Richard Nixon Essays (556 words) - Richard Nixon, American Quakers

Richard Nixon I am writing a report on a significant person in U.S. history. The person I chose is Richard Nixon, the thirty-seventh president of the United States. Richard Milhous Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California in 1913. His Father, Frank Nixon, had many failing businesses that took the family different places. His mother, Hannah Nixon, had two boys before Richard. They both died young After high school, Nixon attended Duke University to study law. He tried twice to become class president. Finally he succeeded. Soon after his college schooling, Nixon enrolled in the Navy. War broke out and he was sent to fight. He was stationed at Green Island however; he never saw any combat action. He was a ration distributor. When discharged, he had acquired the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Soon after discharge he was brought into politics. His stance of anti-communism made him well respected. Good in debates, Nixon was a shoe-in. Soon he began his political struggle. He challenged Jerry Voorhis for a district seat in the California House of Representatives. Amazingly, he won. After acquiring some political power, he decided to move up more. He soon set his sights on the U.S. Senate. He defeated the expected senator; Ms. Helen Douglas. Since he won the senate he set his eyes on a bigger prize; vice president was his next goal. He was voted in with President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He went through many political high points, such as the Caracas Mob incident, where Nixon was taken hostage. The Kitchen Debate, noted as a high point for Nixon, where he and the Russian leader, Nikita S. Khrushchev, discussed issues in a kitchen. With Eisenhower he served two terms. Nixon's next goal was to become the President of the United States. In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Nixon ran for presidency. As it turned out, Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson won by only 120,000 votes which isn't much in this type of race. It was believed Kennedy bought Texas and Illinois. Johnson soon became president after Kennedy's assassination. Now Nixon would try presidency once more. Nixon beat Hubert Humphrey with some political strategy. He told the citizens of the U.S. he would stop the war in Vietnam and make it better. In the long run he made it worse. He would be, soon, our first president to resign. It was when Nixon pulled off a huge upset for his second term. At first, nobody thought anything of it. Burglars broke into the Watergate Hotel stealing Democratic plans. Soon tempers rose, and fingers started to point at Nixon. He was becoming angry and short-fused. While they were drafting articles of impeachment, Nixon resigned to escape impeachment. It became to be one of the most embarrassing moments in U.S. history. After leaving office he lived a secluded life with his family in California. On April 22,1994, former President Nixon dies. I liked this book because of the way they illustrate his life through pictures. It was also informative and it provided me with a better feel on Nixon. I knew he was a president but I did not know what he did while in office. I learned that Nixon didn't want segregation to end and that Nixon played such a big part in Watergate. History Essays