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Richard Milhous Nixon January 9, 1913-April 22, 1994 Republican Two Terms: (January 9, 1969 - August 9, 1974) VP: Spiro T. Agnew (1969-1973) Gerald R. Ford (1973-1974)

As the 37th president, Richard Nixon made many attempts to get the United States out of the Vietnam War. Nixon wanted to maintain peace within and outside of the United States, especially with China and the Soviet Union. Although Nixon was forced out of his presidency and was forced to resign, Nixon deserves a C- for his presidency because he ultimately did bring home the troops in the Vietnam and made many clear attempts to restore peace with other nations.

Richard Nixon's goals when he became president was for peace in Vietnam, with a mindset of bringing home all troops in Vietnam. Nixon wanted and was willing to allow peace at any price. Before being elected, Nixon told the nation he had a "secret plan" to ending the war and would put an end to the draft. Nixon also wanted to reduce taxes.

During Nixon's presidency, Congress had a majority Democratic rule which caused many disagreements. However, Nixon and Congress was still able to come together and pass necessary laws such as the SALT agreement(Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) and ratifying the 26th amendment which changed the voting age from 21 to 18. Congress and Nixon worked together and tried to make peace with China and the Soviet Union which ultimately ended with the New China Policy which left both the United States and China working together scientifically and through trade agreements.

Nixon's best action that led to a successful outcome was the steady removal of US troops in Vietnam. The nation was very upset that so many lives were being taken over a war that they did not feel was necessary. On the nations behalf, Nixon felt it was necessary to remove the troops and bring peace in Vietnam. Nixon slowly removed troops and replaced them with South Vietnamese troops. With the Nixon Doctrine in mind, stating a reduction of forces of US presence in Asia, Nixon removed hundred of thousands of troops each year. The number of troops reduced from 340,000 to 177,000 in 1970 down to 25,000 in 1972. The removal of the troops left many happy Americans in that they could spend their lives with their loved ones without worrying about them being killed in action. It also helped the nation financially and the nation was not wasting millions of dollars on a useless war.

Nixon's worst action was the Watergate Scandal. The Watergate scandal was a burglary attempt made by CREEP (Committee to Reelect the President). This led to many high official's jobs to be destroyed and Nixon himself was involved in the scandal. Nixon bugged several hotel rooms and installed eavesdropping devices in the hotel. After reviewing the presidential tapes, there was an 18 minute gap which left many suspicions to rise. This ultimately led to Nixon resigning because he did not want to be impeached. He chose to leave office August 8, 1974 after delivering his resignation speech.

The most positive outcome during Nixon's presidency was the ratification of the 26th amendment. This ratification lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. This change was made because many felt that if they were old enough to serve in a war and were willing to risk their life, they should be able to vote and have a say in politics. This change is still present today and many who turn 18 take the action and vote so they can feel like they are part of the nation.

Although Nixon was forced to resign fearing impeachment, Nixon still brought the nation together by removing troops in Vietnam. The United States was no longer fearing communist rule and was at a relaxed point. Without the Watergate Scandal which ultimately caused Nixon's resignation, Nixon still deserves a C- for his presidency because he brought our nation together and no longer had to fight in a useless war and no longer had to fear communism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents