Richard Nixon

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

37th President of the United States
Richard Milhous Nixon

In office January 20, 1969 – August 9, 1974
Vice President(s)	Spiro Agnew (1969–1973), Gerald Ford (1973–1974)
Preceded by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Succeeded by	Gerald Ford
36th Vice President of the United States
In office January 20, 1953 – January 20, 1961
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Alben W. Barkley
Succeeded by	Lyndon B. Johnson

Born	January 9, 1913 Yorba Linda, California
Died	April 22, 1994 New York, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Thelma Catherine Patricia Ryan (Pat) Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913–April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States and the only president to resign.

1 Early life
2 Early political career
3 Presidency
4 Post-Presidency
5 Other websites

[change] Early life

Nixon was born in 1913 in his family's home in Yorba Linda, California. Richard Nixon was born and raised as a Quaker. Herbert Hoover was the only other United States President to belong to the Quaker faith. He served in the Navy during World War II. He went to school at Duke University. Later, he got married and had 2 daughters.

[change] Early political career

Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946. He was later elected a Senator, and then the vice president under Dwight D. Eisenhower. As the vice president, he was very busy and traveled across the world to places like South America.

In the presidential election of 1960, he ran against Democrat John F. Kennedy. At first, Nixon was winning, but on election day, Kennedy won because Nixon was sick on the first televised debate. Later Nixon lost another election for governor of California to Pat Brown. At that point, many experts say that Nixon's political career was over but they were wrong.

[change] Presidency

Nixon was elected president in 1968 against Vice President Hubert Humphrey. The race was very close.

Nixon was very successful in foreign affairs. He traveled to many different countries, including China and the Soviet Union. He made peace with China and communism.

He won the election of 1972 with one of the biggest landslides in American history, during that election his opponent was George McGovern, a Democrat. But later, because of the Watergate crisis, Nixon was forced to resign because he would have been impeached (put on trial in the Senate) if he did not resign.

[change] Post-Presidency

Nixon's second vice president, Gerald Ford, gave Nixon a pardon of any crimes Nixon committed during Watergate. Ford wanted to end the crisis as quickly as possible, because the nation faced more important problems. Many people blamed Ford for letting Nixon go unpunished, and voted against him when he ran in the 1976 election.

Nixon's public image never recovered, but he remained as a consultant to later Presidents, and to other people in government and the media. His memoirs were considered important reading. His work in negotiating with China in the early 1970s was praised for improving relations between his country and theirs.

Nixon died in 1994, a few months after his wife Pat died. The house where he was born is now part of the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. He was buried at the library.