Nixon made the most of his common origins. He was born in the small California
town of Yorba Linda, California and grew up in East Whittier, California.
His father, Frank Nixon was argumentative and his mother Hannah Nixon, was
sweet-tempered. When Richard Nixon was still a young man, he lost his younger
brother Arthur, after a short illness and soon there after, he lost his
older brother after a long illness.
His school life brought a string of successes in endeavors common
to politicians in training. He won debates and elections and leading
roles in school dramatic productions. His grades were excellent, at
both Whittier College and Duke University's law school. His scholastic
achievements were not enough, however, to get him the jobs he
applied for with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and with
several prestigious law firms.
Nixon joined a Whittier law firm, the Whittier
College board of trustees, Opportunities for work led Nixon
back east, after a law professor's recommendation got Nixon a job
with the Office of Price Administration in Washington, D.C. Following
Pearl Harbor, Nixon enlisted in the Navy. His naval career ended
with the war and in 1945 he was looking for his next job just as a
group of prominent Southern California Republicans were looking for
a suitable congressional candidate.
In 1952 Nixon was running for the office of Vice President. After
made his famous "Checkers Speech", Public response was overwhelmingly positive.
A political star was reborn. Ike and Dick won the 1952 election in a landslide.
In 1962 After losing a race for governor of California and holding his "last press conference,"
Nixon patiently laid the groundwork for a comeback. In 1964, he campaigned for Republican
presidential candidate Barry Goldwater at a time when other prominent Republicans were keeping
their distance from the leader of the budding conservative movement. The Republican Party
lost in a landslide that year but Nixon won the gratitude of conservatives, the growing power
within the party. The GOP's huge losses in 1964 were offset in 1966 when two years of the
Vietnam War and urban riots led to huge Republican gains in congressional elections.
In 1968, Nixon won a presidential election almost as narrow as the one he had lost in 1960.
He was then reelected in 1972 with a larger percentage of the votes than any other
Republican during the Cold War.
race for governor of California and holding his "last press conference," Nixon patiently
laid the groundwork for a comeback. In 1964, he campaigned for Republican presidential
candidate Barry Goldwater at a time when other prominent Republicans were keeping their distance from the leader of the budding conservative movement. The Republican Party lost in a landslide that year but Nixon won the gratitude of conservatives, the growing power within the party. The GOP's huge losses in 1964 were offset in 1966 when two years of the Vietnam War and urban riots led to huge Republican gains in congressional elections. In 1968, Nixon won a presidential election almost as narrow as the one he had lost in 1960. He was then reelected in 1972 with a larger percentage of the votes than any other Republican during the Cold War.
Nixon was the first President of the United States to resign the office.
Before the spectacular fall, there was an equally spectacular rise.
In a half-dozen years,
he went from obscurity to a heartbeat from the presidency, winning a
congressional race (1946), national prominence in the Alger Hiss
spy case (1948), a Senate seat (1950), and the vice presidency
(1952). In 1960, John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon in the election for
the presidency by the narrowest margin of the twentieth century.
