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Richard M. Nixon: A Complex Legacy of Political Struggle and Controversy

Richard M. Nixon, a WWII veteran, began his political career in the House in 1946, moving to the Senate in 1950 and serving as Vice President in 1952. His presidential aspirations faltered in 1960 but resurged with his win in 1968 amid societal chaos and a yearning for stability. As President, Nixon implemented significant reforms, including the Clean Air Act and Détente with China. However, his tenure was marred by paranoia, scandals like Watergate, and his resignation in 1974, leaving a legacy marked by both pragmatism and moral controversy.

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Richard M. Nixon: A Complex Legacy of Political Struggle and Controversy

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  1. Richard M. Nixon • WWII Vet • Elected House of Representatives 1946 • Elected Senate 1950 • Elected V.P. 1952 • Runs for President 1960

  2. Election of 1960 Contributing Factors: • generational shift • civil rights movement • first televised debate • Kennedy mystique

  3. Loses run for California Governor (1962) • Retires from political life. • “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore!”

  4. Wins 1968 Presidential Election Contributing Factors: • chaos of Democratic Party nomination • frustration with Vietnam • frustration with youth movement • Silent Majority wanting a return to law and order • Political realignment ongoing following Civil Rights Act of 1964

  5. Characteristics as President • Sense of being an “outsider.” • Suspicious of Jewish financial and media conspiracy • Lacks social graces (still being compared to Kennedy/ Camelot) • Paranoid (taping of conversations)

  6. How will history remember Richard M. Nixon?

  7. A political moderate who successfully met challenges previous Presidents had failed to by substituting pragmatism for zealotry. • Clean Air Act/ EPA • Deficit Spending (“I’m a Keynesian Now”) • Integration of Public Schools • Détente w/ China & Russia

  8. A morally bankrupt individual who abused the powers of the Presidency to the detriment of America’s general sense of optimism about itself and the future. • Secret bombing Cambodia (1970) • PENTAGON PAPERS (1971) • WATERGATE (1973) • Resignation (1974)

  9. Watergate Scandal • Democratic National Committee headquarters (@ Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C.) broken into. • Washington Post series exposes financial connections between break-in and CREEP • Secret Source: Deep Throat • Congress investigates Nixon’s role break-in/ attempting to cover it up • Facing possibility of impeachment, resigns August 1974. (First ever to do so)

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