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Richard Milhous Nixon Born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California Died on April 22, 1994 in New York City Republican Terms: 1969—1973, and 1973—1974 due to Resignation Vice Presidents: Spiro T. Agnew from 1969—1973, and Gerald R. Ford from 1973—1974, then became President Rating: B+   Theme: American Identity

As Americans, we judge those whom we know nothing about. We look at someone’s actions and determine whether or not they are a good person, a bad person, a disgrace, and so forth. Yet, the scrupulous name that has been attached to Richard Nixon’s name is dishonorable to citizens’ nature. Nixon helped shape the United States. He was a driving force that helped the United States become more diplomatic and outlined the proper modes of foreign policy. Nixon also fixed the economy through his “New Economy System.” Richard Nixon, while deemed a scandal, was a fundamental force in the development of the United States.

One action of Richard Nixon that helped contribute toward the American Identity would be his actions dealing with China. Due to American resentment toward anything communistic, it had halted the development of foreign relations, and diminished any chance of a “good neighbor” policy. However, the intrepid Nixon stepped out of his comfort zone to try and improve relations with China. Flying halfway across the world, Nixon went to China willing to work out issues diplomatically without flaunting American “War muscles.” By going to China, Nixon improved the overall tension between the communistic China and America. He also established clear improvements in trading, which was essential from his presidency to present day. By enhancing relations with China, Nixon was able to show the world that the United States was willing to try talking things out. While some extenuating circumstances dismiss this statement, Nixon’s foreign policy was clearly necessary in shaping the United States. In present day, China and the United States are both World Powers, and ship with each other. Imagine if Nixon never sat down with Mao Zedong, and discuss the pressing issues between the two different nations.

The second action of Richard Nixon that clearly shaped the United States was his “New Economy System,” that helped dig the United States out of the minor Recession during the beginning of his first term. Nixon embraced economic policies, and really left his mark on ways to deal with economic strife. The first thing he did was remaining calm. Many presidents in the past whom had to deal with economic panics or recession, panic themselves causing a national sense of doom. The policy halted inflation by setting prices and wages, put a 10% tax on imports, reduced the amount of federal employees, lowered the amount of money that was being thrown at foreign nations, and slowed the conversion of money to gold (Whitney 347). These actions dug the United States out of the Recession in less than one year, making it probably one of the shortest recession the nation has ever seen. This new policy demonstrates Nixon’s actual policies on domestic affairs. Nixon had his head screwed on right in terms of the balance between foreign affairs and domestic affairs. He knew what he needed to do, executed it properly and correctly, and left the nation to its glory. From this irrefutable information, Nixon not only added to the American Identity, he defined it. In all actuality, Nixon was probably one of the best presidents in terms of dealing with foreign affairs. Without Nixon, the nation might not be where it is today.

Richard Nixon, a man that changed the nation, but also changed the hearts of Americans. While acclaimed for his great foreign policy, domestic, and war efforts, the man is deemed a scandal due to the actions that occurred at the Hotel Watergate, and his firing of appointed officials. Due to efforts to revitalize the nation, such as his foreign policy actions, commendable environmental notions, and his Vietnam War action, with the addition of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon earns a rating of a B+.

Like any other president of the nation, Richard Nixon had a few goals. There were two main goals that Nixon emphasized including rebuilding the United States’ stature and to not judge America, but to improve upon it. Many people were judging the United States because of it’s foreign policy stances. For example, the United States is anti-communist, so every country thought that the United States was some kind of “witch hunter” for communists. It can be confirmed that Nixon improved the foreign policy of the United States, achieving his first goal. The first phrase one should associate with Nixon should be foreign policy. He was fantastic at diplomatic relations. He even got Russia to sign a Chemical Weapons treaty that had both countries destroy their stockpile of “…chemical and biological weapons…” (DeGregorio 596). It can be assumed that Nixon achieve his second goal of not having others judge the United States. After all, he got China to trade with the United States, slowly built the confidence of South Vietnam to fight the north, and even improved relations with Russia. All of these achievements firmly confirm Nixon’s goals. Nixon truly accomplished all of his goals.

