Amanda+S.+-+RN+-+SP10


 * -Richard Nixon- **

// Date of Birth: January 9, 1913 | Date of Death: April 22, 1994 Terms of Office: 1969-1974 Vice Presidents: Spiro T. Agnew (1969-1973); Gerald Ford (1973-1974) Political Party: Republican //

As the 37th president of the United States, Richard Nixon had some shoes to fill. The country was still in the middle of the Vietnam War and wanted to see an end quickly. Luckily for Nixon, he had previous high-office positions, and was fairly well aware of what the preceding presidents had done in their terms. Although Nixon had accomplished some great things as president in his first term, a scandal near the end of his presidency overshadowed almost all of his successes and caught the attention of the entire nation, which is why Nixon deserves a C+ for his time in office.

An obvious goal of President Nixon's was to end the Vietnam War and achieve worldwide unity. Techniques included bombing in Cambodia and slowly removing US troops from the area. A second goal of Nixon's was to fix the tension between the United States and China and the USSR. Both of the foreign countries happened to be communist powers, and many US citizens were tired of hearing about threats of communism. Nixon became one of the first presidents to travel to a foreign country to meet and discuss things. Not only did he succeed in working out problems between the countries, but Nixon also helped to create a treaty that limited nuclear weapons, something that the US and USSR were competing against each other in.

Nixon's relationship with Congress was a little back-and-forth. He had started out working in politics and grew up being around Congress, so Nixon had become familiar with the ways matters were handled and was able to cooperate with one another. In the beginning of his presidency, things were going well- so well that Nixon was allowed to end the draft and have anticrime laws be approved and passed. Soon, though, things turned sour. Unable to provide a stable economy, Congress allowed Nixon to take the US off the gold standard; however, that did more harm than help for the country. No longer did they have the strong trade ties America once had. Things turned slightly uphill after that, with the negotiations with China and the USSR, improvements in science and technology to get the first man to walk on the moon, and appoint new members to the Supreme Court, as Nixon had promised before taking office.

The most positive thing to occur during Richard Nixon's presidency was his activeness in a broad environmental program. Hoping to end concern about the environment, Nixon and Congress created the Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as passing the Clean Air Act. This was called for to reduce automobile emissions and testing for air quality. Others pieces of legislation passed for improving and helping the environment included the Noise Control Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Many of these left a lasting impression among Congress and are still present today. All of these occurred in Nixon's first term, which led many to renominate and vote for Nixon for a second term.

The single worst event in Nixon's presidency was, without a doubt, the Watergate scandal. Things were going quite well for Nixon- he had just been reelected and had the acceptance of many Americans on his side. Then, in 1972, several important politicians had been discovered breaking and entering into the Democratic National Committee offices. Nixon provided that he had not been involved and was shocked to discover members of his "group" had been involved. When audio tapes were demanded from Nixon's possession and were found to have some dialogue missing, Nixon found himself in the middle of this whirlwind affair. Eventually Nixon's vice president, Agnew, had to resign because of other events concerning his state of Maryland. Fearful of being publicly humiliated and being impeached, President Nixon resigned in 1974, allowing his new VP, Gerald Ford, to take his spot as president.

President Nixon's longest-lasting impact was the way he handled foreign affairs. With the help of Congress, Nixon was allowed to visit other countries in hopes of creating better and more comfortable ties. China and the USSR were Nixon's main "targets," and he was successful in both cases. International trade was opened between the US and China and even grew to be on friendly terms- the Chinese government invited the US table tennis team to play in a tournament once tensions were erased. Also, the USSR no longer posed a communistic threat to the US when Nixon had met and used the technique of "détente" to relieve all tensions and achieve unity and cooperation with each other. A treaty was passed to limit the amount of firearms created and used, which helped calm the government and peoples of both countries.

Richard Nixon had filled the shoes that JFK and Johnson had left behind, but unfortunately shook up the trust and friendly connection he had built with the United States. President Nixon provided a prime example of how good one's actions can be, but can quickly be covered up and forgotten about with one little lie and bad decisions. Many aspects of the US had been improved, thanks to Nixon, but because of his actions that led to his resignation, Nixon is not viewed as one of the "better presidents," therefore leaving him with a grade of a C+.

"37. Richard M. Nixon 1969-1974." __The White House.__ 27 May 2010. [] Hughes, Ken. "Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994)." __Miller Center of Public Affairs.__ 2010. 27 May 2010. [] "The President." __The Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.__ 27 May 2010. []
 * Bibliography:**