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Richard Milhous Nixon Born: January 9, 1913 Died: April 22, 1994 Party: Republican Term: 1969-1974 Vice Presidents: Spiro T. Agnew (resigned in 1973) Gerald R. Ford

Thesis: Richard Nixon, the man who served as Vice President and then President of the United States. Nixon was a man of action and a man of accomplishment. During his presidency, Nixon developed a relationship with China, made arms control treaties and agreements with the Soviet Union, restrained inflation, lowered the crime rate, accelerated desegregation, and reformed welfare (Richard). However, he was involved in the Watergate Scandal which discredited his name and linked him to shady activities. Nixon was a good president, but because of the Watergate Scandal, Nixon deserves a B-.

Goals: Nixon wanted to focus on foreign affairs. He wanted to“ develop a relationship with China, pursue arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, activate a peace process in the Middle East, restrain inflation, implement anti-crime measures, accelerate desegregation, and reform welfare”. President Nixon and Mrs. Nixon visited China in 1972 and spoke with Chou En-lai. This was the beginning of U.S. relations with China. Nixon made two arms control treaties with the Soviet Union: SALT I and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Nixon tried to help the Middle East make peace. He wanted to prevent war in the Middle East, but the Indo-Pakistani War began anyway (Richard). Nixon did not fight inflation very well in the beginning of his presidency because inflation rose and unemployment soared (Domestic). During Nixon’s presidency the Economic Stabilization Act was passed. This allowed Nixon to limit wage increases, but although wages were controlled, inflation was not affected. But, Nixon eventually solved the inflation problem by passing many government regulations (Richard). To stop crime in the U.S., Nixon increased the “manpower of Federal enforcement and prosecution agencies,” proposed new legislation, and gave federal financial aid to State and local criminal justice systems--a forerunner of revenue sharing--was greatly expanded through Administration budgeting and Congressional appropriations (State). Nixon used the Philadelphia Plan to integrate African Americans into schools. During his presidency, the Equal Rights Amendment, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, and Title X were passed (Richard). Nixon also wanted to aid Americans and hoped to reform welfare. During Nixon’s presidency, the amount of money given to Americans on Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, and welfare programs increased (Richard).

Relationship with Congress: Nixon, overall, made 43 vetoes (List). But, Nixon passed the Wage Price Controls, Environmental Protection Acts, Consumer Product Safety Act, and ratified the twenty-sixth amendment. Nixon did not have a good relationship with Congress. “He lashed out at the Senate for refusing to go along with his Southern appointees to the Supreme Court. He campaigned harshly against Democratic candidates in the congressional elections. He allowed his Vice President to attack "permissivists" and "radic-libs" in Congress, apparently including some liberal and moderate Republicans. He personally joined the battle for some of his key programs, such as welfare reform and revenue sharing, only when it was much too late—and then he blistered Congress for not acting on them. Even the new Republican National Chairman, Kansas Senator Robert Dole, used to complain about the poor liaison; as many as 80 telephone calls at a time from Congressmen and Senators would go unanswered by White House aides (Nation). This example shows that Nixon had a very poor relationship with Congress. Positive Action: The most positive action of the Nixon administration was that Nixon restrained inflation and boosted the economy. Nixon passed Wage-Control prices and supported revenue sharing. “Nixon completely eradicated the gold standard, preventing other countries from being able to claim gold in exchange for their dollar reserves, but also weakening the exchange rate of the dollar against other currencies and increasing inflation by driving up the cost of imports. Other parts of the Nixon plan included the reimposition of a 10% investment tax credit, assistance to the automobile industry in the form of removal of excise taxes (provided the savings were passed directly to the consumer), an end to fixed exchange rates, devaluation of the dollar on the free market, and a 10% tax on all imports into the U.S. Income per family rose, and unionization declined” (Richard). By restraining deflation, Nixon saved American jobs and the American economy.

Negative Action: Nixon’s most negative and most memorable action was the Watergate Scandal. “On June 17, 1972, five agents of the Committee to Reelect the President, were arrested in the act of burglarizing the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. Inside Democratic Headquarters, Nixon campaign officials had installed eavesdropping devices (DeGregorio.) This was a really low move performed by Nixon to be reelected. This showed that the American president would stoop to any level to be reelected. The Watergate Scandal made Americans distrust Nixon. The United States will always need a President that they can trust.

Influential Decision: Nixon left a message that no president is above the law after the Watergate Scandal. Nixon showed future presidents to tread carefully and legally. Nixon taught future presidents to be honest and noble, unlike him. From him, future presidents also learned to not burglarize their opposing party’s headquarters and get caught.

Conclusion: Nixon was a good president because he developed a relationship with China, made arms control treaties and agreements with the Soviet Union, restrained inflation, lowered the crime rate, accelerated desegregation, and reformed welfare (Richard). However, he was involved in the Watergate Scandal which discredited his name and linked him to shady activities. Nixon was a good president, but because of the Watergate Scandal, Nixon deserves a B-. Overall the country was better off because of his presidency, but Americans lost their trust in him after the Watergate Scandal. A good president would think of his country before himself.

__ Bibliography: __ DeGregorio, William. __The Complete Book of__ __U.S.__ __Presidents__. Fort Lee: Barricade. 2005. “Domestic Affairs.” 2009. __American President.__ 24 December 2009 . "List of United States Presidents Vetoes." 13 November. __Wikipedia.__ 19 November < [[ [] ? q=cache:EhTy0UNbxjIJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_ States_presidential_vetoes+bills+Cleveland+passed+or+vetoed&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us| [] ? q=cache:EhTy0UNbxjIJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes+bills+Cleveland+passed+or+vetoed&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us]]>. “Richard Nixon.” 24 December 2009. __Wikipedia.__ 24 December 2009 . Woolley, John T., Peters, Gerhard. “Richard Nixon: State of the Union Message.” // The American Presidency Project // //__.__// 24 December 2009< []>. “The Nation: The Coming Battle Between President and Congress.” 1 February 1971. __Time.__ 24 December 2009 .