While Richard Nixon did get a lot done, it is fair to say that it was not easy with an entire Democratic congress. The Democrats that ruled majority in Congress made it extremely difficult for Nixon to get anything done. But, with a few supporters, Nixon still accomplished a great deal of things. Like any other president, Nixon had back and forth issues with Congress. Anything Nixon vetoed a bill, Congress would then override the veto. This happened quite frequently. For example, Congress wanted to end bombings in Cambodia, so Nixon vetoed the measure, and then Congress overrode it. In all fairness, Nixon decided upfront that he was going to veto anything that would spend extra government money social or educational reforms. Nixon was not a fan of the Democrats. In correlation to that, Congress wanted to limit the President’s power in terms of war power. Congress decided that any decision made by the president must be approved by Congress. Obviously this wasn’t well received by Nixon, but he got over it, and moved forward. Concluding, the relationship with Congress was purely spiteful on both sides, the Executive and Legislative. Richard Nixon was a pretty good President. There were many things that occurred, resulting in a positive outcome. The action with the most positive outcome would probably be Nixon’s new foreign policy with China. This action lowered the hostility between China and the United States, and set up trade. This action, particularly emphasis on trade, set the United States up for the next fifty-years. Without this action, who knows what the Nation would be like right now. On the topic of foreign relations, Nixon drastically improved the relationship with the Soviet Union. Nuclear weapons at this point in time were the hot topic, and could ultimately destroy the world if the scenario boiled down to the right one. The signing of the Chemical Weapons Treaty and the Seabed Treaty limited the use of nuclear weapons in certain areas and called for the destruction of chemical bombs too. Nixon also advocated for the protection of the environment. He wanted to make sure that the nation was be kept after. Pollution was becoming popular, and Nixon wasn’t having it. So, he passed legislation to keep rivers and lakes clean. This brought the country back together, raising nationalism and a sense of unity. Due to the passage of a new Amendment, the voting age dropped from 21 to 18. This would surely leave a historical significance from then to now, increasing the number of people who can vote. Nixon was a fantastic president because he accomplished a lot, and brought unity back into the country when it needed it most.

The action with the most negative outcome ultimately forced Nixon to resign or be impeached by Congress. Before the Election of 1973, five agents went to the Watergate Complex (Washington D.C.), wired the room in which the Democratic National Headquarters were meeting, to find out information to help reelect Nixon. These men, later prosecuted along with others hindered Nixon’s name. For, when the Senate did investigations, and asked Nixon for the tapes, Nixon refused to hand over the tapes, using the excuse of Executive Privilege. It took the Supreme Court to rule that Nixon had to these tapes over before he was willingly going to hand them over for investigation. The nation was devastated for they though the entire Watergate Scandal was a political story made up by the Democrats to ruin Nixon’s good name. Unfortunately, it dismantled all of Nixon’s hard work. From that point on in history, Nixon was known as a scandal. National pride decreased, because they figured out what really goes on behind closed doors. The incident forced Nixon to resign, to avoid impeachment. The man that tried so hard to help the nation was no long Nixon. It was the old Nixon in the shadow of Nixon: the Scandal. Obviously this ruined Nixon’s presidency, making it the action with the worst outcome.

Richard Nixon definitely influenced future presidents. He mostly influence Gerald R. Ford, his Vice President, because when he resigned, Ford become president. Nixon taught president strong military tactics. In terms of the Vietnam War, Nixon’s withdraw method was all but seamless. Nixon’s foreign policy tactics are commendable too. Nixon really got Russia “with it” in terms of diplomacy, and really got the most accomplished with Russia than any other president. He also became “buds” with China, which influenced all presidents after him, and the people too. In all seriousness, Nixon was truly a people person. He wanted what was best for his country. This can be seen with his environmental protection schemes. Nixon was all in all a great guy.

In the end, the nation was better off. Nixon landed two men on the moon, which shows a huge influx of technology. The Consumer Safety Act was passed that helped citizens in terms of making sure what they were using [products] were safe to use. As mentioned multiple times, Nixon really set the bar with foreign policy. He improved relations with Russia and China, and improved the safety of the United States. The people didn’t have to worry about be attacked by the Russians now that Nixon settled old business. Nixon would have received an A+, but the entire Watergate Scandal knocked him down to a B+, which is still a fantastic grade for a president. Nixon gets a lot of crap for the Watergate Scandal, when it really wasn’t a big deal. Yes it was wrong, but it wasn’t hurting anyone. Nixon was truly a great president because he balanced domestic and foreign issues perfectly.

Works Cited DeGregorio, William A. "Richard M. Nixon." //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. New York: Gramercy, 2005. 581-601. Print.

"Richard M. Nixon." //The White House//. The White House, 2011. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. .

"Richard Nixon." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. The Wikipedia Foundation, 22 Dec. 2011. Web. 14 Dec. 2011. .

Whitney, David C., and Robin Vaughn. Whitney. "Richard Milhous Nixon." //The American Presidents//. 9th ed. Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest Association, 2001. 328-63. Print.