Why Is Richard Nixon Important

Born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California, Richard Nixon was one of the most influential and controversial politicians of the 20th century. From the small corporation office to the White House, Nixon touched the lives of millions of Americans, even though some may not have been grateful for it afterwards. He grew up in Whittier where he lived until after graduating from the small Whittier College to go study law at Duke University, graduating in 1937. From then on, Nixon would make sure the world knew his name and his ideas. Nixon’s life of politics was extremely influential from beginning to end, starting during his service in law and the army, state government, Congress, and last but not least, the White House. After graduating from Duke, Nixon worked for a little bit as a town council and corporate tax lawyer. In 1942 he moved across the country to pursue his dreams in Washington D.C., although they wouldn’t be fully achieved until many years later. He got a job in the Office of Price Administration, which he didn’t keep for very long because he joined the Navy that same year to fight in WWII. Like many men his age, Nixon
had a fondness for playing poker. The money he made in these games would interestingly enough help him fund his presidential campaign. At the end of his service in the army, he moved back to D.C. and picked up his political dreams again. He ran for a seat in the House of Representatives in 1946 and won. His campaigning methods involved labeling his opponent a communist, which he later did the same in several of his other campaigns, including the 1950 Senator of California. (O’Brien) While holding a seat in the House, Nixon took part in the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
In this committee, Nixon helped to investigate Alger Hiss, a foreign policy advisor to Franklin Roosevelt. Hiss was accused of spying, specifically passing secret State Department documents to the Soviet Union. With the help of Nixon, one of the few people who believed the allegations against Hiss, Whittaker Chambers successfully convicted Hiss for perjury. This trial gained Nixon a lot of recognition for being a huge anti-communist and for helping to stop a spy. Before he even started looking to the presidency, Nixon made a huge impact on America and the rest of the world. After serving in Congress in both the House and Senate, and the Alger Hiss trial under his wing, Nixon embarked on his long journey to sitting in the Oval
Office. In 1952, Richard Nixon and Dwight D. Eisenhower went neck in neck for the republican nomination. It was a very close race for a while, but eventually Eisenhower won the Republican nomination and went on to win the presidency. Nixon lost the nomination for something that he had a bad habit of creating: controversy. There were several questions surrounding where the money came from for his campaign. Although it was a disappointment to lose his first time around, he served as Eisenhower’s VP for 8 years and was able to do a lot with his foreign policy ideas. He was Eisenhower’s good-will ambassador to the world. (p.c) “Nixon tried hard to make something significant of the vice presidency, claiming more importance for his trips abroad than they merited” (Commire). He worked very hard to try and make a difference with American Foreign Policy, but it was hard in his limited position. In 1960 Nixon tried again for the presidency, winning the Republican nomination and running against John F. Kennedy for the presidency. Eisenhower was once again extremely unhelpful when it came to Nixon’s campaign. When asked by the press about the decision’s Nixon said he had experience making, Eisenhower said that he never had to make any, greatly damaging his campaign. Trying to do everything he could to win, Nixon agreed to debate Kennedy on live television. This decision was probably the biggest mistake he made during his campaign. He had traveled to as many states as he could and was exhausted and unenthusiastic during this debate. When it came time for voters to pick, Nixon narrowly lost the election to the charismatic John F. Kennedy. After this extremely difficult loss, Nixon retreated back home to Los Angeles, and he decided to try for governor of California in 1962. Since he was out of touch with California issues and tired of campaigning, Nixon lost to Governor Edmund G. Brown, a man Nixon would have crushed earlier in his career. (Commire)
The road Nixon traveled from 1952 to 1962 was extremely difficult and demeaning to both his political career and his confidence. After the loss for governor, it was believed that Nixon was retiring from politics and going back to law. Nixon agreed to a final press interview with reporters, seemingly saying farewell to politics. However, the interview took a different turn when Nixon accused the press of an ‘anti-Nixon’ bias, leaving the nation with something less influential than his achievements to think about during the next 6 years. Throughout his leave of absence from politics, the Republican party struggled to submit a worthy opponent to the Democrats in the presidential and congressional elections. In 1968, the nation was split down the middle over the Vietnam war and whether or not America should be involved. Nixon, seeing his opportunity to utilize his experience with foreign policy, re-claimed the Republican nomination, and created the greatest political comeback of all time. (O’Brien)