Richard Nixon: Blog Edition
Early Life
Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 to one Francis Nixon and his wife, Hannah. His mother was a Quaker, and soon after she married Francis, he converted from Methodist to Quaker. He had a rough childhood and was poor at the time. Richard later would attend Duke University. He graduated third in his class.
Road To Presidency
Richard Nixon was first and foremost Dwight Eisenhower's Vice President. Even in those days Tricky Dick was getting in to trouble, I tell ya. He was accused of accepting secret cash funding for personal spending while on the road to becoming the vice president. He denied that it was secret and claimed the funds were used solely for campaign purposes. ;D
Many people pressured Eisenhower to nix Nixon, but Eisenhower was no fool; he knew he could not succeed on this valiant campaign without the aid of Mr. Richard Nixon. He kept him on the Republican ticket and got a one way ride into the Oval Office. Nixon chilled as the VP for Eisenhower's run as president. 
However, when the 1960 election, it was, as the kids say, "on." Nixon was going to run for president. He easily grabbed the Republican nomination and faced John F. Kennedy on the Democrat side. Of course, facing such a man as Mr. Kennedy, poor Richard couldn't stand a chance if he had a pair of crutches. However, the election was tight and Kennedy narrowly came out victorious. Many unofficial sources confirm that Nixon was heard shouting "I'll be back!" and holding up his signature "V for Victory" sign after the results were announced, and retreated into the wilderness years.
Then came the election of a lifetime. The year: 1968. The man: Richard Nixon. The prize: Presidency of the United States. Nixon was ready to dominate.
Nixon was initially set to run against a Democratic nominee of Robert Kennedy, but he was assassinated, so they had to roll out plan B: Hubert Humphrey. Also, some chump called George Wallace thought he stood a chance against these two striking gentlemen as an independent candidate. He thought wrong. Nixon won the election by nearly 500,000 votes against Humphrey and became El Presidente Numero 37 with his VP, my man Spiro Agnew.
Presidential Career: Triumphs, Downfalls and Scandals (Oh My!)
Nixon took office during the Vietnam war. Some things he did during the war include:
Secret Bombing Campaign of North Vietnam near Cambodia (Operation Menu): This secret bombing was planned out to destroy what they belived to be the HQ of the national Front for the Liberation of Vietnam.
Other Nixon accomplishments:
- Revenue Sharing
- End of the Draft
- New anti-crime laws
- Environmental Programs
- President During Moon Landing of 1969 (The first one, FYI)
He also held summits with Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev and produced a treaty that limited nuclear weapons.
He was re-elected president during the election of 1972 vs. Democrat George McGovern.
WATERGATE SCANDAL!!!
On D-Day, June 17, 1972, 5 men were caught breaking into Watergate Hotel, the democratic Headquarters. It was discovered that the break in was performed by leaders of The committee to re-elect the president. Nixon was also accused of having a secret taping system that taped phone calls of the Oval Office. Nixon denied involvement with the burglaries and also to trying to cover it up. However, recordings were later uncovered that showed he tried to cover it up.
Facing impending impeachment, President Richard Nixon resigned office on August 9, 1974.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/impeachments/nixon.htm
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