Richard Nixon: Resigned
2023-11-12
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1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.
2Today we are talking about Richard Nixon.
3Nixon is well-known to many Americans for one reason:
4he was the only president to resign from the position.
5Facing possible legal action by Congress, Nixon left office early in his second term.
6Nixon's early political career was marked by success.
7He also had some noteworthy achievements during his White House years.
8And he attained his goal of moving the government in a more conservative direction.
9In his later years, Nixon and his supporters tried to reclaim his place as an expert on international affairs.
10But for many Americans, the name "Nixon" remains linked to distrust of national leaders, abuse of power, and political wrongdoing.
11Richard Nixon had a difficult early life.
12He was the second of five sons in a Quaker family.
13His parents owned a lemon ranch in California, near the city of Los Angeles.
14But the family struggled financially.
15And two of Richard's brothers died - one as a small child, and one as a young adult.
16In time, his parent's business failed, and the Nixons moved to a nearby town.
17The parents and children all worked at a filling station that sold fuel and other products.
18Despite the many hours he worked at the store, Richard Nixon was a top student in high school.
19He was offered financial aid to attend Harvard University, but the family needed even more money to send him there.
20Instead, he attended a local college, where he became the student body president, joined a debate team, acted in the theater, and played football.
21Nixon went on to law school at Duke University in North Carolina.
22Even with his impressive background, he did not get the jobs he sought at the Federal Bureau of Investigation - the FBI - or top law offices.
23So he returned the California town where he grew up and began working as a lawyer.
24There, he married another actor at the community theater.
25Her name was Thelma Ryan, but she was called Pat. The Nixons went on to have two daughters, Tricia and Julie.
26In 1942, Nixon accepted a job with the federal government in Washington, DC.
27He did not stay in the position long.
28After the United States entered World War II, Nixon joined the Navy.
29He served as an officer in the Pacific.
30When he returned to the U.S., Republican Party officials asked him to be a candidate for Congress.
31Nixon agreed. He won two terms in the House of Representatives, and then a seat in the U.S. Senate.
32Two years later, Dwight Eisenhower, the Republican presidential candidate, asked Nixon to be his vice president.
33The two men won in an electoral landslide, and in 1953 Nixon took office as vice president.
34He was only 40 years old, the second-youngest vice president in U.S. history.
35Nixon's early political career is remembered for several reasons.
36One is how quickly he rose to high government office.
37Another is for his part in the Alger Hiss case in the late 1940s.
38Hiss was a top official in the State Department.
39He was accused of being a Communist in the 1930s and 1940s, and of passing information about the U.S. government to Soviet spies.
40Hiss denied the accusations.
41The case was big news in the United States.
42It showed the clash between people who believed Hiss was falsely accused as a way to discredit liberal policies, and people who believed the government was protecting communist sympathizers.
43Nixon was in the second group.
44He was part of the investigation against Hiss and pushed for his indictment.
45Nixon's efforts succeeded, and Hiss went to jail for almost four years.
46Later, Nixon said that the case was one of the reasons for his rise to power.
47Nixon also earned national attention with an event that has become known as the Checkers speech.
48It happened in 1952, when Nixon was running for vice president.
49Some reporters accused Nixon of corruption.
50They said he was accepting money and gifts from wealthy donors in exchange for his political support.
51Nixon went on television to deny the claims personally.
52At the time, Americans were not used to seeing politicians speaking directly to the public.
53Yet Nixon spoke informally and emotionally, from what appeared to be a home.
54He explained his family's finances.
55He said he did not accept campaign donations for personal benefit.
56But, he added, there was one exception.
57A supporter had once given the Nixon children a black and white dog they called Checkers.
58Nixon said he refused to return his daughters' pet.
59The public - and Republican Party officials - loved the speech.
60Nixon appeared warm and likable. Middle-class Americans especially said they could relate to him.
61Most forgot the claims against him.
62And Nixon's political career was saved.
63During the following eight years, he served as vice president in the Eisenhower administration.
64But then Nixon's luck turned.
65In 1960, Nixon lost as a presidential candidate to John F. Kennedy.
66He blamed, in part, the media.
67Then in 1962, he lost his efforts to be governor of California.
68Nixon said he was retiring from politics.
69He famously told reporters, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."
70Yet seven years later, he was in the White House.
71It was one of the most memorable comebacks in U.S. political history.
