• Richard Milhous Nixon was born on January 9, 1913 in Yorba Linda, California.

• Nixon had a brilliant record at Whittier College and Duke University Law School before beginning the practice of law.

• He was elected to Congress from California’s Republican Party in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950.

• He served as vice president to Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961.

• He lost the 1960 presidential election against John F. Kennedy in 1960.

• He lost the 1962 California gubernatorial election against Pat Brown.

• He was elected president in 1968 and 1972.

• Richard Nixon died in New York in 1994 and is buried in his birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. Sources 1, 2,

The American Presidency

1968

Nixon won a close three-candidate election in 1968. Source

1972

Nixon easily won re-election in 1972. Source

Important Events

Important Events during Nixon’s Presidency

1. He was president during the last four years of the Vietnam War:

The war ended in 1973, after Nixon’s re-election.

2. He opened relations with China:He visited China and began diplomatic relations with China in 1972. He also visited Moscow in 1972.

3. He had to resign in 1974 because of the Watergate Scandal:

Men working fo his administration broke into the offices of the Democratic Committee at the Watergate building in 1972.

Richard Nixon during his visit to China in 1972. Source.

Nixon in China

One Positive Contribution• Richard Nixon created a committee to study ways to

improve our treatment of the environment.• The committee had no real power, so Nixon asked

Congress to create an official agency.• The Environmental Protection Agency was officially

created in 1972.• Its goals are:

1. To declare a national policy which will encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment.

2. To promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man.

3. To enrich our understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation. Source.

Music

The Beatles, the most popular band during the 1960s, broke up in 1970. source

music

The Jackson Five, with young Michael Jackson (center), had four number-one hits in 1970, including “I’ll be there.” Sources: 1, 2.

Sources: 1, 2,

Fashion during the late 1960s and early 1970s

Fashion

Movies

The movie The Planet of the Apes premiered in 1968, the same year Nixon was elected president for the first time. Source.

Sports

UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), with coach John Wooden, won the college basketball championship almost every year Nixon was president, and more--1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976. Sources: 1,

2, 3.

Useful SitesFind information on all presidents:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/chronological.html

Find map of lecetoral college (change the last four digits for different years):

http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/U.S._presidential_election,_1968/

Find number-one music hits for every year:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_100_number-one_hits_of_1968_%28USA%29