Richard Nixon–An Embattled President
Richard Nixon was the thirty-seventh president of the United States, in office between 1969 and 1974. Despite his successful foreign policies and his work for advancing civil rights, Richard Nixon is
Richard Nixon–An Embattled President
Richard Nixon was the thirty-seventh president of the United States, in office between 1969 and 1974. Despite his successful foreign policies and his work for advancing civil rights, Richard Nixon is mostly known for the Watergate scandal, which revealed a series of illegal activities that he and his administration were involved with. He is the only American president forced to resign under the threat of impeachment.
Born in Yorba Linda, California near Los Angeles, on January 9, 1913, Richard Milhous Nixon was the son of Frank Nixon and Hannah Milhous Nixon. His parents, both Quakers, had four other sons. The family struggled financially, since Frank’s small lemon grove business failed, and he was forced to take odd jobs to support the family. Hannah was a very compassionate and calm woman, in startling contrast with her husband, but the couple had a solid relationship. In 1922, the family moved to Whittier, Hannah’s birthplace, where the bustling life of the town promised more opportunities for work. Shortly after moving, Frank opened a gas station and later expanded it to include a grocery store. The success of the new enterprise provided the family with the possibility to lead a comfortable middle-class life.
Richard had a close relationship with his father and was often working in the store, learning from Frank that determination and drive meant success. Frank was also passionately interested in politics, always arguing against the Democrats. He taught Richard not only that power was important but also that power was strictly linked with fear, as Frank himself was feared in his family.
Richard was an intelligent child with an uncanny ability to memorize anything and with a deep curiosity for the world around him. After graduating from Whittier High School, he enrolled at Whittier College. Still working at his father’s store, he found the time to engage in campus activities. In his freshman year, he was elected president of his class, president of his fraternity, and also president of the History Club. He liked to try everything, from entering debate contests or acting in plays, to trying out for football. Despite his popularity and active lifestyle, he had few friends and struggled with personal relationships. Academically, he was an excellent student. In 1934, after getting his B.A. in history, he earned a scholarship to attend the Duke Law School. Nixon spent three years at the law school, during which his lack of financial means made him adopt an almost monastic existence. Since he could not afford his own room, he struggled with accommodation, finally managing to found an abandoned tool shack at the periphery of the campus, where he resided for a while.
Even though he was elected the president of the Duke Student Bar Association, Nixon never socialized much and was often characterized as withdrawn and aloof. He worked long hours at the library and spent most of his time studying. In 1937, he graduated third in his class, but since he was unable to find employment in New York, he preferred to return to Whittier where he had found a job in a law firm. Shortly after his return to Whittier, Nixon started to date Thelma Catherine Ryan. The couple met during a play rehearsal and got married on June 21, 1940. They had two daughters, Julie and Tricia. Nixon changed his career in late 1941 by joining the Office of Price Administration in Washington, D.C. The escalation of the World War II forced him to enlist in the navy. He left the military with the rank of lieutenant commander after four years of service in the South Pacific.
Early Political Career
Upon Nixon’s return to Whittier, a banker from his town suggested to him to run for Congress. Excited by the idea, Nixon soon won the support of the small businessman and farmers who were against labor unions and disliked Democratic policies. By stating his support for individual freedom and individual initiative, Nixon appealed to their interests. As many other Republicans who won office during the ’40s and ‘50s, Nixon accused his opponent of being a communist sympathizer to undermine his credibility, even though he was aware of how untrue the accusation was.
In Congress, Nixon joined the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which was focusing at that time on exposing communist sympathies within the American society. In 1948, Nixon was reelected for a second term. His popularity increased dramatically during the Hiss case, when Alger Hiss, a former official in the State Senate was trialed and convicted for perjury and espionage operations for the Soviet Union. His role in exposing the case transformed Nixon into a national figure in the anti-communist battle. In 1950, he ran for the U.S. Senate and once again accused his opponent, this time Helen Gahagan Douglas, of being a communist sympathizer.
While in the Senate, Nixon drew attention upon himself by attacking President Harry Truman for losing the war in Korea. Despite his confrontational nature, his political career developed quickly and in 1952, he was chosen as Dwight Eisenhower’s running mate in the presidential election. Eisenhower wanted a young vice president who could attract the support of the conservative Republicans.
Using once again his unbeatable strategy, Nixon attacked Adlai Stevenson, the presidential nominee of the Democrat Party of hiding communist views. Despite his efforts, Nixon almost ruined Eisenhower’s campaign after being accused of using a large sum of funds from his politi