nixon administration
"The Cold War isn't thawing; it is burning with a deadly heat. Communism isn't sleeping; it is, as always, plotting, scheming, working, fighting." - Richard M. Nixon
Richard Nixon (1913-94), the 37th U.S. president, was the only president ever to resign his position as president in the White House. Nixon decided to give up his position halfway through his second term, than to face impeachment over his attempts to mask illegal actions by members of his administration in the Watergate scandal. Before becoming president, Nixon was a Republican congressman and U.S. senator from California, and he also served two terms as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s. He lost his first attempt at becoming president in 1960 in a close race with Democrat John F. Kennedy. He ran again in 1968 and won. During his presidency, Nixon accomplished forging diplomatic ties with China and the Soviet Union, and take out U.S. troops from an unpopular war in Vietnam. But his involvement in Watergate damaged his legacy and made the American public distrust the government. Nixon’s attacks on alleged Communists and political opponents raised recognition between conservative republicans.
Though Nixon was a hardcore communist, one of his goals was to ease tensions with the communist block after he gained presidency. Along with his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger, they aimed to not only try and win the Cold War, but to control it. The restrictions on trade with China were lowered, and they responded by inviting an American ping-pong team to tour their country. This gave Nixon the opportunity of visiting China in 1972, which ended 20 years of tensions and conflicts between the two countries. This sent a clear message to everyone watching, including Soviets, that China and U.S were friends. On May 1972, Nixon made a visit to the Soviet Union in where he met with Russian President Leonid Brezhnev. The two countries signed the first Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT), which created a limit on the production and deployment of ballistic missiles and the antiballistic missiles. The new era, known as Deténte, was one of relaxed tensions and cooperation between the world's superpowers. By turning one communist power against another, Nixon had created a balance of power among the world's strongest countries.
Though Nixon was a hardcore communist, one of his goals was to ease tensions with the communist block after he gained presidency. Along with his National Security Adviser, Henry Kissinger, they aimed to not only try and win the Cold War, but to control it. The restrictions on trade with China were lowered, and they responded by inviting an American ping-pong team to tour their country. This gave Nixon the opportunity of visiting China in 1972, which ended 20 years of tensions and conflicts between the two countries. This sent a clear message to everyone watching, including Soviets, that China and U.S were friends. On May 1972, Nixon made a visit to the Soviet Union in where he met with Russian President Leonid Brezhnev. The two countries signed the first Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT), which created a limit on the production and deployment of ballistic missiles and the antiballistic missiles. The new era, known as Deténte, was one of relaxed tensions and cooperation between the world's superpowers. By turning one communist power against another, Nixon had created a balance of power among the world's strongest countries.