72When Nixon took office in 1969, some Americans thought the country was in crisis.
73The economy was not doing well.
74Race riots had been erupting in big cities.
75Many people were still trying to recover from the violence of a year earlier.
76Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior and President John F. Kennedy's brother Robert had both been shot and killed.
77Pollution of the environment was becoming a major political issue.
78Women were pressing for equal rights.
79And many Americans continued to protest American involvement in Vietnam.
80Nixon took action. During his first years in office, he supported reforms and rules to improve the economy; protect the environment; increase workplace and other opportunities for women; support civil rights; and, in his words, bring "peace with honor" in Vietnam.
81But, for the most part, Nixon did not have the support of Congress to enact legislation.
82So he expanded the power of the presidency to carry out his goals.
83He is remembered especially for three foreign policy moves.
84In 1972, he visited China, with which the U.S. government had tense relations since the Chinese Communist Party took power.
85As the Alger Hiss case showed, Nixon was strongly anti-communist.
86But he made establishing diplomatic relations between the two sides possible again.
87He also visited the Soviet Union, and was the first U.S. president to visit Moscow.
88Nixon and the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, agreed to limit the growth of nuclear arms.
89Their actions helped ease tensions at a time when U.S. officials were worried about the expansion of communism.
90And Nixon did succeed in reaching a peace agreement with North Vietnamese leaders.
91In 1973, American troops slowly began to leave the country, although fighting there continued.
92Nixon's foreign policy achievements helped him in the 1972 election campaign.
93His first presidential election had been extremely close; the second he won by one of the widest electoral vote margins in U.S. history.
94Even though he was popular with voters, Nixon had been concerned about his political future.
95Nixon was so worried that, before the election, he created a secret team to prevent any damaging information from reaching the media.
96Later, its job expanded to include investigating any information that might hurt his public image.
97About five months before Election Day, five men broke into the opposition party's headquarters at the Watergate, a hotel and office complex, in Washington, DC.
98The team had already stolen copies of secret campaign documents.
99Now, in the middle of the night, the men were trying to add listening equipment to the telephones - in other words, spy on the opposition.
100But a security guard became suspicious and called the police.
101The men were caught and arrested.
102When the story came to light, Nixon publicly denied that any White House officials were involved in the crime.
103But in time, the public learned that Nixon was lying.
104In fact, he assisted with payments to the men who were arrested.
105And he tried to use the Central Intelligence Agency to block an FBI investigation of the crime.
106Nixon knew that the Watergate break-in was only part of the illegal or questionable acts he could be held responsible for.
107Later, people connected with Nixon told investigators that the president had taped everything that happened in his office.
108Investigators demanded the tapes.
109They would prove how much Nixon knew about the illegal operations.
110The president refused. He dismissed the lead investigator.
111Two other Justice Department officials resigned in protest.
112A new investigator was appointed, and the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Nixon to release the tapes.
113At the same time, the House of Representatives voted to remove Nixon from office.
114They charged him with obstructing justice, abusing his power, covering up a crime, and violating the Constitution.
115Finally, Nixon released the tapes.
116But before the Senate could hold a trial - in which the president would almost certainly be found guilty - Richard Nixon resigned.
117He left the White House the following day.
118Nixon lived for 20 more years.
119He wrote a number of books, traveled, spent time with his family, and offered foreign policy advice to other leaders.
120He continued to deny that he had done anything criminal as president; instead, Nixon said he had made bad decisions.
121And he did not go to trial.
122The next president, Gerald Ford, used his power to pardon Nixon "for all offenses against the United States."
123But Nixon's image was permanently damaged.
124Most people found evidence in the tapes that Nixon knew about a related series of crimes commonly known as "Watergate."
125They also found that some of his public statements were dishonest.
126They said he made them to forward his own political goals, not to further the public good.
127As a result, Nixon's place in U.S. history is generally thought to be a troubled one.
128To be sure, he made a number of positive accomplishments, both within the U.S. and internationally.
129But his presidency left the country shaken.
130When Ford replaced him as president, he said to Americans, "Our long national nightmare is over."
