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U.S Presidents — Richard M. Nixon

OVERVIEW Name: Richard M. Nixon President: # 37 Term Number(s): 46, 47 Term Length: 5.6 Took Office: January 20, 1969 Left Office: August 09, 1974 Age when Elected: 56 Party: Republican Also Known As: "Tricky Dick" BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION Education: Whittier College (B.A.), Duke University School of Law (LL.B.) Occupation: Lawyer Other Governmental Position: 36th Vice President of the United States, United States Senator from California, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 12th District. Military Service: Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy Religion: Quaker Spouse(s): Thelma Catherine Ryan Nixon (June 21, 1940) Children: Tricia Nixon Cox, Julie Nixon Eisenhower Birthdate: January 09, 1913 Birthplace: Yorba Linda, California Deathdate: April 22, 1994 Deathplace: New York City, New York Age at Death: 81 Cause of Death: stroke Place of Internment: Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California Signature FIRST ELECTION Election Year: 1968 Main Opponent: Hubert Humphrey Voter Participation: 60.60%   Electoral Popular States Click for larger image Winner 301 (56.10%) 31,783,783 (43.40%) 32 Main Opponent 191 (35.5%) 31,271,839 (42.70%) 13+DC total 538 73,199,998 50+DC SECOND ELECTION Election Year: 1972 Main Opponent: George McGovern Voter Participation: 55.20%   Electoral Popular States Click for larger image Winner 520 (96.60%) 47,168,710 (60.70%) 49 Main Opponent 17 (3.16%) 47,168,710 (37.50%) 1+DC total 538 77,744,027 50+DC CABINET AND COURT APPOINTMENTS Vice President: Spiro Agnew, vacant, Gerald Ford Secretary of State: William P. Rogers (1969–1973), Henry Kissinger (1973–1974) Secretary of the Treasury: David M. Kennedy (1969–1971), John Connally (1971–1972), George Shultz (1972–1974), William Simon (1974) Secretary of Defense: Melvin R. Laird (1969–1973), Elliot Richardson (1973), James Schlesinger (1973–1974) Secretary of the Interior: Walter Joseph Hickel (1969–1971), Rogers Morton (1971–1974) Secretary of Agriculture: Clifford M. Hardin (1969–1971), Earl Butz (1971–1974) Secretary of Commerce: Maurice Stans (1969–1972), Peter Peterson (1972–1973), Frederick B. Dent (1973–1974) Secretary of Labor: George Shultz (1969–1970), James D. Hodgson (1970–1973), Peter J. Brennan (1973–1974) Secretary of Health & Human Services: Robert Finch (1969–1970), Elliot Richardson (1970–1973), Caspar Weinberger (1973–1974) Secretary of Housing & Urban Development: George W. Romney (1969–1973), James Thomas Lynn (1973–1974) Secretary of Transportation: John A. Volpe (1969–1973), Claude Brinegar (1973–1974) Attorney General: John N. Mitchell (1969–1972), Richard Kleindienst (1972–1973), Elliot Richardson (1973), William B. Saxbe (1974) Postmaster General: Winton M. Blount (1969–1971) Supreme Court Assignments: Warren E. Burger (1969), Harry Andrew Blackmun (1970), Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. (1972), William Rehnquist (1972) PRESIDENT'S BIOGRAPHY Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Vietnam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. Nixon's election in 1968 had climaxed an unusual career on two counts: his early success and his comeback after being defeated for president in 1960 and for governor of California in 1962. Born in California in 1913, Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law. In 1940, he married Patricia Ryan; they had two daughters, Patricia (Tricia) and Julie. During World War II, Nixon served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific. On leaving the service, he was elected to Congress from his California district. In 1950, Nixon won a Senate seat. Two years later, General Eisenhower selected Nixon, age 39, to be his running mate. As vice president, Nixon took on major duties in the Eisenhower administration. Nominated for president by acclamation in 1960, he lost by a narrow margin to John F. Kennedy. In 1968, he again won his party's nomination, and went on to defeat Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and third-party candidate George C. Wallace. His accomplishments while in office included revenue sharing, the end of the draft, new anticrime laws, and a broad environmental program. As he had promised, he appointed justices of conservative philosophy to the Supreme Court. One of the most dramatic events of his first term occurred in 1969, when American astronauts made the first moon landing. Some of his most acclaimed achievements came in his quest for world stability. During visits in 1972 to Beijing and Moscow, he reduced tensions with China and the U.S.S.R. His summit meetings with Russian leader Leonid I. Brezhnev produced a treaty to limit strategic nuclear weapons. In January 1973, he announced an accord with North Vietnam to end American involvement in Indochina. In 1974, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger negotiated disengagement agreements between Israel and its opponents, Egypt and Syria. In his 1972 bid for office, Nixon defeated Democratic candidate George McGovern by one of the widest margins on record. Within