created by HealersHugHippos on 22/01/2025 at 20:42 UTC
2 upvotes, 2 top-level comments (showing 2)
I know Richard Nixon was disgraced by Watergate (I made a documentary regarding it for a school assignment). I also thought that his reputation was enhanced by pulling out thr troops from Vietnam and he did great with regards to improving relations with China (and foreign policy in general). However, i don't know much of the details in-between. Could someone give a detailed overview of Nixon's reputation through his loss of an election to JFK to his win, to his resignation and a little beyond that. I'm curious because my friend said Nicon was regarded as problematic even outside of Watergate so I'd like to learn more.
Comment by AutoModerator at 22/01/2025 at 20:42 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Welcome to /r/AskHistorians. **Please Read Our Rules[1] before you comment in this community**. Understand that rule breaking comments get removed[2].
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/wiki/rules
We thank you for your interest in this *question*, and your patience in waiting for an in-depth and comprehensive answer to show up. In addition to RemindMeBot, consider using our Browser Extension[5], or getting the Weekly Roundup[6]. In the meantime our Bluesky[7], and Sunday Digest[8] feature excellent content that has already been written!
7: https://bsky.app/profile/askhistorians.bsky.social
9: /message/compose/?to=/r/AskHistorians
Comment by [deleted] at 22/01/2025 at 22:12 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Richard Nixon is a polarizing figure. Outside of Watergate, and his essentially creating the modern political landscape we see today, he’s often viewed as a respectful elder statesman by many on both sides of the political spectrum. He was reason for the creation of the environmental protection agency, which has earned him a degree of respect from some left wing voices today (and anger from conservative figures at the time, and created our modern relations with China, which was an attempt at weakening the USSR.
His foreign policy expertise, whether you agree with the Nixon administration or not, cannot be denied. The man was highly educated and knew his facts well about nearly every country the United States had relations with. He had clear and articulate reasoning for his decisions to bomb Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict, and while this can be seen as an illegal action, his reasoning for such actions was clear and concise.
Nixon towards the end of his life also accurately and quite brilliantly assessed the situation in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and pointed out correctly that what would come next would not be a communist government, but rather a form of “despotism.” Despite dying in 1994, this was proven to be right when Vladimir Putin took the reins of power.
It should also be noted, that he won in major landslides both in 1968, and in his second term in 1972, even as Watergate was going on. The only other blimp on his resume outside of Watergate, and the Nixon tapes, was the actions taken by Henry Kissinger, who has been accused of essentially running the White House towards the end of Nixon’s time in office. Kissinger is a far more controversial figure. Many view him as a war criminal, who is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of people under regimes in South America and elsewhere, linked to the CIA, while others see him as a Machiavellian genius who used realpolitik to effectively battle the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Another aspect of Nixon’s polices was to increase hostile actions against Cuba and Fidel Castro, as he was a supporter of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion years prior.