Richard Milhous Nixon
became a public figure in 1948. Back then he was
a congressman and a member of the House
Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).
The occasion?
The investigation
of former State Department official
Alger Hiss.
Hiss was accused
of spying for the Soviet Union before and during
World
War II.
What made Nixon
famous was his hardcore stance on the matter.
Hiss was eventually found guilty.
In 1950, Nixon
became senator for California.
Checkers and the Slush Fund
Nixon's daughter Tricia had a dog named
Checkers. Why should we care? On September 18,
1952, the New York Post told the world of
Richard Nixon's alleged secret slush fund, filled with
money from Californian businessmen.
On September 23,
1952, and in defense, Nixon delivered his nationwide televised
Checkers speech,
which saved his neck for the time being.
And here is a photo of the Nixons with the darn
dog.
checkers SHOWING OFF ON A WEEKEND TRIP TO NEW
JERSEY - AUGUST 1953
Richard Nixon Library
The slush fund affair happened
in the middle of Eisenhower's presidential campaign, during which
Nixon was his running mate. Eisenhower was never really enthused by Nixon's
nomination. The history buffs at the U.S. Senate remember that,
"While Nixon
campaigned as an experienced leader, the
press asked Eisenhower what policy
suggestions Nixon had made that had been
implemented. Eisenhower replied, "If you
give me a week, I might think of one."
Shortly before Nixon's Checkers speech, Tom
Dewey called Nixon and told him that Eisenhower's top
advisers thought it would be probably best that he, Nixon, would end his
speech with offering his resignation.
When Nixon managed to turn the public
around with his Checkers speech, the Eisenhower-Nixon relationship
became that of a truce, openly endorsing each other, secretly hoping
the other would slip on vomit.
Vice President
From 1953 until 1961,
Richard M. Nixon was vice
president under
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Ike made sure that none of the important
things landed on Dick's desk.
Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon
Republican National Convention in San Francisco
1956
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library / U.S. Army
In 1960, the Republicans let Nixon run for
president against Democrat
John
F. Kennedy. The American public had
to stomach four TV debates.
TV DEBATE JOHN F. KENNEDY / RICHARD m. NIXON
US Presidential Campaign 1960
U.S. Senate.gov
JFK won the
election because he was generally conceived a
bit spunkier than Nixon. But it was a very close race.
Too close, some
thought and claimed that Illinois and Texas
votes had possibly been monkeyed with. Nixon was
encouraged to challenge the election results but
he decided to let it slide.
The Nixon Presidency
In 1968, Richard
M. Nixon ran again and this time he won. Nixon defeated Democrat
Hubert H. Humphrey and on January 20, 1969, Nixon
delivered his
First Inaugural Address
as the 37th president of the United States.
President Nixon's vice president was
Spiro T. Agnew,
former governor from Maryland.
President Nixon's predecessor was
Lyndon B. Johnson.
Johnson had been JFK's vice president. After
JFK's assassination in 1963, he became the 36th
president of the U.S.
The Vietnam War
The
Vietnam War
had started back in 1954. It was now Nixon's job
to end the war and bring about a "peace with honor," as he
had promised during his campaign. The task
turned out a bit trickier than anticipated.
On October 15,
1969, antiwar protesters united in the
October Moratorium.
They demanded the end of the war, but with the
quickness.
On November 3,
1969, Nixon televised his
The Silent
Majority speech, which gave everybody a
heads-up on his Vietnam war policy.
On April 30, 1970, Richard
Nixon gave his
Cambodia address to bring
everybody up to speed with the fact that the Vietnam war was now
also fought in Cambodia and Laos.
On May 4, 1970,
four people were killed in a anti-war
demonstration at Kent State University, Ohio,
when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on the
protesters. This event became known as the
Kent State Shootings or the Kent State
Massacre. Here is the clip:
On January 23,
1973, Nixon announced the end of the Vietnam
War. All U.S. troops were withdrawn from Vietnam
by March 29, 1973. Actually, the war continued
to drag on
until North Vietnam won this bloody struggle in
1975.
Richard Nixon and SALT
In 1972, Nixon signed
SALT I, an agreement with the
Soviet Union to limit construction of strategic missiles.
Richard Nixon and Watergate
— A Timeline
The break-in at the Democratic National Committee
headquarters, the Watergate complex, took place on June
17, 1972.
On April 30, 1973, Nixon fired his
adviser John W. Dean, who had
previously sung like a canary on the laps of federal investigators.
It turned out that Dean could sing even better after losing his job.
Also on April 30, 1973, Nixon accepted
the resignations of his chief of staff,
H.R. Haldeman, and his assistant for domestic affairs,
John D. Ehrlichman.
At 9 pm, still on April 30, 1973, Nixon gave his
First Watergate Address, which became also known as the
No Whitewash at the White House speech.
It was broadcast nationwide via TV and radio.
Nixon used his dramatic voice, especially during the final minutes of this speech.
This speech could make you feel guilty about having bothered the president with the Watergate affair
at all, when he has so much more important things to do.
"Since March, when I first learned that the
Watergate affair might in fact be far more
serious than I had been led to believe, it
has claimed far too much of my time and my
attention."
"I had no prior
knowledge of the Watergate break-in. I neither
took part in nor knew about any of the
subsequent cover-up activities. I neither
authorized nor encouraged subordinates to engage
in illegal or improper campaign tactics. That
was and that is the simple truth."
And one more:
"I reject the
cynical view that politics is inevitably or even
usually a dirty business."
The air got thinner by the minute, and it became
increasingly difficult to breathe, especially in
high places.
Vice President Agnew resigned
on October 10, 1973. Nixon's new vice was
Gerald R. Ford.
On November 17, 1973, Nixon pointed out that,
"I welcome this kind of examination because people have got
to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a
crook."
Fittingly, this event took place at Disney World,
Orlando, Florida.
Go here for the entire
I'm Not a Crook speech, which
is not really a speech but rather a Q & A session with 400
Associated Press managing editors.
Richard Nixon made history by becoming
the first US president who quit his job.
On August 8, 1974, Nixon broadcasted
his
Resignation Speech,
also known as the I Have Never Been a Quitter Speech,
to the American Nation. His resignation would be in effect the next
day at noon.
On August 9, 1974, Nixon assembled his
staff in the East Room of the White House and gave his Farewell
Speech, after which he packed his bundle, boarded a helicopter, and
was gone by noon as promised.
Assassination Attempts on Richard Nixon
February 22, 1974, Baltimore, Maryland - An excerpt from the
must-read book for bodyguards Just 2 Seconds by Gavin de Becker,
Samuel Byck
shot his way onto a Delta jet at the
Baltimore-Washington Airport. He intended to
hijack the plane, force the pilots to take
off, and then crash the plane into the White
House to kill Nixon.
He killed a
security guard and the crew, before police
shot and wounded him. He then killed
himself. He was armed with a .22 revolver
and a gasoline bomb in a briefcase.
Richard Nixon's Family
Richard's father
was Francis Anthony Nixon. Richard's mother was
Hannah
Milhous Nixon. The couple had five children.
Richard was child number two.
Richard's brothers
were Harold Samuel
Nixon,
Francis Donald Nixon,
Arthur Burdg Nixon,
and Edward Calvert
Nixon.
In 1940, Richard
married Thelma Catherine
Ryan. They called her Pat because she
was born on St Patrick's Day. Pat
taught business classes at Whittier High School.
The two met at the local amateur theater group.
Pat Nixon died on June 22, 1993, of lung cancer.
Pat and Richard
had two daughters. Tricia
Nixon was born in 1946 and
Julie Nixon in 1948.
Julie later married Dwight D. Eisenhower's
grandson. And here is the group photo:
THE NIXONS:
David & Julie
Eisenhower,
President & Mrs. Nixon, Tricia & Ed Cox
In the background we can see Washington shedding a tear.
Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
What's New About Nixon?
March 23, 2007
Nixon ordered to bomb
targets that officially were off-limits. Read
the
article in The New
Yorker...
May 31, 2007
The National Archives and Records Administration
has announced the impending release of an
additional 11 hours and 30 minutes of Nixon
White House tape recordings. The tapes in
question were recorded in 1972.
September 13, 2008
Nixon interview published where he comments on
the execution of the Rosenbergs in 1953.
Read the NY Times article.
Resigns presidency, Vice President
Gerald R. Fordbecomes the new
president, Nixon and his wife return
to their home in San Clemente,
California
September 8, 1974
Ford
pardons Nixon for "all offenses
against the United States" which
Nixon "has committed or may have
committed or taken part in" during
his presidency.
1980
The
Nixons move to New York City
1981
The
Nixons move to northern Bergen
County, New Jersey
Richard Nixon's Writings
Richard Nixon wrote quite a few
books, among them the bestseller, Six Crises (1961), and
RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon
(1978).
What Else?
Let Nixon
have the final note. For old time's sake and for the
Dick that we will miss.
Greco-Persian Wars
Also called the
Persian Wars, the Greco-Persian Wars were
fought for almost half a century from 492 to
449 BC. Greece won against enormous odds. Here
is more:
