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The 1960s in America

Richard M. Nixon

by Glenn L. Swygart

One of the dominant U.S. political leaders from 1947 to 1974. The zenith of Nixon’s life and career was his election in November, 1968, as the thirty-seventh president of the United States.

Early Life

Richard Milhous Nixon was raised in Whittier, California. In 1934, he graduated from Whittier College and in 1937 received his law degree from Duke University Law School. Nixon enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and served as a naval officer in the Pacific theater during World War II. Upon his discharge in 1946, he embarked on his political career, winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from California. In those early Cold War years, he soon gained recognition as a staunch anticommunist. Working with Joseph McCarthy, he played a major role in the Alger Hiss investigation. This experience propelled Nixon to the U.S. Senate in 1950 and to the office of vice president under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The 1960’s

Nixon entered the 1960’s with high hopes of becoming the next president of the United States. His eight years as vice president had given him valuable experience in foreign affairs, especially in dealing with the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. His tenure also covered the rise of Nikita Khrushchev, the intense nuclear arms race of the 1950’s, and the beginnings of space exploration. In addition, while President Eisenhower was recovering from two heart attacks, Nixon had gained experience in executive leadership in the White House. The most important political asset that Nixon had in 1960 was, perhaps, a name and face recognition far beyond that of any potential rival. Possible roadblocks between Nixon and the White House included disillusionment with Republican leadership during the late 1950’s, a weak economy, and Cold War victories by the Soviet Union, such as the first space satellite in 1957, Fidel Castro and communism in Cuba in 1959, and the downing of an American U-2 reconnaissance plane over the Soviet Union in 1960.

Presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon speaks with Minnesota governor Harold Levander before addressing the crowd during his 1968 campaign.

ph_0111305439-Nixon_Levander.jpg

(National Archives)

Nixon easily won the Republican nomination in 1960 but lost the closest election in the second half of the twentieth century to Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy. Public perception of the candidates in the first televised presidential debate played a major role in that election. In 1962, Nixon lost the California gubernatorial race, seemingly ending his political career. In a press conference after his defeat, he said, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around any more.” However, he was able to rebuild his political reputation during the mid-1960’s, and in 1968, he defeated Democrat Hubert Humphrey to become the thirty-seventh president of the United States.

During Nixon’s first term as president, the complexity of his personality, which some have interpreted as a “dark side,” began to unfold. His first priority had to be the Vietnam War, which had consumed the presidency of his predecessor, Lyndon B. Johnson. Although known to favor a military solution, he saw the futility of it and began the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops. Although remaining a staunch anticommunist, he was the first U.S. president to visit the communist capitals of Beijing and Moscow, opening the doors of trade with China and the Soviet Union. Nixon further shocked the world by supporting the admission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, even to the exclusion of Taiwan, a longtime U.S. ally.

Later Life

President Nixon easily won a second term in 1972. However, during the months following his second inauguration, stories began to emerge concerning his direct involvement in the Watergate scandal, the burglarizing of Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. On June, 17, 1972, a group of men working for Nixon’s reelection committee broke into the Watergate office of the Democratic Party. The intrigue and cover-up that followed, including taped conversations that revealed that Nixon had participated in the cover-up, led to Nixon’s humiliating resignation in August, 1974.

Nixon retired to his secluded home in San Clemente, California, where he anguished over his uncertain future and attempted to settle into the normal life of a former president. In September, 1974, he accepted President Gerald Ford’s full pardon for any crimes he may have committed. The pardon was accompanied by a statement of contrition from Nixon. As the years passed, his life became very routine. By the mid-1980’s, he sought to assume the role of an elder statesman and traveled around the world, in 1986, visiting Moscow to meet the new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.

After leaving the White House, Nixon wrote eight books, several of which reveal his continued interest in foreign affairs. Real War (1980) and Real Peace: A Strategy for the West (1984) were the major books dealing with foreign affairs. Leaders (1982) gives an interesting view of the qualities Nixon felt that a good leader should have. Nixon’s final book, his evaluation of the post-Cold War period, is Seize the Moment: America’s Challenge in a One-Superpower World (1992).

Impact

Nixon arguably fulfilled most of his domestic and foreign policy goals as president. His greatest success was in foreign policy. His role in removing U.S. troops from Vietnam, his establishment of peaceful ties with China, and his leadership in Middle East peace making are the high points of that success. All his triumphs, however, have been overshadowed by the Watergate scandal and his resignation from the presidency.

Additional Information

Richard Milhous Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician (1990), by Roger Morris, covers Nixon’s life up to when he became vice president in 1953. Jonathon Aitken’s Nixon: A Life (1993) gives a detailed description of the twenty years after Watergate and Nixon’s resignation. An additional source for an overall evaluation of Nixon is Gerald and Deborah Strober’s Nixon: An Oral History of His Presidency (1994). After years of legal battles, the Watergate tapes were finally published in Abuse of Power: The Nixon Tapes (1997), edited by Stanley I. Kutler. This book put to rest many questions about Nixon’s direct involvement in the burglary and cover-up. It also proved extremely revealing about his character and personality.

Citation Types

Type

Format

MLA 9th

Swygart, Glenn L. "Richard M. Nixon." The 1960s in America, edited by Carl Singleton, Salem Press, 1999. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=1960_4030036411.

APA 7th

Swygart, G. L. (1999). Richard M. Nixon. In C. Singleton (Ed.), The 1960s in America. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.

CMOS 17th

Swygart, Glenn L. "Richard M. Nixon." Edited by Carl Singleton. The 1960s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 1999. Accessed May 11, 2025. online.salempress.com.

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