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 ** Richard Nixon** **(January 9, 1913 - April 22, 1994)** President Nixon was an average president, and deserves the average grade of a C-. Although he did help foreign relations, he did end up being the first and only president to resign during his second term in reaction to the Watergate scandal. Although not everything went his way, there was still enough good throughout his presidency to keep his grade at a C-.
 * Political Party: Republican**
 * Terms of office: January 20, 1969 - August 9, 1974**
 * Vice President: Spiro Agnew (1969-1973)**
 * Gerald Ford (1973-1974)**

One of President Nixon's main goals was to find a resolution to the Vietnam War. He negotiated with North Vietnam and began the gradual removal of American soldiers. He also wanted to and improve the economy and restrain inflation. He created supplemental security income in 1969. In addition, he detached from the gold standard. It actually increased inflation by driving up the cost of imports. Nixon also wanted to develop a relationship with China and the U.S.S.R. Finally, Nixon also wanted to limit the type of intervention that Eisenhower had joined in Lebanon.

Nixon had a good relationship with congress though out his presidency. Although there were disagreements with him and congress in regards to some of the programs Nixon was pushing for, overall they seemed to get along pretty well. He was the first president to travel to foreign countries to meet with their leaders, and he also pushed for and got approval for a variety of other things as well. Such as the end of the draft and his new appointed justices to the Supreme Court. There has been some debate weather or not Nixon struggled because he was a Republican when the majority was Democratic, but it does not appear to have that large of an effect on his relationship with them none the less.

The best decision, which had the best outcome during Nixon’s presidency, was his work with foreign relations, and his withdrawal of troops from Vietnam. First off, Nixon successfully negotiated a treaty with the Russian’s regarding limitations on nuclear weapons, as well as traveling to and improving relations with the leaders in China. Another huge factor was the ending of the war in Vietnam. Never before have the American’s so strongly protested and hated a war. By slow but steady removal of troops, Nixon was able to take our soldiers out of the battlefield and bring them back home.

The “Watergate” scandal had without a doubt the worst impact on Nixon’s presidency. The administration under Nixon wanted to re-elect him as president. There were a group of men caught on camera at the Watergate hotel in Washing D.C trying to break into the Democratic headquarters, attempting to sabotage them. Once the case was under F.B.I. investigation there came to the surface tape’s of private conversations that Nixon had held in the Oval office. The tapes were withheld, and then finally released with some portions of them edited. The evidence was still incriminating enough that it was suggested to Nixon that he resign from office or else he would be impeached. This lead to significant changes within the Democratic National Committee.

The biggest impact Nixon had on future generations was his negotiations made and relationships built with China and Russia. The treaties that were signed with Russia put the country more at ease, lessening the chances of a nuclear attack. By traveling to China, Nixon eased tension that had been there pre –Vietnam War, and helped to open the door to future relationships with foreign countries because of his actions during his presidency.

The country really wouldn’t have been effected too greatly either way if Nixon was or was not president. Although his work with foreign relations was memorable and positive, it was not something that couldn’t of been done by somebody else. Adding that to the disgrace of the Watergate scandel, Nixon deserves his grade of a C-

__Works Cited__ Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. //The American Pageant//. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print. Magill, Frank N., John L. Loos, and Tracy Irons-Georges. //The American Presidents//. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem, 2000. Print. "Nixon's America." //The Nixon Center//. Web. 26 May 2010. < [] Briefs/vol5no27barone.htm>.