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 Yorba Linda, California New York City, New York Spiro Agnew (1969–1973) Gerald Ford (1973–1974)   Not surprisingly, the average American’s first impression of Richard Nixon is negative. After all, he is most known for the Watergate scandal, which ultimately terminated his presidential career. In the long run though, this caused no lasting damage. Therefore, Nixon deserves the grade of a B. He not only ended the Vietnam War, but introduced a period of détente with China and the Soviet Union.   Coming into the Presidency during what would become the nation’s longest war, Nixon’s most immediate goal involved the Vietnam War. The nation, painfully divided, experienced violence in the cities and overseas. To prevent the spilling of even more American blood, Nixon’s solution, otherwise known as “Vietnamization”, was to withdraw the 540,000 troops from South Vietnam, who would then gradually take over the fighting. Looking for a quicker end to the war, he then bombs Cambodia, and this proves to be even more unpopular. Several years later, the end to the Vietnam War came after heavy bombing of North Vietnam. While this was successful in removing the United States from the conflict, the South Vietnamese were left out to dry in the treaty. They no longer had US fighting forces, and North Vietnam occupied 30% of their land and was allowed to keep troops in Southern Vietnam. Reconciliation was Nixon’s first goal, and it wasn’t limited to Vietnam. He succeeded in improving American relations between both the USSR and China. Finally, on the home front, inflation was rising, leading to unemployment. Battling this with a policy of monetary restraint and failing, Nixon’s new policy included wage-and-price freezes and tax cuts. This helped, but by the time he left office, the economy was crashing.   Nixon and Congress didn’t get along well. Most prominent was the lashing out toward the Senate when they refused to go along with his Southern appointees to the Supreme Court, and later he strongly campaigned against Democrats in the congressional elections. Even so, the Democrats had a large control over the House of Representatives and the Senate, which continued into Nixon’s second term. Together, however, they passed an abundance of legislation; Nixon was called the “last liberal president”. Environmental concerns prompted him to pass the Environmental Protection Agency, protecting the environment and human health; National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration; and the Clean Air Act, reducing automobile emissions and the national testing of air quality. In addition, the Noise Control Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act were approved. Other laws include Occupational Safety and Health Administration, preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and fatality. He vetoed a total number of 43 laws, including the Comprehensive Child Development Act, a universal child care bill. Overall, one could say that on a personal level, Richard Nixon and Congress’ relationship was rocky, but in political terms, they got along well.   While the relaxed atmosphere between America and both China and Russia was started to end the Vietnam War, it resulted in being the most positive aspect of Nixon’s presidency. To finish the war, Nixon hoped to pressure North Vietnam to an accord, using both China’s and Russia’s help. As tensions between the two began to rise, Nixon seized his opportunity, and visited China in 1972, after the famed ping-pong diplomacy in 1971. Relations with China greatly improved. This budding friendship led to détente with the Soviet Union as well, who feared the Americans closeness with their rival. Several important agreements resulted. This included the grain deal, in which the United States would supply the Soviets $750 million worth of wheat, corn, and other cereals. The arms race slowed as well, thanks to the Anti-Ballistic Missiles Treaty, limiting each nation to two clusters of defensive missiles, and the SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks), freezing the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers at existing levels. The Cold War was not over completely, and the arms race did not come to a complete halt, but these negotiations paved the way for future meetings. More importantly, the pressures from China and the Soviet Union ultimately play a part in the end of the Vietnam War.   In the end, Nixon’s undoing as president was the Watergate Scandal. Unlike previous presidents, his worst aspect in office didn’t affect America in terms of soldiers’ lives or economic struggles. Instead, hi s blunder didn’t necessarily weaken America overall. The scandal began when burglars were caught inside the Democratic Party Offices in the Watergate Complex, hoping to install bugging devices and steal documents important to the upcoming election. Soon, it was discovered that Nixon recorded all conversations, and after they were subpoenaed, he refused to release them, citing executive privilege. After demands for the tapes, Nixon produced them, but they had entire sections missing. Even though he denied involvement to the very end in the Watergate break-ins, the impeachment process began. When the Supreme Court ruled for the recovery of the missing sections, and those sections proved Nixon was aware of the cover-up, Nixon became the first and only president to announce his resignation, as impeachment was inevitable. The effect this had on the American people was significant. They felt let down and skeptical by politicians, and the Democrats’ domination in the 1974 congressional elections proved this.  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> One decision greatly affected administrations: the Nixon Doctrine. This foreign policy stated that the United States would honor existing defense commitments, but that in the future, other countries would have to fight their own wars without the help of American troops. By promoting peace and alliances with America, it also said that the US would aid in defense as requested, but, again, without soldiers. A decade later, this same idea was applied in the Reagan Doctrine, to contain the Soviet Union during the final stages of the Cold War. This was used to provide support to resistance movements against Soviet-backed governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The Weinberger Doctrine was also spun from the Nixon Doctrine. Both hoped to avoid further conflict, and the Weinberger Doctrine, created in 1984 goes into detail. It declares that the United States shouldn’t commit forces unless the nation’s critical interests are at stake, and only at a last resort. Plus, objectives should be clearly defined, with the clear intention of winning, and the capacity to win. As one can see, the Nixon Doctrine shaped and defined future presidents’ foreign policies. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> Overall, Nixon left the country better off after he left office. While some may disagree, citing the Watergate scandal, perhaps they don’t consider that America was not harmed in any way other than having their faith shaken. For this reason, Nixon’s grade shouldn’t be lower than a B. The Vietnam War was finally brought to a close, and good relations were initiated between the US and both China and the Soviet Union. In terms of foreign policy, Richard Nixon was a success. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">"American President: Richard Milhous Nixon: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/nixon/essays/biography/8>. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas A. Bailey. American Pageant. Houghton Mifflin College Div, 2002. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Monday. "The Nation: The Coming Battle Between President and Congress - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909738-6,00.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">"Richard M. Nixon." The White House. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon>.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Richard M. Nixon **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Born **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">: January 9, 1913
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Died **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">: April 22, 1994 (aged 81)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Dates of Term: **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Party: **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Republican
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Vice Presidents: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Thesis: **
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 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Relationship with Congress: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Positive: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Negative: **
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 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Works Cited: **