Richard M. Nixon (1969-1974)
Serving as president from 1969 until his resignation in 1974, Nixon (January 09, 1913 - April 22, 1994) also served as the thirty-sixth Vice President of the United States in the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961. Nixon is the only person to be elected twice to the offices of the presidency and the vice presidency, and is the only president to have resigned the office. During the Second World War, he served as a Navy lieutenant commander in the Pacific, before being elected to the Congress, and later serving as Vice President. After an unsuccessful presidential run in 1960, Nixon was elected in 1968.
Under President Nixon, the United States followed a foreign policy marked by détente with the Soviet Union and by the opening of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Domestically, his administration faced resistance to the Vietnam War. As a result of the Watergate scandal, Nixon resigned the presidency in the face of likely impeachment by the United States House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. His successor, Gerald Ford, issued a controversial pardon for any federal crimes Nixon may have committed.¹
Quotes
"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.""I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body. But as president I must put the interests of America first Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow."
"Let us begin by committing ourselves to the truth to see it like it is, and tell it like it is, to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth."
"Once you get into this great stream of history, you can't get out."
Noteworthy Sites
- ¹ Richard M. Nixon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Books on Richard M. Nixon
- Richard Nixon Posters & Prints
- Biography of Richard M. Nixon
- Essays on Richard Milhous Nixon and His Administration
- Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace Foundation
"An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." ~ Benjamin Franklin
read more
If you would like to read more about history and the presidents, visit our history bookstore.
... a thousand words
Bring history and education to life with posters and art prints in the following categories:
- U.S. Presidents
- Political Science
- Space Exploration
- Literature
- Military & Warfare
- Geography
- Activists
- Science
- Educational
"To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting." ~ Edmund Burke