131I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents. 2Today we are talking about Richard Nixon. 3Nixon is well-known to many Americans for one reason: he was the only president to resign from the position. Facing possible legal action by Congress, Nixon left office early in his second term. 4Nixon's early political career was marked by success. He also had some noteworthy achievements during his White House years. And he attained his goal of moving the government in a more conservative direction. 5In his later years, Nixon and his supporters tried to reclaim his place as an expert on international affairs. But for many Americans, the name "Nixon" remains linked to distrust of national leaders, abuse of power, and political wrongdoing. 6Early life 7Richard Nixon had a difficult early life. He was the second of five sons in a Quaker family. His parents owned a lemon ranch in California, near the city of Los Angeles. 8But the family struggled financially. And two of Richard's brothers died - one as a small child, and one as a young adult. 9In time, his parent's business failed, and the Nixons moved to a nearby town. The parents and children all worked at a filling station that sold fuel and other products. 10Despite the many hours he worked at the store, Richard Nixon was a top student in high school. He was offered financial aid to attend Harvard University, but the family needed even more money to send him there. 11Instead, he attended a local college, where he became the student body president, joined a debate team, acted in the theater, and played football. Nixon went on to law school at Duke University in North Carolina. 12Even with his impressive background, he did not get the jobs he sought at the Federal Bureau of Investigation - the FBI - or top law offices. So he returned the California town where he grew up and began working as a lawyer. 13There, he married another actor at the community theater. Her name was Thelma Ryan, but she was called Pat. The Nixons went on to have two daughters, Tricia and Julie. 14In 1942, Nixon accepted a job with the federal government in Washington, DC. He did not stay in the position long. After the United States entered World War II, Nixon joined the Navy. He served as an officer in the Pacific. 15When he returned to the U.S., Republican Party officials asked him to be a candidate for Congress. Nixon agreed. He won two terms in the House of Representatives, and then a seat in the U.S. Senate. 16Two years later, Dwight Eisenhower, the Republican presidential candidate, asked Nixon to be his vice president. The two men won in an electoral landslide, and in 1953 Nixon took office as vice president. He was only 40 years old, the second-youngest vice president in U.S. history. 17Early political career 18Nixon's early political career is remembered for several reasons. One is how quickly he rose to high government office. 19Another is for his part in the Alger Hiss case in the late 1940s. Hiss was a top official in the State Department. He was accused of being a Communist in the 1930s and 1940s, and of passing information about the U.S. government to Soviet spies. Hiss denied the accusations. 20The case was big news in the United States. It showed the clash between people who believed Hiss was falsely accused as a way to discredit liberal policies, and people who believed the government was protecting communist sympathizers. 21Nixon was in the second group. He was part of the investigation against Hiss and pushed for his indictment. Nixon's efforts succeeded, and Hiss went to jail for almost four years. Later, Nixon said that the case was one of the reasons for his rise to power. 22Nixon also earned national attention with an event that has become known as the Checkers speech. It happened in 1952, when Nixon was running for vice president. 23Some reporters accused Nixon of corruption. They said he was accepting money and gifts from wealthy donors in exchange for his political support. 24Nixon went on television to deny the claims personally. At the time, Americans were not used to seeing politicians speaking directly to the public. Yet Nixon spoke informally and emotionally, from what appeared to be a home. 25He explained his family's finances. He said he did not accept campaign donations for personal benefit. 26But, he added, there was one exception. A supporter had once given the Nixon children a black and white dog they called Checkers. Nixon said he refused to return his daughters' pet. 27The public - and Republican Party officials - loved the speech. Nixon appeared warm and likable. Middle-class Americans especially said they could relate to him. Most forgot the claims against him. And Nixon's political career was saved. During the following eight years, he served as vice president in the Eisenhower administration. 28But then Nixon's luck turned. In 1960, Nixon lost as a presidential candidate to John F. Kennedy. He blamed, in part, the media. Then in 1962, he lost his efforts to be governor of California. 29Nixon said he was retiring from politics. He famously told reporters, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore." 30Yet seven years later, he was in the White House. It was one of the most memorable comebacks in U.S. political history. 31Presidency 32When Nixon took office in 1969, some Americans thought the country was in crisis. 33The economy was not doing well. Race riots had been erupting in big cities. Many people were still trying to recover from the violence of a year earlier. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior and President John F. Kennedy's brother Robert had both been shot and killed. 34Pollution of the environment was becoming a major political issue. Women were pressing for equal rights. And many Americans continued to protest American involvement in Vietnam. 