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//Richard Milhous Nixon//

Born on January 9, 1913 - Died on April 22, 1994 in New York City

Party: Republican

Terms: 1969—1973, and 1973—1974 (resigned)

Vice Presidents: Spiro T. Agnew from 1969—1973, and Gerald R. Ford from 1973—1974

**Theme: Globalization** Deeply mired in the cold war for nearly two decades, America was finally beginning to open up to diplomatic relations with the two largest communist powers of the world, China and Russia. One of the first of these events that started the gradual breakdown of the stalemate was Ping Pong Diplomacy, or the exchange of table tennis players between the United States and China that occurred during the 1970’s. Chairman Mao surprised the world by invited the American ping pong team to play at a tournament in China; this extension of the hand of friendship was the first of its kind and marked the beginning of a long-lasting and immense Sino-American trade relationship. More open to amicable relations with America, the Soviet Union engaged in an unprecedented three year-grain deal in 1972. The Soviets agreed to pay $750 million in exchange for wheat, corn, and other cereals. Not only was America warming up to the idea of a Sino-American alliance, trade diplomacy with its arch-enemy, the Soviet Union signaled the beginning of the end of the decades long Cold War. The signings of treaties, agreements and the opening of embassies increased in correlation with increased Soviet-American trade. This trend accelerated the demise of isolationist tendencies and spurred the formation of the highly integrated, connected world economy in existence today.

Richard Nixon’s name has become synonymous with corruption and abuse of power in the minds of most Americans today. The Watergate scandal was by far the most damaging event to tarnish the reputation of the presidency of the United States and succeeded in overshadowing all of Nixon’s other commendable achievements while in office, and perhaps rightfully so. While his major advances in foreign policy, disarmament, entitlement programs for the poor, elderly, and disabled, racial segregation, and environmental protection are all noteworthy, Watergate destroyed the public’s trust in Washington for years, earning Nixon with the mediocre grade of a C.

At the beginning of Nixon’s first term in 1968, it was evident that the post-WWII economic boom was on its last legs and flare-ups over social injustices were beginning to come to a head. Dependence on costly foreign oil was crippling American investment causing productivity and economic growth to grind to a halt, resulting in a phenomenon called “stagflation”, or the combination of stagnation and inflation. Nixon was met with the challenge of reigning in double-digit inflation and restarting the construction of new factories that created employment. He was also presented with the incredibly expensive, largely unsuccessful, and wholly unpopular conflict in Vietnam that was costing thousands of American lives. He pledged to end the war in an “honorable peace”, as to gradually install America-friendly Vietnamese officials that would hold the country together after the troops left.

Nixon’s extremely aggressive agenda on progressive reform in welfare programs, racial desegregation, and environmental protection met the hostility of his fellow Republicans in Congress who were in the minority for the entirety of his presidency. Nixon increased appropriations to entitlement programs like Medicaid and Social Security. He spearheaded the Philadelphia Plan, which aimed to create a place for black workers in the construction industry. These extremely effective programs succeeded in reducing the nation’s poverty rate to the lowest level in modern history, at 11%. Nixon demonstrated his commitment to the environment by approving the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, OSHA, and the Clean Air Act of 1970. To combat inflation, he took America off of the unpredictable gold standard and ending the Bretton Woods system of international currency exchange. Later in his presidency, Nixon’s relationship with Congress took a more negative turn when he refused to divulge the infamous tapes from the White House. Congress was finally forced to subpoena the tapes, and Nixon grudgingly complied. Nixon further shocked the American public when the secret bombings in Cambodia were uncovered, which led Congress to limit his blank-check powers to authorize attacks with the War Powers Act. His relationship with Congress hit its low when Nixon was forced to resign to avoid impeachment.

Despite his inability to avoid engaging in criminal activity to offer his party an advantage, Nixon’s foreign policy was, in the words of Mr. Wimmer, //rockin’//. In a single term, he was able to bring the two largest communist countries, Russia and China to the negotiation table. With his diplomatic prowess, Nixon initiate the //detente// period of the Cold War, paving the way for groundbreaking reform in disarmament and trade with these previously hostile nations. In addition to the USSR-US grain deal mentioned above, Nixon was able to secure the Kremlin’s signature for a disarmament pact that limited each nation to two clusters of defensive missiles. The second agreement, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT), aimed to slowing the nuclear arms race. Although both nations continued with their nuclear weapons programs, these pacts were the first steps towards stemming the buildup of ballistic missiles.

Watergate was by far Nixon’s most significant mistake. A trail of evidence from a break in at the Democratic headquarters in 1972 eventually led to the White House. It was soon learned that the President had authorized the burglary of confidential Democratic party documents and the improper use of the FBI and the CIA. An extensive investigation revealed an entire administration of corrupt, secretive officials. Furthermore, Nixon’s refusal to hand over the tapes and subsequent erasing of the vital parts demonstrated the fact that he was completely blinded by the “executive privilege” he believed that he possessed. In a few short months, he went from being known as the president who initiated sweeping progressive reform to the corrupt politician and the first president to resign from office.

While he will always be famous for the massive Watergate scandal that polluted Americans’ opinions of the government in Washington for decades, several of his accomplishments also remain today. The creation of the EPA and the Clean Air Act were the first steps towards government regulation of business’ impact on the environment. This marked the beginning of a trend towards energy efficient automobiles, appliances, and electronics that priorities of these manufacturing industries. The War Powers Act ended of decades-long period of largely unrestricted executive powers that were independent of the legislature. The ability to commit the nation to a large-scale conflict was once again in the hands of representatives and senators. All in all, Nixon could have been one of the nation’s best presidents if it was not for his tendency towards secrecy and his obsession with petty party politics.

If it were possible to ignore the massive blemish on Nixon’s otherwise decent record, he may have earned the grade of a B+ or an A-. However, Watergate’s enormity and far-reaching implications are inexcusable and rightfully exceed his social progress initiatives in importance, earning him the grade of a C.

//Works Cited//

//Hughes, Ken. "American President: Richard Nixon." Miller Center. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 28 Dec. 2011. <[] /nixon>.//

//Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. The American pageant: a history of the Republic. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.//

//Nixon, Richard M. "Address to the Nation Announcing Decision To Resign the Office of President (August 8, 1974)." Speech. Miller Center. University of Virginia. Web. .**//

//"Richard M. Nixon."// //The White House////. The White House, 2011. Web. 27 Dec. 2011. <[]>.//