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Richard Milhous Nixon
Watergate Main article: Watergate scandal Nixon bids farewell to his staff, August 9, 1974, as first lady Pat Nixon and the rest of his family look on. The Fords escort the Nixons across the South Lawn of the White House to the waiting presidential helicopter before Gerald Ford takes the oath of office, August 9, 1974The term Watergate has come to encompass an array of illegal and secret activities undertaken by the Nixon administration. The activities came to light in the aftermath of five men being caught breaking into Democratic party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. on June 17, 1972.[160] The Washington Post picked up on the story, while reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward relied on an FBI informant known as "Deep Throat" to link the men to the Nixon White House.[160] This became one of a series of scandalous acts involving the Committee to Re-Elect the President.[160] Nixon downplayed the scandal as mere politics, and his White House denounced the story as biased and misleading.[160] As the FBI eventually confirmed that Nixon aides had attempted to sabotage the Democrats, many began resigning and senior aides faced prosecution.[160] Nixon's alleged role in ordering a cover-up came to light after the testimony of John Dean.[161] In July 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield testified that Nixon had a secret taping system that recorded his conversations and phone calls in the Oval Office.[161] Unlike the tape recordings by earlier Presidents, Nixon's were subpoenaed. The White House refused to release them, citing executive privilege.[161] A tentative deal was reached in which the White House would provide written summaries of the tapes, but this was rejected by Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, a former member of the Kennedy administration.[161] Cox was fired at the White House's request and was replaced by Leon Jaworski, a former member of the Johnson administration.[161] Jaworski revealed an audio tape of conversations held in the White House on June 20, 1972, which featured an unexplained 18 minute gap.[161] The first deleted section, of about five minutes, has been attributed to human error on the part of Rose Mary Woods, the President's personal secretary, who admitted accidentally wiping the section while transcribing the tape. The gap, while not conclusive proof of wrong-doing on the part of the President, cast doubt on Nixon's claim that he was unaware of the cover-up.[162] Nixon displays the V-for-victory sign as he departs the White House after resigningThough Nixon lost much popular support, including from some in his own party, he rejected accusations of wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office.[161] He insisted that he had made mistakes, but had no prior knowledge of the burglary, did not break any laws, and did not learn of the coverup until early 1973.[163] On November 17, 1973, during a televised question and answer session with the press,[162] Nixon said, “ People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.[164] ” Richard Nixon's resignation speech Resignation speech of President Richard Nixon, delivered 8 August 1974. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------. In April 1974, Nixon announced the release of 1200 pages of transcripts of White House conversations between him and his aides.[163] Despite this, the House Judiciary Committee, controlled by Democrats, opened impeachment hearings against the President on May 9, 1974.[163] On July 24, the Supreme Court then ruled that the tapes must be released to Jaworski; one of the secret recordings, known as the Smoking Gun tape, was released on August 5, 1974, and revealed that Nixon knew of the cover-up from its inception and had administration officials try to stop the FBI's investigation.[162] In light of his loss of political support and the near certainty of impeachment, Nixon resigned the office of the presidency on August 9, 1974, after addressing the nation on television the previous evening.[163] The resignation speech was delivered on August 8, 1974, at 9:01 p.m. Eastern time from the Oval Office of the White House and was carried live on radio and television. The core of the speech was Nixon's announcement that Gerald Ford, as Vice President, would succeed to the presidency, effective at noon Eastern time the next day. Around this announcement, he discussed his feelings about his presidential work and general political issues that needed attention once he left. He never admitted to criminal wrongdoing, although he conceded errors of judgment. During the Watergate scandal, Nixon's approval rating fell to 23%.[165] On May 28, 2009, speaking to Republicans in Litchfield Beach, South Carolina, Ed Nixon said that his brother did not resign "in disgrace" but "resigned in honor. It was a disappointment to him because his missions were cut short." He also said that his brother "held the office of president in high regard."[166]
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States (1969–1974) and the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States (1953–1961). Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937 and returned to California to practice law in La Mirada. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the United States Navy and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander during World War II. He was elected in 1946 as a Republican to the House of Representatives representing California's 12th Congressional district, and in 1950 to the United States Senate. He was selected to be the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was the Republican Party nominee in the 1952 presidential election, and Nixon was vice president until 1961. Nixon announced his withdrawal from politics after losing the presidential election in 1960 and the California gubernatorial election in 1962. However, in 1968, Nixon was elected president of the United States. The most immediate task facing President Nixon was the Vietnam War. He initially escalated the conflict, overseeing secret bombing campaigns, but soon withdrew American troops and successfully negotiated a ceasefire with North Vietnam, effectively ending American involvement in the war. His foreign policy was largely successful; he opened relations with the People's Republic of China and initiated dtente with the Soviet Union. Domestically, he implemented new economic policies which called for wage and price control and the abolition of the gold standard. He was reelected by a landslide in 1972. In his second term, the nation was afflicted with economic difficulties. In the face of likely impeachment for his role in the Watergate scandal,[1] Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. Nixon was later pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, for any federal crimes he may have committed while in office. In his retirement, Nixon became a prolific author and undertook many foreign trips. He suffered a debilitating stroke on April 18, 1994, and died four days later at the age of 81.
