Dates: January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994
Also Known As: Richard Milhous Nixon, “Tricky Dick”
Overview of Richard Nixon:
Growing Up a Poor Quaker
Nixon was born on January 19, 1913 to Francis “Frank” A. Nixon and Hannah Milhous Nixon in Yorba Linda, California. Nixon’s father was a rancher, but when his ranch failed, he moved the family to Whittier, California where he opened a service station and grocery store.Nixon grew up poor and was raised in a very conservative, Quaker household. Nixon had four brothers: Harold, Donald, Arthur, and Edward. (Harold died of tuberculosis at age 23 and Arthur died at age 7 of tubercular encephalitis.)
Nixon as Lawyer and Husband
Nixon was an exceptional student and graduated second in his class at Whittier College, where he won a scholarship to attend Duke University Law School in North Carolina. After graduating from Duke in 1937, Nixon was unable to find work on the East Coast and thus moved back to Whittier where he worked as a small-town lawyer.Nixon met his wife, Thelma Catherine Patricia “Pat” Ryan, while the two played opposite one another in a community theater production. They were married on June 21, 1940 and had two children: Tricia (born in 1946) and Julie (born in 1948).
World War II
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor, ushering the United States into World War II. Shortly afterwards, Nixon and Pat moved from Whittier to Washington D.C., where Nixon took a job at the Office of Price Administration (OPA).As a Quaker, Nixon was eligible to apply for an exemption from military service; however, he was bored with his role at the OPA, so he instead applied for entrance into the United States Navy and was inducted in August of 1942 at the age of 29. Nixon was stationed as a naval control officer in the South Pacific Combat Air Transport.
While Nixon did not serve in a combat role during the war, he was awarded two service stars, a citation of commendation, and was eventually promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander. Nixon resigned his commission in January 1946.
Nixon as Congressman
In 1946, Nixon ran for a seat in the House of Representatives from the 12th Congressional District of California. To beat his opponent, five-term Democratic incumbent Jerry Voorhis, Nixon used “smear tactics,” insinuating that Voorhis had Communist ties because he had once been endorsed by the pro-labor organization CIO-PAC. Nixon won the election.Nixon’s tenure in the House of Representatives was notable for his anti-Communist crusading. Nixon served as a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), responsible for investigating individuals and groups with suspected ties to Communism. He was also instrumental in the investigation and conviction for perjury of Alger Hiss, an alleged member of an underground Communist organization. Nixon’s aggressive questioning of Hiss at the HUAC hearing was central to securing Hiss’ conviction and gained Nixon national attention.
In 1950, Nixon ran for a seat in the Senate. Once again, Nixon used smear tactics against his opponent, Helen Douglas. Nixon was so overt in his attempt to tie Douglas to Communism that he even had some of his flyers printed on pink paper. In response to Nixon's smear tactics and his attempt to get Democrats to cross party lines and vote for him, a Democratic committee ran a full-page ad in several papers with a political cartoon of Nixon shoveling hay labeled “Campaign Trickery” into a donkey labeled "Democrat." Under the cartoon was written “Look at Tricky Dick Nixon’s Republican Record.” The nickname "Tricky Dick" stayed with him. Despite the ad, Nixon went on to win the election.
Running for Vice President
When Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to run as the Republican Party's candidate for President in 1952, he needed a running mate. Nixon’s anti-Communist position and his strong base of support in California made him an ideal selection for the position.During the campaign, Nixon was nearly removed from the ticket when he was accused of financial improprieties, specifically for using an $18,000 campaign contribution for personal expenses. In a televised address that became known as the “Checkers” speech, delivered September 23, 1952, Nixon defended his honesty and integrity. In a bit of levity, Nixon stated that there was one personal gift that he just wasn't going to return -- a little Cocker Spaniel dog, whom his 6-year-old daughter had named "Checkers." The speech was enough of a success to keep Nixon on the ticket.
Vice President Richard Nixon
After Eisenhower won the presidential election in November of 1952, Nixon, as Vice President, focused much of his attention on foreign affairs. In 1953 he visited several countries in the Far East. In 1957 he visited Africa; in 1958 Latin America. Nixon was also instrumental in helping to push through Congress the Civil Rights Act of 1957.In 1959 Nixon met with Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow. In what became known as the “Kitchen Debate,” an impromptu argument erupted over the ability of each nation to provide good food and a good life to its citizens. The profanity-laced argument soon escalated as both leaders defended their country's way of life. As the exchange grew more heated, they began arguing over the threat of nuclear war, with Khrushchev warning of “very bad consequences.” Perhaps feeling the argument had gone too far, Khrushchev stated his desire for “peace with all other nations, especially America” and Nixon responded that he had not been “a very good host.”
When President Eisenhower suffered a heart attack in 1955 and a stroke in 1957, Nixon was called on to assume some of the President’s high-level duties. At the time, there was no formal process for transfer of power in the event of presidential disability. Nixon and Eisenhower worked out an agreement that became the basis for the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified on February 10, 1967. (The 25th Amendment details presidential succession in the event of the President’s incapacitation or death.)
