Vice president under Eisenhower before his unsuccessful run
for the presidency in 1960, Nixon was seen as among the
shrewdest of American politicians. Although Nixon subscribed to
the Republican value of fiscal responsibility, he accepted a
need for government's expanded role and did not oppose the basic
contours of the welfare state. He simply wanted to manage its
programs better. Not opposed to African-American civil rights on
principle, he was wary of large federal civil rights
bureaucracies. Nonetheless, his administration vigorously
enforced court orders on school desegregation even as it courted
Southern white voters.
Perhaps his biggest domestic problem was the economy. He
inherited both a slowdown from its Vietnam peak under Johnson,
and a continuing inflationary surge that had been a by-product
of the war. He dealt with the first by becoming the first
Republican president to endorse deficit spending as a way to
stimulate the economy; the second by imposing wage and price
controls, a policy in which the Right had no long-term faith, in
1971. In the short run, these decisions stabilized the economy
and established favorable conditions for Nixon's re-election in
1972. He won an overwhelming victory over peace-minded
Democratic Senator George McGovern.
Things began to sour very quickly into the president's second
term. Very early on, he faced charges that his re-election
committee had managed a break-in at the Watergate building
headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and that he
had participated in a cover-up. Special prosecutors and
congressional committees dogged his presidency thereafter.
Factors beyond Nixon's control undermined his economic policies.
In 1973 the war between Israel and Egypt and Syria prompted
Saudi Arabia to embargo oil shipments to Israel's ally, the
United States. Other member nations of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quadrupled their prices.
Americans faced both shortages, exacerbated in the view of many
by over-regulation of distribution, and rapidly rising prices.
Even when the embargo ended the next year, prices remained high
and affected all areas of American economic life: In 1974,
inflation reached 12 percent, causing disruptions that led to
even higher unemployment rates. The unprecedented economic boom
America had enjoyed since 1948 was grinding to a halt.
Nixon's rhetoric about the need for "law and order" in the face
of rising crime rates, increased drug use, and more permissive
views about sex resonated with more Americans than not. But this
concern was insufficient to quell concerns about the Watergate
break-in and the economy. Seeking to energize and enlarge his
own political constituency, Nixon lashed out at demonstrators,
attacked the press for distorted coverage, and sought to silence
his opponents. Instead, he left an unfavorable impression with
many who saw him on television and perceived him as unstable.
Adding to Nixon’s troubles, Vice President Spiro Agnew, his
outspoken point man against the media and liberals, was forced
to resign in 1973, pleading "no contest" to a criminal charge of
tax evasion.
Nixon probably had not known in advance of the Watergate
burglary, but he had tried to cover it up, and had lied to the
American people about it. Evidence of his involvement mounted.
On July 27, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted to
recommend his impeachment. Facing certain ouster from office, he
resigned on August 9, 1974. |
