Richard Nixon almost became an FBI agent in the s. Nixon applied to the agency but never heard back about his application. He had been accepted but then budget cuts eliminated his position. Nixon was only 39 years old when he ran for vice president in Nixon survived two potentially fatal political losses in and Defeats in the presidential campaign against John F. Within six years, he was President after winning a hard-fought campaign in At least, that is what Nixon reportedly said after he did a cameo appearance on the show just weeks before the election.
Hubert Humphrey refused to do a similar appearance on the show. Following his return to civilian life, Nixon was approached by a group of Whittier Republicans who encouraged him to run for Congress. Nixon would be up against five-term liberal Democratic Jerry Voorhis, but he took on the challenge head-on.
Nixon's campaign exploited notions about Voorhis's alleged communist sympathies, a tactic that would recur throughout his political life, and it worked, helping Nixon win a seat in the U.
House of Representatives in November There he quickly established a reputation as an internationalist in foreign policy. While many believed Hiss, Nixon took the allegations that Hiss was spying for the Soviet Union to heart. In dramatic testimony before the committee, Hiss vehemently denied the charge and refuted claims made by his accuser, Whittaker Chambers. Nixon brought Hiss to the witness stand, and under stinging cross-examination, Hiss admitted that he had known Chambers, but under a different name.
This brought Hiss a perjury charge and five years in prison, while Nixon's hostile questioning of Hiss during the committee hearings went a long way toward cementing his national reputation as a fervent anti-Communist. Employing his previous successful campaign tactics, Nixon's campaign staff distributed flyers on pink paper unfairly distorting Douglas's voting record as left-wing. For his efforts, The Independent Review , a small Southern California newspaper, nicknamed Nixon "Tricky Dick," a derogatory nickname that would remain with him for the rest of this life.
Nixon's fervent anti-Communist reputation earned him the notice of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Republican Party, who believed he could draw valuable support in the West.
And at the Republican convention in , Nixon won the nomination as vice president. Two months before the November election, the New York Post reported that Nixon had a secret "slush fund" provided by campaign donors for his personal use, and some within Eisenhower's campaign called for removing Nixon from the ticket.
Realizing that he might not win without Nixon, Eisenhower was willing to give Nixon a chance to clear himself. On September 23, , Nixon delivered a nationally televised address in which he acknowledged the existence of the fund but denied that any of it had been used improperly.
He turned the speech back on his political enemies, claiming that unlike the wives of so many Democratic politicians, his wife, Pat, did not own a fur coat but only "a respectable Republican cloth coat. Although Nixon initially thought that the speech had failed, the public responded to what became known as the "Checkers Speech. Stevenson and John Sparkman, and Nixon avoided a full-on political disaster. Between and , Eisenhower suffered a series of illnesses, including a heart attack and a stroke.
Although Nixon held little formal power as vice president, perhaps out of necessity, he expanded the office to an important and prominent post during his two terms. As president of the Senate, he helped ensure the passage of Eisenhower-approved bills, such as the Civil Rights Bill. While the president was incapacitated, Nixon was called on to chair several high-level meetings, though real power lay in a close circle of Eisenhower advisers.
The health scares prompted Eisenhower to formalize an agreement with Nixon on the powers and responsibilities of the vice president in the event of presidential disability; the agreement was accepted by later administrations until the adoption of the 25th Amendment to the U. Constitution in Initially, Nixon's efforts to promote American foreign policy met with mixed results, as he undertook many high-profile foreign trips of goodwill to garner support for American policies during the Cold War.
On one such trip to Caracas, Venezuela, Nixon's motorcade was attacked by anti-American protesters, who pelted his limousine with rocks and bottles. Nixon came out unscathed and remained calm and collected during the incident. On July 24, while touring the exhibits with Soviet General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev , Nixon stopped at a model of an American kitchen and engaged Khrushchev in an impromptu debate.
In a friendly yet determined way, both men argued the merits of capitalism and communism, respectively, as it affected the average American and Soviet housewives. Nixon launched his bid for the presidency in early , facing little opposition in the Republican primaries. His democratic opponent was Massachusetts Senator John F.
Nixon campaigned on his experience, but Kennedy brought a new vitality to the election and called for a new generation of leadership, criticizing the Eisenhower administration for endangering U. Besides defending the administration during the campaign, Nixon advocated for a series of selective tax cuts that would become a core doctrine of Republican economic policy going forward. The presidential campaign proved to be historic in the use of television for advertisements, news interviews and policy debates, something that would play right into Kennedy's youthful hands.
Four debates were scheduled between Nixon and Kennedy, and Nixon had his work cut out for himself from the beginning. During the process, he was recovering from the flu and appeared tired, and then when he arrived at the TV studio, Nixon chose to wear little TV makeup, fearing the press would accuse him of trying to upstage Kennedy's tan, crisp look.
Though he had shaved, Nixon's "five o'clock shadow" appeared through the cameras, and his gray suit blended into the studio's gray background in contrast to Kennedy's tailored dark suit.
Also, Nixon was still sweating out his illness, and his perspiration under the hot studio lights was picked up by the cameras in close-ups as he responded to questions. In short, he never looked half as healthy, young or vibrant as Kennedy. Showing the power of the new visual medium, post-debate polls indicated that while many TV viewers believed Kennedy had won the debates, radio listeners indicated that they thought Nixon had won.
In November , Nixon narrowly lost the presidential election, by only , votes. The Electoral College showed a wider victory for Kennedy, who received votes to Nixon's Though there were some charges of voter fraud in Texas and Illinois and legal papers were filed, subsequent court rulings showed that Kennedy had a greater number of electoral votes even after recounts.
Not wanting to cause a Constitutional crisis, Nixon halted further investigations, later receiving praise for his dignity and professionalism in the face of defeat and suspicion that possible voter fraud had cost him the presidency. Following the election, Nixon returned with his family to California, where he practiced law and wrote a book, Six Crises , which documented his political life as a congressman, senator and vice president.
Nixon was at first reluctant to get into another political battle so soon after his disappointing defeat to Kennedy, but eventually, he decided to run. The campaign did not go well for Nixon, with some observers questioning his sincerity to be governor of California and accusing him of making the election a stepping stone back into national politics. Others felt he just wasn't enthusiastic enough. He lost to Brown by a substantial margin, and many political experts characterized the defeat as the end of Nixon's political career.
He himself said as much, blaming the media for his defeat and lamenting, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore After the California election, Nixon moved his family to New York City, where he continued to practice law and quietly but effectively remade himself as America's "senior statesman. He cultivated support from the Republican base, which respected his knowledge of politics and international affairs.
He also wrote a farsighted article for Foreign Affairs magazine entitled "Asia After Vietnam," which enhanced his reputation. Yet, Nixon agonized over whether to reenter politics and go for another run at the presidency. He consulted friends and respected leaders such as the Reverend Billy Graham for advice. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center.
University of Virginia Miller Center. Richard Nixon: Impact and Legacy. Breadcrumb U. Richard Nixon Essays Life in Brief. Life Before the Presidency. Campaigns and Elections. Domestic Affairs. Foreign Affairs. Life After the Presidency.
Family Life. Impact and Legacy Current Essay. In-Depth Exhibits Scroll left to right to view a selection of exhibits. Nixon and the Pentagon Papers. Three little words.
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