination. Shortly after Nixon?s vice-presidential nomination it was reported that a fund had been collected to meet his expenses as a senator. No evidence was produced that Nixon had misused the fund or given special favors to contributors, but many of Eisenhower?s advisers wanted Nixon to resign his candidacy. In response Nixon made an
impassioned reply on national television in a speech known as the ?Checkers? speech, because it contained a sentimental reference to Nixon?s dog, Checkers. Eisenhower then kept him as his running mate. In the campaign that followed, Nixon once again attacked the Democrats and their presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson as being soft on Communism. The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket won a resounding victory. In 1956, Eisenhower an Nixon were reelected, after Nixon survived an attempt by some Republicans to replace him. Much of Nixon?s time as vice president was spent in representing the president before Congress and on trips abroad as goodwill ambassador.
As President Eisenhower neared the end of his second term, his vice president emerged as his logical successor, and the president indorsed Nixon. Nixon received an impressive vote in the party primaries. Nixon chose Henry Cabot as his running mate. There was a series of face-to-face discussions between Nixon and hi opponent John F. Kennedy. Kennedy was regarded as the winner of the debates and ended up winning the elections by 112,803 votes.
After losing the election, Nixon returned to California and in
1962 became the Republican candidate for governor opposing Edmund Brown. Again the campaign involved Nixon?s argument that democrats were not concerned about Communism. This time it didn?t work and Brown won easily. After this lose Nixon moved to New York City, where he joined a large law firm.
In seeking nomination for being president, Nixon found handicaps to overcome. He did not have much support, but he did get help from Governor Ronald Reagan. With his help Nixon won the nomination. For his running mate he chose Spiro Agnew. The election was close, but Nixon won. While being president, Nixon was successful in areas of foreign policy.
In 1972, Nixon and Agnew sought reelection. This election was a blowout with Nixon easily winning. During has second term Nixon demanded to cease fire in Vietnam. At this time was Nixon?s popularity was at it?s peak. Nixon?s popularity fell when the Watergate scandal became known. Investigators started pointing fingers at Nixon and were thinking of impeachment. After this Nixon resigned.
After he resigned, Nixon wrote many books. Richard Nixon died from a stroke in 1994 and was buried next to his wife in Yorba Linda, California.