nixon
President Nixon definitely had his ups and downs. In a way he had more down than ups, especially for the time that we were involved in Vietnam. He gave the green light for some things that were very brutal that could've been avoided. He also lied to the public and was almost impeached towards the end of his term.
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accomplishments He focused on foreign policy a lot. He has a famous “triangular diplomacy” which was Nixon’s attempt to drive a wedge between the USSR and China, which were the world's biggest communist powers. President Nixon offered China aid, and eventually offered them a spot in the United Nations. He was also the first president to visit China, his meeting with Mao Zedong was a shock to the world. Nixon travels to Moscow (which was also a very rare move) to discuss nuclear disarmament. This is weird because there was around 30 years of hatred between the countries and now they are talking about putting their nuclear weapons down.
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watergateIn 1972 there were five men that were arrested for breaking into the Democrat political party headquarters at the Watergate hotel in Washington, D.C. These guys were installing wiretaps and they were taking photos of documents. The leader of these guys was on the committee to re-elect Nixon. Spiro Agnew, the Vice President, resigned and faced charges of bribery and tax evasion. The same week Nixon’s personal counsel, John Dean, testifies to the Senate against Nixon and rats him out. Nixon goes on television and gives his speech “I am not a crook”. He recorded conversations of the oval office so the Senate requested those tapes and Nixon denied to give them. He finally gave in but there were 17 minutes of recording that was missing.
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impeachmentThe Senate was drawing up papers of impeachment for lying about Watergate, lying to the people, and . He resigns before the impeachment vote took place because it look better for him to quit. He was the first president ever to resign. Nixon’s successor, Gerald Ford, is the first president who was not elected to that office or the Vice President position. As soon as Ford is president, Ford pardons Nixon, to keep him from being arrested which caused a major public outcry.
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