Public perception Nixon's career was frequently dogged by his personality, and the public perception of it. Editorial cartoonists such as Herblock and comedians often exaggerated Nixon's appearance and mannerisms, to the point where the line between the human and the caricature version of him became increasingly blurred. He was often portrayed with unshaven jowls, slumped shoulders, and a furrowed, sweaty brow.[210] Nixon meets Elvis Presley in December 1970 "The President & The King."Nixon had a complex personality, both very secretive and awkward yet strikingly reflective about himself.[211] He was inclined to distance himself from people and was formal in all aspects, always wearing a coat and tie even when home alone.[211] He advised people not to care about what others thought of them. Some experts have described him as having a narcissistic and paranoid personality.[212] Conrad Black described him as being "driven" though also "uneasy with himself in some ways."[213] According to Black, Nixon "thought that he was doomed to be traduced, double-crossed, unjustly harassed, misunderstood, underappreciated, and subjected the to the trials of Job, but that by the application of his mighty will, tenacity, and diligence he would ultimately prevail."[214] Biographer Elizabeth Drew summarized Nixon as a "smart, talented man, but most peculiar and haunted of presidents."[215] He frequently brandished the two-finger V sign (alternately viewed as the "Victory sign" or "peace sign") using both hands, an act that became one of his best-known trademarks.[210] Due to his uptight image, many were surprised at his swearing and anti-Semitic comments seen on the transcripts of his White House tapes.[216] Legacy The graves of President Richard and first lady Pat Nixon.No American has served as long as Richard Nixon did in an executive office.[217] He is the only person in American history to appear on the Republican Party's presidential ticket five times, to secure the Republican nomination for president three times, and to have been elected twice to both the vice presidency and the presidency. With Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon was the chief builder of the modern Republican party. Throughout his career, he was instrumental in moving the party away from the control of isolationists and as a Congressman was a persuasive advocate of containing Soviet Communism.[217] Although he did not achieve all that he had wished for in the Middle East, Nixon virtually expelled the Soviet Union from the region and initiated a long peace process.[218] He began formal relations with China and improved relations with the Soviet Union. Domestically, he decentralized government by revenue sharing, greatly reduced segregation in schools, reduced inflation (until it rose again as a result of the oil cartels), ended the gold standard, reduced the crime rate, and pioneered positive environmental measures.[218] As a result of the Watergate scandal, however, the mood of the nation was severely affected and the office of the presidency was demeaned.[218] James MacGregor Burns observed of Nixon, "How can one evaluate such an idiosyncratic President, so brilliant and so morally lacking?"[219] George McGovern, Nixon's former opponent, commented in 1983, "President Nixon probably had a more practical approach to the two superpowers, China and the Soviet Union, than any other president since World War II. ... I think, with the exception of his inexcusable continuation of the war in Vietnam, Nixon really will get high marks in history."[220]
January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994
