Richard Nixon Resignation Address to the Nation

Upbringing / EducationGrew up poor, conservative Quaker

household.When his father’s ranch failed, he

opened up a grocery store and a service station.

Graduated second in his class at Whittier college, got scholarship to Duke.

Graduated from Duke University (in NC) in 1937 to be a lawyer.

Adult Life Inducted into the Navy at the age of 29, stationed as a

naval control officer in the South Pacific Combat Air Transport.

Did not serve a combat role, but was respected as a lieutenant commander. Resigned his post in January 1946.

Started working in government. Dwight D. Eisenhower ran for president, and Nixon seemed the ideal Vice president.

During the campaign, Nixon was nearly removed from the ticket when he was accused of inappropriate finances, specifically for using an $18,000 campaign contribution for personal things.

Lost election for presidency in 1960 to Kennedy. In 1968, after several Kennedy shootings (John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy) and even after the last minute nominations, it was STILL a close election, but Nixon did end up winning.

1968 PresidencyDuring his presidency, Richard Nixon focused

mostly on foreign relations, particularly in the instating of a bombing campaign in Cambodia (neutral nation) to disrupt Northern Vietnamese supply lines.

By 1973, he removed all troops from these areas and ended the forced military conscription. (he became famous for the following…)

Watergate ScandalNixon was re-elected as president in 1972…

it was considered a landslide election, one of the easiest, but there are some other things to consider.

In June 1972, five men were caught breaking into the Watergate complex of Washington DC, perhaps planted by Nixon to be used against the democratic candidate at the time. Nixon denounced claim of this… though it was later found out to be true, Nixon is very well known for a something he said when approached about it…

“People have got to know whether or not their

president is a crook. Well, I’m not a

crook. I’ve earned everything I’ve got.”

WELL …

Suffice to say, Nixon was eventually found out. He faced impeachment, but rather than go through with that…

He decided to resign! He was, in fact, the first president in U.S. history to resign.

Resignation Address to the NationThis was the speech Nixon gave

in the Oval Office the day before he resigned.

Richard Nixon’s Speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOGJJ7UKFM

EthosBy this point in his career, Nixon had close to none.

After the Watergate scandal, even the Republican party had lost respect for him. At the beginning of the speech, he said, “This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shape the history of this nation.”

Trying to establish the ethos he lost in his 5 ½ years of presidency, he also said, “For more than a quarter of a century in pubic life, I have shared in the turbulent history of this evening. I have fought for what I believe in. I have tried, to the best of my ability, to discharge those duties and meet those responsibilities that were entrusted to me. Sometimes I have succeeded. And sometimes I have failed.”

“I have never been a quitter.”

Pathos Nixon applied a lot of pathos in his speech… but in many different

ways. Most of them were ineffective. “The interests of the nation must always come before any personal

considerations.” and “But as president, I must put the interests of America first.” and finally “I would say only that if some of my judgments were wrong – and some were wrong – they were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interests of the nation.” This could be considered irony and pathos both, because his words greatly contrasted his actions as president of the United States.

He tried to guilt the audience at one point. “As I recall the high hopes for America with which we began this second term, I feel a great sadness that I will not be here in this office working on your behalf to achieve those hopes in the next two and a half years.”

“Always have I taken to heart from what Theodore Roosevelt once said about the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again because there is not effort without error and shortcoming.”

“In leaving it, I do so with this prayer: May God’s grace be with you in all the days ahead.” His speech’s parting words.

LogosThere was little effective logos in the speech as a

whole. “In the past few days, […] it has become evident

to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing the effort. As long as there was such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the constitutional process through to its conclusion…”

“In the Middle East, one hundred million people in the Arab countries, many of whom have considered us their enemy for nearly twenty years, now look on us as their friends.” Showing what he did as president, with numbers and statistics that aren’t backed up by sound evidence.

Other Strategies / Diction / SyntaxAnaphora: “This, more than anything, is what I

hoped to achieve when I sought the presidency. This, more than anything, is what I hope will by my legacy to you, to our country, as I leave the presidency.”

“In turning over direction of the Government to Vice President Ford I know, as I told the nation when I nominated him for that office ten months ago, that the leadership of America would be in good hands.” This is a prime example of the main theme of this speech. He is trying to boost himself more than humble himself – while under the guise of showing that he has made a mistake, he is also saying that it was HIS idea to nominate Ford. This is the decision he wants to be remembered by, not Watergate.

Citationshttp://

www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon

http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/Nixon.htm

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/impeachments/nixon.htm

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAnixon.htm