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January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994 Political Affiliation: Republican Term One: 1969-1973 Vice President: Spiro Agnew Term Two: 1973-1974 Vice President: Gerald Ford
 * Richard M. Nixon **

** Thesis ** Richard Nixon was a very controversial president in the later part of the twentieth century. While in office he oversaw a large part of the Vietnam War and also opened up a new friendship with the Chinese and helped improve relations with the U.S.S.R. He took many measures for the environment, successfully ended the draft and was in office during the first moon landing. On another note however he made many under-handed maneuvers in attempts of furthering his own goals and undermined the American people’s faith in government. The Watergate Scandal first exposed this and after investigation, secret Cambodian bombings righteously hurt his reputation. While Nixon may have done several positive things for the country he did not uphold his obligations to the country. For these things I believe Richard Nixon deserves a "C-" as the 37th president of the United States.

One of the primary goals of Nixon while he was in office was reconciliation between both the anti-war and pro-war activists. The country was drastically divided at this time between the counterculture and all of those that saw the Vietnam War as a severe waste of lives and resources, and those that saw it as the containment of Communism. Nixon came into office while the conflict between the two groups was at its peak as the last stand of the counterculture at Woodstock was in the works for later that year. Nixon thus persued the goal of complete Vietnamization. This was an attempt to remove all American troops and instead have the Vietnamese fight the war without the aid of a strong American military force. This was a slow process but nonetheless lead to American removal from the highly controversial war. Nixon also had many plans for the environment in hopes of winning over some moderate Democrats. He passed the National Environmental Policy Act. With this act there were new regulations put on pollutants put into the air, the National Park Program, protection of endangered species, pesticides and very strong restrictions placed upon ocean dumping. While this act in itself was an incredibly beneficial measure, it did not help him politically for Democrats and environmentalists alike wanted more and upstaged him on many measures. After he was faced with this he changed his politics again and began to support a more conservative domestic agenda. He supported strong industrial polluters and opposed further change after his election was won in 1972. Nixon did however improve relations with China and the U.S.S.R. He visited with Chairman Mao to discuss relations and afterwards opened the doors of isolationist China for the first time in over 20 years. This can be seen as both a positive and a negative. As a positive when Nixon worked with China he helped the détente of the Cold War. American relations with all Communist countries during the years of Nixon’s presidency were still very strained and the threat of nuclear attack still very real. It was a necessary measure in creating a more peaceful world between Democracy and Communism. However, we can still see the effects of this on the American economy today. The vast majority of Americans consume thousands of products made in China every year in lieu of American products made in American factories. This sends American money to China instead of keeping it internal and helping our own economy, as well as taking job opportunities away from able bodied Americans. It is a fact that Americans import far more than we export, and in order for an economy to flourish it must be the other way around. Nixon also helped with American-Soviet relations. By discussing matters with the Chinese, Nixon intimidated the Soviet Union. The Soviets and the Chinese already had distinct differences on the principles of Marxism. The Soviets found themselves following Marxism more fundamentally while the Chinese sought to follow it politically but not completely economically. In fear of a United Chinese and American front the Soviets were eager to make agreements with the Americans in order to level the playing field ensure that nothing strongly negative would come out of it. The Soviets ended up signing the Seabed Treaty as well as several other countries from around the world. This banned the placement of nuclear weapons from being placed below international waters. This was probably one of the largest steps made in detente to that date. Richard Nixon’s Congressional Relationship ** Nixon’s administration saw the first Republican sweep of both the House and the Senate for the first time in 41 years. He had the strong support of both houses of Congress for the vast majority of his presidency. With this support he was able to pass many pieces of legislation and veto many bills without strong fear of those decisions being overruled by Congress. Just as FDR years before him he reaped the benefits of a powerful executive branch due to the support of two branches of government. He also appointed several justices to the Supreme Court which gave him the support on that field also. He lost that support however with the Watergate Scandal. After this came to light many people in his administration including his vice president resigned. Several congressional representatives also stepped down. He lost the faith of the American people with this move and gave Gerald Ford a difficult position when Nixon himself left office. His lost even more support when people discovered that he had been secretly bombing Cambodia as well. For the majority of Nixon’s presidency he had much support, but as soon as his corruption was exposed it left him as quickly as it had come.
 * Richard Nixon’s Goals in Office **

Nixon did a lot of things during the years that he held office. The most positive outcomes of his presidency by far though had to be his foreign policy. He made strong moves to open the doors of isolationist China and in turn made agreements with the Soviet Union. These agreements were the foundation upon which current relations are based. He passed several treaties with them that greatly aided détente. One of these was the Seabed Treaty that banned nuclear arms placement in international waters. He also took measures such as Vietnamization. This was incredibly important because it helped with domestic popularity. The country was highly divided over the Vietnam conflict and it was starting to come to a head. He brought many Americans home and appeased the anti-war activists. Opening the door to China also was a very positive outcome. By doing this he showed the world what was going on in China as no one had seen it in over 20 years and again, it greatly aided détente. Nixon was a hypocrite many times over. This is clearly seen in his stance on the environment. He undermined the faith of the American people with the Watergate Scandal and made acts of war against Cambodia even with the direct disapproval of Congress. The Watergate Scandal was when Nixon wiretapped the Democratic headquarters and tried to sabotage the Democratic candidate in the upcoming election. He also had audio recording tapes in his office and he recorded all people that spoke in the oval office without their consent. When this was discovered he refused to release the tapes and it took a Supreme Court ruling to get the tapes out of him. Even when he did release the tapes very large portions were missing which proceeded to put Nixon in the lowest point of his approval rating. When impeachment charges were pressed he resigned a failure as both the president and as a disgrace to the office.
 * Positive Outcomes of the Nixon Administration **
 * Negative Outcomes of the Nixon Administration **

Nixon did many things for foreign relations and did many things positive for the country all negatives aside. However, Nixon destroyed the faith of Americans in the office of Presidency and inevitably led to the rising of the ultra-conservative New Right. He lied to members of the Supreme Court and tried to steal his election through sabotage of the opposing party. In full despite the good of Richard Nixon I personally feel that the bad far outweighs it. For these reasons I give Richard Nixon a “C-“ as the 37th president of the United States.
 * Conclusion **

 Kennedy, David M. Cohen, Lizabeth Bailey, Thomas A.. __The American Pageant__. Boston: Houghon Mifflin, 2002. DeGregorio, William A.. __The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents__. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009.
 * Works Cited**

"Richard Nixon". Encyclopedia of the World Biography. 5-26-10 .

"Nixon's China Game". PBS: The American Experience. 5-26-10 .

"Richard M. Nixon". The White House. 5-27-10 .