a few months, the Nixon administration was embattled over the so-called "Watergate" scandal, stemming from a break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee during the 1972 campaign. The break-in was traced to officials of the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP). A number of administration officials resigned; some were later convicted of offenses connected with efforts to cover up the affair. Nixon denied any personal involvement, but the courts forced him to yield tape recordings which indicated that he had, in fact, tried to divert the investigation. As a result of unrelated scandals in Maryland, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in 1973. Nixon nominated, and Congress approved, House Minority Leader Gerald R. Ford as vice president. Faced with what seemed almost certain impeachment, Nixon announced on August 8, 1974, that he would resign the next day to begin "that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America." In his last years, Nixon gained praise as an elder statesman. By the time of his death on April 22, 1994, he had written numerous books on his experiences in public life and on foreign policy. FIRST LADY'S BIOGRAPHY Thelma Catherine Ryan Nixon Born Thelma Catherine Ryan on March 16, 1912, in Ely, Nevada, "Pat" acquired her nickname within hours. Her father, William Ryan, called her his "St. Patrick's babe in the morn" when he came home from the mines before dawn. Soon the family moved to California and settled on a small truck farm near Los Angeles—a life of hard work with few luxuries. Her mother, Kate Halberstadt Bender Ryan, died in 1925; at 13, Pat assumed all the household duties for her father and two older brothers. At 18, she lost her father after nursing him through months of illness. Left on her own and determined to continue her education, she worked her way through the University of Southern California. Pat held part-time jobs on campus, as a sales clerk in a fashionable department store, and as an extra in the movies. She graduated cum laude in 1937. Pat accepted a position as a high-school teacher in Whittier; and there she met Richard Nixon, who had come home from Duke University Law School to establish a practice. They became acquainted at a Little Theater group when they were cast in the same play, and were married on June 21, 1940. During World War II, Mrs. Nixon worked as a government economist while he served in the Navy. She campaigned at his side in 1946 when he entered politics, running successfully for Congress, and afterward. Within six years she saw Mr. Nixon elected to the House, the Senate, and the vice presidency on the ticket with Dwight D. Eisenhower. Despite the demands of official life, the Nixons were devoted parents to their two daughters, Tricia (Mrs. Edward Cox), and Julie (Mrs. David Eisenhower). A tireless campaigner when he ran unsuccessfully for president in 1960, Mrs. Nixon was at her husband's side when he ran again in 1968—and won. She had once remarked succinctly, "It takes heart to be in political life." Pat Nixon used her position as first lady to encourage volunteer service, "the spirit of people helping people." She invited hundreds of families to nondenominational Sunday services in the East Room. She instituted a series of performances by artists in varied American traditions, from opera to bluegrass. Mrs. Nixon took quiet pride in adding 600 paintings and antiques to the White House Collection. She had shared her husband's journeys abroad in his vice presidential years, and she continued the practice during his presidency. Her travels included the historic visit to the People's Republic of China and the summit meetings in the Soviet Union. Her first solo trip was a journey of compassion to take relief supplies to earthquake victims in Peru. Later she visited Africa and South America with the unique diplomatic standing of Personal Representative of the President. Mrs. Nixon met the troubled days of Watergate with dignity. "I love my husband," she said, "I believe in him, and I am proud of his accomplishments." She died at home in Park Ridge, New Jersey, on June 22, 1993. Her husband followed her in death ten months later. She and the former president are buried at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. MAJOR EVENTS 1969: Neil Armstrong is the first man to walk on the moon. 1970: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is created. 1971: The Twenty-sixth Amendment is ratified, giving the right to vote to 18-year-olds. 1972: Watergate break-in occurs. 1972: Salt 1 (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) Agreement, an agreement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to limit nuclear arms. 1972: Nixon visits China, significantly improving relations. 1973: Vietnam War ends. 1973: Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigns. 1974: Nixon resigns due to Watergate scandal. TRIVIA 1. Richard Nixon was the first president to resign from office. 2. Nixon was in Dallas, Texas, on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. 3. Nixon was the first president to visit China and all 50 states during his tenure.