Richard Nixon: Life and Career of the US President

Richard Nixon is best known today for the explosive Watergate affair.

• Childhood and youth of

  Richard Nixon

  found in

  Yorba Linda, California

  instead

• His

  political career

  includes serving as

  Vice President

  and

  President of the United States

• His

  resignation

  from the presidency and the

  Watergate scandal

  are still linked to his name to this day

Richard Nixon

(* 9.1.1913, † 22.4.1994) was the

37th President of the United States

and is best known today for the explosive

Watergate affair

.

He was a member of the

Republican Party

and is the only US president to date to step down from office.

Nevertheless, Richard Nixon also celebrated numerous successes during his tenure, especially with his

foreign policy

.

Richard Nixon - Life and Family

Richard Nixon

was born in Yorba Linda in the US state of

California

.

His parents, Francis Anthony Nixon (* December 3, 1878, † 1956) and Hannah Milhous Nixon (* March 7, 1885, † 1967) raised their son in the spirit of

evangelical Quakerism

.

The family followed a

lifestyle abstinent

from

alcohol

and frowned on gambling, dancing and swearing.

Nixon's father owned his own grocery and gasoline store, which he built himself.

Richard Nixon had

four brothers

, two of whom died of tuberculosis at a young age.

His

wife

Patricia Ryan

(* March 16, 1912, † June 22, 1993) met Richard Nixon in 1938 in an

amateur theater

.

She was a high school teacher in Whittier at the time and married him on June 21, 1940 at the Mission Inn in Riverside.

The marriage of the two had

two daughters

: Patricia Nixon (* February 21, 1946) and Julie Nixon (* July 25, 1948).

Patricia has been married to Edward F. Cox since 1971.

Julie is married to a grandson of Dwight D. Eisenhower (born October 14, 1890, † 1969).

The study and training of Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

attended Fullerton High School, where he received high honors from the Harvard Club of California.

This

Harvard Prize

would have paid all the tuition fees for Harvard University, but the family could not afford the additional costs because of the sick brothers.

Instead of Harvard, Nixon therefore attended Quaker

Whittier College

, where he founded his

own fraternity

.

After graduating from college in second class, he began

studying law at Duke University

.

An unpunished break-in into the dean's office was later

dubbed "Nixon's first break-

in."

Richard Nixon passed the exam at Duke University with flying colors in third

class

.

Since it was difficult to find a job in the New York law firms during the Great Depression, he began working in a small Californian law firm.

During

World War II

, Nixon served in the

US Navy as a supply officer

in the Pacific War.

He rose to

Lieutenant Commander

and met his future Secretary of State William P. Rogers (* 23.6.1913, † 2.1.2001) know.

Richard Nixon's political career

In

1946

,

Richard Nixon

made it

to Congress as a

Republican

candidate

.

His clear and convincing

campaign speeches

and the sympathies of the working class of democratic voters

helped him to achieve this

.

His

anti-communist engagement

brought him to the committee for un-American activities.

In a spectacular hearing during which a former State Department employee was

suspected

of

espionage for the Soviet Union

, he stood up for the sole witness.

The witness had become involved in contradictions and was in danger of being charged with perjury himself.

Nixon personally ensured that the witness remained unpunished and was able to make a significant contribution to the conviction of the alleged spy.

This

process

made Richard Nixon famous nationwide.

In

1951

, Richard Nixon was elected

Senator from California

.

For his election campaign, he did not shy away from defaming competitors as sympathizers of the Communists, which contributed significantly to his victory.

The move earned him the

nickname "Tricky Dick"

.

Richard Nixon as Vice President

From 1953 to 1961

Richard Nixon was

the

Vice President of

the USA under

Dwight D. Eisenhower

.

Even during this time he had to defend himself against

allegations of corruption

.

The presidential election in 1960 brought him a

narrow defeat

against

John F. Kennedy

(* May 29, 1917, † November 22, 1963).

His subsequent declaration that he would withdraw from politics was soon revised.

Instead, he ran again in 1968 for

president

and won the election on November 5, 1968 with 43.4 percent of the vote and 301 electoral votes.

Richard Nixon as President of the USA

The

presidency

of

Richard Nixon

lasted from

1969 bis 1974

.

During his time as Vice-President he had developed an aversion to the usual cabinet meetings there.

As a result, he endeavored to rule largely himself with the help of his advisors.

One of his greatest tasks was the

Vietnam War

, which was still active when he took office

.

Instead of

supporting the

peace negotiations

that have already begun, as promised

, he and his advisors secretly held talks with South Vietnam in order to torpedo these peace negotiations.

At the same time, the war was extended to the neighboring states of

Cambodia

and

Laos

.

The Vietnam War only ended after Nixon's resignation.

Nixon established several agencies during his tenure.

One of these was the

United States

Environmental Protection Agency.

He set a

quota

for the employment of minorities and women on government contracts.

His

"war on drugs" was

directed under the guise of combating drugs against African Americans and against the left war opponents.

In fiscal policy terms, the US gave up

gold backing for

its currency in

1971

.

Richard Nixon involved in the Watergate scandal and resignation

The

Watergate affair

began in the

Washington

Watergate complex.

This was the

headquarters of the Democratic Party

in the early 1970s

.

On the night of June 17, 1972, five intruders were arrested in this building.

They tried to hide bug bugs and take photos of documents.

The event appeared to be linked to the

presidential election

planned for November 1972

, when

Richard Nixon

wanted to run for the Republican Party.

Before the suspicion became public, Nixon was able to win the election with over 60 percent of the vote.

The

FBI's

extensive

investigations

gradually revealed other crimes and offenses committed on behalf of the White House.

Richard Nixon refused to assist the investigation and tried to obstruct it by all means.

The House of Representatives then initiated

impeachment proceedings

.

More than two thirds of the senators supported this process.

On August

9, 1974

, Richard Nixon

resigned

to forestall the trial.

End of life of Richard Nixon

Only about a month after his resignation,

Richard Nixon was

unconditionally pardoned by Gerald Ford (* July 14, 1913, † December 26, 2006).

This

pardon

applied to "all violations against the United States that he, Richard Nixon, has committed, or may have committed, or in which he was involved".

It was extremely controversial.

Gerald Ford was the Vice President of the United States prior to resigning.

With the resignation of Richard Nixon, he automatically became the

38th President of the United States

.

Nixon was

seriously ill

at the time

.

He also had

to contend

with numerous

civil law suits by

his opponents and with his

expulsion from the state

bar associations.

His financial situation was correspondingly difficult.

He also wrote several books in which he presented his political views and experiences:

• "Memoirs"

• "This is how we lose peace - the 3rd World War has already begun"

• "Autobiography"

• "Real Peace - A Strategy for the West"

• "Statesmen of Our Time - Political Profiles and Personal Encounters"

In 1985 he was confirmed as an external member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts.

Richard Nixon died on April 22, 1994 of complications from a

stroke

.

He was buried in Yorba Linda without an official state funeral.