35Nixon took action. During his first years in office, he supported reforms and rules to improve the economy; protect the environment; increase workplace and other opportunities for women; support civil rights; and, in his words, bring "peace with honor" in Vietnam. 36But, for the most part, Nixon did not have the support of Congress to enact legislation. So he expanded the power of the presidency to carry out his goals. 37He is remembered especially for three foreign policy moves. In 1972, he visited China, with which the U.S. government had tense relations since the Chinese Communist Party took power. 38As the Alger Hiss case showed, Nixon was strongly anti-communist. But he made establishing diplomatic relations between the two sides possible again. 39He also visited the Soviet Union, and was the first U.S. president to visit Moscow. Nixon and the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, agreed to limit the growth of nuclear arms. Their actions helped ease tensions at a time when U.S. officials were worried about the expansion of communism. 40And Nixon did succeed in reaching a peace agreement with North Vietnamese leaders. In 1973, American troops slowly began to leave the country, although fighting there continued. 41Nixon's foreign policy achievements helped him in the 1972 election campaign. His first presidential election had been extremely close; the second he won by one of the widest electoral vote margins in U.S. history. 42Watergate 43Even though he was popular with voters, Nixon had been concerned about his political future. Nixon was so worried that, before the election, he created a secret team to prevent any damaging information from reaching the media. Later, its job expanded to include investigating any information that might hurt his public image. 44About five months before Election Day, five men broke into the opposition party's headquarters at the Watergate, a hotel and office complex, in Washington, DC. 45The team had already stolen copies of secret campaign documents. Now, in the middle of the night, the men were trying to add listening equipment to the telephones - in other words, spy on the opposition. 46But a security guard became suspicious and called the police. The men were caught and arrested. 47When the story came to light, Nixon publicly denied that any White House officials were involved in the crime. 48But in time, the public learned that Nixon was lying. In fact, he assisted with payments to the men who were arrested. 49And he tried to use the Central Intelligence Agency to block an FBI investigation of the crime. Nixon knew that the Watergate break-in was only part of the illegal or questionable acts he could be held responsible for. 50Later, people connected with Nixon told investigators that the president had taped everything that happened in his office. 51Investigators demanded the tapes. They would prove how much Nixon knew about the illegal operations. 52The president refused. He dismissed the lead investigator. Two other Justice Department officials resigned in protest. 53A new investigator was appointed, and the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Nixon to release the tapes. 54At the same time, the House of Representatives voted to remove Nixon from office. They charged him with obstructing justice, abusing his power, covering up a crime, and violating the Constitution. 55Finally, Nixon released the tapes. But before the Senate could hold a trial - in which the president would almost certainly be found guilty - Richard Nixon resigned. He left the White House the following day. 56Legacy 57Nixon lived for 20 more years. He wrote a number of books, traveled, spent time with his family, and offered foreign policy advice to other leaders. He continued to deny that he had done anything criminal as president; instead, Nixon said he had made bad decisions. 58And he did not go to trial. The next president, Gerald Ford, used his power to pardon Nixon "for all offenses against the United States." 59But Nixon's image was permanently damaged. Most people found evidence in the tapes that Nixon knew about a related series of crimes commonly known as "Watergate." 60They also found that some of his public statements were dishonest. They said he made them to forward his own political goals, not to further the public good. 61As a result, Nixon's place in U.S. history is generally thought to be a troubled one. To be sure, he made a number of positive accomplishments, both within the U.S. and internationally. 62But his presidency left the country shaken. When Ford replaced him as president, he said to Americans, "Our long national nightmare is over." 63I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 64Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 65______________________________________________________________ 66See how well you understand the story by taking this listening quiz. Play each short video, then choose the best answer. 67______________________________________________________________ 68Words in This Story 69attain - v. accomplish or achieve 70Quaker - n. a member of a Christian religious group whose members dress simply, are against violence, and have meetings without any special ceremony or priests 71impressive - adj. deserving attention, admiration, or respect : making a good impression 72landslide - n. an election in which the winner gets a much greater number of votes than the loser 73indictment - n. an official written statement charging a person with a crime 74comeback - n. a new effort to win or succeed after being close to defeat or failure 75erupt - v. to happen or begin suddenly or violently 76obstructing - v. to slow or block the movement, progress, or action of 77positive - adj. good or useful 78nightmare - n. a very bad or frightening experience or situation