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PART THREE- Issue #16: Will History Forgive Richard Nixon?

During the years from 1968-1973, Richard Nixon became an icon in American history. His reign as President will go down as one of the most controversial terms in the twentieth century. He was the only president to ever resign from office because of corruption and conspiracy. The scandals that involved the Nixon campaign are the most publicly known out of all the other presidents.

A major question historians have disagreed on has been whether history will forgive the former President Nixon. Joan Hoff-Wilson agreed that Richard M. Nixon had paid his debt to society and should be forgiven by history. The real importance of Nixon’s presidency may well come to rest on his attempts to restructure the executive branch along functional lines, to bring order to the federal bureaucracy, and to achieve lasting domestic reform. The degree to which those Nixonian tactics that were legal and ethical became consciously or unconsciously the model for his successors in the Oval Office will determine his final place in history.

Although Nixon’s corporate presidency remains publicly discredited, much of it has been privately preserved. Nixon’s ability to survive disaster may make up for his lack of charisma and honesty in the long run. His management style and substantive foreign and domestic achievements look better and better when compared with the presidents to follow.

Stanley I Kutler disagreed with Joan Hoff-Wilson. He said that Nixon should not be forgiven by history. His ruthless and corrupt scandals, throughout his presidency, give him no grounds to which he should be looked upon as a respectable president. The quote, “I am not a crook”, is one of the most ironic statements in presidential history. His first four years as President was just the beginning of the scandals to come. Kutler described how Nixon gradually reached his own demise through the presidency. Each year he would get a little more scandalous. His neglect for his wife while in office also showed the people that he was so caught up in conspiring that he did not even have time to celebrate his wife’s own birthday. The Haldeman tapes gave the public a side of the President never seen before. What was shown beyond dispute was that the Nixon of the Watergate years-furtive, manipulative and petty; often weak, and above all dishonest-was consistent with the behavior patterns of the earlier years. There was only one Nixon (Taking Sides 377).

In the book, Conspiracies, Cover-Ups, and Crimes by Jonathan Vankin agreed that Nixon was not to be forgiven by American history. It is no coincidence that most of Watergate’s shadow players dwell in the same conspiratorial world that led the Bay of Pigs (Vankin 157). Nixon instigated the Bay of Pigs during the Eisenhower administration, so one can see Nixon was scandalous before he even became president. Nixon also had mob ties, which led to his pardons of a certain Teamster boss, by the name of Jimmy Hoffa. Vankin showed a mob affiliated President who has no reason to be forgiven by history.

In the article “ Presidential Manipulation of Polls and Public Opinion: The Nixon Administration and the Pollsters”, by Lawrence R. Jacobs and Robert Y. Shapiro, there is strong disagreement that former President Nixon should be forgiven by American history. His influence on the manipulation of the public pollsters, Luis Harris and the Gallup organization was very negative. The public was very favorable to the pollsters, who did not favor Nixon, so he decided to corrupt the polls. The democratic ties that Harris had enraged Nixon even more. This started an investigation of pollsters issued by Nixon to slow Harris and the Gallup organization down. By doing this Nixon took his unpopularity out of the public eye (Jacobs Shapiro 521).

The textbook did not agree that President Nixon should be forgiven for all his acts of deceit while holding office. The text takes a good look at Nixon’s blunder during the Vietnam War campaign. It was one foreign policy challenge he could not overcome. His tactics were hard-line bombing and gradual withdrawal of troops. This did not serve to be effective because people back on the home front were demonstrating and protesting because of the massive attacks in Cambodia that Nixon had called for. This led to the Kent State massacre. Nixon’s failure to show sympathy during the aftermath outraged the public. He had to devise another tactic that would put an end to the war and preserve peace back home as well. Finally the North Vietnamese and the US came to an agreement. It was really a disguised surrender and made the country look like the quagmire of Southeast Asia ( Divine Breen Fredrickson Williams 979).

In the book by John Osborne, The Fifth Year of the Nixon Watch, there is disagreement with the fact that Nixon should be forgiven by American history. The book states that in his fifth year of presidency, he was looked upon by the public and the political realm, to resign, because it would be for his own country’s good. This was right after the Watergate scandal had blown up in the Republicans face. The scandal of Watergate was members of Nixon’s cabinet and associates were to spy on the Democratic Party in their headquarters. There were several tapes and other scandalous information, which led to the eventual leakage of the whole thing. The public now viewed Nixon as a shoddy type and not worthy of the presidency (Osborne 187).

CRITIQUE SECTION

I disagreed with Joan Hoff-Wilson because I do not believe President Nixon did anything to promote a positive example in

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