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Richard M. Nixon January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994 Republican 1969-1974 (Two Terms) Spiro T. Agnew Gerald R. Ford (Vice Presidents)

Richard M. Nixon is a president that stands out in the minds of many Americans, unfortunately, in a negative way. He deserves a C – for his presidency because of his poor decisions involving the Watergate scandal. However, in the way of domestic and foreign affairs the country was better off after his presidency. Nixon’s goals as a president were to unite the country divided by war, achieve peace, especially in Vietnam by withdrawing troops, and reduce crime. His first goal to unite the country was a difficult one because of the huge division between the “hawks” (pro-war) and “doves” (anti-war). Even though Nixon began to withdraw troops, the protests from “doves” did not stop and the division remained. Achieving peace in Vietnam was a goal that Nixon loosely captured. Finally, on October 8, 1972, Le Duc Tho, a delegate of North Vietnam, accepted a peace plan with the United States. Again on January 23, 1973, Tho and American delegate Henry Kissinger agreed to a cease-fire in Vietnam. Nixon himself caused this goal to backfire when he continued bombing Cambodia after the cease-fire agreement. His last goal of reducing the high amount of crime in the United States was partially successful with the passing of several anti-crime laws, and also through his extension of the Great Society programs. All of his work with these programs and anti-crime laws was negatively outweighed by the Watergate scandal. Nixon’s relationship with the majority Democratic congress is one remembered as a less then perfect one. Nixon was so involved in winning a majority Republican congress that he went to great, and illegal lengths trying to obtain, with the Watergate Scandal, leading to articles of impeachment from Congress. On the other hand, Nixon did pass many Great Society programs, such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, and the raising of Social Security. Another pro-democratic action of Nixon was his Philadelphia Plan of 1969 that required construction companies to set up plans for hiring black apprentices. Nixon was a president of the great and the horrible. He did some excellent things for the country, but also set a terrible example for it. The most excellent decision he made was to make peace with China and the U.S.S.R. Not only did this decision help foreign trade and relations between the United States and the two countries, it allowed the eventual end of the Vietnam War. If Nixon had not formed a good position with these communist countries, America would not have been able to bomb North Vietnam in such an aggressive way because of likely communist intervention. Without our excessive bombing, North Vietnam may not have been as susceptible to peace. This would have caused more government spending, a larger division between the “hawks” and “doves” and more casualties. Nixon was an asset to the country in the area of foreign affairs. He was not an asset to the country in the category of being a role model to the citizens of America, though. It is clear that his worst decision was his involvement in the Watergate scandal. This scandal involved a burglary of the Watergate apartment complex where the Democratic National Committee was housed. During the investigation of this burglary, a trail formed that led to the White House where even more disgrace to Nixon and his key persons became evident. The Nixon Administration denied any involvement with the scandal, but this proved to be untrue. Nixon was found taping conversations in the oval office. When asked to produce these tapes, he refused. This led to the “Saturday Night Massacre”, a large amount of firings to seclude Nixon’s involvement. He did not comply with subpoenas for the tapes, which abused his executive power. Finally, with the threat of impeachment, Nixon released the tapes. The scandal also revealed illegal fundraising and wire-tapping by the Committee to Re-elect the president. Nixon won the 1972 election by 503 electoral votes. His passionate fixation on winning the election caused him to do unthinkable things, and was completely unnecessary. It is extremely immoral for a president to invade privacy and abuse power. The Nixon Administration put the country in a very compromising position, with the moving of power from one person to the next. One of these power jumps was to Gerald Ford, who had no desire to be president, a situation that destabilizes a country. Not only did Nixon show the people of the United States that it is acceptable to be a criminal, his impeachment interfered with further advances in domestic and foreign affairs. The action made by Nixon that most effected future generations was the creation of the Nixon Doctrine. This theory stated that the United States would no longer give ground military aid to Asian countries in future uprisings. This still affects people today, because if a need arises for American intervention in Asia the government would examine this and see the error in such involvement. The Nixon Doctrine also showed the Asian countries America’s standing on future wars. Overall Nixon did aid the country, but this cannot allow the apparent disillusion of a president’s role. He showed great skills in foreign relations in the way he handled the Vietnam War. He left a huge dent of dishonor in American history with the Watergate scandal, though. In closing, it is fair to say that Nixon exited his presidency, with the country having progressed and in a better condition then before his entry into office.

Works Cited "Impeachment: Richard Nixon." The History Place. 26 Dec. 2008 .

Nixon, Richard M. "Richard. M. Nixon First Inaugural Address." Inauguration of Richard M. Nixon. Washingtn D.C. 20 Jan. 1969.

"Online NewsHour: Nixon Tapes -- November 27, 1997." PBS. 26 Dec. 2008 .

"Richard M. Nixon." Welcome to the White House. 26 Dec. 2008 .

"United States History - Nixon's Accomplishments and Defeats." Country Studies. 26 Dec. 2008 .