A Rugged Resignation: An Analytical Review of Richard Nixon’s Resignation Address

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Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th president of the United States, is perhaps one of the most remembered president in American history… but not for the best of reasons. After growing up in a financially unstable family in Yorba Linda, California, Nixon studied law throughout his adolescence, unaware of the future ahead of him (“The Life”). As a hopeful young politician, Richard Nixon focused on strengthening the nation on both domestic and, primarily, foreign terms. Despite his successes in foreign policy, Richard Milhous Nixon’s presidency took a turn for the worse in 1972 with the breaking of the famous Watergate Scandal and, subsequently, his resignation. Due to the pressure of this incident, Richard Nixon left a legacy as the first president to resign despite his attempt in his resignation address to convince the nation that the Watergate Scandal is in the past.
Richard Nixon was a part of both the House of Representatives and Senate, and he served as Dwight D. Eisenhower’s vice president for eight years. Although he sought presidency in previous elections, it wasn’t until the election of 1968 that he was elected as president against Democrat, Hubert Humphrey. With this position underway, Nixon was committed to ending war in Vietnam ("Richard Nixon- Brief Biography"). His first term was primarily spent deliberating on how to end the situation, and it was this dedication that got him elected to a second term in 1972. The year following his election, he pronounced the ending to the Vietnam war with his “Address to the Nation Announcing Conclusion of an Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam” (Ending the Vietnam War: US Department of State). America was thrilled that they could focus on more important things domesti...

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...speech did remind the nation to remember the improvements that needed to be made, his speech was not effective in putting the Watergate Scandal in the past; Nixon will continue to be remembered for his potential impeachment and resignation due to the controversial Watergate Scandal.

Works Cited
Ending the Vietnam War: US Department of State. N.p.. Web. 26 Mar 2014.
"The Life." Nixon Presidential Library & Museum. National Archives and Records Administration. _____Web. 13 Mar 2014.
"Richard Nixon- Brief Biography." Watergate.info. watergate.info, n.d. Web. 13 Mar 2014.
"Watergate Scandal ." History. A&E Television Networks, LLC., n.d. Web. 13 Mar 2014.
"The Watergate Scandal." www.pbs.org. N.p.. Web. 10 Apr 2014.
Wood, Andrew . "The American Jeremiad." Comm 149 Rhetoric and Public Life. San Jose State _____University, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

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