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Richard Nixon ( January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) Republican January 20, 1969 - August 9, 1974 VP: Spiro Agnew 1969 - 1973 Gerald Ford 1973-1974

Though Nixon made for much unneeded drama in the White House he did do many good things as well. Nixon improved some relations with other countries, helped rebuild he economy and played a role in the Civil Rights movement. I believe that Nixon deserves a C- for his time in office.

The biggest goal of the Nixon administration was all about foreign policy. He wanted to fix problems with China, the Soviet Union, the Middle East, but especially Vietnam. Many believed Nixon wanted to end the war with Vietnam but the actions that he took did not seem to be ones that wanted an end to the fighting. He started by approving a secret bombing in Cambodia, a country that before had not been involved in the war other than a means of transportation. After he did this he wanted to start "Vietnamization." A plan to replace American troops. But as this started to happen Nixon again bombed a separate country Laos. Nixon couldn't make up his mind.

Nixon and congress did not have the best of relationships because the democrates had reign in both the house and the senate. Still Nixon made headway during his time in office he passed many bill involving foreign relations including SALT I and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Though Nixon vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act. Still many government agencies were created including, the U.S postal service, OSHA, and EPA.

The positive changes that took place by the Nixon administration were mostly involving foreign policy. Relations improved with the Soviet Union, China and some of the Middle Eastern countries. Nixon helped to end the cold war with the Soviets and started to make sure that both sides had an understanding. His Ping-Pong diplomacy with China was very helpful in starting to better the relationship between the two. Nixon also was a big supported of Israel in the Middle east which was not always pleasing but he did still try to keep relations. The most negative aspect of the administration was the scandal that happened. Watergate was a big shocker to much of America and President Nixon was right in the middle of it. Nixon incriminated himself by not giving up the tapes to begin with then when some of the recording was missing there was no other explanation to why he would hide what was said.

Watergate made it hard for many people to trust the government for a long time. Though it was good to show people that the president was not always perfect I think that the corruption that came out of this administration was what made an impact on the people and affected future presidents especially Republican ones.

The country did improve in some areas during Nixon administration, but got worse in many others. The people couldn't trust the government, had been through an oil crisis and was not in better shape than before. This is why president Nixon should get a C- because though he did help out it didn't matter in the end.  http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon