Matt+K.+-+RN+-+SP10

Although Nixon was involved in the whole Watergate issue, he did many good things during his presidency. Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Vietnam and improved relations with the U.S.S.R. and China; both of these actions led to the satisfaction to the American people. Besides his considerable slip-up in trying to remain the President through the Watergate scandal, Nixon did pretty well during his presidency, which is why he deserves a B for his presidency. The goals of President Nixon were to end American fighting in Vietnam, improve relations with the U.S.S.R. and China, and bring reconciliation back to the nation. Nixon did pretty well in accomplishing all of these goals, especially the first two. In January 1973, Nixon announced an accord with North Vietnam to end American involvement in Indochina. Nixon also succeeded in reducing tensions with Russia and China during his visits to Beijing and Moscow in 1972. During Nixon’s visit to Moscow, he met with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev, which ended up producing a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. Nixon did pretty well with his goal in reuniting the country, at least in the beginning of his presidency, but the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. President Nixon and a good relationship with Congress; he had worked within Congress before, so he had some connections. Among many others, there were some acts and bills passed while he was in office, such as the anticrime laws, the end to the draft, the Economic Stabilization Act, and revenue sharing. Congress also let him travel to Russia and China to meet their leaders in their homelands. Nixon was the first president allowed to travel to these countries to meet with these leaders. The work done involving foreign relations, including Vietnam, were probably the best things done during Nixon’s presidency. Nixon improved both the relations with China and Russia and the issues pertaining to the Vietnam War. As stated previously, Nixon succeeded in reducing tensions with Russia and China during his visits to Beijing and Moscow in 1972. During Nixon’s visit to Moscow, he met with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev which ended up producing a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. Nixon also improved the Vietnam War issues by getting rid of the draft and eventually the whole war by ending American involvement in Vietnam in 1973. Both of these actions greatly helped in improving the American people’s unity and moral. The decision that had the most negative impact on Nixon’s presidency was the decision to allow the actions that led to the Watergate scandal to take place. The Watergate scandal began when members of the Nixon Re-election Committee were caught during a break-in at the offices of the Democratic Party in the Watergate building. The crisis slowly got worse when President Nixon tried to cover up his and his staff’s involvement in the break-in. This scandal eventually led to Nixon resigning due to the impeachment that was sure to come. The most influential decision made during Nixon’s presidency was the decision to improve relations with Russia and China. Due to these improved relations, both the United States and Russia have significantly fewer nuclear weapons and hostilities towards each other than there would have been, and the relations gained through the lessening of tensions with China are still benefiting the Unites States today in the form of trade. In conclusion, although Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate issue significantly brought down his overall score, because of his good decisions involving foreign relations and his rejuvenation of the American people’s spirits, I give Nixon a B for his presidency. Sources "American President: Richard Milhous Nixon." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 27 May 2010. . "Presidents: Richard Nixon." //American History and World History at Historycentral.com the Largest and Most Complete History Site on the Web//. Web. 27 May 2010. . "Richard M. Nixon." //The White House//. Web. 27 May 2010. .
 * Richard Milhous Nixon**
 * Birth:** January 9, 1913
 * Death:** April 22, 1994
 * Political party:** Republican
 * Terms:** 1969-1973 and 1973-1974
 * Vice president:** Spiro T. Agnew 1969-1973, Gerald Ford 1973-1974