Richard Nixon Research Paper

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Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States of America from 1969-1974. He came from a poor, hardworking, lower-class family. His family was in the Quaker religion and they refrained from alcohol, dancing, and swearing. Nixon moved to California, where he went to elementary school through college. After graduating from Whittier College and attending Duke he got into politics. He worked many political jobs throughout his career. His biggest one came as the President. Throughout his career in politics, Nixon was continually faced with scandal and allegations that forever shaped the political landscape of the U.S. He resigned from office due to the famous Watergate scandal. It involved wiretapping of people in the …show more content…

His competition was Helen Douglas, a former actress, woman and liberal. One candidate, Sheridan Downey, withdrew in the primaries. This election was full of name-calling and backstabbing and is still regarded as one of the dirtiest campaigns in history. The year 1950 was a time of distress for America as the Korean War began, the Communists completed their takeover of China and the U.S. military went into South Vietnam. The race was mostly fought over communism and what to do about it. Nixon, a Republican, defeated Democrat Helen Douglas. Both Nixon and Douglas accused each other of voting with Marcantonio, who was accused of being pro-communism. The newspapers added fuel to the political fire by giving them both nicknames. Nixon was “Tricky Dick” and Douglas was “The Pink Lady”. Nixon smeared Douglas as a Communist claiming she was “pink right down to her underwear.” Fundraising was a major problem for Douglas while Nixon had the support of then President Truman. Nixon put out a pink sheet comparing the voting records of Douglas, Marcantonio, and Nixon. It showed that Douglas and Marcantonio voted for the same things while Nixon did not. Nixon really put away Douglas when he gained support from sixty-four important democrats. Douglas tried one more big advertisement to defeat Nixon by saying he was a liar. Nixon responded by saying that Douglas never denied voting with Marcantonio. Nixon ended up winning easily by 20 percent. This election would help him jump into the national

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