Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon


     Richard Milhous Nixon was the thirty-seventh president of the United States

and the only president to have resigned from office. He was on his was to

success after receiving his law degree from Duke University Law School in 1937.


     California Republicans persuaded Nixon in 1946 to be their candidate to

challenge Jerry Voorhis, the popular Democratic Congressman, for his seat in the

United States House of Representatives. He accuses Voorhis of being “soft” on

Communism. This was damaging to him because the Cold War rivalry between the

United States and USSR was just beginning. Voorhis was forced into a defensive

position after the two men confronted each other in a series of debates. Nixon's

campaign was an example of the vigorous and aggressive style characteristic of

his political career that led him to win the election.


     Nixon gained valuable experience in international affairs as a new

member of the United States Congress. He helped establish a program known as the

Marshall Plan, in which the US assisted Europe rebuild itself following the war.

He also served on the House Education and Labor Committee to develop the

National Labor Relations Act.


     In 1948, writer and editor Whittaker Chambers accused Alger Hiss, a high

State Department official, of being a Communist. Nixon, a member of the Un-

American Activities Committee, personally pressed the investigation. Hiss denied

further charges that he had turned classified documents over to Chambers to be

sent to the USSR. Alger Hiss was later convicted and indicted for perjury after

sufficient evidence was discovered. Nixon was reelected to Congress after

winning both the Republican and Democratic nominations as a result of gaining a

national reputation as a dedicated enemy of Communism.


     In 1950, Nixon was chosen as candidate for the US Senate from California

by the Republicans. Again, he won this election by linking his opponent to being

pro-Communist.


     Nixon was selected to be the running mate of the Republican presidential

nomination, General Eisenhower, in 1952. Many of Eisenhower's advisors wanted

Nixon to resign his candidacy shortly after his vice-presidential nomination

because of accusations that he misused his senator expenses fund. No evidence

was found to prove this, and, in response, Nixon replied on national television

with the “Checkers” speech, which contained sentimental reference to Nixon's dog,

Checkers. The speech was his attempt to prove his innocence.


     In the following campaign, Nixon once again attacked the Democratic

presidential candidate as being soft on Communism.


     Nixon and Eisenhower's victory led them both to being reelected in 1956,

after surviving Republican attempts to replace Nixon.


     As vice-president, much of Nixon's time was spent representing the

president before Congress and on trips abroad as a goodwill ambassador, where he

was occasionally the target of anti-US feelings.


     As Eisenhower neared the end of his second term as president, he

endorsed Nixon, who received an impressive vote in party primaries and all but

ten of the delegates votes on the first ballot at the Republican National

Convention. An unusual feature of the campaign was a series of face-to-face

discussions between Nixon and his Democratic opponent, Senator John F. Kennedy,

who was widely regarded as the winner of the debates, which helped him win the

election.


     In 1962, Nixon returned to California after losing the presidential

election and became Republican candidate for governor. It was another bitter

campaign, revolving around Communism and law enforcement, but this time his

strategy did not work. Most political observers believed Nixon's political

career had ended by the was he handled the loss.


     Nixon moved and joined a large law firm in New York City after his

defeat, and remained in close relations with national Republican leaders and

campaigned for Republican candidates in two elections. By 1968, he had

sufficiently recovered his political standing to announce his candidacy for
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