Richard Nixon's Legacy

Richard Nixon died in 1994, leaving behind not an iconic legacy that was well-deserved, but a legacy of political, military, and moral tragedy. I believe that one could view this argument in two ways. I think that Nixon should be remembered negatively in history for some of the things he did, such as covering up Watergate. However, he did things that immensely helped out our country that he should be recognized for as well.

Nixon did some very positive things in his time as president, one of them being his Foreign Policy. Nixon’s Foreign Policy did three major things for our country that included getting the US out of Vietnam, re-opening relations with China, and armed control with the Soviet Union. Nixon focused on using peaceful negotiations and relaxing tensions, otherwise known as détente.  He also made a visit to China, which made him and a few others the first Americans inside the borders of the People’s Republic of China. The American Ping-Pong team received a surprise invite to visit the PRC, which was later known as Ping-Pong Diplomacy.

Another one of Richard Nixon’s successes was in the USSR where he limited production of missiles, eased tensions, and opened up foreign relations. SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) was what limited the antiballistic missiles and prevented a situation that could’ve gotten much worse. I think that Richard Nixon should be remembered positively for helping out our country in all of these areas. He was a confident person and did what he felt was needed to help our country.

However, along with Richard Nixon’s successes came many failures, which he will always be held responsible for. Some of Nixon’s failures included causing a recession by cutting off the government spending and causing stagflation, which is a combination of inflation and unemployment. Some people also argue that Nixon didn’t fully succeed in Vietnam because some countries also fell to communist forces, and Vietnam established a Socialist Government. Nixon should also be looked upon negatively for the bombings in Cambodia. He bombed Cambodia in attempt to weaken supply routes for North Vietnamese army, but resulted in killing many innocent people. Another one of Nixon’s major downfalls was causing an oil crisis due to involvement with Israel. At the time, Arab nations wouldn’t sell oil to the US. The oil embargo had a devastating impact on the US economy. This also caused the price of oil to increase, and in the future the price of oil will most likely continue to climb due to the past oil crisis.

Richard Nixon’s legacy he is most widely known for is the Watergate Scandal. Five men were caught attempting to bug headquarters of the Democratic Party inside the Watergate building. Nixon tried to cover up the entire scandal behind Watergate, but the truth eventually became known to everyone. Nixon resigned from presidency on August 9, 1974. Due to the Watergate Scandal I think that Nixon will always be remembered negatively. His morals at the time of his presidency were not always where they should’ve been, especially in the case of Watergate.

Overall I believe that Richard Nixon did some very positive things for our country during his years as president. However, I think that the negative factors have a greater effect on our country and its people. For this reason, I think that Nixon leaves behind a legacy of political, military, and moral tragedy rather than a good legacy. Nixon’s actions with bombing Cambodia, the oil crisis, causing a recession, and Watergate, are too great to be simply overlooked and he will be stuck having a negative legacy with his name due to his actions.